Narduzzi might have plenty of faith in Geriner, but his performance against North Carolina gave Pitt little reason to celebrate. The Panthers entered the game undefeated at 5-0 and jumped out to a 10-0 lead, only to suffer a 21-17 defeat. Geriner completed 27 of 44 passes for 219 yards without a single touchdown. Pitt even outgained UNC 369-269 in total yards, but apparently, moving the ball means little when you can’t finish the job.
And Geriner certainly didn’t make things easier. He threw two interceptions in the third quarter, including one in UNC’s end zone on fourth-and-2, wasting a scoring opportunity. His second pick handed the Tar Heels possession at Pitt’s 42-yard line. Then came another costly mistake in the fourth quarter. With Pitt trailing 21-17, Geriner missed Cataurus Hicks with a high throw on fourth down at UNC’s 21-yard line, killing another promising drive. Pitt had its chances to win, but its quarterback failed to deliver when it mattered most. Yet those mistakes weren’t enough to shake Narduzzi’s confidence. Instead of questioning Geriner’s future as the starter, the head coach doubled down on his faith in him.
“Absolutely,” Narduzzi responded without hesitation when asked during the postgame press conference whether Geriner would remain Pitt’s starting quarterback. “We’ve got a lot of faith in him, and Cory will keep getting better as weeks go on, but without a question, there is a ton of confidence in Holden. Again, first start, guys; sometimes they are not pretty. But I thought he did a nice job. I think about the drives he had; we open up with a 12-play 75-yard drive. We just have to be more consistent. Then we go on a 14-play, 67-yard drive. We got to finish in the end zone.”…