Pitt over Penn State by four

… but either team could win this matchup 

Suffice it to say that neither Pat Narduzzi nor James Franklin were very happy campers on Saturday afternoon.

True, Narduzzi's Pitt Panthers held on to defeat Villanova, 28-7, but the autopsy of this game will not be easy for the coaches or the players.

Franklin also watched his Penn State Nittany Lions pull away in the second half for a 33-13 victory over Kent State of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

But, like most of his challenges in his first two years, Franklin has some intense work to do prior to the two teams meeting next Saturday at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

Big plays

Both of these teams were given a major boost by some great individual plays. Pitt sophomore kick returner Quadree Henderson took Villanova's second half kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers led by just 14-0 af the half, so that gave them a three-touchdown lead.

This was the second consecutive game that Henderson took one to the house as he recorded a 100-yard TD against Navy in Pitt's bowl game.

Franklin will certainly make an effort to prevent that as Narduzzi said of Henderson, "He's a special player. We have to find more ways to get the ball in his hands."

Penn State featured a great interception by sophomore Amani Oruwariye, who turned it into a 30-yard touchdown early in the second half, increasing that 16-13 halftime lead to 23-13.

Pitt evaluation

Overall, the Panthers made too many mistakes, just as the Nittany Lions did.

However, I like to look at the stats to see what they tell me about the game. For the Panthers, it was great to have James Conner return from cancer and knee surgery, but the junior rushed for just 53 yards on 17 carries, averaging just 3.1 yards per carry and scoring one TD.

Sophomore Qadree Ollison added 30 yards on seven carries (4.3/carry), so the Pitt total was just 86 yards. Narduzzi cannot be happy with that.

Quarterback Nate Peterman had a respectable day completing 19 or 32 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns.

The good news in the passing attack was that senior tight end Scott Orndoff pulled in five passes for 68 yards, averaging 13.5 a catch.

The Panthers lost their superb wideout Tyler Boyd to the NFL, so Peterman is attempting to spread the ball around and find some targets.

Conner also had three catches for 18 yards and one touchdown, so he had a productive afternoon, just not with the offensive numbers that the Panthers will need to compete in the ACC-Coastal Division.

Overall, Pitt recorded 261 yards to Villanova's 172.

Defensively, Pitt was able to hold the Wildcats to 53 yards rushing and 119 passing. Penn State will challenge them more strenuously if the Lions can ever put together an offensive line that can function effectively.

Penn State evaluation

What Coach Franklin has to do for the resumption of the Pitt-PSU series focuses on two main areas: Tackling and solid offensive line play.

If the Nittany Lions do not tackle better, Conner may return to his Ironhead Heyward imitation and start either running people over or stiff-arming them into oblivion.

Franklin inherited a major chasm that has dragged down his past two teams. That has been the offensive line. The Lions used a slew of offensive linemen, but quarterback Trace McSorley took quite a beating from the Kent State defense's pass rush.

McSorley completed 16 of 31 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns, and he carried the ball 14 times for 47 yards. So, for his first start, the sophomore did well enough.

The area that should be a strength for the Lions was the rushing attack since Saquon Barkley was one of the best running backs in the Big Ten last year. Barkley carried the ball 22 times for 105 yards and a touchdown, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

Not bad, but the guy had about 200 against Ohio State last year, yet could get just over 100.

Chris Godwin led the receivers for PSU with seven catches for 67 yards and a touchdown, while tight end Mike Gesicki pulled in three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, the Lions lost three linemen from last year to the NFL, so it was an adventure. One player who did well was redshirt freshman defensive end Shareef Miller, who recorded 1.5 sacks.

The defense as a whole recorded seven sacks and forced the Flashes into some critical turnovers. The Lions rotated 10 players on the line, so the group received some good experience.

Overall

This game should be a great matchup, but the Panthers have some more experience in key areas than the Lions. However, if the Lions take care of the ball and do not make critical mistakes, this could be a very interesting game.

Without looking at Vegas or other odds, I take the Panthers by four.