Pitt Take 5: The Panthers get a chance to keep alive a streak of beating ranked teams

Amid Pitt’s two weeks of misery, a streak of positivity may emerge Saturday at Acrisure Stadium when the Panthers face No. 20 Clemson.

Every year from 2016-23, Pitt has defeated at least one nationally ranked opponent, ranging from second-ranked Clemson and Miami in 2016 and 2017 to No. 25 Virginia in 2018.

The exception under coach Pat Narduzzi is 2015 — his first season — when Pitt lost to No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 21 Navy. That equates to a 9-22 overall record against the perceived best teams in college football, according to their kickoff rankings.

Pitt (7-2, 3-2 ACC) plays three ranked opponents in 22 days this month, starting with a 48-25 loss to No. 14 SMU on Nov. 2, followed by Clemson (7-2, 6-1) ) on Saturday and No. 19 Louisville (6-3, 4-2) on Nov. 23.

As Pitt prepares to mix it up against top competition, linebacker Brian George will remind everyone, “We can’t overlook the fact that we’re a good football team.”

“We’re 7-2 and so is our opponent. At the end of the day, our record doesn’t matter because we have to go 1-0 this week.”

With three games to play, Pitt’s season could go in four distinctly different directions – 7-5 (ugh!), 8-4 (overall, not bad), 9-3 (turnaround from last year), 10-2 (third double -digit win total in 43 years).

As he usually does, George said it best: “Every game is an opportunity to show that you belong where you are. You weren’t a pretender.”

1. What about Clemson?

There is a lot of talk around the country about Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s reluctance to dive into the transfer portal and what it means for his national championship hopes.

Clemson has no transfers in its two-deep chart and is one of four schools (Army, Navy and Air Force) that did not take a transfer in the most recent cycle.

We’ll never know for sure if it’s a cause-and-effect situation, but since Clemson last qualified for the College Football Playoff for its sixth straight appearance on Jan. 1, 2021, the Tigers have lost 12 games to power conference teams in four seasons, including a 34-3 opening day loss this year to Georgia.

But Clemson is 7-1 since that game, thanks to a balanced offense, big, physical lines on both sides of the ball and just five total turnovers in nine games.

“Our D-tackles better hang in there,” Narduzzi said, “because these guys (offensive linemen) are going to double-team you and try to hang you on the front post.”

Quarterback Cade Klubnik has thrown for 2,275 yards, 24 touchdowns and four interceptions. Running back Phil Mafah (6-foot-1, 223 pounds) is second in the ACC with 981 yards rushing.

Narduzzi said the Tigers will be a serious test for his players — and their hopes for the future.

“Everybody has the ambition to play in the National Football League,” he said. “We’ll see what you have against Clemson. Maybe the best football team we’ve played this year. I shouldn’t say maybe. They are.”

2. Time to Unleash Louis?

It won’t be easy against an experienced offensive line, but the best way to disrupt Clemson’s offense may be to make Klubnik uncomfortable. However, Clemson has allowed just 12 sacks in nine games.

Perhaps making more frequent use of linebacker Kyle Louis’ speed will help. Louis and defensive end Jimmy Scott share the team lead with five sacks, but dropping Louis into coverage isn’t a bad idea either. He is fifth in the nation with four interceptions — first among FBS linebackers — and the first Pitt linebacker with four since Malcolm Postell in 2004. Linebacker Sal Sunseri had five in 1980.

3. The security holds the key

Facing Clemson’s prolific passing game, Pitt won’t win without a solid day from safeties Donovan McMillon, Javon McIntyre and PJ O’Brien.

McMillon is one of eight Pitt players with one interception each, but safeties coach Cory Sanders said the Peters Township graduate’s value goes beyond splash plays.

“If you really see the intricacies of Donovan, you really realize how good of a football player he is,” Sanders said. “No, he’s not out there with five interceptions. He is very reliable. Great eye discipline.”

McMillon leads the team with 77 tackles – one more than Louis – and he made an impressive stop against Virginia when he threw three blockers to stop a screen pass.

“The kid shows up. He works,” Sanders said. “He gets all his extra work into the classroom. It brings guys with it.”

Meanwhile, Sanders revealed an interesting statistic on McIntyre’s resume. Coaches want defensive backs to keep their completion percentage below 33%. McIntyre is at 22%.

“He’s done a very good job in his one-on-ones,” the coach said.

4. Game lag?

By definition, Pitt’s rushing offense should eliminate delay of game penalties. But Pitt was hit by a Saturday.

“I’ll take (the blame on) that one,” offensive coordinator Kade Bell said. “We had a play call on and I wanted to switch protection for (quarterback Nate Yarnell), and of course after 15 seconds (the sideline to quarterback speaker system) shuts off.”

As Bell tried to get Yarnell’s attention, the game clock expired.

“He’s got to look at the clock as well and run up there and get it changed,” Bell said. “We actually worked on it (in practice this week).”

Also by definition, an offense that sputters has a hard time moving quickly between plays.

“You can’t go fast when you get negative plays and penalties,” Bell said. “The clock stops. You’re backed up on the sticks. You don’t want to put the quarterback in a bad situation by running fast. Sometimes we don’t play as fast because we try to help the quarterback a little bit with all the different coverages we get. ”

5. Hammond in 2025?

Running back Rodney Hammond, who was suspended for the first four games and played as a reserve for the next four, would be eligible for a redshirt if he does not appear in more games. Narduzzi said that is a possible means of bringing Hammond back next season.

“We’re not just going to put him in there just to put him in there,” he said.