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Pat Narduzzi relied on his quarterback on Saturday night and paid the price of Pitt's 30-14 loss to Virginia at Heinz Field.
The opening night was supposed to trigger the revival of Pitt's pass game. Junior quarterback Kenny Pickett led an attack by first-year coordinator Mark Whipple.
Instead, it was a disaster for much of the first quarter and the entire second half, as Pitt suffered his first defeat in opening days since 2013.
Narduzzi was unhappy with almost everything that happened in front of the crowd announced at 47,144.
"We missed the shots. We dropped balls. We did not protect the quarterback, "said coach Pitt. "We did not attack as well as necessary."
Narduzzi was blamed but was also surprised at how his team played.
"It starts with me," he says. "I have to do a better job of preparing them."
Then he added, "I thought emotionally and physically, they were ready to leave."
The plan was to pass the ball – a clear gap over what Narduzzi usually likes to do – but Pitt's air match was out of sync. Pickett launched two interceptions in a game for the first time in his university career.
"We knew that the box was going to be stacked well (against the race), and that was the case," Narduzzi said. "We had open guys in the passing game. We had what we wanted. We must connect. "
"It was just a botched game for a game of Week 1," Pickett said. "We need to focus on our attack and our timing and come back this week."
Pitt used the no-huddle offense to get some success in the first half and took a 14-13 lead in the locker room. But the Panthers were aimless after halftime, and Virginia scored 17 points.
"We showed some glimpses," said Pickett, "but if you show glimpses, you will not win the game, you have to be consistent throughout the game, and as the coach said, there are games at do it and we did not do it. "
Pitt made the task too easy for Virginia, giving only two touchdowns to the Cavaliers. Virginia scored three touchdowns, and the first two were set deep in Pitt's territory by a blocked punt and an interception.
"It's hard to win a football game when you have a blocked kick and two interceptions," Narduzzi said. "It's 14 points right there."
Pitt's defense fired Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins – once by defensive end Deslin Alexander, who replaces injured Rashad Weaver – but did not impose a turnaround. Perkins completed 20 of his 34 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns.
The Panthers were unable to create a momentum against the ACC Coastal Division's pre-season favorite with their running game. ONE J. Davis and Todd Sibley combined 48 yards in 15 races.
Pickett had minimal success as a jammer and completed 21 of his 41 career passes totaling 181 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked four times, including two in the fourth quarter as Pitt tried to reduce Virginia's lead. Free security, Joey Blount, sacked Pickett, who then launched an interception at Blount in the next game. With 7 minutes and 40 seconds, Virginia's victory was assured.
Virginia added his final touchdown on Wayne Taulapapa's 10-yard run 32 seconds from time.
The Cavaliers scored on their first two possessions in the second half to take a 23-14 lead.
Perkins converted two-thirds with a 17-yard pass to wide receiver Terrell Jana and a 27-yard touchdown made possible by his assist for blistering halfback Jason Pinnock. That led Brian Delaney's goal to 45 yards, his last of the three.
In Pitt's next possession, linebacker Matt Gahm's interception at Pitt 29 allowed Perises to score 13 passes for the wide touch, Hasise Dubois. After that, Pitt had no answer. Pickett only had 63 yards in the second half, completing just nine of 21 passes.
In his first two offensive series, Pickett completed only one of six innings in three outings and twice. The final pass of the first series was beaten by Virginia defensive end Mandy Alonso.
After the first punt, Virginia picked up the torch on her 25-yard line and quickly returned to Pitt territory. After going as far as Pitt 12, Virginia has settled for the placement of Delaney goalkeeper. He also hit 36 yards in the second quarter.
Pitt replied after his second run, but Noah Taylor blocked the shot. The Cavaliers managed a first try against the 19 years of the Panthers. That led to the first touchdown of the game, a pass from Perkins to Chris Sharp.
Pitt and Pickett recovered in the first possession of the second quarter. He was 3-for-3, including a 59-yard pass to Davis, who scored four games later on a 2-yard gust.
Pickett took advantage of his best moments in the first half with Pitt's final possession.
The Panthers finally managed to familiarize themselves with the attack without a hitch, but they left their front line 20 yards and scored 14 times on a 5-34 strike.
Pickett scrambled twice for the first attempts – 11 and 9 yards – and completed six of his seven passes for 39 yards and a 3-yard touchdown at senior Tre Tipton (Apollo-Ridge) with 38 seconds left in the half.
Jerry DiPaola is an editor of Tribune-Review. You can contact Jerry by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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