If the Blue Devils have learned anything during the last two seasons, it is that they know Pittsburgh can score.
To be exact, 106 points—58 in a barnburner at Wallace Wade Stadium in 2013 and 48 in a double-overtime thriller at home last season.
When the Panthers enter Wallace Wade Stadium for a noon showdown with Duke Saturday, they will have a chip on their shoulder after dropping two straight games and will look to light up the scoreboard again to get back in the ACC Coastal Division race. With a win, Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi's squad would spoil the last home game for one of the most successful group of Blue Devil seniors.
“We’ve got to be able to focus on our responsibilities, whether it’s run first, react to pass, or pass first, react to run—then that’s what we’ve got to work on,” Duke redshirt senior defensive end Kyler Brown said. “[Pittsburgh has] really come at us the first year that we played them and last year. We’re really trying to focus on what we can do better and how we can stop them.”
Stopping Pittsburgh this season has been no easy task. Although the Panthers are licking their wounds from three losses on the year, they have not dropped a game to a team currently ranked outside of the top 25. Their largest loss of the season came last week by just 12 points against now-No. 6 Notre Dame, and a three-point loss to now-No. 8 Iowa on a late field goal in the third week of the season was seconds away from a potentially different outcome.
With a balanced offensive attack, it is no wonder that Pittsburgh does not have a glaring loss on its resume. The Panthers have thrown for 1,787 yards this season and added 1,530 more on the ground. Redshirt junior quarterback Nate Peterman has remained consistent by tossing 11 touchdowns and just four picks, and redshirt freshman running back Qadree Ollison has done his best James Connor impression by averaging 5.3 yards per carry en route to eight touchdowns in the running game.
“We’re playing a really gifted and good [Pittsburgh] team,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. “[Pittsburgh] is well coached, they play really hard [and] they play really physical. They’ve got a lot of weapons on their entire team…. There is a reason they are 4-1 in the ACC.”
The most prolific weapon on the team may be wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who has carved up the Blue Devil defense the past two seasons. In his last trip to Durham in 2013, the current conference leader in receiving yards per game scored three touchdowns as a freshman, and caught the ball seven times for 140 yards at home in 2014.
In just his junior season with Pittsburgh, Boyd has already established himself as one of the most prolific players in school history. The Clairton, Pa., native is the school’s all-time leader in career receptions with 229 and yards with 3,097—surpassing names such as Larry Fitzgerald, Antonio Bryant and Devin Street. Boyd has racked up 130.5 all-purpose yards per game this season, making contributions not only as a receiver but also as a rusher, passer and kick returner.
“You can’t stop [Boyd], you can only hope to contain him,” Duke safety Jeremy Cash said. “He is a phenomenal athlete—everyone knows that—arguably the best receiver in the ACC…. We understand that, hey, we’re not going to completely stop him.”
A unique threat for the Panthers is freshman safety Jordan Whitehead, who was introduced to the offensive side of the ball for the first time since high school against Notre Dame, and garnered his second ACC Rookie of the Week honor in the process. The freshman took four handoffs from the backfield, gaining a total of 27 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
On defense, Whitehead remained just as impressive. Despite pulling double-duty for Pittsburgh, the team’s leading tackler recorded a game-high 11 stops with 1.5 for loss. His 8.1 tackles per game are good for seventh in the ACC.
“When you watch what Jordan did, it’s not some of the power game that he has, but more so the speed and ability where he can hit a small hole and get vertical and get in the end zone,” Narduzzi told reporters in a press conference Monday. “We can’t wear Jordan out because he’s a defensive player and that has a lot of pounding…. He’s a guy that I think can do a little bit of both—a lot of defense and a little bit of offense…a different animal, I’d say.”
The Panthers may have an additional boost on defense with the emergence of defensive end Ejuan Price. The senior captured ACC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week honors after tying career highs with eight tackles and two sacks against the Fighting Irish, in addition to returning a fumble 32 yards for a touchdown. Price leads his team in tackles for loss with 11 and sacks with 5.5 this season to complement his 28 tackles.
“Seniors have to play great their senior year, and to see Ejuan step up and make a few plays…there are some things he still needs to clean up, but he does a lot of good things,” Narduzzi said. “He gets to the quarterback at times…. He makes plays. It’s important.”
After North Carolina highlighted the Blue Devils’ inability to cover explosive plays last week, Pittsburgh will look for seniors like Price and experienced players like Boyd to expose the weaknesses in a reeling Duke team. If the last two years are any indication, the Panthers will be gunning for big-yardage plays, and look to continue their quest for a Coastal Division title at the expense of the Blue Devils this Saturday.
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