Pittsburgh Football: 3 Takeaways from win over Georgia Tech

Pittsburgh football knocked off Georgia Tech Thursday night, 34-20 and here are three takeaways.

Coming into Thursday’s contest, Pittsburgh football Head Coach Pat Narduzzi was looking for his fifth bowl appearance for Pitt in his sixth season.

Leading up to this point, the Panthers have won with excellent dual threat play from QB Kenny Pickett and  excellent front seven play. The Panthers rank among the best in the conference in tackles for loss.

Meanwhile, Georgia Tech is still going through growing pains, with the spread offense. After 10 seasons of the triple option with Paul Johnson, Geoff Collins is hoping to clean up the mistakes that have longed the Yellow Jackets throughout the season.

Pittsburgh football RB Vincent Davis would not waste anytime, as he had a 74-yard run to begin the game to get Pittsburgh inside Georgia Tech’s 10. That would be foreshadowing for the kind of night that Davis ended with. Even with that, the Panthers could not find the end zone and stall out.

https://twitter.com/Pitt_FB/status/1337189346923974657?s=20

Pittsburgh would get on the board first with a 27 yard field goal. Georgia Tech Quarterback Jeff Sims has not been the most accurate on the seasons, with 11 interceptions. He would have his 12th as DB Erick Hallett snagged the ball out of their air, for his first interception on the season.

Pittsburgh football would once again get deep into Georgia Tech territory and have a fourth down to convert. The Panthers would not convert as what could easily be a 14-0 lead, stays at 3-0.

Sims would have a big play of his own as he hit WR Jalen Camp in stride down to the Pittsburgh’s two-yard line for a gain of 46.

The Yellow Jackets would capitalize on fourth down as Sims would score on a rush from a yard out. That drive would be among the best of the season, with a 12-play 98-yard drive that lasted just over four and a half minutes.

In a crazy play, Kenny Pickett would throw an interception to Quez Jackson, to only cough the ball back to Pittsburgh. Pitt wide receiver Rashad Battle would force the fumble and Battle would recover the ball.

The red zone woes would continue for the Panthers as another field goal from inside the 10 would cut the deficit to one at 7-6. Pickett would connect on his first big play as he finds Jared Wayne for 33 yards. One play later, he would find wide receiver DJ Turner and Turner would find the gold and white end zone.

https://twitter.com/Pitt_FB/status/1337203271602216960?s=20

The Panthers have lacked an explosive rushing game over the past year and a half. They have gone 16 games without a 100 yard rusher. On just six carries, Davis had collected 117 yards through the first 30 minutes of action. A third field goal in the red zone from Alex Kessman would keep the game in single digits.

Sims would throw his second interception of the half, with Jason Pinnock securing his second turnover of the season. Pittsburgh could not capitalize on it and would take a 16-7 lead into halftime.

On the fourth red zone attempt, the Panthers would finally find the end zone. Pickett’s eighth rushing touchdown on the season from a yard out would increase the lead to 16. Sims and Georgia Tech would not be denied. Back to back throws to Sims go to his favorite target in Camp as the Yellow Jackets would cut the deficit to 10.

The ultimate backbreaker for Georgia Tech would be a lengthy drive that would take up near half of the fourth quarter. Kessman would connect on his fourth red zone field goal to put the Panthers ahead, 26-13.

Pitt’s complacency would back fire, as Sims would throw his third touchdown of the game. A touchdown to wide receiver Dylan Deveney puts all of the pressure on Pickett to put the game away.

Davis would cap off his sensational night with a 38 yard rushing touchdown, capping off a magical night for the sophomore. A two point conversion to Turner would get the lead back up to two touchdown lead.

With their third straight win in the series, Pittsburgh would defeat Georgia Tech, 34-20. The Panthers improve to 6-5, while the Yellow Jackets fall to 3-7.

1. Vincent Davis best game at Pitt

Pitt has been well-known for establishing a sound run game, especially under Narduzzi. Ever since the graduation of James Connor, they have never seemed to be the ground and pound team that their identity wants to be. Mentioned beforehand, they have gone 16 games without a rusher that hit the century mark.

Davis came in to this game, averaging just 3.3 yards per carry and 392 rushing yards on the season. On Thursday alone, he rushed for 247 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.

https://twitter.com/Pitt_FB/status/1337237997775949824?s=20

Standing at just 5’8 205 lbs., he was asked to carry the load late in the game to generate first downs. Davis made up for the lack of competent play calling, but getting chunks of yards after contact.

Over the course of the year, Pitt has been below average at rushing the football at just 100.7 yards per game. A performance like this from the explosive back shows promise and clarity for the future. With the uncertainty of which seniors are returning, there is one aspect of this offense that is exciting.