Pitt Focusing On Improving Crucial Conversions

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers have a third-down problem.

The 34-27 loss to Louisville was the second consecutive game, and the third game overall this season that Pitt converted less than half of its third-down attempts. But this most recent game was beyond the worst.

The Panthers were 5-for-14 on third down in Week 1 against Duquesne, then 6-for-9 against Central Michigan, 4-for-17 against West Virginia and 1-for-10 against Louisville.

"It was bad, awful," Narduzzi said after the loss. "Third down, we've got to be better. We practice a lot of third down. I don't get it. We'll look at the videotape."

Pitt currently ranks No. 119 in third down conversions in the nation, and only Maryland, Florida, Arizona State, Texas A&M, UCLA and West Virginia are the only Power Four teams worse. West Virginia also had a better third-down conversion rate than the Panthers in the Backyard Brawl by converting five times on 17 tries.

Pat Narduzzi was adamant about cutting down on the 3-and-outs after the loss to the Cardinals. Pitt had 11 first-down conversions in the first half, but just three in the second half. The offense was also 0-for-6 on third down in the first half and 1-for-4 in the second half.

Aug 30, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi reacts on the sidelines against the Duquesne Dukes during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

At the end of the game, the Panthers had three 3-and-outs, turned the ball over on downs three times, averaged 4.4 plays per drive and 27.1 yards per drive.

"Too many 3-and-outs," Narduzzi said. "Got to move the sticks. We talked before the game. You can't go 3-and-out. Puts our defense in a bad position."

Pitt ran 35 plays in the first half, but only 22 plays in the second half. The drives in the second half concluded with a punt, two turnovers on downs and three interceptions.

"If we don't have any opportunities, you can't get more yards," Narduzzi said. "You can't score touchdowns if you don't have the ball. We didn't move the sticks. We've got to fix that."

A silver lining to the third-down offense is that Pitt has been moving the ball on first and second downs, setting up manageable third-down situations. Out of the 10 third downs against Louisville, only five were third-and-6 or longer, no third down was longer than eight yards and the average third-down distance was 5.4 yards.

"We had third and manageable downs the other day, and we just got to get the ball to the right guy at the right time," Narduzzi said. "That's what it comes down to."

If the Panthers struggle on third down again versus Boston College this weekend, they could be in position to fall to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the ACC. And with No. 3 Miami, No. 17 Georgia Tech, No. 18 Florida State and No. 21 Notre Dame remaining on the schedule, Narduzzi is making sure this third-down problem gets fixed soon.

"Money downs are so critical," Narduzzi said on his weekly radio show. "We did a great job today (in practice) in that period. We spend probably 15-17 minutes on third down, solely."

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