Pitt Take 5: Defense is good, but Pat Narduzzi sees room for improvement

Pat Narduzzi is not unlike most coaches who insist on living in the present.

The only game that matters is the next one and past teams, games and tendencies aren’t relevant in terms of comparisons.

So, when he was asked to compare Pitt’s defense — No. 2 in the nation overall and against the run — to the outstanding units he coordinated at Michigan State, he appeared a bit uncomfortable.

“How do I dance around that question?” he said after final preparations had been made for Pitt’s game Saturday against N.C. State at Heinz Field.

Here are his thoughts, and four others as Pitt (3-0, 2-0) tries to go 4-0 for the first time since 2000. (By the way, that team beat Penn State, but only finished 7-5.)

1. Good, but …

There is too much season left for Narduzzi or anyone else to make any definitive statements about Pitt’s defense, other than this:

He believes it needs to get better.

“I talked to our guys about details,” he said. “I go back and watch our third down. We’re still not as detailed as we need to (be). I watched third down and looking, and we’re still not doing things great. The details are still not there.”

Pitt is fourth in the nation — and first among teams that have played three games — in third-down defense, making 34 stops among 41 tries (17.1%).

Those seven failures are what bothers Narduzzi. “Sooner or later, it’s going to get you,” he said.

But he did make one favorable comparison to his Michigan State defenses. Louisville went three-and-out (three plays, no first down) seven of 13 times against Pitt last Saturday.

“We were one year 55% of the time three and out,” he said of his former team. “To me, that’s a sign of good defense.

“But guess what? It doesn’t matter what you did last week. I’ve seen teams go eight three and outs and the next week they make you throw up.

“(Pitt is) trending in that direction and we’ll see week by week. They‘re playing with an attitude right now and that’s the important thing.”

2. Those pesky polls

Narduzzi doesn’t like talk about the national rankings, but the subject does arise in his Zoom calls with reporters.

The two polls that garner the most attention — Associated Press (media) and USA Today (coaches) — treated Pitt differently this week.

Pitt defeated a ranked team and fell from No. 21 to No. 24 in the AP, pushed down by the inclusion for the first time of all teams (even those not playing).

Meanwhile, Pitt is ranked by the coaches at No. 25 for the first time, with no Pac-12 schools in the mix.

“I really haven’t felt it or heard it,” he said of possible disgruntlement among his players.

He did say it’s “odd“ to see teams that haven’t played listed in the rankings. But that, too, “doesn’t matter.”

“Just win and everything takes care of itself,” he said.

“If you’re worried about that, you better worry about this Wolfpack team that’s coming into town. This team is coming into our backyard and it’s coming to take something away from you.”

3. Gaining ground?

While on the topic of national rankings, Pitt’s running game is averaging 143.3 yards per game, 45th in the nation, 10th in the ACC.

Vincent Davis is atop the depth chart, and that has occurred for reasons beyond his 156 yards and 3.7 average over three games. Depending on A.J. Davis’ injury situation, freshman Izzy Abanikanda may be No. 2. But Vincent Davis may get the first opportunity in Pitt’s committee approach.

“He can extend plays and that’s really critical for us, and he’s tough,” running backs/special teams coach Andre Powell said. “He won a state championship (at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and he was the leader of that team.

“I have to tell him, Vince, ‘You do not coach Izzy. I coach Izzy.’ He’s always coaching him. He has to script up practice. I can’t get in my office half the time because he’s in there watching tape with other guys.

“He has a lot of really good qualities.”

The possible return to health of two injured players also may help the running game. Narduzzi said right tackle Gabe Houy practiced this week and is “ready to roll.” Also, he said A.J. Davis could return “very, very, very soon, maybe this weekend, you never know.”

4. Alex and Tiger

Powell made an interesting comparison when he put kicker Alex Kessman in the same sentence as Tiger Woods.

Kessman recovered from missing his first three field-goal attempts by going 3 for 3 in a three-point victory against Louisville.

“He’s kind of like Tiger Woods in a way,” Powell said. “He’s really talented, and he’s not afraid to try to do something to even get better. That’s what winners do. They take chances to get better.”

Kessman turned to meditation and consulted with a sports psychologist after the slow start to his season, things he’s done in the past.

Look for Kessman to end up among Pitt’s most important contributors this season. Of Pitt’s past 16 games, 11 have been decided by seven points or fewer.

Pitt has 12 drops this year - most in the country. Turn those into catches and Pickett’s completion % goes from 66% to 79%. https://t.co/LNpfMe94fL

— ??️♈️? (@ADavidHaleJoint) September 30, 2020

5. Oh, those drops

Quarterback Kenny Pickett is sixth in the ACC in passing efficiency (142.9), but he has been on target almost all the time.

ESPN college football writer David Hale reported this week via Twitter that Pitt leads the nation with 12 dropped passes. Pickett has completed 66% of his passes, but he’s on target 69% of the time (fourth in the nation), according to another Hale tweet. If every drop was a catch, Pickett’s percentage would be an incredible 79.

Highest accurate pass % in College Football:

1. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson - 94%

2. Gunnar Watson, Troy - 74%
3. D'Eriq King, Miami - 71%
4. Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh - 69% pic.twitter.com/cbUmH7Lbwm

— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 30, 2020

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