Three Takeaways from Pitt's OT Loss to Tennessee
PITTSBURGH -- If not for the litany of chaos that occurred in South Bend, College Station, Bowling Green and elsewhere in the vast reaches of the college football universe, a see-sawing affair between the Pitt Panthers and Tennessee Volunteers that took four hours, overtime and 61 points to decide, would have been the game of the day.
The No. 17 Panthers came out on the wrong side of a compelling game banged up and a little deflated. Here are three takeaways from a bitter loss.
Guts Don't Always Bring Glory
The game was played against an athletic, fast, physical opponent. Three starters were sidelined with injuries before kickoff and four more went down over the course of the marathon contest. After getting shredded in the first half, Pitt's vaunted defensive line came alive for the first time this season and held one of the nation's best offenses in check. Nick Patti, unable to even put weight on his right ankle at certain points, played one of the grittiest halves of football you'll ever see and, thanks to some help from Israel Abanikanda, the offensive line and Jared Wayne's reliable hands, tied a game they really had no business of even being in.
Against Tennessee, the Panthers were tough and gutsy. At multiple junctures I found myself burying them before they were dead and each time, they made a play just good enough to keep them breathing. They left every bit of themselves on that field and still lost. That's football. That's sports. That's life sometimes.
Pitt has taken it's fair share of gut punches over the years and they can add another chapter to that long story. There's no "but," or "although," to that statement. Because while Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi is right - there is still so much in front of the Panthers the rest of this season - this loss stings and has a tangible effect on their ability to reach that next, higher summit. The College Football Playoff selection committee doesn't factor in heart.
Pitt's Corners Becoming Battle-Hardened
Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker lived up to the hype, throwing for 325 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 64% of his passes. He was able to hit on some big plays early - the Volunteers connected on four passes of 20 yards or more in the first half.
But the Panthers held him in check during the second and third quarters. The Volunteers didn't connect on another explosive pass until their final snap of the game when Cedric Tillman beat M.J. Devonshire for the game-winning touchdown.
They got burned for some big plays, but that's the nature of playing corner in a Narduzzi and Bates coordinated defense. The highlights make it seem like Pitt's defensive backs played much worse than they did. Marquis Williams, A.J. Woods and M.J. Devonshire battled with Tennessee's big, physical receivers and held their own. One of the country's best offenses was limited to just 27 points in regulation and their performance after halftime was particularly strong.
Offense Needs More from Receivers
Two key drops proved to be game-changing plays as the afternoon wore on. A drop on a third and goal tunnel screen toss to Konata Mumpfield cost the Panthers four points when they had to settle for a field goal. Later in the first half, Kedon Slovis hit Bub Means on his hands in the back of the endzone but Means couldn't haul it in. He tipped it to Tennessee's Trevon Flowers, who corraled the interception and stole seven points from the Panthers.
Pitt receivers gained 156 yards through the air against the Volunteers and 82 of those went to Jared Wayne. Wayne was targeted seven times while the rest of the receiving corps was targeted nine times. Simply put, the Panthers need more from that group, particularly during high-leverage moments. In a game that went to overtime, those miscues are the difference between winning and losing, undefeated and .500, a top 10 ranking vs. falling out of the top 20.
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