Pat Narduzzi's Pittsburgh Panthers were hurt after N.C. State's game-winning drive Oct. 3. They were stunned seven days later in overtime at Boston College. They were frustrated as they foiled their own upset chances at Miami. And they were ashamed two weeks ago when Notre Dame ran them off their own turf.
Pitt needed this one. Badly. And to their credit, the Panthers put the pain of a four-game losing streak, a rash of injuries and a midseason opt out behind them.
Pitt defeated Florida State, 41-17, on Saturday evening at Doak Campbell Stadium, avoiding the program's first five-game losing skid since 2006. The Panthers are now 4-4 overall with a winning season still within reach.
"Within reach" of an above .500 record is far from where Pitt wanted to be at this point. Everyone knows of the preseason hopes and expectations, those that were dashed in the month of October. But a turnaround under Narduzzi — if it was going to happen — had to start somewhere. The Panthers are just relieved it finally came.
"We put it all together today. That was a complete win there, a team win," Narduzzi said. "It just shows you that the players believe in what we're doing and how we're doing it. ... There's a ton of character on our football team, and our kids had fun today. And that's how it's supposed to be."
It certainly helped facing Florida State, a blue-blood program that's been in repair for a few years. Even though it was a road game, the Seminoles, fresh off a 32-point drubbing at the hands of Louisville, provided Pitt a perfect get-right opponent.
It was also a game Kenny Pickett had circled for weeks.
Pickett, who suffered a left ankle injury at Boston College on Oct. 10, returned after missing contests against Miami and Notre Dame. Pitt's captain was limited on the ground with a brace on his ankle. But he completed 21 of 27 passes for 210 yards, adding a 10-yard rushing score in an efficient performance.
Few expected Pickett to play, including Narduzzi up until recently. Two weeks ago, Narduzzi called Pickett's chances to suit up in Tallahassee "a stretch." On Monday, he said the quarterback was "not moving great." And on Thursday, Narduzzi added that it would be "kind of risky" for No. 8 to see the field.
But Pickett — "a tough son of a gun," as Narduzzi dubbed him — operated with the mindset during long days of rehab and recovery that he would quarterback the Panthers after their off week.
"Every day I was working toward this game," Pickett said postgame. "I was definitely playing. No one else thought I was playing, but I knew I was going to play."
"He's our leader. And he's a great leader at that," linebacker SirVocea Dennis added. "So to have him out there, it means a lot. He played his butt off tonight."
Of course, Pickett didn't do it alone.
Jordan Addison tallied 11 catches for 127 yards, continuing his superb freshman season. Vincent Davis broke off a 28-yard run, oddly enough Pitt's longest of the season, and found the end zone on a 4-yard scamper. The line blocked adequately as Vincent Davis and AJ Davis combined for 84 yards on 18 carries. And fourth-string quarterback Nick Patti, the most mobile of Pickett's backups, was inserted on a couple goal-line draws for touchdowns.
Pitt's offense, one averse to doing anything meaningful on the ground this year, can certainly hang its hat on four rushing touchdowns. And yet, it can't take full credit. Pickett called Saturday's performance the "best game of complementary football" the Panthers have played all year.
All four of Pitt's touchdown drives started in Seminole territory, thanks to Randy Bates' defense getting its act together and eventually dominating Florida State's front.
Pitt actually went down 14-3 in the first quarter. Florida State starting quarterback Jordan Travis highlighted the early Seminole surge with an 88-yard touchdown run, bursting through the Panthers' front and igniting the limited capacity crowd in Tallahassee.
But Travis' next series — one that could've put Florida State up 18 points — gave the Panthers life. Travis was picked off by sophomore AJ Woods, who played more snaps than usual with senior cornerback Jason Pinnock suspended. Woods' first career interception came at Florida State's 32-yard line. Four plays later, Patti found the end zone for the first time, cutting Florida State's lead and energizing the Panthers' sideline.
Then Pitt's front-four, working against one of the worst offensive lines in Power Five football, went to work. Patrick Jones II, Rashad Weaver and Pitt, the nation's leader in sacks, ripped Travis down five times in the first half alone.
The Panthers, who finished with seven sacks, stood tall in the run game, too. Travis' 88-yard score aside, Pitt allowed 58 rushing yards on 34 carries. The Panthers racked up 14 tackles for loss, with Dennis — one of the bright spots of this mostly sour season for Pitt — adding three by himself.
Woods' pick wasn't the only one by Pitt, either. Damar Hamlin intercepted Florida State's James Blackman, who briefly replaced the injured Travis, to start the second half. After the pick, Blackman was switched out in favor of Chubba Purdy, who was intercepted by redshirt freshman safety Brandon Hill in the fourth quarter to ice Pitt's win.
Hill — playing in place of Paris Ford, who opted out of the remainder of the season on Monday — performed well in his first start. The Florida native ran his interception back for a touchdown, forced a fumble and logged seven tackles.
Pitt's defense, even without Ford, played to the level it aspired to in the preseason. And the Panthers — with a road trip to Georgia Tech up next before finishing its regular-slate slate against Virginia Tech and Clemson — nabbed the win they so desperately craved.
For the last few weeks, Narduzzi and the Panthers have stressed their "24-hour rule," in which they reflect on the game for a day before moving onto the next. After the October they had, no one would blame them if they bask in this one a little longer.
But Pickett refused to look ahead past the Yellow Jackets. Instead, he acknowledged that Saturday was a rewarding experience for him personally and a "really good win for the program."
Narduzzi, all too familiar with explaining heartbreaking losses this season, felt the same way.
"Our kids, they always talk about playing together and keeping the faith," Narduzzi said. "I'm just awful proud of our football team."
