Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein will have to navigate the rest of the season with the goal on his back

The problem with winning is usually that these teams are forced to take each other’s best shots week after week.

It’s like going into the woods to bag that 10-point buck that no one can track down. If you succeed, it’s a prize you’ll be talking about until your friends get tired of hearing the story.

It’s a similar story with Pitt, quarterback Eli Holstein and the teams they’ve played the last three weeks. Coach Pat Narduzzi talked about the different twists that California, Syracuse and SMU showed Pitt’s redshirt freshman — variations on defensive lineups that those teams didn’t show until they faced the Panthers.

“We’re trying to give him more of what they don’t do,” the coach said last week before Pitt faced Virginia on Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium. “That’s the key.

“That’s what they do. If they change, I think we have a good idea of ​​where they’re going to change. It sounds easy. There’s a lot in there. We prepared for everything we could on offense and defense.”

Of course, there are only so many ways the defense can change its plans. Good attacks should be able to adapt.

Especially since Miami’s 28-23 loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday suddenly has a path to the ACC title game.

“It depends on the execution,” Narduzzi said. “I don’t care what the defense looks like. We should be able to execute and shoot and run the ball.”

One of the ways the defense has tried to confuse Holstein is by sending eight players into the passing lanes. A quarterback only has five eligible receivers, sometimes fewer if the coordinator leaves one in the backfield to block.

So it becomes a numbers game that many quarterbacks can’t handle, separating good passers from great ones.

Of course, it is difficult for a player to beat good teams without the help of his teammates. If Holstein can finish this season as successfully as he started it, he needs the support of those around him.

Opponents recorded 19 sacks in Pitt’s first eight games. Seven of those came in the last three games as the offense struggled to convert third downs (30 of 38 missed opportunities).

There was also a reason Holstein needed late splash plays to start 3-0 – Kent State, Cincinnati and West Virginia sacked the quarterback 11 times.

With Pitt passing more than running (300 aerial plays to 237 on the ground before Saturday), the pressure on the line to provide solid protection is even greater.

However, there is a problem. Senior offensive lineman Branson Taylor, a co-captain, missed the last two games and most of California due to injury. He is out for the season.

The coaching staff has been working feverishly to get Branson’s replacement, Terrence Enos, up to speed. Enos, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound redshirt junior, made just the fourth start in his career on Saturday against Virginia.

“We’re all focused on the quarterback spot, but the protection has to be better,” Narduzzi said, noting that was a focus in the days leading up to the Virginia game. “We did detailed work there. I feel comfortable there.

“It takes 11 people, whether it’s the depth of a route (for the pass catcher), the spacing in your route concepts or the clarity of things (for the quarterback). Everyone has to do their job.”

There has been some speculation from outside the team that Holstein doesn’t always see open receivers, forcing him to take a sack or make an ill-advised throw. But that may mean he needs more experience and better protection.

“It’s always easy to say that when you have the clicker in your hand,” Narduzzi said of the postgame video study. “When you rewind it, (you say), ‘Why didn’t he throw it there?’ But there are people in your face, and there are big guys over there.

“The best camera is to have one of these on the quarterback’s helmet so you can see what he sees. He doesn’t throw it to the guy right in front of you because he can’t see him.

“He plays his tail off. We’re happy with where he is. We have to make sure all ten guys around him are playing well too.”