Panthers seek to end nation’s longest winning streak
Pittsburgh, coming off a 38-35 loss to North Carolina, hits the road again this week with an even tougher assignment.
The Panthers (2-2) face No. 13 UCF (3-0) in a difficult nonconference matchup.
“The biggest thing is are they giving you everything they’ve got, and our kids are playing hard,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. “They care. Are they disappointed? No doubt about it.”
Against UCF’s high-powered offense, which ranks No. 9 in the FBS with 50 points per game, the Panthers will attempt to control the tempo with their ground attack while remaining dynamic. Pitt running back Qadree Ollison had 12 carries for 72 yards against North Carolina, while Darrin Hall had 84 yards on six carries.
Ollison has been the lead back this season as Narduzzi has preached balance in an offense featuring first-year starter Kenny Pickett at quarterback. He had just 174 passing yards on 19-of-33 passing against UNC.
Pickett won the starting job in camp over Ricky Town but has modest numbers so far — 60 of 96 for 580 yards, with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
“The thing we don’t want to do is handcuff our offense to the point where, hey, we’ll run it three downs in a row, see if we can eat up the clock and don’t run out of bounds,” Narduzzi said. “Nobody wants to coach that way, nobody wants to play that way offensively.”
Penalties are a point of emphasis for the Panthers this week in practice. Pittsburgh was charged with five amounting to 45 yards against the Tar Heels. That’s a reasonable amount for a game, but Narduzzi noted how they could stay be costly and unnecessary.
“We got two illegal shifts offensively, I think it was the only two penalties we had on offense, and we don’t — I’m not going to run them, I’m not going to make them do up-downs,” Narduzzi said. “They understand how it hurts, and it hurts worse in the second half.”