Pitt Football: 3 takeaways from crushing loss to Boston College

2. There’s too much pressure on Kenny Pickett

The Panthers ran for 100 yards on Saturday. The issue? It took the Panthers 40 carries to get 105 yards. The Panthers put too much on quarterback Kenny Pickett. So far this season, he is averaging 33 pass attempts per game. That is a bit down from last season when he averaged 39 attempts. Pickett is also second on the team in rush attempts.

This is a contrast between how Pitt ran its offense for years before Mark Whipple became offensive coordinator. The Panthers have migrated toward running a spread offense and have run the football less.

This is a stark difference from 2018 when the Panthers had two 1,000-yard rushers. In a close game like this one against Boston College Pitt could have benefitted from a running game.

One of the issues is the offensive line. They are not as physical as they’ve been in the past. The lackluster offensive line is why Whipple wants to get the ball out of Pickett’s hand as quickly as possible. The Panthers lack dynamic playmakers on offense and it shows at times.

The Panthers, however, need to figure out how to put less on Pickett, however.