Over at the Trib, Jerry DiPaola optimistically riffs a bit on the work that Pitt football has to do even after the win on Friday night.
A successful team’s goal is to take a lead into the fourth quarter, get the ball and refuse to let it go. Pitt couldn’t do that.
Pitt recorded only one first down after taking a 30-14 lead with 9:53 left on Chris Blewitt’s third field goal. Among the missteps:
• A holding penalty as James Conner ran for a first down.
• A botched snap between quarterback Chad Voytik and center Gabe Roberts, who replaced injured starter Artie Rowell. Voytik recovered, but Pitt eventually punted.
• Allowing a nine-play, 64-yard touchdown drive. The Eagles missed the 2-point conversion or it would have been a one-possession game for the final 43 seconds after kicker Alex Howell recovered the onside kick.
“That wasn’t a good finish,” Chryst said. “We have to be able to close out games better.”
The mistakes give him clear teaching points, something he looks for every day. They also may help keep his team focused. Pitt is 2-0 for the first time since 2011.
“We have some (good) things we can build on,” he said. “You like that and appreciate that. But we also have a lot of things that we can keep working on to clean up. That part’s good, too.”
Arguably the team did not start out strong as well. The offense was a little shaky at the start — especially in pass protection. Voytik may not have been sacked in the game, but he was not exactly getting a lot of time to make reads. That is the one area I believe the O-line needs to improve. No problem with that run blocking, but protecting the QB is still a bit nerve-wracking.
