As I said in the podcast yesterday – it was a strange game to watch. It is also a strange game to try to dissect for MMQB. Let’s start with the positives first:
POSITIVES:
* Nate Peterman’s efficiency in passing. For only throwing 18 passes he had one of the best days I can remember from a Pitt QB. Here is his box score:
Notice that his yards per completion were an astounding 27.8 ypc. That is better than anything I could find in Pitt’s historical records for a QB who threw more than 10 passes in a game. As always there were some overthrows and some drops Saturday but he has become a real weapon for us over this last half of the regular season. Here’s those numbers:
In our last three wins he was 41/73 (56.1%) for 796 yards and 12 TDs to 2 INTs… which is a QB rating of 196.1 and is truly exceptional.
* Our receiving corps – three players; Jester Weah (4 for 99 & 2 TDs), Dontez Ford ( 2 for 89 & 1 TD) and James Conner (2 for 45 & 1 TD) all made the most of their yards after catch abilities. Weah had a long reception of 59 yards; Ford 79 and Conner 35.
Right there are only seven receptions but they accounted for 233 yards and four TDs… and that is awesome.
* Our defensive penetration accounted for three sacks and six tackles for loss on the day. Of course when the opposing QB is still slinging the ball for 43 completions, 440 yards and five TDs that positive stats gets a bit lost in the shuffle.
Which leads us to the three negatives…
NEGATIVES
* Our defense. Usually in these MMQB segments we’ve pointed fingers at the Passing Defense as culprits to be chastised but today we get to include the run defense also. Oh Joy!
45 carries for 228 yards, four TDs and a 5.1 ypc average isn’t outrageously bad; some teams would consider that an average day at the ball park, but Pitt has prided itself on our run defense up until this game that is.
As can be seen by the total offense and points Syracuse put up, 668 yards in just rushing and passing alone, you can see why we gave up a dreadful 62 points.
* Our defense again. “Half of me jumped for joy with what our offense did [Saturday] and half of it makes me sick,” Narduzzi said. “We didn’t make enough plays on defense. We have to go back to ground zero.”
* You guessed it – our defense. But there is a silver lining to this decripid showing. It just may be the straw that broke Josh Conklin’s back at Pitt. There is a real, and I hope a strong, sentiment for replacing him at the defensive coordinator position.
It isn’t just Conklin’s work this season that has been poor at best. Five weeks to prepare for the Navy team in the bowl game last year and utterly flopping on the field of play was an omen of what was to come this year. Navy averaged 330 yards rushing per game in the regular season and we spotted them an extra hundred to ensure their victory.
Now we ‘ll shift into the Pre-Bowl Game mode for the next five weeks and you can be sure that our almost-nonexistent defense will be talked about, criticized and in case of at least one bowl-bound team who is to be our opponent, slobbered over.
I suppose as Pitt fans we are used to taking the bad with the good; we’ve lots of practice at that. But it is a damned shame that an utter collapse of our passing and scoring defenses (343 ypg and 35.6 ppg respectively) had to happen in a year when our offense was certainly solid and good enough to win at least 11 games – maybe even 12.
I mean Holy Hell! Would any Pitt fan have thought that in scoring 42.2 ppg it would only be 6.7 points better than our opponent’s scoring? That is less than one TD per game difference. Unbelieveable.
Folks – that has to change and do so before next season or we may be in a world of hurt. Wishful thinking isn’t enough when you have an average at best defense one year then an absolutely terrible one the next.
pittpov.com 
I watched Michigan State run Narduzzi’s defense vs PSU and just like Pitt, they got utterly torched… 4 long bombshell for TDs. Any time the Peds needed a first down they threw to open receivers. So how much of Pitt’s defensive problems are simply the scheme???
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I am not smart enough to be able to say what part of our defensive problems are attributable to Conklin. I do know that we have a lot of guys who are out with injuries. And, we do not have much depth. So, I see better things next year simply based on having more players (depth) who are healthy, I hope.
In your list of positives, I think there should be room for Quadree Henderson. That kid is amazing every time he touches the ball.
H2P
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Positives:
We had more speed on O then they did on D and it showed.
Peterman for playing big when it counted the most, 3rd down. He accounted for at least 3 TD if not more (rushing and passing) on 3rd and long.
Dane Jackson pick six. Outside of the three sacks, it’s about the only thing good that happened on defense all day. DJ is just a couple inches away from being consistently very good. And he could get there as soon as next year.
Honorable Mention – Seniors going out with a W, finishing 8-4 and cracking the top 25. As a Fan I want to say that I appreciate all the hard work they’ve put in. Even with our swiss-cheese defense this might be the best all-around squad we’ve seen since 2009. They were just a couple of plays away from finishing at 10-2 against the 19th toughest schedule in the country.
https://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/ranking/schedule-strength-by-other
Negatives:
Piss-poor Tackling. Just watched the ACC highlight reel Just about all of those rushing TD’s and at least one bubble screen were on broken tackles. Completely unacceptable.
Missed XP. Records were made to be broken but not if you’re not strong in the kicking game.
Did I mention the piss-poor tackling?
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Positives 1) offense in general. NP was effective but the best QB performance you’ve seen for Pitt?
2) agree on WR
3) gotta agree with Atl Panther – Dane Jackson played well considering how the defense played. In fact Allen Edwards displayed some nastiness which Rori Blair could use a bit more of . Wirginis continued to show there should not be a drop off here next year. Telani continued to show he can anchor the line next year. Very good contributions by the FR and rsFR.
Negative – defense of course. IMO it is more the defensive scheme than the coaches but I wont be crying if Conk and Hill are gone. The problem I see is that Nard loves his man on the island, stop the run first defense which makes him a ‘defensive genius’. Anybody he brings in will have to coach the same defense – it is Narduzzi’s Achilles heal and he seems too stubborn to change. In two years should he continue recruiting and developing players every year will be a chance to be 8-4 to 12-0. A crap shoot and it isn’t gonna change unless someone makes him.
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Conklin likely isn’t going anywhere. Narduzzi has already basically said everyone will be back unless they move on their own accord. If the defense doesn’t improve drastically next year, when a majority of the players will this coaching staff’s … then he’ll be on the hot seat. Everyone gets one more year. Fan sentiment is different than coaching or Pitt admin sentiment …. unless Reed has some inside information he’s not divulging out of respect to those feeding it to him (which he’s admitted happens from time to time), I doubt Conklin leaves.
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I meant the most ‘efficient’ day by a Pitt QB. His Clemson game ranks up there with the ‘best’ game in a long time.
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Seems like Narduzzi has finally been forced to confront what most had acknowledged weeks ago because his offense scored 10 TDs. No credible way to claim the offense needed to do more as he did with the OSU and UNC losses.
@rkb I agree with you regarding Blair. He needs to be tenacious/aggressive on his pass rush and he doesn’t seem to have done that the last two seasons. He showed more of it as a freshman. In fairness though, I do think Blair has been battling an injury the past few games. Also agree with you regarding Wirginis. Galambos has had some good games for Pitt but Wirginis just seems so much more athletic that I can’t understand why he can’t unseat Galambos.
Syracuse must have run WR screens twenty times in this game and I don’t know that Pitt ever stopped it for no gain or a loss. In fact Dane Jackson had an opportunity to stop a screen for a loss but missed the tackle and it went for a TD. I see potential in Jackson.
Anybody notice Ffrench played almost the entire fourth quarter at CB and was only targeted once (I believe) by Syracuse?
I can’t see how Conklin can survive all this. As Reed noted, there is carryover from last year. The defense this year started poorly in the second half against PSU and only played competently in spurts other than the Duke game. I don’t buy injuries as the reason. Zeise and Hendrix were injured in game 1, but Zeise had never played a down of college defense and Hendrix hadn’t played in two years. Besides that I believe that Zeise and Hendrix won their jobs the last week of camp. I therefore can’t see those particular injuries as being terribly significant to this defensive unit. Caprara was injured in UNC game but returned against VT. Jarrett, Soto and Whitehead were injured in the Clemson game but Soto has played since.
Watts’ and Hamlin’s red shirts burned but they really didn’t play all that much.
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Lots of drops by Duke in that game too, btw….
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At this point Conklin adds nothing to the program going forward. I can’t imagine what he’s telling any potential recruit about the Pitt defense beyond you may start for me next year.
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Is Hamlin’s redshirt actually burned? I thought that I saw someone say that he can still (possibly) qualify for a medical redshirt.
H2P
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Condolences to those attacked on Ohio State’s campus today. This is nuts.
‘Somali refugee student’ mowed down classmates with his car and slashed them with a butcher’s knife at Ohio State University before he was shot dead by cops in horror morning rampage
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Thinking Hamlin’s redshirt can not be saved. He played to many quarters too late in the season.
(Edited as per known policy) I am serious about the no politics on here.
PITT’s defense had a bigger melt down this past week than usual but I’m wondering about Narduzzi’s timing in finally calling them out. Could it be that he’s been pissed to the max all year but didn’t want to disrupt the continuity of the team? I think that is the case.
Blair is a known pot puffer, He’s just mellowed out. Although he did get pissed off and whack the QB for a roughing call.
Tommy MacVittie will be real good……
….if PITT can keep Canada around for a few more seasons
Positives:
Peterman and Canada, hell the entire offense.. Man are they great!
A Lopes gets a special shout out. Played well on ST.
The O-Line. Great protection and run blocking and keeping their poise with all the shifting is truly amazing to watch.
Negatives:
All defense 1 2 and 3. Tackling was terrible and they were tired. That should be on the coaches but who else to you play?………….ike/waltspappy
H2P
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I don’t see Conklin going anywhere.
Unless the scheme is altered (which if they haven’t by now…), I don’t see the defense improving much next year. Not enough talent, depth, or experience yet..
Looking forward – a lot of arrows point to NYC and Northwestern for the bowl game. I would think Vegas would have Pitt as a heavy favorite in that match-up…. 9 wins in year 2.
…and just taking a peak at next year’s schedule – OSU, UNC, and Miami all at home… swapping out Clemson for NCST… and after winning in Death Valley vs #2, trips to Beaver Stadium and Lane Stadium don’t seem quite as daunting.
I still see the big jump in year 4 – but I’ll be optimistic going into 2017, for sure.
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I don’t think Conklin is going anywhere until he shows what he can do – or can’t do – with a defensive two-deep that is mostly Narduzzi’s and his own players instead of mostly Chryst and House’s players.
Next year the defense should be majority guys recruited under the current staff, if you count the 2015 class. In 2018 it should be nearly all Narduzzi players. If the defense still stinks next year good chance Conklin is gone. If he’s still around in 2018 and the defense still stinks in 2018 he’s definitely gonna be future endeavored.
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A new defensive backs (secondary) coach might help the defense more than anything.
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Positives—1) O Canada!!! Are you kidding me?!?!? 76 points against a P5 team is unreal. It was watching a video game.
2) Quadree Henderson is quickly becoming the next Devin Hester or Deshaun Jackson-every time he touches the ball big things happen.
3) Honesty–Narduzzi is a stand up guy and saying the defense makes him sick is honesty that should fire up the players, especially the underclassmen to make amends this month and during the bowl game.
Negatives
1) Tackling–what an absolute joke the concept of tackling became on Saturday. The defense gods were spinning in their graves.
2) Fans—lots of yellow at Heinz and it wasn’t folks in throwback gear either. Sad that Pitt can’t get at least 40k for a 8 win team.
3) The new found love affair with PSU—all of a sudden James Franklin is a genius, Happy Valley is the football capital of America, and the game on Sept 10 never happened. Can Chryst save us from this by whooping them Saturday???
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Narduzzi may be trying to go after the elusive medical redshirt with Hamlin if he stays 5 years. Missed first half with pulled groin surgery recovery and missed last few games b/c of current undisclosed injury. Smart move if it works.
Unless Reed knows something we don’t, I doubt Conklin goes anywhere. He’s out recruiting in FL right now. Conklin is the FL recruiting pipeline.
http://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2016/11/28/psn-recruiting-notebook/
UPDATE (11:05 AM)-
**While at Lakeland HS today, Josh Conklin will talk with a very highly recruited running back. 247 Sports 4-star back AJ Davis who holds an offer from Pitt will meet with Conklin. Davis has 30+ offers including ones from Florida, Georgia, Clemson, Michigan, Michigan State, Louisville, Ohio State, LSU, Florida State, Oklahoma, etc. We’ll attempt to speak with Davis later today.
UPDATE (9:29 AM)-
**Pitt’s quest to improve their secondary continues today as DC Josh Conklin will be in Florida talking with a cornerback prospect. I’m told that Conklin I’ll be at Lakeland HS (Florida) to visit cornerback Damarri Mathis, who holds an offer from 20+ schools but is currently committed to South Carolina. 247 Sports rates Mathis as a 3-star prospect.
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What is upsetting on defense is that there was no sign of improvement. The technique of backs was awful,and scheme never seemed to change. Add overall lack of speed, you see what we get. With a mediocre defense this team would have been fabulous. The defensive genius let us down!
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Has anyone seen a still photo of Peterman flying thru the air and touching the pylon with the ball to score that touchdown? That would have to be a cool looking pic.
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Grizzly – The pic you are looking for …
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you know nate’s holding the ball like that so the Pitt logo shows
canada teaching these kids how to score with STYLE
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Damn…Pitt marketing all over that.
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Rewatched the game this afternoon. CONCLUSIONS:
3 POSITIVES:
– O Canada game plan
– The entire Pitt O, remarkable scoring machine
– The larger logo at the 50 without the lame miniature circle
3 NEGATIVES:
Our D. As remarkably good as the O was, the D was remarkably that bad!!! At the least, Conklin has to go, especially with so many proven DC’s available right now from Power 5 programs (unlike Conklin).
Barnes, for not doing enough to get people in the seats. Why not have adult “dollar day” and kids under 12 “free” for the upper deck???? You lose nothing and gain fans.
For my fellow POVers who after the game had their heads up their butts trying to ignore how atrocious our D played. It was inexcusable!!!!!!
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I would hope that if there were someone available at defensive coordinator or Secondary coach who was interested in joining the staff, Narduzzi and Barnes would do their due diligence to pursue them. I can see not wanting to change anything on Offense, but the D…come on, if there is a proven upgrade , you’d have to make it. Look at the impact of Coach Canada!
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Someone has to pay for this D. Conklin for sure. Some players…yes. It was inexcusable. My head was never up my butt. I speak the truth and sometimes it hurts. Lest us not forget, we don’t drink the Kool-Aid here. We are not a cult and can all think for ourselves. It doesn’t crush our self worth when we criticize dear ole alma mater.
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Its not SOP for criticizing our D. Its actually not SOP for having a D this bad. And it IS bad. But help is on the way. Very good season by Pitt. Lets hope we all get rewarded by playing a quality team whose ass we can kick. I’d love me some rump roast of Stanford or even Iowa.
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Seasonal positives-
* Tackle lateral .. score!
* Turtle sweep .. score!
* Tackle flea flicker .. damn!
* JC rounding back to form .. yes!
* Little Q’s returns for TDs .. yes!
* Motion ’till ‘yer sea sick .. nothing up my sleeve!
* Clemscum in Death Valley .. double yes!
Seasonal negatives-
* 50 – 50 balls .. why is it always 95 – 5?
* Lack of Big Q when we needed him in some early games (losses) .. why?
* The total injury bug on D .. we have a good WR playing CB for lack of warm bodies!
Questions to ponder-
* Did our D digress because everyone has seen it last year? .. That WILL NOT bode well!
* Did our HC learn anything this season? .. We all hope so.
* Will Reed get the pix back from NP? .. We all hope so.
* Will the Dark Night return? .. We all hope so.
😉
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@Tossing Thabeets:
The CB Mathis from Florida that you mentioned seems to have de-committed from South Carolina. Could be good news for Pitt.
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2016 FBS (I-A) Leaders
RK PLAYER TOTAL QBR
1 Baker Mayfield, OKLA 91.1
2 Sam Darnold, USC 86.8
3 Lamar Jackson, LOU 86.7
4 Quinton Flowers, USF 85.9
5 Jake Browning, WASH 85.6
6 Mitch Trubisky, UNC 84.7
7 Zach Terrell, WMU 84.5
8 Patrick Mahomes II, TTU 83.7
9 Nathan Peterman, PITT 82.1
10 Deshaun Watson, CLEM 82.0
NP making Pitt proud with a 9th place ranking for D1 QB’s – #7 among P5 QB’s – 4 ACC QB’s in the top 10 with NONE from the B1G Joke conference – 2 of the top ten QB’s faced Pitt, with one a last second winner and the other a loser.
HTP!
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Random thoughts:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wonder what Jim Chaney thinks about PITT scoring all these points and setting records? You know he couldn’t have done this.
Never ever have I believed or subscribe to the theory that a team can score too quick. Until maybe this year. PITT down many players to injuries and the up-tempo game that teams plays these days sure looked like it took it’s toll on PITT a few times this years and none like last Saturday.
I really don’t think anyone poo pooed the PITT’s defense accountability at all. Yes it was the worst but some like to accentuate the positives as long as PITT wins. Now if they went 4-8 I would be as disgusted as some of you guys. (yes I was being dramatic) Some look at things differently than others though.
Not sure if next years schedule looks all that much easier? UNC, VT and Miami have their QB’s coming back and they are the teams PITT will have to get by for the Costal division.
The PITT POV has been a hoot this year and hoping it continues strong through the off season. Use to be a big big PITT hoops fan but Jamie kinda of wore me down. Regardless of who they hired to replace him, he needed replaced already.
Still didn’t get a chance to meet any of you guys this year and I hope I get the chance next year. I guess there is still the bowl game though. Hope it’s not too far away, the again I hope it’s a quality opponent.
Recruiting, Narduzzi brought in a very good and under-rated class last year so I wouldn’t be to hard on him until the final letters are in, jus saying.
H2P
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Interesting NFL QB draft rankings
WalterFootball 2017 NFL draft QB Rankings
DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame. Height: 6-4. …
Mitch Trubisky*, QB, North Carolina. Height: 6-3. …
Deshaun Watson*, QB, Clemson. Height: 6-2. …
Davis Webb, QB, California. Height: 6-5. …
Pat Mahomes*, QB, Texas Tech. Height: 6-3. …
Luke Falk*, QB, Washington State. Height: 6-4. …
Brad Kaaya*, QB, Miami. …
Mason Rudolph*, QB, Oklahoma State.
Peteman number 15 in this list below.
http://www.drafttek.com/2017-NFL-Draft-Prospect-Rankings/Top-QBs.asp
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The Positive: We won
The Negative: You know.
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Cuse used a hurry up offense too that further tired out the D.
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Positives:
A. Conner’s performance, adding to his ACC TD records.
B. Winning two onside kicks. Never forget Houston…
C. Bold, blue script logo at midfield, trimmed with gold. Much improved.
Honorable mentioned – E.Price, NP, QH and the Jester. The HC finally admitting his D made him sick.
Negatives:
A. NP missing several wide open receivers.
B. 62 points scored by cuse.
C. Carrick 5th grade art class filling in for the Pitt secondary.
Honorable mentioned – Michigan AND Michigan State losing B1G Joke games.
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How dare you EE. Syracuse only scored 61 pts. they are not that bad…
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Ike – forgot they missed that last extra point. Too many were missed, that I lost count.
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jus kidding EE, I’m guessing people will talk about this game as long as the 1977 Temple game when PITT last scored 76 pts.
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A Notre Dame Defensive Lineman Kicked And Stomped Two Different Injured USC Players
https://www.yahoo.com/news/notre-dame-defensive-lineman-kicked-151117150.html
Butthurt 4-8 ND players….lol….no bowl game for you!
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We are 8-4 and ranked. We beat two top 5 teams. We have the best offense since 1977 and I was in the Vet watching Pitt’s 76-0 whipping on Temple.
Lighten up. Enjoy this season!
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Pitt goes to College Park Md as a 4 pt underdog to play Marylang tonight. Reed we know you live in Terpland, should we “fear the turtle”?
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I don’t think the defense has that far to go. (Hold the laughter). They shut out Clemson in Q4, played well the next week vs Duke and played well for almost 2-1/2 qtrs vs ‘cuse … including starting the 2nd half with a pick 6 and a 5 and out. Great performance over those 7-1/2 qtrs. The issue is what happened after that (6 TDs surrendered in the final 1-1/2 qtrs). Lost focus? DC lost his head? I can’t explain it but if it is simply a matter of focus and always playing like the score is 0-0 (even when it’s 49-21 as was the case) then maybe the situation isn’t as dire as it seems?
Regardless, really enjoyed the year and the time with all of you here. I know I don’t post much but I never miss catching all of your comments
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Very interested to see if the Panthers are in the CFP Top 25 tonight. They seem to be squarely on the bubble, with the AP ranking on the high end of results:
AP: T-24
ESPN FPI: 25
Massey Rating: 26
Colley Matrix: 27
Coaches Poll: 28
Sagarin Rating: 28
Billingsley Report: 28
TeamRankings: 28
CBS Sports 128: 30
To me, this is important. Being ranked increases program visibility and credibility. It gives coaches a bit more to brag about when out on the recruiting trail over the next month.
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Lee71, you win the prize for the most optimistic poster on The POV. A hard thing to accomplish with Dr. Tom on the site also.
Unfortunately you also win as the craziest. SYR scored 34 points points over the first 3 quarters… where in the world can you find any time at all in that game where our defense “played well”?
This is what having a horrendous defense does… when you don’t play like unmitigated crap all of a sudden anything looks sort of good.
Anon… I don’t follow BB at all, sorry.
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Thanks, Reed, for keeping politics out. Poor tackling after catches. Very poor. On the other hand, what do you think about this take? Syracuse quit playing defense and gave up quick scores in the hope that their offense could take advantage of the tiring and poor tackling and inexperienced Pitt defensive backs to maybe catch up if the Pitt offense faltered once or twice. I was worried just as I was for that Houston bowl game. And what about Pitt losing that point spread differential of 23-24 points. WTF (why the frown).
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One thing I’d like to say about the defense. Wasn’t Conklin’s claim to fame at FIU his defense’s ability to force turnovers? We don’t win the Clemson game without the 3 interceptions. Brightwell almost housed his interception that game, and Whitehead nearly had the 100 yard fumble recovery. In the Syracuse game, Dane Jackson had the pick 6, and the Maddox pick 6 at the end of the Marshall game also comes to mind.
Yes, nobody likes giving up record yards to every QB we play, including Conklin and Narduzzi, but I feel like their ultimate #1 goal (or at the very least, one of their top goals) is to generate these big defensive plays. And not just takeaways that get returned for TDs, but taking the ball away in general — you win the turnover battle (especially by +2 or more) and your chances of winning the game go up a lot.
When you fail at that, you lose (e.g., the Miami game). Of course, this doesn’t mean our defense needs some serious help. Let’s hope our 2017 defense is much improved. You can’t give up those types of yards and expect to compete for championships.
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Tossing, thanks for the pic. It looks great!
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Reed: ” where in the world can you find any time at all in that game where our defense “played well”?”
The answer: through the first 37:01 of the game. At that point Pitt lead by 28, the defense had surrendered 3 TD’s but got one back with the pick 6. It’s what happened after that point that was truly dismal.
So for me the issue is what caused a D that was responsible for a “net” of 2
TDs (3 surrendered and 1 taken back with the pick 6) and which had played so well in Q4 at Clemson and 4 qtrs against Duke to collapse so epically in the final 24 min of the game.
I watched the game live and haven’t gone back to see it again but my recollection was a lot of celebrating (particularly by defensive players) on the sideline after Pitt went up by 28 at that 9:00 min mark in the 3rd. I think they completely lost focus and were ready to go party.
That’s on them and the coaching staff … but it’s a very fixable problem (I hope).
Anyway, thanks for the compliment. Always happy to be in the company of optimists!
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There is no excuse for giving up 4 TDs in a single quarter like we did in the 4th against Syracuse. Giving up that many touchdowns in a single half is bad, let alone a single quarter.
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Year three will be a better indicator of the Pitt defense and coaching staff. Pitt looked bad on defense and no question the secondary and speed was below the line. But still giving up 61 to a pedestrian Syracuse is very poor. Narduzzi needs to be clear in his review of all things defense. His “system” was not good enough nor was the talent. But as lebeau knows when you have great players any scheme works. Next year is the year Narduzzi is out of excuses as to his system.
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Anon…. I kind of help Reed on the BBall side. Pitt matches up well on the perimeter w MD size wise but will have to play a ton of zone to stop Trimble, the MD pt guard who averages 23 per game. MD is very young under the basket but has 2 freshman centers, both 6 11+ that will give Pitt fits underneath. But…
MD has no answer for Artis and Young. So… you should fear the Turtle but I think Pitt wins 75-73 in OT.
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I think the D was completely worn out in the 4th. Not only did Cuse play faster than I’ve seen another team play before, but Pitt had a pick 6 and 3 1-play TD drives with a handful of 2- and 3-play drives.
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Agree Kev, That may not be an excuse on it’s own merit but with the amount of injuries PITT’s defense has had this year a complete breakdown was inevitable and before I get yelled at, yes the D sucked all year but that fourth quarter was exceptionally terrible. Syracuse ran and extra fast up-tempo style.
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The offense was brilliant, the most points since Temple 76-0 game.in 1977. A team that put up no fight.
We scored 76 points in 24 minutes, lots of big plays.
A depleted defense, already short of depth, that didn’t have Whitehead, 65 tackles, Maddox, 42 tackles, and Jarrett 31 tackles, tired out in the fourth quarter. Seriously this is no surprise, a gassed defense gives up meaningless TD’s in a game that had already been won. The front seven gave up some runs when they were totally exhausted. The fact that a redshirt freshman receiver had to play corner for most of the fourth quarter should have been a tip to how bad the personnel situation is.
The D played decently in the first half when the game was on the line.
It is typical of Pitt fans to only look at the negative side of things even with a win.
The sad part is we have seen Conner, Bisnowaty, Johnson, Price, Orndoff, and Peterman in their last home game, and very few showed up to see it. They turned Pitt’s fortunes around and made us winner’s again.
Our fanbase is a lot like our defense tired and worn out, with limited talent.
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You’re right on all accounts gc good post. About the PITT (SOPFans) Some don’t realize they are as stubborn as the coach. They don’t like to change either.
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On the other hand. Why does PITT officials allow the ACC to dictate and determine who PITT’s natural rival is? They have played for years and there is just nothing there, no hate nothing. Barnes needs to step up and schedule psu and WVU down the road lateer or last game of the year. Then you’ll see a large crowd at Senior day.
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Hamlin had surgery for his sports hernia, its a thing, I looked it up.
Really a sad waste of a redshirt.
Many were clamoring for true freshman to play.
Great teams are made with fifth year seniors and experience.
Only freshman that that are difference makers, like Boyd and Whitehead should play as freshman.
Even Moss was not needed and wasted this year. Especially when you had an unused Ollison, who ran for 1100 yards last year, and Conner who was going to get the majority of carries no matter what.
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Glancing down at the Tribs sports front page I saw an article titled “Porous Panthers turn to more zone defense”. I thought, now this is some news but the first word was Kevin and the second, Stallings. So alas bupkis again, nothing to see here.
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gc, I Googled about the rules for a medical redshirt. Here is what one site says (dated October 2015).
I’m often asked by athletes “how many games can I play and still be considered a redshirt for this season?” The answer is that, with very few exceptions, any amount of time spent in a contest for your college will count as a season of eligibility used.
You could be a softball athlete who comes in to pinch run late in a game, a baseball pitcher who throws just one pitch to get the game-ending double play, or a lacrosse athlete who comes into a game for just a minute or two – in each case, you have now used one of your four seasons of college eligibility in your sport.
However, for an athlete who has appeared in a game or games for their team and then becomes injured, or comes down with a serious illness that prevents them from being able to participate in any more games during the season, it’s possible to obtain a “medical hardship waiver” which will allow them to retain this season of eligibility. In essence, it’s possible for them to get this year “over again” (as long as they haven’t exhausted their five-year or ten-semester window of opportunity).
Here’s a brief overview of the medical hardship waiver rules for the various levels of college competition. Please note that at all levels, medical documentation from the time of the actual diagnosis of the injury or illness will need to be submitted with the waiver request to substantiate that the injury or illness was truly “season ending.”
NCAA Division I – An athlete must not have participated in more than three contests or 30 percent of their season schedule (whichever is greater) and not after the halfway point of the season (based on the number of contests rather than a particular date)
H2P
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Lee71 among others must have been watching a different Pitt team on Saturday. For what I saw it was 4 quarters of defensive futility on Pitt’s side absent the DJ interception.—By the the way the offense gave the Pitt defense no break when they were running some plays with 10 to 15 seconds left on the play clock. The most egregious IMO was when Pitt had the first and goal at the half yard line and Conner jumped over the line for the TD with 15 seconds on the clock. Our defense was so bad that Narduzzi and Canada should have maxed out the clock as best they could in the 4th Q when they had the opportunity.
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PSN reported that Hamlin underwent surgery yesterday for a sports hernia. Reported successful with a full recovery expected for 2017 season. However I don’t think he will be granted that medical red shirt based on the number of quarters he participated in past mid season. Hope I’m wrong on that count.
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Tonight’s BB game at MD is one of those important games that the NCAA BB Committee looks at to see if a team should or should not get into the tourney. ESPN2 at 7 pm.
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If Hamlin is as good as everyone thinks he is….Why should we be concerned if he gets a 5th year? Price was great to have this year but he didn’t improve his draft stock at all. He delayed getting payed and membership in the pension plan for the NFLPA. I want the kid to dominate and leave Pitt yesterday to show we can produce talent and make it work at the NFL level with this coaching staff.
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gc,
I’m glad FACTS and REALITY don’t mean anything to you! Great way to live. ALL statistical indicators show our defense, especially our passing D is lower than whale crap – and that my friend is on the bottom of the ocean. If you can’t accept the truth, that’s your problem. For the rest of us realist (like Reed and many of us) there’s no need to call us names like “wore out,” ‘tired,” with “limited talent.” Try looking in a lighted mirror my friend, you may be shocked of what reality shows you.
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There is no such thing as wasting a redshirt. That is ridiculous.
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It would be nice to end the season with a big rival game, like other schools do, and Pitt did for so many years/decades with Pedo State. Clemson/S.Carolina, Osu/Mich., GT/UGA, OK/OkState, Fla/Fsu, etc., come to mind.
But the creepster Pedo’s of Creepy Valley are never going to come down off their self-aggrandized delusional state.
Maybe we could get the creepy Podesta brothers to talk with them (eeee, I feel so dirty now)
Or better yet, perhaps forget about them and approach the Hoopies.
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Cannot state that a hernia repair is successful until it is successful.
He had one repaired last year and did not do well.
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Lets give the other team a little credit. Amba Etta-Tawo was only the second best receiver in the ACC, playing against freshmen and sophrores.
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Emel, psu is already on the schedule for the next 3 year then WVU for 4. I read awhile ago that the middle state cult demanded that this years game be played early in the season. Not sure about the rest of them. Now would be a great time to negotiate with them. I just hate that school so bad.
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Pittman, I agree, our defense stinks, but so what, we still won eight games, and if our offense didn’t shut down against OKST and UNC we would have won two more. You can cry about the defense but nothing is going to change until we get more and better players. I prefer to be positive about our spectacular offense, that scored 76 and outscored any Pitt team for a season..
I wasn’t pointing any fingers at anyone on this board who are all Pitt Fanatics, but at those that are no shows. Those that only attend the marquis games.
I don’t disagree with all the stats and the obvious nature of our defense, I accept it for what it is, a defense that was good enough to win 8 games, possibly a couple more. A defense that has been shredded by injury and wasn’t that good to begin with.
However, I don’t care if the defense gives up 100 as long as the offense scores 101.
The object is to win the game, Ten year from now all anyone will remember is 8-4 and little else.
My reality is to enjoy the positives and not worry about the negatives when Pitt wins a game.
People will remember James Conner long after anyone remembers the guys that missed all those tackles.
I understand, guys like to bitch, moan and complain, that is why there are twice as many comments when we lose than when we win.
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If you don’t think redshirts matter or can’t be wasted, where would we be without Price this year?
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Big Ten doesn’t allow any OCC games once the conference starts play. Unless that changes. Pitt PSU if extended will be early season game. But the Big Ten going to 9 conference games is stupid. Less exposure to OCC quality games makes it more difficult for the Michigans and PSU to sell them as a final 4 team.
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Bradley, Price, Peterman, Mitchell, Ford, Caprara, Lewis, Guy,and Bisno, are our redshirt seniors. We wouldn’t have won many games without them.
Orndoff, Johnson, Soto, all true seniors who did not distinguish themselves as freshmen. I would say wasted redshirts in that we certainly could use all three next year.
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gc, I agree with you. I trust Duzz to know what needs to be done to play defense. Give him time to recruit the guys who can play the way he wants to play. Give him depth, part of which is keeping more guys healthy. We will be fine. Let him decide if Conklin is the right guy as DC.
H2P
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lol yea I know the Pedo’s are on the schedule for 3 more years and then the Hoopies.
My post was about Season Ending Games with a Rival , like those others I mentioned. It is amazing to me, that ALL these OTHER SCHOOLS can keep their Rival game, regardless of what conferences they’re in and not matter how much animosity exists between the schools.
Everyone but the creepsters of Creepy Valley.
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And why these worthless politicians never stepped in and mandated it. Since both schools get State Funds.
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They mandate everything else in your life, or try to.
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~ gc
I don’t think whether a few of those seniors played or not would have mattered one iota. Won’t single them out, out of them being loyal Pitt kids.
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Emel, of course there are a few that had less impact, but they all played lots of minutes, so we really had no one better. But the majority of them made big plays that affected the outcome of most of our games.
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Regarding red shirts.
We have very few Pitt players who choose to go to the NFL after their junior years so it is somewhat of a mistake to think that just because a player is highly rated as a recruit he might not be around for his full four years of eligibility.
A much better assumption is that they will have their full four years of eligibility played out at Pitt and then go to the NFL undrafted.
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Most of our guys need at least a year in the weight room before they are ready to play.
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Plenty of redshirt freshmen that were not ready to play on our suspect defense. What does that tell you?
Most kids are not physically or mentally prepared to play as freshmen.
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c’mon. It’s not like Syracuse used some kind of sophisticated passing offense. These were bubble screens full of missed tackles and guys just not getting to the ball. He desperately needs playmaker LB’s. LB’s who are as quick as Mitchell/Webb but are 30lbs heavier and can lay the wood. Brightwell… a guy who everyone thought had a break out game against Clemson has a whopping 4 tackles… in a game where the offense ran over 100 plays?!?
Recruit some LB’s coach.
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WEAH…pre-season whipping boy, in season stud with good hands and killer speed. Also has a bad ass attitude.
HENDERSON. A threat at all times with soooo many TDs on resume it is silly. Lost is how those points change games.
PETERMAN. Hello….simply put the best QB at Pitt in a very long time. Made coaches look good.
JC. The gold standard in attitude, heart, character and performance. It is not hyperbole to suggest that he is an instant addition to the PITT Mt. Rushmore.
Down side.
DEFENSE as a whole. Talent is lacking, coaching did not seem to matter. An area of focus for coaching in off season.
ATENDANCE. Apart from the machine in Columbus, attendance at games is an issue everywhere. It takes decades to build a fan base…we can do it, but we need a game at season’s end that is a draw…. WV is a must schedule addition. Even an away game will keep interest high.
Post Script: I suspect I am in the minority here, but let me say right here and now, Barnes is a result oriented AD and his results thus far suggest he us vastly under valued at Pitt. The athletic department was horrendous and the departure of A$$hole Pederson, the righting of the ship by our temporary AD and the moves he made once he arrived suggest that Barnes is a very good AD. Fir those who feel slighted by the Stallings hire all I can say is WELCOME TO THE BIG LEAGUES. Dixon was becoming a walking, talking cancer disguised as a nice guy. He was living in the past and had he stayed longer would have decimated his legacy. He left at the right time. Stallings is not the hire of the century, but Pitt is not the destination it was 5 years ago. Dixon eroded his success and the lack of a final four appearance hung over his resume like cigar smoke in a room. You simply could not escape it.
Gallagher has proven to be a true gem.
Pitt needs to keep G, B and PN here.
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Just saw an up-dated prediction Pitt vs the Razorbacks in the Belk Bowl..isnt that hosted by Emel in Charlotte NCarolina ? correct me if I am wrong
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