After loss to Cincinnati, before facing tough road ahead, Pitt must find answers in a hurry

After Pitt lost a game no one inside or outside the program expected to lose, there is an unmistakable and somewhat misplaced tendency for fans to overreact.

• Hire a better coach.

• Change quarterbacks. (Coach Pat Narduzzi offered a definitive “no” to that one.)

• If Pitt (1-1) can’t beat Cincinnati, look out for the hurdles that await over the next 10 games. Lindy’s magazine and reporters covering the Big 12 picked the Bearcats 13th in the 14-team Big 12.

The first suggestion is lunacy, the second is unfair and the wrong move at this point, but the third offers fair warning. Here’s what awaits Pitt:

• West Virginia in Morgantown on Saturday night won’t be a picnic.

• North Carolina has a Heisman candidate (Drake Maye) at quarterback.

• Notre Dame (3-0) scored 45 points at N.C. State, and Pitt must visit South Bend a week before meeting Florida State, which might turn out to be the best team in the nation.

• Duke already defeated Clemson.

That’s a difficult gauntlet and leads to a couple of other questions:

Is Pitt good enough? Are the Panthers not as talented as they think they are?

Throughout training camp, players overflowed with confidence while talking about what happened at practice and what they expected this season.

Nothing wrong with that. But can Pitt live up to its own expectations under the weight of a difficult schedule?

Related:

• Pitt swallowed up by mistakes in loss to Cincinnati

Despite the six-point loss to a seven-point underdog, players remain confident.

“Our plan is good. Our plan is almost perfect,” middle linebacker and co-captain Shayne Simon said, “but if we don’t execute it, bad things happen.”

Is it really as simplistic as players doing what they’re trained to do?

Cincinnati’s 216 yards on the ground, including Corey Kiner’s 153, is unacceptable. Opponents have averaged less than 100 per game for each of the past three seasons.

“He’s a good runner,” Simon said. “For the most part, it was on us.”

To the talent question, the reality is that Pitt has new faces on both sides of the ball. Departing players on the defensive and offensive lines and at linebacker, safety and wide receiver left big holes to fill. After losing senior guard Ryan Jacoby to a season-ending injury, 18-year-old freshman guard B.J. Williams moved into the starting lineup Saturday in his second game in a collegiate uniform.

Sometimes it takes time for players in new positions to jell. There are 11 weeks, including a bye, left in the season. There is time.

“It takes a little chemistry,” offensive left tackle Matt Goncalves said. “Figure out who’s playing here, who’s playing there. Locking in my position, too. I haven’t played on the left side. I played four games last year. It’s still something I’m getting used to, too.

“Not making that as an excuse, but once we all lock in to where we are, the game plans, and we all get really comfortable with (quarterback Phil Jurkovec) and the offense, I think it’s going to be a really good process for us.”

Adequately replacing Kenny Pickett is turning into a two-year project that still is not finalized.

“I feel comfortable with (Jurkovec),” Goncalves said. “Coming off a year where we had a different quarterback and now we’re coming into a year where we have another quarterback, look at what happened last year. It’s translating the same way.”

After a 1-1 start, Pitt won nine games last season. To match that, the Panthers must win seven of the next 10, plus a bowl game.

There is precedent under Narduzzi for improvement. Pitt allowed five sacks Saturday night, an outrageous number for a team that believes it is much better than that. The 2022 season had a similar start — nine sacks in the first two games — but Pitt quarterbacks fell only 10 times in the final 11.

It’s a good sign that Jurkovec and Goncalves, another co-captain, shouldered some blame for the 27-21 loss to Cincinnati.

“I have to look at the film, see if there are any protection adjustments I could have made,” said Jurkovec, who also questioned his footwork, rhythm and pocket presence.

Added Goncalves: “It all starts with me. I have to lead the group up front. I take a big burden on myself. I think I could play a lot better.”