While juggling backup quarterbacks, Pitt drops the ball against Notre Dame defense

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi knew the Panthers would have trouble running the ball against Notre Dame’s stacked defensive front. What he hoped is they would pass it better against the nation’s No. 3 team.

With starting quarterback Kenny Pickett sidelined for a second consecutive game, that proved to be a flight of fancy.

Whether it was Joey Yellen, Davis Beville or Nick Patti — all three Panthers backups saw action — Pitt’s quarterback play didn’t pass muster in a 45-3 loss to the Fighting Irish on Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field.

The trio combined to pass for 118 yards, which compromised not only their offense but kept the defense on the field for a majority of the game as Notre Dame had a nearly 21-minute advantage in time of possession.

“It’s not easy juggling quarterbacks,” Narduzzi said. “It’s not easy when you have your backups in there against a really good defense.”

By contrast, Narduzzi called Notre Dame’s Ian Book “outstanding” after the senior quarterback completed 16 of 30 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 40 yards on eight carries.

No wonder Narduzzi kept his fingers crossed that the bye week will allow Pickett’s left ankle injury to heal so he can return and provide a spark to their anemic offense.

“Absolutely, hopefully sooner rather than later,” Narduzzi said. “It might be a stretch for Florida State. I don’t know, but we’ll see.”

Yellen, a redshirt freshman transfer from Arizona State, got his second straight start but completed only 10 of 27 attempts for 101 yards and threw three interceptions.

His first drive included an 11-yard third-down pass to Tre Tipton and a 22-yard third-down pass down the left sideline to Shocky Jacques-Louis that was ruled a catch after review. But Yellen followed with a pair of incomplete passes, though Taysir Mack short-armed a third-down throw near the goal line with an defender closing in, and the Panthers settled for an Alex Kessman 45-yard field goal.

“I’m not sure how accurate we were as quarterbacks in throwing the football,” Narduzzi said. “We’ve got to make plays when the ball comes to us. Balls weren’t put where they needed to be put, whether it’s over the middle and hanging a receiver out.”

Narduzzi showed his reluctance to entrust Yellen late in the first half, when Pitt got the ball at its own 26. The Panthers were booed as Yellen handed off to Vincent Davis on three consecutive plays before throwing a short pass to Davis for a 2-yard loss. And it backfired when Isaiah Foskey blocked Pitt’s punt and recovered in the end zone for a touchdown 11 seconds before halftime.

“I didn’t feel like we were going to get a two-minute drill and do anything crazy,” Narduzzi said. “With 1:22 left and a backup quarterback in there, I didn’t want to go slinging it around the park and something bad happen.”

Yellen saved that for the second half, when he threw interceptions on back-to-back attempts. That got Yellen yanked in favor of Beville, a fellow redshirt freshman who played only one series. Beville fumbled the snap on his first play, then ran 10 yards for a first down on the next. That was followed by a 6-yard sack. His only pass, on third-and-7 at the Notre Dame 46, fell incomplete and forced Pitt to punt.

Finally, Narduzzi turned to Patti, who played in six games last season and started in the victory over Delaware. By the time the redshirt sophomore entered the game, Notre Dame led by 42 points. Patti completed 2 of 7 passes for 17 yards.

“I feel any team would struggle, losing their starting QB,” Pitt senior left guard Bryce Hargrove said. “But these guys are still learning. They’re new, and we’re still learning them so we’re goign to stick behind them and encouarge them and we’re all going to get better.”