'Preseason's over' as Pitt prepares for Georgia Tech and the start of ACC play

Pat Narduzzi and assistant coach Dave Borbely pieced together a new-look offensive line last week for Pitt’s game against New Hampshire.

Center Owen Drexel wasn’t available – if he was injured, Narduzzi wasn’t saying – and that forced new snapper Jake Kradel (Butler) to move from right guard, Gabe Houy to take a step to his left from right tackle to guard and Matt Goncalves to come off the bench to replace Houy.

How did you like it, coach?

“I liked it,” Narduzzi said Monday at his weekly news conference, with no indication of his plans going forward. He pointed out that Houy, an Upper St. Clair graduate, “embraced” the move and Goncalves played “great” in his first start at right tackle.

But the coach quickly added, “Again, it was against New Hampshire. We’ll see what it looks like against an ACC football team.”

No offense to New Hampshire, but that appears to be the tone of the aftermath of Pitt’s historic, 77-7 victory last Saturday. Nice victory, now let’s get back to playing real football.

“Preseason’s over,” Narduzzi said.

The games that matter begin Saturday at Georgia Tech, which (because of the reconfiguring of last season’s schedule) gets to serve as Pitt’s host for a third consecutive year.

Unfair? Narduzzi hasn’t given that much thought. “That’s above my pay grade. Other people make those decisions,” he said.

But the venue won’t matter if Pitt’s ground game maintains the production it reached last week — 252 yards, the most since the Panthers rushed for 317 against Georgia Tech last year. Yet, Pitt is only 65th in the nation in rushing (an average of 161.5 per game).

“You feel pretty good going into the season, but you’re playing against each other every day (at practice),” Narduzzi said. “What you find out going through four games is who you are, what you do well, what you don’t do well.”

Pitt (3-1) has learned it needs work on its ground game. On the other side of the ball, Pitt was (is?) susceptible to the run/pass option offense Western Michigan ran so well.

“We worked a lot on RPOs last week,” Narduzzi said, “changing things up and doing little things here and there.

“We’ll continue to see a lot of RPOs. (Georgia Tech is) a heavy RPO team we have to be prepared for. Anytime you show a weakness on tape, people are going to go after your weakness. You see a lot of copy-cat stuff.”

Georgia Tech (2-2, 1-1 ACC) is riding a wave of energy after upsetting then-No. 22 North Carolina, 45-22, on Saturday night.

“We’ll have our hands full,” Narduzzi said. “A lot of blitzing. Their linebackers are really good.”

Georgia Tech’s Charlie Thomas recorded 4 ½ tackles for a loss, earning ACC linebacker of the week honors and helping the Ramblin’ Wreck hold North Carolina to nearly 21 points and 185 yards below its season averages.

Pitt will enjoy a size advantage on the line of scrimmage, with all 10 of its offensive linemen on the two-deep chart weighing 305 pounds or more. Meanwhile, 322-pound defensive tackle T.K. Chimedza is the only member of Georgia Tech’s regular front who surpasses 300.

“The D line does a good job of penetrating,” Narduzzi said. “They’re not huge up front, but they’re athletic and physical, and they’re tough.”

Perhaps the size gap will help Pitt’s ground game now that a third running back has been added to the mix. Pitt freshman Rodney Hammond was able to complement Vincent Davis and Izzy Abanikanda on Saturday, becoming the Panthers’ first 100-yard rusher this season and getting recognized as ACC rookie of the week.

“Rodney, strong, physical, runs low to the ground and spins and twists and fights for those yards,” Narduzzi said. “He’s a tough runner and it does give him an opportunity to play more.”

A strong running game will give Pitt a chance to stretch its winning streak against Georgia Tech to four.

Near the end of last season’s 34-20 victory in Atlanta, which featured personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against both teams, Narduzzi went to shake hands with coach Geoff Collins, who offered his hand dismissively and walked away.

Narduzzi said the two made amends this summer at ACC Media Days in Charlotte, N.C.

“We’re good. You get upset after games. There’s nothing personal, OK,” Narduzzi said. “But we talked at Media Day face-to-face and he apologized, and it’s over as far as I’m concerned.

“He’s a classy guy and I appreciate him apologizing. I know how tempers go. It’s just not how we’re going to do things any more, I hope.”

“We yukked it up and talked, so it was a good moment,” Collins told the Atlanta Journal Constitution this summer.