Month: August 2019

Virginia at Pitt Open Game Thread

Virginia at Pitt Open Game Thread

So first, in order to celebrate the impending kickoff, a bunch of POV’ers met up at a local area golf course yesterday.  After they quickly and easily dispatched an imposter’s best attempt to troll the group, a good time was clearly had by all.

And after the round it was rumored that this refrain could be heard echoing from the 19th hole:

Fight on for dear old Pittsburgh 
And for the glory of the game 
Show our worthy foe that the Panther’s on the go 
Pitt must win today! Rah! Rah! Rah! 
Cheer loyal sons of Pittsburgh 
Cheer on to victory and fame 
For the Blue and Gold shall conquer as of old 
So fight, Pitt, fight! 

Da da da da da-da Fight, Pitt, fight! 
Da da da da da-da Fight, Pitt, fight! 
V-I-C-T-O-R-Y! 

and

Hail to Pitt, Hail to Pitt, every loyal son 
Hail to Pitt, Hail to Pitt, till the victory’s won 
The Gold and Blue shall wave forever 
On high thro’ fair and stormy weather 
We’ll sing her praises far and wide until the end of time 
Hoop hurray, Hoop hurray for dear old uni.. 
Give her a grand old ALLEGENEE GENAC GENAC GENAC 
We’ll wave and cheer for many a year 
And sing her songs out loud and clear 
For our University.

Pitt vs Virginia Game Preview and Prediction Thread

Pitt vs Virginia Game Preview and Prediction Thread

And here we are.  The eve of kickoff, twenty-nineteen.  Eight long months we have waited in the desert, and our proverbial throats are parched.  Tomorrow our thirst for football will be quenched.

Virginia brings an experienced team to Heinz, returning six starters on offense and eight starters (count ’em!) on defense.

Lets take a look at some of the key matchups that could help decide the game. Continue reading “Pitt vs Virginia Game Preview and Prediction Thread” →

Song of the Southside

Song of the Southside

Pitt opens against Virginia on Saturday, and I approach the game with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation.  On one hand, there is a nearly palpable sense of confidence radiating from the Southside, and if you quiet your mind and turn your ear towards the Mon you can nearly make out the faintest of whispers saying, this year is different.  It is a siren song that Pitt fans yearn to believe.  One that is backed by the steely gazes of the upperclassman, and heard in the timbre of their voices.  It is projected through the stolid words of center Jimmy Morrissey, inferred by body language of the wide receivers licking their chops as they talk about the the passing game, and made that much more audible by grim determination of quarterback Kenny Pickett.

And yet for every reason to believe, there are a dozen reasons not to.  Jimmy Morrissey’s confidence?  There are four first-year starters surrounding him.  Those wide receivers?  Useless if they can’t get the ball.  And Kenny Pickett?  The last time we saw him, he was  nothing more than a shell-shocked sophomore, gritting his way through the last three games of the season.  Oh and don’t even get me started on the running backs and tight ends. Continue reading “Song of the Southside” →

Pitt Depth Chart

Here is the Depth Chart that Pitt Released today.  I pulled it from Pittsburgh Sports Now, but I’m assuming EJ sent out a press release.

My fast thoughts in italics.  Please feel free to discuss.

OFFENSE: 

QB: Kenny Pickett.   Backup- Nick Patti or Jeff George Jr.  Interesting that the backup situation is an “Or”

RB: AJ Davis or Todd Sibley  No surprises here.

WR: Taysir Mack, Tre Tipton, Maurice Ffrench.  Backups- Aaron Mathews, Dontavius Butler-Jenkins, John Vardzel.  John who?

TE: Will Gragg. Backups- Nakia Griffin-Stewart, Grant Carrigan  So Gragg beat out Griffin-Stewart.  Maybe that 20 lbs of muscle he put on in the offseason paid off.

LT: Carter Warren    Backup- Carson Van Lynn  And it’s official.

LG: Bryce Hargrove   Backup- Brandon Ford  Yep.

C- Jimmy Morrissey  Backup- Owen Drexel  Yep.

RG-Gabe Houy    Backup- Jake Kradel or Chase Brown  r-Frosh and local product Kradel cracks the two-deep.

RT- Nolan Ulizio   Backup- Jerry Drake Jr.

DEFENSE: 

DE: Patrick Jones    Backups- John Morgan or Kaymar Mimes  Mimes back to DE after TE last year speaks to a slight lack of depth at DE

DT: Jalen Twyman   Backups- David Green or Tyler Bentley Young guys making the two deep all over this line.

DT: Keyshon Camp or Amir Watts   Backup- Devin Danielson Nice to see another local guy make the two deep.

DE: Deslin Alexandre   Backup- Habbukkuk Baldonado Haba is going to have to grow up fast.  

Money Linebacker: Kylan Johnson  Backup- Chase Pine  Pine fails to grab the starting spot yet again.  When is the lightbulb going to go on for this guy?

Mike Linebacker: Elias Reynolds or Saleem Brightwell Solid and experienced MLB corps.

Star Linebacker: Cam Bright or Phil Campbell I still think this is going to be the weak link of the defense.

Strong Safety: Paris Ford   Backup- Jazzee Stocker  Ford locked down the starting spot.  Can he deliver?

Free Safety: Damar Hamlin  Backup- Therran Coleman  Coleman is a guy who has paid his dues for a while.  

Cornerback: Dane Jackson  Backup- Erick Hallett  Surprised to see Hallett here.  5’11”.  Redshirted last year.  

Cornerback: Jason Pinnock or Damarri Mathis.  As expected.