It’s that time of the week again – we have a LOT to discuss with last week’s Georgia Tech game and now the upcoming match with Rice University at Heinz on Saturday. Here is the Call-In info:
Meeting URL
https://bluejeans.com/303520973
Meeting ID: 303 520 973
Moderator Passcode: 2615
Want to dial in from a phone? Dial one of the following numbers:
- +1.408.740.7256 (United States) +1.408.317.9253 (Alternate number)
Enter the meeting ID and passcode followed by #:
408 740 7256 303 520 973 2615#
Here are some bits & pieces of Pitt football news:
September 25, 2017
Pat Narduzzi Press Conference
Rice Week
PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO: Narduzzi Rice Preview
PITT (1-3, 0-1 ACC) vs. RICE (1-3, 1-1 C-USA)
September 30, 2017 • Noon, ET
LINK (PDF): Pitt Game Notes (vs. Rice)
Pitt’s Henderson Named ACC Specialist of the Week
PITTSBURGH—Pitt all-purpose standout Quadree Henderson has been named the ACC Specialist of the Week for his performance at Georgia Tech this past weekend.
Henderson had a dazzling 80-yard punt return touchdown against the Yellow Jackets—Pitt’s longest punt return in 24 years. It was his second career punt return touchdown and his sixth return for a score overall. (He also owns four kickoff return TDs.)
Henderson’s 80-yard punt return touchdown was Pitt’s longest since Jay Jones’ 84-yarder for a score against Syracuse in 1993.
(WATCH: Henderson’s punt return touchdown at Georgia Tech.)
And best of all – Our best to UPitt and his lovely Bride
(It really was true…)
pittpov.com 
September 25, 2017
Pat Narduzzi Press Conference
Rice Week
PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO: Narduzzi Rice Preview
PAT NARDUZZI: Another tough Monday. Another tough Sunday. We had a tough Saturday down in Atlanta, as you guys know. Played a good football team down there, well-coached, have a lot of respect for Paul Johnson and what he does as a program, their schemes and what they do. Good football coach. He’s been doing it a long time. That’s the first time they’ve gotten us in three years, so chalk one up for them. Nice job, and we’ll keep going back to the drawing board on everything we did there.
But moving on to the next one, obviously we’ve got a Rice football team coming in here that’s a 1-3 team like we are coming off a tough loss to FIU and they’ve beaten UTEP, lost to Stanford and one other, Houston, I guess, good Houston team that’s athletic, so they’ve had a tough schedule, as well.
Coach Bailiff is a great football coach. I don’t know him personally, but I’ve heard a lot of great things. Everybody that’s ever worked for him loves him. We’re looking forward to having them come up here and rebounding.
With that, I’ll open it up for questions.
Q. Ben said after the game that you told him he’s still the guy, still going to be starting. Is everyone on the same page there? Is that what you expressed to him the past couple weeks?
PAT NARDUZZI: You know what, not really. To be honest with you, I saw him coming in right as I was walking out. I think he was the next one up (in the postgame press conference), I just said, hey, go in there with confidence; you’re still our guy. He is still one of our guys; we’ve got two of them we like. And I thought Max did some great things when he was in there, too, and I thought Ben did some nice things. When you look at the opening drive Ben took down the field, if you do that three or four or five times, I’d feel pretty good. When we have eight three-and-outs, I don’t feel very good. We get a turnover at the 34-yard line, we gain one yard and three downs, kick a 50-yarder and miss it, it doesn’t feel real good, so there’s some things that need to be better.
It was our worst performance rushing the ball, and I’ve talked about making decisions in the pass game and decisions in the run game. They’re both big things, and obviously Ben can make plays with his feet and he scrambles around and does a lot of things, but he’s still got a lot of room for improvement, as does Max. We’re still searching. It’ll be a work in progress this week, and we’ll see what happens.
But that was kind of an after-the-game feeling good about the first drive, and I wanted to make sure he went in with confidence with you guys so you guys didn’t get after him. But when you watch the tape, there’s a lot of things that we have to work on.
Q. You mentioned it was a tough day running the ball. Is that a byproduct of the fact that people can just bring eight guys to the line?
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, it might be. We’ve got to get it deep, and people are playing us a little bit different, at least on Jester’s side, and we don’t help ourselves with some of the techniques and fundamentals we use at the receiver position, so it’s got to clean up.
Q. Is it still a case of Ben kind of staring down receivers at times?
PAT NARDUZZI: There were some times. What did you see? There were some times. You see that one tipped ball early, guy fades right into it because he looks over there, and that’s probably a completion if you keep your eyes where it needs to be. So there’s little things, polish, and things that you certainly can work on to get better at, but you’ve got to do it every day and you’ve got to go out in the game and prove that you learned something.
And that’s probably the most disappointing thing is just watching the improvement week to week is not as much as you’d like to see, and I know it’s not game 1 to game 2, it’s game 3 to 4 or 2 to 3, and you just want to see more improvement out of a younger team.
Q. Do you challenge Jester at all? You talked about technique a little bit. He has seemed to have some troubles?
PAT NARDUZZI: Jester challenges himself. I don’t know if he needs me in his head. Receivers can be like kickers, too, you know, and everybody can be like kickers. Coaches can be like kickers, reporters can be like kickers. Some people got thin skin and thick skin. Jester is hard on himself. He cares, and just seeing some different things, it’s probably frustrated him and he needs to get out of that and play loose and go, and we’ll address that again this week.
Q. Still a wide-open competition between Ben and Max this week?
PAT NARDUZZI: I believe so, yeah. I mean, we’re going to talk as a staff here. We’re going to talk as a staff this afternoon, just kind of figure out where we are. I think it’s also based on what you’re seeing, what are they doing defensively, what’s our game plan, and I think it comes down to a game plan as far as who they are defensively as we break them down and what’s our best match-up against what they do.
Q. Speaking of the game plan, other than the early touchdown with Qadree (Ollison), it didn’t seem like Ben was looking downfield that much. Was that more him or was it more what Shawn Watson is telling him to look for?
PAT NARDUZZI: Well, I think he’s supposed to go through his progressions and key what he’s supposed to key, and sometimes you look there and sometimes you don’t, and that’s maybe a little bit of the problem, too. I’ll leave it at that.
Q. Paul Johnson made some comments after the game about your technique on defense, some things you guys do. I don’t know if you heard about it —
PAT NARDUZZI: If we did, we didn’t do it very good. On the dive, I’ll guarantee you that. Some things we did?
Q. He kind of alluded to the fact that you guys might play, was it dirty — he said dangerous.
PAT NARDUZZI: I said dangerous on the radio show.
Q. He said your defensive linemen —
PAT NARDUZZI: Hey, we’re locked into Rice. Just look at the tape. We’re focused on Rice. That’s water under the bridge. Appreciate you letting me know that.
Q. Henry Miller to linebacker?
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, Henry Miller moving to linebacker is something that we made last week, and we’re slowly transitioning to that spot, and again, you say why. It’s just try to move guys around to where we think they can best help this football team, and I think that guy can be a great outside linebacker. I think he can be the future Star (position), as big as strong as he is. We just need to coach him up, and one of the big reasons is that with the return of some guys, whether it’s Therran coming back and Damar coming back, it was just like he was caught in a logjam back there mentally of being a guy that was going to be seriously considered to get on the field, and I was like, he’s too good a player, we’ve got to move him up, which is kind of my evolution, Coach Conklin’s evolution of kind of how we like to move and get speed on the field. That’s what happened to Seun, he was a safety that would never play for us on the hash, and he’s playing some pretty productive football for us at that Star position. It’s a hybrid DB/linebacker position versus all the spread stuff we see, and he does a nice job.
Q. Keeping with the linebackers, I’m wondering why we didn’t see more of Chase Pine?
PAT NARDUZZI: Chase Pine came in for a play. You didn’t see him?
Q. You said you didn’t have anyone else to put in there.
PAT NARDUZZI: Jerry (DiPaola of the Tribune-Review), tell him why I’m not talking about Chase Pine. (Smiles)
Q. (Injury) So that’s why?
PAT NARDUZZI: But I think he’s going to be okay anyway.
Q. Is it the ‘I’ word?
PAT NARDUZZI: It’s the ‘I’ word. He got dinged up a little bit, and it is what it is. He played, I think, 11 plays on special teams, but he was the guy. He was the guy that got all the reps at that position, and then we had to move to the third guy, which was not good.
Q. Which O-line did you like better?
PAT NARDUZZI: I like Bookser when he’s on the field. As a matter of fact, we’re sending him over to the School of Medicine to find out if we can clone Bookser. Bookser is playing well and he was productive at guard and tackle. I liked the combination with whoever is next to him is playing really good. That’s a combination I like. Whoever that other guy is going to be the key, and that’s what we’re looking for, get some consistency at that other spot.
Q. You talked about one of the things you like about your job is coaching coaches. I’m curious when you’ve got one side of the ball that’s particularly been struggling that’s been a few weeks now for the offense, do you go with Shawn?
PAT NARDUZZI: I do, and maybe I’m messing them all up in there. I give my thoughts on what I see, try to look at their self-scout, things that a defensive guy could help them out with. I don’t go in there and try to mess with schemes. But the main thing is I look and say, hey, how’s the back of line, have you done anything out of this, those type of suggestions, without — there’s nothing worse than someone coming in that doesn’t know what they’re talking about on that side.
Now, I can talk fundamentals and I can talk technique and what looks like a play action pass and what looks like pass, not play action, and I can talk about run fundamentals and playing with leverage and knocking someone off the ball, and those are things I’ll focus more on. Their plays are their plays. How do we make the plays better, which is the fundamentals. That’s coaching. That’s making sure your individual periods, your team takeoff periods match what we’re doing out there, and obviously sometimes you guys are out there for the little team takeoff we have where we’re throwing screens, for example. You guys are out there for that period usually when we’re throwing some screens, but we’re throwing screens on air, and it’s just to get those guys air, but in the game we haven’t executed our screens very well, so I said, hey, if we’re going to run some screens we’re going to do it against real people this week. We’ll go exchange, so those are coaching the coaches. Like hey, guys, they’re struggling with having guys in front of them instead of — it seems a simple concept but not good enough, so we’ve got to do something to fix that. So it’s really what you practice every day, so those are little things that — there’s more than that, but little things you try to look for as a coach.
Q. Along the same lines are you going to try to get more creative with the offensive play calling this week?
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, I mean, you can do that if you’d like to. Is ‘more’ better, is the question. I’d like to see him get the stuff — we’ve got a pretty lengthy playbook, and every week you pick stuff that you like, but it comes down to execution, so the more stuff you throw in, it’s like playing flag football, if you’ve got 10 things on your wristband and you’re bad at all of them, it’s not very good, so more is not always better. It’s quality of what you have in. And right now we’re trying to master the quality of knowing who to block, so you may even see the game planning go slimmer so we can get good at what we’re doing.
That’s how I’d like to do it.
Q. How did you like the Whitehead-Hamlin combination?
PAT NARDUZZI: We didn’t put them out there together — you’re talking about because they were on the same side together? You mean the safety — you mean like a corner-safety? They were in the game together, but it wasn’t like we tried to put them together. But I like when No. 9 is out there, I can tell you that. Damar had a good game. One missed tackle, which he’s a young guy, and it was an easier tackle on the quarterback when he spun on and had a heck of a move by TaQuan, but Damar is getting better every week, and he’s aggressive, he’s tough. I don’t know if you noticed his block on the punt return for a touchdown, but he’s physical, too. I mean, for a guy that has not played a lot of football here, he’s a football player, and I like what I see out of him and what I saw in Whitehead Saturday.
Q. The other guy who was blocking on the punt return, and was on a couple special teams, was Thomas MacVittie.
PAT NARDUZZI: How about that? Thomas is a guy that we’ve been working in — as a matter of fact I think you guys mentioned it in camp a long time ago. I don’t know why I remember what you guys say about being a personal protector on the punt team. He’s just such a good athlete. He’s athletic. He can do a lot of different things. So we moved him into special teams, and he’s liking it. He sits in special teams meetings with a smile on his face, and he’s taking that as a role to get on the field and make an impact, and it was great to have a lot of those guys — one of the other key blocks was Pinnock’s block at the very end where it was a physical block. It was not an easy block. But he laid someone out. I don’t know what number he was, or maybe he was a freshman, too, but he had a great block to spring the final part of that run.
Q. And is that an indication that MacVittie might move somewhere at some point in time?
PAT NARDUZZI: No, I don’t think so. He’s still a baby, and not at all.
Q. How valuable is George Aston to what you guys do offensively?
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, he’s extremely valuable. I gave you a little bit of hint last week, I guess, and said he was probable, and he’s more than probable this week. There’s not a guy — I love this football team. Win or lose, you love these guys you coach every day, and they grow on you. But George is a not only good football player, but he’s an intense, brings it every day, and you should have seen the sweat he was in pregame. ‘Coach, I’m ready. You’re the last guy that has to okay me to go.’ And I’m like — because he looked okay last week but not great, but he’s gotten better every day. He got better sitting in a hotel room on Friday night. He’s a difference maker for us, not only as a football player but emotionally in the huddle. I think he’ll add some intensity that maybe we’re lacking. And you need those guys in the huddle. And he’s a guy that’s going to make a difference for sure.
Q. Broadening out a little bit, you look at some of the results on Saturday, NC State goes to Tallahassee and wins, BC makes Clemson work for it on the road —
PAT NARDUZZI: Syracuse takes LSU to the wire.
Q. When you look at the league, does it maybe speak to — I know it’s early, but that this thing could be more wide open than normal? One loss isn’t the end —
PAT NARDUZZI: Well, I think that’s always the case. One (ACC) loss, I’m not worried about one loss. I’m worried about one win each week. We didn’t help ourselves Saturday with execution and whatever. But it’s — we’re just focused on the next game to get to two and three and then head into the ACC again. But not worried about one loss or two losses. I think our guys know it could be — Coastal champion could have two losses. You just don’t know what’s going to be; it’s too early. One game into the ACC, if you think all the hopes are shot, then you haven’t been around college football long enough to know there’s a lot of good teams and anything can happen any given weekend.
Q. Does that catch your eye when you see NC State —
PAT NARDUZZI: Catches my eye how good the ACC is, period. You talk about from top to bottom, it’s a darned good conference. You know, I think it’s the best in the country, and you keep watching some of these other teams play, and you watch State go down to Tallahassee and do that, it opens up your eyes. You watch Syracuse go down to LSU, maybe more impressive what he’s done up there, Dino has done with that football team and taking LSU to the wire, as well.
Q. Any of the other results Saturday —
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, I’ve got to look. I’ve got to find out what’s going on because I’ve got to vote for that coaches’ poll.
Q. How did Weaver do?
PAT NARDUZZI: Weaver did well. Weaver had a great week of practice. Weaver was better equipped, I guess, for the option. Just a different type of game. And Weaver keeps — as far as I’m concerned, Weaver is a starter as well as Allen Edwards. Allen Edwards just wasn’t as good with the option and the little things that you had to do to get your hands on the tackle and some of those things. Weaver did a nice job and played really good.
Q. Are Dintino and Morrissey in a battle again?
PAT NARDUZZI: They are. I think they’ve battled every week to be honest with you, but just some things that we did in there that wasn’t good enough. You know, competition makes everybody better, and Dintino is a good football player, too, so we’ve just got to play who practices better, who’s doing the little things right.
Q. What did you see as a response from the team over the last week? Was it decisive?
PAT NARDUZZI: Not even close to decisive.
Q. Did you see a response?
PAT NARDUZZI: I did. Our kids were locked in, and I told them that on Thursday and Friday, even our Saturday meetings. They were just a little — it’s a little different attitude to them, and we talk a lot about attitude. I thought you could look at special teams wise, I thought we played a darned good game, played good enough to win. Not just — if you go back and look at those punt returns, we’re one block away from scoring another two. I thought our special teams played well overall. I guess you could yell at Winslow for kicking them out of the end zone just because he’s booming them, so we’ve got to practice now his — 60 yards away from the end zone you can’t just hit it like you did because you’re now cranking the ball better than you ever have, so we’ve got to do a better job as coaches of getting him in that range in practice when we practice punt and making sure he doesn’t do that because he’s now got that leg, and his operation is so perfect right now. So I was happy with special teams.
Defensively I think, like I say, anytime there’s a loss you look at the coaches. They did a nice job. They did some different things on the dive. I think someone asked me about the toss play early, right, someone like last Thursday or Friday, whatever day we talked, said about the toss play. We crushed the toss, but that’s what they do. They do a great job coaching. Like I said, Paul Johnson does a great job, and we took the toss away, but then they did some different things on the dive. So next year we’ll try to take what they did and then he’ll have something else that he’ll pull out of his bag of tricks.
Again, we made some adjustments in the second half to get it and we missed a couple tackles here and there and were getting worn out to be honest with you. We were on the field way too long, and that’s what’s going to happen, but when you look at the execution of it, there was some good stuff. Defense flew around, played with great effort and played tough all the way to the end. I mean, our guys never quit, not a guy on the football team. We had Ox, our equipment guy, said he had never seen two broken facemasks on linebackers. We had two smooshed facemasks. It was a physical game, and there was a lot of hitting going. Our kids played hard, played with a lot of passion, and that’s what you like.
Q. What do you see when you watch video of you in the run game?
PAT NARDUZZI: Execution, missing blocks, not staying in our lane on zone plays, maybe going the wrong way. When I say that should be handed off here, not handed off there, some of those little things that you guys would not see because you don’t know, you’re just watching the same game. Ran that way. But there’s some numbers issues that you run into if you don’t go the right way, and those are some of the things we’ve got to correct, and then we’ve got to knock some people off the ball. Those are what I see. And I see tailbacks not taking good paths, too. There’s a lot of things. It’s not one guy, it’s 11 guys all the time, and that’s a fact.
Q. With a team coming in like Rice that’s not as big, strong, fast —
PAT NARDUZZI: They’re bigger and faster than you want them to be as you think they are to be honest with you.
Q. Might you try and get more guys involved this week than you have in the past?
PAT NARDUZZI: Yeah, we tried to do that against Youngstown. We wanted to do that against Youngstown. That’s always nice to say. This is not a 1-AA team coming in. This is a well-coached, hungry football team that I see. They play with passion, too. They’ve got high motors on both sides of the ball, I think, and we’re not looking to play more guys. We’re looking to play the guys that are executing properly in practice, play those guys, hope they go out on the field and execute and practice and we do a great job as coaches getting them in position to make plays and play the guys that help us win the football game. That’s all I’m worried about is a win. That’s all we can be.
I’m not worried about who gets in the game because they’ll get their opportunities on special teams if they’re a backup and they execute on that team. Not worried about who plays and how many play. I’m worried about the quality of how we play.
Q. The old adage is if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have any. I’m sort of curious, would you like to find an identity at some point offensively?
PAT NARDUZZI: We wanted to find an identity back in camp when we announced that. You know, you don’t want to go through the two-quarterback system. It’s kind of like we did my first year with Chad and Nathan until it kind of washed out. But we tried not to do that, but we’re still to the same point right now, who’s that guy going to be, and that’s just kind of the situation we’re in right now, unfortunately.
Q. Were you disappointed with Johnson comment about the four fumbles?
PAT NARDUZZI: I didn’t read it. I don’t read the newspaper. Was it in USA Today on the front page?
Q. I believe it was.
PAT NARDUZZI: With other comments? No, I didn’t see it. I don’t look.
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PITT (1-3, 0-1 ACC) vs. RICE (1-3, 1-1 C-USA)
September 30, 2017 • Noon, ET
Heinz Field (68,400/Natural Grass) • Pittsburgh, Pa.
RSN (AT&T SportsNet) • Pitt IMG Sports Radio Network
PittsburghPanthers.com • @Pitt_FB • #RICEvsPITT
LINK (PDF): Pitt Game Notes (vs. Rice)
GAME STORYLINES
• Pitt hosts Rice in the first meeting between the two schools in nearly seven decades. The Panthers and Owls last played during the 1950 and 1951 seasons.
• Pitt is looking to snap a three-game losing streak, the longest of Pat Narduzzi’s head coaching tenure and the Panthers’ first since 2014. Boding well for Pitt’s future: the Panthers’ starting 22 at Georgia Tech featured only five seniors, including just one on defense.
• Pitt is fielding one of its youngest defenses in recent memory. The starting lineup at Georgia Tech was comprised of three redshirt freshmen, two sophomores, five juniors and one senior (cornerback Avonte Maddox). Of those 11 players, eight are first-year starters.
• On offense, sophomore quarterback Ben DiNucci is coming off his first career start. DiNucci completed 12 of 19 for 110 yards and a TD vs. Georgia Tech.
• Junior all-purpose threat Quadree Henderson has six career return touchdowns following his 80-yard punt return score at Georgia Tech. The NCAA record for career kick return touchdowns is eight.
• Quadree Henderson ranks sixth in the country in combined kick return yards (391). During his All-America 2016 season, Henderson led the nation in that category with 1,166.
• Senior punter Ryan Winslow is having an all-star caliber season. Winslow is averaging a career-best 47.3 yards per punt to lead the ACC and rank fourth nationally. His 50.1 average on seven punts at Georgia Tech marked a personal best.
• Since 2013, the Panthers’ inaugural ACC season, Pitt is undefeated against Conference USA. Over the past four seasons, Pitt has defeated current C-USA members Marshall, FIU and Old Dominion.
SERIES NOTES
This is the third all-time meeting between Pitt and Rice…the only two prior meetings were played in 1950-51…the Owls won both of those matchups: 14-7 in Pittsburgh during the 1950 season and 21-13 at Rice in 1951…since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 2013 season, Pitt is undefeated against members of Conference USA…the Panthers defeated C-USA foe Marshall, 43-27, at Heinz Field last year…during the 2014 season, Pitt traveled to FIU and beat the Golden Panthers, 42-25…in 2013, Pitt’s inaugural ACC season, the Panthers defeated Old Dominion, 35-24, at Heinz…Old Dominion was actually an independent that year but would join C-USA for the 2014 season…Pitt is 8-3 overall against current C-USA members (0-2 vs. Rice, 2-1 vs. Southern Mississippi, 2-0 vs. FIU, 2-0 vs. UAB, 1-0 vs. Marshall and 1-0 vs. Old Dominion).
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television • RSN (AT&T SportsNet in Pittsburgh)
Evan Lepler, play-by-play
Takeo Spikes, analyst
Lyndsay Rowley, reporter
Pitt Radio • 93.7 The Fan & the Pitt IMG Sports Network
Bill Hillgrove, play-by-play
Bill Osborn, analyst
Larry Richert, reporter
SiriusXM Satellite Radio
Sirius Channel 119, XM Channel 201, Internet Channel 961
WPTS Radio (Pitt Student Station) • 92.1 FM
Pitt IMG Sports Network Online Audio Options
PittsburghPanthers.com
Pitt Panthers Gameday App
TuneIn (free live and on-demand content)
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Again, congratulations to Mr and Mrs Upitt, smart looking couple right there.
I just have to wonder if the remaking of the movie “The beauty and the beast” last year is just ironic or destiny? 🙂
May you guys have many years of bliss and PITT football ahead .. . . . .ike
H2 the Upitt’s!
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Thanks Ike! I can’t argue with you on that. Haha
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Guys with bucks get all the hot chicks, regardless of their looks. Congrats and best wishes!!
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I wish I had big bucks Joe!!
About the only thing I have a lot of is BS and Hotel Points. Haha.
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Once again I find myself solidly behind Upitt’s comments! LOL!
But seriously, best wishes for a long, happy life together. One very important thing that I’ve realized is essential to get right for a rewarding life is to find the compatible spouse/partner who will be there by your side to experience the journey together. Congratulations, enjoy your married lif together.
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I’m completely shocked that an old reprobate like Upitt could take such a gorgeous woman for his bride. Upitt, you have definitely married up about 10 levels from your surly old self! Don’t blow it, man!
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Voice of Truth!! Thanks Man.
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UPitt…. God Bless You and your lovely bride.
We need a QB, point guard both men’s and women’s
Get to work!
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Reed what time is the call in?
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9pm
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Reed, FYI it appears that may be a 2016 link to Ryan Winslow’s appearance on the watch list.
Winslow’s name did not appear on the original 2017 announcement in July. I just checked the current Ray Guy list and Winslow is on it. His name appears near the bottom and it is not alphabetical.
Sorry I just found it odd that it was referenced as “preseason” and wondered why they still referred to it as such.
I really appreciate Narduzzi’s positive approach with these guys. I also like that he’s actually finding opportunities to put guys like MacVittie and Miller on the field to help. In my mind that helps to better form a team mentality and hopefully engages them. It’s also refreshing to see him praising some of Chryst’s recruits like Bookser, Idowu, Dintino and Weah when others (for example a certain contributor at Cardiac Hill) continue to blame Chryst’s recruiting for the current state of affairs. That shows me that Narduzzi believes himself fully accountable for Pitt football in year 3 as it should be.
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A_Josh. 9:00 tonight hope to see you there… ike
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Pitt’s Winslow Named Semifinalist for Prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy
Senior Punter is Pursuing His MBA at Pitt – Action Image Attached
PITTSBURGH—Pitt senior punter Ryan Winslow has been named a semifinalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy, annually presented to college football’s top scholar-athlete by the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame.
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a grade-point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first-team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
Winslow (Maple Glen, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) already earned his bachelor’s degree in finance, achieving a 3.5 grade-point average. He is now pursuing his MBA in Pitt’s Katz Graduate School of Business.
On the football field, Winslow is off to an All-ACC caliber start to his final collegiate season. He is averaging a career-best 47.3 yards on 20 punts. Winslow’s average leads the ACC and ranks fourth nationally.
In his most recent game at Georgia Tech, Winslow averaged a personal-high 50.1 yards on seven punts.
In community endeavors, Winslow has been active with the Boys & Girls Club and YMCA in Pittsburgh. He has spent time with the United Way’s “Be There” program, “Read Across America Day” and “Take A Father to School Day” with Pittsburgh Public Schools. Additionally, Winslow has worked with CCChampions, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that pairs pediatric cancer patients with inspirational role models.
The NFF will announce 12 to 14 finalists on Nov. 1, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments.
The finalists will travel to New York City for the 60th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 5. Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 28th William V. Campbell Trophy and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
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The profile of a gifted “student athlete” right there.
Good luck Ryan.
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Mike Herndon is listed as backup LG. He played DT in the GT game.
If that doesn’t illustrate the dire straights of the OL… nothing does.
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And the dire straights of the DL…
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John I kind of agree but something weird is going there. Herndon came to PITT as a D-Lineman then moved to offense then play on the D-Line last week. I think it speaks more to the weakness on the D-Line?? Who the hell knows with this secret service operation going on down on the south-side? . . . . ike
H2P!
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Guys – I posted this earlier but it is worth taking the five minutes or so to really watch these GIFs over and again in light of Alan’s article text above them. We knew the blocking was bad against GT but he breaks it down so well that it is frightening to watch.
If you click on the GIF in the article you go to a different site where you can expand the video to see details better:
http://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2017/09/25/alans-monday-film-study-blocking-issues-hamstring-offense/
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I rewatched the game this week and I totally agree with this analysis. The defense held up their end.
The offensive line blocking (or lack thereof) was the elephant in the room against GT.
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John and Ike – the coaching staff is “In extremis’ as the Mariners say – that is when your ship is about to collide with something…
Watch the Narduzzi post-GT interview above and study his tone of voice and body language… then consider all the lineup changes we are seeing – the team and program are a mess at this point.
Now – get a good win over Rice and some confidence gets back into the staff and players.
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Re: the chop-blocking kerfuffle…
Check out Johnson’s comments starting at the 7:40 mark about the stuff Narduzzi was saying about how GT was ‘dirty” (or dangerous) blocking…
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Great film critique
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GC — When in Rome . . . .
Make a stop at La Botticelli, the Pittsburgh bar of Rome. Huge Steelers banner along the back wall, etc.
Introduce yourself to Giovanni Poggi, proprietor. Great guy, very friendly. His place is a “block” or so west of Piazza Navona.
https://www.facebook.com/botticellapub/
A great wine bar: L’Angolo Divino. In Italian, the name’s a great play on words, by the way. Introduce yourself to Massimo, drink well, eat well. Just “a block” south of the SE corner of Campo dei Fiori.
http://www.angolodivino.it/it/homepage
Ciao.
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Thanks Pete, only here for a day before a cruise.
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Reed: I viewed the presser yesterday and Narduzzi seemed like he always does, gnarly as hell. Saying the PITT football program is a mess is a little extremis imo. 🙂
….but I do get your gist. The way this schedule set up almost seems like it sabotaged the PITT football program from the get go. PITT was a pretty big underdog all three losses. Like I mentioned last week, it has made it really difficult for me to make any definite conclusions.
It’s not a great thing to have such a young team any year but having to play the last 3 teams with two of them on the road with the quality they possessed can screw with anyone’s mind. Narduuzi may be looking for his best options and at the same time trying to be realistic about what just happened.
Playing an option team like GT with these players starting on defense.
Hendrix
Roy
Camp
Weaver
Zeise
Brightwell
who have little to very little experience in the starting lineup at the positions they were playing.
Wondering where Narduzzi’s recruits are and why they are not dominating is a little rash to me. Comparing 17 or 18 year old kids to 22 or 23 year old young men is more the reality of it than them not being a good recruit.
I understand the frustration but not the need for panic. . .. .ike
H2P!
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Here’s a somewhat tongue and cheeker question. Who in POV land really believes Reed really and truthfully likes Narduzzi? Raise your hand. 🙂
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Pitt was a big underdog against GT because of the way that we play the previous three opponents – had nothing to do with scheduling.
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it’s about time … http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/20834710/louisville-head-coach-rick-pitino-athletic-director-tom-jurich-out
once again, this is the FBI not the NCAA
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Pacino played Paterno in upcoming HBO film; he’s also my choice for Pitino for next year’s Showtime special
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In some circles PITT covered the spread against psu.
Of course the line for the GT game was result of the first 3 games. My point was the result of all three of those games went according to the line with the exception of the psu game which PITT covered by some accounts.
Only one other team played two top ten teams in the first three weeks this year. PITT was suppose to lose the past three games according to the experts.
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Oh good gosh, can you imagine who Louisville will hire to replace Pitino? Maybe Petrino can take over for Pitino? They have more in common then their names rhyming.
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We should hire both Petino and jurich. Replace our D- coach and AD
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I like it Upitt. Congratulations on the wedding!
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Actually at 40 seconds in, he rips Pitt by saying we had 4 turnovers and against a good team, we wouldn’t be able to survive. Ouch! He said if we were even a good team, which means we suck.Coaches never put a team down like that. Our troops should be spitting venom for the rest of their careers. He rips Narduzzi again at 5 minute mark and says we taught our guys to hold the OL so they couldn’t get to the next level. Probably a good move by our Defense.
When your money linebacker is Zeise and Williams, there is a problem. Do we not have a Freshman, RS Fresh or Soph that is pushing them out?
When your QB’s show very little and the opponent does not respect them and loads the box, there is a problem. Let Pickett or MacVittie learn against Rice.
This game will only provide confusion and a false sense of optimism if either Browne or Dinucci has a great game. It is Rice after all. Same with Davis at RB and Mathis at CB. Play them. They need game experience.
Which one is upitt in the pic? LOL brother! You outkicked the coverage. Congrats again!
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I am shocked, shocked I tell you about Rick Pitino.
Congrats UPiit – clearly your bride is farsighted as she is way way too beautiful for you. I pictured you as much shorter. 🙂 Best wishes. rkb
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UPitt … man, have you outkicked your coverage. My hat is off sir!
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BTW, does the Estonian realize that jeans are not normal groom wear in the US?
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I had a suit on!! Haha. You need an eye exam.
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I am distressed that AJ Davis is not on the depth chart, and am concerned that Miller is already 2nd team at SLB.
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wwb, it might just tell you how weak some of our backups on the roster are talent wise. Might also tell you how weak our starters are talent wise considering that they may have faced very weak competition in order to be given starter status.
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Ike,
We have looked worse and worse each week.
The competition has little to do with it
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from Lamar Patterson:
LP21_@LP21_
Integrity at my alma mater under the Dixon era was top notch and you have to respect that the sole “one and done” @RealStevenAdams at my school was walking around with with flip phone virgin mobile in 2011 and no we may not have won a championship you have to respect the guys that found a way to win a bunch of games while respecting the rules whether we did or did not agree with them
2017-09-27
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Gasman, there is no arguing the fact that PITT has not played well at all. They have sucked and I did yell at the TV a few times last week which is something I rarely do anymore. << use to be a big bad habit
We all look at this in different ways. I look at it as the perfect storm that smacked PITT square in the jaw. I could be the delusional optimist but I see better days ahead. It just has to be that way with me otherwise I would dive deeper in my PITT football depression. . . . . .ike
H2P!
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Gasman, there is no arguing the fact that PITT has not played well at all. They have sucked and I did yell at the TV a few times last week which is something I rarely do anymore. << use to be a big bad habit
We all look at this in different ways. I look at it as the perfect storm that smacked PITT square in the jaw. I could be the delusional optimist but I see better days ahead. It just has to be that way with me otherwise I would only dive deeper into my PITT football depression.
H2P
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Having some trouble posting once in awhile recently. Sorry for the double post….
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Last season at this time, no one was talking about psu playing in the B1G Joke championship game nor Colorado playing in the PAC12 championship game. Didn’t the pedos loss 52-10 to Michigan?
Let’s see what secretive changes this staff makes for Rice and go from there.
HTP!
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Erie with all due respect do you really believe the Pitt offense will look much different going forward with either DiNucci or Browne QBacking behind our dismal offensive line play?
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No, but with all due respect our HC better believe and find a way to make it better.
That’s what I expect, not believe…
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This is a young team with a lot of moving parts, not all of which are operating smoothly. Therefore there’s some reason for concerns. But come on? Who thought Pitt would be any better than 2-2 right now, seriously?
I like seeing how this defense is playing. Hamlin, Jones II, Williams, Garner, Camp all getting playing time. Whitehead now back in action, very tuff competition testing the grit of these guys while they get experience.
I still see a very real possibility of a 6-6 season, the wins being Rice, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia & UNC.
Go ahead & laugh. This team is not that far away from being competitive with all of the above mentioned teams.
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Pitino fired
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Little Ricky in Minnesota?
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I took Pitt -21. Rice would lose to Gannon.
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So would we
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The Panthers need just such dominating win to gain some confidence. Will it be Saturday against Rice. I just don’t know? 21 points is a lot of points to give Upitt, even to Rice when you consider the favored team is this Pitt squad that still hasn’t found the answers for getting the offense productive just yet.
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Challenging times at LSU…
Lhttp://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/sports/lsu/article_6d9f4608-a237-11e7-b3e3-17154f7dc403.html
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For those of you that wonder why BigB, I, and a couple of others bring up LSU on a Pitt blog, aside from Matt Canada being the OC there. LSU is a big name school with a national reputation. They consistently field top 10 recruiting classes and typically have a lot of 4* recruits with a sprinkling of 5-stars. They pay their coaching staff the big bucks and tend to get highly-rated coaches when vacancies occur. They have a huge on-campus stadium with hot cheerleaders and a rabid fan base that typically packs the stadium. The university administration fully supports the athletic programs and they have an active booster program and generous donors.
Yet their fans complain about pretty much the same things that we Pitt fans do when their team has its bad years, which seems to be every couple years. I live in New Orleans so I read the comments on the sports news articles. They think Matt Canada is minor league and a weak hire. They want the def Coord replaced after suffering a 37-7 loss to Miss State. They question the head coach Ogeron’s leadership, and on and on. I suspect there are similar college teams with a similar profile to LSU that have periodic “bad” years (which may still considered just fine by other teams) as well.
The point here should be obvious. The complaints about Pitt recruiting, coaching, administration support, fan support, lousy offensive/defensive strategies, losing to weaker teams, and so on, are not unique to Pitt. They happen elsewhere, and to some typically very strong programs (hard to ignore the last few years at Texas). Not saying it’s good or bad to criticize everything about the team, but simply offering an example of life at college football powerhouses to provide a different perspective.
I’m curious to see how Matt Canada handles things through the rest of the season. The link BigB posted above notes that Canada said the the offense needs to be simplified, it’s too complex for these particular players and very different from what they were used to in past years. Hence the problem of simply changing out your OC and expecting immediate positive results. Canada was successful at Pitt, and maybe the Pitt football players were way smarter than at other schools… or maybe something else that made it work.
Hopefully it will all sort out for Pitt and better recruiting, new coaching, and whatever else is needed will happen. Until then… I’ll keep watching Pitt games things and enjoy the periodic upset of heavily favored teams to get me through another Pitt season.
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http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/sports/lsu/article_6d9f4608-a237-11e7-b3e3-17154f7dc403.html
Try again
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Maybe dem Bayou bengals aren’t as smart as doze Panthers…
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Let’s also not forget the POV tailgate pre-Rice game in the Red 5A parking lot hosted by Fran and friends and will be flying the American flag over the POV flag… right Fran? See you guys there…
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Best post on this thread
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this was supposed to go under Reed’s next post about Upitt…
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I just had a long phone call with UPitt and I determined he’s a smartest of all of us on here.
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damning with faint praise
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Well, well, well, 🙄
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That offense was a thing of beauty last year, with all the OL shifts and WR motions. Seems like a lifetime ago.
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I will admit that Upitt is much smarter than he looks when he’s standing next to Mrs Upitt. This coming from someone who hates his voice and looks.
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I thought Upitt looked brilliant standing with his blushing bride!
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Reed, that is true and you probably graded that based on her curve. Upitt IQ hovers around 100, as in, he 100% finally got it right. Wishing that momma upitt could have been there to see her kid with the biggest smile ever. Enjoy.
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I don’t see the pic of Upitt and Mrs Upitt. Can someone tell me where it is?
H2P
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@WBB – That is why i never complained about Dixon not even trying to land high 4 and 5 star guys. They were already being “handled”. The investigation needs to go further however. Hopefully, it is not done and the other shoe and apparel companies get looked at closer as well.
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my only complaint was his recruiting in his last two years here … and I guess we can certainly now forgive him in retrospect.
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scroll up
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Oh way up in Reed’s post. Thanks.
H2P
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Dear Mr Louisville President Postel,
As you know, it would behoove you to hire a replacement basketball coach as soon as possible. And as an athletic director of a fellow ACC school, I believe I have a solution for you.
We can offer you a coach with ample experience in (1) Division 1, (2) the ACC, and (3) the midwest. And by one look at his record, you can be rest assured that he very likely does not have any skeletons in his closet, so to speak, which I am sure is a high priority for you.
We are offering you a chance to assume my basketball coach’s current contract at a much lower salary than you have been paying your recent one. And we do not ask anything in return but instead only wish to help a member ACC school in its time of need.
Your prompt response would be very much appreciated.
Yours truly,
Heather Lyke
Athletic Director
University of Pittsburgh
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Send it out wbb!
http://store.umc.pitt.edu/node/add/letterhead
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Reed, the flags will be flying as you stated above if that’s ok with you. Planning a menu tonight.
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Torn between dirty rice and Rice Krispie treats.
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Wow, Upitt. You must be one heck of a salesman. Congrats.
H2P
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Hahaha.
This is basically what you guys think I look like.
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What hump?
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Good point Huff. There has to be more from the other competing companies. Got to think Nike wasn’t taking all that lying down.
Again the new mantra in today’s sports. If you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying. If you ain’t kneeling you be dying. . ….ike
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Haha!!
Thanks Dad
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Emel..her mother is eligible but may be taken..your bad for the unexcuuused LOA…
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The mother could work if she’s a MILF. And I will seek BigB’s permission on my next LOA 🙂
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Locker room talk Upitt.
Reed, help Fran out with a poll vote on who’s going to be at the POV tailgate this Saturday.
Meanwhile I hope tonite’s round-table gets all the oldies but goodies and maybea few newbies as well. I say it it all the time but I could be late or a no show. The wife and I are going out on the town. Hitting the early bird specials with our AARP card. lol. . . . . .ike
H2P!
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This is our locker room locker room for old farts
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You can only wonder how scheduling has played into this. This team clearly would have benefited from a couple more early season cupcakes in weeks 2 and 3 as confidence builders. Zero benefit to scheduling tough OOC games when you have a conference championship at your disposal.
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Not this again. There is benefit to playing difficult OOC games if your fans will turn out for it. It also helps a lot if you win those games (see PSU last season) or are at least competitive (see OSU last year). Also, “a conference championship at your disposal” suggests a given. Pitt hasn’t won a conference championship since 2004 (4-way tie?) and hasn’t sniffed an actual conference championship game (2009 doesn’t count).
Pitt announced the resumption of the PSU series in June, 2011. Pitt announced the move to the ACC in September, 2011. Pitt first played in the ACC in 2013. Pederson very likely would not have known at in 2011 that the ACC scheduling would become 8 conference games + ND every 2-3 years. I believe Pitt had a series scheduled with ND that was nullified when ND half-joined the ACC. Pederson probably also would not have known the division alignment or had a notion of the “rival” game in 2011.
Pitt announced the OSU series in November, 2013. Chryst was in year 2 at that time. Pederson would have had no reason to suspect at that time that Chryst would leave after the following season. In addition Pederson was probably compensating for what was now known regarding ND’s conference/scheduling status, ACC division alignment and that Syracuse was now Pitt’s “rival”. He was hopefully trying to build excitement and attendance given those knowns or constraints depending upon your perspective.
Given your handle I’m surmising your not personally attending many home games. I do attend the home games and I don’t want to purchase season tickets to see Rice or Rice equivalents 3 times per year. I also seriously doubt that it appeals to recruits to tell them that they could one day be playing YSU, Rice, Marshall or Villanova at Heinz Field.
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Yes – cupcakes are good. Thanks Cornhole for leaving us with this mess. Thanks Nerdy for approving it and giving your boy a $5M golden parachute.
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Congratulations UPitt. God bless you two!
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Thanks Pittfan28
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Pitt received nice $50 million dollar gift from the Hillman Foundation for cancer research. H2P!!
Could we possible have a Hillman Field? AD Lyke needs to get to know some wealthy Pitt alums.
Hoping for a good win this weekend vs. Rice!
Finally, so glad that we don’t have a Pitino like coach at Pitt!
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Jerry… Donors like the Hillman’s keep a closer pulse on the 360 degrees of the University then most people think. I know for a fact that communications were flying 7 years ago between not only the Hillmans but other people who donate the really big money about why the school’s reputation was taking a hit at the time.
These are the people Pitt need to keep happy, not just the people that donate $1,000,000 to the athletic department
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happy this child is playing in happy valley
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/…=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter
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Tx… how much is Stevo Pedo making a year and when does it end… someone help me out here… I feel like bitching
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Bravo.. I am with you on who I want to see PITT play and would much rather see D1 schools and good schools.. so sad a poor turn-out for OSU.. at least for the opening kickoff…I never understood the Pitt fandom…
One school we were building a rivalry with was Cincinnati in the Big Easy days.. put them on the schedule. AD is trying to get people in the stadium so I see why they are trying to get better opponents… but at this point in time ” We aren’t worth.” Where the heck do you begin to untangle this mess with the current cast of characters…….,
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BigB, Cincy is on the schedule, 2023/2024 home and home. Wonder if the River City trophy will still be up for grabs?
http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/acc/pittsburgh-panthers.php
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We aren’t worthy
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UPitt – someone in that picture has to be a card board cutout. Seriously, you done good. Congrats.
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Emel… UPitt mother in law is a knockout…. she was and maybe still is single…. She will throw UPitt in the deal for a son in law !
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Beaver DL Bryce Ramer decommitted from UVA…to attend Pitt game Saturday.
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we can only hope yellow is his favorite color
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Pitt should always compete against the best competition with their out of conference schedule. It lets you know where your team stands. If you are not good enough to win, then you have a benchmark for how far you need to go.
Once you get there, you will need that kind of competition to get into the playoffs.
It sucks when it shows we still have a very long way to go, but I would rather play great teams than patsies.
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HCPN will start Min/Max vs the Rice Crispy treats on Saturday.
Just a prediction and gut feeling.
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I just got the notice that I flunked the PITT fan committee application. Wonder if any of the POV brothers and sisters got the nod? or… are the new committee members even allowed to say?? << Narduzzi rule?
Maybe they are afraid I’ll try and bribe them with a free Nova Place garage parking pass? << you know the place, 1 1/2 miles from Heinz Field.
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Congrats UPITT, do I detect a pair of Rockports?
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Yes Larry and a Ambian and Grape Fanta. Haha
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I detect Rockports and a hidden Fanta soda in his pocket.
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Mrs. Upitt quote, “Is that a Fanta in your pocket, or are you just glad you married me”?
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What time is the roundtable?
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9:00 be there!!
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Thanks.
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I’ll try to make it. It will be a first. I’m such a Virgin.
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Upitt will make it but exhausted.
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lol we all can imagine why Upitt, you daag!
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ran the cleaner earlier today is the reason I’ve been coming up anonymous but maybe that’s the way I should have rolled all along. …. signed anonymous. 🙂
H2P!
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I wish!! Exhausted from work and flying and driving. Looks like we have a good group tonight so I will pass and look forward to listening tomorrow. I can barely keep eyes open. Enjoy all!
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I applied for that the first two years then realized I would be the last person they would accept on that committee.
Too bad really – over 515,000 POV readers in 9 months of 2017, from 89 separate countries and 40,000 comments from die-hard Pitt fans don’t mean a thing I guess… they would rather have sorority girls and aspiring Pitt News writers I suppose.
This is what i mean when I say to you guys – and now to the new readers we have gotten this season – The POV is truly an international forum that is read and cited extensively throughout the internet – one article last season had almost a million readers on it.. So when we here impose the no politics and no swearing policies we have it is for a reason – we are thousands of times more read than any other Pitt blog or message board.
So there is a definite positive reputation to uphold, and you all are great at doing that and I thank you.
Lyke and Gallagher have no idea of the prospective reach for the athletic department they are missing out on here.
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Posted this earlier erroneously as as a reply rather than a comment.
For those of you that wonder why BigB, I, and a couple of others bring up LSU on a Pitt blog, aside from Matt Canada being the OC there. LSU is a big name school with a national reputation. They consistently field top 10 recruiting classes and typically have a lot of 4* recruits with a sprinkling of 5-stars. They pay their coaching staff the big bucks and tend to get highly-rated coaches when vacancies occur. They have a huge on-campus stadium with hot cheerleaders and a rabid fan base that typically packs the stadium. The university administration fully supports the athletic programs and they have an active booster program and generous donors.
Yet their fans complain about pretty much the same things that we Pitt fans do when their team has its bad years, which seems to be every couple years. I live in New Orleans so I read the comments on the sports news articles. They think Matt Canada is minor league and a weak hire. They want the def Coord replaced after suffering a 37-7 loss to Miss State. They question the head coach Ogeron’s leadership, and on and on. I suspect there are similar college teams with a similar profile to LSU that have periodic “bad” years (which may still considered just fine by other teams) as well.
The point here should be obvious. The complaints about Pitt recruiting, coaching, administration support, fan support, lousy offensive/defensive strategies, losing to weaker teams, and so on, are not unique to Pitt. They happen elsewhere, and to some typically very strong programs (hard to ignore the last few years at Texas). Not saying it’s good or bad to criticize everything about the team, but simply offering an example of life at college football powerhouses to provide a different perspective.
I’m curious to see how Matt Canada handles things through the rest of the season. The link BigB posted above notes that Canada said the the offense needs to be simplified, it’s too complex for these particular players and very different from what they were used to in past years. Hence the problem of simply changing out your OC and expecting immediate positive results. Canada was successful at Pitt, and maybe the Pitt football players were way smarter than at other schools… or maybe something else that made it work.
Hopefully it will all sort out for Pitt and better recruiting, new coaching, and whatever else is needed will happen. Until then… I’ll keep watching Pitt games things and enjoy the periodic upset of heavily favored teams to get me through another Pitt season.
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Reed, they don’t want objective ideas. This is the part of PITT I can 100% agree with you on…
You pussy Mark! Get with it man. Wait until we meet up! 🙂 .. ike
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Interesting Nola, considering Canada was only at PITT for one year. What does this really say?
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I wish I knew what it really says! Was it one of those “Right Place at the Right Time” kind of years?
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If Smiley received a $5M golden parachute, I would have rather kept him instead of paying Herman and I-run-six-miles.
At least Jamie would still be around (slogball mediocrity beats last in the ACC)and we’d have saved some coin.
And i loathed Smiley.
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Gasman – and we all saw how green the grass was on the other side without Smug Stevie. I’m glad he’s gone, not happy with what Barney gave us and I’m willing to drink a few Fantas with The Heather.
I received a letter from Sir Patrick G this week asking for a large contribution to help with institutional advancement. Just got home from a business dinner – I’m in a mood to write a letter back to the dear old Chancellor again – he never responded to my last letter regarding our foul mouthed BB coach.
This letter will be centered on our great university, the FB tradition, history and how all three fit together. I’d love to be one of Pitt’s large doners, but I need to know what the plan is to win again consistently on a national level. Two 8 win seasons is a start – what next? I’m in the dark as an alum and the BOT is full of nit wits.
Then I’ll ask what the process is to become a member of the BOT. The last letter Pat G had Dr. Juhl responded with a “canned” letter that reeked of nothingness. I won’t Lyke it if Sir Patrick G blows me off again.
Without a doubt though, I’ll be at the Rice patty game looking for a “changed” team.
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#1 priority for them is be a PSU grad or at least a fan.
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Traffic alert. Parkway east closed this weekend at the squirrel hill area for repair work.
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Thanks Anonymous (Ike?) – would not have known otherwise.
Blue helmets, blue jerseys and white pants. I guess Rice will be in all white – lol.
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Had loads of fun tonight. Thanks Reed and all everyone on the Round Table.
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For those that haven’t partaken, I highly encourage it.
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Status Quo. Jim
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EE not me but glad someone informed you.. .
TX_.. Make it a habit of jumping on, you know your PITT stuff. Josh, you too, great. Josh, am I mistaken that you called in one other time?
Pittman, I was typing in Status Quo when you called. It was a tie! . . . . .ike
H2P!
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Jumping ahead, if PITT comes out and does not beat Rice rather convincingly, I will stand off my soap box and shamefully admit I have been very wrong about Narduzzi and this years PITT football team.
I guarantee a PITT win Saturday and eyes will be opened. What do I have to lose but all hope? . . . ike
H2P!
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Keep the faith. This is a young team still just figuring it all out.
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OOC schedule is easy. If Pitt has “C-” support from the Administration, we shouldn’t schedule “A-” competition. The result is not good for Pitt. I don’t care if we schedule Power 5 weaker teams because that is what we are.
When the Administration gets us to a B+ in support, than schedule an A- program. Many of you are the first to complain about 6-6, but with C- support and an A- schedule, 6-6 isn’t bad. We could be so much better if only the Administration would pull in the same direction as its fanbase. This is all on the Administration and AD.
Obviously, in bball, many have been quiet about the handlers and the buying of players. It should now make sense that there are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes that even a SID or middle to upper management aren’t aware of. Football is a little different, but is not squeaky clean either.
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Strength of schedule going back aways.
Narduzzi
2017 – 3rd (so far)
2016 – 9th
2015 – 27th
Chryst
2014 – 64th
2013 – 37th
2012 – 57th
Early in the season but could this be a reason for the 1-3 start with one of the youngest defenses in the nation?
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Ike… You’re wrong. But that’s OK.
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BTW… not necessarily about Pitt beating Rice. Just Narduzzi
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Congrats upitt and your lovely bride! Wishing many years of health and happiness to you both!
Hoops season just got real interesting.
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Never seen any team win big games with this many youngsters on the D line.
The loss of Taleni and Blair and the failure of Christ’s guys Dintino and Herndon to become what was once expected has hurt. Also the two transfers have not been all of that yet. This unit should be much stronger next year with Weaver, Camp and Watt maturing.
The O line is more disappointing, they need to get soon or a very long season.
Disappointed that Narduzzi called MacVittie a baby. I think his legs could help this offense immensely. Since the other two haven’t been productive passers. A real option QB is a bigger threat, especially on third down.
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Narduzzi has little regard for any underclassman IMO. In practice all the underachieving old-timers know the plays and were they should be lined up. Come game day the upper class underachievers live right up to their reputations and for the added benefit also seem to have forgotten much of what they learned in practice about who to block. So after the Rice game Narduzzi will believe all have figured out how to play the game going forward. Following Rice I expect to see another series of at least an additional 3 consecutive losses. Perhaps we will even run the table after the Rice game. It is certainly possible with the players starting now on both the O and D.
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jrnpitt – we shall see as there are games to be played. Duzz & I expect to win them and you my friend expect to lose them. Remember expect and believe have two different meanings. You seem to expect and believe Pitt will lose all remaining games after Rice.
I believe that could happen but expect better. I’m going to take the TX Panther approach and withhold my money, write letters to the higher ups, attempt to get a seat on the BoT and if what you believe happens, I’ll refuse to renew my season tickets.
I wonder what the members on the BoT expects? And are their seats at board meetings yellow?
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Congrats Upitt on the wedding, out kicking your coverage for sure.
Browne, in my opinion, should start against Rice-it appears that the offensive struggle is not him but our line, which was supposed to be a strength and our new OC which was supposed to be a good hire. The reality is the line is a mess and the new OC is just awful. I actually feel bad for Browne, he could have transferred anywhere and came here based on the same assumptions about Watson and the line.
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Browne would be terrible wherever he transferred.
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I think Browne would be pretty good at ‘bama or clemscum
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Welcome newcomers ” Tx_Panther” & “Altoona Josh” to the POV Round Table. Enjoyed my visit with Ike, Jim & Reed & the newbies even though I was depressed.
And to boot, my Grand Uncle – Hugh Hefner died last night. I tell a whopping story to everyone on our family relationship. I have also noticed that it is only people 40+ who really know who Hef was.
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