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Sep 13, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein (10) runs the ball during the first quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Pitt QB Takes Responsibility After WVU Loss

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI
By Mitchell Corcoran | Last updated Sep 15, 2025 4:30 PM ET

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Pitt Panthers quarterback Eli Holstein played his worst game of the season in the 31-24 loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Backyard Brawl on Sept. 13.

Holstein completed 22-of-37 attempts for 303 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also ran 14 times and had a career-low -27 rushing yards, but was able to find the end zone once.

The stat line may not look awful, but Holstein clearly struggled. He looked uncomfortable in the pocket, he didn't make confident throws, he missed wide-open receivers, threw the ball into traffic too often and the offense couldn't finish in the red zone.

It also didn't help that he got his nose busted open halfway through the game.

"We lost that game," Holstein said, standing at the podium with a bandage on his nose and a plug in his right nostril, looking like he was in an actual brawl.

"Credit to them. They played a great game. They're a good football team, but I feel like we lost that game. We just didn't do what we needed to do, didn't execute, didn't do the little things right that we've been doing those first two weeks. Couldn't really get into a rhythm. Credit to them, but it's just plain and simple like that."

The offense looked unprepared from the first snap of the game. Right tackle Ryan Baer missed a block. Holstein tried to roll to the right instead of throwing it away and was strip-sacked. Luckily for Pitt, tight end Justin Holmes recovered the ball, but that one play stalled the drive and shifted the momentum to West Virginia.

"It rattled us a little bit," Holstein said. "Just protection-wise, there was a little miscommunication on that. Just got to go out and execute, plain and simple. I've got to make better decisions with the ball. Protection breaks down, just got to throw it away and make sure a bad play doesn't
become worse."

Ben Queen-Imagn Images

That play seemed to set the tone defensively for the Mountaineers. Holstein was 13-for-24 passing at halftime with 179 yards and a pick that he threw in the end zone from the 6-yard line.

Holstein improved in the second half, but the offense as a whole did not. He completed seven straight throws and was 9-for-10 passing with 121 yards and a touchdown from the start of the third quarter until his 14-yard score to Poppi Williams.

But perhaps the two most costly drives of the game came from the end of the third quarter to the start of the fourth, when Pitt was down 14-11.

Kyle Louis and Braylan Lovelace forced interceptions on consecutive defensive drives and put the Panthers' offense on the West Virginia 14 and 24-yard lines, respectively. However, Pitt lost 14 yards in four plays in the first drive and gained just six yards in four plays on the second. Both times, the offense had to settle for a field goal for a 17-14 lead.

"We shot ourselves in the foot in those situations," Holstein said. "Defense did a great job getting us the ball in those situations with short fields, and we just didn't execute. Didn't do the little things right. "We put two touchdowns in there, and it's a completely different ball game. We're up, what? Two, three scores, maybe four scores at that point, it's a game over."

Although Holstein didn't play up to his potential, it wasn't entirely his fault. Running back Desmond Reid had six carries for 30 yards before exiting the game with an injury. Pitt ended the game with 73 rushing yards, excluding sack yards.

Holstein was also pressured 21 out of his 37 dropbacks and was sacked six times, according to PFF.

"They did a good job blitzing and pressuring me," Holstein said. "It's hard to make throws with guys coming at your face, but as a quarterback, that's something I've got to work on and keep doing."

The good news for the Panthers is that Saturday's game was not an ACC game. It stings to lose to a bitter rival, especially when they had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, but if this Pitt team wants to accomplish its big end of season goals, it needs to be nearly perfect against the rest of the conference. And that starts on Sept. 27 against Louisville.

"It's a rivalry game, and obviously a game that we want to win, but it's not an ACC game," Holstein said. "We still have our whole ACC schedule ahead of us. We've got to, obviously, win out. There's no option now. We've got to win out and win the ACC. All the goals that we want in front of us are still there."

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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