Inside The Panthers

Eli Holstein Quickly Becoming Pitt Hero

Quarterback Eli Holstein led the Pitt Panthers comeback over the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Dominic Campbell

Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) throws a pass in the first quarter of the College Football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Pittsburgh Panthers at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024.
Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) throws a pass in the first quarter of the College Football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Pittsburgh Panthers at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

CINCINNATI -- Redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein had a tough start for the Pitt Panthers against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Nippert Stadium that easily could've led to a loss for his team.

He was 5-of-14 for 46 yards midway through the third quarter and Pitt was down 27-6, with many fans seeing similar problems to last season's poor play on offense.

Holstein wouldn't play perfect on the drive, but completed five passes, including an 11-yard pass on third down to senior wide receiver for the first touchdown of the game to get it within 14 points at the end of the period.

He then had a fantastic fourth quarter, completing 10-of-11 passes for 189 yards, including two touchdowns, with one to Mumpfield on fourth down-and-three that went 38 yards and another to junior running back Desmond Reid, who used his speed to go 56 yards.

Holstein and the Pitt offense went for the two-point conversion twice on both touchdowns, but missed, needing one last drive to get the comeback win.

He only had two throws on the final drive, but his final one went to Mumpfield for 34 yards to the Cincinnati 22-yard line, setting up the winning field goal for redshirt senior Ben Sauls from 35 yards out with less than 30 seconds remaining.

Holstein apologized to his Pitt teammates and coaches at halftime, taking resposibility for his mistakes and not seeing the field the way he wanted to.

"...I just wanted to apologize to coach [Pat Narduzzi]," Holstein said. "That whole half was on me. I took resposibility for that and in the second half we came out, played a lot better and ended up winning the game."

Holstein was in just his second game as a starter and his first on the road. There were some learning curves for him, but he praised the leaders on the team for keeping the spirit high and the belief in the comeback, as well as the defense.

"No not really," Holstein said on doubt creeping in. "Those guys, especially those leaders, those seniors on offense. They kept me up, they believe in me, they help me believe in myself to go out there and make plays, just do what I do..."

Mumpfield was one of those leaders and put on a fantastic performance, with five catches for 123 yards and those two touchdowns. Those 123 yards are his collegiate high and he played a role in making sure that Holstein stayed with it, even when things didn't go his way.

"It's huge," Holstein said on having Mumpfield. "The entire game, even when I wasn't playing my best, he was picking me up, helping me the entire time...Just having a guy like that, a senior guy, who's been around for a little while, who has a lot of maturity, big leader. He's a captain on this team for a reason. Just the way he carries himself, he carries people with him. So he helped me a lot, picking me up..."

Holstein also gave credit to his offensive line for their performance, as he only suffered two sacks and had the time late in the game to make the plays he needed.

"Huge credit. I mean those guys, they've been giving me the confidence ever since I've got here. Branson Taylor, Lyndon Cooper, those are some really, really big leaders, Ryan Bear, they've always believed in me since I got here. They've always been helping me out, asking me what I need, just there for me whenever I needed them and they were there for me in this game, just keeping me up and everything. They played a heck of a game. We needed them and we're gonna need them to play well if we're going to make a long run in this, win a lot of games."

Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi stuck with Holstein throughout this game, despite his early struggles. He had a chance to go with backup quarterback in redshirt junior Nate Yarnell, but he stuck with his starter and it paid off.

"...He didn't waiver at all," Narduzzi said. "You can look at a kid's eyes and you see dizziness, he was locked in and shoot, he apologized to me and said, "That will never happen again." That's kind of who he is. Glad we stuck with him because I don't think it happens at the end..."

Reid, who had more than 100 yards receiving and rushing, connected with Holstein with some of his biggest plays, something that the two of them will continue to do the rest of the season.

"He just got locked in," Reid said on Holstein. "Everything slowed down for him and I knew that was going to happen. Started off a little slow, but he got comfortable and that's when he gon' be comfortable. We gon' make big plays. That's what's gon' happen."

Holstein will face rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl next game at Sept. 14 at Acrisure Stadium, where he'll need to show again he has what it takes to excel in big games, especially down the stretch.

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Dominic Campbell

DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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