2-Minute Drill: Pitt Panthers

IOWA RUSH OFFENSE VS. PITT RUSH DEFENSE

Pat Narduzzi is in his first year as head coach at Pitt. You already know him as the driving force/mastermind/defensive coordinator behind the Michigan State defenses that have become, let's not kid ourselves, a standard for excellence in the Big Ten. (Narduzzi even said Ohio State 'borrowed' the Spartans defense.)

Narduzzi has brought his defensive philosophy to Pitt. The Panthers look exactly like Michigan State, a 4-3 over front with quarters coverage (Iowa is this, by the way, except 4-3 under — the front aligns to the weakside and the outside linebacker comes down to the line of scrimmage).

The defense is built to self-adjust and allow players to attack and react without doing quadratic equations in their heads.

So, Pitt has added a head coach with an unbendable defensive philosophy to an extremely experienced roster. The Panthers returned seven starters from last year's defense, including massive tackles Darryl Render (6-2, 300) and Tyrique Jarrett (6-3, 335).

With two veteran tackles, including the Outland Trophy winner, the Hawkeyes didn't do much business on the ground against Pitt last season, rushing 35 times for 133 yards (3.80 yards a carry). Through two games this season, Pitt has allowed just 88.0 rushing yards per game. Meanwhile, Iowa has a had a rebirth, with 235.0 yards a game, something that has allowed QB C.J. Beathard a wonderful foundation to explore his skills.

This one hinges on junior RB LeShun Daniels' health. He left the Iowa State game with an ankle injury and seemed headed toward a 'game-time decision' situation. If he can run — really run and not hop-a-long — Iowa has a chance at the advantage here.

Advantage: Push

IOWA PASS OFFENSE VS. PITT PASS DEFENSE

Narduzzi's version of quarters puts cornerbacks in tight press coverage, matching the attacking front mentality and the overall mentality of the defense. (By the way, all of these observations can be found on any of the instructional DVDs Narduzzi has made over the years and/or any of the many coaching clinics he has lectured in.)

It's a press technique, but really in a zone coverage. Pitt and Iowa are tied four fourth in the nation with nine sacks. (Iowa is coming off a week in which they allowed three sacks.) Star linebacker Nicholas Grigsby (6-1, 220) has two sacks; defensive end Rori Blair (6-4, 240) has 1.5.

The Panthers return five players in the secondary with starting experience, including returning starters at corner (Lafayette Pitts, 5-11, 195, and Avonte Maddox, 5-9, 170). Last week in the Panthers' 24-7 victory at Akron, the Zips narrowly missed on a couple of long pass plays because their receivers couldn't hang on to the ball.

Narduzzi favors zone pressure over man pressure. Last week against Akron, the Panthers brought pressure off the edge with a linebacker lining up late with a defensive end, creating a mismatch in numbers.

This is a week where Beathard's instincts and football IQ will be tested. He'll be looking into a secondary that is at once man coverage and then can morph into a zone. Narduzzi will bring zone pressure that he would love to copyright.

Last week at Iowa State, Beathard showed he can deal with a heated environment. The 61,500 at Jack Trice Stadium badly wanted him to fail. This week, the challenge is less on the emotional level and more about knowing what to do and when to do it.

Yes, it's only two games, but raise your hand if you thought junior wide receiver Matt VandeBerg would be leading the Big Ten in receptions. He has 15 catches for 173 yards and two TDs. Senior Tevaun Smith has drawn more attention from defenses, but VandeBerg is running great routes, finding open spaces and settling in them rather than freaking out and speeding through.

TE George Kittle (knee) said he hopes to be healthy this week. Only six wide receivers and tight ends have caught passes this season. That's enough, but it's healthier to have a few more contributors here.

Advantage: Iowa

Last year

 

For a more detailed breakdown of this game, click here.

PITT RUSH OFFENSE VS. IOWA RUSH DEFENSE

By now you know that Pitt lost running back James Conner, the ACC player of the year last season, to a season-ending knee injury. Some coaches are subtle in their tone-setting ways with the media. Here is what Narduzzi said before the Panthers traveled to Akron last week: 'Maybe I'm just blind, but our kids haven't winked. They haven't been like, 'Oh coach we can't practice today because James is not here.' That didn't happen. We all love James and James is a great football player, but I think it's more a media thing than kids. They're resilient and they're ready to go.'

That has been the case. Redshirt freshman Qadree Ollison (6-2, 230) jumped in the Youngstown State game and rushed 16 times for 207 yards. Last week at Akron, he went 21 times for 81 yards. True freshman Darrin Hall rushed for 52 yards last week.

Center Artie Rowell (6-2, 310) and guard Alex Officer (6-4, 335) power the inside rush. Left tackle Adam Bisnowaty (6-6, 300) has 20 starts. Right tackle remains unsettled between redshirt freshmen Brian O'Neill (6-6, 290) and Alex Bookser (6-6, 310). Sophomore Jaryd Jones-Smith was in line to start at right tackle, but he sustained an offseason knee injury that will sideline him for 2015.

Iowa's run defense will be severely challenged if senior defensive end Drew Ott is unable to play this week. He suffered a dislocated left elbow at Iowa State last week. His status as of midweek was questionable.

Without Ott (6-4, 270), Iowa loses horsepower up front. Redshirt freshman Parker Hesse (6-3, 240) likely would get his first start. After being brutalized on the perimeter at times in 2014, the Hawkeyes have been geared toward setting a strong edge on defense in the first two games. Pitt runs myriad tight formations that are geared toward power running (Wisconsin coach, and former Badgers assistant, Paul Chryst, was the Panthers coach last season, so there are remnants of Wisconsin).

To match Pitt's power philosophy, Iowa might have to get creative with the front seven. Then again, a week after piling up 325 rushing yards against FCS Youngstown State, the Panthers averaged just 2.76 yards a carry on 46 attempts vs. Akron.

Advantage: Push

Last year

 

For a more detailed breakdown of this game, click here.

PITT PASS OFFENSE VS. IOWA PASS DEFENSE

As of Wednesday afternoon, Narduzzi hadn't named a starter at QB. During the ACC coaches teleconference, he said whether Chad Voytik or Nate Peterman ends up seeing a majority of the snaps Saturday night will come down to who performs in game action.

Last week, that clearly was Peterman. The 6-2, 225-pound Tennessee transfer played the entire second half for Pitt, finishing the game 12 of 17 for 148 yards and one touchdown.

Chad Voytik made his 15th consecutive start for the Panthers and led them to a 10-7 halftime lead. The two quarterbacks split playing time in the first half, but Peterman took over for their final drive of the second quarter with 2:35 left and finished it out.

The passing stats tilt decidedly to Peterman (more yards, higher efficiency), but Voytik does pose a running threat. Both QBs will be able to throw to star wide receiver Tyler Boyd. After sitting out week 1 due to suspension, the 6-2, 200-pound junior caught 11 passes for 95 yards last week. Pitt runs its passing game through Boyd and isn't shy about it. The receiver with the next most receptions has three.

Iowa's pass coverage has been solid, finally coming up with an interception (King) to seal the ISU victory after a few near misses (outside linebacker Ben Niemann just missed one early against the Cyclones).

This week doesn't set up to be heavy-pass, but if Iowa does cap Pitt's running game, you'll probably see more Peterman on the field and that will mean more passing. Against Iowa State last week, you saw the gamut of Iowa personnel packages to defend the pass, from nickel to dime to the third-down blitz package. Junior Maurice Fleming played quite a bit in sub packages. So did redshirt freshman Joshua Jackson, who a few times found himself opposite ISU star WR Allen Lazard.

With Ott likely slowed if not entirely out, Iowa's pass rush will need to be manufactured. Boyd will likely find opportunity here.

Advantage: Pitt

SPECIAL TEAMS

Boyd is Pitt's punt returner. With the one-game suspension, he's had just one chance and it was in rainy conditions last week at Akron. Maddox is the kick return specialist and he's off to as good of a start as you can get. Against Youngstown, he returned a kick 89 yards for a TD and is averaging 46.7 yards on three returns. The kick return TD was Pitt's first in four years.

Boyd and Maddox should keep Iowa's newly revamped special teams on high alert.

Kicker Chris Blewitt is 2 of 4 with a miss in each game. He failed for 34 yards last week in the rain. He did, however, open the season with a 45-yard field goal. Blewitt also has eight touchbacks on 13 kickoffs this season.

King erased a frustrating afternoon with a 34-yard punt return that set up Iowa's fourth-quarter, game-winning TD. ISU punted seven times, and King returned only two. He caught two punts inside Iowa's 10. He needs to park at the 10 and let those go over his head and into the end zone. These are his first games as a returner, so those rules still need memorizing.

Iowa seems to have a core group of special teamers it really likes — senior linebackers Cole Fisher and Travis Perry, sophomore linebacker Ben Niemann, safeties Anthony Gair and Miles Taylor and wide receiver Jacob Hillyer. They've bought into their roles and, so far, have raised Iowa's special teams quality.

Ferentz has been singing punter Dillon Kidd's praises all week. Kidd had his best game as a Hawkeye vs. ISU, with five punts for a 47.4 average, two downed inside the 20 and no touchbacks (after having two punts and two touchbacks in week 1).

Advantage: Iowa

INTANGIBLES

1. Can Iowa beat the injury report?

— It's still up in the air, but the Hawkeyes could be without senior DE Drew Ott and junior RB LeShun Daniels, who Narduzzi tried to recruit to Michigan State. Both left last week's game early with injuries and Iowa made it through. Yet, they would be big losses for the Hawkeyes going up against an Atlantic Coast Conference team with an agenda. Ferentz teams have traditionally been fantastic at compartmentalizing. It'll be a hit in personnel if they can't play (particularly Ott), but it won't mess with their heads.

2. Light bright

— Iowa AD Gary Barta went into the TV season, which basically runs from March to the middle of April, with a team that finished 7-6 with two depressing losses to finish 2014. You probably thought a torrent of 11 a.m. kicks were coming your way. But no, Iowa snagged two night games with Big Ten Network. The schedule helped, yes, but the night factor adds a little juice for the Kinnick crowd and, potentially, the team. Now, the trick to getting more night games is winning night games.

3. Culture begins now

— If you listen to Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi speak he kind of reminds you of Daniel Plainview, the character Daniel Day Lewis played, and won an Academy Award for, in the film 'There Will Be Blood.' He speaks his mind. He makes his points. From minute 1 as Pitt coach, he's talked about having a physical identity. A win over Iowa, a program that shares the physical identity thing, would go a long way in establishing this culture in his first season.

IOWA WILL WIN IF ...

The Hawkeyes maintain their pace in running the football, it will win this game. Iowa hasn't rushed for 200-plus yards in three consecutive games since opening the 2013 season with five straight. If this game boils down to the caveman crush that it traditionally was for Iowa vs. Narduzzi defenses at Michigan State, possessions will be scarce, meaning points will be worth their weight in gold doubloons.

PITT WILL WIN IF ...

It runs its simple and yet complex defense to the point where Beathard doesn't know what he's seeing in coverage. Beathard is spinning a lot of plates in this game. He's still a relatively new starter and a Narduzzi defense is graduate level.

PREDICTION

: Iowa 26, Pitt 23

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com