Defense comes alive as Pitt gets ready for ACC schedule

At one point while Pitt was crushing New Hampshire — and making a case for the permanent elimination of Power 5/FCS games — defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado put his arm around Wildcats quarterback Bret Edwards.

No one was close enough to hear the conversation, but it appeared Baldonado, as friendly a gentleman as there is on the Pitt roster, might have been apologizing to Edwards, who was chased from one sideline to the other by the Panthers’ active defense.

The defense was one ragged piece of the Pitt puzzle that finally fit together perfectly in the 77-7 victory Saturday. After surrendering 75 points in the previous two games, the Panthers were dominant on defense. Take away one 70-yard run by Carlos Washington, and the Wildcats averaged 1.7 yards on the other 52 snaps. Pitt recorded 13 quarterback hurries, three sacks and five other tackles for a loss and did not allow New Hampshire to convert a third down in 12 tries.

The game was a mismatch from the outset. On the third play of the game, Pitt scored on a safety when Edwards was called for intentional grounding in the end zone.

“It set the tone, and everybody pretty much followed along. Our energy on our defense is very contagious,” cornerback Damarri Mathis said.

Before the end of the first quarter, Mathis returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown. The play was so one-sided that Mathis looked like the intended receiver.

“I, actually, couldn’t believe that he threw it,” Mathis said. “Once he threw it, my eyes got big and I was thinking end zone, touchdown. I saw a lot of green in front of me.”

Mathis said he envisions making big plays before every game, but “this one kind of stuck out.”

“I really felt it.”

Middle linebacker Wendell Davis said he liked how the defense maintained its intensity throughout the game.

“A game like that you could easily lose focus and wander around the sideline and lose the care for the game,” he said. “Our focus was to never let up and keep pounding.”

Mathis’ interception was Pitt’s only turnover of note. Linebacker Bam Brima recovered a fumble in the final four minutes to protect the Panthers’ 70-point lead, but defensive coordinator Randy Bates will want to see more game-changing plays when the ACC portion of the schedule opens Saturday at Georgia Tech.

The Panthers are getting set for a nine-week, eight-game journey through the ACC, a conference that has no obvious favorite. The ACC’s Coastal Division is similarly up for grabs.

• Georgia Tech embarrassed No. 21 North Carolina, 45-22, on Saturday night.

• Virginia Tech did nothing special in a 21-10 victory against Richmond, an FCS team that plays in the Colonial Athletic Association with New Hampshire.

• The Tar Heels and Virginia have two conference losses.

• Pitt, Duke and Miami haven’t played their first conference game.

If you are trying to pick a winner, tossing seven slips of paper into a hat and picking one might turn out to be as accurate as any other method.

Notes: Kenny Pickett is only the third ACC quarterback to throw at least five touchdown passes in consecutive games, joining Clemson’s Tajh Boyd (2012) and Butler High School graduate Scott Milanovich of Maryland (1993). … Pickett had six against Western Michigan and five Saturday. … He also had the nation’s second-highest Pro Football Focus quarterback grade this week (93.3), behind only Alabama’s Bryce Young (94.2). … Linebacker SirVocea Dennis, wide receiver Jared Wayne and center Owen Drexel did not play against New Hampshire. Coach Pat Narduzzi said he expects Wayne and Dennis to return next Saturday, but he wasn’t as certain about Drexel. … Pitt has rushed for a total of 474 yards against UMass and New Hampshire, only 171 against Tennessee and Western Michigan. … Rodney Hammond is the third freshman since Dion Lewis in 2009 to score three touchdowns in a game. … Hammond’s 100-yard game is Pitt’s first this season. … Pitt is 3-1 for the second consecutive season, third overall in Narduzzi’s seven years.