Here is last night’s Roundtable video for your viewing pleasure… we had Matt (PittintheVille) and Mike (TX Panther with us again with a late appearance by Missing Wlat.

Some things we discussed was that Ollison was in the backfield for Hall’s long runs – we went to the familiar two-back set that we used so well last two seasons with Aston at FB.  Ollison was more in the H’Back role but sprung blocks for Hall.  Kudos to the staff for doing that i think – it worked for the big gainers.

Q. Follow-up on Darrin’s performance Saturday, once you reviewed it and watched the tape, how realistic is it — 250 is one thing, but how realistic is it to expect him to stay being the guy, and stay providing that run game that you need?

PAT NARDUZZI: Right now, he’s the guy. It’s his job. You know, I think he’s got a lot of confidence right now. I think he feels good. I think he’s playing fast. I think he’s kind of in the groove a little bit. You saw him make cuts that he doesn’t make very often, and Coach Powell’s been preaching, preaching, preaching, about making somebody miss and getting yards after contact so it’s good to see someone take to it, and something happens.

But that doesn’t go without Qadree (Ollison) also blocking his tail off for him. There are a lot of two-back sets in there where Qadree’s in there also blocking his tail off. So we have an unselfish football team that guys play for each other. Whether it’s Qadree running and Darrin blocking or vice versa. Our guys are out there playing hard.

So Narduzzi has stated that Hall is going to be the primary RB for at least the VA game and perhaps we found a combination that will work in this stretch run.  However, as we discussed on the video aside from those great long gainers from Hall we ran the ball 55 additional times for only 82 yards – a poor 1.42 yards per carry average and that won’t do it.

I hate to think that we have to rely of Hall’s springing long TD runs for our running game though – he did a great job but we have to get better as a running offense if we want to keep winning games – especially at VT and against Miami.

This will be a fun game against Virginia on Saturday.  the weather at this time (11:00 am Thursday) looks wet  for game time with 100% chance of up to a half-inch of rain over the day.  So who does that give an advantage to?  Usually the team who runs better overall has the advantage in these conditions but not always.

We were discussing recruiting the last few days so I doubled back to Chris Dokish’s Top Ten PA players for the years 2017 and 2018. I thought we had gotten more of these players but we have been dragging behind.

We have two so far with a possible third in Kwantel Raines who is making his choice Monday.  He’s leaning toward WVU but let’s cross our fingers he looks more for Pitt that afternoon because he looks like a good one.

What really hurts is that in 2017’s class we had eight kids from immediately around Pittsburgh on that list and only one came here (Ford).  That was why Narduzzi himself mentioned in an interview with Rivals that they were disappointed in that year’s class – too many big fish got away.

2017 & 2018 BEST PA RECRUITS

2017

1.  D’Andre Swift, St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia) RB-  GEORGIA

2.  Lamont Wade, Clairton Area HS (Clairton) CB- PENN STATE

3.  Paris Ford, Steel Valley HS (Munhall) FS- PITTSBURGH.

4.  David Adams, Central Catholic HS (Pittsburgh) LB-   NOTRE DAME.

5.  Donovan Jeter, Beaver Falls Area HS (Beaver Falls) DE-   MICHIGAN

6.  Mark Webb, Archbishop Wood Catholic HS (Warminster) WR-  GEORGIA

7. C.J. Thorpe, Central Catholic HS (Pittsburgh) OG- PENN STATE.

8.  Josh Lugg, North Allegheny HS (Wexford) OT-  NOTRE DAME.

9.  Kurt Hinish, Central Catholic HS (Pittsburgh) DT-  NOTRE DAME.

10.  Kenny Robinson, University Prep HS (Pittsburgh) LB-   WVU

2018

1.  Phil Jurkovec, Pine-Richland HS (Gibsonia) QB-  NOTRE DAME.

2.  Micah Parsons, Central Dauphin HS (Harrisburg) DE-  PENN STATE.

3.  Isheem Young, Imhotep Institute (Philadelphia) FS- PENN STATE

4.  Kwantel Raines, Aliquippa HS (Aliquippa) S- ???

5.  Matthew Bauer, Cathedral Prep HS (Erie) LB-  NOTRE DAME

6.  Zack Kuntz, Camp Hill HS (Camp Hill) TE- PENN STATE

7.  Darryle Simmons, St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia)-  VIRGINIA TECH

8. Kevin Doyle, Malvern Prep (Malvern) QB-  MICHIGAN

9.  Shaquon Anderson-Butts, Harrisburg HS (Harrisburg) WR-  PENN STATE

10. David Green, Central Catholic (Pittsburgh) DE-  PITTSBURGH

Don’t forget we have a tailgate going on at Red 5A lot in the corner adjacent to the Red 5 parking garage – I’m driving up Friday evening so I’ll be there with raingear on.

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.

117 thoughts on “POV Roundtable Video; Oct 26th 2017”

  5. You can’t get them all, but 1 out of 20 is not very encouraging. I don’t have a good feeling about Raines either.

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  7. Hew MW, Philly kids generally speaking aren’t very fond of Pittsburgh. If we just look at the top 10 WPA players PITT fared really well.

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  8. Reed, looking forward to seeing the Master and Commander again…in case of rain we will move the tailgate inside the garage on the lower level about 20 yards from my black Tacoma pickup. The flags fly rain or shine.

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  9. No matter how you look at it those results stink.

    When you are viewed as a loser in your home town things are bad.

    Good that Narduzzi is bringing in guys from out of state, but he and Heather must do more to change the local image.

    What would our history be if Marino went to ND and Dorsett went to PSU?

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    1. There is no question that Pitt can’t bring in the top PA boys … which is why he is focusing much more on Florida and ACC footprint, and hired Partridge.

      Two caveats … (1) if you would look at Nos 11 thru 20, I am sure you will see some Pitt commits … Zubovic, Danielsen, Kradel, etc. These are the ones that Pitt has a good chance with, which leads me to (2) I see us losing to ND, PSU, Mich, Georgia, etc …. these are top level schools. Even Va Tech with its sold-out crowd of 77k every week is hard to overcome. It’s when we lose out to Syracuse, Temple and Rutgers consistently is when I start to worry.

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      1. BTW, every one of the schools listed above also does not have any direct competition with an NFL team … except maybe for ND. But even an NFL team doesn’t have its own network.

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  10. I share Reed’s concern about Pitt’s running attack. While this past Saturday was a step forward, I still saw a lot of no or little gains. I think Pitt can be competitive in most games when it can run consistently .. but I haven’t seen that this year since the first half of the opener, and the 2nd quarter and small part of 3rd vs PSU.

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    2. Nothing in The Trib concerning that. PG can’t wait to report something negative about Pitt. Further proving my point down below in a comment.

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    1. This says it all:

      “Mike’s greatest strength is his ability to adjust,” said Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson, who had Elko on staffs at four schools. “He always understood how players dictate the scheme; the scheme doesn’t dictate the players.”

      Like

  13. Then again, Hall did have some nifty runs for first downs and the touchdown and yes there were to many runs for zero yards.

    Hall ran for 254 yards minus his two long runs it comes to roughly 23 carries for 82 yards which = 3.55.

    Of course the QB sacks and Whitehead being bottled up accounted for the poor YPC for PITT. I just find it negative if we want to continue to discount the positive plays for PITT <<< Hall’s 2 long runs.

    NCS had two very long TD’s that had a major major impact on that game. << Why didn’t we all discount those two plays? This is slanted imo

    Sometimes I feel like I’m watching CNN when I tuned into Fox? ….. ike

    H2P!

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    1. Ike,

      The way I look at it is not really discounting the two long runs but looking at the body of work.I’ll take those runs all day long. You should look to have one (at least one) every game. It’s the 3.55 ypc that you reference that continues to worry me. It seems that no matter who the runner is they can’t get the ypc up over the course of the game.

      To me, this can be one of two things or a combination of both; poor upfront blocking or poor running. I see it as a little of both. Our line has not consistently blocked this year and shuffling the players around has not done much to improve the results. I don’t see much of an identity with this group. There’s no talk of how nasty they are, how much of a “lunch pail” mentality they have. Maybe in the off-season they will begin to get this. I don’t know, but in our scheme, we need big, nasty attitude driven players who are disciplined play after play.

      As for our RB corp, they are each talented in their own right, but if you look at how each player runs the plays, they all lack burst. I haven’t seen one play or player all year take the ball with a burst. They all take the ball (in what appears to be) half speed and approach the line laterally looking to make a play. Some times you just need to smash the hole and move the line. Some times you burst through. Even on the 2 long runs last week, it initially looked like he was surprised to see daylight and then the jets were turned on. Very few backs if any are like Leveon Bell.

      THIS i put on the coaching. Is this aggressiveness not being coached by Powell? Sometimes I wonder. And not having the correct offensive packages or play calling to help, it mind boggling. I’m hoping to see more from both aspects against UVA!

      If only we can also get our QB to learn when he should throw it away and when not to think he can outrun a DE that has 4.3 speed and weighs 230lbs…

      HTP

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    2. I really feel uncomfortable having to agree with so many of your posts. Way too much picking and choosing going on here(by some) and then PittEngineer in prior thread makes a great post to clarify things(about rating more than W-L’s to rank a team) and it gets dismissed or denigrated.

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  14. You can’t name Eastern Pa kids as recruits Pitt should get. Pitt has never been a favorite on that side of the state and never will be. That is not Pitt’s backyard. I would also venture to guess that Pitt did not recruit all those listed above.

    I would agree WPIAL top recruits should be targeted. Out of the top WPIAL kids Pitt got several like…

    Danielson
    Zubovic
    Green

    Which is good recruiting of the linemen.

    Not so good on skill positions.

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  15. ^^ Hey BigDog, Kelly was on the hot seat just last year. schitt happens to even the bigdogs. . . .ike

    H2P!

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  16. ^^ …. and add Kradel to that list of WPIAL gets and possibly Palmer. all 3 * and BTW………….Green is listed as tied on Rivals for the lowest rated PITT recruit which is absolutely laughable. Before we all get our panties in a bunch, know why it is you’re cranky.

    Green may be the cream of the crop even if Raines comes on board….

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  17. He was and was smart enough to bring in a coach and let him coach and not stomp his feet like a 4 year old and have to have it his way.

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    1. Agree PN has been stubborn on the D but Conklin used the same D at his last stop. I doubt he had any new ideas, or did he? We will never know.

      Taking til year 3 to figure out you need a nickle package in college football is mind blowing. Then waiting until game 3 of this year, after OSU blows your doors off to implement it, is comical.

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  19. When everyone was watching Dan Mason at Penn Hills (for good reason) I was was watching Aaron Donald and could see he was special. No Not as special as he became but I’m seeing similar play from David Green.

    Point is again and again, recruiting is not a science by any stretch………… Excuse me while I unbunch my panties… ike

    H2P!

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  20. Congrats are on order for 2 programs :

    Congrats to our boys in Blue/Navy/Yellow/Gold/White for getting out of the Cbs Sports Bottom 25 !

    And congrats to the local team here in Charlotte. The 49’ers won their first game of the season. But still hold a lofty position in the Bottom 25. The 49’ers went for 2 in OT against UAB and converted to win a thriller 25-24

    https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/bottom-25-college-football-rankings-its-time-to-welcome-back-the-razorbacks/

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  22. Supposed to read…. How much $$ does Elko make at ND?

    All I want for Xmas is an edit button on the POV…………………… Never mind Reed… I never did get what I wanted for Xmas…….. and know it’s impossible but the frustration of my stoopidity and lack of caring to proof read makes me look even dumber than I am. << Slightly.

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  23. The biggest problem Pitt has in local recruiting is; the very bias anti-Pitt media. And at the same time, the scum media’s slobbering over the Creepster Pedo’s.

    This is something local kids see 24/7/365. And is very instrumental in us losing out on so many local kids.

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    1. Emel we lose recruits because we lack a tradition of winning year over year. Don’t you think if we didn’t have down decades, were ranked year after year in and around the top 10-15 things would look differently? Forget the chicken vs egg comeback…

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  25. Great to see Revis at the last game, he and Fitz should be our next Pro HOF guys. Sorry to see Fitz lose his QB in possibly his final year. Think of the records he would have set if he would have played with an elite QB in his prime.

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  26. Was it the media’s fault when Pitt fired Wanny hired a scumbag abuser, then a scumbag fraud, for over 30 years Pitt has made most of its own bad news. Do kids today even watch the news? They definitely don’t read the papers.

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    1. Kids today are more connected to the media than EVER now-a-days. And the PG/Press has relished every moment of Pitt’s gaffes over the years.

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        2. It’s called news Emel. They do their best to sell papers, get viewers, and hits. If the audience wasn’t interested they wouldn’t write the story. Is it more problematic for Pitt? Sure it is. Would a dorm fight go unreported in Happy Valley, probably. One of the negatives about being in the city. Same as having to compete with the Pro Teams, or PSU and WVU for coverage. It is just the nature of the beast. The media doesn’t make a living doing puff pieces.

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          1. I know what it’s called gc. And I’m glad you concur it’s a problematic problem for Pitt. I don’t know of any other P5 team that has so much local media vibe against it, countrywide.

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            2. I don’t think it is as much a vibe as it is Pitt’s epic fails over the years. Pitt is either a laughingstock or a very sad case in the minds of majority of Pittsburghers. Why should the media be any different? There is a huge audience for negative stories about Pitt. Since Pitt won a championship, the pro teams have won 10 Championships, even with the Pirates dismal performance.

              You need to earn good publicity, Pitt has not, most of the time just the opposite.

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  27. 2016 class had
    2 top 10 players in OH
    7 out of top 21 players in PA
    2 out of top 20 in NJ

    2017
    3 out of top 28 in OH
    5 out of top 23 in PA
    2 out of top 23 in NJ

    2018
    2 out of top 10 MD
    5 of top 27 in PA
    2 of top 20 in NJ

    These are about the results you should probably expect by now with a mix of others from FL, NY/New England, VA, and the Carolinas

    It’s just not realistic to think Pitt can win most battles against the regional and national big boys (PSU, Ohio St, Mich, ND, etc). It’s not really about who we don’t get anyway; there are plenty of kids that go to G6 schools who could produce at Pitt.

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  28. I hear you gc. Goes to show you how stats are relative and dangerous if not portrayed in the manner in which they are intended. This is not a shot at Reed either. It’s to the people that read all the stats he lays out with all his incredible research, (which I greatly appreciate), and understand the variables involved.

    Statistics are not to be confused with the lone ranger as they do not stand alone.

    The greatest receiver will not make the hall of fame without a decent QB, just like the greatest running back will not make the HOF without a decent O-Line and QB. . << it’s relative.

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  29. Fraud was in trouble at ASU after 2 straight losing seasons. He then hired Billy Napier, long time Bama asst, as OC and Phil Bennett as DC. They seemed much improved.

    There was talk that Napier was coming to Pitt as OC, as he became a twitter follower to Narduzzi, and reportedly had discussions ….. but then a week later, he was hired at ASU.

    My guess is that ASU offered more (maybe much more), and that Watson was a fallback hire. (although Nard won’t admit it, nor should he)

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    1. He should admit it. Maybe then the AD would get embarrassed and open the purse strings some for better assistants.

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  30. I understand money is always going to be an issue but my big beef is the fact that he won’t admit there is a problem. I feel like he just wants to prove everybody wrong and say I told you so. Brian Kelly has an ego the size of Texas and even he realized he had a problem and was willing to try and fix it.. I know he was on the hot seat but if he was fired there he would have another Power 5 Job in a week if he wanted it.

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    1. what do you want him to do? Start publicly blaming everyone else like our BB coach? IMO he made a positive step with hiring Partridge.

      Pitt doesn’t have the money or the blue chips that ND have. I sure as hell wish people would quit comparing Pitt to PSU, ND, etc …. there is no comparison in so many ways.

      Pitt will never ever come close to the late 70s ever again .. trust me.

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      1. Agree wwb, it is almost all about money these days. As soon as a lesser team shows a modicum of success, their coach goes to greener pastures. The main reason Wanny should never have been fired.

        The same reason Jamie eventually left, Pitt is unwilling/unable to compete financially with the big dogs.

        We can nitpick all day long about coaching ability, but it really doesn’t matter when you have half the budget.

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        1. I don’t think JD seemed willing to do all necessary with the money he had and I don’t mean to say it wasn’t likely very limited…..especially when it came to assistant/recruiter salaries.
          He sure wasn’t going to go down the road in any illegal manner to win recruits.

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        2. It cracks me up fans wanting these OK Pitt coaches fired because they aren’t winning big. They want big wins on minuscule budgets. It’s comical. One day Nordy just cut Dave’s recruiting budget that was reaping benefits in Florida. Smart move, cheapskate.

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    1. If you don’t believe in yourself, you’re not going to convince others to believe in you(recruiting). I think that is a given…gc.

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  32. all head coaches have ego’s the ones that win realize that something isn’t working and try to fix it. if I hear we just need to coach them better again my head might explode. I don’t know for sure but I would be willing to bet before he was at Notre Dame he was not getting Paid at Wake Forest. I agree Partridge is a great hire but do you think if he ever fired Conklin(which will never happen because that would be admitting his system isn’t working) and promoted Charlie would he let him run his defense. The Head Coach should worry about winning games and surrounding yourself with coaches that can help you do that regardless of what system the run. I understand all Coaches have an idea of what the want but it’s not like you are going to have Top 10 talent here so you adapt and change or you end up being 3-5 and a joke

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    2. Suspect a dorm super who felt his safe space was invaded. This wasn’t worth anything. Question is what asswype called the paper, this is a summons citation, no arrest for summary – like a traffic ticket. Maybe they were playing Madden and either they fought over Pickett v. Nooch or Ford kept shutting down Sears in Madden game. 🙂 Horse manure.

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  34. Narduzzi admitting to there is a problem = even less recruits.

    Not to say he doesn’t think there is one or there is actually a problem.

    Isn’t going to be fun moving forward and finding out.

    It’s funny how after PITT beat a team on the road being an 8 pt underdog and still, negativity abounds. << There’s more to this story than meets the eye. Too many are holding Narduzzi’s pretentious personality against him.

    Just like many held Lumpy’s laid back demeanor against him. So the world goes. . . . .ike

    H2P!

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  36. Justin Fuente left Memphis for VT. Memphis hasn’t taken a large step back much. 8-5 last year.
    And 6-1 this year, currently ranked #24 with wins over 2 Top 25 teams this year.

    The Tigers have an excellent chance of going 10-1 this year.

    Their HC now is Mike Norvell. Wasn’t he here at Pitt for a Cup of Coffee ?

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  37. Interesting in that Fuente was only at Memphis for 3 seasons and 2 of those were losing seasons at
    4-8 and 3-9. Had the one big 10 win season (10-3 with a minor bowl victory) and he was off to much
    larger (and greener$) pastures in Blacksburg.

    So still hope for the Nard Dog !

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  38. I would think recruits want to win period. if you win the kids will come to play for you period. I think he has the makeup to be a above average head coach if he was willing to just adapt a little. I would bet waiting for that long to become a Head Coach you have a vision and stick to it till you get fired. I would love to see the stats on first time Head Coaches who get fired and then get a 2nd chance and willing to change and see the error in there ways and become very successful.

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  41. Thanks Pitt_cocks, if Raines makes the right decision PITT will have won out on 5 of the top 6 recruits in the WPIAL. Plus they quit recruiting Banks altogether.

    Hope you’re keeping your spirits high buddy. … . …..ike

    H2P!

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  42. Plus PITT didn’t even offer Majors and White and offered Hooker very late… then lost him to OSU. << the school his brother went to… ike

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  43. Interesting that Narduzzi is at #61 but no bonus money data available or buyout. Maybe Naduzzi makes more bonus $$ than we know of?

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  44. I would love to know were Pitt is money it give the HCPN has to pay his Staff. I would bet we are bottom 3rd of D1

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  45. I just met a guy who works for Benedictine Prep here in Richmond. Told me he talks to Pitt recruit Wendell Davis everyday (LB) and that Davis has just given a verbal commit to Pitt. I told him to tell the young man he was making a great choice and that he will love Pitt.

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  46. PittItIs @ 2:52, good comment but I may have confused you.

    Reed does discount the 2 long runs when he brings up the other backs without considering Halls carries for an average of 1. something which is totally a witch hunt.

    Hall averaged 10.16 YPC last Saturday. << This is a stat and a fact. Why can’t people see what I see about stats and how they are used? Naturally if you have your #1 RB run for 254 yards and take his stats out, it would hurt the overall team YPC.

    PITT has lots of growing up to do and that is exactly what they will do the next four games.. . but we can’t continue to fudge numbers for the sake of argument.

    Liked by 1 person

  47. In a nutshell …..

    Brian Batko ✔ @BrianBatko
    Two of four captains are hurt on a team without many seniors to start with. Pat Narduzzi was candid about that challenge

    Now, when you have this coupled with the schedule it plays, ….

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  49. ^^^^ “can’t continue to fudge numbers for the sake of argument”

    At least there are a few like you, wwb and Pittengineer who have the energy to continue to point this out and counter the “fudge”

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  50. Ike – I inquired about bonus money for Narduzzi – it is “minimal” so basically what you see is what you get with his salary.

    Regarding these recruiting conversations – my point all along has been that Narduzzi has to start landing the very high end 4* and 5* recruits because that is what you need for championship play.

    Over the last seven years ( from 2011 until the 2017 class) we have been pulling in a vast majority of 3* kids… and look at the football we have played during that time. We are, including this season, currently 44/43 with six bowl appearances and one bowl win.

    Which is why I continually say that if you get 3* recruits you play 3* football.

    Now – there are teams who can win consistently with 3* kids but almost to a school they have great coaching staffs starting with the HC.

    We on here mention Paul Chryst up at Wisconsin a lot, usually with disdain from our readers.

    Since 2011 Wisconsin has averaged 3.0s in recruits across the board with and equal number of 4s as they got 2s. However in that same time frame their W/L record has been 66/22.

    Pitt actually a had a slightly better recruiting crop over those years and our record has been 44/42.

    Say what you will but this is a clear case – at least for Wisconsin – that their Coaches were head and shoulders above what we had over the same time period… in other words their Xs & Os were better than their Jimmys & Joes by a large margin.

    I don’t think we have that at Pitt and haven’t for a long time. So IMO we do have to try to get those Blue Chippers on the roster to make up for the average coaching we have seen.

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    1. Wisky plays pathetic nonconference schedules. That helps with the Ws.

      Much better overall program than Pitt since 1990 though. Heads and shoulders really.

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      1. Huh?

        Wisconsin played BYU and two cupcakes in 2017. The BYU game was probably scheduled 3-4 years ago when BYU was decent.

        Wisconsin played LSU and two cupcakes in 2016.

        Wisconsin played Alabama and three cupcakes in 2015.

        Wisconsin played LSU and three cupcakes in 2014 (I think USF was a cupcake in 2014).

        Wisconsin played Arizona State in Tempe in 2013 and two cupcakes.

        Wisconsin is 48-13 since 2013. I count 12 cupcakes in that span. By all means reduce their record to 36-13. I assume we’d all be delirious if Pitt could do that entirely against P5 opponents for ~4.5 seasons.

        Many on this very board have proclaimed that they want Pitt to schedule 3 cupcakes every year that they don’t play ND. Are you one of them?

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    2. once again Reed, you totally ignore the schedule. Look at Chryst did in 2014 … easiest schedule I have seen at Pitt for a long time (only 1 team finished ranked) but Narduzzi won 8 games the next two years against much harder schedule (4 and 5 teams finished ranked .. and last year 9 teams with winning records). Wisc has yet to play a team with a winning record.this year

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  51. couple points:

    Reed, in no way do I defend the pathetic and really short minded effort from the higher ups at PITT like the BOT in fielding a profit making P-5 football team. Not suggesting in anyway that Narduzzi makes more than it states. It was a hypothetical question.

    PITT has met the enemy and it is them…………..

    Recruiting 4 and 5 * recruits takes more time and commitment from the school. As noted, PITT has done a nice job locally this year so far. It’s just not about wins and attendance in every instance, it’s more about stability and shown patience.

    Would you not agree that the Wisconsin football program seems a lot more stable and would you not also agree that Wisconsin pays a lot more to their assistant coaches?

    PITT has to maintain and trudge forward and stop looking back, as do the PITT fans. The only way out of this fox hole is to strap up the bootstraps and understand that this isn’t an overnight mission. Time for PITT to pay the man and his men or just be the dweller’s that they are.

    BTW Reed; still not feeling well and sorry about last night. Interesting though, after I turn my camera off I could still listen and watch the whole podcast. More POVer’s should try this.

    On another note about the round-table, I know there is a lot of consternation about showing up on the round-table but ask anyone who has and they will tell you it’s a blast. Reed comes off a lot like Larry King to me or is it Howard Stern? << He’s a natural! Anyways it’s great to put the face to the name. I’m proof you don’t need a pretty face or voice.

    More of you wafflers need to jump on the round-table train.

    Did Upitt and The Dark Knight kidnap Richman and fly off into the abyss?

    love you guys and thanks Reed ….. . . . .. . ….ike

    H2P!

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  52. Wisconsin football schedule is very similar to Pitt BB schedule under Jamie. Now, ask yourself, is that a bad thing??? Only if you start loosing those games. Barry knew, to build a program you start by playing cupcakes, then you can pick and choose who you add. Currently, to play this hard of a schedule is insanity. We all want to play and beat very good teams, but ?I want to shoot 71. Not with my current game.

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    1. I kind of disagree. The pre-season may have been. But the Big East when JD was there was second to none. In Barry’s defense, BYU is usually good and probably was he scheduled the game , and he can’t control how bad the B10 West is. Nebraska should be better, Iowa can be good as can be Northwestern … but I see little hope for Illinois and Minn.

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  55. ^^ I agree RKB, it’s a non story. Plus from what I have seen from pics of Sear, he would have pulverized Ford if it was anything serious.

    Do we all recognize that this sort of unbecoming behavior exist at all schools? Shame on boys acting like boys. << of course I won’t get into my past to prove my point…. nuff said……..

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  56. Pitt needs stability
    Pitt needs higher paid coaches
    Pitt needs better coaches…may come with higher pay
    Pitt needs bigger recruiting budget
    Pitt needs to show serious commitment to sports

    If it doesnt, you get what you pay for. Below average pay gets you below average coaching and recruiting and players. A bunch of mediocre seasons. The BoT is fine with that. They want a clean program. Scholar athletes. And the occasional upset or bowl game. The culture at Pitt is not geared to winning championships.

    Would take more money from fans, alumni, boosters and other revenue streams.

    Money and cheating make schools elite. Those are facts. I just want want sustained ‘goodness.’ It will take some more money but you dont have to hire whores, create fake classes, pay players or hide child rape.

    And yes it will take better coaching and better recruits.

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  57. ^^ 2$Chuck: couldn’t agree more. The key word there is “players” you know the word that Paul didn’t think much of recruiting. In fact, Lumpy is on record as saying he didn’t much like recruiting at all. << which was his MO coming into PITT.

    So when we compare Whiskey and PITT remember that. Paul Chryst said blatantly he didn’t like that aspect of college football.

    I don’t want to hear about how his recruits are doing. Wisconsin recruits not Paul……..

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  58. ^^ So as not to confuse anyone, two buck Chuck wrote:

    ““Mike’s greatest strength is his ability to adjust,” said Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson, who had Elko on staffs at four schools. “He always understood how players dictate the scheme; the scheme doesn’t dictate the players.”
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    That was speaking of Mike Elko. No doubt he’s a good coach, wonder why he still isn’t at Wake? $$$$$!

    and Reed, think about the reply function, quoting, copying and pasting is the better way to go imo. Otherwise good comments get lost in a hot topic… .

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  59. …………………. and Tx_Panther and friend Mike. I do agree but that is why PITT has to take a chance on a coach like Narduzzi and stick with that decision. PITT is not going to pay big dollars to bring in a big name coach. Yet they better find the dollars to keep him here after a few years of creating a real solid football program…

    You build a house on a solid foundation. << Anyone here that one before?

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  61. Regarding the tailgate , I should be stopping out around 10 AM, Fran. I’ll likely have an extra ticket if anyone needs one.

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  62. I agree. Unless a big booster suddenly plops down from the planet Pluto, Pitt will never have the money to hire a big gun as a coach. Pitt may forever be a stepping stone.

    And I’m fine with that as long as one recognizes the importance of grooming future coaches and has a solid plan and track record at finding coaches with potential out there that can step in. Few schools have coaches around longer than 5 years so every program deals with turnover.

    Pitt has had obviously more turnover but the last two hires have stabilized the program. Now its time to take advantage of stability.

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  64. — Sounding like rain most of the day Saturday. Ugh! Got to find the ponchos….

    —Think about it — right now UVA is figuring out how to get our safeties to read run, take a false step forward, and then chase a RB or TE into the end zone… Scary…

    —Seems like Duzz’s “scheme” requires somewhat clairvoyant safeties — because one false step and there’s someone behind them…

    —This May be crazy but on a rainy day I go with the QB with the biggest…………….hands! Better “equipped” to handle the wet ball… I’m thinkin’ BN doesn’t have big hands… So I’m worried…

    —Good comments above by TX Panther…

    —ike, hope you’re feeling better…

    Go Pitt.

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  65. Barv, To my point about how they built the program under Barry you have to go back to the mid 90s, they played as many as 4 cupcakes, usually just three however, and then had the benefit of 3-4 games in conference that were just as easy. They hit some years really lucky with in conference schedule and began to slowly put together some good years, and thus it began.
    Also, if you go back and look at the historic scores and records you will see that they lost to most of the good teams they played, both in and out of conference.

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  66. There is a really great site which gives historic scores for all teams, results and opponents records. You get a better feel for how good these teams were. And to those who say you can only play your schedule, that in fact is the point. Scheduling is where the AD earns their bucks. Bottom line, everyone loves a winner.

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  69. JoePa made a career of playing cupcakes until he joined the Big Two and the little eight.

    Barvo, I am the guy that says play One real game and the rest cupcakes in the OOC.

    The only thing that matters are conference games and getting the best bowl possible, also

    winning the Bowl game since it is the last thing people remember about the season.

    It is just sour grapes to complain about Wisky’s schedule, They are ranked in the top ten and

    will get a good bowl game. Jamie’s OOC stunk, but he got us in the NCAA’s every year, that is what

    mattered.

    Look at PSU, Franklin has scheduled a bunch of cupcakes and they are ranked number 2. Why

    won’t PSU schedule more games with Pitt? Why wouldn’t they play us in basketball for all those years?

    BYU won a NC one year after playing practically nobody till their bowl game.

    Even ND has softened their schedule to some extent.

    Pitt only needs to play one tough OOC per year, when they don’t play ND. Play PSU, WVU or some other B1G team. Why play two, because Barvo wants to see a better game? How did OKST work out for us, besides taking away a better bowl last year and eliminating any chance for a bowl this year. How was the attendance? When you play a better team you have to also play one on the road. Why did JoePa offer a two for one deal with us?

    Would you rather be us or Wisconsin right now?

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    1. Uh, I don’t personally have the much sway with the Pitt athletic department. However I believe my donation, tickets and dutiful attendance allow me to express my voice. Hopefully you can say the same. However I know that I am not alone in my position.

      It seems you also may have missed the debate about the meaning and usefulness of anything outside of an FCS bowl game, or at least one tied to a conference championship. I agree that bowls are important because they show how a team measures up to (hopefully) solid competition to ring out the season. Kind of like scheduling legitimate opponents during the season.

      I would say that Ok State in Stillwater last season could have worked out unbelievably well for Pitt absent an act of God (lightning delay) or a competent pass defense. It was a season long battle with the latter that kept Pitt from a better bowl. A 7 point loss to Ok State in Stillwater didn’t do it. In the end Pitt lost the lower bowl anyway.

      The attendance this season has sucked at every game (been there!). Last season’s attendance was inflated due to PSU fans buying season tickets. Did you happen to notice the decline during and after the VT game last year? I did. I also noticed the dismal attendance for Duke and Syracuse after the Clemson win.

      BYU won that NC in 1984 in an era when every NC was the result of experts voting. Pitt might have a few of those. That’s a relevant argument?

      From what I have heard PSU didn’t play Pitt in hoops all those years because JD didn’t want to play them. However that is rumor and speculation.

      To answer the specific question I would rather be LIKE Wisconsin because they are 36-13 over the past 4.5 seasons against P5 competition, not because they are ranked in the Top 5 in late October 2017.

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  70. Winning is also important for recruiting. Do you think prospects care who you beat or how many games you won? The best recruits want a shot at a ring. The next level look at what level of bowl they will go to.

    Pitt gets Miami and VA Tech every year, they have been down but are on the rebound, we also get ND, Clemson, FLST and Louisville every so often. Those are the teams we have to get good enough to beat, and that is more than enough, when the rest of the ACC teams are at the same level as us.

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  71. Did anyone else notice Nardy is paid more than Brian Kelly at ND. Did I read this right or do I need another cup of coffee to wake myself up?

    I’m convinced that State Penn, Mich, OSU, and ND beat our best WPIAL recruits over the head with playing in front of a packed stadium of 75k to 100k fans every week. This advantage will never be overcome, no matter how relevant Pitt is in the NC discussion. Pitt didn’t sell out every game when they dominated in the 70’s with Marino, Dorsett and friends. I had season tix and saw it first hand, especially when Pitt played lousy opponents in bad weather.

    I think Pitt’s DL is having one of its worst years this year, which makes me ask . . . . if Partridge is the answer what the heck is the question?

    A great running game is established with OL pounding on DL with many small gains, which ultimately leads to bigger gains as the DL starts to falter. Criticizing the running game for the smaller gains and not appreciating that this is what leads to the longer runs is putting the em-PHA-sis on he wrong sy-LA-ble.

    To get the thread back on track, Pitt 17 Hoos 13, mostly wishful thinking to get to a 5-7 record.

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  72. Pitt 27
    Virginia 17
    Defense coming together. Offense has a good day rush. This could be the game Pickett comes in and takes the job for good. Might just be wishful thinking.

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