The North Shore was packed this weekend with entertainment. At PNC Park, the Savannah Bananas — baseball’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters — sold out the ballpark back-to-back days. And Rib Fest only added to the masses, setting up shop right near Acrusire Stadium and featuring food and entertainment.
But Pitt football made its case for the best show in town Saturday, when it opened the 2025 season at home with a 61-9 thrashing of the Duquesne Dukes, starting the year 1-0.
When it was all said and done, redshirt sophomore quarterback Eli Holstein had set a new career high of four passing touchdowns for the Panthers. He went 15-for-23 for 215 yards and took off seven times for an extra 41 yards. Holstein got most of the fourth quarter off, with backup senior Cole Gonzales taking over as Pitt turned to most of its backups late in the second half.
The running game had some highlights as well. Senior running back Desmond Reid ran eight times for 66 yards and a touchdown, although he had an even better day on special teams.
Before Pitt’s offense could even step on the field, the Panthers opened the scoring with an 88-yard punt return touchdown by Reid. It was the longest punt return touchdown in Acrisure Stadium history and marked the second year in a row he has recorded a punt return touchdown in a season opener, running for one last season in Pitt’s opener against Kent State.
As the half went along, Pitt’s offense truly woke up and established a 34-6 lead by halftime.
And that slaughter didn’t end with the first half. Reid ripped off a 57-yard touchdown run in the first minute of the third quarter, setting the tone for what would feel like a never-ending second half for the Dukes. Pitt would eventually coast to a 61-9 win.
You can call it revenge — almost a century in the making.
The last time these two teams met, World War II was raging in Europe, Franklin D. Roosevelt was seeking a third term in office and Duquesne vs. Pitt was an almost annual event. In the last matchup of the decade, back on Oct. 21, 1939, Duquesne snagged a 21-13 win.
Now, meeting for the first time in 86 years, the Panthers just demolished the Dukes and extended their series lead to 6-2.
Make no mistake, it was not the best of starts for Pitt. The Pitt offense looked sluggish and the players seemed like they were not on the same page — a lot of the team’s early scoring was supplemented by strong special teams work.
Looking back at how things ended, it’s hard to remember this was a one-possession game in the second quarter. Dukes quarterback Tyler Riddell had just hit an impressive 59-yard pass to Joey Isabella, and two plays later, a touchdown pass to BJ Alexander.
That touchdown pass made it a one-score game, and with Pitt’s offense still looking awfully out-of-sync, there was some uneasiness in the stadium. The Dukes had some momentum, and the Panthers looked asleep.
But the Panthers found a way to immediately encourage that stadium. Junior wide receiver Kenny Johnson ripped off a 78-yard punt return that set the offense up in great position, and it took only a few plays for Pitt to cash in. That ensuing touchdown drive reestablished a multi-possession lead for Pitt, something they would never put in danger again. What could have turned into a trap game very much did not.
But as impressive as the score was when the dust finally settled, this was about the result that was supposed to happen. Duquesne opened as nearly 40-point underdogs and ended up losing by 52. Yes, the Dukes did put up a good amount of fight early on, but after Pitt struck back to make it 20-6, it looked like Duquesne just ran out of gas.
“It’s a preseason game, really, that counts,” head coach Pat Narduzzi said in his postgame press conference. “Your win-loss column, they all count as one.”
And the players deserve credit for their reserved mindset after the game. They didn’t gloat over a blowout win. Instead, many of them stressed the desire and need to improve, particularly on the defensive end.
“I feel like we did good for our first game, but we got a lot to improve on,” redshirt sophomore defensive back Cruce Brookins said. “Next game, we got to be a lot better.”
Reid extended that same mindset to the offense as well. He said he liked what he saw from Holstein on the field today, but they were far from perfect.
“As a team, we got a lot of stuff to clean up on, you know, QB as well,” Reid said. “Everybody got a lot of stuff to clean up on. That’s the good thing — we did some good things today, and we still weren’t at our best.”
That’s what the Panthers need to take away from this game. They took care of business on Saturday and got the win, but there’s a lot of work left to do.
It’s a long season. This was a good start, but there’s a long way to go.
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