Aftermath Of Penn State’s Rout Of Pitt, 51-6
Pitt came and tried to play. And for one half, the Panthers did play tough.
But as the weather worsened and the adversity hit, the Panthers folded like a house of cards in the second half. The end result was a 51-6 Penn State thrashing of Pitt in front of a sold out crowd of 68,400 fans at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA.
After Pitt punted on its first possession, it didn’t take long for Penn State to score. In fact, it only took 3 plays.
Penn St senior QB star Trace McSorley first found Jonathan Holland for 22 yards to the Pitt 42. This was coupled by a 15 yard defensive holding penalty by Pitt’s junior safety Damar Hamlin.
Penn State WR KJ Hamler then busted a jet sweep run for a 32 yard TD. Penn State 7 Pitt 0.
Pitt did however punch right back. On its second series, Pitt showed some resolve.
First, Pitt freshman WR Shocky Jacques-Louis ran a jet sweep for 38 yards to the Penn State 37 yard line. After Pitt sophomore QB Kenny Pickett missed a pass to junior WR Maurice Ffrench, he followed it up with runs of 9 and 1 yard.
Then, the Panthers put the ball into the one bright star of the game for Pitt in senior tailback Qadree Ollison who was stopped right away for no gain on his first carry. But after Pickett ran for 8 yards to the Nittany Lions 19 yard line, Ollison ran for 6 and 2 yards to the Penn State 11 yard line. He would finish the day with 21 carries for 119 yards and 1 TD.
After Pitt senior fullback George Ashton was dropped in the backfield for a 2 yard loss, Ollison came back with a brilliant 13 yard TD run.
The Panthers though fumbled the extra point and Penn State led 7-6.
From that point on, the bottom fell out. Pitt gave up 44 straight points and lost 51-6.
The offense completely crumbled and had the following series:
1st Half:
• Kenny Pickett was intercepted at the goal line by Penn State’s Amani Oruwariye
• Pitt placekicker Alex Kessman missed a 35 yard Field Goal
• After a 6 play series that ended in a punt, Pitt’s punter Kirk Christodoulou dropped the snap on a 4th down play on its next series and the fumble was recovered by Penn State’s Jarvis Miller
2nd Half:
• After a 3 and out series, Pitt’s senior offensive tackle Stefano Millin was flagged for holding in the end zone. This resulted in a safety. Penn State led 23-6 at that point
• After another 3 and out series, Christodoulou’s punt on the next series was returned by Penn State’s DeAndre Thompkins for a 39 yard TD
• Pitt would punt 2 more times until Pickett completed a pass Jacques-Louis for 13 yards who then subsequently fumbled the ball, which was forced by Penn State’s Jonathan Sutherland and recovered by the Nittany Lions’ Ayron Monroe
• Even Penn State’s back-up QB Sean Clifford threw a 1 play TD pass to Brandon Polk for 34 yards
• Pitt would end the game with series of 6 and 2 plays but get no further
Penn State dominated the entire second half and Pitt basically looked lost and demoralized. Perhaps worse, Pitt looked like they gave up and quit. This may have been the most disappointing aspect of the final score as the team showed no senior leadership and no resolve to bounce back.
Here are some of the player interviews following the game:
Following the game, one Pitt alumnus called for Pitt to completely disband the program. That’s a ridiculous suggestion but clearly changes do need to be made.
At this point, head coach Pat Narduzzi should consider whether his defensive scheme really works based on the talent level of this team. Its a great scheme with much better talent but clearly Pitt doesn’t have the horses to run it. A change in philosophy could at least help the struggling program in the short-term.
For Panthers fans, this game brings back memories to October 20, 2001 when Pitt got trounced by Boston College 45-7. At that point, Pitt was 1-5 on the season and all looked lost. But after former Pitt head coach Walt Harris scrapped his spread-offense and rallied the troops, Pitt regained their moxie and won 6 straight games including a 34-19 trashing of NC State in the Tangerine Bowl.
Its time for Narduzzi to do the same or the season will be lost and quickly. Something major has to change.
Nonetheless, Pitt will have to lick its wounds to face a tough opponent next week at home vs Georgia Tech.
Next up: Georgia Tech at Pitt, 12:30pm EST – ACC TV Network
Pitt is 7-5 all-time vs Georgia Tech head-to-head
