Holstein and red-hot Panthers enter bye week 4-0
by Bo Marchionte
Published September 21, 2024, 07:50 PM
Pittsburgh, PA – The Panthers moved to 4-0 after jumping out to a huge 42-10 lead over Youngstown State by halftime. Pittsburgh would finish of the Penguins 73-17.
That’s a great feeling as a quarterback, as an offense,” Eli Holstein said postgame. “You know, I’m sure Coach (Kade) Bell liked that feeling too.”
It was another solid performance by Holstein who once again was on top of his game and hasn’t had any of those youthful games marred by miscues that sometimes can pop up regardless of the opponent.
“We still left some points out there,” Holstein said. “But I feel like that was the first time we put a four-quarter game together and the score board showed it.”
After four games, it’s fair to say, Holstein is a serious contender for following former Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett for ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors which Picket won in 2021.
Other notable ACC quarterbacks are Syracuse’s Kyle McCord and Miami’s Cameron Ward. McCord and the Orangeman fell to Stanford 26-24, where he finished with two interceptions and took four sacks against the Cardinal defense on Friday night at home.
Ward plays later tonight against South Florida as the No. 8 Hurricanes look to stay perfect like the Panthers on the season after Syracuse slips to 2-1. No doubt, Holstein has had some gimmie games facing Kent State, Cincinnati and Youngstown State, but the hostile atmosphere against West Virginia is going to put hair on anyone’s chest.
He walked out of the “Backyard Brawl” looking like the real deal and followed it up with a five-touchdown performance against the Penguins. With a little under four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Holstein bid ado to the playing field and would watch from the sidelines with the win secured.
In 2021, after four games, Pickett accumulated 1,342 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, one interception and added 121 rushing yards on 21 carries and two scores. Remember Pickett had 48 games under his belt before his all-world 2021 season for the Panthers.
Holstein, with just four games in his brief Panthers career, has thrown for 1,186 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, two interceptions along with 189 rushing yards on 38 carries. His most impressive play was with 1:44 left in the third quarter, he ran for 49 yards to the YSU two-yard line before punching it in himself from two-yards to score his fifth touchdown on the afternoon.
“Coach Bell tells us, you know, we’re Steph Curry,” Holstein said. “We’re out there to facilitate the ball. You know, the shots there, we got to take it. When that run was there, you know, I got to take it. I took off and ran, kept the chains moving, got the got the offense moving.”
His 93 rushing yards against YSU, was the most yards rushing by a Pitt quarterback since Chad Voytik eclipsed the century mark in 2014 against Virginia Tech, with 118 yards on 19 carries.
“Not too disappointing,” Holstein said of not finishing the long run in the end zone. “I got in the red zone, you know, I would have, would have loved to get in the end zone, but I got in the ends of next play. If I wouldn’t have gotten in the ends of the next play, I would have been a little bit upset about that.”
Holstein’s confidence in himself is evident and clearly his Panthers teammates are finding this Zackery, Louisiana native and Alabama transfer to be the real deal. The Panthers enter ACC play on October 5th, when they travel to North Carolina who got embarrassed at home by James Madison to one of the most bizarre college football finals, 70-50.
I thought the Tarheels, were at the Dean Smith Center playing basketball, when the scored emerged. North Caroline will look to regroup next weekend against Duke before the Panthers arrive Kenan Memorial Stadium, in Chapel Hill.
“Prepare next week like we are preparing for a game,” Holstein in preparation for North Carolina during Pitt’s bye week. “You got to keep preparing and doing the little things right. Get prepared even more for UNC.”
Conference football begins in October and Pitt has positioned itself in an ideal place. Not only are they unbeaten but also have a young quarterback playing at an extremely high level. It’s not just in the National Football League, it’s in college football as well.
You must have an elite quarterback under center and the limited exposure of Holstein after four games is the Panthers might have the next ACC Offensive Player of the Year, on the roster.
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com
