PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – After some success in the first half, Pitt’s offense turned it over twice, were stopped on fourth down three times in the second half as North Carolina beat Pitt 21-17 Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
“Give them credit, obviously they're a good football team,” said Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi. “They gave Notre Dame all they want last week, so we didn't get beat by a crappy football team. Give them credit. Bill Belichick is a good football coach, and they made just enough plays to win, and it was a close game. It was a hell of a ball game.
It’s the first loss of the season for the Panthers and first start in the career of quarterback Holden Geriner. The fifth year finished 27-44 for 219 yards with the two interceptions.
North Carolina took its first lead in the third quarter on a one-yard TD run. Pitt would answer on a 75-yard drive as La’Vell Wright scored on a one-year Wildcat TD. However, on the first play of the next series, UNC QB Billy Edwards hit Shamar Easter on a 75-yard seam route as the Tar Heels would hold onto that 21-17 lead.
Breaking down & reacting to Geriner's 1st start
“It’s a game of inches and we didn’t win the inches we needed to,” Narduzzi said. “It’s a great lesson for everybody in that locker room. We’re not invincible, but we’ll be back, I guarantee you that. We got a good football team in here.”
Notes
- 5th year WR Malik Knight had one of the best catches of the season, leaning back over the right shoulder as he was doing down on the right sideline for a 40-yard gain to set up Pitt’s only second half TD.
- Sophomore safety Cole Woodson had the first turnover of the game with an interception in the third quarter as the LB Alex Sanford was right on top of UNC QB Billy Edwards.
- DL Jaeden Moore had a strip sack of Edwards, recovered by UNC, but for a loss of 17 yards in the third quarter.
- Shadarian Harrison also had an interception off a tipped pass in the fourth quarter to set Pitt up at the North Carolina 41-yard-line.
Great start
It was exactly initial drive the Pitt offense was looking for in a quarterback making his first start since high school. Now in his fifth year, Geriner completed his first two passes to tight end Carson Kent. Pitt converted a couple of third and one plays and on 3rd and 4 at the UNC nine-yard line, Geriner lobbed one up in the end zone for Kent and the Tar Heels committed a pass interference penalty. La’Vell Wright would score on the next play, a two-yard run.
Did you know about 1976 national title team?
Saturday was a reunion honoring the 1976 Pitt National Championship team. Tony Dorsett won the Heisman and it was a defense that came up big in huge moments. Here is something you may not have known about the season-opening 31-10 win at Notre Dame.
“We’re down in Johnstown getting ready for the season and Coach Majors comes to us as captains and says ABC Television is interested in moving our Notre Dame game from the fourth game of the year to the first televised game of the college football season. They said they’ll be 20 million people watching because there is no other college game that weekend. He says what do you think we should do? I look at Tony and Arnie, and we all looked at him and said ‘it doesn’t matter when we play them coach, we are going to drill them’.”
“And they moved that game, and we drilled them. And off we went.”
Up Next
Panthers have four of its last six on the road starting next Saturday at Boston College at noon. Coverage begins with the Panthers Insider Show with Pat Bostick at 8a.
LISTEN to post-game reaction, notes from 1st loss
LISTEN to post-game reaction, notes from 1st loss
