Daily briefing: On Kenny Pickett, the nine-OT game and playing 92 snaps

Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:

Kenny Pickett rises to occasion

In the locker room after Pitt won at Virginia Tech a week ago, Panthers offensive coordinator Mark Whipple reminded quarterback Kenny Pickett of the 24-hour rule. “Screw that,” Pickett said. “I came back to beat Clemson. We’re on this right away.” In the glory of Pickett’s Heisman candidacy, you may not recall that he threw four picks in a 52-17 loss at Clemson last season. Pickett recalled. “This was an important game for him,” Whipple said. Pickett, a fifth-year senior, was 25-of-39 for 302 yards and two touchdowns as the No. 17 Panthers defeated the Tigers 27-17 Saturday. My favorite? With the score tied at 7 in the final minute of the first half, Pitt had a fourth-and-5 at Clemson’s 39. Whipple, expecting a blitz, called a pass Pitt hadn’t shown since early in the season. Pickett spotted the Clemson safeties close to the line of scrimmage. Wide receiver Taysir Mack raced past linebacker Barrett Carter into the open field, and Pickett dropped the ball in his wide-open hands.

One aspect of new OT rule is working

The nine overtimes that Penn State and Illinois slogged through Saturday may have set the cause of offensive football back a century or so, but if the goal of running only two-point plays after the second overtime is to limit the wear and tear on already-tired bodies, the new format worked. When LSU and Texas A&M played their epic 74-72 seven-overtime game in 2018, the Tigers and Aggies combined to run 41 plays in overtimes three through seven. The Illini and Nittany Lions combined to run 14 plays — one apiece — in overtimes three through nine

92 snaps = a lot of wear and tear on bodies

And while we’re on the subject, neither Illinois (88) nor Penn State (63) played as many snaps as Alabama (92) in regulation against Tennessee. The Vols’ up-tempo spread offense puts pressure on opposing defenses, but the offense moves so fast that it also puts its own defense back on the field for much longer than average. The Crimson Tide held the ball for 40:26. If the NCAA Football Rules Committee is worried about wear and tear, it could do more to rein in up-tempo attacks.