Pitt will start answering questions in ACC opener against Syracuse

Pitt’s 10-game journey of discovery through the ACC begins Saturday against Syracuse. It represents the most conference games the Panthers have played in the ACC or Big East since discarding its independent status in 1993.

Each game matters, and none are expected to be easy.

While some fans wonder what the team actually looks like in the flesh — the ACC Network is still not available on all local cable systems — others believe what appears to be true that this might be Pat Narduzzi’s best team. Still others — the cynical ones who need to be shown — are expecting something to go wrong.

Here are five thoughts to consider before the kickoff at noon Saturday at Heinz Field:

1. Will the Panthers cover the point spread?

Pitt is favored by 21 ½ points, its largest spread as a favorite in the ACC since its historic victory against Syracuse in 2016. Favored by anywhere between 23 and 26 points that day, Pitt scored 76 points — and didn’t cover. The Orange answered with 61.

Of course, point spreads are of no interest to Narduzzi, who carefully guards pertinent information about his team, he said, to discourage gamblers. It’s one of the reasons he rolls his eyes toward the ceiling when someone asks about injuries.

The topic made for some interesting conversation with the coach this week.

“We educate our players to not talk about injuries,” he said. “There are bookies, or whatever they call them, looking to find out who’s playing, who’s not playing. All it does is ask for problems.

“You always worry about it. You talk about it. We have it in our manual.”

To illustrate his point, Narduzzi remembers a phone message he received one day when he was Michigan State’s defensive coordinator.

“Some guy screaming about the defense that we gave up a late touchdown,” he said. “This guy was unbelievable. He must have lost a lot of money that day.”

2. OK, but who’s playing, coach?

Pitt is not unlike most Power 5 schools in regards to injuries. The Panthers believe injuries are nobody’s business.

Narduzzi has promised to reveal season-ending injuries, but he won’t even remotely suggest a return date for an injured player. When asked about sophomore defensive end Habukkuk Baldonado, who was helped off the field by trainers Saturday, Narduzzi offered only, “If he was out for the year, I would tell you, but Haba’s doing well.”

Narduzzi admitted that revealing his lineup might help an opponent prepare for the game. But it goes deeper than that.

“It’s our family,” Pitt’s coach said. “Nobody needs to know what’s going on. It’s also their personal information, too. It’s stuff kids might not want out there. If they want it out there, they’ll tweet it out there.”

If Baldonado and Rashad Weaver don’t play, it will be a serious test of Pitt’s depth at defensive end. Weaver, the starter, didn’t play last week after he said on Twitter he received conflicting results from four covid-19 tests.

His status for this week is unclear. Ditto three others who didn’t play in the opener — wide receivers Taysir Mack and Jared Wayne and tight end Lucas Krull. All five players are important contributors, all the more reason for Narduzzi to believe — in his mind — it’s best to keep his mouth shut.

3. Is Orange vulnerable to TFLs?

In North Carolina’s 31-6 victory against Syracuse last week, the Tar Heels recorded 11 tackles for a loss, tied with Clemson for the most in the Power 5 after one game. Pitt had eight against Austin Peay.

Just don’t suggest to Syracuse coach Dino Babers that it had anything with 6-foot Chris Elmore, a converted fullback playing guard for the first time since eighth grade.

“Let’s get something straight here with Chris Elmore,” Babers told Syracuse.com. “He’s played fullback, tailback and tight end. When you talk about him playing guard, it’s not like the guy is 225 pounds. He’s 285 pounds. He’s one of the strongest guys on the team, and I guarantee you that you wouldn’t call his mom a dirty name in a bar.”

4. There’s something to be said for continuity

Pitt’s entire coaching staff returned after last season, a rarity in the nomadic world of coaching.

Linebackers coach Rob Harley, who has been with Narduzzi since the beginning in 2015, said it’s no insignificant occurrence.

“Now, you’re able to speak without speaking to each other,” he said. “A nod here, a nod there, the kids understand what everybody is looking for. It’s not some new, random coach. There is something very comforting about that for our us as a staff and our players.”

Narduzzi is in the midst of his sixth season and is tied with Dave Wannstedt for the fourth-longest tenure by a Pitt coach. “This is a group who knows nothing but our system,” Harley said.

5. Trust in the running game

Pitt scored six touchdowns last week on runs of 10 yards or less. Last year, Pitt didn’t get its sixth rushing touchdown inside the red zone until the 10th game.

Was it a portent of what’s to come, or merely the result of a weak Austin Peay run defense?

“Last year after losing some really good running backs and some really good linemen, our team was physically geared better to attacking people through the air,” running backs coach Andre Powell said. “We had receivers who were more ready to play winning football than the guys that were in my room. If I was calling plays, I would have felt the same.”

With more maturity among backs and linemen, Powell said, offensive coordinator Mark Whipple “is more comfortable dialing up the run now.”

“Hopefully, we will be a little more difficult to game-plan and handle because we should be a little more balanced.”

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