Pitt unravels in 4th quarter, blows 10-point lead to North Carolina in worst loss since 2020

When Pat Narduzzi starts studying and writing down everything that went wrong in Pitt’s 42-24 loss to North Carolina on Saturday night, he’ll probably need plenty of paper and lots of time.

It’s a long list.

And it adds up to the end of Pitt’s hopes for a second consecutive berth in the ACC Championship game. The Panthers (4-4, 1-3), who suffered their worst loss since a 52-17 defeat at Clemson on Nov. 28, 2020, are only a half-game from last place in the Coastal Division.

Perhaps the string of misery starts with the targeting call against defensive tackle Calijah Kancey that led to his ejection in the second quarter. Narduzzi called it a “turning point.”

“After he went out, we didn’t get any pressure on the quarterback,” he said. “He was creating havoc in the backfield. They couldn’t block him. He’s out and that hurt.”

Pitt allowed North Carolina redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye, who already was leading the ACC in passing, to get comfortable, whether he was standing calmly in the pocket or rolling out to find one of 10 teammates who caught passes. Maye completed 34 of 44 pass attempts for 388 yards and five touchdowns.

“We’ll look at the pressure we did or didn’t put on,” said Narduzzi, whose pass rushers recorded two sacks and three hurries. “It seems like he had a lot of time just sucking on the ball back there for a while. You give a quarterback like that time, you’re going to have problems.”

Kancey’s absence doesn’t explain Pitt’s second consecutive scoreless fourth quarter – it also happened at Louisville last week — or quarterback Kedon Slovis completing fewer than half of his attempts (14 of 31) and failing to throw a touchdown pass for the fourth time in seven games.

“I thought he played really good for three quarters,” Narduzzi said. “I can’t tell you he played bad in the fourth quarter. I’m sure it’s not just him.”

Wide receiver Jared Wayne was effective, especially on deep throws (seven catches, 161 yards). “We just have to find more ways to get him the ball,” Narduzzi said.

Pitt started the game aggressively attacking the North Carolina secondary. In the end, however, only two other players, wide receivers Konata Mumpfield and Bub Means, recorded receptions.

“I thought Kedon was good,” Narduzzi said. “I don’t know if we took enough deep shots in the second half.”

The game unraveled in the fourth quarter when North Carolina started its final three touchdown drives in Pitt territory after three failures on offense and special teams.

• First, there was another turnover, this time a lost fumble by running back Izzy Abanikanda early in the fourth quarter after North Carolina (7-1, 4-0) had taken its first lead and Pitt had moved to midfield. Pitt has committed eight turnovers in its three ACC losses.

“They got a good punch on the ball at the right moment,” Abanikanda said. “It happens. Don’t think about it, short memory. Great players can make mistakes any time in the game.”

Otherwise, Abanikanda was productive (26 carries, 127 yards and three touchdowns) while becoming the program’s first 1,000-yard rusher (1,086) since 2018.

• After Abanikanda’s fumble, a 33-yard punt by Cam Guess and Josh Downs’ 26-yard return put the Tar Heels in business on the Pitt 35-yard line.

• Then, Pitt gave up the ball on downs at its 44.

“If you put them on short fields, they’re going to score points on everybody,” Narduzzi said.

North Carolina came into Kenan Memorial Stadium with the worst defense, statistically, in the ACC, allowing an average of 32.4 points and 476.3 yards — 186.3 on the ground — per game. Pitt was limited to 24, 367 and 131.

Slovis was good in the first half, hitting deep throws off play-action. He ended the game with 236 yards through the air, but only 79 after halftime.

Narduzzi has a point about Kancey’s absence, but Pitt shouldn’t have wilted so dramatically on defense, allowing four unanswered touchdowns in less than 12 minutes of game time spanning the final two quarters.

“For three quarters, I thought we played some solid football,” he said. “It’s a 60-minute game, unfortunately; 45 minutes is not going to get it done. The fourth quarter was not good.”

And not for the first time. Pitt has been outscored, 55-14, in the final quarter of its three ACC losses.

Narduzzi and his coaching staff will address each problem this week, hoping to keep the team together through these darkest of days while trying desperately to find signs of life.

“You have to look at the positives, put it back together and come out next week,” he said.

Senior defensive end Deslin Alexandre added, “We’re keeping our head high and we’re onto the next one (Syracuse next Saturday at Acrisure Stadium). We have to play every play like it’s our last.”