Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein must navigate remainder of season with target on his back

The problem with winning most of the time is that those teams are forced to take the other guy’s best punch week after week.

It’s like going into the woods to bag that 10-point buck no one can track down. If you’re successful, it’s a prize you’ll talk about until your friends get sick of hearing the story.

It’s a bit of the same with Pitt, quarterback Eli Holstein and the teams they have played over the previous three weeks. Coach Pat Narduzzi has talked about the different twists California, Syracuse and SMU have thrown at Pitt’s redshirt freshman — variations of defensive alignments that those teams did not show until they met the Panthers.

“We try to give him more of what they don’t do,” the coach said last week before Pitt met Virginia on Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium. “That’s the key.

“This is what they do. If they change, I think we have a good idea what they’re going to change to. It sounds simple. There is a lot that goes into it. We prepared for everything on offense and defense that we possibly could.”

Of course, there are a limited number of ways defenses can change their schemes. Good offenses should be able to adjust.

Especially with a path to the ACC title game suddenly open after Miami’s 28-23 loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday.

“It comes down to execution,” Narduzzi said. “I don’t care what the defense is. We should be able to execute and throw completions and run the ball.”

One of the ways defenses have tried to confuse Holstein is to drop eight players into pass routes. A quarterback only has five eligible receivers, sometimes less if the coordinator leaves one in the backfield to block.

So, it becomes a numbers game that many quarterbacks can’t handle, separating good passers from great ones.

Of course, it’s difficult for one player to beat good teams without help from teammates. If Holstein is able to finish this season as successfully as he started it, he needs those around him to step up.

Opponents recorded 19 sacks in Pitt’s first eight games. Seven came in the past three games when the offense struggled to convert third downs (missing on 30 of 38 opportunities).

Also, there was a reason Holstein needed late splash plays to start 3-0 — Kent State, Cincinnati and West Virginia sacked the quarterback 11 times.

With Pitt passing more than running (300 aerial plays to 237 on the ground before Saturday), there’s even more pressure on the line to give solid protection.

Yet there is a problem. Senior offensive left tackle Branson Taylor, a co-captain, missed the previous two games and most of California with an injury. He is out for the season.

The coaching staff has been working feverishly to get Branson’s replacement, Terrence Enos, up to speed. Enos, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound redshirt junior, made only his fourth career start Saturday against Virginia.

“We all focus on the quarterback spot, but the protection has to be better,” Narduzzi said, noting that was a point of emphasis in the days leading up to the Virginia game. “We’ve done a detailed job there. I feel good there.

“It takes 11 guys, whether it’s the depth of a (pass catcher’s) route, spacing in your route concepts and making things clearer (for the quarterback). Everybody has to do their job.”

There has been some speculation from outside the team that Holstein does not always see open receivers, forcing him to take a sack or make an ill-advised throw. But that can be a case of him needing more experience, along with better protection.

“It’s always easy to say that when you have the clicker in your hand,” Narduzzi said of postgame video study. “When you rewind it, (you say), ‘Why didn’t he throw it over there?’ But there are people in your face, and there are big dudes over there.

“The best camera is to have one of those on the quarterback’s helmet so you can see what he sees. He doesn’t throw it to the guy right in front of you because he can’t see him.

“He’s playing his tail off. We’re happy with where he is. We have to make sure all 10 guys around him are playing well, too.”