CALI CRUISING
Report by Matt Schmidlin | September 17, 2022
Three Thoughts from the Peanut Gallery
1. Road, Sweet Road?
The Panthers went on the road for the first time this season, and looked far more comfortable than they have in their last pair of home contests. The defense forced green behind the ears QB Iyaz Durbin to beat them all day, and while he racked up the yards the Bruins struggled to find the endzone. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers rode Da'vion Reynolds for a huge day on the ground and CJ Kirk made just enough plays to win confortably. The Panthers look to keep the road cooking going as they have two more contests away from home before heading back to Heinz Field.
2. KJ finally outshines Ceno
Redshirt freshman Ceno Rodgers III was the talk of PantherLair after 3 breakout performances, including an impressive debut against West Virginia. Junior KJ Welsh, the leading returning receiver and expected top dog in the receiver room, certainly must have taken notice. Welsh finally exploded for a pair of huge touchdowns, as the junior reeled in three grabs for 88 yards.
3. Swat Squad
With UCLA chucking the ball all over the yard as they fell behind on the scoreboard, the Panthers' DBs got plenty of action and made some big plays. FS Sedric Granger had arguably his best day as a Panther, picking off a pass at the goalline, forcing a fumble, and swatting away two passes. As a whole, the Pitt defense defended 10 passes by Durbin, likely a record for a single game total in the history of this dynasty (don't have it written down to be able to know).