Good players make big plays routinely.
Great players make game-changing plays at just the right time.
So it was for Kenny Pickett and Jordan Addison on Saturday, a day when Pitt clinched the ACC Coastal division championship and took a huge step toward its best season in 40 years with a 48-38 win against Virginia at Heinz Field.
“Maybe they’re a tie for the Heisman,” Pat Narduzzi gushed.
Pickett went a long way toward wrapping up an invitation to the Heisman Trophy presentation show in New York on Dec. 11 with another record-setting performance, including four more touchdown passes.
And Addison, who caught all four of ‘em?
“If Jordan Addison didn’t get the Biletnikoff [Trophy] today, I don’t know who does,” Narduzzi said of the award that goes each year to the best receiver in college football.
“I hope there’s no question about that,” Pickett added.
What made the Pickett-to-Addison combination so terrific Saturday was the timing of their connections. Addison caught an 18-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-4, a 34-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-1 and the game-clinching, 62-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-5 with 2:10 left.
You think Narduzzi and offensive coordinator Mark Whipple have unbelievable confidence in Pickett and Addison when situations generally call for a run?
You think Pickett has unwavering confidence in Addison?
“He played out of his mind,” Pickett said. “We were expecting touchdowns on those plays. I just had to give him a chance.”
Addison’s final touchdown catch was spectacular. It looked as if cornerback Darrius Bratton was going to intercept Pickett’s pass at the Virginia 40. The next thing you knew, Addison was completing the catch-and-run score.
“He almost had it,” Addison said. “I had to go get it.”
Addison finished with 14 catches for 202 yards and the four scores. He had Pitt’s first 200-yard receiving day since Larry Fitzgerald in 2003. Addison’s 15 touchdown receptions this season rank third in Pitt history behind Fitzgerald’s 22 and Julius Dawkins’ 16. He still has the game at Syracuse next Saturday night, the ACC championship game in Charlotte on Dec. 4 and a bowl game to play.
“I’m glad that guy is on our team,” Pitt linebacker John Petrishen said after following Addison to the interview podium.
So is Narduzzi.
“He’s what coaching is all about,” Narduzzi said of Addison earlier this month. “He’s fun. First thing, he’s unselfish. That guy doesn’t say a word about, like, ‘Coach, I need to get more catches.’ He’s a team guy. All he does is his job every day — on and off the field. He’s never late for a class. He doesn’t miss a tutor. He never has missed an assignment. I don’t want to make it sound like he’s perfect, but he’s about as damn near perfect as a person can be in this age …
“Kenny knows where he’s going to be. He knows he’s going to run the right route. Obviously, he’s a talented football player. He can run. He can change directions. He runs great routes. He’s smart. He’s reliable.”
Addison is pretty much the complete package, I’m thinking. He even had a 39-yard punt return Saturday to set up a field goal.
Pickett and Addison are the best pass-catch combination in college football, I’m also thinking. I know they might argue that point at Ohio State. Quarterback C.J. Stroud threw six touchdown passes Saturday in a 56-7 win against Michigan State, two to receiver Chris Olave, who has 11 touchdown receptions this season. They also will argue it at Alabama. Quarterback Bryce Young threw five touchdown passes Saturday in a 42-35 win against Arkansas, three to receiver Jameson Williams, who has 10 touchdown catches.
The Heisman ballots are due by Dec. 6. Stroud and Young are 1A and 1B as the heavy favorites. Pickett still has the game at Syracuse and the ACC title game to strengthen his case, although his chances of winning don’t look good.
The Biletnikoff ballots are due Sunday. Addison couldn’t have picked a better time to make his final push.
Narduzzi and Pickett have it right.
The choice has to be Addison.
