Yeah, they beat lowly UMass last week. Yeah, they beat a down Tennessee team Saturday. And yeah, some bigger tests are on the horizon.
Pitt football, despite being 2-0, is certainly not without its flaws. But one thing is for sure, the Panthers have a legitimate playmaker — and, more importantly, a leader — at the quarterback position.
Kenny Pickett passed for 285 yards and two scores, ran for 19 more yards and another touchdown, and continually delivered on third down to give Pitt its first road win against a non-conference Power 5 opponent since 2008, as the Panthers topped Tennessee 41-34 at a raucous Neyland Stadium.
Pickett passed for 200 yards in the first half alone, completing all seven passes he attempted on third down before halftime, as Pitt rallied from an early hole.
"Kenny's a football player," Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. "I trust in KP. He had a heck of a day… He knows what to do on the field. Our guys rally around Kenny Pickett."
Inside of the first half performance, Pickett moved past Tyler Palko and into fourth place on Pitt's all-time passing leaders list. With 8,541 yards, he trails Tino Sunseri by 49 yards and Dan Marino by 56 for third and second place respectively.
The day, however, did not start so well. Pitt went three-and-out on its opening series, had a punt blocked, and trailed 7-0 just 1 minute, 26 seconds into the game. The Panthers fell behind, 10-0, less than nine minutes later.
But it was obvious. Pickett never wavered.
"I told the guys last night in the team meeting that this thing isn't going to go smooth," he said. "We may go down and that's how it goes on the road… No one really batted an eye, no one blinked."
And that's when Pickett revved the offense into gear, as Pitt scored 27 points in the second quarter, and scored on five consecutive possessions.
"We felt like once we got into a rhythm that we'd be alright, and that's what happened," he said.
While the passing game wasn't able to get going as much after halftime, Pickett was able to find the end zone on a quarterback sneak on fourth down, extending Pitt's lead to 34-20. His offensive line began to push around the Volunteers, as well.
"They'll be eating good Monday, I can tell you that," said Pickett, who smartly has an NIL deal with a local restaurant to provide meals to his offensive linemen. "We had to wear them down a little bit, but they showed up on that last drive when we needed them."
The sneak was one of ten rush attempts on the afternoon for the senior, who continually showed his moxie with his willingness to take hits in order to make plays, including picking up five yards and taking a massive knock on a 4th and 2 run shortly before finding the end zone.
"That fourth down scramble, he put his shoulder down," Narduzzi said. "He's just a football player."
Pitt's game plan early was frustrating, with numerous short, perimeter passes. But those plays opened up a trick play touchdown in which Pickett threw a backwards pass to Jared Wayne, who then tossed the ball to open tight end Lucas Krull in the end zone, giving the Panthers a 14-13 lead.
"(Offensive coordinator Mark Whipple) has had that one in his back pocket for a while," Narduzzi said. "That was the 'Panther special.' Jared Wayne's got a great arm."
Stepping back and letting Wayne and Krull connect for a play is another testament to the leadership of Pickett, who admitted that he did not love the look pre-snap, but clearly trusted his teammates enough to execute it.
Pickett also was able to score touchdowns from in the red zone, something that has been an issue for him over the last couple of years. But now, with 38 starts under his belt, some of those old problems seem to have faded away.
"Kenny's been poised," Narduzzi said. "He's taken a step up from last year. He's poised, he's athletic, and he's a leader… He gets every ounce out of our guys when he's out there."
There not much more you can ask of one player than that.
