CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — As his team made its way off the field Saturday evening at Kenan Stadium, Pat Narduzzi couldn’t be blamed if he were to have pondered what could’ve been.
About the loss that he just witnessed, and about his team’s season as a whole.
A strong first-half showing on the road against a ranked foe provided reason to believe Pitt had perhaps turned things around. Yet, in the end, the Panthers (4-4, 1-3 ACC) struggles in October continued as they fell to No. 21 North Carolina, 42-24.
After taking a 17-14 lead into the locker room at the half, Pitt remained in control throughout the third quarter thanks to steady efforts from Jared Wayne and Israel Abanikanda. However, when the game moved to the fourth quarter, North Carolina took over.
A 2-yard touchdown run from Elijah Green gave the Tar Heels (7-1, 4-0) their first lead with 14:07 left. As was the case in their first three touchdown drives, the Tar Heels’ go-ahead score was set up by the spectacular play of quarterback Drake Maye, who completed 34 of 44 passes for 388 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
The redshirt freshman put the game on ice the following possession, when he connected with Josh Downs for a 25-yard touchdown that was set up from an Abanikanda fumble at midfield. Downs had 11 catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns in the game. Fellow North Carolina receiver Antonine Green was even more problematic for Pitt, catching 10 passes for 180 yards and a pair of scores in the victory.
Maye and his receivers’ herculean efforts were combatted throughout the entire evening by a gritty Pitt defense, but a handful of injuries, along with a pair of ejections due to targeting — one of them All-American defensive tackle Calijah Kancey — proved to be too much to overcome.
Kedon Slovis and the Pitt offense did their best to keep pace with the Tar Heels’ high-scoring squad, but as time went on, the unit slowed down until it ultimately fell to a halt. The Panthers were shutout in the final quarter of play, failing to reach the red zone.
Key stat: A big reason Pitt hung around Drake and Co. in the first half was its success on third down. The Panthers held the North Carolina offense to 0-for-5 on third down in the first two quarters.
In the second half, the Tar Heels’ execution on money downs improved drastically, and the scoreboard showed it. A 4-for-6 effort with its back against the wall on key drive allowed North Carolina to keep pressing and eventually break the Pitt defense down.
Up next: In desperate need of a win, Pitt will return home to face another notable foe next weekend as it hosts No. 16 Syracuse at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 5. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.
Following a 6-0 start to the year, the Orange (6-2, 3-1) dropped their second contest in a row Saturday, losing 41-24 at home to Notre Dame.
Recent history shows Syracuse has been a welcome opponent for the Panthers, who’ve come out on top in 17 of their last 20 meetings. Pitt enters the rivalry having won four straight, including last year’s 31-14 road victory. The Panthers last at home to the Orange on Oct. 13, 2001.
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