Painfully proven by the 44-41 loss to Western Michigan, Pitt (and most teams) can’t win without singular focus on that week’s opponent.

The beauty of sports, however, is there is almost always an opportunity for redemption, and Pitt can grab it Saturday at Heinz Field against New Hampshire.

But what’s to be gained — other than a single digit in the victory column — by beating an FCS team? Pat Narduzzi is 6-0 against teams from that division by an average margin of only 20 points. The Panthers need to be dominant against New Hampshire to regain some of the shine from the Tennessee game.

But whatever happens, the real season starts next Saturday at Georgia Tech, the first of eight consecutive ACC/Power 5 opponents for the Panthers. What Narduzzi needs to work on is his Power 5 record (32-32).

1. What about New Hampshire?

New Hampshire is one of the better FCS teams, with a 3-0 record after starting the season with victories against Stony Brook (27-21), Towson (26-14) and Lafayette (19-13). The Wildcats are 19th in the FCS Athlon Power Poll and 22nd in the coaches’ poll.

Coach Sean McDonnell studied Narduzzi’s defense when he visited his old pal years ago at Michigan State. That knowledge may help, but should not be decisive, considering the talent and size disparity between the teams.

“We have to buckle up and hope to stay close to the people we’re assigned to,” McDonnell said. “I know the Pitt program. I know it very well because of the history that’s been there.”

The teams have met only once, a 38-16 Pitt victory in 2010. “We hung with them for a little bit and they just wore us down and beat us up pretty good,” McDonnell said.

New Hampshire’s pay day from Pitt is about $500,000, according to a source.

2. The failure to run

Taken from Monday’s Narduzzi news conference:

Q. Is this the best passing game you’ve had here?

NARDUZZI: “I don’t know. You guys could go back and look at the stats. I don’t know.”

Q. What does your eye test tell you?

NARDUZZI: “My eye test tells you the receivers are pretty good and Kenny Pickett’s pretty good. I want to run the ball better.”

Pitt’s ground game has been so pedestrian that Narduzzi can’t fully enjoy the aerial show.

There was a feeling during training camp that Izzy Abanikanda would improve the running game while shifty junior Vincent Davis, who ran for 247 yards in the 2020 finale at Georgia Tech, would be the perfect complement to the heftier sophomore.

It hasn’t worked out that way, with Davis collecting only 32, 33 and 38 yards (three-game total: 103) while Abanikanda lost 1 yard on his only carry against Western Michigan (total: 72).

Narduzzi promised that Abanikanda will be more involved in the run game Saturday.

“I’ve got a lot of faith in Izzy and he’s going to get more carries this weekend for sure. We’ll set it up. I’ll make sure it happens.”

3. But they can throw

Taking Narduzzi up on his challenge, a little research shows that Pitt’s per-game passing average this season (363.7 yards per game) is by far the best in his seven seasons. It’s more than 200 yards better than 2018 when the Panthers won the ACC Coastal while throwing for only 141.

Pickett is 13th in passing efficiency (seventh in the Power 5) with a 176.8 rating. Surprisingly, he’s only 19th in completion percentage (71.2%), with 24 quarterbacks over 70% this season.

Pitt’s best full-season passing average occurred in 2019 — offensive coordinator Mark Whipple’s first season — when it was more than 100 yards below this year (261.7).

Maintaining that 363.7-yard average will be tricky. But if the defense and run game don’t improve, Pickett and his pass catchers may be carrying this team by themselves.

4. Can’t a guy catch a nap?

Lucas Krull has no trouble staying awake for tight ends coach Tim Salem’s 6 a.m. meetings.

“It would be easy to fall asleep, but not in his room,” Krull said. “You can’t fall asleep because he’s always screaming and banging on the board. At Florida, sometimes you’re up early, you start dozing off. Here, it hasn’t happened once.”

It’s paying off, too. Krull leads the nation’s tight ends with four touchdown catches, and seems destined for more because he’s so easy to spot.

“He’s tall (6-foot-6), long, rangy, the quarterbacks can see him,” Salem said. “It’s always nice when you have an extra 2 inches running down the field. Big bonus for Kenny from that standpoint.”

Krull said he plans to keep “riding that wave the entire season.”

“Whatever I can do. I’ve been doing it well and it’s going to keep happening,” he said. “I always said we’re going to be extremely explosive. I don’t think I lied. Did I?”

5. Salem’s survival secrets

Salem and running backs/special teams coach Andre Powell are the only on-field assistants who’ve been with Narduzzi in all seven seasons.

Salem’s durability secret?

“I just worry about today and tomorrow. I don’t worry about anything beyond that,” he said. “Keep grounded with what’s right in front of your face.”

Salem is perhaps the most energetic coach on the staff — they call him Turbo — but he said coaching this group of tight ends has been easy.

“We’ve not had to go out there and yank teeth out of their mouth to get them to practice hard,” he said, “because they pretty much show up to work, which makes coaching fun.”

He turns 60 in a few days, and his 35 seasons as an assistant have taught him lessons that probably have contributed to his longevity.

“As I’ve gotten older, the highs aren’t as high and the lows are lower,” he said.

That’s the sad truth about coaching, but he added, “I’m more happy for the kids. I just like to see them celebrate. Who cares about me?”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)