Pitt Football News and Notes: Rivalry Week (Sort of)

The Pitt Panthers are preparing for a de facto rivalry game against Syracuse.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are licking their wounds after blowing a fourth quarter lead against top-25 North Carolina and, as head coach Pat Narduzzi put it, there's "no rest for the weary" because his team is preparing to host No. 22 Syracuse for another ACC contest. 

Narduzzi talked about what went wrong in Chapel Hill and Pitt's date with the Orange to open the week. Here's some of the highlights from his comments. 

Welcome to Rivalry Week (Sort of)

Aside from West Virginia and Penn State, Pitt football hasn't played a single opponent more than Syracuse. This is a rivalry that in recent history has been a more compelling battle on the hardwood, but the football side of things has provided some great moments as well, even if the games themselves aren't usually high-stakes battles. 

Pitt has won the last two meetings by double-digits and claimed victory in 17 of the last 20 games, but over that same stretch half the margins of victory have been 10 or fewer points. These relatively close calls and the frequent meetings make the Panthers treat it like a rivalry but "not anything crazy," according to head coach Pat Narduzzi. 

"It's not like we're going to be fighting in the tunnel before the game," Narduzzi said, alluding to a brawl between a Michigan player and several Michigan State players following a game between the two schools this past weekend. 

Who Are You and What Have You Done With Kedon Slovis?

Kedon Slovis was, in a pretty shocking turn of events, slinging the rock against North Carolina. The same player who had been checking-down and taking-what-the-defense-gives-you-ing opponents into oblivion for six weeks has all of a sudden started airing it out. Against Louisville, it cost Slovis dearly when some overzealous deep shots to the endzone ended in interceptions but it was successful through one half and change against Carolina.

By the 12:51 mark of the third quarter, Slovis had completed 10 of 20 passes (despite three drops) for 204 yards, five gains of 20 or more yards and no interceptions. But as crunch time hit and the Tar Heels began to mount their comeback, his play took a dive. Slovis didn't attempt another pass until seven minutes had passed and didn't complete another until there were nine minutes left in the game. 

Narduzzi said that Slovis, who's made a living finding the holes in defenses from short range all season, was unable to see open receivers in the flats and over the middle while UNC defensive backs were positioned further down the field. It's an odd area for Slovis to struggle in, given it was his bread and butter entering last weekend and the fact that he never finished a season with a completion percentage lower than 65% through the first three years of his career at USC. 

Kancey's Absence Game-Changing

Pitt's pressure on the prodigy freshman Drake Maye was disruptive and essential to jumping out in front of the Tar Heels, Narduzzi said. So much so that, when defensive tackle Calijah Kancey was ejected on a targeting penalty on the first play of the second quarter, Narduzzi claims to have heard relief from the UNC camp. 

"I thought Kancey's departure from that game was a turning point," Narduzzi said. "I even heard their team after the targeting cheering saying, ‘Hey, we've got a chance now, we've got a chance now.’" Narduzzi said. "That's something I heard from our guys on the field when that happened, which I thought was interesting, because they must have felt the same way."

Last-Minute Lineup Changes

Narduzzi said during his final pre-North Carolina press conference that junior wideout Jaylon Barden would start for the injured Bub Means, who was working his way back from an IT band injury. Instead, Means started and recorded a season-high in receiving yards. Barden didn't step on the field. 

Narduzzi said he felt bad for Barden, whose playing time has fluctuated wildly during his time at Pitt. 

"He's a great kid," Narduzzi said. "To be honest with you, ... I didn't think that Bub Means would play. He was available game time. That's the only reason. Again, I felt guilty kind of saying he's going to play and all of a sudden he doesn't. He was ready to play. ... It seems like every week there's something going on."

This isn't the first time Narduzzi has said Barden would find his way into the lineup and didn't follow through. During the non-conference slate, Narduzzi said Barden would get some more snaps. He said it again after Jaden Bradley departed the program earlier this month and reiterated it last week. But to date, Barden's appeared in six of eight possible games and has three catches for 19 total yards. 

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and so much more!

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