Penn State Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Pitt Panthers
2. Narduzzi’s defense continues to struggle without suspended stars
Pitt has struggled to find an identity on defense over the last two seasons under head coach Pat Narduzzi.
Narduzzi, often considered one of the best defensive minds in college football, has yet to deliver a top 25 defenses to the city of Pittsburgh, and has instead fielded average-at-best squads over his first two seasons in the Steel City.
And Week 2 of the college football season looks like it could be more of the same for the Panthers.
In Pitt’s Week 1 game against Youngstown State, the school gave up 311 yards in the air and 107 yards on the ground against an FCS opponent. Though the Panthers did ultimately defeated the Penguins by a score of 28-21 in overtime, there’s a big difference between the offensive firepower of a school like Youngstown State and the offensive firepower of a team like Penn State.
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In Week 1, Penn State outgunned Akron by a score of 52-0, with 322 yards passing and 247 yards rushing for the game.
Under second-year offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, Penn State’s offense has been a big play machine, delivering highlight reel catches and kick-off style running plays to their ultra-athletic superstar offensive weapons.
If Pitt’s defense has any chance of stopping Penn State’s offense they will need to bring their best game on Saturday, which will be incredibly hard to do with two of the team’s best players currently serving suspension.
The team will be without starting safety, and future first-round pick Jordan Whitehead, as well as starting middle linebacker Quintin Wirginis (who will now miss the season due to a non-football injury), who both received three game suspensions by the university for violation of team policy, as well as returning defensive end Rori Blair, who has been dismissed from the program for “conduct detrimental to the program.”
Their presence on the field was sorely missed in Week 1, and could be catastrophic going into Week 2.
Even with the return of Jordan Whitehead in Week 4, it will be incredibly difficult for Narduzzi’s squad to finally turn the corner defensively after loosing so much talent.