Yes- that is our own Dr. T getting ready to kick some Yellow Jacket ass. Actually that is an almost perfect Southpaw boxing stance shown bu the Old Dentist.

OK guys and gals – here is the official POV Georgia Tech Game Thread.  Enjoy the game and take your blood pressure medications as needed.

I will ask you that if you haven’t made a formal prediction yet to to go back to the GT Predictions article and leave your predictions there so it is easier to figure out who had the most accurate one.

We need this one badly folks – I suppose we could look at our PSU and OSU’s losses and make excuses that they were Top 10 opponents, but no longer is that the case.  This is our first ACC match and we need  to come through with a win.

If we can’t do that then we at least have to play a decent enough game so that we can feel like we can win other ACC games on our schedule.  Let’s hope we pull it out and that every one of our Panthers come out of the game as healthy as they went into it.

HTP! and Bring Home a Win!!!

Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset #22 Miami on Thursday night at Pitt Stadium.

473 thoughts on “POV: Pitt vs Georgia Tech Game Thread”

  2. I posted before the season the D woulds be improving and by this game they will start to emerge. I was wrong. I don’t think Pitt can stop GTech and the offense for Pitt is still to pedestrian. Hodges at guard, Bookser to RT. At least the human turnstile is out. Ben will start and first road game for him as a starter. not good.

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  3. Best wishes to UPitt and his bride on their wedding day.

    Here’s to a long, happy and healthy life together!

    Go UPitt.

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  4. I disagree that it’s enough to play a close game. Few games on the schedule seem winnable at this point.. we need to build winning momentum.

    Unfortunately, I think Dr. Tom’s pregame “buzz kill” could be our best showing of the day.

    I hope I’m wrong.

    H2P

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  32. On the blacked out question, if you are chromecasting from your phone, cast the screen, not from the watch ESPN app.

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  33. One thing that makes GT’s offense so hard to deal with is that you often need to stop them for four downs (not just three)

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  47. I know that it is very early in the game, however, I can’t stop thinking that Duzzi will be on the hot seat after this year.

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  49. My guess GT 42 Pitt 20 still on track. Hamlin 4 star got schooled. Losing faith in Pitts coaching and ability to out coach anyone now. Narduzzi is being schooled now.

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  59. Everyone in the United States now knows how to defend the jet sweep so QH can no longer make big plays there. On his returns, he has always carried the ball loosely so he fumbles. Nothing new there either.

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  67. Our D is getting tired

    O needs to sustain a drive.

    This game is close, but may be over.

    The DBs aren’t getting off their blocks.

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  80. QH did well on staying in bounds. However, this return included his running backwards which has been so scary this year. Fortunately there was a missed tackle that prevented loss of yards. The wall was pretty good as well.

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  83. I think the reason everyone thinks he looks slow (injured) is that the jet sweep has been seen too much.

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  94. I’m pretty sure Winslow is auditioning for the NFL right now showing off his distance. I’m not a punter and I could figure out how not to blast it every single time. Someone tell him to cut that crap out

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  109. Weah would be on the bench..too many drops for a senior…get the younger guys reps. PN needs to go young. That’s his excuse for this team anyhow

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  118. I said earlier that Kessman has a 55 yard leg…. if he can overcome the kicking yips he can can make a name for himself.

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  119. OK, down by 4 at half. Pitt offense twice had good field position … in 1st qtr at GT 40, and in 2nd qtr, at Pitt 40. Both times — 3 and out.

    When you play offensive teams, you can’t continue to have 3 and outs.

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    1. Too much love for DiNuch. 3 and outs in both those series was on him – well Jester should have caught the pass. But the QB does not look like he has a D1 arm. Two would be picks were missed by the GT defenders.

      Hope the D stiffens in the 2nd half and the O loosens up.

      HTP!

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  121. I’m seeing some good things today from the Panthers. Don’t like the play calling – too conservative, but they trying to protect DiNooch, I guess…

    Some of the young defensive players making plays. Somme progress…

    Going to be tough though if we continue to not be able to block their Dline…

    Go Pitt.

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    1. The Oline should be a strength of this team. I’m with Emel – move O’Neill back to the RT next to Bookser at RG. They played well together last year. Protecting DiNuch’s blind side can’t get much worse.

      Let’s see if D.C. Conklin can make the necessary adjustments to slow the GT running attack. 255 yards in the 1st half is unacceptable. And does O.C. Watson know what an adjustment is?

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  123. We’re fortunate to be in this really. First downs GT 17, Pitt 6 Total Yards GT 277 Pitt 131.
    Their fumbles and Little Q keeping us close.

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    1. If PITT loses a close game, it will be easy to call attention to failing to score after securing two turnovers. However, if PITT wins a close game, the turnovers will be noted for preventing GT from being up more than 4 going into the half.

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  126. Probably will need 45 to win. Best keep ball out of GT’s hands. We should be able to run more an use clock. First drive stop a must.
    Hope we can hang in.

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  128. The adjustment to make on D would be push the Dline into the Oline instead of stepping back – be more aggressive and tackle the QB hard every play.

    The O needs to open up the playbook and put the receivers in the game that can catch and fight for the 50-50 balls. And since the Oline is struggling to pass protect, find a way to run the ball down their throat – our roadgraders vs their light DLine.

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  131. Carter not making the trip hurts the rotation. He also has some size in the middle. Watts is not stout enough. Camp for all his strength is getting pushed around far to easily. Oh well don’t have the horses.

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  140. Dan – I’m kinda done with Ollie too (slow, indecisive, doesn’t use his size) but this offensive line sucks and is the biggest part of the problem. Getting pushed around by smaller guys.

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  147. Pay attention to how these small offensive linemen are blowing our guys off the ball. I knew we’d be slower, but didn’t expect to get pushed around.

    AND……for emphasis, we still can’t tackle.

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  157. yep Dan…they are man-handling us across the board.

    WE all wanted Conklin fired after last game. But, in reality, Duzz is fully and completely to blame for this defense, the scheme and players inability to tackle. BUT, maybe it’s not the “technique” or “knowing your reads” as Duzz likes to use for an excuse. Maybe these are not D1 athletes and can’t tackle, because they just can’t!

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  158. I expected our D to be gashed. 45 is over/under for GT. They are over half way there and well on their way. Nard Dog is no D genius. 3 total wins this year. But Heather will play nice because she’s afraid of his bark.

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  163. Heather – where would you Lyke me to send the rest of my season tickets for you to give them away? I expect nothing in return and I saw nothing in the 1st four games you presented to me for my entertainment.

    Bah-humbug!

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  170. As bad as the defense is its the offense that’s killing us! Game about over.

    Huge break! Turnover!!! We will need a couple. Must score here.

    Please sit Ollie

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  176. All of the Nuch’s passes are to the sidelines…they’re afraid to throw over the middle. So you lose at least 25% of the playbook or more !

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  184. OK I’m officially done! I can abide an inexperienced defense of 8/9 new starters being handled by offensive juggernauts. I cannot handle this total offensive incompetency. 1 TD so far (the other a punt return)

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  186. We are starting the 4th. Pitt has a TOTAL of 155 yards of offense. P.A.T.H.T.I.C.

    Narduzzi pulled Watson from Indiana where he was a ‘Quality Control’ coach last year. Another Narduzzi winner.

    sack…make that 140 total yards

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    1. Defense thus far surrendering 400 yards with 10 minutes to play. GT with nearly 35 minutes of possession. GT with 3 fumbles, 2 in Pitt territory.

      I do agree that the defense hasn’t quit. They appear to be playing hard.

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  194. 4th qtr and the Oline has been dominated by a small, light GT DLine.

    DiNuch has been handicapped with no playmakers on the field at the same time. I’d consider QH and Whitehead as our main playmakers. Back-up them would be Ffrench and maybe Weah. Two playmakers should be on the field for every offensive play to help confuse the D.

    GT’s D has not been confused much today if at all after the 1st TD drive by Pitt.

    That is on OC Watson AND DiNuch.

    Really sad display of FB today by Pitt.

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  197. Watson + piss poor defense+ no offensive line = another loss. And our D didn’t create the turnovers, they were gifts. If not for those gifts, this would be worse than OSU. We cant stop the dive? Can’t throw ball more than 5 yards? Sad.

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  198. Glad Narduzzi’s Defense built to stop the run. LOL. What do they have 300 on the ground. This guys is a joke.

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  199. Nucci has been under heavy pressure most of the game— not making excuses for him but our offense looks like they are playing with lead weights on their shoes.

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  201. I question whether Pitt can beat Rice. They will not be favored in any other game this year.

    Geez…how does a team get that bad so quick?

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  210. Game set match. Why get cute 3rd and 1. Watson calling the worst game I’ve ever seen. It’s always something with Pitt.

    What the hell is wrong with Moss?

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  213. It’s not the incompletions that are the problem, it’s the lack of attempts to complete a downfield pass.

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  215. Guys – no one will be fired. Me as a fan plan to fire a shot at the ticket office and tell them to take me off their list.

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  224. Booo…Booo…Booo.

    Pitt is 1-10 on third down today.

    Booo…Booo…Booo.

    I’m off to the Princeton FB game where DiNuch belongs.

    Sorry…

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  226. Why bring Browne in to throw a 2 yard pass on 3rd and 5? These announcers are absolutely right – the play calling has been atrocious.

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  228. Since nobody in their right mind would be watching this game beyond 20 of us or so, the score won’t look bad and the charade will go on.

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  232. I don’t think I have seen a 3rd down play where a receiver ran a route past the 1st down marker. The play calling is horrible.

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  236. Max Browne just dropped back, needing 6 yards. He stared the entire play at one receiver. That receiver ran a route 3 yards short of the first down. Max is not the answer. This offense is a joke. Other than the TD to Ollison, did we throw a ball more than 10 yards downfield all day? Pathetic.

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  258. Brilliant choice by Browne there. Definitely need 14? Throw a checkdown to a tight end 6 yards down the field and running horizontally.

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  263. Funny Emel I said that last week. We are in real danger of losing some of our commits and having a mhorrible recruiting class.

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  269. Wow,

    The announcers are perplexed at how uncreative of a gameplan implemented by Pitt. One of them is a QB (not sure who) and he said GT has been playing zone all game and that he was shocked at how they did not use Ben Denucci’s legs to roll out and find seems in the zone.

    You know Reed is right…it’s coaching. It’s not the talent, it’s not the youth. It’s flat out bad coaching. getting cute on a 3rd and 1 when you needed just a yard. And you decide to run east/west on a jet sweep fumble.

    Hell spread em out and use Ben’s legs on a draw if you need to be cutesy. But I would prefer you line em up and punch them in the mouth to get the yard.

    I am sick of the sub-standard coaching. You know their are FBS schools that hire better coaches than this crap we have at UPitt. There is no excuse for this except we have an incompetent CEO head coach.

    DaveD

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  272. I think Nard Dog is over his head as a head coach. Might as well rinse and repeat again. I dont see him ever getting us to 8-10 wins consistently each year or even competing for a ACC title. He’s a 6 win per year coach…and thats even with 3 patsies thrown in.

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  274. Last week announcers were laughing at Heinz Field, sleeping fans, and begging with the reward of free sodas.

    This week announcers are laughing at horrid playcalling and lack of intelligence on the coaching staff.

    With 5,000 showing for Rice next week…I’m sure the University will be publically humiliated yet again by a TV crew.

    Nice.

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  276. So, looking ahead at Pitt’s next two conference opponents at home. UVA (October 28) beat Boise State by 19 on the blue turf last night. NC State (October 14) is beating FSU by 11 in Tallahassee.

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  277. Remember that both our lines were also pushed around by YSU. Talent is bad but guess while we’re firing coaches we might as well add the S&C guy. We get pushed around and run over all over the field.

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  279. UPitt – do not think of this game today or else it will ruin your wedding night. I’ve totally lost my mood watching these games. I need Viagra and anti-depressants to function.

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  281. I am not a gambler, however, it looks like a “good bet” to pick against Pitt all year— this team against the spread is a disaster.

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    1. Obviously we know 9 was Whitehead and at least the in-game announcers got it right.

      But during halftime I began to wonder if PITT would burn a redshirt for Smith to get in for one play.

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  284. John I watched the UVA game last night. We have no chance against them. Syracuse will also beat us because Duzz has lost the players. Rice is it.

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  286. one other thing…bloggers tend to talk about how us Pitt fans are impatient and want to fire a coach at a drop of a pin.

    I disagree…it took a while before center mass grew tired of Wanny. Chryst while some of the more vocal were ready to purge him…center mass wanted to give him a shot.

    It’s year 3 of PN program. I don’t think the more reasonable fan expected an explosive offense. what we did expect, however, was a defense that was capable of putting a solid performance. Yes they were on the field a long time and yes they had 4 or 5 turnovers.

    But they still look terrible in execution of defense and gave up over 425 yards on the ground. Hey PN D scheme can’t stop the run, can’t stop the pass. But other than that they are a shutdown D.

    I can’t excuse a Defense that doesn’t show any signs of improvement in year 3 of a supposed D guru head coach’s regime.

    DaveD

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  299. Somebody needs to tell 5th year senior Browne. You came to Pitt for one reason…to try and get your ass in the NFL like the last two transfers.

    You are not making the NFL with 3 yard passes. Screw Watson – just chuck the damn ball 40 yards downfield on every play. Go out swinging. By dinking these passes – you’re making it harder on yourself.

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      1. They need a consistent empty stadium for the administration of university to wake up, and even then….

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  301. John – the presser will be “We had really good opportunities to capitalize on their turnovers, we just didn’t capitalize”…..and on D, “We had the kids in position to make plays, they just didn’t execute, didn’t play their reads…Blah, blah, blah”. Guarantee he won’t say anything else.

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  303. If you have problems at both coordinator positions and do nothing about it, would have to think the head man is on the hot seat too. Good lord, it’s hard to be a Pitt fan.

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  307. When, as a coach, you are busy hiring buddies with whom you’ve coached before, instead of looking for innovative minds to help lift your program, you know you are in trouble!

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  308. No QB, missed assignments on O every where. Ollison softest 230 lber ever. Moss can’t block. Pathetic.

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  309. We will go winless the rest of the year
    Narduzzi will get an extension
    Heather will develop a sponsorship with Fanta
    Gallagher will be high fiving BoT members
    KS and his Rockports will be more popular than the football program despite finishing last in the ACC and achieving 8 wins…Hell its 7 more wins than the football team

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  312. Pitt should hire Tommy Bowden, we need a Southern guy like Johnny & Jackie were.
    Plus Pitt has to be better than gig on ACC network halftime show right ? (don’t answer that)

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  314. Is Narduzzi that bad now? Players make the coach to a large degree, but man Pitt isn’t close to a quality program. Staff changes aside, Narduzzi has been in coaching long enough to know when a team is badly performing. Quit making excuses and build for next year and set the tone that PT is earned. the good news is Pitt has 11 seniors and can begin the job of coaching those who have a future

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  315. I am going to write this season off right now…

    I think the better ? I have for those who follow more closely…what do we have in cupboard for year 4 of this program.

    I am not asking about coaching cause I know that would be an easy answer to say what’s the point? I am saying fine let’s buy PN’s bs that it’s execution. Well what do we have staring next year that will be any better than this year?

    We will have an untested QB, I don’t see a whole lot at WR. Perhaps the Oline will improve. Will we be seeing the next Connor at HB?

    On D – is there really talent in the pits? Will the LB’s improve with experience? Will our porous secondary finally become little islands of despair for opposing WR’s?

    I just don’t see it…but then again I am in that preconceived group that thinks the incompetence of the program is at many levels…talent evaluation, coaching/teaching, gameplanning…

    Please provide me some glimmer of hope.

    DaveD

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  317. I saw no cause for optimism in any phase of the game, with the minor exception of Kessman’s improved kicking.

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  318. This is from the Post Gazette the week Watson was hired.

    “Pat is one of my closest and dearest friends,” Watson said. “I’ve known him for a very long time…”
    as well as..“Shawn is, first and foremost, a wonderful person..”

    Narduzzi hired his friend … how sweet. This guy isn’t going anywhere.

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  319. Pitt was a sterling 1 for 13(.07%) on 3rd down conversion. 11 first downs total. I think half of those were in the last 2 meaningless possessions.

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  320. Wish I could DaveD. I would think and hope to God we beat Rice. And then I think they win one more along the way. 3-9 buddy. 2-10 or 4-8 are still possible. But 4 wins is the ceiling…

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    1. Huh, 80% or more of us, picked Pitt to lose. And most by several TD’s. I had 42-20, and had not GT fumbled on the 4 yd line, almost spot on.

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      1. Indeed if GT doesn’t fumble 4 times (3 in Pitt territory) this is an even uglier beating than OSU.

        I think PoD is at least going back to Chryst if not Wanny. At this point Wannstedt has to be looking pretty damn good since he brought the last 10 win season and was a true Pitt guy who would never voluntarily leave. Even the 2010 UConn choke and subsequent WVU beating are totally forgivable over what we’ve witnessed these last 6 games.

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  322. Duzz will be on a very hot seat next year and I will be amazed if he survives. Lousy talent and crappy coaching earns a pink slip. I fear that we could end up being the Kansas of the ACC.

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  325. Good thing we fired Wanny… Haywood, Graham, Christ, Narduzzi.. You people got what you deserve.

    My 4 seats will be empty the rest of the season. I’ll still visit my son on campus but my days at the big ketchup bottle are over.

    If the school doesn’t care, neither do I.

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    1. Might also suggest to stop giving any money to their alumni fundraising drives, and be clear to the nice student calling that you are not giving because the Pitt administration (and BOTrustees) do not care about Pitt football.

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  328. The three Pitt brite spots today Henderson’s runback for a TD, Kessman’s long FG before the half & Winslow’s punting.

    The dark spots everything else!

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  330. Rice has a worse Passing Efficiency Rating than Pitt. (hard to imagine right).
    Of course they haven’t played against the Keystone Cop Defense so….

    So if you want to see a Pitt win, be advised this might be the last opportunity of the year.

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    1. Otis Rockports got away with potty mouth. And he is terrible coach. Pellini is good, heck they played us to a standstill at Ketchup Bottle with much less talent.

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  332. Heather thinks free Fantas are the answer
    Nardoozle thinks he’s still playing in the Big 10 and he’s a defensive genius
    Gallagher thinks people want to hang on our front porch
    The BoT is loving all this because they dont want to spend any more than they have to on sports
    Pitt will be kicked out of the ACC in 3 years. We drag the conference down. And we’re also slipping academically. Perception is everything and Pitt gives perception a new name called reality.
    We might be good at D-II sports

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  333. I think Pitt beats rice, maybe NC. But NC ST, VA, Duke, Miami, V Tech don’t look good. Syracuse may be a loss as well away. So 3 wins maybe 4. that is to steep a decline to go more than one more year. If Narduzzi has a mediocre result in 2018, then some serious soul searching is needed.

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  335. Georgia Tech out-gained Pitt 436-37 on the ground.

    Duzzie should have taken some on this blogs advice(me) and shuffled the O-Line. Which stinks in it’s current form. Neither can they run block or pass block.

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  337. You are never as good as you seem when you win and never as bad as you look when you lose…..nah, we suck from qb’s to o-line to rb’s to wr(mostly) to d-line to lb’s to db’s. Ok, we have a really nice punter….now let’s go out there and beat us up some Rice boys <maybe?>.

    Used to be we had a basketball season to look forward to…nope.

    Well this does give me added motivation to keep my daughter from heading to Pitt next year. UMd looking better every weekend.

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  338. Buttgers 10 Neckbraska 7 mid 2nd Q. They might lynch Riley if they lose today. Neb will hire Duzzi and Pitt gets Life of Riley.

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  346. Hmmm.
    Some suggestions for songs to play instead of Sweet Caroline…. Maybe you guys have already done this so I hope I’m not rehashing any previous suggestions.

    Born to lose – Social Distortion

    The smell of failure – The Flaming Lips

    Even the losers – Tom Petty (yes, even the losers get lucky sometimes…we can hope anyway)

    One bourbon, one scotch, and one beer – George Thoroughgood (hey Heather, here’s your new giveaway promotion)

    Time to hit the vodka. Uggghh

    Reed – I included my email with this post. Drop me an email and I’ll send you my info. Thanks.

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  348. Had to tape second half…Hard to watch our offense go from prolific to inept in one season…play calling was pedestrian the entire game…Defense attempted and whiffed on more arm tackles than I have ever seen in a game…poor fundamentals play after play…I am embarrassed for our coaches!

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  349. My mini-brain gets fried when I stop to think about the fact that we had ONLY had 37 yards (net) rushing. How is that possible? We have completely collapsed. Duzzi can’t spin this in any way shape or form.

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  352. What to say, what to say? Of course there is more questions than answers. The biggest question for me is…… Was PITT and Narduzzi really trying to win this game? Cause it sure didn’t look like it to me.

    What was the grand idea of not throwing the football past the first down markers all afternoon? At first glance and still trying to find words I’ll just say. If the offense would have held up their end of the deal today, the game could have been very close. That was mind boggling to me. . . . ike

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    1. Paul Johnson has this to say post-game.

      Ken Sugiura
      @ksugiuraajc

      Paul Johnson: turnovers have to be cleaned up “because against a good team, we won’t be able to survive.”

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Mind boggling Ike. They played not to lose. Couldn’t agree more. Coaches appeared to just be trying to keep the score down.
      I know Tech was playing a deep zone but when you’re down 11 you have to at least try to throw long.

      Ready for Pickett. Redo the O line
      Get rid of the fresh center who got pancaked 4x.

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  353. EE helped me out last time but I am thinking he was in error. Did we actually beat Clemson sometime last year? C’mon, give me the truth this time.

    H2P???

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  354. And guess we all should be in mourning, Dr. Tom probably dead as a result of that fight with the bee featured above.
    Odd that he took up the fight as it sure appeared reading this blog, he was smart enough to have thrown in the towel on this team early this year.

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  355. GT without all the fumbles easily scores over 50 points.

    Always seems to be many fumbles in Pitt/GT games. Must be the karma leftover from the Bowl Games of the 1950’s between us.

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  356. What happened is what happened. The triple option is a high risk type of offense and turnovers will happen. It did look like PITT didn’t want to win and GT with the goofy passing helped keep the score relatively close until the end.

    I don’t have much positive to say about this team right now. I think the coaching was horrible to be kind about it.

    So is it fire Conklin, fire Watson or fire Narduzzi? << Which is essentially firing the whole kit and kibuttal. I can just picture Reed down in his POV laboratory cooking up a podcast concoction with steam coming out of his ears and a ton of…….. I told you so’s!

    Myself, I’m basically at a loss for words right now. Narduzzi has to do much better than this. This is very poor.. . .. .ike

    H2P!

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  357. Dinucci – 19 attempts 110 yards – 5.7 yards per attempt

    Browne – 15 attempts 88 yards – 5.86 yards per attempt

    Browne is clearly the choice. LOL! You guys are funny. Browne has a dismal outing and he blows. Dinucci has an equally dismal outing and its fire Watson. Why can’t Dinucci blow too? Or has the lightbulb gone on for some of you and you realize that Watson called the plays in games 1,2 or 3 too? Dinucci doesn’t roll out to his left because you actually need arm strength to throw against your body. He always goes out to the right. He is not D1. That said, he did have above average velocity on the throw that went directly south into the turf at GT during the first quarter. Browne is probably not the answer either if the plays continue to be called as they have for the first 4 games.

    As previously indicated and suggested, I would play Pickett against Rice as this is a team they should beat and you can give the kid some confidence. Football is time place and circumstance. What you all are starting to see perhaps is that it is not the players that are terrible, but you make fun of them like it’s their fault all the time.

    RB – Davis play since you have already burnt his redshirt.

    WR’s need to be Lopes, Mathews and Weah.

    TE – Sear, Clarke – You have already burnt the redshirt on Sear.

    OL – Officer – if he gets any wider he will be listed as Gurd and Center

    DC – Conklin or Partridge
    OC- Watson or

    Sandlot offense is more fun to watch. Open it up with a new qb.

    UPitt – Congrats my friend on your special day. Shoot me off a pic or two and I will lift my glass and give you a toast this evening. Great atmosphere in my neck of woods today!

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  359. Reed, you’re the boss. When you say it’s time to submit new HC candidates I’ll be ready, as I’m starting to ponder that question . Being young as a team is no excuse for being clueless on both sides of the ball. If the CEO doesn’t see a need for change , he becomes a part of the change needed. This is ridiculous !

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  362. The good: Pitt’s D in the second half only giving up 14 pts.

    Kessman’s 55 yard field goal.

    The Bad: The defensive line. They got blown off the ball or sealed away from nearly every running play.

    The UGLY: Pitt’s offensive line. Didn’t open holes all day. Pass protection was suspect.

    Pitt’s qbs. Ben can’t throw deep so he doesn’t try to. Max takes too long to make good decisions and rarely even looks deep. Some of the receivers arnt running their routes hard, probably because they know neither qb will throw it to them if they run beyond the 10 yard mark.

    The coaches for not having a capable d1 qb out on the field, nor having the d prepared to stop the run.

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  364. From the Spirit of Pitt Stadium:
    I am saddened by the continued mediocrity of the program. I truly believed that when I was put into that box on the last game played on campus that my spirit would be re-born and would bring Pitt football to new heights. I could not have been more wrong.

    Since 2001 and the move to Heinz, I have witnessed a thing called Pitting and became familiar with the term SOP. These concepts are hard for me to understand since I thought our BoT was truly committed to excellence.

    I have also seen my destroyer sabotage the brand with some hideous DinoCat, our colors changed to something unrecognizable and a coaching carousel of epic proportions.

    I am then blinded by the yellow each game and begin longing for those silver bleachers.

    What did I do to deserve this fate?

    I can only wish that Pitt gets their collective heads out of their butts and recognize that if we continue down this path, there will no longer be a Pitt spirit. I need nurtured and I damn well deserve some respect.

    I truly appreciate the love from all the POVerts. It is for you that I continue in hopes that someday Pitt will bask in glory. H2P. Spirit.

    I received this message from Spirit just now. The Ouija Board is something else.

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  367. The Spirit of Pitt died when they opened the box and it saw empty gold seats and 2 ketchup bottles.

    Next month I turn 63 and what is truly depressing is that in all likelihood i will not live to see Pitt return to respectability, let alone mediocrity. Narduzzi is out of his league and over matched but is safe until after 2018. Heather hasn’t the guts, brains or power to see how bad this program and its coaches are. Pickett will not play this year as Narduzzi is so comfortable (not in the hot seat) that he feels no pressure to do so. I could go position by position.

    To me the greatest disappointment is Weah. He does not run precise routes, he dogs it if he isn’t the primary receiver and his hands of stone have returned. When the announcers, who were not geniuses, could see that Watson was throwing short all day – excluding the first drive – I think many players have to be wondering the same thing. OL coach Peterson is horrible as are his lineman.

    All fall camp it was bragged by Narduzzi that the linemen were each learning different positions in the line – hows that working out?

    Outside of special teams there is not one area of this team that is good enough to be called adequate. Nothing but silence from the administration. I was struck by a thought today of an announcer, not sure which game, that noticed that Dabo was a known excellent recruiter. When Pitt hires a coach they hire these “search firms” but nobody really goes around actually trying to find the the next Dabo. Pitt will never do that, they are not involved that much in caring about football.

    Narduzzi will be around at least three more years. While I would like to see him develop like a Beamer its not going to happen. This is a disgrace but I bet the BOT are drinking Fanta and (pick your alcohol) on the plane back to the Burgh. Sad, sad, sad.

    HAIL TO PITT AND THE FANS HERE.

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  369. Thoughts:
    Where was Cam Carter? I thought he was playing well.
    Why does Shane Roy play at all?
    Time for Jester to take a seat on the bench,,,as reliable as a Tijuana rubber.
    The entire offensive line is atrocious. Walter Payton couldn’t get 100 yards with those guys leading the way.
    And whoever said Tressel/Pelini is a smart fella.

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  370. As a grad of “U” as well as Pitt, I can now pay more attention to my southern team, which is struggling to beat Toledo. This Pitt team is as bad as any I can rember, and I attended games back to the 50’s.
    By the way that invincible team we lost to last week has just lost to TCU, there goes our power ranking.
    Mark May got fired this year we should bring him in as AD or at least put him in charge of football activities. This mess needs help.

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  372. Final Score TCU 44 Okie State 31 TCU rolls up almost 500 yards of offense. Did someone say Okie State had a great defense. ONLY against our poorly, very poorly coached offense.

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  373. I never want us to use a search firm again.
    Wasted money that could have gone for something worthwhile…like hotel rooms during trading camp.
    How’s that working out, Heather?

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  374. Not to mention our pathetically coached Defense. Who can neither stop the run or the pass. Basically whatever the opposing team prefer, they do. Run or Pass. Makes no difference.

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  376. I think Pitt football should be banned from the ACC. I truly believe the ACC is regretting their decision. But BC is very pleased.

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  379. The good: I’ll most likely be dead in 20 years.

    The bad: Pitt will average 6 wins a season over that time.

    The Ugly: The basketball program is even worse.

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  380. Where does anyone see a 3rd win on our schedule? Syracuse maybe?

    I joked earlier about 4 wins or an OCS. The odds are about even right now as I see it.

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    1. Jack I don’t think a second win is a given. Although I hope we can at least beat Rice. Beyond that, no more wins. No bowling. It’s gonna be a long winter without any BB.

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  382. The majority of you counting Rice as automatic need to wake-up. Owls are 1-2 getting blown out by two pretty good teams (Stanford and Houston) and handily beating UTEP. They’re currently tied with FIU. If Pitt is favored, take the points. Game is a toss-up.

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  384. from the trib …. these 2 paragraphs pretty well sums it up ….

    The leading rusher was safety Jordan Whitehead, who carried twice for 35 yards. Ollison gained 11 yards on seven carries, but added five catches for 44 yards and a 28-yard touchdown.

    “We’ve got to do something with the football,” Narduzzi said. “You can’t win if you don’t score points. At halftime, we had 24 plays and they had about 50. That’s not good … because they’re going to continue to run it and run it and run it.”

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  385. Anyone watching the LSU-Syracuse game? I’m finding it funny, in an odd sort of way, watching the game with some local friends, and listening to them bitch about the play calling of Matt Canada and the “vanilla” offense, running the same failed plays several times, not adjusting the offense based on defensive adjustments, etc.

    Fortunately, LSU broke the 7-3 score with a little over a minute left in the half with a nice crossing pass play that went for a touchdown, so the bitching got subdued.

    Got me to ponder, given LSU’s consistent top-rated recruiting classes, how much does the coaching make the offense successful. In this case, we Pitt fans consider Canada to have been a bright innovative OC that made the best of Pitt’s talent (which does not claim top-rated recruiting classes). Given the talent pool at LSU, the fans here in Louisiana were expecting something more than scoring 7 points against Miss St (losing 7-37) and only 14 in today’s first half against Cuse, hoping for an “instant” upgrade to LSU’s offense from last year.

    I’ll see how the 2nd half goes, to see if my limited sample of fans feels better about Canada.

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    1. Lots of variables going on there Nola. Pitt’s offense had a lot of Senior leadership last year. Peterman, Conner, Biz, DJ, Orndoff which led them to easier pick up Canada’s offense. Don’t follow LSU so they might not have the brightest kids around. LSU is a football factory, so that would fit. State school, check.
      Never known as an academic school, check.

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      1. Spot on regarding leadership. With the exception of O’Neill the guys on the line had been full-time or at least part-time starters for two seasons. The only serious question mark entering the season was replacing Boyd’s production at WR.

        Canada deserves credit for expanding Conner’s role to include catching passes, devising the jet action with QH to keep defenses honest with regard to Conner, and engaging Aston and Orndoff with the shovel pass.

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  386. I do know from watching 3 games now, this Watson is a dolt. 1 for 13 on 3rd downs. You can’t convert if you don’t throw past the sticks or at the sticks. Indiana football, Quality & Control. haha Just seems like another hack lifer coach, that somebody employs every year. Just because.

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    1. Cannot disagree with your observations on Watson. I do recall that the commenters on this board (led by UPittB I believe) were very negative on the Watson hiring and that’s proving to be a a good call!

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  387. P.S. to my earlier note on the LSU game. On the first play of the 2nd half, LSU threw a long pass on 1st down and got a TD. TV sportcasters got a message from the on field reporter that LSU coach Ogeron, was upset about always running on 1st down and overrode Canada by calling a pass on 1st down… and it worked! Could be some interesting post-game commentary about offensive play calling!

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  388. Hey OC Watson …. did you see what Iowa did right after getting a turnover? They didn’t hand the ball to their big RB around the end for a 2 yd loss … did they?

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  390. Rambling thoughts:

    Everyone gets a mulligan. WVU was 4-8 and bounced back. Heck even the nitters posted 3-9 then 4-8 seasons back to back but came back with an 11-1 season the following year. This may just be one of those years.

    And if it is one of those years, really haven’t had one since Walt’s 1998 season, although Wanny in 2007 was depressing, except for 13-9. So we are kind of spoiled.

    That said, there are some definite red flags to be concerned with. Talent level being one of them. Listening to pre-game interview with Moss; said he was thrilled to come to Pitt since we were his only P5 offer. Even when nits were down they recruited strong. WVU signed Henry after that 4-8 season.

    I thought last year was an anomaly whiffing bad on the WPIAL. Now we already lost on Asamoah and Raines is shaky. Need to really close on Raines and pull something out of the hat or that is 2 mediocre years in a row (although I really like the WPIAL lineman we signed this year)

    It is okay to question Narduzzi without being accused of wanting a change. There is no way he should not get 5 years minimum, unless he walks away or does something Haywood level wrong.

    And the question would be is Narduzzi going to be able to get this ship righted? Last years defense was historically bad. This year is just as bad. I could understand if Narduzzi was Art Briles or some other air-raid coach. BUT HE WAS SOLD AS A DEFENSIVE WIZARD! It doesn’t appear he has a clue on how to improve on this defense.

    It seems like Narduzzi is from the Wannstedt school of defense….line up and beat your man. No scheme, no change, no adjustment. This is my defense and I’m the expert so you will run it as is.

    And the offense……even worse than the defense. GaTech had a bad defense (watch the Tennessee game if you question that). That performance was pathetic. Hackett era play calling of 5 yard passes on 3rd and 10. Is it the talent, or the coaching (i.e. what would we see different from Canada)? We should have been able to run at will. Pathetic that Whitehead was the leading rusher today.

    I don’t like calling out a kid so I’ll just say that the right tackle on the o-line might be the worse I have seen in D1.
    There was a reason the DiNucci had no P5 offers and Chryst didn’t offer.

    I am optimistic on some of the talent on defense. Hamlin, Ford, the d-line. But unless something happens with QB, how will next year improve on this?

    I really want Narduzzi to be the man but I’m thinking we are looking at SOP. 8-5 usually gets you fired here. I think it is time to change the paradigm. If we are at 8-5 in year 5, you keep Narduzzi. If we are on are 3rd losing season in a row in year 5, then you have to make a change.

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  391. Syracuse has had a couple of big passing plays against the LSU defense, the latest one scoring a TD. More problems for Pitt.

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  392. Looking at the schedule. Next game we are competitive in….Sept 2018. Albany. Talent should be equal. We will be at a disadvantage in coaching but may squeak one out there.

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  393. @Nola – I mentioned earlier that Syracuse would give LSU a battle and that happened…7-3 with a minute left in first half. LSU is now using a TRUE Freshman QB and they are doing well, opening it up a bit. Georgia is using a true freshman QB and doing well. FSU started a true freshman qb against ncstate and lost.

    Look, Browne is too late. He is a 5th year freshman. Dinucci, is bad. We need to get Pickett snaps and all the other true freshman and redshirt freshman that are close to playing. Play them now. When seasons go like this, there is an opportunity to fresh/soph to transfer because they aren’t seeing the field on a bad team. Best to play them, keep them and watch them grow.

    What happened to Dontavious Butler. I thought he was close to breaking in. I would start him, mathews and Lopes at the WR position. Pickett and then a couple of the RS lineman. Warren Carter and Jerry Drake come to mind as does Justin Morgan…..

    In all fairness, TCU is ranked 16th. OSU was coming off a route and was probably overconfident. I lobbied for Tressel as soon as Barney quit.

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  395. and no more crap linebackers, db’s, coaches. Pitt is filled with crap right now. Has been for a while. But yes, a good qb can make an offense.

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  396. LSU up by 2 with > 6 minutes and LSu fans leaving stadium in droves

    Babers tries onside kick down by 2 with > 6 min left … odd choice IMO

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  397. Grudgingly, I have to commend the rebuilding program at Syracuse. Coach Dino Babers in his 2nd year, put together some solid team play from what I saw in the LSU game.

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  398. Pitt has played their mulligan every year over the past 35. Good teams dont know the concept. Things really need to be blown up at this point. Or else wallow in mediocrity for another 35.

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  403. I will pronged blasted for saying this but I could live with what we had W Chryst and Narduzzi ‘s 1st 2 years. I had no delusions that Pitt would get back to their glory years. I would we reasonably happy with 7-10 wins a year, and splitting our bowl games.

    I could handle getting blown out once a year if we were otherwise competitive in defeat. I don’t expect Pitt to be Alabama , the OSU, or Clemson. But I expect Pitt to be on a level with the Georgia Techs, TCUs, and Virginia Techs of the world. When rebuilding I still expect to compete. But this I can’t stomach . We have sunken to the level of Wake Forest, BC, Illinois, Indiana, etc.

    If Pitt wants the money being a member of the ACC brings, it needs to spend enough to sustain reasonable success in this league and make the hard decisions when that level of achievement is not being reached. Something needs to be done or resign the ACC and see if we can get in the American Athletic Conference . Just stop embarrassing the few loyal fans they you have.

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    1. No. 27 should have batted that ball down. He didn’t even look like he jumped. That is straight out of the Pitt book of not making a play when it is there to be made. I think Iowa blitzed because its front four was dead tired. Zero penetration there those last few plays.

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  407. Not sure why Max and Ben are labeled as bad when receivers dont get open and o-line cant block for running backs or anyone else.
    Anyone think Oakland Dan would fare any better?
    Jester is what he was two years ago.
    JJS is a statue.
    Officer is a slug.
    When the strong safety leads the team in rushing, that speaks volumes.
    On a positive note, we wont lose a bowl game this year.

    And, happy wedding day UPitt.

    PS PSUcks is the devil.

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  408. Emel may have laughed at me when I said the Syracuse game would be tight. Syracuse has many more two stars and three stars than us, but they play with heart. All 11. Every play.

    We don’t. Our guys are soft. When we trot out 3 walk-ons as starters, there is a problem. Now if Narduzzi needs to do this in order to stabilize the program for years to come, that is fine. However, he should have said this is a rebuild for the long haul instead of saying we are pursuing the ACC championship.

    Why is Ga, LSU, , FSU Alabama last year and manyothers playing true freshmen QB’s?

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  409. @Huff…. Good point on the schools playing freshman QB’s. At LSU, Myles Brennan was a 4* recruit and after summer camp became the #2 QB in the lineup, with the starting QB (Etling) coming back from back surgery early in the year, so playing Myles makes sense in case of problems with the starting QB. Don’t know the situations at GA and BAMA, but most are aware of FSU losing their starter, and like LSU the best avail QB is a freshman.

    With Pitt, from what I read on this forum, Pickett was viewed by coaches as too raw and needed more “seasoning”, but if he has the raw talent (like when FSU inserted Jamais Winston into the Pitt-FSU game and he became an instant wonder), then it would be worth burning the redshirt and give him game experience in prep for next year.

    However, I wonder if Pitt can recruit a phenom QB unless Pitt demonstrates that there are a couple of top receivers already here (or coming in) so that the QB can see himself having success. Wasn’t that the Walt Harris strategy, i.e. get a great QB and you can recruit good wide receivers; get good receivers and you can attract a good QB. Problem I see is that Pitt has neither at the moment.

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  410. Winston was a redshirt frosh when he started the opener vs Pitt in 2013. I wouldn’t burn Pickett’s redshirt at this point, but they might as well get MacVittie some reps in practice so they can insert him in a game like today & find out if he is a viable option. It’s all a moot point if the line doesn’t start blocking someone.

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