Vukovcan: Take A Deep Breath Pitt Fans, Everything Is Ok

Looking back at things, it was probably a good thing that the Pitt-SMU game was on the ACC Network and not ESPN or ABC.

As I told some close friends yesterday morning, I didn’t have a good feeling about the game for one big reason, the betting line. When the oddsmakers made Pitt such big underdogs (+7.5), despite being ranked No. 18 in the country, that was a sign, and it wasn’t a good one for Pitt.

If the spread had only been 2 or 3 points, I would’ve felt good about Pitt winning but with Vegas setting the line that high, that told me something and it wasn’t good for the Panthers.

Some of you reading this might think I’m crazy but being a former heavy gambler, you can learn a lot by the point spread of a game.

Because of this, I did something that I hadn’t done in a long time and watched the game and stayed off Twitter. Normally, whether at the game or watching on television, I’ll scroll through Twitter through out a Pitt game to get a feel for what people are saying.

Having the feeling that Pitt was going to take an L and complete overreaction was sure to follow, I took a break from Twitter last night.

Now that I’m getting caught up on Twitter and PSN’s message board this morning, looks like I made the right decision.

Pitt’s all-around performance in their 48-25 smacking by SMU was bad and surprising considering what was at stake. When I mentioned I thought they’d lose, I was figuring by 10-14 points, not 23 points and anyone that watched the game realizes it wasn’t even that close.

A team can still win a game if one side of the ball has an off game but not when all three phases are ‘below the line’ and that was the case with Pitt.

The special teams were really bad, the offense remains in a funk and not as productive as they were at the start of the season and the defense was just flat out bad.

Pitt football

I’d imagine Pat Narduzzi had a hard time sleeping last night after what he witnessed from his defensive unit. A week after resembling the Steel Curtain of the 70’s, this defense had trouble tackling anyone, missing assignments and not being able to cover anyone.

The most disappointing stat and what ended up being the key statistic of the night was the defensive failure on 3rd down. SMU’s offense was 7 for 14 on 3rd down and 3 of their misses came in the 4th quarter when their backups were in. So, in reality, SMU’s 1st team offense was 7 for 11 on 3rd down against Pitt’s 1st defense.

Examples:
-SMU’s Second TD drive- SMU converts a 3rd and 10 for 22 yards to keep a drive going. Later in the drive, on a 3rd and 18, they completed a 23-yard pass.

-SMU’s Fourth TD drive- SMU converts a 3rd a 3rd and 11 for 25 yards. Then on 3rd and Goal, SMU scores on a 3-yard TD pass.

-After Pitt made it 34-11, SMU converts a 3rd and 9 for 12 yards. They would go on to score a TD on this drive.

No doubt, it had to be a long, quiet plan ride back to Pittsburgh from Fort Worth, Texas.

While it’s hard to want to think about this now, some big picture perspective is needed for the players and more importantly the Pitt fan base.

The bottom line is that despite what happened last night, this 2024 season isn’t over and far from being ruined.

While it remains to be seen if they’ll remain ranked, this Pitt team still wakes up this morning with a record of 7-1 and with an outside chance of winning 10 games. I think nine wins is very, very realistic. I would guarantee you that at the start of this season, if you would’ve told fans that this team would finish the season with nine wins and possibly 10, they would’ve jumped at that.

Barring a complete meltdown, that’s very likely to happen.

To this point, this season has been a complete success and plenty of great storylines have taken place. All of that can’t be brushed away because of a disappointing loss.

The harsh opinions are being thrown out because fans were envisioning this team possibly playing in the ACC Championship game and even the college football playoffs. Now you’re disappointed and rightly so.

However, the reality is that Pitt was probably playing a bit above their heads and things were happening too fast for the team and certain players.

Pitt football

Case in point: Kade Bell and Eli Holstein.

Three and four games into the season, people were throwing Holstein’s name into Heisman Trophy talk and already talking about him being a first round pick. Same praise was being heaped upon Bell and how he was so good that he was going to leave Pitt after just one season.

Slow down.

Both Holstein and Bell are very talented and have bright futures but they’re both going through growing pains. Keep in mind, Holstein has played just a total of eight college games and wasn’t going to continue throwing 300 yards and three touchdowns every game. Defensive coordinators now know what his strengths are and have adjusted to him.

It’s time now for Holstein and Bell to counter punch and make adjustments of their own. I’m not worried about either and it’s ridiculous for anyone to suggest starting Nate Yarnell against Virginia. Holstein is Pitt’s quarterback of the future and unless he’s injured, No. 10 should start every game.

The focus now is Virginia and picking up win No. 8.

With Clemson losing last night, Pitt isn’t completely out of the ACC race, but they need to beat Virginia to make that game in two weeks meaningful.

In sports all teams have the 24-hour rule after a game. Enjoy it or sulk in it for 24 hours and then move on to the next opponent.

Hopefully Pitt fans are able to do the same and not dump water on this 2024 season because it still has a chance to be meaningful.