PLAYERS TO WATCH
–RB Qadree Ollison, a senior, is the only man on Pittsburgh’s roster to have a 1,000-yard rushing campaign, a feat he achieved back in 2015. Through the Panthers’ first three contests, Ollison averaged 94.3 yards per game — fifth in the ACC — and is coming off a 91-yard performance against Georgia Tech’s 3-4 base.
“Pretty darn good. Pretty good against, I think, an odd front,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. “Something we haven’t seen. But I don’t think there was one mental error up front.”
Ollison’s quality start to the 2018 campaign could be attributed in part to an increase in his explosiveness — he had a 31-yard touchdown run against the Yellow Jackets.
“Nobody is afraid of contact,” Narduzzi said. “And again, reading it faster, maturity, knowing what he’s doing better, not confused. And it comes down to vision, and that takes repetition. He’s getting a lot of reps, and he’s been good.”
–DE Rashad Weaver, a sophomore, is tied for the national lead with three fumble recoveries this season. Against Penn State, he scooped up a pair of balls — the first Panther to do so in a single game since 2016. His nose for the ball has accounted for all three of the Panthers’ fumble recoveries this fall. Pittsburgh has focused on slowing down offenses through gang tackling and turnovers.
“We emphasized we’re going to get 11 guys, we’re going to gang tackle, and that’s the emphasis every week,” Narduzzi said. “Sometimes these tempo teams — the Penn States, the North Carolinas, the Central Floridas — in the coming weeks, they tempo you.”
–LB Elias Reynolds, a reserve mike linebacker, has four tackles on the season. While that number doesn’t jump off the page, all four came last week against Georgia Tech. Reynolds’ injection into the lineup against the Yellow Jackets was no accident — he was one of 23 total players for the Panthers to appear on defense in Week 3.
“Elias Reynolds came in and made bone hits,” Narduzzi said. “He was physical, which is what we saw in practice last week. When you practice well and you do a good job we’re going to get you in there. If you don’t practice so well, you might not get to 23 or 28 guys.”
If North Carolina goes up-tempo against the Panthers, Pittsburgh will have to rely on a platoon of defenders to keep up. Reynolds figures to mix in well.
–QB Kenny Pickett went down with a knee injury during the second quarter against Georgia Tech. He returned in the second half, however, and guided the Panthers to a win. So far this season, he’s completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 406 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. While not gaudy numbers, Pickett is still the calming presence for Pittsburgh’s offense. Narduzzi noted that Pickett is wearing a knee brace this week.
“He’ll be wearing it,” Narduzzi said. “Not on need either. He’ll be wearing it because the head coach is making him.”
SERIES HISTORY: North Carolina leads the all-time series against Pittsburgh 9-3. In ACC play, UNC leads 5-0 and has won the last five meetings dating back to 2013.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “It obviously gave them a week of rest, and our thoughts and prayers are with everybody down in North Carolina, dealing with that hurricane, and how devastating that’s been to the people down there. I don’t think that’s easy on anybody. Those kids and families have to deal with that. And I don’t know who’s been affected by that personally. So those are all things I don’t know. But they had a week off. They’ll be fresher, I know nobody got hurt this weekend, I can tell you that, nobody is banged up, and they’ve had two weeks to prepare for us. I think it’s an advantage for them.” — Pat Narduzzi on North Carolina not playing last week against UCF due to Hurricane Florence.
