Pitt vs. Rhode Island matters, but Pat Narduzzi will monitor playing time

Pitt’s game against Rhode Island will unfold Saturday at Acrisure Stadium and on the ACC Network just like any other.

It’s Power 5 vs. FCS — not as appealing as the first two home games this season — but it still matters.

Nonetheless, Pitt’s coaching staff might not manage it in the same way.

First of all, Izzy Abanikanda, who shares the ACC rushing lead (302 yards) with Florida State’s Treshaun Ward and Miami’s Henry Parrish Jr., won’t get 36 touches as he did against Western Michigan. Coach Pat Narduzzi already hinted at that.

Narduzzi will be careful with his injured players, too, something he did against Western Michigan, the second-weakest opponent on Pitt’s schedule. But it might be wise to give quarterback Kedon Slovis some work. He hasn’t played since before halftime of the Tennessee game Sept. 10.

Linebacker SirVocea Dennis said the game is important for players to work on their “techniques and fundamentals.” He made no predictions, but playing the proper way should lead to a victory margin of at least four touchdowns.

“We just want to come together as a group and really play together,” Dennis said. “Play football and have winning performances. We don’t want to let anything slide. We just want to play good Pitt football.”

Here are some thoughts to ponder before the noon kickoff:

1. Pitt vs. the FCS

Pitt has a 19-1 record against FCS schools, and you might remember the only loss — 31-17 to Youngstown State in the 2012 opener, former coach Paul Chryst’s first game.

Pitt victories in recent years have come by scores of 62-0 (Delaware), 33-7 (Albany), 55-0 (Austin Peay) and 77-7 (New Hampshire). But there also have been some one-score decisions that Pitt had to sweat out: 45-37 and 28-21 against Youngstown State, the last in overtime. Pitt also beat Delaware, 17-14, in 2019 when Nick Patti replaced Kenny Pickett.

Narduzzi hopes these games continue. After all, he has played at Youngstown State and Rhode Island and developed his coaching chops with his first full-time job at Rhode Island from 1993-99.

“They need these games to survive,” he said. “Play these games, give their kids the opportunity to see what it’s like playing at Pittsburgh, Syracuse, BC, wherever it may be. I think it’s good, but I don’t know where it’s going with the (expanded playoffs) and everything else. If it gets shut down, it will slowly kill that level of football.”

2. What about Rhode Island?

Rhode Island is ranked No. 20 among FCS schools, with 35-14 and 35-21 victories at Stony Brook and Bryant and a 42-21 home loss to Delaware.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Rams is the pass-catch combination of quarterback Kasim Hill and wide receiver Ed Lee. They were teammates at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C.

“They love each other,” Pitt secondary coach Archie Collins said. “You can tell that from how much they have a connection with one another. It will be a challenge for us just like every single week will be a challenge. We’re trying to prepare just like we normally do.”

Hill started 12 games for Maryland in 2017 and ’18 before transferring to Tennessee. He threw for 2,178 yards and 18 touchdowns last season for Rhode Island.

3. Polls, what polls?

Pitt dropped from No. 23 to No. 24 in this week’s Associated Press poll of 63 reporters, and when Narduzzi was asked if the snub frustrated him, he said, “Absolutely not.”

He doesn’t want his players thinking about the polls during the season, but when Pitt was left out of the 2020 preseason rankings, he made his displeasure known in no uncertain terms.

After Pitt’s decisive victory at Western Michigan last week, 24 voters left the Panthers (2-1) out of the Top 25 — down from 28 the previous week. A total of 13 made Pitt a top-20 team, led by Dayton Daily News’ David Jablonski and Mike Barber of the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, who listed Pitt 13th and 14th, respectively.

4. Strong abs, sharp mind

Abanikanda’s body has served him well. “He doesn’t have a six-pack. He has a 10-pack,” running backs coach Andre Powell said. “He’s got abs on top of abs. He’s a strong dude.”

But Abanikanda’s mental acumen and attention to detail also are big parts of his success.

“Every week, he’s asking more questions,” Powell said. “You check his notes. He’s got more notes. Making good grades on the Friday test.”

That’s the weekly test — “Pretty detailed,” Powell said — that all assistants give their position group, with questions specific to the upcoming opponent.

It’s important that running backs have thorough knowledge of the other team because there’s more to the position than finding a hole or plowing a linebacker. They need to know where a blitz is coming from and when to expect it.

On top of the work in his classroom, Powell sends constant reminders via text messages that include videos. Obviously, coaching has changed dramatically since Powell entered the profession as a student assistant at Indiana in 1988.

Back then, “We only had 10 plays,” he said. “It’s unbelievable the volume (now), what these guys are able to absorb. We have a group of plays, we might have one play from five different formations.”

He said the call sheet might include 250 plays (pass and run). “It may be outside zone five different ways out of four different personnel groupings and different motions and shifts. Coach (Frank) Cignetti (offensive coordinator) always says, ‘Same plays, different ways.’

“The defense has a hard time saying, ‘OK, every time they line up like this, this is what they do.’ We try to self-scout and try to change it.”

5. Did you know?

In the past calendar year, Pitt has recorded seven defensive touchdowns, starting with Damarri Mathis’ 35-yard interception return Sept. 25, 2021, against New Hampshire. In five seasons from 2016-2020, the Panthers had eight.