It was a late collapse for West Virginia that led Pitt to defeat them in the 2024 Backyard Brawl.
After the Mountaineers led by 10 points with under five minutes left to play, the Panthers put together two scoring drives with a total of 152 yards as they went up and ultimately defeated WVU 38-34. West Virginia defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley provided insight into what went wrong and took responsibility.
“Really more missed opportunities than anything. We had two drive-extending penalties. We had been doing a really good job getting after the quarterback with four people, which I knew we had to do because the tendency going in was control the scramble, control the back. So, we knew what we had to do to win the game and we just had just clean misses that probably would have made those last five minutes different,” Lesley said. ” I take ownership of all.”
Pitt’s first score under five minutes left them with a second and 30 play after penalties set them back. Despite the long distance to a first down, the Panthers converted with a touchdown. Lesley broke down that play specifically.
“It’s the second and 30, trying to keep again trying to keep eyes. And I know I’m gonna be asked about that which is fine, it’s fair. You go back to what you see on tape, right, and they hit a set, I think it was between a 60 and 70-yard touchdown against Cincinnati. Cincinnati’s in a drop eight (coverage) a little bit. They (Pitt) dump it to the back and let It go. And I was, no matter what the situation was, wasn’t going to let that happen, it happened once in that game, I think, for 20,” Lesley said. “I wasn’t going to let them dink it to the back in that situation. And whether that’s right, wrong, and different, you know, that’s hindsight 20/20, and the Monday morning quarterback is always right. But I’ll take ownership of that; that was the game plan going in, and we stuck by it. In a tempo situation, you got to give them a call, get them lined up, and go, and that’s one I chose. And you know, probably would have done it different if I had to do it again, but you don’t get those chances.”
The Mountaineers defense only allowed four yards of offense before those two late touchdown drives for Pitt. Their only other points of the half came on the blocked punt in the third quarter.
“Circumstances don’t matter, the magnitude of the game doesn’t matter it’s when you have that opportunity you got to finish and we didn’t do it,” Lesley said.
Some have questioned West Virginia’s secondary due to the lack of effective pass coverage. Lesley commented on that group while also mentioning a missed opportunity.
“It’s just go to practice and get better. I mean, if the confidence level is shaking, you just got to get over it and move on to what’s next. I think that a secondary that is confident obviously always plays better and you want them to be that way,” Lesley said. “But I mean, second drive of the game we’re up seven-nothing, we got a 98-yard pick six in the hands. And I know that gives you confidence. So there and then, those are going to come again, you know, at some point, those opportunities are going to come again, and we make them that, that’ll definitely help.”
However, Lesley doesn’t feel totally discouraged in his group; he just knows they need to play better.
“Yeah, we have to play better, but, like, results are not tied to how I feel about the guys and what I’ve seen. I know they can do it and we just got to get better and go do it.”
Lesley sent a message to his players about how they could improve as a unit going forward and the adjustments they could make.
“Do your job, do it with the technique and the way you’re taught to do it and execute. And we do that, we’ll be fine when we have done that [we’ve] be fine,” Lesley said. “It’s not negative, just do your job [and] do it better. And we got another opportunity at noon on Saturday.”
The Mountaineers will look to clean up the defensive mishaps and regroup after their Backyard Brawl performance when they take on Kansas this week at home for their first Big 12 game of the season. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
