Narduzzi might have plenty of faith in Geriner, but his performance against North Carolina gave Pitt little reason to celebrate. The Panthers entered the game undefeated at 5-0 and jumped out to a 10-0 lead, only to suffer a 21-17 defeat. Geriner completed 27 of 44 passes for 219 yards without a single touchdown. Pitt even outgained UNC 369-269 in total yards, but apparently, moving the ball means little when you can’t finish the job.

And Geriner certainly didn’t make things easier. He threw two interceptions in the third quarter, including one in UNC’s end zone on fourth-and-2, wasting a scoring opportunity. His second pick handed the Tar Heels possession at Pitt’s 42-yard line. Then came another costly mistake in the fourth quarter. With Pitt trailing 21-17, Geriner missed Cataurus Hicks with a high throw on fourth down at UNC’s 21-yard line, killing another promising drive. Pitt had its chances to win, but its quarterback failed to deliver when it mattered most. Yet those mistakes weren’t enough to shake Narduzzi’s confidence. Instead of questioning Geriner’s future as the starter, the head coach doubled down on his faith in him.

“Absolutely,” Narduzzi responded without hesitation when asked during the postgame press conference whether Geriner would remain Pitt’s starting quarterback. “We’ve got a lot of faith in him, and Cory will keep getting better as weeks go on, but without a question, there is a ton of confidence in Holden. Again, first start, guys; sometimes they are not pretty. But I thought he did a nice job. I think about the drives he had; we open up with a 12-play 75-yard drive. We just have to be more consistent. Then we go on a 14-play, 67-yard drive. We got to finish in the end zone.”

Geriner wasn’t exactly supposed to be in this position. The former Auburn and Texas State backup was thrust into the spotlight after Mason Heintschel suffered a season-ending ACL injury during Pitt’s 35-33 victory over Virginia Tech. Geriner helped the Panthers finish that game with a win, but leading the offense from the opening snap was an entirely different challenge. In fact, the UNC matchup marked his first collegiate start after years of waiting for an opportunity. And with Heintschel unavailable for the rest of the season, the responsibility of keeping Pitt competitive now falls on his shoulders.

But Geriner wasn’t the only reason the Panthers fell short. Pitt briefly reclaimed a 17-14 lead early in the fourth quarter before Billy Edwards Jr. connected with Shamar Easter for a 75-yard touchdown, putting UNC ahead for good. The Panthers’ offense also struggled to adjust after North Carolina tightened its run defense. After rushing for 114 yards in the first half, Pitt managed just 36 after halftime, forcing its inexperienced starter to shoulder more of the offensive burden.

Geriner completed only 12 of 23 passes for 110 yards in the second half, highlighting how badly the offense struggled once UNC adjusted. Still, the quarterback wasn’t interested in making excuses and acknowledged that there was plenty to improve.

“Obviously, we didn’t get the outcome that we (wanted), and we’re going to take that and learn from it,” Geriner said. “Just building off it. Obviously, the good thing about it is we got another game next week, so we’re going to go take this and learn from it and build off of it. … I’m super excited for the rest of the season.”

And while the numbers weren’t particularly encouraging, Narduzzi believes his quarterback’s struggles had more to do with inexperience than a lack of ability. Rather than criticizing the missed throws, the head coach pointed to Geriner’s accuracy on shorter passes and insisted that those mistakes would become less frequent with more playing time.

“I mean, he can make it all the time,” Narduzzi said during the postgame press conference. “I thought he was really sharp on all his short throws and just went a little high there. Obviously his first start. If you think about it, he will get better and better just from the experiences, and I’ve got a lot of faith and trust in him. He’ll get those throws; he’ll be much better. I am happy with the way he played it in his first start, and he’ll learn.”

But Narduzzi’s optimism is about to face another test. Pitt now sits at 5-1, with four of its next six games on the road, beginning with Boston College. And the Panthers can hardly afford another outing where their offense moves the ball but struggles to put points on the board. Geriner has already received his coach’s backing, but that won’t make the upcoming challenges any easier. With Pitt’s undefeated run over and its national ranking under threat, the pressure is on Geriner to prove that Narduzzi’s confidence isn’t misplaced.