Pitt Can Trust Christian Veilleux To Do More

The Pitt Panthers can count on Christian Veilleux to win games for them.

PITTSBURGH -- From the moment he was introduced as the new starting quarterback, Christian Veilleux gave the Pitt Panthers an immediate shot in the arm, which manifested itself in the imperfect, but desperately needed upset win over then-No. 14 Louisville. 

Against Wake Forest, Veilleux showed the faith this team and its fans had in him to pull Pitt from the depths of a 1-4 start, especially given how well he played when the pressure was at an apex. But even as he the coaching staff still showed surprisingly little confidence in his ability to make plays in big moments. Instead, offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti favored his running backs when his quarterback had earned the right to have the ball in his hands in the biggest moments, something that will have to change moving forward for Pitt to get back on track.

Look at the very basic numbers. Pitt faced 20 third downs against the Demon Deacons and converted nine of them. Eight of those conversions came from the arm of Veilleux, who completed 10 of 14 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown on third downs. Five of those completions went for 10 yards or more and three went for 20 or more. 

Compare that to the tailbacks, who rushed for a grand total of -4 yards on five attempts on either third or fourth down, all of which came after the first quarter when the Panthers were struggling to sustain drives. 

Those decisions to run on crucial downs looked even more suspect when Veilleux and the passing offense were able to overcome a sluggish middle of the game to score a go-ahead touchdown with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter. Veilleux completed four of six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown on that drive. 

In a game where the offensive line failed to consistently generate good push in the run game but did keep their quarterback clean, Pitt has turned to its running game far too frequently and at inopportune times.

Christian Veilleux has been far from perfect. Against Louisville, he was inaccurate on short throws and didn't have to do much to win behind a stunning defensive performance. He missed plenty of throws against the Demon Deacons, some of which might have made a last-ditch scoring drive and a favorable call on a slide unnecessary, too.  

There haven't necessarily been "training wheels" handicapping Veilleux. He clearly has the entire offense at his disposal, but the Panthers have been gun-shy at some points and embraced his knack for the big play in others. They trusted him to throw deep on fourth down late in the game against Louisville and lead a go-ahead drive late this week too. 

Veilleux has proven that he is talented beyond his experience and capable of taking on all that comes with being the starting quarterback of a Power 5 football team. To this point, it's been about Veilleux not losing games and it's time to let him win some. 

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