Pitt bulldozes New Hampshire with largest point total in nearly a century, 77-7

After overpowering New Hampshire and winning by the outrageously historic score of 77-7, Pitt still has plenty to prove and eight upcoming ACC games in which to do it.

What was proven Saturday on the Heinz Field turf is New Hampshire (3-1), a nationally ranked FCS team, should not have been on the same field as the Panthers (other than the Wildcats’ $500,000 pay day for visiting Pittsburgh).

Asked what was gained by the victory that raised Pitt’s record to 3-1, coach Pat Narduzzi quickly answered, “Nothing. That’s what you expect to do.”

Yet, how the game evolved — or unraveled, if you’re a New Hampshire player — shows Pitt can score points, Kenny Pickett can throw the football and Jordan Addison knows how to get into the end zone.

“I think it’s hard to score 77 on air,” Narduzzi said. “Our guys went out and executed.”

It’s also instructive to point out two other ACC teams – Florida State and Virginia Tech – played FCS opponents without the degree of success Pitt enjoyed. Florida State lost to Jacksonville State two weeks ago and Virginia Tech only beat Richmond, which plays in the same conference as New Hampshire, 21-10, Saturday.

Pitt’s point total was its largest since an 88-0 victory against Westminster in 1926. How long ago was that? Pitt Stadium was 1 year old at the time.

Actually, what happened six days before kickoff was just as important as the 60 minutes of action during the game.

After the loss to Western Michigan last Saturday, players arrived at their practice facility Sunday for their regular day-after meetings and treatment. But this time it was different.

Pickett and other team leaders decided it was time to call a players-only meeting and get ahead of any possible growing problems.

“Everyone was pretty (mad),” Pickett said.

“I just think he brought us closer as a unit,” said cornerback Damarri Mathis, who returned an interception for a touchdown for the first time in high school or college.

“A game like (Western Michigan) can tear a whole team down,” middle linebacker Wendell Davis said. “We shouldn’t have lost that game. Honestly, later on the season, that could be the best thing that happened to us. You have to stick together and I think we’re more together than ever.”

Whether a meeting helps or not may be hard to accurately determine, but what can’t be disputed is that a team falling apart never could do what Pitt did.

• Pitt set a school record with 707 yards of total offense, collecting 11 touchdowns and 35 first downs to New Hampshire’s eight.

• Pickett completed 24 of 28 passes for 403 yards and five touchdowns, even with one of his favorite targets, wide receiver Jared Wayne, not in uniform. He also ducked 1 yard for a sixth, setting a Pitt record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (17).

• Pickett played only through the first series of the third quarter, but he ended the day with his third career 400-yard game – two more than any other Pitt quarterback in history. Already this season, he has thrown for 1,342 yards and a career-high 15 touchdowns.

• Wide receiver Jordan Addison caught all six of his targets for 179 yards and three touchdowns.

• Freshman Rodney Hammond was Pitt’s leading rusher with 100 on 17 carries — all but two yards in the second half — and he ended up with scoring runs of 4, 2 and 3.

• Izzy Abanikanda added 75 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries as the running game finally found traction behind a re-tooled line that was missing center Owen Drexel. Jake Kradel started at center, Gabe Houy moved to guard and Matt Goncalves was at right tackle.

New Hampshire had no answer for Addison, who has scored three touchdowns in each of the past two games and has a four-game total of eight.

But it wasn’t just the simple act of catching passes. He caught all six of his targeted passes and accumulated 130 yards after the catch. In fact, Pitt’s total YAC was 323 of its 455 yards through the air.

After the game, Addison told reporters, “I told you guys my focus was to break tackles and get yards after catch. I showed you guys how bad I really wanted it.”

Pitt pass catchers have been more reliable this season than they were a year ago, reducing their number of drops and regularly finding seams in the defense.

“What I think is different is our attitude,” Addison said. “We’re starting to believe in ourselves. Every time that the ball’s in the air, we go get it. Every time I got a deep ball, (Pickett) tells me `Run as fast as you can. They can’t run with you.’

“Every time, he puts it right on the money.”

All those numbers are nice and the individual plays will get noticed, especially if Addison gets his wish and finds himself on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “I hope I’m on there,” he said.

Narduzzi was pleased with his team’s bounce-back effort, but he won’t be especially impressed until Pitt stacks good games on top of each other.

“It’s got to be that way every Saturday,” he said. “You can’t dip down and go a different way.

“We’ve got to learn from our past mistakes and continue to move forward. (Feel good for) 24 hours, we’ll put that one to bed and get ready for real football.

“I almost feel bad it went down like that. (New Hampshire coach) Sean McDonnell is a great guy, but we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do.”