Pitt and Kent State begin the season with questions but few answers at quarterback

Kent State at Pittsburgh, Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Pitt by 24.

Series record: Pitt leads 7-0.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi overhauled the offensive coaching staff in the offseason after going 3-9 in 2023. New offensive coordinator Kade Bell brought in an up-tempo system that piled up plenty of points at Western Carolina. The challenge in his first year with the Panthers will be figuring out how to bring a roster largely comprised of players who were brought in to play a more traditional, pro-style attack up to speed quickly. Narduzzi declined to name a starting quarterback after a months-long competition between Nate Yarnell and Eli Holstein. Both will play against the Golden Flashes, who are coming off a 1-11 season and were picked to finish last in the MAC.

KEY MATCHUP

Pitt’s offensive line against Kent State’s defensive front. Bell’s system spreads the field and asks the quarterbacks to make quick decisions. The Golden Flashes’ best bet at pulling off a stunner will be disrupting the timing of whoever is behind center. That may be a hard ask for a defense that gave up 34.6 points per game last year, in the bottom 15 in the FBS.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Kent State: QBs Devin Kargman/Tommy Ulatowski. Pitt isn’t the only school yet to make up its mind about its quarterback situation. While Kargman won the starting job in training camp, second-year coach Kenni Burns said he expects both to play against a young Panther defense.

Pitt: TE Gavin Bartholomew. The talented Bartholomew opted to stay with the Panthers rather than head elsewhere in the transfer portal as a sign of respect to Narduzzi, who was the only coach from a Power Five program to offer Bartholomew a scholarship. Bartholomew has NFL size (6-foot-4, 260 pounds) and speed (he’s averaging 14.0 yards per catch in his career) but needs to be more involved than he was a year ago, when he had just 18 receptions in 10 games.

FACTS & FIGURES

Narduzzi is beginning his 10th season with the Panthers, making him the program’s longest-tenured coach since John Michelosen spent 11 seasons leading the Panthers from 1955-65. Narduzzi’s 65 career wins are second all-time at Pitt, though he has a ways to go before catching Jock Sutherland (111). ... Pitt is 33-5 all-time against MAC teams and 8-1 in season openers under Narduzzi. ... Yarnell or Holstein will become the third different opening-game starter for Pitt in as many years. If Holstein gets the nod during the first series, he will be the third straight transfer to get the nod, following Kedon Slovis in 2022 and Phil Jurkovec last season.

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