Should Pitt Stick With Holden Geriner?

The Pitt Panthers had their first loss of the season after falling to North Carolina 21-17. A lot of the team didn't have their best game, including the secondaries on defense and coaching decisions, but what has really stuck with people is quarterback Holden Geriner.

Geriner, a fifth-year senior who transfered from Texas State, came in after Mason Heintschel's injury against Virginia Tech. To his credit, Geriner helped Pitt get the road win against the Hokies by throwing for 78 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers in the second half. What's bizarre is that he played much worse at home against North Carolina, a team with a worse record than Virginia Tech and a game he was actually intended to play in.

Geriner threw for 219 yards and two interceptions on 27/44 pass attempts; he also rushed for -1 yard.

While just looking at the stat sheet isn't great, watching the film itself shows a lot of the problems. On a pivotal fourth down, Geriner had wide receiver Cataurus 'Blue' Hicks, who's been great the past two games, wide open. Instead of passing it to Hicks' chest, Geriner threw it over Hicks' head, which resulted in the wide receiver having to make a Herculean effort to catch the ball, but dropped it.

Narduzzi's Choice

"We have a lot of faith in [Geriner]," head coach Pat Narduzzi said postgame when asked about if he will keep the same quarterback against Boston College next week. "First start, sometimes not pretty. But I thought he did a nice job. We opened up with a 12-play, 75-yard drive, we just have to stay consistent."

To Geriner's credit, he's good at making very quick reads on shorter passes, which got tight end Carson Kent a lot of touches. He's also proved he can deliver on the road before, but he hasn't shown he can deliver through four quarters.