Plenty of good on the field, some bad off it, but Pitt found a way to win

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Pat Narduzzi should have been happy with all that happened at Waldo Stadium on Saturday night.

He was not.

Make no mistake, Pitt’s coach was pleased with the 34-13 victory against Western Michigan that marked a couple of achievements:

• The eighth time in 10 games, dating to 2021, Pitt has scored at least 30 points.

• Running back Izzy Abanikanda’s second consecutive 100-yard effort, giving him a total of 302 in three games. He touched the football 36 times (31 carries, a catch and four kickoff returns, the latter job he said he wants to keep).

“I’m a bit of everything (sore and tired),” he said after the game. “I’m going to fight through it.”

• Victory in Nate Yarnell’s first collegiate start, signaling a deep quarterback room, even with Nick Patti hobbled. Pitt quarterbacks have thrown only one interception in three games and 80 attempts.

• No. 24 Pitt (2-1) dropped one slot in this week’s Associated Press rankings, but the Panthers don’t play another game away from Acrisure Stadium until Oct. 22 in Louisville.

The next four weeks bring home games against FCS Rhode Island, Georgia Tech (with 41-10 and 42-0 losses to Clemson and Ole Miss on its record) and Virginia Tech (a 20-17 loser to Old Dominion in its opener), followed by an off week.

Yet, some events Saturday that have nothing to do with the game irked the coach so badly that he opened his postgame remarks with his complaints.

Curious, when has Pat Narduzzi ever taken a football team to Morgantown? https://t.co/9VeY4IF8bu

— John Antonik (@JohnAntonik) September 18, 2022

“I could talk about the (expletive) police escort we had down here. It was embarrassing,” he said. “I can talk about the bottles they threw. I’m not happy with the fans, throwing bottles at our kids.

“I felt like I was down in Morgantown, I guess, I don’t know.”

“That stuff only happened in Morgantown in a rivalry game. Throwing stuff at our kids was a classless move.”

Referencing the West Virginia Mountaineers only throws more juice into the rivalry that resumes in 2023.

But Narduzzi has issues that directly affect his team this week while he prepares for Rhode Island (2-1), his alma mater.

At some point, he’ll have to decide if Kedon Slovis is recovered sufficiently from his apparent concussion to return to the lineup against an FCS team. Slovis was cleared by doctors to play at Western Michigan, but Narduzzi decided caution was the more prudent route.

Pat Narduzzi, postgame pic.twitter.com/bwUMQjIcAK

— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) September 18, 2022

Is it smarter to give him another week of rest? Or, would it be a better move to give him some work against Rhode Island so he won’t be out of sync for the start of the ACC season?

In any case, the trainer’s room might get crowded this week, with injuries surfacing and remaining at several positions.

That five-man veteran line was reduced to three after center Owen Drexel joined tackle Gabe Houy on the sideline. But moving right guard Jake Kradel to center and inserting Blake Zubovic at guard produced 238 rushing yards and only one Western Michigan sack.

“Kradel and I had a bond right off the bat,” Yarnell said.

Nate Yarnell received a postgame hug from OC Frank Cignetti Jr. pic.twitter.com/h0ydMPQUhQ

— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) September 18, 2022

Meanwhile, wide receiver Jared Wayne and cornerback Marquis Williams missed most of the game with injuries. Wayne was Pitt’s leading pass catcher (three for 94 yards), and Williams’ pick-6 gave the Panthers defensive scores in four of the past five games.

Running back Rodney Hammond also missed his second consecutive game with a foot injury.

“Obviously, you’d like to have your starters out there,” Narduzzi said, “but you find a way to get it done one way or another, just find a way. And our kids did.”

Even when disaster seemed imminent, Pitt wriggled free.

Free safety Erick Hallett intercepted two passes for the second time in his career, the second preventing Western Michigan from possibly tying the game in the third quarter.

“Shoot, there was a lot going on,” Hallett said when asked to describe the play. “We were kind of confused on what side to call the strength to, honestly.

“Finally, decided on the right side. I was trying to get the coverage called out to my corner(back), but I wasn’t able to get it to him. We were on that sideline where the Pitt fans were. It was kind of loud.”

It all worked, though.

“Shoot, just made a play,” Hallett said.