⚡ CFB Dashboard

Some deep dive stuff here on Pitt's defensive personnel and more from the Miami (OH) game. - Pitt started the game with more or less the expected lineup: Jimmy Scott and Isaiah Neal at defensive end; Nick James and Sean FitzSimmons at defensive tackle; Jeremiah Marcelin (middle), Braylan Lovelace (Star) and Alex Sanford (Money) at linebacker; Raion Strader (boundary) and Shawn Lee Jr. (field) at cornerback; and Cruce Brookins (boundary) and Josh Guerrier (field) at safety - Shadarian Harrison warmed up but did not play. - On the second defensive possession, Jaeden Moore replaced Jimmy Scott at end. On the third possession, Scott came back and Zach Crothers replaced Isaiah Neal. Also on the third possession, Jeremiah Warren came in for Nick James until third down when James came back on the field as part of the base package. The mixing and matching on the defensive line continued throughout the game. FitzSimmons and James played the most snaps at tackle and Scott and Neal played the most at end, but Moore, Crothers, Warren and, for a few snaps, Eliyt Nairne all rotated in. - The first rotation at linebacker in the base defense came on Miami’s fourth possession when DeMarco Ward came in at Star linebacker and Braylan Lovelace moved to Money. Sanford came back for the next two possessions and then Cam Lindsey played Money linebacker for Miami’s final possession of the first half. Here’s how the linebackers set up on Miami’s second-half possessions: 1: Lovelace (Star), Marcelin (middle), Sanford (Money) 2: Ward (Star), Marcelin (middle), Lindsey (Money) 3: Ward (Star), Marcelin (middle), Sanford (Money) 4: Ward (Star), Davin Brewton (middle), Lindsey (Money) 5: Jayden Bonsu (Star), Justin Thompson (middle), Abe Ibrahim (Money) - The Pitt coaches did not rotate in the secondary until the final two drives of the game, with Raion Strader and Shawn Lee Jr. taking every snap at cornerback and Cruce Brookins and Josh Guerrier taking every snap at safety. On Miami’s penultimate possession, Zion Ferguson and Rashan Murray lined up at corner and Tony Forney and Cole Woodson played safety. On the Redhawks’ final drive, Allen Bryant got some time at safety (first with Forney and then with Woodson) and Kanye Thompson got some work at corner. - During training camp, Pat Narduzzi was cagey about Pitt’s “new” third-down package. For the last 11 years, Pitt has used the Delta defensive sub-package, which featured three down linemen, three linebackers, two cornerbacks and two safeties plus one extra player in the Star position. In most years, the Star in the Delta was handled by a safety, but occasionally a linebacker would play there (John Petrishen in 2021 is the most notable example of that). But in camp this year, Narduzzi said the third-down package would be different and would even have a different name (which he wouldn’t reveal). On Saturday, Pitt’s third-down package looked pretty familiar (even down to players signaling the personnel grouping by hitting a closed fist against their helmets). There were three down linemen, three linebackers, two cornerbacks, two safeties and the Star - this time manned by Braylan Lovelace. Up front, Nick James was almost always the defensive tackle in the middle of the line; he was there for nine of the 10 snaps in the package, with Sean FitzSimmons getting the one other rep. Isaiah Neal played end on seven of the 10 snaps, Jaeden Moore played six, Jimmy Scott was out there for five and Zach Crothers saw two snaps in the package. The coaches were more consistent at linebacker: for every one of the 10 package snaps, Lovelace played the Star position while Marcelin, Lindsey and Sanford were at the three linebacker spots. That was the case regardless of which linebackers were playing in the base defense on the preceding second down. - Nine of the plays in that package were on third down and one was one fourth down. Miami converted two of the nine third downs (one on the first touchdown drive and one on the subsequent drive that ended in a punt) as well as the fourth down (which was also on the Redhawks’ first touchdown drive). Miami quarterback David McComb completed 4-of-10 passes for 56 yards against that package, including an 18-yard pass that converted third-and-12, a 10-yard pass that converted fourth-and-9 and a 22-yard pass that converted another third-and-12. - Under new defensive coordinator Cory Sanders, Pitt was fairly aggressive in the third-down package. The Panthers rushed at least five players on six of the 10 snaps in the package, including four times when they sent six at McComb. On at least two of the snaps when they rushed fewer than six, a linebacker appeared to be spying McComb, who is known for his rushing ability.