Tim Benz: YAC drives comeback as Pitt passes first post-Pickett test

The image of Kenny Pickett was hovering over Pitt’s season opener Thursday night.

Literally.

During the first timeout against West Virginia, the former Heisman Trophy candidate was in one of Acrisure Stadium’s open-end rotundas, unfurling the team’s 2021 ACC title banner as a crowd of 70,622 wildly applauded.

All new quarterback Kedon Slovis had to do was get under center and follow that act in his first start as a Pitt Panther.

It was bumpy at times, but he and the rest of the Panthers passed their inaugural post-Pickett test, winning the first Backyard Brawl since 2011 by a final score of 38-31.

For Slovis, the numbers will make it look like his debut as Pickett’s replacement was easier than what it really was. He was 16 of 24 for 308 yards, with no interceptions and a touchdown.

But one of his few incompletions was a near interception along the Pitt sideline. Slovis’ pocket awareness was shaky at times, too, holding the ball for long periods of time and taking five sacks.

“I thought he was a little late with the ball at times,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “Don’t like the sacks. We’ll look at that. … But we made the plays when we needed.”

Also, a huge chunk of Slovis’ passing total was the result of YAC (yards after catch).

• Jared Wayne set up a third-quarter touchdown with a 64-yard reception, 51 yards of which came after he secured the catch.

JW5 steps up to set up a TD

@JWayne_5

@ESPN #H2P » #BeatWVU pic.twitter.com/A7uWDQVEFT

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) September 2, 2022

• Running back Rodney Hammond Jr. also had a 49-yard catch and run. One snap later, he scored on a 11-yard touchdown. On the long pass play, Slovis took a shotgun snap and threw the ball from his own 31-yard line. Five yards downfield, Hammond caught the ball on a swing pass 4 yards behind the original line of scrimmage. He then carried it all the way to the WVU 11-yard line.

Swing pass and off he goes!@KedonSlovis » @RodneyLHammond1

@ESPN #H2P » #BeatWVU pic.twitter.com/pPl1BNnUtL

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) September 2, 2022

• Running back Israel Abanikanda tied the game at 31-31 with a 24-yard touchdown reception, 22 of which came after the catch.

Then, of course, there was the 58-yard interception return from M.J. Devonshire, where he weaved through traffic at top speed to give Pitt the eventual game-winning score.

THIS. IS. THE. BACKYARD. BRAWL.

PITT SIX @Mjdevonshirejr

@ESPN #H2P » #BeatWVU pic.twitter.com/zy0EA8H4EG

— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) September 2, 2022

Give Slovis credit, though. Down 31-24 with 6:10 left at his own 8-yard line, he engineered a game-tying drive that culminated in Abanikanda’s touchdown. He was 5 of 5 along the way for 73 yards.

Even if Abanikanda chewed up the last 22 himself.

“It makes my job a lot easier. It makes everyone’s job a lot easier when you can do the explosive yards after catch,” Slovis said. “Shoot, you make a 5-yard pass and Izzy takes it to the house.”

Prior to last year, Pitt fans had advanced every theory under the sun as to why they only had one 10-win season since 1981.

• Coaches kept changing

• The local recruiting base isn’t as fertile as it once was

• Lack of atmosphere at home games

• Adjusting to life in the ACC

• “We need an on-campus stadium!”

Nah. They needed a quarterback. A program changer. One that could elevate the team to the next level.

They had some good ones. But not another Dan Marino since, well, Dan Marino.

Then they got one. And he led them to the ACC title and carried his legacy to the NFL team’s locker room down the hall.

This fall, it’s up to Pitt to continue that legacy. Pickett kicked that door open. Now the team he left behind needs to charge through to make sure 2021 was the start of something big and not merely as good as it’s ever going to get.

Thursday’s Backyard Brawl victory was a wobbly start to that journey, but a satisfying first step.