Pitt Ready to 'Break Some Tendencies' in Offensive Play-Calling

PITTSBURGH -- At the midway point of the 2022 season, Pat Narduzzi's Pitt Panthers sit at 4-2 with an even 1-1 mark in ACC play. Who they are is and what they will be is materializing.

On offense, the Panthers are a run-first team led by home run-hitting running back Israel Abanikanda and the defense has looked like a prototypical, aggressive and sometimes big-play-prone Narduzzi-coached unit.

With an identity forming right as the bye week hit, Narduzzi and the coaching staff did some self reflection and explored whether that identity is one the Panthers want to stick with for the rest of the season. He walked away ready to make some tweaks.

"I think on open weeks, you know, we've been pretty good at going back and saying, ‘Okay, what are we doing? What's it look like?’ What are ... they looking at?'," Narduzzi said. "Got a tip from an old coach one time, he said, ‘You know, you build tendencies and you break them in big games.’ And I think after six games, it's time to maybe break some tendencies, whatever they are."

Currently, the Panthers are a reflection of the run-first attitude they talked so often about during the preseason, running on 60.85% of their offensive plays while passing 39.15% of the time. That attitude was further reflected in their play selection last week against Virginia Tech, when they ran 36 times while passing just 17 times on first and second down.

Watching Abanikanda race past Hokie defenders last week is enough evidence to defend Narduzzi's affinity for running, one he reinforced again this week.

"Right now, we got a run game going and I love the run game," Narduzzi said. And the clock is ticking. And if you can run it, I'll take that any day. That's what our guys are doing. It's a good thing. ... Like, why can't we throw for 400 yards every weekend? Like, I would rather rush for 400."

This is a noticeable shift in tone for Narduzzi, who had been adamant all season long that the offense was simply responding to what defenses gave them. Passing was an option, just not what was avaliable.

That was not the case against Virginia Tech, who loaded the box in anticipation of a big day for Abanikanda, guessed right and still couldn't stop him while the Panthers ran on more than 60% of their snaps. That game has prompted a wholehearted embrace what they do well - running.

Narduzzi is looking to fine tune the details of his offense's process, but not completely abandon what's worked fairly well so far for a team scoring an even 33 points per game. Pitt won't throw out the playbook and start running the triple option, he said, but will look at how they approach certain situations with plenty of data on film to inform their next game plan.

"We're not going to break that tendency if we're good at it," Narduzzi said. "I think all good teams have tendencies. ... It's a priority to know what we do, when are we doing it, what's our run-pass on our first down, second down. What's it, you know, our run-pass after, you know, on second down after an incomplete pass."

Perhaps that means some more passing on early downs, when the defense is expecting Abanikanda to come barreling downhill at them or running late when defenses are backed off to prevent a long pass. Either way, the key is keeping the next half of the schedule - full of ACC opponents that know Pitt well - on their toes.

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