Alex Kessman's four field goals not enough in Pitt loss

All signs were pointing toward Alex Kessman walking away from Heinz Field on Saturday as the hero, the savior of a Pitt team that didn’t score a touchdown among its 78 offensive snaps.

But as it turned out, his four field goals – one off Conor Lee’s school record set in 2008 – were just a footnote to a 16-12 loss to Miami.

“If we don’t get the win, the kicks don’t mean anything,” he said.

But it is worth noting that coach Pat Narduzzi, who said he never stopped trusting his kicker when he missed five of his first eight attempts this season, can count on Kessman in a close game.

(Which is about the only type of game Pitt plays. The past six have been decided by margins of 7, 1, 3, 3, 7 and 4 points.)

Meanwhile, Kessman has hit nine of 10 field-goal attempts in the past four games. He is the first Pitt kicker since Kevin Harper at Notre Dame in 2012 with four in a game.

“I got my mojo back a little bit from the beginning of the season,” Kessman said.

At the height of Kessman’s struggles, Narduzzi publicly supported his kicker, saying he wouldn’t miss another field goal try the rest of the season. So far, that statement is almost on the mark. Kessman’s only miss since going 0 for 2 against Central Florida was from 57 yards in the Delaware game.

“I know coach Narduzzi has that support and confidence in me,” he said. “It pushed me not only as a player, but as a man, mentally. Not everybody was my friend at that time.

“I learned a lot about myself. That carried over to this little streak I have going.”

Kessman’s first field goal was a 54-yarder that is 1 yard short of his Heinz Field record – college or pro. He now has two field goals longer than the Heinz Field NFL record (53) held by Dan Bailey and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Chris Boswell.

Overall, Kessman has seven career field goals of more than 50 yards.

Catch the ball

With Pitt clinging to a 12-10 lead in the fourth quarter, Miami punter Lou Hedley’s 61-yarder bounced 19 yards to the 9 when return man John Vardzel allowed the football to hit the ground. He was temporarily replacing regular return man Maurice Ffrench.

Pitt got the ball on the 24 after a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Hurricanes.

“’You know. I don’t know,” said Narduzzi when asked why Vardzel was in the game. “It happened so quick that (special teams) coach (Andre) Powell came running down to me and said Ffrenchy had something in his eye, and that’s what happened to him.

“We never want the ball to roll 20 yards. I’m not sure what happened on there. It’s Vardzel’s first time in there to receive it. He’s got probably the surest hands we’ve got on our football team, and I’ll have to look at the tape to see why and what happened there. Not a good move.”

By the numbers

Defensive end Patrick Jones had two sacks and a forced fumble, giving him the team lead in both categories (seven and four). … Pitt was leading the nation with 36 sacks, but had only Jones’ two. … Strong safety Paris Ford had four pass breakups and almost intercepted a pass on the Miami 30 after Pitt took its 12-10 lead in the fourth quarter. The pass was ruled incomplete on the field as Ford bobbled the ball as he tried to keep his feet inbounds. The call was upheld on review. … Damarri Mathis did have an interception in the third quarter that set up a Pitt field goal. … Kenny Pickett threw two interceptions for the third time this season.

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