Cat fight: Wounded Pitt football faces toughest challenge yet, welcoming Clemson to Pittsburgh
After a heartbreaking upset at the hands of Virginia, Pitt football will look to piece together its season and finish the 2024 campaign strong. This goal is made more difficult given that the Panthers are set to take on possibly the best team in their schedule, No. 20 Clemson. This is a well-coached and talented Tiger roster that poses a big threat, even if Pitt is playing at its best.
Trying to win after consecutive losses is always difficult, but to do so against a team like Clemson is a daunting task. Still, Pitt now has nothing to lose, and those teams are arguably the scariest. Clemson, on the other hand, still has an outside chance at the College Football Playoffs. The pressure is more squarely on their shoulders.
Pitt got the better of Clemson in recent meetings, most notably in another victory in the 2021 team's ACC Championship run.
Pitt's biggest issue heading into the game is its continued offensive struggles. Last outing, the Panthers only put up 165 passing yards and one touchdown against one of the worst pass defenses in the country — an inexcusable result. Some of these issues stem from personnel. Pitt has dealt with a handful of injuries to the offensive line as of late, but some limitations come with redshirt first-year Eli Holstein's abilities and Kade Bell's system and playcalling.
Towards the end of the game against UVA, Holstein left with an apparent head injury and is currently listed as a game-time decision . Nate Yarnell stepped in his place and did not fare much better, throwing an abysmal 44 yards on 4/12 passing and two interceptions. If Holstein is unable to go this Saturday, the road to victory becomes far more difficult.
Holstein's biggest flaw as a passer is his inability to read defenses. He has a bad habit of opting to his first read, and if it's not there, he either holds on to the ball way too long or forces it into a bad spot. While this is expected out of a young QB, it does put a cap on his ability to move the ball down the field, and he can no longer carry like he did early in the season.
The passing concepts that Bell draws up are less than ideal. Even against a Virginia team with one of the worst secondaries, he and Holstein couldn't push the ball downfield to stretch out the Cavalier defense.
This week, such weaknesses will not fly against one of the better defenses in college football. While this year's Tiger unit isn't as dominant as years past, in Dabo Swinney's tenure, Clemson has prided itself on strong defense, and this team is no different. Clemson ranks in the top 50 in nearly every defensive statistic and will pose a huge threat to the Panthers' winning ambitions.
While this matchup is important, the biggest scare lies within Clemson's offense. The Tigers are at the top of the country in nearly every major offensive statistic and are led by one of the most efficient passers in the country in junior quarterback Cade Klubnik. Klubnik comes into the contest with a clean 2,275 passing yards along with 24 touchdowns to only four picks. He is also 16th in the country in passer rating at 78.5.
Pitt's porous secondary will face a huge challenge which could result in its downfall. It shouldn't expect much help from the pass rush either, as the Tigers offensive line has surrendered only 12 sacks on the season. The Tigers also boast a top 25 rushing attack, headlined by Phil Mafah who enters the game with a 12th-best 981 rushing yards to complement his eight rushing touchdowns.
Simply put, a struggling Pitt team seems no match for Clemson's machine on offense, which combined with their own struggling offense creates an unfavorable matchup. While the team's hunger combined with a little Senior Day fever will keep it close for a while, Clemson's talent will ultimately pull away in the end.
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