Georgia Tech bullies mistake-prone Pitt into deflating loss

Shortly before midnight Saturday — after a defeat that may rank as the worst of the Pat Narduzzi era because of expectations his team has created for itself — Pitt linebacker SirVocea Dennis glanced at the stat sheet and the hard, numerical facts of the 26-21 loss to Georgia Tech.

Asked if he was surprised by the massive amount of yards Georgia Tech accumulated on the ground (232), Dennis couldn’t lie.

“Yes, of course, I’m surprised at that,” he said, “232. Wow.”

Earlier, when Narduzzi was asked if Georgia Tech was the more physical team on the Acrisure Stadium turf, Pitt’s coach leaned on one of his favorite responses.

Narduzzi, breaks down the loss. pic.twitter.com/jl5VQeQfXV

— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) October 2, 2022

“I don’t know. We’ll watch the tape,” he said. “Maybe. They got players, too. And, certainly, the quarterback (Jeff Sims) is a big, athletic guy. We bounced off some tackles. There’s no question.”

Narduzzi knew what had just happened for the second time this season. Remember West Virginia’s 190 yards on the ground?

The loss in front of a rain-soaked crowd of 46,972 was devastating for several reasons:

• Georgia Tech (2-3, 1-1 ACC) had been struggling all season and had fired its coach just five days earlier. The Yellow Jackets’ 2022 resume included 41-10 and 42-0 losses to Clemson and Ole Miss, teams Pitt (3-2, 0-1) aspires to be like.

• Pitt was disjointed on both sides of the ball in many ways. From the three consecutive three-and-outs to start the game to the two lost fumbles and an interception within four possessions in the third quarter to the 12 penalties, Pitt did nearly as much damage to itself as Georgia Tech did.

“Pretty much gave ‘em the game with that,” Narduzzi said of the turnovers — two fumbles by backup running back Vince Davis and a Kedon Slovis pick.

• Five times Pitt defenders got their hands on thrown footballs that fell to the ground. Safety Erick Hallett, usually among the team’s most reliable players, dropped three, including what appeared to be a sure pick-six on the first play of the game. Linebacker Tylar Wiltz and cornerback Marquis Williams had similar opportunities to change the game’s momentum.

“You’ve got to make those plays,” Narduzzi said.

• Izzy Abanikanda, who was leading the ACC in rushing, was injured after 10 carries and 31 yards and missed more than half the game. Plus, steady offensive left tackle Carter Warren was injured and didn’t suit up. Who knows how much they’ll practice this week or play next Saturday against Virginia Tech?

Davis ran for 80 yards, but it wasn’t nearly enough to cancel his fumbles and a holding penalty that wiped out a 17-yard completed pass in the third quarter.

That was only one in a series of penalties that irritated the coach.

“We’ve got to get the right guys that we can trust that aren’t going to do that,” Narduzzi said. “We had a couple guys out there that got some penalties. And they have done it in the past. And we’ll have to find replacements for them if they can’t do it the right way.”

And what about Slovis, the first-year quarterback?

He completed 26 of 45 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns to tight end Gavin Bartholomew and wide receiver Jaden Bradley twice. But 167 of those yards and both Bradley scores came in the final 3 minutes, 51 seconds after Georgia Tech had built a 19-7 lead.

“Decision-making at the end was really good,” Narduzzi said of his quarterback. “Early, he needs some help. Did we protect him a little bit better maybe in the last couple drives than we did earlier in the game? I don’t know. Wasn’t seeing it good early? I don’t know.”

Actually, Pitt was approaching what would have been an incredible comeback after Bradley’s first touchdown cut the deficit to 19-14 with 1:55 left.

But the defense quickly folded. On the first play of the next series, Georgia Tech running back Hassan Hall ran 63 yards through the Pitt defense. Then, Sims scored on an 18-yard run, the final dagger.

Hall finished with 157 yards, Sims 81.

“We trusted our defense,” said Narduzzi, who did not order an onside kick when Pitt was within five points. “And we were going to kick it and get them pinned down there and get good field position and go down and score. We probably would have. But we didn’t.”

The words “we trusted our defense” had to sting Narduzzi, who prides himself on building units that are strong against the run.

“We have to take it,” he said. “We have to take what we got, what we paid for, and it just wasn’t good enough.”