Here is a piece on the Top 6 Safeties in the ACC.  Don’t worry, there is no undue pressure of any of ours because no one on Pitt made the list.

This article (lower on the page) however makes me sit up and take notice. It lists the best Running Backs we square off against in ’18.  I believe we really need to worry about Miles Sanders  when we play PSU at Heinz and wouldn’t that be a kick in the ass after the hard push Narduzzi did to get him to Pitt. Coming out of HS he was the nation’s #1 RB and was right in our backyard at Woodland Hills HS.

Plus when the hell is 10th year SR Trace McSorley going to leave PSU?  He’s chewed us up over the last two games to the tune of 39/63 (62%) for 496 yards with 4 TDs and 2 INTs… but his 12.7 yards per completion is the killer.

I also worry about UCF’s Adrian Killins ripping us up.  He’s an awesome breakaway threat and I don’t think our LBs will be good enough or fast enough to limit his yards. He averaged 6.25 ypc last season.  Just when you look at UCF and see they lost their HC and QB you think that’s going in our favor…but this kid’s still there.

In 13 games, Adrian Killins rushed 122 times for 790 yards and 10 touchdowns Killins also caught 25 passes for 169 yards and one touchdown. Killins rushed for 110-plus yards in games against SMU (Week 10), Navy (Week 8) and Memphis (Week 5). His season-high in rushing yards was against SMU where he carried the football 14 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns

Wow – look at all the great HCs UCF has had in their time as a D1 football program… Lou Saban along with these guys. Honestly I don’t think the Golden Knights are going to miss a beat with Heupel at the helm as he’s very offensive minded.

 

 

Watch this film of Killins and tell me who he reminds you of as a Pitt fan.

Jump down to the Top 5 WRs we’ll face and another PSU name pops up – Juwan Johnson:

Juwan Johnson caught 54 passes for 701 yards and one touchdown in 13 games for Penn State last season. He reached a season-high of seven catches against Iowa in Week four for 92 yards and one touchdown. Against Pitt, Johnson only caught one pass for four yards. Johnson topped over 100 yards in receiving against Nebraska in Week 12. Johnson was named to the All-Big Ten Football team on offense as an honorable mention selection at the wide receiver position.

Watch out for NC’s Anthony Radcliff-Williams also.  If you remember he did this to us last season in one of our home games after he converted from QB to WR in his 2nd year with the Tarheels:

The North Carolina wide receiver returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, threw for another on a trick play and hauled in the eventual go-ahead score midway through the fourth quarter as the Tar Heels ended a six-game losing streak with a 34-31 victory over Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Here’s a reach of an article from the P-G a couple of days ago about the best recruit we have committed to the 2019 class so far:

After wrapping up the 2018 class in early February, Pitt football landed its first 2019 recruit Sunday evening, the first one to “turn on the lights” since that slogan emerged in March with a “1” and “9” standing in for the “I” and “G.”

Put aside the fact that it was the latest start to a recruiting class since Pat Narduzzi arrived four years ago; actually, it’s the latest start Pitt has gotten since at least 2004, which is as far back as the Rivals.com database goes in keeping track of commitment dates.

But you knew someone, eventually, would have to be the first. Not that college football classes are often “built” around a single prospect, but when Miami linebacker Leslie Smith gave his verbal pledge to Narduzzi over the weekend, he became the temporary face of Pitt’s 2019 recruiting efforts.

If you want more info about the late start to this class then Chris Peak just did an excellent job of enlightening on his weekly Monday Podcast found here (behind a pay wall I believe).  BTW – he does two of these a week and they are all great to listen to – I disagree with some of what Peak says but it’s always fun to listen to.  Here is the link for all of them for this year.

For those Pitt fans who use our schedule to make excuses for losing games here is an article about just that – our hard schedule for 2018. I know we have an ongoing debate about this subject but whatever…  However, in 2016 we had the 5th hardest schedule in the nation and won 8 games.  How did we pull that off?  The lineup was full of Paul Chryst recruits on offense – that’s how.  The farther we get from that…well we saw the results last year.

No doubt we hard a hard road ahead this year but that’s what I like.  hey – if we played nothing but creampuffs we wouldn’t have the great win over PSU, would we?  that’s one of the three bright spot games in Narduzzi’s career here so far.  Win one or two of those this year and who knows the effect that will have on the rest of the schedule.

For all who live down here in the DelMarVa area here is your chance to meet Pitt legend Aaron Donald. Jay91 works for this company and while this may seem like a plug (maybe it is just a little) i put it up for Pitt fans to have so they can meet Donald and get his stuff if they want. Here ar the specifics:

Aaron Donald – Memorabilia Day on July 14, 2018 at the Dulles Expo Center, Chantilly, VA.  Also, it won’t just be Aaron Donald there but all the athlete’s this company has under contract.

I’ve had a few conversation with Donald on the sidelines of practices and he’s a great guy all-around.

image

Here are a couple more Golf Outing photos that I

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Erie Express with fine form

 

IMG_E4913
Fran Last Row with a bit of funk thrown in…

 

 

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.

93 thoughts on “Football Bits & Pieces; June 14th”

  1. Killins sure is fast. That run was between the tackles. The Memphis D linemen were easily blocked. With that speed, I’ll bet they pitch the ball to him as well. And, the QB can run and throw. I believe he threw for over 3,000 yds last year though I didn’t look it up.

    We face three good QBs with solid offenses (PSU, UCF and GT) in the first four games. If after the first four games, our defense has held the four opponents to an average of 27 points or less per game, I will declare victory for the Pitt D.

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      1. I fully expect Pitt to be 1-3 after the first four games. I also expect Pitt to keep all games close with a chance to win all four.

        I’d like to see the Pitt offense use the little bit of experience by using the RBs in the passing game more. Screens of various types, wheel routes, releases over the middle and shuttle passes. Use an RB in the slot from time to time as well. Get the ball into the hands of our experienced RBs. And, keep the heat off of Picket with the quick routes. Keep aggressive defenses honest. We shall see what Watson comes up with.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Ike – yes, I believe that the UCF QB is returning. He rates out as a pre-season top five QB in the nation according to CBS Sports. So does McSorley. New coaching staff at UCF though, so that may slow them down a little.

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  3. I’ve been thinking about the new changes to player eligibility that the NCAA just announced. Players can announce they will transfer and then go on a list for other programs to review. Then they can go anywhere. This will have unexpected consequences when tons of players who are sitting on the bench decide to transfer. If a coach promises a kid he will start when recruiting him, it better happen soon or he will be gone.

    Also, if a kid can play 4 games and then red shirt, does that make Pickett eligible for a 4th year? This rule will definitely be abused by coaches who know that they can get 4 games out of a kid before red shirting him. When there are only 4 games left, they can play everyone on the bench and get them back without losing a year. Teams might start scheduling cupcakes at the end of the year so that they can see these kids in action.

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  4. I hate all these changes to college ball. It is the NCAA getting on their knees for the big dog programs.

    I’m surprised the NCAA didn’t do away with the sit out a year transfer rule. They’re doing everything else they can to make it as far away from student-athletes as possible.

    Still the individual conferences can block a player from transferring to same conference schools.

    The SEC is notorious with this.This rule change only goes so far.

    The NCAA previously forced players to get permission from their old schools before others could contact them. It won’t do that anymore, but conferences still can. At least a few of them, including the SEC, have their own permission-to-contact rules, and the NCAA is clear: “Conferences, however, still can make rules that are more restrictive than the national rule.”

    I think Pitt would benefit greatly if we had a rule, for P5 schools only, that if a kid is on roster at least two years you can force him to transfer to the school of Pitt’s choice and the receiving school is mandated to accept them and make room for them by cutting upperclassmen.

    Call it the “Pat Signal Rule” A school can do it once per decade and never to the same school twice.

    Hell, we may even benefit greatly under this rule. I’d have no problem getting rid of 50% of the current upper class Pitt roster no matter what P5 school is choosing us as the receiving program.

    That way they are able to get an Associates Degree from Pitt and a final degree elsewhere..because we know that, just like FL 3* players are better than local 4* kids, an Associate’s from Pitt is better than a four year degree at PSU OR WVU.

    That might be the only way we can even up with Penn State. Send them half of Narduzzi’s recruits right now then play them in September…

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  5. In fairness, in 2016 Pitt also had Narduzzi recruit Peterman orchestrating the show. It wouldn’t have worked well at all without him. In honesty I wish we’d leave Chryst out of this.

    2016 could have been the year. A total of 11 points difference in losses to Ok State and UNC on the road and VT at home. Those three opponents combined for over 1400 yards passing. That should have been a Coastal Division championship and could have been an 11-1 record.

    McSorley is a double edged sword to me. He more or less threw the 2016 game away with a heave into the end zone on second and nine from the Pitt 31 with a little more than a minute left in the game and Penn State down 3. I add that it looked to me like McSorley could have run for a first down on the play.

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    1. How do you leave Chryst out of it when he recruited all of those guys that protected Peterman and Conner, the touchdown king.

      Unfortunately even the great defensive mind Narduzzi couldn’t make much out of Chryst’s defensive recruits. Still he wouldn’t let the offense loose when they could have beaten OKST and UNC with a few more first downs or scores.

      This year better be the year that the defense helps to carry the offense with some turnovers and timely stops. Otherwise it could get really ugly. The year we find out if the Narduzzi formula has merit.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. “Still he wouldn’t let the offense loose when they could have beaten OKST and UNC with a few more first downs or scores.”

        I remember Pitt trying hard in the fourth quarter to get a first down in the Carolina game and only one likely would have meant a win. Pitt was passing the ball but not making the plays needed to win. You really think Narduzzi was holding the offense back?

        I was pissed Narduzzi didn’t run a fake punt versus OSU in the fourth quarter.

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    2. Peterman was a transfer in and yes, a feather in PN’s cap.

      Big difference between getting a 4* transfer to come as opposed to convincing a 4* recruit to pick Pitt. The transfer may have 2 or 3 choices but the blue chip recruit probably has 15-20+ and most likely has to be courted for two years.

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  6. I assume that the rules for 85 total scholarships will remain the same, so coaches will run off older players to make room for more transfers. Also, this might affect the number of available offers each year as coaches will look at the transfer sheet as well as the high school players. They can backfill weaker recruiting classes by taking more transfers.

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  8. I’m with you gc, this is the year Narduzzi has to at least show he’s doing something more to make this team competitive on a weekly basis. Well, I take that back a little. I think PITT was very competitive last year minus the OSU game. … but it is time for PITT to start winning the close games. I have a very good feeling about his years defense though…

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  9. It doesn’t matter what the NCAA does. Pitt will find a way to make it work to their disadvantage. That’s pitt for you.

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  10. Reed asks the question of who that RB reminds Pitt fans of. That’s easy! Me and Lastrowsection4 had season tickets both in Section 4 and for 4 years we watched TD Dorsett #33 do that EVERY Saturday at Pitt Stadium!
    #H2P

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  11. Ike.

    If Pitt played UCF’s schedule last year, there DEFINITELY would have been a bowl bid– and probably 8-9 wins.

    But, we’d have to join AAC to do that. Is that what you’re proposing? We get out of a P5 conference? The way Narduzzi is recruiting, it might not be a bad idea.

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    1. Pitt will never give up $30-$40M of easy ACC money once the network is in place. It will do the bare minimum to continue being part of this league. That really should be part of the BoT’s mission statement. We are whores and will do as little as it will take to continue to be whores.

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  12. No Jay, I was speaking in more relative terms. My point was and is strictly understanding the bigger picture. Take a look back at last season and tell me if PITT could have won 2 or 3 more games with their schedule let alone UCF’s. I like whee PITT is at right now in the ACC. Lots of great away games.

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  13. This is going to sound sarcastic but I PROMISE it isn’t…

    Is that why you watch Pitt football? For the “great away games”? Personally, I’d rather watch Pitt win in Jersey City than travel to Chapel Hill or Charlottesville (both beautiful) and watch them lose. Maybe that’s just me.

    — Let me know when you get what I made for you. I really hope you’ll like it. I know you’ve been dealing with a lot and I know you’re a great Pitt fan so I hope you enjoy it.

    H2P!

    Liked by 1 person

  14. I’m off to “Satan’s Cradle” to watch my old high school (Lower Dauphin) play for the 5A baseball championship. We’re playing a team from Philly so there’s another reason to root for us!

    If you live in PA and have PCN, it’s on at 6 pm. I’ll be the guy behind home plate, yelling at the umpire.. watch early, in case I get run. LOL

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  15. I think these easy transfer rules do more to disrupt the lower classmen then it does the 5th year seniors or seniors. When you bring these transfer kids in all the time and have them plugged into the two deep and the starting lineup then there’s a lot of unrest below that and that’s why you see transfers We’ve had a lot of transfers from Pitt over the last couple years and that’s why you see them.

    This is what gets me when Pitt fans say give Narduzzi a chance to build the program. Because he’s not really doing that, not with all the transfers that he brings in… he’s trying his best to win for now as he should, but it’s certainly not building the program for the future. IMO he’s undercutting it.

    But it is what it is here.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. There should be competition for every starting position and it does not matter where, when, or how the players got here. If you are afraid of competition, please just go home. Football and life are so similiar- competition in every thing you do, at play, at work for the next raise and/or promotion, etc. Makes life great

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  18. Maybe, but when you are an OL and spend two years, a redshirt and a rsFR year in the weight room.. being told “next year is your year”, then extra OL come in every year and keep pushing you back, there is a problem.

    I think we’ll see some younger OL transfer soon.

    And you know recruits commit on promises of early playing time and don’t get it…what does that tell future recruits?

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    2. To me it tells them they just aren’t good enough. Which is fine. If the transfer comes in and grades out as equal, then the nod should go to the one who has been here. If the transfer comes in and plays and practices better, they should get the nod.

      That is true competition. I think coaches get into trouble when they make playing time promises. It sets up kids to think they are good enough at the time of the promise, to play, which certainly is rarely the case.

      If a coach wants to promise a true opportunity to a recruit to compete for the job, that is fine. May the best man win!

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  20. UCF’s recruiting rankings the last 4 years is in the low 70’s. Pitt has better players. UCF had what appears to be the next great coach, Scott Frost. They don’t have Scott Frost this year. They now have a great offensive mind but he’s also a coach who has never been a head coach before. IMO, Pitt doesn’t have many excused if they lose to UCF. PSU and ND are different stories but Franklin struggled before Moorehead arrived and now Moorehead is gone … and ND is consistently lives down to expectations and a team Pitt historically plays well.

    You play who is in front of you. The difference this year is it’s a team molded in Duzz’s image. He has to go out and beat expectations. Good teams overachieve and good coaches get their teams to overachieve.

    It’s an important year, IMO. I like Narduzzi. I have no issues with the recruiting. But, Pitt has to start turning a corner this season. If they don’t win 8,9,10 games after a 5-7 season then Duzz is in trouble. If they win less than 5 games he may not make it to next season.

    The hard part about separating with Duzz is that Gallagher made the hire. He was intimately involved in the hiring process and has appeared to be in his corner from day 1. That’s not an easy dismissal for Heather.

    It will take a disaster of a season for it to happen sooner. I legitimately think that Pitt fans will be surprised this season. Defense will be very solid and the offense will be much better than most expect.

    Who knows though? It is Pitt after all.

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    1. It will be difficult for Heather to can Narduzzi because Narduzzi interviewed her and recommended her for the job. She owes him for her opportunity in part. Call it like it is.

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  21. I always get worried when bureaucrats and academics make business and athletic decisions.

    “It would be the dumbest decision since Hitler opened a second front by invading Russia, and it will be the greatest disaster in Western Pennsylvania since the Johnstown flood.” Beano

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    1. Yeah…..that about sums it up. It’s a miracle Pitt ever wins with these dolts running athletics. Venezuela is run better…

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Really interesting and frustrating at the same time. Pitt had a several chances to be a big time program for the long haul. Wanny with a serious commitment from the admin might have been our last real chance to be a major program.

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      1. Pitt’s problem will and shall ever be the BoT.
        It all began with Bozik though
        Bozik actually did more harm than Stevie

        So how does one drain the BoT?

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Gottfried was going to make Pitt really good, but of course he had to be fired for wanting below-the-line kids admitted. The university thought it would go to hell in a hand basket if it let some of those kids in. The first battle was over a cornerback, Mark McMillen. He is listed in the 1989 media guide, but never played at Pitt. Instead he ended up at Alabama and played in the NFL from 1992-00.

        Instead bozo Hackett was hired and implemented mandatory 6:00 a.m. study halls. Being a D-1 athlete is hard enough, so let’s make it even more difficult.

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    1. 5.6 grade
      had some legit offers
      his 5’8″ frame held him back but he is fast
      small guys are typically situational players and not every down backs

      again, always look at the offers
      i dont see any ivys or service academies like our 1st recruit

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  24. and our first recruit is the face of our program so far
    undersized
    smart
    good character

    we might as well drop down to play as an Ivy wannabe

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  25. Thx… we/Pitt are not Ivy League smart… never have been- never will be….. academics and football are comparable IMO- “ Tweeners”

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    1. maybe thats our problem
      Pitt is a tweener
      Tweeners dont have a position and dont last long
      I say you either go all in or drop down and play in a less competitive conference
      Pitt thinks they can half arse things. And they do as long as the ACC doesnt mind.

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  26. Ike, regarding a post on the last thread…I also grab a cup of coffee first thing in the morning and go to the POV. What we have here is special.

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  28. Lastrow… haven’t heard from him in a long time … I gave him a shout out when we were doing bios … crickets.

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  29. Didn’t most on here think Charlie Partridge was a great hire and PN had to keep him mainly because he is great recruiter?

    It is early but he needs to get results in this class.

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  30. Wake just suspended their starting quarterback and tight end for three games for violation of team rules. Won’t help us… Wake has a good football program for the size of their school… Excellent coach who gets a lot out of those kids. I would not shock that game up as a win for the WUPs

    Pap76..Going to put your package in the mail tomorrow morning.

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  32. Lastrow.. just looked at your picture… Noticed the curve on the shaft of your club… Never realized, or at least my commonsense would tell me the curve would be the other direction when the clubhead is approaching the ball … Interesting…

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  33. Just heard Joe DiNardo died at 87 years of age… Really love to watch him and Paul long on channel 4 news… They were hilarious

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  36. Here is the current listing of the Pitt BoT.

    http://chancellor.pitt.edu/governance/board-trustees

    I know two of them verywell and three pretty well and we talk about Pitt football a few times a year. Yes, the interest in Pitt football and especially an OCS in a low priority in the grand scheme of things.

    However, I’ve come to understand that the real decision makers at the highest levels of Pitt’s administration isn’t the BoT per se but the University’s Senior Leadership Council and the Chancellor who they report to and advise.

    They are the true “Movers and Shakers” as it were.

    http://chancellor.pitt.edu/leadership

    Ike and I were talking the other day and I told him that contrary to public belief SP wasn’t the driving force with the tearing down of Pitt Stadium and the move to Heinz Field, and that plans were started way back in the early 1990s as the article above points out.

    I also told Ike that I discussed Pitt Football with Dr Posvar a lot whenever I saw him (friends with his kids since my teenage years) years ago and that at his daughters wedding reception in the mid-1980s he had told me that Pitt stadium would “most likely” be demolished and the team moved elsewhere (Three Rivers at the time) because the land in Oakland was ‘too valuable’.

    That hasn’t changed one bit.

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    1. Of these 10 people, 2 hold degrees from Penn State
      There are ZERO with any sort of degree from Pitt

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  37. And if the land was so valuable, why did they build a basketball arena on the site. The basketball team could have easily played games at the Civic arena. Football pays the bills. Football created these mega conferences. These academics just dont get it.

    In 7 years when Amazon and the streaming world take over, there could just be 40 schools invited to the football club. Those schools will be chosen based on their following and brand equity. If Pitt did not demolish Pitt Stadium and focused on building their program back in the early 90’s instead of destroying it, Pitt would be solidly one of the top 40 schools.

    The difference in not being selected is the difference of $80 MILLION per year (estimated based on the article I linked some time back).

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    1. Agree. The land’s main purpose went toward athletics, not education.

      Pitt wants no part of the college football arm’s race, but sticks its arm out for the conference revenue checks. History has shown Pitt only gets serious in athletics when things get really bad (see football after 1972 and 1996; hoops after an 0-19 conference record).

      That is no way to run an athletic department.

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  40. Bernie, I went online and there is something called shaft flex distortion…who knew? Fascinating videos showed crazy videos and still shots where depending on the angle and how close the photographer is to the player distorts the photos. I was driving the ball pretty well that day….couldn’t hit an iron well to save my life though.

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  41. Txpanther, the Events center does a lot more than just BB games. It is a great multi-purpose venue for concerts also. Plus it has a very nice student recreation center and mant auxiliary offices in it.

    That was a very nice thing to build there.

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  43. Right Reed the Petersen event center has become the hub of PITT athletics so to speak and a multitask type of a facility.. I understand that PITT stadium was actually a bad build. It hardly had any guts to it at all as we’ve talked about. The sad but true part is Tx is right as well. There was enough room up there to build another football stadium and a basketball arena complex. Emphasis on was room. Just building the taj mahal aka as “The Pete” was not the best use of that space alone. There was no forward thinking there. Plus putting the club seats on the floor was one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever seen.

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  45. The Pete is an awesome asset for the University. Many more events including graduation ceremonies.Plus workout facilities for the kids. It is well used. The Oakland Zoo is something that all Pitt Fans should be proud of. Their spirit is something that was missing at Pitt for a long time.

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  49. The Pete is no rec center for students compared to what other schools have. I have posted the links several times.

    There was room to build both a football and basketball venue. A hospital would have provided the greatest value and return on investment on that land.

    And many are missing the bigger issue. Our brand Equity and Experience is highest with on campus facilities particularly football. Pitt deserted football in the late 80’s. Pitt could lose out on an extra $80 million per year due to their short sightedness.

    Wasn’t it posvar that hired bozo bozik?

    Tex

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  50. I don’t see why Pitt can’t have solid programs for both basketball and football. They are not mutually exclusive. The Pete is an excellent facility (with some updates needed) that can support a top level BB program. So no regrets there. But Pitt can also return to football greatness with construction of an OCS. Land can be found, even in Oakland, if the current administration would make the same type of commitment they make in other areas such as UPMC. Again, why is an OCS treated as an impossible option by the Executive Committee? They should just quietly put a team together to FIND the best location and develop a fund raising operation with naming rights, marketing commitments, early sales of boxes, etc. to raise the necessary money.

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    1. “if the current administration would make the same type of commitment they make in other areas such as UPMC”

      Problem with this is the administration has nothing to do with UPMC. It is a separate entity with its own board and CEO. But I see where you are coming from otherwise.

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  51. “..does a lot more than just BB games. It is a great multi-purpose venue for concerts also. Plus it has a very nice student recreation center and many auxiliary offices in it.”

    Many football facilities do the same thing at other universities. If Pitt gave a damn about football, they would’ve found a way to keep playing on campus. But, as you’ve pointed out– Pitt really doesn’t care about football.

    By building the Pete and “renting” Heinz, Pitt took the “cheap” route, figuring “we get TWO new facilities and only pay for ONE.” It’s that kind of thinking that makes Pitt athletics mediocre. And make no mistake, Pitt football has been mediocre for quite a long time.

    Since 1990:

    Record: 165-171-1 .491
    Bowl record: 5-10 .333
    Season Ranked (Final): 3

    Pitt has only managed to go to a bowl in half of those seasons– and what would that number be if they still only took 38 teams, as they did in 1990? (80 teams qualify for bowls, as of 2017.)

    Before some of you start with the old favorites like, “Pitt competes with the Steelers”, or “Pitt is an urban school”, or “Pitt has less students and alumni”… I KNOW! I GET IT! I EVEN AGREE WITH YOU! But mediocre is mediocre. And if some of you have accepted this as inevitable and enduring, because Pitt’s challenges can’t be overcome, that’s great. I’m sure your Saturdays are far less frustrating than mine.

    But don’t kid yourselves folks. Pitt has LOST more than it has WON over nearly 30 years. That’s no small sample size. It’s almost a QUARTER of Pitt’s football history.

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  52. Nate… just read back through this am’s posts… saw your response to gc . I saw the same offensive game pla by Pitt in 16. The offensive passing game seemed to be kept under wraps for 3-4 games… mostly short passing to receivers or backs. . not much stretching the field . I was at the NC game .. I think in our past 4-5 possessions we had no 1st downs.. Carolina had a piss poor defense but we became to predictable… when the passing game stretched the field the Pitt O was a thing of beauty.. ask any Clemson fan!

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    1. Definitely no 1st downs on those last possessions. We were throwing short since Peterman had yet to break out yet that season. We had open players in the flat and missed them. Frustrating game!

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  53. Because those two Nitters on the leadership team will never support it. Zero pitt people giving head bureacrat and atom measurer any advice. Not one pitt person giving Gallagher advice. Inexcusable and shameful.

    And the trend nationwide is building student rec centers( they are far more than just work out places) and smaller on campus venues for sports teams particularly football.

    Why does pitt have this hubris? Why does pitt think it’s the university of Chicago?

    Tex

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  54. Google college student rec center
    The Pete is no college student rec center
    Its a basketball arena with offices

    For $50M, Pitt could have something state of art where Trees is now standing.

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  57. frank md…

    Stop trying to find solutions. Remember the mantra here..

    “It can’t be done!…It can’t be done!…It can’t be done!…It can’t be done!…It can’t be done!…”

    On campus stadium…”It can’t be done!”

    Recruit 4 star players…”It can’t be done!”

    Win the ACC…”It can’t be done!”

    Just do more research and you’ll find ALL the reasons we should accept Pitt’s fate as a mediocre program in a “rental stadium” 5 miles from campus. In fact, just scroll up through any thread on the POV and you’ll see them all listed.

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  58. Drain the BoT
    It can be done

    Again 2 Nitters on Gallaghers leadership team
    No one individual who experienced life as a student on Pitt campus…not ONE

    And the backgrounds of these individuals are not business or sports. They are academics and government.

    It is no wonder why Pitt is so dysfunctional when it comes to sports.

    Gallagher is getting some bad advice. And he’d rather measure atoms anyway than build a front porch.

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  59. Reed…your hatred for Narduzzi is over the top I’ve become a bit enamored myself, but you genuinely dislike him and are completely biased to where reading your blog has become unbearable. Come out and say “I don’t like the guy” cause honestly it’s become annoying…

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  61. Pap76.

    Your opinion is your opinion and you have every right to it… but I ask that you provide any examples of things Reed has posted that were critical of him as a person. I’ve read virtually EVERY comment Reed has published and have yet to see ONE that is critical of Narduzzi personally.

    In fact, Reed has stated many positives- good disciplinarian, values academics, etc. Reed has voiced MANY criticisms of Narduzzi’s coaching abilities– game day adjustments, or lack thereof, closing practices to the media which limits exposure (something many of us agree with) and of course recruiting.

    If I say Narduzzi is “a loust recruiter”, I’m simply saying I believe it to be so. If I say Narduzzi is “an ahole” that may convey dislike for him as a person.

    I like Johnny Majors a great deal– even met him a few times. But his second stint at Pitt was a disaster and I was very vocal regarding what I felt were his failures\shortcomings. So, in your opinion I must’ve hated him??

    Why is it that whenever someone expresses a critical thought regarding someone’s performance they are automatically a “hater”? It’s just silly.

    If you feel Reed is wrong in his criticisms, how about you dissect them individually rather than simply calling him out as a “hater.” I’ve spoken to Reed many times and he doesn’t feel Narduzzi is a good recruiter and has concerns about him as a coach. However, he has never said ONE thing about disliking Narduzzi. NOT ONE.

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  62. I hate Gallagher’s leadership team. There’s always a special place in Hell for those who plot against Pitt.

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  63. I wonder how much push back Gallagher gets from fans and alums concerning the current state of affairs with football. It seems that he moved in the right direction with BB in hiring Capal, and building the Pete, a competitive BB arena, that was built some years ago (at a very high price) and BB has achieved some success. I just don’t sense that there are sufficient complaints coming back from people affiliated with Pitt to push him into taking some action to upgrade the football program.

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    1. As long as Pitt gets 45k fans attending each year and the ACC doesn’t boot Pitt out, he and the BoT are fine. Last year was only 36k though.

      Tex

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  64. Each year when I buy my ticket package I bend the ear of the ticket reps at Pitt about Adm/BOT and OCS it is my way of felling better if nothing else and maybe if enough people do it, it will trickle up. Have become resigned to mediocrity from the top down at Pitt. For a bunch of academics at the top they must have never read that “those who fail to learn from mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat the failures in the future”.

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  65. I would guess that the MAC schools get 36,000 people attending their games. That is not big time football, for sure. The Penguins went from near bankruptcy to steady sold outs on the backs of some good players and a much better marketing campaign. As Reed has stated over and over, Pitt needs some stars to attract attention and win games, and a much better regional approach to marketing.

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