Pitt Take 5: Panthers seek positive finishing touch to sub-standard season

Pitt’s season ends Saturday in Durham, N.C., against Duke. It’s a game that appeared more difficult Oct. 14 when the Blue Devils were 5-1, with victories against Clemson and N.C. State and a 21-14 loss to Notre Dame.

Since then, Duke is 1-4, including close road losses to North Carolina, 47-45 in double overtime, and 3-8 Virginia, 30-27.

Up next for the Blue Devils is another 3-8 team looking for some positivity at the end of the season.

Much of the nation won’t be paying close attention, but it matters to Pat Narduzzi.

“We certainly don’t have the record or set the standard of what we want to do, but it’s how you finish,” he said. “It’s not really how you start or how you were midway through, but I think how you finish is important.”

Before Pitt takes a shot at its first winning streak of the season, here are some thoughts to ponder:

1. Work continues next week

The season doesn’t end for Narduzzi and his staff Saturday afternoon.

After Pitt returns home, coaches will barely have time to unpack and pack again before hitting the road to keep working on the 2024 recruiting class. It stands at 21 commits and is ranked 31st in the nation and sixth in the ACC by Rivals.com. Signing day is Dec. 20.

While working on the class, Narduzzi will start his postseason evaluations.

“Little by little we’ll get to that,” he said. “But as coaches, we’re evaluating every day, and that never stops.”

He said evaluations are based on a complete body of work, but Narduzzi is partial to recent results.

“To me, the present is the best indicator, so you’ve got to look at what we did right now,” he said. “And, I think, again, what you did with what you have. I think that’s always what you look at.”

2. More than one game.

Any mathematician will tell you that the only difference between 3-9 and 4-8 is one game.

To wide receiver Bub Means, however, it’s more than that.

“If I can go 4-8, instead of 3-9,” he said, “that’s my whole goal right now. That’s the only thing on my mind. It looks a lot better than 3-9. I want to finish strong, and next year we can shock the world.

“We have our ups and downs. We faced a lot of adversity. I feel like I still haven’t got a chance to show completely what I can do because we struggle as an offense. We have a chance to make a few plays and showcase our talent.”

Means is a senior with a year of unused eligibility to his credit. Because of his speed and the positive attitude he brings to the locker room, his return in 2024 would be among the most important offseason happenings.

3. One more for Hayes

Defensive end Dayon Hayes suggested after the Boston College game that he will return next year.

Narduzzi didn’t hear Hayes’ comments, but he is not surprised.

“My kids told me that after the game. I was like, ‘Oh, good, I didn’t know that.’ But I expected Dayon to come back. He had a heck of a game (two sacks among three TFLs, two pass breakups and a hurry), and he’s a super kid that just keeps getting better.”

Hayes (Westinghouse) is a senior who’s been at Pitt since 2020, but Narduzzi said, “He’s still a baby.”

“Everybody would like him to grow up faster than he is. He’s going to be really good in another year.

“He’s really close. It’s just being consistent every day, consistent in your life, consistent in what you put on the practice field every single day. Again, everybody matures at a different level, but he’s highly talented.

“It’s just putting in the work, and I just got done texting him just about doing it again this week. Stack another week on top because he can take over a game if he puts his mind to it. It’s just being laser focused, which is hard nowadays. You jump on Twitter, you do this, look at that, and you can get off track. But he will put it together just like all our guys at defensive end have through the years.”

4. What about the punter?

In the midst of other struggles, punter Caleb Junko is among the least of Pitt’s concerns.

Of course, as the coaches like to say, things always could be better.

Junko, a redshirt sophomore, earned the job and a scholarship prior to the season. He rewarded Narduzzi by recording markedly better numbers across the board than the departed Sam Vander Haar did last season.

With a game to go, Junko averaged 42.7 yards per punt, compared to Vander Haar’s 38.5. He also forced more fair catches (12-10), booted more punts inside the 20-yard line (15-11) and added 18 punts of 50 yards or more. Vander Haar had only one.

Neither punter had one blocked, but opponents have returned two for touchdowns this season compared to one in 2022.

“We’ve done some things a lot better,” special teams coordinator Andre Powell said. “The communication, the protection has been a lot better. We’ve made some strides.

“Junko is a first-year punter. Any time you get a first-year starter, there are things you have to go through. There have been some games we’ve been pretty dang-gone good. Some games we have not. We have to continue him down the path where he matures and gets more reps under his belt. I think we’ll be OK.”

5. No bowls this year

Pitt will miss bowl season for only the third time under Narduzzi, who is 2-4 in those games.

The Panthers stayed home in 2017, with a 5-7 record, but the season didn’t feel as bad as this one after the 24-14 upset of No. 2 Miami in the finale. Knowing Kenny Pickett was just at the beginning of his career made that season much more palatable.

Pitt opted out of bowl season in 2020 after finishing 6-5 during the pandemic.

What’s the common thread with those bowl-less seasons? Pitt ended up in the ACC Championship game the next year.

“We do lose those (December) bowl practices,” Narduzzi said. “We’ll miss those, kind of, but sometimes I think they’re overrated, too.”