7 Winners, 3 Losers in Pitt Victory Over West Virginia
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers are 1-0 after a crazy finish against the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Backyard Brawl was everything it should've been, and left plenty of memorable moments.
Not everyone shined, but there were clearly more winners than losers on Pitt's sideline. Four more to be exact.
Winners
Rodney Hammond III
Before leaving in the fourth quarter, Rodney Hammond was the best offensive player in a Pitt uniform. The sophomore running back was a "bull" as head coach Pat Narduzzi described it, and literally carried the team on his back on his way to 74 yards and two touchdowns.
"Rodney's a football player," Narduzzi said. "... He runs hard. He's a bull. That's no surprise to the locals."
Hammond looked like the best running back on the roster. Isreal Abanikanda didn't disappoint, but it wouldn't be surprising if Hammond took over most of the carries the rest of the season.
After the game he said his foot injury was fine and he expects to be back next weekend. Great news for the Panthers.
Pitt Wide Receiver Trio
Pitt's new trio of wideouts finished with 190 yards in their debut together. Jared Wayne caught three balls for 89 yards, Konata Mumpfield caught five passes for 71 yards and Bub Means caught three balls for 30 yards.
It was as well of a season-opener as they could've had for the Panthers, and something they can build off of. No one was overally thrilled with Kedon Slovis's performance, but the offense as a whole found a grove when they needed to. That's enough to feel good heading into a second game.
First Half Kedon Slovis
When Pitt finally decided to give Kedon Slovis a shot to throw the ball, he showed why he won the starting job. The transfer started his night going 5/5 for 54 yards leading to a field goal and the first point of the game.
From there, the success continued. Slovis finished the first half 6/8 for 84 yards and 19 rushing yards. Immediately, you felt like it was the right choice to put him out there over Nick Patti.
It didn't last, but there was an instant spark once the Panthers' pass game started.
M.J. Devonshire
It was only right for the Aliquippa kid to grab the game-changing pick-six in the fourth quarter. Devonshire got lucky with the ball bouncing off Bryce Ford-Wheaton's hands, but he took full advantage of his opportunity.
The speed of the redshirt junior is very real. Devonshire took off through a crowd of Mountaineers and popped out strutting into the endzone.
Rivalries are won by big plays. Devonshire created that play.
The Crowd
I've covered Pittsburgh sports for the last four years and there's only been one football game that compared to the crowd at the Backyard Brawl and that was Ben Roethlisberger's final game.
With 70,622 fans in the stands, Acrisure Stadium was rocking. Want to talk about loud? M.J. Devonshire's pick-six set the place on fire.
The press box was actually shaking from the crowd noise.
The music was on point, the energy was insane, the game was close and five hours of tailgating seemed to work.
Every bit of an 11-year wait was felt.
Losers
Pitt's Rush Defense
There's plenty of excitement surrounding the Panthers defensive front, but the Mountaineers quickly showed it could be a weakness for Pitt. West Virginia finished the night with 190 rushing yards, highlighted by 125 yards on 7 carries by CJ Donaldson.
Pitt's plan was simple - blitz heavy and force JT Daniels to make mistakes. They did that most of the time, but even on the successful pass plays of West Virginia, there was too much time given in the pocket.
Players like Calijah Kancey, Bangally Kamara and SirVocea Dennis made plays but there needs to be a better effort collectively for the rush defense not to be an issue.
This game wasn't close if the Panthers stuff the run.
Second Half Kedon Slovis (Kind Of)
Let's get this out of the way first, Slovis's final drive to give Pitt the lead was a good drive. Now, let's talk about the rest of the half.
Once halftime hit, Slovis's pocket awareness went home. The offense relied on the quarterback in the first half but had to turn to the running game in the second. And when West Virginia took the lead in the fourth, Slovis needed to turn it around - but couldn't.
Winning the starting job over Patti was only step one to being the Panthers' starting quarterback. With a team hunting for a National Championship, no change it too big for Pitt to make this season.
Slovis needs to become more comfortable recognizing pressure. He's athletic enough to escape the pocket if needed. If he could feel where defenders were coming from, he'd be able to make more happen in those moments.
Pitt Offensive Line
The Panthers senior-led offensive line did not play up to par against West Virginia. Slovis's poor pocket presence didn't help the cause, but it wasn't the quarterback's fault for all five sacks.
Having to toss Matt Goncalves into the starting lineup for Gabe Houy isn't an easy adjustment, but this group has four other seniors and have been working without Houy all summer. There's little excuse for letting Slovis hit the ground that many times in a game.
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