Takeaways: Pitt Starts Season on Right Foot

"The blockers, they did their job, everybody did their job," Reid said after the game. "That's what helped me get to where I needed to get to."

But Reid didn't stop there. On the second play out of halftime, Reid dazzled again when he took an inside handoff, bounced it left, and cut back inside for a 53-yard rushing touchdown.

Reid finished his day with eight carries for 66 yards and one touchdown, along with 79 punt return yards and a touchdown, and one catch for two yards.

Eli Holstein is Clearly 100% Healthy

Eli Holstein looks like he's 100% over suffering a season-ending injury on the back half of the 2024 season. The redshirt sophomore signal caller threw a career-high four touchdown passes in Saturday's win.

Holstein's final line was 15-for-23 passing, 215 yards, four touchdowns and one interception through the air and seven carries for 81 yards on the ground.

Holstein finished the first quarter 5-for-8 passing for 34 yards and a touchdown, which he said postgame, "shook the rust off" for him. He threw his interception on the first pass of the second quarter, but went 7-for-10 with 138 yards and two touchdowns after that.

"Once we settled down, then those down the field shots came to be, and we were able to attack them and make some plays through that," Holstein said.

Holstein's final touchdown came on his last throw of the game in the third quarter when he hit tight end Malachi Thomas on a short route, and Thomas took it 34 yards down the far sideline.

"You see rust every day," Pat Narduzzi said. "Nothing’s perfect. But when it’s live, it’s just totally different. He knows he’s going to get hit. It’s live. You’ll see rust out of everybody, period."

Blue Hicks is a Legitimate Weapon

Former Louisville transfer wide receiver Cataurus "Blue" Hicks had a pair of touchdowns in his Pitt debut. Those touchdowns were the first of his collegiate career.

"Blue is a football player for us," Narduzzi said. "We’re excited about him, and he can make plays with his legs and short passes, which we’ll see later on, I hope."

Hicks concluded his day with four catches for 55 yards and two scores. In his two years a Louisville, Hicks had just 13 catches for 160 yards and no scores.

His first touchdown came on a 4-yard pass from Holstein on a fourth down in the first quarter. His second came on a 16-yard fade route to the corner of the end zone in the second quarter, where he made a stellar one-handed catch.

"As soon as the play was called, and I saw what they were, coverage-wise, and he got off the ball pretty well, and I knew it was going to be a touchdown," Holstein said. " I didn't really look to see that he caught one-handed. I got to the sideline, and everyone was talking about it, and I was like, 'yeah, not surprised.'"

Mason Alexander Made An Impact

Pitt honored Class of 2025 signee Mason Alexander, who died in a car accident in March, during Saturday's game.

The Panthers donned a sticker of the letter "M" with a halo above it on each helmet. Alexander's mother, Kelly Alexander, was also on the field for the coin toss as the rest of his family was in attendance.

"I think it was special what we did for her and what she did for us," Narduzzi said. "Our guys talked about him pregame in the locker room. Maybe that’s part of it. It was an emotional pregame talking about Mason. Then it was emotional at the end, and we gave Kelly the game ball as well. She was in the locker room. So it was special."

Holstein said honoring Alexander has been a big motivator for the team heading into the season.

"It's been a big focal point of our drive for this season, our motivation for the season," Holstein said. "We're playing for Mason. Mason would love to be out there with us. I know he's watching us, having fun watching us go out there and play some good football."