in Pitt Football 48 Words

Narduzzi Contract Extended (Again)

What do you think in rational terms?

Brought to you by “Reed is the ultimate blowhard. Likes to expound on his inside status but brings nothing to the table in terms of insight and knowledge. He is a crybaby because Duzz doesn’t recognize his superior intellect and skills.”

187 thoughts on “Narduzzi Contract Extended (Again)”

  2. There is nothing out there like the POV… Nothing.. Reed, you remember we spent a lot of time on Scout and other boards and they are good for what they are intended. To stand back and spew whatever with zero consequences. I use to love acting the fool over there but I’m was done with all that foolishness.

    There’s no place like home. << spelled POV.. BTW, I hope no one from there takes you up on your offer except for my son…. ike

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    1. That’s why I never signed up for that site. 3-4 posts and it always broke down into personal attacks. I like everybody’s opinion….and I like JoeD too.

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  3. Here’s a small tidbit, Anthony Johnson from the new state Class A football champions Jeanette, A real good hoops player blocked 2 punts today and was in the backfield all day for the Jayhawks. @ 6’5″ 220lbs I was told the PITT Panthers are looking hard at him for 2019? He was unblock-able today and before you say Class A, remember who else went there. T Pryor and Dick Hoak to name just a couple..

    BTW, Jeanette has more wins in the history of the WPIAL than any other school and maybe in the state?

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  5. I think this sends a message that the Athletic Department is not going to repeat the mistake of letting a solid coach who wants to be here go again. Heather is not Steve (thank god) and perhaps Pitt cares more in 2017 then it did in 2010 about football.
    Immediately it should stabilize recruiting and hopefully increase money for that budget and assist coaches.
    Needless to say, I am a huge fan of this move and am thrilled the Pat Signal is here to stay.

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    1. Agree. The Wannstedt dismissal was such a grave error that led to four-consecutive 6-6, emabarrassing seasons for the fans to watch. Only an inept administration could allow that to happen and it did along with not giving the basketball coach more resources to continue its winning ways.

      No way is this football program going to see a 5-7 record under Narduzzi as he’ll continue to build the depth.

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  7. Many of the posters on Rivals are A-holes. And what poster on Rivals doesnt know about POV or the Blather or Cardiac Hill or Dokish. I stopped posting long ago there. Comments about this ‘Reed’ guy were quite comical.

    Again, contract is a commitment to the program. Good for stability. Recruiting. And now hopefully for keeping or bringing in good assistants.

    But now The Dog needs to earn it. I figure he’s probably making $2.5-$2.8M per year now. Thats a 50% increase over current salary. And who knows what type of incentives.

    He needs to step up recruiting. He needs to consistently get 8 wins or more. He needs to win the Division.

    No excuses now.

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    1. Hopefully Heather made “He needs to step up recruiting. He needs to consistently get 8 wins or more. He needs to win the Division.” clear to PN before signing.

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  8. Reed from Rivals: The reality is that is is less “my” blog than it is the readers and commenters.

    Dont sell yourself short Reed.

    Very nice rebuttal to the blowhards.

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  9. This was the correct move to make. Let’s be honest think of the money pitt is losing with 2000 people a game at the peat instead of 10 or 12 thousand or whatever it holds.
    Football is the bell cow for athletic programs this program needs consistency and a coach that will stay. Duzz has his faults but I believe him when he says as long as he has a commitment from administration he’ll stay. Let’s be honest were trying to derail 40 yrs of administration’s that didn’t want to commit to winning.
    Jackie Sherrill wasn’t worth what they wanted to pay him according to pitt. Foge was a great guy but cheap hire, Godfreid was ran off cuz he wanted more resources, Hackett cheap hire, majors cheap, Harris cheap worked out but administration ran him off wannstedt same thing. Graham took the money realized administration didn’t care about football and left, Chryst cheap hire but a good hire he left for his hometown team in steps duzz. Make him want to stay fund him. I have hope!!!

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  10. New nickname for the Roundtable, should it resurface in the fall… “Reed and The Blowhards”. Sounds like a 60s rock band.

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  11. I agree that this extension is a good thing for the program and is well waranted IMO. I trust Narduzzi”s vision and I think we’ll see some dividends from his labor this coming season. I agree, also, that the recruiting has to pick up a bit. I’m excited to see if there are any surprises on the early LOI date.

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  12. Here is a partial list of commits this staff has procured after mid-December: RaRa Lopes, S Brightwell, Rashad Weaver, Keyshon Camp, D Hamlin, Aaron Matthews, Amir Watts, Elias Reynolds, Phil Campbell, AJ Davis, Jason Pinnnock, and Demarie Mathis. Others like Twyman, Drake, Warren, Smith, etc were red-shirted but are highly regarded

    Let’s hope that they can close again this year

    Go Army

    Liked by 1 person

    2. How many of those would you say are anything more than regular starters if that?

      So far Lopes and Weaver have shown they may be above average players…albeit early days yet.

      I believe only Davis and Hamlin are 4* recruits.

      Let’s hope we close this class on an upswing.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Question: If you had to pick a head coach right now (today), who would you pick Chryst or Narduzzi?

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  15. You have to put that in the context of what the program was like when Paul Chryst got there. I’m not sure narduzzi could have done what Chryst did as far as the administration’s mandate to clean house.

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    1. Clean house or boot kids who didn’t fit Chryst’s philosophies? Huge differerence. I think 28 kids left over Paul’s tenure and if eight of those who did leave were bad seeds I’d be surprised.

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      1. The roster was full of malcontents and problem players. There are a majority of discipline problems that are never made public and that was the case in the 2010 & ’11 rosters.

        Fans didn’t like it but Chryst was hired with a administration mandate to clean house…as was Graham, but Graham didn’t do it.

        That was one of the problems he referenced when he bolted. That and the restrictions on recruiting standards he was under which covered Chryst also.

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          1. Chryst was a great OC & that resulted in his affinity for acquiring solid OL recruits. (W/O PSU’s Sandusky penalties, we never get Johnson either, just lucky timing rhere)
            Most of the rest of his recruiting was blah MAC level talent with a few exceptions. No doubt that he righted the ship after the coaching carousel that Pitt struggled through after canning Wanny. But let’s not try to rewrite his recruiting history, Upitt.

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  17. Reed like to read column as usual. Sighting of Narduzzi gives stability to program. Assistants more apt to stay with more money. It seems they are trying to get program on good track. H2P Beat Penn State

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  18. Reed – I had to laugh when I saw that thread on Rivals. I’m sure you realize that you are one of several whipping boys of the crew that simply can’t tolerate any realistic (to them, it’s negative) commentary about the program. They can’t really muster an intelligent rebuttal, so they simply dismiss you as a “blowhard”. The other term that drives me crazy is that someone is a “troll”. Anyone with a contrary opinion is a troll. Honestly, I think we’ve completely lost our skill as a society to engage in a civil debate without name calling. Keep up the good work. Many of us value your perspective….we don’t always agree, but at least your arguments are clear and well thought out.

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  19. Agree. I wish the rebuild was a straight line upward, but that’s not realistic. I’ve seen enough progress that I believe this was the right move. I guess I could see the argument for 1-2 fewer years, but I would have rather Pitt done this vs. nothing.

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    1. Most focused on the QB play in our win over Miami but that Pitt defense was playing mean in that game & with so many undeclassmen finally coming of age after a ruff season of trial by fire.

      Let’s see a continuation of that development and I’ll be delighted. Losing Whitehead will be made more palatable with the emergence of Paris Ford next season too. Pitt’s future looks bright!

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  20. I need to get a giant WELCOME BLOWHARDS sign for the first tailgate next year. 😀
    Reed, you were admirable (pun intended) in your response to the miscreants on the Liar (again intended)

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        1. Jack Sorry but this to me this is bush league look at me stuff. I never saw any other coaches or AD’s taking pictures of them signing offers before they attend the Nutcracker or whatever.

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  23. That was a round house punch to the losers jaws by Reed. Now we need a LOI day article from someone who can string one together.. I’m so F’n proud of this team….

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    2. The roster was full of malcontents and problem players. There are a majority of discipline problems that are never made public and that was the case in the 2010 & ’11 rosters.

      Fans didn’t like it but Chryst was hired with a administration mandate to clean house…as was Graham, but Graham didn’t do it.

      That was one of the problems he referenced when he bolted. That and the restrictions on recruiting standards he was under which covered Chryst also.

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  25. I’ve been reading from afar and would like to weigh in with a take that will surprise some..

    I like the extension.

    Now, an explanation a bit more in line with my previous thoughts..

    The extension was not earned. Narduzzi has gotten some GREAT wins. But, he’s had as many or more disappointing losses. So why do I like it? Because recruiting under the cloud of “lame duck” status hurts. And with his lackluster results, he doesn’t need more obstacles.

    A coach can be fired anytime. And the buyout isn’t exorbitant. So, help with recruiting and reserve the right to cut him loose. Win. Win.

    As for the sniping, I agree personal attacks are time consuming and counter productive.

    But pointing out that you disagree with someone and that you believe another’s take is without merit is not sniping. It’s called dissent. As long as we respectfully disagree and eschew personal attacks, dissenting opinions are not only acceptable but welcomed.

    All of us are on here because we love Pitt. Some of us just disagree with how others view the program.

    Just my opinion.

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  27. What do I think of the extension in rational terms?

    Well for one I think in the giant scheme of things it doesn’t do much of anything.

    The reasons an extension was announced are obvious. Its was PR move which was/is needed to try and help secure and maybe win an additional recruit or two.

    In actuality (and we don’t know because Pitt didn’t disclose figures) there was probably just enough money given to Duzz to hire the 10th coach. Duzz and the current staff probably got what amounted to a cost of living raise.

    Duzz needs Pitt just as much as Pitt needs him right now. In fact, Pitt needs Duzz a little more otherwise no extension would have been announced. I think the terms of the extension if they are ever known would show that Duzz was willing to take the hometown discount and stay Pat (no pun intended). He needs a longer opportunity to prove himself so he can take the money and run when the SEC comes calling. The coaching searches this year so far have proven that Duzz’s stock has fallen.

    I hope he stays long term and I am glad he is willing to work for cheap. Now lets see if we can sip the champagne next year at the ACC championship game while getting there on a beer budget.

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    1. I betchcha he got more than just a cost of living raise, but not the juice that TXPanther suggested above.

      If Duzz is making more than 2 million next year with his new contact, I’d be surprised. But still that’s a +10% raise.

      The extra $$$$ for assistants might actually be where the honey is in this extension contract.

      I love it. Duzz is a good fit for Pitt.

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  28. This past PITT football season should have been the year Paul’s O-line recruiting should have really shined it’s brightest. I’ll leave it up to you guys. Did It? JJS and Officer, ( and I’m told they were terrible) where were the rest of the O-Line recruits?

    4th and 5th year O-Line players are mostly what the top teams bank on. Narduzzi has only been at PITT 3 years,…. barely.

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    1. You have to remember that some of PC’s OL recruits we’re injured and some left the program.

      But those that stayed gave up 7 sacks last year.

      Don’t bank on the OL getting better in the future. PN needs to get some JUCO or transfer lineman in asap.

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  29. Dr. Tom – I don’t necessarily share your excitement for Paris presumably replacing Whitehead. While Paris appears to be an elite athlete, it appears that playing safety in Coach Duzz’s defense is a tough but to crack.

    I worry that it takes a year or two of mistakes – and the resulting receivers running wide-open down the field, before the players “get it.”

    The reads the safeties have to make apparently leave little room for error.

    Just my thoughts… And why I think the Duzz should be personally coaching the safeties….

    Go Pitt.

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    1. Couldn’t agree more.

      what we know about Paris Ford is that he is extremely athletic and the recruiting experts giving him very high marks. I saw him play in a national all-star game with some of the nation’s best and he made a couple of plays that had the announcers really take notice.

      Those are all positives but if we learned anything about Narduzzi’s defense is that the safety .position is apparently not easy to play … hence, Ford sitting out this past season even though he became eligible early in the schedule

      I think Ford will become a valuable contributor but it may not be immediate

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    2. MajorMajors

      Whitehead and it sounds like Ford are elite athletes.

      When Whitehead hit the edge on a TD Run against ND in 15 it was plan to see he was most gifted player on the field on either side of ball for ND or Pitt. He was the best tackler and played with a toughness that no one else displayed especially when he was sticking his nose in the box and stopping the run.

      Whitehead could have started anywhere on the field for any D1 team including Bama.

      My point is this:

      If he can’t play safety in this scheme I wonder if the scheme itself should be adjusted a little. Your not going to find the talent level of Whitehead or Ford but once a decade.

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  30. It’s like the answer to the question as to how we did on LOI day. We won’t really know for a few years. But I like the move from a stability perspective. I hope he got what he felt he needed for the assistants.

    I read the garbage on Panther Lair and enjoyed your response Reed.

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  31. No matter how you feel about Duzz, he’s all we got, and if he fails, its going to be a long way back. He and his staff better get out recruit, recruit, and recruit harder/better because there are many talent gaps, and depth issues to address.

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  32. Well, where to start.

    Panther Lair – The “Reed” article was just sad. Obviously everybody is not going to agree on everything but I am not sure how you can make comments about someone when you have obviously never read much of thier stuff. I was a member of Scout since Wanny’s first year and one of the posters I always thought a lot of was Reed. I must admit I agreed with about 90% of what he thinks/thought. Anyway, no point talking too much about it but that thread, especially the first half of it was just shameful.

    I do miss the Scout Forum though. I had over ten years on there and never had an issue. After it went down I signed on to Panther Lair after just being a silent observer. After about 10 posts, after the Virginia game where I think we got back to one game below .500 I asked if anyone knew exactly why Moss, Taleni and Blair (I think it was Blair) were kicked off the team and suspended. Of course I was called a Nitter/troll because why else would I ask that question after a win when I had only ten posts and that the information was easily available. I explained that I just came from scout, had never been on a PSU board and in fact could not find any articles stating why they were either suspended or kicked off the team and welcomed any links. Of course they could not link any articles and after I stated that I guess that information wasn’t readily available I was blocked from posting and have been for two months. I live in Vancouver, so I only have limited to PITT news so that Forum, the POV, The Blather, Panther Prey and Cardiac Hill are all welcome. The POV is much more civil then the lair. it seems like the average age is about 15 years older here.

    I like the extension although I am not sure PITT had any choice. Even if they didn’t have a choice I do like Narduzzi.

    The 10% I disagree with Reed. I think Narduzzi is a better recruiter and game day coach over Chryst. I do think Narduzzi has brought in better classes even though Chryst was dealing with a weakened Ped. State and as of today I don’t think anyone can say that Chryst is better game day.

    Reed, I think the one mistake you made with the POV, and maybe the one time I was right in my life, I suggested that you restrict yourself to no more than 5 articles over two weeks. that would be plenty, you put to much into something that was to be a spare time, relaxing activity. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it but I knew you would burn out.

    Thanks again for the blog though.

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  35. A HC doesn’t go 33-7 over three years and 52-26 career being a poor gameday coach.

    I don’t care what conferences he is in or what the team they inherit is like.

    When Narduzzi puts up three straight 10+ win season’s (10, 11, 12 ) we can start to debate this.

    Plus 3-1 vs 0-2 and no bowl speaks volumes also.

    Narduzzi wins big games and that is fun but we just ended up next to last in the coastal division and around 12th in the conference…preceded but 8th in the conference last year.

    PN needs do do a lot better than he been doing with his own kids next year.

    I really don’t get the PC bashing on here. Unless you turn a blind eye to the massive problems he inherited behind the scenes you have to say he did a pretty good job at Pitt.

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    1. Chryst’s predecessor (Gary Anderson) st Wisconsin was 24-22 at Utah St, 19-7 at Wisc, and 7-23 at Ore State before he walked away. Before Anderson, Bret Bielema was 68-24 at Wisc and 29-34 at Arkansas before he was just axed.

      Chryst is at the perfect position for him. He is a native, a protege of Alvarez and is responsible for the offense for which he excels. His defenses the last 2 years were ranked 7th and 1st nationally … this latest one had no ,less than 8 starters who were in their 4th or 5th year. The DC this year was a former Wisc player.

      The big difference between Narduzzi and Chryst (I suspect) is that Narduzzi will avidly pursue a raise for his assistants while PC won’t rock the boat

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  36. EDR18 – good post — agree completely with your last point and also had advocated to Reed that an article every few days was plenty enough to keep the POV a vibrant blog.

    Hell, I’m retired but I can’t find the time to even read all the POV comments in time to comment – let alone find the time to write detailed articles…

    Go Pitt

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  37. Reed, it was bleeped out. If it was offensive I apologize.

    Narduzzi new contract. I don’t really see a downside. Unless Narduzzi tanks for 2 or 3 years and his buyout was raised. Since we don’t know any of the terms and conditions it’s hard to look at what may happen. But we can look at the perception of an extension.

    I agree that I’m not sure how the players being recruited are affected but it is a show of good faith imo. More money for asst coaches is a good thing I just hope Narduzzi got more money for recruiting.

    It seems to me that the people who don’t like this move are the same ones who complain about PITT not spending money. << Not talking about anyone on the POV

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  38. (I accidentally posted this in the wrong thread, so I am reposting here, sorry Reed)

    signing the extension probably makes the most sense from the Pitt administration’s perspective after a 5-7 season. Imagine if we were 10-2, or even 8-4 again — how much more would it cost to sign Narduzzi to the extension? Nobody is after our coordinators this year. How much more would Pitt have had to spend to up the money for the assistant pool after a good year? At the present, Pitt doesn’t have the money to spend huge. Hopefully we can find a donor or two with really deep pockets that can change that.

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  39. Narduzzi getting an extension is interesting but the reality is that it doesn’t stop him from leaving or from Pitt firing him.

    I believe the thinking on Pitt’s part is that we just locked in a decent coach at another bargain basement salary.

    Even if his raise is .5M that puts him at 2.3M and still around #56 or so nationally.

    Folks, at Pitt it is all about money… moreso than wins even. This way we get mostly above .500 seasons at a good price for a while.

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  40. EDR18, We’ll done, I hope you post more often.

    Coaching comparisons are just conjecture at this point, but I’d take Narduzzi over Chryst too (Wanny a distant 3rd). But assistants matter, the head coaches only do so much). Look at Franklinstein: nobody calls him a good coach, but he can recruit and hires great assistants. Just one of many examples.

    As far as the extension goes, it was blatantly obvious that it was the right thing to do on many levels.

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    1. Franklin appears to be one heck of a recruiter. Not sure if its his assistants but I do know a large sold-out stadium, great exposure, plenty of boosters, a large budget, a large campus with great facilities, no professional team presence and a helicopter certainly doesn’t hurt

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      1. wwb – IMO you are correct about Franklin. He’s got the facilities, tradition and the least geographic competition in the entire country. Look at a map and draw an oval from Pitts down to Balt up through NJ/NY into CN around to Buff then Cleveland and back to Pitts. There are probably 50 million people in that oval. What school within that oval has the best record, facilities and commitment to football over the last 35 years? Not Pitt, Temple, Rutgers, UConn, Buffalo, BC or Maryland, that’s for sure. When Schiano and Rutgers did well, State Penn took a hit. My guess is that Franklin probably puts in half the effort of Narduzzi and get twice the results due to geography and program commitment.

        And, yes, ND, Mich, OSU and other committed football schools take kids from this geography, for sure. But, IMO, PSU has the ‘home field’ advantage within that oval. Pitt needs to take some of that away. A commitment to Narduzzi via the contract extension helps. An OCS would help as well.

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    2. I’m going to step out on a limb and guess that if Narduzzi leaves he’ll stay to coach the kid’s bowl game instead of taking off like one weasel I know…

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  41. Like the extension for coninuity purposes, but in a fantasy world would like to have Jim McLain as HC and Narduzzi as DC and Canada as OC. Pure fantasy.

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  42. I wonder if Reed can appoint someone else to become a moderator of this forum. Someone to vet potentially swearful posts prior to submission, and to enforce the no personal attacks policy.

    Might make a world of difference for him if he could just write and post when he feels like it, without having to babysit all of the time too.

    Thanks again for having provided all of us a great place to feed our Pitt addiction.

    Liked by 1 person

  43. Just watched the press conference – both Lyke and PN came off as having the same goals, and she said that Pitt is committed to giving PN what he needs to be successful (increasing the salaries of the assistants for one). He did say the weight room is being expanded. Awaiting for critics corner (Upitt) to chime in with the MAC comparisons.

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    1. Football Facilities are very nice and up there with best programs out there. The alliance with Steelers helps that. No gripes from me. Olympic Sports, I have tons of issues with facilities.

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  44. One point about Chryst vs. Coach Duzz. I bet Coach Chryst is a better HC now than he was while at Pitt. He obviously got some direction/pressure from Barry on the importance of the Defensive Coordinator, for one thing…

    But think about it – was Reed a better Coast Guarder in year 5 than he was in year one? Was he better in year 10 than in year 5? Why don’t we look at FB coaches like this? Don’t they need some time to see what works and what to avoid?

    I like the symbolism of the extension. We’ve got a passionate, hard-working coach who has shown the ability to win big games even with the recruiting anchor of the yellow seats around his neck.

    BTW, Good comments above concerning PSU’s advantages in recruiting…

    Go Pitt.

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    1. Look at the comment…it will be tough to get to 7 as they have a touch non-conference schedule plus the ACC schedule.
      “Yes, they start with Albany, but they also have to take on Penn State, Central Florida and Notre Dame. That’s a slate nobody wants to face, especially a team looking to rebound.”

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  46. True, but I expect Penn St and UCF to takes steps back. Don’t know about ND. Also hope they beat the F’ing Tarheels!

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  47. Pitt has advantages and disadvantages of a city campus. But it has acquired several properties around it to give it some breathing room. Other city universities have used this to make money from their land such as GW in D.C. Unfortunately Pitt does not have a mass transit system near it to make its property more valuable and more accessible to its commuter students and businesses. Not sure buses are the answer.

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  48. That is an interesting take by Bleacher Report.

    “2018 outlook

    Other than maybe Baylor and Tennessee, this is the biggest gamble pick. Because even though the Panthers are going to be good enough to go to a bowl game, they play what may be the toughest out-of-conference schedule in the nation.

    Yes, they start with Albany, but they also have to take on Penn State, Central Florida and Notre Dame. That’s a slate nobody wants to face, especially a looking to rebound.

    As a result, the ACC is going to be easier to navigate next year, especially considering the Panthers don’t have to play Clemson or Florida State.”

    I think we’ll rebound, but only a bit.

    I don’t think we’ll get more than eight wins next year and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we went about .500 with six wins because I think we’re going to have a lot of problems like we did this year at certain positions.

    I really think the offensive line is going to drop with no good depth at all…that is a huge concern for me.

    And I think the WRs will be average.

    Losing Henderson is a big deal also. You can point to ’17 and say he wasn’t effective…but that is only in comparison to his ’16 season.

    He still had 435 yards and averaged 8.5 ypc from scrimmage and add another 524 yards on returns.

    That’s 959 yards we have to find. I believe he would have rebounded in ’18.

    Our TEs are not very good and Pickett will need every resource he has to succeed.

    Our passing game will be better, kind of has to be really, but he’s not going to get much help from his receivers.

    Add to that a bunch of middling RBs and it is worrisome.

    The interior of the DL is a ? also and our DBs still have to greatly improved… But we’ll have the same schemes, DC and DB staff coach so I’m not really sold that our pass defense will improve much.

    Plus we’ll have more players, some starters even maybe, leave in the off-season and that will chip away talent too.

    At this early point I see 6-7 wins at most.

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    1. So, there is a good chance that come August, PItt’s schedule will be deemed as the hardest OOC for the 2nd year in the row. Next year’s team hopefully will be more prepared and able to combat this, but that remains to be seen

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  49. I feel pretty positive today. Figured I’d share that in case anyone cares.

    I’m with Reed. 7 wins and a bowl loss rematch with UCF.

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  51. I agree that the loss of Henderson is a big deal. And, the out of conference schedule, difficult.

    At RB – Ollison, Hall, Sibley, Davis plus Aston and Sliwoski will be serviceable. Hall’s got speed, but Ollison’s got a nice delay in his first step to try and find a hole. Aston can also carry the ball and catch passes and could be the best FB in the country next year. Sliwoski’s got a great last name for a FB; don’t know if he can play a lick of football though.

    At WR – French, Tipton, Street, Lopes, Dontavius Butler, Mathews, Flowers, and maybe MacVittie should also be serviceable or possibly good. MacVittie could catch a bubble screen, then throw it downfield to a looping Picket for a TD!!

    TE – Reeves is big, Clark is fast. There are others. A solid unit.

    OL – not sure. lots of questions.

    DL, LB and DB – all better than this year. We won’t have 8 new guys on the field in game one, that’s for sure.

    Special teams: who will return punts and kicks? French? MacVittie?

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      1. I probably should have said, TE is a wait and see. I believe that there is potential and that they will be solid.

        Clark seemed to be able to get open, meaning that he was fast enough to get a step on most LBs. He’s smaller than listed. And, he dropped some passes. Hopefully that’s correctable.

        Reeves and Carrigan are big at 6-5 285 and 6-7 275, respectively. Both are young and will likely add muscle. Don’t know if Reeves/Carrigan can run, but I’ll bet that they can block.

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    2. Henderson leaving will open up a spot for a receiver who may actually be able to get open a few times a game. And Ffrench can handle the jet sweeps. We’ll only miss him on returns.

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  52. I think next year, more than any other, will be the year the coaches earn their pay. With so many questions we’ll see if they can coach or not.
    Wide outs: Same as last year receiving wise, but no one who can run sweep like Qtip
    O line: Thin, and could be a lot worse if O’Neill goes(but he stays I’m guessing) Saw a lot of these kids in ?HS, and they weren’t that good, at least then.
    RBs: Average, hoping to catch lightning. But the thing that we should pay attention to is ?George should be back. We really,really missed that kid this year!
    D line: Better but lack of depth. I know there are a lot of bodies, but still need more. Hopefully that S&C coach will earn his pay.
    LBs:Could be pretty good here, but also thin. Will go with Reed on QW, if he isn’t back depth becomes a major issue with this unit.
    DBs: Even If (and when) Whitehead leaves this will probably be a strength. Can’t believe I said that, but that’s how I see it.
    Oh, gee, I didn’t mention the QB. If,if,if he stays healthy, he makes everything better, and I mean everything. That’s the key, and I think that Pickett kid will be a great backup to Ben! LOL .

    Like

    1. Jere are the SRs we lose with exception of Wirginis, and maybe one other…

      Pittsburgh Panthers Roster

      2017 Pittsburgh Panthers

      NO NAME POS HT WT CLASS HOMETOWN

      4 Max Browne QB 6-5 230 SR Sammamish, WA
      14 Avonte Maddox DB 5-9 180 SR Detroit, MI
      18 Ryan Winslow P 6-6 225 SR Maple Glen, PA
      34 Mark Bernsdorff WR 5-11 195 SR Sylvania, OH
      35 Rob Boatright DB 5-10 190 SR Clairton, PA
      40 Colton Lively FB 6-0 235 SR Lake Dallas, TX
      45 Devon Edwards TE 6-4 275 SR Columbus, OH
      55 Jaryd Jones-Smith OL 6-7 320 SR Camden, NJ
      58 Brandon Hodges OL 6-5 310 SR Aberdeen, MS
      58 Quintin Wirginis LB 6-2 245 SR Pittsburgh, PA
      63 Alex Officer OL 6-4 340 SR Rochester, NY
      81 Nathan Bossory TE 6-3 240 SR Chelsea, MI
      85 Jester Weah WR 6-3 210 SR Madison, WI
      88 Matt Flanagan TE 6-6 260 SR Chester, NJ
      96 Allen Edwards DL 6-4 255 SR Miami, FL

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  53. I’m lukewarm on the Narduzzi extension. Only possible upside is stability in the eyes of recruits.

    BUT, as for increasing the salary pool for asst. coaches: IF, AND ONLY IF, Narduzzi replaces the OL coach, the DC, and the DB coach. And the new additional coach is both a QB coach and the Sideline game-dat coach.

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  57. No argument on that piece. Guy is on the money. Stallings May be a good coach, but I have yet to see it. Show me!!

    Like

    1. Joe – He has never been a “good”coach! Below Avg lifer in a league that played weak hoops.

      Like

  59. Well, we lose our leading WR (in yardage) in Weah…

    SEASON REC YDS AVG LNG TD

    2017 41 698 17.0 74 4
    2016 36 870 24.2 75 10

    Weah had 1568 yards and 14 TDs over two years. And a 17.1 ypc over 41 reception for an average of 20.3 ypc is nothing to sneeze at especially considering every one slobbered over Boyd who averaged only 13.2 in his career at Pitt. Not that easy to replace and really our only proven deep threat.

    As much as I like Wirginis as a player and looked forward to seeing him last season – he is still very unproven as a MLB starter. BTW – that “He’s our starting middle linebacker” quote from Narduzzi last month was strange and incentive for Wirginis to clean up his act.

    I don’t think our LBs are that good. It seemed like everyone was figuring Ziese was playing great because of a few plays he made late in the year – and to be honest they were plays that all LBs should make as a routine. That was the signature of our defense last season – they played better in the second half but still were a rather mediocre defense overall.

    I mean 34 points to a 1-8 NC who was only scoring 26 ppg to that point?

    That Miami game and our good defensive play was great to watch, but lets not think we are going to see that level of play for 12 games next year – we’ll be better on defense – we pretty much have to because on the whole the defense wasn’t that good in ’17, but we’ll need the defense to prop up what I think will be a average offense and I wonder if they can do that.

    It will be an interesting year for Narduzzi and Pitt. If he can indeed rebound and get to 8+ wins that will be something – but now his kids are really in place so I wonder. if he gets 6 or 7 wins shows me that this last year wasn’t a fluke.

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  60. Just like the LBs, we got excited about the Jester making plays he should have made. Just think what his numbers would have been if he had any consistency early in his career. One receiver will step up, and even if he is barely average he will look good with a much better qb throwing to him. I mean, Jester did have Peterman who was very,very good. Pickett will make one of those guys look good.

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    1. I agree but the burden of expectations on Pickett is already huge. Obviously I have written that he’ll be a star QB but maybe not right away as a true SO. He’ll be better that the last two starters we have had though.

      I see something like 20 TDs to 8 (?) INTs and 2400 yards – much like Peterman’s 2015 season… maybe a bit better as Pickett will (fingers crossed) play all 12 games.

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  61. Read the ESPN BB article. The one good thing to watch and root for is the young kids as they try to win (without looking at the score board). At times last year with senior kids there was no effort.

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  62. PITT had 3 returning starters with 10 TD’s each. Aston, Henderson and Weah. << This past year they combine for 4 TD’s I believe. The poor QB play really hurt PITT this past season.

    Some good recruits in this weekend, next to last before the early signing period.. Hopefully we can look to the sky’s for the Pat signal….

    Like

  63. Okay, so did anyone listen to the coach with respect to the hiring of a potential 10th coach?

    Here’s the quote from the presser regarding the 10th coach OPTION. “People are going to be stealing from everybody. I’m just going to stay patient, see what happens, see who gets stolen. It’s going to happen. We’ll just kind of wait around and see what happens in that respect.” He is waiting to react instead of targeting a great coach that will help. That is a defensive posture. I will wait until someone poaches our guys and react accordingly”.

    WHAT!!! Candidly, and on first blush, I wouldn’t add the 10th coach right away, if at all. I would take the 10th coach money and go find the best 9 coaches and pay them more. Getting a mediocre 10th coach, gets you mediocre results. Go get high achieving superstars and pay em that way. I can see Harley and Partridge getting poached and we would lose two of our best. He needs a strategic plan to keep them and to upgrade others. Upgrade others by paying more. Pay more by not spending on a 10th mediocre coach. Have a Strategic Plan.

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  64. Reed, fair point. I would be very happy with those numbers, adding what he can with his feet. I just think adding Georgie to the O solves a lot of problems. His blocking and pass protection alone should help KP as well as the TEs not having to stay in. And getting a trial by fire against VPI and Miami didn’t hurt. He may be more like McSorely than Nate, but that’s still pretty darn good!

    Like

    1. Agree – here is what we did this last season and the national ranks…

      Stat Rank Value
      Total Offense 97 366.2
      Rushing Offense 85 148.5
      Passing Offense 75 217.7
      Team Passing Eff 74 129.01
      Scoring Offense 100 23.9

      Pretty horrible all around and yes, Aston being back will help. But I’ll wait and see what the receivers do – aside from Lopes I’m not all that jazzed about any one receiver breaking into stardom. Which is pretty much what Pitt needs to get a decent scoring average. Weah could stretch the field and get open.

      Maybe Tipton can fill that role but Ffrench seems to be established as a DB now and I really liked him as a WR. Flowers was highly ranked in the ’16 class (http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/Pitt/2017/08/18/Ruben-Flowers-Kam-Carter-Aaron-Mathews-Brian-ONeill-Pitt-football-Pat-Narduzzi/stories/201708180153) but has not caught a pass yet.

      Mathews is more of a possession receiver much like Shanahan was – I though he’d see more action in ’17 but Watson forgot about him, and the others don’t stand out to me.

      Again – losing Weah and Henderson is a big deal and they will be hard to replace.

      Like

        1. my guess based on this past year that the WRs will be Lopes, Ffrench, Matthews and Tipton …. and see if Flowers and redshirts Smith and Dontavius-Butler canmake any impact

          TE — Clark was a little more productive as season progressed but nothing to write home about. Sear saw lot of action for natural freshman but mainly for blocking. Redshirt Reeves is supposedly the stud (big and fast) but wait and see

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  65. Not 100% sure but I don’t remember Ffrench playing any D-Back this past year?

    PITT will miss Weah way more than QH imo but again, Browne and Ben not seeing downfield held the entire offense back.

    Still wouldn’t be surprised to see a QB grad transfer name pop up for next year. No depth there at all.

    Like

  66. The team will be improved by QH not being on the field for snaps simply because that will mean RaRa will be on the field more often.

    Liked by 1 person

  67. I look at this blog post and comments…and I can’t help but wonder…

    I have no right to tell Reed how to spend his time or run this place, but I wonder if this thread could serve as a longer term model for how this could work.

    A short introduction of a topic by Reed or a delegate…and then engaging comments…with Reed chipping in if he chooses to do so.

    This could remain a very vibrant place, even if Reed spent 3 minutes per post instead of 3 hours.

    🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  68. Agreed. Hate to see it just go away. Not a big commenter. But like sitting back and “listening” to the conversations. It’s a very unique blog. Not a lot of trolls. Usual suspects. It would be great to see it stay in a smaller form until spring ball comes around.
    On the contract extension, I think the Pitt win over Miami was great. But in the same token. It kind of makes people forget that we left the best QB on the roster sit while we lost winnable games. Great defensive performance in the last game. Seems to excuse the rest of the season. 3 years of under performance should not be wiped away with one game. The extension is giving more money to pay coordinators that should be fired. There are a lot of good pieces in place. Good coaching can get Pitt to 8 wins next year. Conklin will get us to 6-6 and a bowl loss.

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  69. I agree with Provo and I’d like to see Reed just post a topic with maybe a VERY SHORT comment for this forum to continue. The one problem in that scenario is who is going to take the time to police the posts that I guess crops up a lot more than most of us think.

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  70. Gateway lost in 5A final 49-10 to Archbishop Wood. AW won last 5 titles with ave score of 39-10. Erie Cathedral Prep won 4A title …. we’ll see how Pine-Richland does today versus St Joseph’s Prep in 6A.

    Come playoff time, why don’t they just put all of these all these Catholic and prep schools in their own division.

    Get this …. basketball power Kennedy Christian (Sharon PA) has decided to move up next year to play in 6A ….. from 1A

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  71. another 2 cents item: if NCAA gets one thing right, it’s giving the Army-Navy game its own Saturday

    Go Army — my dad was a retired Lt Colonel (mostly in reserves) … he did more homework than I ever did when I was home

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  72. When I was in a PA Catholic HS (Johnstown) in the late 1950’s, Catholic schools had their own Catholic post season tournament, at least in basketball for state titles. No public school football state title competitions, I don’t think. Just the WPIAL as I recall in western PA. Ohio had state championships but I am not sure about the Catholic school powerhouses since I didn’t move here until the late 1960’s. For decades here in Ohio Catholic schools have predominated as state champions, but not this year surprisingly. First time in many years.

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    1. Cincinati Moeller and LaSalle, Cleveland St Ignatious, St Edwards, Villa Angela St Jones, Lake Catholic … to name a few

      There were no high school state football championships in PA until mid 80s I believe. Think North Hills won first one.

      Like

  75. I have asked for reader submittals and received only two.

    If something big and newsworthy happens I’ll post about it. Other that that I asked for help and there has been a very slow response.

    Writing is actually fun guys. Some of these longer comments you all do can easily be smoothed over and become an article.

    On another note, now we know why RB Davis had his redshirt burnt…Moss wasn’t going to play as the 3rd RB because of the suspensions, which you need in case Hall or Ollison got hurt.

    Liked by 1 person

    2. Don’t we have a freshman, also from NJ named Nick Patti coming in? Who know’s maybe we’ll strike NJ lightening twice….

      Like

  77. Reed, I’m going to try and put a mish-mash longer comment together sometime soon. I don’t know much about writing and this word Press you talk about. So I’ll just post it up in an existing article if I get around to doing one. Something with just a few different topics to create fresh banter.

    You know, something like how great Kevin Stallings is… jus kidding.

    Like

  80. Completely off topic. Did anyone know that Baker Mayfield, who is about to win the Heisman, was a walk on? Maybe I’ve been in a Coma, but it’s the first I’ve heard that.

    Like

    2. Yep amazing. Double amazing he walked-on at 2 different schools. TT & Oklahoma.

      Maybe the Nooch would have been better had he walked-on. Maybe not ! 🙂

      Like

  82. I’m working on a conspiracy theory. How Penn State has been able to keep Pitt in check since the early 80’s through BoT infiltration, negative recruiting, political payoffs, corn subsidies, and other dirty tricks.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Was Paterno was connected for sure. Hated Jackie Sherrill with a passion. Anything and everything is possible.

      Like

  83. Anyone going to the hoop game tonight I will buy you a beer if you want to stop at Hemingways…I think alcohol will be needed for this game.

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      1. because both teams run > 90%, I say the game lasts less than 2:40 (unless there is an extended halftime)

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  86. Can we really believe anything head coach Pat Narduzzi says considering he thinks he an espionage agent half the time? Here are a couple of Pat’s thoughts that I think are significant.

    Coach says he’s going to sit back and wait for other teams to raid each other for the new tenth assistant coach that is going to be allowed come in the new year and then reevaluate where PITT stands. Here’s the quote again, I borrowed from our good friend Huff and Pat Narduzzi.

    “People are going to be stealing from everybody. I’m just going to stay patient, see what happens, see who gets stolen. It’s going to happen. We’ll just kind of wait around and see what happens in that respect.”

    This sounds real silly at first glance but is it and is it true? Trying to think back when something like this phenomenon of a coaching carousel ever took place before? I think it’s unprecedented. What would your approach and angle be in this case? How can the lesser nots compete in such a money driven business and be successful out the other end?

    Come this January it’s going to be a lot like the Oklahoma land rush. Teams rushing in to stake their claim on a top end assistant coach that is with another team. Is Duzzy dizzy? I really don’t know. Does he have a real choice in the matter. I have to believe Narduzzi has a few ideas in that balding head of his. Grass doesn’t grow on a busy street.

    Aw, but now Patty is armed with the new contract. ah ha. Is this going to give PITT more leverage and was this the grand plan. Don’t forget the rumor is that AD Lyke approached HCPN before last season. Is she smart enough to have seen all this happening so far out? I think she was. I think these two events are completely tied together.

    Narduzzi insisting he wanted to keep his staff intact was a tactful maneuver imo. We all have our opinions on what kind of assistant coaches we have but with the new job opening up for every team in D-1 there will be some interest from a few of PITT’s guys. Partridge for one and no I’m not trying to make Reed mad but Conklin could be another?

    They both would be invaluable for a team based in the deep south.,(recruiting) Especially in the state Fla. Don’t poo poo this thought. They are both highly thought of down there and imagine when they knock on your door representing the big schools from the south. These are just two examples that may be stretch but the point is. There is going to be buku movement in college football beginning of the year.

    Now, has Narduzzi backed himself into a corner with all this loyalty talk? I listened to and heard many coaches say they are happy and don’t want to go anywhere and what happens, they go somewhere. Gone with the wind… but isn’t Pat Narduzzi going a little over board with the love fest for Pittsburgh and PITT?

    Can we believe Patty will stay at PITT for 10 years? First time a coach stayed that long since the 60’s. I think he can. I think it will be very hard for another team to drag him out of Pittsburgh. Remember, Narduzzi’s attachment was more to Dantonio then it was MSU. MD brought Pat from Cinsy I believe?

    I’m thinking PITT and Pat Narduzzi have put all their eggs into one basket. PITT and him

    Another thought to ponder. What changes do you think Heather will try and implement this coming season?

    Disclaimer: Some of these thoughts are for an open discussion and were meant to open up dialogue for you all to share your different POV’s if I can say that? .. but mostly it was to help Reed and lessen his work load and keep the POV moving forward… ike

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  87. Looking over the HC Coaching Carousel. Herm Edwards to Arizona State ? Wow that’s a stretch, guy has never even coached in NCAAF, other than a short stint way back in late 1980’s at San Jose State.
    And that means he hasn’t been involved in recruiting for like 30 years. lol

    And all this news media going gaga over Willie Taggart going to Florida Thug State.
    This guy has a career losing record as a Head Coach. 47 wins 50 losses.

    I think this bodes very well for Clemscum keeping a stranglehold on the Atlantic Division.

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  89. Edwards career coaching record in the NFL was a sterling (not) 54 wins & 74 losses.

    So this kind of record gets you a HC gig at a Power 5 schools these days.

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  90. Very strange hire, since Hermie has coached at all since 2008. Almost a decade ago.

    Very bizarre to say the least.

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      1. Oh, that makes much more sense now. It’s not what you know or what your past record is…it’s WHO you know.

        Little info about this ASU AD. And ASU in general throwing a lot of money around.

        With his third year as ASU vice president for athletics behind him, Ray Anderson, 63, is faced with guiding the department back from one of the two worst years for major sports cumulatively since 1959.

        Football, men’s basketball and baseball all had losing records for the first time since 1984-85, performances that contributed toa new athletic director as well as new football and men’s basketball coaches the following year.

        Football is moving this summer into its new home at the north end of Sun Devil Stadium, a 118,669-square-foot facility that is being counted on to boost recruiting as part of an overall $268-million stadium renovation that will be completed before the 2018 season.

        “Facilities will not be an excuse any more,” Anderson said. “It won’t be a competitive disadvantage. Our facilities are not going to be the Taj Mahal, but they’re going to be very nice where we don’t have to be second class to anybody. We’ll get our share of top students who are also very good players then it’s a matter of us putting it all together and consistently delivering.”

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  91. Blockhead Herman’s hire at Oregon State was comical as well. And Herman is bringing back Mike (life of) Riley after the wonderful job Mike did at Nebraska as Assoc HC. Since the kid Herman hired still needs wet nursed 🙂

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  92. LOL Emel…it’s the Backyard brawl after all. Hemingways special might be “white lightening”

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  93. Interesting in the Bowl Selection Committee Bowls(next step down from Final 4)….all the BigJoke teams avoided having to play Central Florida. What are the odds that of that happening with 3 BigJoke teams playing in those 4 Bowl Games ?

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  95. I find out things and offer comments on the blogs but really do tire of the pot shots between bloggers or at Reed.If you co not have relative information to share or questions to ask or comments toward the U running the program , stifle it and will all do better. H2P

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  96. Corrections:If you do——— also stifle it and we’ll all.Sorry but if you could see my contorted hands you would know I am lucky to type at all. Pitt 60

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