Holstein powers Pitt past struggling North Carolina 34-24 for its first 5-0 start since 1991

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Eli Holstein threw for a career-best 381 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another score as Pittsburgh beat North Carolina 34-24 on Saturday for its first 5-0 start since 1991.

Holstein completed 25-of-42 passes, while also rushing for a team-high 76 yards to lead the Panthers (5-0, 1-0 ACC). Running back Desmond Reid complimented Pitt’s offensive attack on the ground and in the air as he racked up 210 yards of total offense on 29 touches.

“We've got a hell of a football team,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “You know, offensively, they got a good football team. They moved it, but our guys bowed up on fourth down. Just a heck of a team win, and great effort by our guys.”

In the third consecutive loss for UNC (3-3, 0-2), Omarion Hampton paced the Tar Heels with 106 yards rushing and a score.

Pitt drove deep into UNC territory midway through the first quarter with the aim of taking a two-possession lead, but an errant pass from Holstein was picked off by Tar Heels’ sophomore defensive back Kaleb Cost, who sprinted 84 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

The turning point proved to be in the fourth quarter when – after the Panthers took a seven-point lead on a 3-yard rush from Holstein – Pitt stopped UNC on a fourth-and-1 in the red zone and responded with an 18-play, 73-yard drive that chewed 7:07 off the clock. A 37-yard field goal from Ben Sauls gave the Panthers a double-digit advantage with 2:01 to play.

To seal the win, Pitt's Kyle Louis sacked UNC quarterback Jacolby Criswell on a fourth-and-2.

UNC was 2 of 6 on fourth down conversions.

“We didn’t think we were going to stop them very well, so we made a conscience decision going in we need to score touchdowns – we couldn’t be kicking field goals,” UNC coach Mack Brown said. “The analytics said to go for every one of them. ... If we made them, we’d be talking about how aggressive and smart the coach was.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Pitt: The Panthers won in Chapel Hill’s Kenan Stadium for the first time in eight tries. Fueling the Panthers is an explosive offensive attack that entered the game ranked fifth nationally in scoring with 48.5 points per game.

UNC: After the pick-6 – which was UNC’s first since 2019 – the Tar Heels’ defense failed to turn the Panthers over for the remainder of the game. Meanwhile, the unit continued to give up big chunk plays to Pitt, allowing Holstein to connect with receivers for pickups of 43, 72, 30 and 46 yards.

HISTORIC HOLSTEIN

The redshirt freshman Holstein, who transferred to Pitt in the offseason from Alabama, is the first Panthers quarterback since Hall of Famer Dan Marino in 1979 to win each of his first five starts. His passing yardage total against UNC also broke the single-game record by a Pitt freshman set by Alex Van Pelt in 1989.

“Eli is a dog," Pitt defensive tackle Sean FitzSimmons said. "Looking at him out there, he's so good, there's nothing else to even really say about him.”

Holstein has 15 passing touchdowns to just three interceptions this season and has topped 300 yards passing in four of his five starts.

UP NEXT

Pitt: Cal visits the undefeated Panthers next Saturday.

UNC: The Tar Heels host Georgia Tech next Saturday.

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Mitchell Northam, The Associated Press