Pitt's Pat Narduzzi keeps Holden Geriner as starting QB after loss to North Carolina

Pat Narduzzi is keeping Holden Geriner as his starting quarterback. The Pitt coach said Monday that the fifth-year senior will start again Saturday at Boston College, two days after a rough afternoon in a loss to North Carolina.

Sportsnet Pittsburgh reported that Geriner threw for 219 yards on 44 attempts with two interceptions against Bill Belichick's defense. The most costly miss came late in the fourth quarter. On a key fourth down, Geriner threw high to Cataurus "Blue" Hicks, who was wide open, and a possible scoring drive ended there.

Narduzzi said at his Monday press conference that the plan has not changed, and he warned against shuffling quarterbacks. "You've got too much rotation, then you've got problems," he said, according to Sportsnet Pittsburgh. He added that he has plenty of confidence in Geriner.

The coach was also frank about what went wrong. Per the outlet, Narduzzi said Geriner started well but did not play a good second half. He gave North Carolina credit, and he said he wants Geriner to stay in the pocket and hit receivers when they come open. Narduzzi called those fixes a matter of game experience. He also pointed out that quarterback mistakes get far more attention than mistakes at other positions, including linebacker, the position he played.

The depth chart behind Geriner is thin. Sportsnet Pittsburgh noted that only three Panthers quarterbacks have thrown a pass in a regular-season game this year: Geriner, Heintschel and freshman Corey Dailey. Dailey threw for 57 yards and a touchdown in a blowout win over Bucknell last month.

Next up: a road trip to Chestnut Hill

Pittsburgh is 5-1 and plays at Boston College (2-3) on Saturday, Oct. 17, at noon EDT on ESPN2. A win would put the North Carolina loss behind the Panthers and keep them in the upper part of the ACC standings in the middle of the season. A second straight loss would raise more questions about the passing game.

The market expects Pitt to win. The Panthers are favored at -208 on Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, and the best sportsbook price on Pitt is -215 at FanDuel. Boston College is getting 6.5 points, and the total is 44.5. Full numbers are on the game page.

North Carolina is 3-2 after the win and travels to Duke (4-1) at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, also on ESPN2. Duke is favored at -150 on Novig and by 3.5 points, and the total is 47.5. theScore Bet's -150 is the best sportsbook price on the Blue Devils. More detail is on the matchup page.

For Geriner, the question this week is simple. Narduzzi has backed him in public, and Boston College will show whether the fixes his coach asked for carry over to Saturday.