SENIOR SUN-DAYZ
Report by Matt Schmidlin | November 12, 2022
Three Thoughts from the Peanut Gallery
1. Big Play Saturday
Senior Day became 'Big Play Saturday' for the Panthers, with nearly every scoring drive being punctuated by one or more big plays that either took a chunk of yardage or salvaged the drive. From basically the opening kick, when the Panthers' 3rd play of the game was a 65 yard house call by
Ceno Rodgers III on an option pitch. 'C-Note' had a massive 30 yard diving catch,
Da'vion Reynolds added a tiptoe grab at the sidelines for 39 yards,
KJ Welsh made his presence felt with a pair of big gains between the safeties, and even seldom featured
Quincy Veers kept a drive alive with a 16 yard snag on a 3rd and 14 in Tar Heel territory. The Pitt offense was opportunistic, and capitalized on *almost* every opportunity that they had to score points.
2. The Drive Disruptor Kevarious Black
When we say Pitt capitalized on *almost* every opportunity, the few they missed were largely squandered because of North Carolina linebacker
Kevarious Black. The sophomore was as advertised, blowing up play after play for the Panthers en route to a dominating statline of 7 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks, and a pair of passes defended. He also forced a fumble as the Panthers drove into the redzone in the second half, keeping the Tar Heels in the contest for the time being. Black and his partner in crime freshman
Mac Ball are a tandem to be reckoned with in the middle of the field for at least one more season.
3. Secondary Goes for Thirds
Pitt's secondary exploited North Carolina's questionable game planning, with all three of Pitt's premier corners making interceptions near the sideline over the course of the contest.
Damian Vector,
Bryan Jungling, and
Scott Whaley all ended up with picks as the Tar Heels seemed content to settle for short sideline tosses, which Pitt eventually caught onto and swiped a trio of passes. However, the biggest question mark came as a result of the first turnover, as Vector swiped a pass intended for
Steve Smith. On the ensuing return, Smith chased Vector down and in the process of the tackle, Vector ended up clutching his right arm and shoulder area and did not return to the contest. Freshman
Jordan Murphy Jr. picked up the slack, making 11 tackles in the nickel role while Jungling shifted to Vector's role on the outside, but missing their top cover corner for any extended period of time could be devastating to Pitt's secondary.
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