Masked Pitt Panthers hit the road for Boston and a test of resiliency

The Boston hotel where Pitt will stay Friday night in advance of its game against Boston College is off-limits to outsiders.

Coach Pat Narduzzi already has warned his team about the perils of travel during a pandemic.

“I told them everybody up there’s got it. So, just stay away from everybody,” he said.

Masks up all weekend, except at meal time and game time.

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“They haven’t made a mask where you can eat at the same time. That’s probably coming,” Narduzzi said. “Somebody’s going to make some money if they can figure that one out.”

Pitt officials have taken a series of precautions to make sure the Panthers (3-1, 2-1 ACC) return healthy from their first road game.

“Our kids feel safe,” the coach said.

But a happy flight home will depend on Pitt’s resiliency after the one-point loss to N.C. State and its ability to flush “that thing down the toilet” as the coach so graphically remarked.

This is almost a must-win game, if only for the fact there are more difficult opponents ahead. If Pitt loses, it must finish the regular season 6-0 to reach nine victories before a bowl game, something that hasn’t happened since 2009.

Here are five storylines to ponder before the 4 p.m. kickoff Saturday on the ACC Network.

1. Respect for his opponent

Boston College coach Jeff Hafley said he has a lot of respect for Narduzzi, who made a point of welcoming the first-year coach to the ACC.

“He texted me before my first game, and congratulated me after our win (26-6 at Duke),” Hafley said. “I have a ton of respect for him.

“He’s actually a guy that early on in the (ACC coaches) Zoom calls, called me after and said, ‘Hey if you ever need anything, give me a call.’ ”

Pitt is special to Hafley, who spent five seasons (2006-10) there as an assistant coach under Dave Wannstedt. “A guy who really changed my life,” Hafley said.

Hafley served on the Pitt staff with Frank Cignetti, his offensive coordinator at Boston College. Cignetti called the plays for Pitt in 2009 and ‘10, but Narduzzi hasn’t gone back into the vault to pick up tendencies.

“There’s not a whole lot you can go back to,” he said. “You kind of know what he likes to hang his hat on.

“We can worry about the ghosts, but if you do that you may not cover anything else.”

2. Define ‘anything else’

Pitt must contain BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who is big (6-foot-5, 226 pounds) and accurate (68.4%), but also inexperienced. He has started three games (all this season).

Narduzzi is concerned Jurkovec might be difficult to bring down, but he’s been sacked 11 times in three games. Pitt has dropped the quarterback 19 times in four games.

Here’s Pitt’s key to victory:

If the Panthers can make Jurkovec uncomfortable in the pocket, they will have a better chance of containing wide receiver Zay Flowers and 6-5 tight end Hunter Long, who have combined for 40 receptions for 513 yards and three touchdowns. Long leads the ACC with 25 receptions

The bad news: N.C. State tight end Cary Angeline, who is 6-7, caught two touchdown passes against Pitt.

3. Missing pieces on defense

Narduzzi refuses to talk about injuries, but they have occurred and have prevented the defense from reaching its potential.

Senior cornerback Damarri Mathis was lost in training camp with a season-ending injury, and linebackers Cam Bright and Wendell Davis and defensive tackle Keyshon Camp either missed or failed to finish the N.C. State game. Don’t forget defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman’s opt-out.

That’s almost half of the starting lineup.

Keeping Long and Flowers under control with backups will be difficult. Will Cignetti and Jurkovec try to turn sophomore cornerback Marquis Williams into a target?

4. Those annoying flags

The Panthers are 11th in the ACC in fewest penalties and penalty yards per game (7.5 and 67.8). That’s unacceptable for a senior-laden team.

But Narduzzi questioned some of the pass interference penalties last week. “I feel like we were pretty good in coverage,” he said.

Narduzzi is annoyed because he believes wide receivers are getting away with pushing off. He’s also smart enough to coach accordingly.

“Teams will continue to exploit that,” he said. “We’ll see how good coach (Archie) Collins is and coach (Cory) Sanders is of trying to make sure a 220-pound receiver doesn’t just stiff-arm your shoulder and push off and hit a back-shoulder fade.

“It’s hard to run with a guy, cover a guy and also try to knock his arms down from pushing,” Narduzzi said. “That’s something the officials have to control. If they aren’t going to call it, we have to be better at it, period.”

5. Is it Izzy’s time?

Pitt’s ground game needs a jolt, and maybe it’s time freshman Izzy Abanikanda gets a chance to inject it with one.

Abanikanda has only 18 carries in four games, but Narduzzi is slow to put him in the game because it tells the defense to prepare for a run. So far, coaches haven’t trusted Abanikanda enough as a pass protector.

“He (needs to) be able to be really, really sound in protection,” Narduzzi said. “Izzy probably would have had another 15, 20 reps last week had he not let (quarterback) Kenny (Pickett) get hit the one time.”

Todd Sibley, the designated wildcat runner, practiced well this week, Narduzzi said. That’s an indication of increased playing time.

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