Pitt's confidence in new-look defense growing after dismantling of Syracuse

Stephen Thompson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pitt’s defense played about as well as anyone could have hoped for last week against Syracuse. The Panthers racked up four sacks, nine tackles for loss and five interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns, while allowing just 13 points in a blowout victory over a 5-1 opponent.

But Pitt defensive coordinator Randy Bates still believes his unit has left some meat on the bone. 

“It was a good day. I think we had a lot more in us, quite frankly,” he said. “We dropped two or three of them. We’ve still got a lot of work to do. We’ve come a good ways, but we only had two returning starters, so we’ve still got a lot of teaching to do.”

Through the first five games of the season, Pitt wasn’t necessarily winning despite its defense, but that unit didn’t do quite as much to fuel an undefeated start as the offense. But over the last two games, while the offense has scuffled to some degree, it’s been the Panthers defense leading the way.

After allowing 25.2 points per game through the first six weeks of the year, Pitt held Cal and Syracuse to an average of 14 points over the last three weeks. After collecting 12 sacks through the first five games, Pitt has 10 over its last two. It turned opponents over eight times in five games to start the year and now has five turnovers since the beginning of October. The Panthers were allowing 117 rushing yards per game through its first five contests, and over the last two weeks, that figure has plummeted to 34.5. 

By just about every measurement, the Panthers defense has gotten demonstrably better over the course of this season, and Bates gives all the credit to his assistants — linebackers coach Ryan Manalac, defensive line coach Tim Daoust, safeties coach Corey Sanders and secondaries coach Archie Collins. 

“We have some outstanding assistant coaches and they did a tremendous job,” Bates said. “All the fears I have, I relay to them. ... So I give all the credit to those guys. Without those guys, we don’t get it done the way we got it done.”

Pitt’s linebackers said following the win over Syracuse that their week of preparation translated seamlessly to the field. That group and the secondary played one step ahead of the Orange’s prolific passing offense. They blanketed receivers all night long and were constantly in position to make a play on the ball — their five interceptions and eight total passes defended illustrate as much. 

This weekend, SMU will pose a different challenge. More of a horizontal offense than a vertical attack, the Mustangs like to spread defenses out and use their speed to outrun the opposition. But even against the run, all three levels of the Pitt defense will need to be involved in keeping their quick-paced opponents in check.

Still, with each passing week, the Pitt defense has inspired more confidence that they are up to the task, no matter what opposing offenses throw at them. 

“I believe the whole defense has continued to make a new step every week, and consistency is all that matters in college football. ... That’s what we try to teach them,” Bates said. “I think we’re all learning as we go through the process.” 

Quarterback smoke screens

Mum’s the word on the status of Pitt’s starting quarterback Eli Holstein, who left last Thursday’s game against Syracuse with an undisclosed injury. Head coach Pat Narduzzi insisted that Holstein was “fine” following the game, but he had no update on Monday when he opened SMU week. 

And less than 24 hours after Narduzzi was dodging questions about the status of his own starting signal-caller, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee revealed that Kevin Jennings, who officially took hold of the Mustangs’ starting quarterback job in Week 4 and has won each of his five starts this season, is also questionable to play after taking a hard hit in last weekend’s win at Duke. 

“We got a bunch of guys beat up and most of them practiced today, not all of them,” Lashlee said. “But even Kevin, not 100% sure he’s cleared yet. ... I’d say Kevin is questionable.” 

Jennings was eventually able to return to the field against Duke and finish the game after trainers took a look at him on the sidelines. He ended the day with 299 total yards and two touchdowns, but also three interceptions and a pair of fumbles. If he can’t play this weekend, the Mustangs will turn to backup Preston Stone, who was the starter entering the season before Jennings eventually overtook him. Stone’s completed 59% of his passes for 346 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception in five appearances this season. 

It’s plausible that all the smoke and mirrors likely amount to simple gamesmanship from two opposing coaches, but for now, one of the most consequential games of the ACC football season doesn’t have two definitive starting quarterbacks.