Nobody questions Kenny Pickett’s value to Pitt’s hopes of escaping the mediocrity — or something worse — that surrounds this season.

He is the team’s leader, emotionally and tangibly, and Pitt is a lesser group without him. It showed Saturday in a 31-19 loss to No. 13 Miami at Hard Rock Stadium. Pitt fell to 3-3 (2-3 in the ACC) and now will lose at least three games for the 39th consecutive season.

Yet, even if Pickett had ignored the pain and the considerable trauma in his injured left ankle and tried to play, he would have been helpless in the following areas of concern:

• A total of 10 penalties for 89 yards (now 29 for 260 during the ongoing three-game losing streak). When safety Erick Hallett held a Miami receiver, and defensive tackle Tyler Bentley grabbed quarterback D’Eriq King’s face mask — both on third down — and Miami went on to score touchdowns when the Hurricanes should have been punting, could Pickett have prevented that?

• Three dropped passes that bring the season total to 21. Replacement quarterback Joey Yellen had moments he would like to replay. But he also put the football in the right place — the receivers’ hands — more often than his 22-for-46 stat line might indicate.

• The lack of push by the offensive line and decisiveness by the running backs in short-yardage situations that were part of the reason Pitt settled for four field goals by Alex Kessman.

Pitt’s problems go far beyond the quarterback, just like they did last week when Kessman’s extra-point miss was just one factor in a one-point loss to Boston College.

Perhaps no one uttered a more accurate statement after the game than coach Pat Narduzzi, who said, “We have to do a better job coaching and get the details out of them. We have to continue to go back and look at what we’re doing, how we’re doing it.”

Senior linebacker Phil Campbell III, who had two of Pitt’s four sacks, added, “It really comes down to just discipline, and that’s completely mental.”

Speaking purely from a football standpoint, the inability to give Mark Whipple a running game handcuffs Pitt’s play-caller and was probably the reason Narduzzi decided to kick a field goal while down 12 points late in the third quarter.

“I think you have to take the points,” he said.

Left unsaid was what ended up happening: That Kessman field goal constituted Pitt’s final points of the game.

How bad was the running game?

With freshman Izzy Abanikanda not on the trip, junior Todd Sibley received his first start of the season and carried only four times for 23 yards. An average of more than 5 per touch.

Why so few?

“I don’t make calls on offense,” Narduzzi said. “Sib ended up having some nice rushes early, not sure why, what.

“But we’re trying to rotate those guys and see who can go. I was happy the way Todd did take those four carries. We’ll look at the tape and see why, what. But maybe he should have gotten some more carries.”

Including the three sacks of Yellen for a loss of 28 yards and if you calculate yards rushing like the NCAA does, Pitt averaged less than a yard every time it couldn’t throw a pass.

• Former starter Vincent Davis netted zero on nine carries.

• A run by Brandon Hill on a fake punt — when Pitt needed 10 yards — gained 3.

• Overall, 23 run plays were worth just 50 yards.

That’s no way to help a quarterback making his first start with Pitt.

“We have to help him out in the run game,” Narduzzi said. “They did a good job of stuffing us up front. We didn’t get push on their front four. It comes down to being a passing game. Joey’s throwing it every down.”

And, yet, maybe not enough. He took three sacks, including one that took Pitt out of possible field-goal range after the Panthers recorded four first downs on the opening drive. Another turned into a lost fumble.

“He needs to throw the ball away and scramble and get the heck out of there, one or the other,” Narduzzi said.

Asked to evaluate his quarterback’s performance, the coach said, “You really didn’t know what to expect. First-game action as a Pitt quarterback. I thought he put the ball in people’s hands to make plays. We don’t make plays at times.”

Yellen’s only touchdown pass among his 277 yards in the air was a 1-yard flip to tight end Daniel Moraga that was set up by cornerback Marquis Williams’ interception return to the 1.

The defense picked off two of D’Eriq King passes, but Miami started three of its four touchdown drives on the Pitt 45-, 45- and 35-yard lines. Yellen’s fumble, the fake punt and Shocky Jacques-Louis interfering with Miami punt returner Xavier Restrepo offered the Hurricanes’ huge helping hands.

But the defense lost sight of running back Cam’Ron Harris, who slipped out of the backfield and was wide open when King faked a run himself and connected on a 35-yard touchdown pass-and-run.

“I don’t know if we communicated things the right way,” Campbell said. “In our defense, everybody has to be on the same page. It really was a breakdown in communication on that play.”

And, now, a team with high hopes needs to regroup and patch all the leaks before No. 4 Notre Dame comes to town next week.

“I never would have expected to lose three games in a row,” Campbell said. “I’m still in shock about it. It’s a tough one to swallow.”

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