This year’s homecoming has everything you want.  A big game against an opponent with a national profile.  A chance to beat them and land in the top 25.

It also has a bad-ass Pitt RV courtesy of Tom Bailey.  This weekend marks Tom’s 50th homecoming, and that folks is a big deal.

Tom enrolled in PITT as a Freshman from Elizabeth-Forward High School in 1969, Fifty (50!)years ago.  He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, the ‘PIKAS’ and was the President of the Student Government Board.

As an avid PITT fan, Tom is known as “The Partying Panther”.  You’ve probably seen his custom-wrapped RV around Oakland, at Heinze and at many of Pitt’s away games because he’s driven it from Syracuse to Miami, from Boston & New York City to Texas and Arizona.

Tom’s motto listed on the RV is “Never Let A Bad Game Ruin A Good Party”, and that’s a motto that resonates well with us here at the POV!

KUDOS  to TOM BAILEY  for celebrating his 50th PITT HOMECOMING GAME!

Now all we need is for the Panthers to deliver Tom and the rest us fans a win against the hated ‘Canes.  LETS GO PITT!

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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.

672 thoughts on “Homecoming 2019 – Miami at Pitt Open Game Thread”

    1. Yea he cuts the field in half when he rolls out.

      At the very least he should have thrown it away

      Like

    1. Al along as we keep that RB bottled up we should be able to stop them all day

      Like

  24. At the game. Horrible attendance.

    That said, we are better.

    Stop the penalties! I think the head ref has a southern accent??!!

    Like

    1. Haha that means he’s neutral we all know Miami is not part of the south

      Like

  25. Miami looks focused and up for the game. Their RB gets three yards after every contact just cause he’s strong

    If their qb starts hitting passes then watch out

    Like

  30. Interesting targeting call on Miami … let’s see if they uphold it. Blades is a good player.

    Like

  42. Announcers really with some nice pro-Pitt commentary on shared faculties with Steelers / Aaron Donald tie in

    Like

    1. Their odds of that go up if they don’t throw it to the other team and also hold onto the ball.

      Liked by 1 person

  45. You know what drives me dingy— Kenny P has to go to Daddy Whipple on every play to
    get instructions on what to do — Nutsy!!

    Like

  46. 35 yards in penalties and 2 turnovers in the 1st Q. That ain’t going to get the job done if it continues.

    Like

    1. What’s even more frustrating is they they have been moving the ball in between turnovers. They just need to settle in and play clean

      Like

  47. …if we keep turning the ball over we are not going to win…

    No excuse for that one Pickett

    Like

    1. And the defense completely wilting after the pick…

      Miami is out physical-ing is

      Like

    1. Pickett is a bad QB who is a good kid. I think he is severely limited. The fact that he at times looks ok to good is a HUGE credit to Whipple

      Like

  51. Horrible throw by Pickett who looks rattled. This is starting to look like the Gatech 5 turnover game. Worst game I’ve seen in a long while from a Pitt QB

    Like

  60. Lucy is busy pulling the football out from Charlie Brown so far…

    Lol every time I get optimistic…

    Still plenty of time for Pitt to get it together but Kenny needs to snap out of it

    Like

  62. This Is what happens when you switch from running back “u” to a pass oriented offense with an average passer.

    Like

  63. Anybody have any idea of who that pass was intended for? The only Pitt receiver I saw was about 5 yards away from where the pass was thrown.

    Like

  64. Dan – you’re right. Pickett looks rattled. But rattled by what?? A bad team with limited pressure and open receivers??

    Any chance we get good Kenny in the 2nd half?

    This first half is all on him. Period

    Liked by 1 person

  66. The Pitt Blue Hens!! Beyond belief sloppy. Hey, but why be concerned when we all know
    that our Blue Hens are a great 2nd half team. No excuses.

    Like

  74. I’ll say it…Pitt is outright intimidated by Miami. Playing like scared little girls. Just pathetic!

    Like

  75. No excuses. Kenny is lost , scared and awful. So will this be the game he actually plays in the second half?

    Miami is terrible so don’t be content with a close 1st half. No wonder GT beat them.

    How bout this Pitt….don’t rip our hearts out today??

    Like

  76. Why did Ffrench run out of bounds on that first down pass play? If he just cut inside he would probably gained the 1st down.

    Like

    1. If you’ve been playing that game since kickoff you’re already half in the bag

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    1. It’s a cliche but this is the most Pitt way that Pitt could have opened this game

      Like

  81. French good at making people miss but it always seems like he gives just one wiggle too much. Make your move and get up the field, son

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Run the Jim Chaney offense. Short passes to the outside and then when they adjust pop some runs up the middle

      Like

  88. Watching live right in front. Kenny is a good runner but lost as a general. If you are here live you see it. He is scared.

    Like

    1. You can see it on tv as well. He has plenty of time and is rattled.

      At this point he’s gone into turtle shell mode and it’s just playing to not turn the ball over

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Narduzzi was quoted just this week as saying “I don’t know anything about quarterbacks….”

      Like

  92. Pitt needs three more field goals and no turnovers to win this game

    Like

  99. Thank goodness Miami’s offense is terrible

    But man they have been winning the field position game all day

    Like

  100. To balance my negative vibe…the defense is playing well against TWO offenses – theirs and ours. The offense is embarrassing…

    Liked by 2 people

  101. We’re lucky to be down only 4 here. The bad news is we have to come from behind in a 2nd half….

    Like

  102. Any care to summarize the first half? Anyone care to speculate on the 2nd…

    Like

      1. 43k is my guess. Seemed like they were loud until Pitt started screwing up

        Like

  106. Hey, maybe we got the inevitable dumb turnovers out of our system for today in the first half and the offense comes to play for once in the third and fourth quarters.

    Like

  107. I’ve seen this Miami game over and over since 1968. It usually does not end well for Pitt.

    This entire disaster is on Pickett/Whipple so far.

    Liked by 1 person

  108. So here we are, you folks have been begging for halftime adjustments, let’s see what PITT has in their bread basket. KP and Whipple having a bad first half. Secondary thought, this great PITT defense still not creating turnovers. The score should be 6-0 at the very least! Miami has done nothing on offense!

    Like

  109. This is worrisome since Pitt generally doesn’t score many points in the 2nd half. Disturbing because this Miami team stinks !. Should have been a year we kicked their butts and got some payback for many U buttkicks.

    Like

  110. Halftime stats:

    Miami 100 total yards
    Pitt 214

    Miami 0 turnovers
    Pitt 3

    Pitt winning TOP 17/13

    Miami has 23 rushing yards, Pitt has 96

    Pitt 4 penalties for 35
    Miami 0

    Miami clearly worked on discipline this week and it showing.

    Like

  111. I never thought I’d hear myself say this but I think I’d like to see more of the wildcat

    Like

    1. Good point. Also on Mack. He already had that first down when he fumbled.

      Then he let a long pass bounce off of his helmet

      Like

  115. Good – I got my porch cleaned. Listening to Hillgrove on Serius while watching game thru window.

    Bad – KP’s passing. 13/21 118 yds. 0 TD 2 INT’s 2.

    Ugly Pitt outgaining Miami in yardage Pitt 214 yds (118 pass – 96 run. Miami 100 yds (77 pass – 23 run). Oh those turnovers.

    Liked by 1 person

  116. To tell the truth, I feel PITT has just a good of a chance score when there defense is out on the field! Bottom line is, PITT musters up some points and wins this game! Believe!

    Like

  118. Miami will revert to the thugs they are.

    Pitt had better be awake this half

    Every player should have taken a mandatory cold shower at half.

    Like

  120. Did Miami really work on discipline or are the ACC refs giving them a pass ? You had the targeting, on AJ Davis, which was clearly more targeting than Paris Ford’s at Duke. You had several late hits on the sidelines, when Pitt players were clearly long at out bounds, the last one being the late sideline hit on Shocky.

    No penalties on Miami is an utter joke and a complete fraud.

    Like

  124. This is kessmans bad hash 😬… nailed it. Two more field goals and we can seal this win.

    Like

  125. wow, pathetic offense when we get in the Red zone….reminds me of Tino years. Lots of yards between the 20’s.

    Like

  128. Looks like Kessman’s leg will be more tired than KP’ s arm when this one is done!

    It’d be nice to have a ground game!

    Like

  129. Perry has not been playing well . And yet we’ve only hit him once or twice

    Like

  131. Anybody else wanting to see that replay on the block in the back? Very suspicious that they didn’t show it…. 🤔

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Yep. Pickett not going to win this one for us with his arm. Whipple needs to realize that before it’s too late

      Like

  133. Getting difficult to complete the underneath stuff, if you don’t throw a couple over the top ! duh

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    1. Receivers can’t get open….and if they do KP can’t see them. He’s also too nervous to hold the ball that long.

      Like

  134. We are running the ball and running the ball and Whipple has to frickn pass.
    He is Arians Jr.

    What has happened to Aaron Mathews?

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  135. In fairness to Kenny, That was a good pass to Matthews. For all of us pining for more time for him or more plays to Mstthews ……he has never earned it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That is a good point. And maybe that answers why they aren’t throwing to him more. In this offense a receiver needs to make that catch

      Like

    1. I’d be perfectly happy with run two plays and pass (or run three if 3rd and less than two).

      Like

  142. Narduzzi has to shake things up and bring in some wildcat & Patti….if he’s smart….and that’s a big if.

    Like

  146. Can this staff do something with this turnover on downs???

    Let’s see if they are for real……or do we not have a resl quarterback or tight end????

    Ooops

    Like

  153. The defense bails us out again and again.

    Kenny …..win the game here so you can show your face at the after-parties!!

    Students all still here!

    Liked by 1 person

  155. Pitt hasn’t won a second half all season. They need to win the second half today.

    Like

    2. Good to see the canes are still dirty. Makes me proud of our guys keeping their composure

      Boils my blood that the refs aren’t sticking up our boys (but that is to be expected ) 😡😡😡

      Like

  166. Just need to keep pounding the rock here. We can win this game with defense and field goals

    Like

    1. Can’t believe they took carter out. He wanted that TD and was On a roll.

      Also o would have just run Pickett over center on 3rd and 1 from the 1/2 line. You telling me morrissey and Hargrove can’t get a push.

      Like

  179. Need one more field goal to win this. Or three more sacks. Or a turnover.

    Any one of the above ices this game

    Like

  188. Ground out of bounds knocked ball out. I don’t know the rule but I would think if he had possession before he hit the ground it’s an interception.

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    1. Yes this would be the only way they’d give it to us. Wish he’d held on. I think they will uphold the ruling

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    1. Pound the rock. Miami are demoralized and starting to unravel. Time to get back to old school Pittsburgh football. 🏈 🏈 🏈 🐗

      Like

  195. This defense is the heart of this team. How bout whipple and Kenny contribute at least something…anything?????

    Like

    1. They can contribute by not turning the ball over on this drive and helping us flip the field.

      Like

  202. wow…showing no confidence in Pickett at all. We’re 1 miami big play or 1 Pitt busted play on D…to losing on a FG

    Like

  205. Narduzzi was smart taking that FG with Miami having a poor kicker. That 3rd down play was garbage though…

    If you have zero confidence in Pickett put Patti in.

    Like

  211. Wow how crap if an offensive series was that!!?! Leaving the door open for Miami. But let’s go D!

    Like

  218. Called that. D comes up short when it counted. As did the NoDoz fg decision and the wus calls by Toilet Paper

    Like

  223. And that’s the game folks…

    We needed a 1st down that last possession and they played Wanny ball. Deserved to lose this one. Narduzzi doesn’t have the balls to pull out a stinking Pickett.

    Like

    1. Miami pulled their QB and it won them the game.
      How many bad drops this game? Pitt can’t stand success.

      Like

  232. Who loves these coaches????

    Coaching pussies all day lost this game – and a D2 QB.

    What are the apologist excuses against a horrible team this time?

    You can’t have any…this is plain and simple incompetence…

    Ike – love you man…but these coaches suck ass and give the kids no chance against very inferior competition. We start every game down by 14 mentally…

    And Pickett really sucks..for real…for real.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. This is why, Pitt get’s 40k for homecoming. You can lose a lot of games, but don’t lose the Homecoming Game.
      Love to see that record over the last 30 years.

      Like

  237. Diaz the better coach today

    Diaz changed QB’s when his starter was struggling.

    Duzz stayed with his starter when he was struggling bad, and lost.

    This loss is on Duzz. And the drops did not help.

    Like

    1. I counted three drops. Four of you count the bomb that hit Mack in the helmet, Catch any two of those and maybe a different outcome…

      Like

  238. And this is how a chronically, historically, impossibly underperforming team that cannot recruit winning QBs to save their souls loses to an inferior, smaller, weaker team. Thanks guys.

    Liked by 1 person

  240. We turned the ball over more times that we sacked the quarterback.

    That’s not winning football

    Like

  242. The offense failed with the 3 turnovers today I blame this one on lack of execution.

    Defense held their own.

    Like

    1. Agree. They played well enough to win but not well enough to overcome the offensive mistakes

      Like

  244. Pickett is adequate (barely) against 2nd rate teams. Anybody with a good defense and we can’t score, cause he can’t make a long pass completion, nor can the WR’s get open against good competition.
    What a year to lose to a crappy Miami team that lost to 2-5 GT last week.
    Thoroughly disgusted because Pitt was on the cusp on being ranked.

    Like

      1. If we win out (unlikely…) and win the bowl that would be five in a row. That would put us in the top 25.

        I don’t that that’s going to happen though.

        Like

  246. Terrible game plan.
    Terrible coaching.
    Terrible execution.
    Terrible second half…like usual.
    Miami blows. Tons of injuries. Lost to Georgia Tech.
    Just when you think we’re moving ahead, we’re falling behind.

    Like

  250. First time I’ve said anything in years.

    When the hell are you going to learn Narduzzi you jackass. My kid learns – you don’t. You’re a child you conservative fool. You play to win. What is wrong with you? You are Mediocre – as is your record year after year.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Pickett will play all year though….so maybe the following year….or the year after that…. (just shoot me…)

      Like

      1. And the fact that they have no kicker…..and he remembers well the pedo game. His only good call all day.

        Like

  258. All I saw all week were articles and comments saying “Why are you guys always so negative – what’s wrong with you??’ What’s wrong with me is I’ve followed the team for 40+ years.

    Liked by 4 people

    2. Yep. Charlie Brown syndrome. Every. Single. Time. (And we never learn)

      Like

  259. Told you all it would happen. Narduzzi playing not to lose cost them the game. He is a caveman.

    Like

  260. PITT is not in the position to make the mistakes they made today. Poor poor effort by the coaches and players. Watching the game it was obvious to me that PITT was the better team, (despite the star differential) the scoreboard says something different. OUCH!

    Like

  263. One of the many non-attended Espn bowls in Florida, needed Miami to get to 6 wins. Only way to explain such a lame performance and the many many questionable coaching decisions.

    Like

  264. You cannot say Pickett without saying Pick!!!

    Different year …same game …. over and over and over!

    Same decision as Penn State and same bad Duzz decision. He will never be a good HC!

    Liked by 1 person

  265. QB with a case of the shakes, receivers playing dropsy, kangaroo kicker who couldn’t handle
    raindrops and coach who is LYKED by our Fanta Princess. What could go wrong??

    Liked by 2 people

  266. Really a tough loss, but we had three turnovers and too many dropped passes and you guys want to blame coaching. It is laughable. Pitt fell short because they couldn’t get a first down on their last drive, and the defense finally gave up a good drive. That’s football.

    Miami now has beat the VA and Pitt, two pretty good football teams. They are not the bums you say they are.

    This was another close game that could have gone either way. They made touchdowns and we didn’t. That is the story.

    When you play all close games against equally matched teams you are not going to win them all.

    There were two good defenses out there today and their offense played a little better than ours.

    A very close game decided by a few plays. If Ford manages to hold on to the INT we win. Simple as that.

    If you can’t tell I am still very high on this team, even though they fell a little short today.

    Liked by 2 people

  267. After many years of reading I finally decided to comment.

    All week all I saw in the paper, on blogs, in comments was “Pitt’s doing great, just enjoy it. Why are you guys always so negative – what’s wrong with you??” What’s wrong with me is I have supported this team for 40+ years.

    Liked by 2 people

    2. …and the other shoe dropped…

      That’s Pitt football for you

      Like

  268. POD is now Daniel Snyder.

    PITT’s offense was terrible today.

    What was up with that last Kirk punt? It was the killer!

    Like

    1. It is called making plays Ike. They made them and we didn’t. Certainly had our chances down the stretch.
      But the fact is we did take the lead, we just couldn’t make that last big play.

      Like

  269. We have a bad Quarterback and bad running backs. That doesn’t make for a great offense. When we needed to hang on to the ball we couldn’t.

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    1. Our receivers had bad games today. Too many drops and a fumble. Our QB is what he is, good but not great. He needed help today and didn’t get it it.

      Like

      1. He wasn’t even good today.

        But you are right he is what he is. Usually solid with a few very good games and a few stinkers. He’s a middle of the road qb. With that being said he’s still got a winning record when trailing in the 4th quarter. Pitt will win 7 or 8 games this year and Pickett will be part of the reason for that. Good and bad.

        Like

    2. I would have continued to ride v’lique. He was clearly the hot hand today

      Like

  270. Once again should have gone for the TD from the one. Don’t make it and D holds can kick it next possession (after dropping more passes). First quarter was killer. KP is playing in some hurt.

    Like

    1. True, but Oklahoma will still get a nice warm top rated Bowl Game. While Pitt will get another garbage cold weather bowl in nowheresville playing a CUSA team. And lose !

      Liked by 1 person

  272. Should do wonders for the Florida recruiting btw. Pitt needs to find a QB, somewhere anywhere for next year.
    If not…more of the same. Wait…we’ve had more of the same for the last 35 years. So that would make it our normal. Pitt football, treading water for 35 years ! New advertising slogan for next year.

    Like

  273. Turnovers were the main culprit in this loss, but having two possessions inside your opponent’s 10 with no throws to the endzone; followed by a mind blowing decision to sit on a 2 point lead with plenty of time left in the game sure did not help. The OC and the HC should return their game checks for today to the University!

    Like

    1. Yep. You can’t win a defensive game when you are -2 in the turnover column

      Like

  274. I was totally wrong about V’lique Carter, he is a running back and plays very hard. The positive to take from the game is that when we needed it most the running game worked. Yeah they could’t finish, but they got us there.

    Like

  276. The fact remains that there is very little difference from the top to bottom of the ACC Coastal.
    Pitt turned the ball over too many times today and Miami did not reciprocate. That was the main difference.

    Like

    1. Their coach had enough brains to take out their QB and our’s didn’t. That was the difference…

      Like

  277. Had a chance to break into the top 25 and we “Pitt” the bed.
    – Drops continue to plague us – 86 needs to sit the bench the rest of the season. Key drops last week and again this week. WR drops today were bad.
    – Second to last series where we could have put it away and typical Pitt, we go ultra conservative and 3 and out
    – Can we please find a punter?

    Easier conf game to win and we do this? Shame on us. I’ll go record that we only win ONE of our remaining games.

    Like

  278. Wow, great offensive game plan. We have success running around the end the entire game, but at the end when we needed 6 to put the game away, they run up the middle and settle for a FG. Stupid play calling. I sat through the rain for that????

    Then, in Heinz Field wisdom, there were so many fences outside the stadium we stood going nowhere because fencing funneled people down to a narrow exit. Why do they need fences when people are trying to get out of the stadium??? It is a security issue!!

    This was a typical SOP game. I predicted a loss, but missed on the score. I am ticked off!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. The stadium authority(probably full of pedos) workers always try to make it, the least pleasant experience, going to a Pitt game.

      Like

  284. That would be the definition of hell. Being trapped in Heinz Field and having to watch a Pitt football game like today for eternity 🙂

    Like

  285. Yes Gordon. Drops and all, all season long. 8 games in, don’t you think that would be corrected? It’s unacceptable really.

    Like

    1. Seriously, how do you stop your tight ends from dropping the ball. The only way you change that is to get players that don’t drop balls and we don’t have them.

      Liked by 2 people

    2. No.. you can’t correct guys who just don’t have it… there’s a reason they left Rutgers and Arkansas… I bet they had the dropsies there…

      Like

  286. Painful. I don’t want to read other comments. I just want to vent. Love our guys, but Miami and all the school down there do play better. At least today. Rust belt schools just can’t recruit the same. Except for a few.

    PITT needs to keep working at all of it; academics and minor sports included. Keep us proud of our University.

    Liked by 2 people

  287. SOP..SOP..

    Against a bunch of backups. Miami sucks plain and simple. Which means Pitt sucks (on offense) plain and simple. I have no idea if this staff has recruited well enough to have a legit backup QB in the wings. But haven’t we seen enough of Kenny to know he is a LB or TE and not a D1 QB??

    No poise and no touch. For the apologists, I would say that is not enough – even if he has ok stats. Don’t want to hear about his “stats” this year. He is below average and can’t read defenses. Sure, he’s a “gamer”…which is what you say about nice kid who works hard but kinda sucks.

    Listening to the post game show on the radio on the way home.. they are obviously sugar costing for the bill paying home team.

    Like

    1. Pickett had a lousy game but on that last possession those 2 passes have to be caught. I have to look up who the receiver coach is because he is not doing too much coaching this season.

      Like

    3. 2 INT’s and ZERO TD’s today

      Now there are some serious stats

      QBR rating under 30

      Keep playing KP coach Duzz – your seat ain’t getting hit with Ms. Lyke in charge – guaranteed!

      Like

  288. This is why sports betting is so profitable for the House. 26 picked Pitt, while only 9 picked Thug U.
    Don’t think many had K State today either. Probably even less had Illinois last week.

    Like

    1. Why Medure doesn’t get a shot is beyond me. He is better than #86 whose name I’ll never type again. Two terrible drops in back-to-back weeks. Where is the accountability? They owe nothing to him because he is a grad transfer.

      Liked by 2 people

    2. Why isn’t Carrigan getting a shot… these 2 transfer TEs suck… how much more pain do we have to endure watching their dropsies… Fk’n fffFrech seems to have trouble getting a handle on the ball….

      Crowd did not seem into the game… only one time heard a loud”LETS GO PITT”

      Like

  293. Clearly we don’t have “it” in many places on O. Particularly on the skill side. D played great – even when put in impossible situations!! Don’t want any more articles in the paper about Kenny and the supposed QB “whisperer”…PLEASE!!

    Like

  295. Yeah I am frustrated by I won’t sleep over a team that had a chance to win at the end of the game. We win close games or we lose close games and that ain’t bad.

    We all knew that both of these teams had good defenses and it would be the offense that played a little bit better that would win. The turnovers killed us, one tipped pass, one fumble and the inexplicable bad pass by KP put too much pressure on the D.

    Even with that we still had a god chance to win but couldn’t finish them off, offensively or defensively as it turns out.

    Liked by 2 people

  296. One more, how many dropped passes today? There were open guys who dropped the ball today, the throws were not perfect but they should have been caught.

    Today was a total lack of execution by mostly the players on the Pitt offensive side of the ball.

    Like

    1. Yep. We make catches and we win the game. In spite of Kenny’s bad play…I would say there were at least 6 catchable drops

      Like

  297. Home from game, wet, cold and discussed. All the things people are saying,the dropped passes, the poor decisions, the stupid penalties, the rather strange play calls, the loss despite looking for most of the game as the better team, the snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. These all go into SOP. Sugar coat it, be in denial, I really could care less. For over 30 years there are the same excuses, woulda, shoulda, coulda.

    I’m,getting way to old to think this will ever change. I, like Dan and others, have seen this before, over and over. The problem with not recruiting stars is you end up with half a team, which is what we’ve had for what seems like forever. Almost 40 years of this is about my limit. Have fun, look for unicorns, Frosty the Snowman, and the Easter bunny. I need a break. With the limited time I have left I will try to look for more rewarding things to do, like looking for El Dorado.

    Like

    2. We will come back for more…. we just can’t get a runner or receiver beyond the 2nd row of defenders yet take the top off the opponents D… our D failed us a couple of times…

      It was there for the taking …

      Like

  298. Talked to a bunch of Miami fans after the game who thought they were going to get killed. Said we were the worst offensive team they’ve seen this year
    …

    Liked by 1 person

  301. Pickett had a tough day especially with his receivers who could not catch a pass in critical situations.

    Like

  302. There is little doubt that this team would benefit from a high quality tight end or two. That our two starters are transfers is unfortunate and a symptom of some very weak recruiting in this area. Also that we have had consecutive starting transfer O tackles. A symptom of our revolving door of O-coordinators. Hopefully Whipple solves this problem soon.

    It is easy to blame KP for a lot of the woes, but these deficiencies have not helped. He was running for his life a lot of the time today, and too many of his decent passes were dropped.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It would have been nice to try a few screen passes to the tight end to slow down Miami’s pass rush. But given the stone hands of our tight-ends…

      Like

    2. Happy feet. The protection was better than it’s been in a while

      Like

  304. The three runs with five minutes left was ridiculous.

    We got way too conservative.

    Defense was great.

    But they needed some help. Got to get a first down to run the clock and get field position.

    Coach Whip got too tight. Fling it at least once.

    Dang.

    Liked by 2 people

    2. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was forbidden to throw it. The drive prior to that was perfect though…a couple of short safe passes to move the sticks.

      On the other hand the defense hadn’t broken down all day…

      Like

  305. I don’t fit this loss into the SOP category. There was no epic fail. Miami has players. They kicked the crap out of VA, a pretty good team.

    In every game we have won guys stepped up with big plays to finish the game. It didn’t happen today, but this is the same team that won the close ones in razor thin fashion. Today it went the other way.

    No reason for you guys to all be acting like Scarlet O’Hara.

    Liked by 1 person

  306. Okay..I’ve read all above comments and I am still furious over this very avoidable loss. I want to make one point.

    We are 4th and 1 on the Miami 1 yard line (same as Ped St. With 6:31 on the clock 4th Q and I hear the announcer say the proper play was to kick the FG. Bullish t!!! The proper play is to go for it and if you make it …game over! If you don’t make it, you leave Miami on the 1 yd line with a snarling Pitt Defense …worst case scenario is Miami makes a couple of 1st downs and punts it back to Pitt with 3 minutes left. We have the ball down 1 point (w 3 time outs) and need only a FG to win. We also have the ball last and the game is in our hands. Narduzzi is practicing game day coaching malpractice with his ignorance! The definition of insanity…Narduzzi.

    Liked by 2 people

  308. I totally disagree Dan and HTP. You have to take the points and count on your defense.

    Was Narduzzi supposed to know that their 5 star freshman QB would come on to play lights out.

    Liked by 3 people

  310. — 7 dropped passes (5 on offense)

    — 2 interceptions

    — 2 more trips into the redzone and settling for FGs

    There you have it

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Yeah that is an SOP performance. Zeise summed it well today. Pitt is where they are as a program because they blow games like this. Period.

      Like

  311. I can hear you guys now if Narduzzi went for it and was stopped you would be saying what a dumb decision.
    You take the points and take the lead when you can. If they stopped us on fourth down they get all the momentum. Unfortunately we couldn’t make a first down to put them away.

    Liked by 2 people

  312. I would have liked them to give the ball to Carter on the third down play. He had the hot hand and was obviously miffed when they took him out and gave AJ the ball. Although AJ is more of the power guy, unfortunately he didn’t get it done.

    Liked by 1 person

  313. It is easy to second guess coaching decisions, but the responsibility for this loss was that the players execution was poor. You are not going to win with that many turnovers and dropped passes.

    Liked by 1 person

  314. It is always interesting to look at the box score, but what stands out is their first field goal and touchdown followed the two INTs. The first INT was a tipped ball but the second was inexplicable.

    Like

    1. Gasman, PLEASE look at all of college FB. The entire Coastal every week. You do know Miami beat UVa just 2 weeks ago? Wisconsin was a 30 point favorite last week. Even the elite occasionally … Oklahoma today, Clemson against Pitt back in’16. I can go on an on

      If you think Pitt is the only school that does this, you’re out of your mind

      Like

    1. How they only got two sacks against the third worst offensive line in the country is also a question.

      Like

  317. It’s impossible to beat a team with 33… 4 and 5 * players when you turn the ball over, commit stupid penalties and dropped passes. Clean it up Narduzzi!!

    Liked by 1 person

  320. It sure is easy to second guess some of these coaching decisions. 1st and goal at the two ft line at PSU and we call a play that moves the ball backwards. Up two or three scores against both UCF and Duke and we still leave the corners on an island making us vulnerable to successful long jump ball plays. Up big on Syracuse and we have our corners in press coverage on a 3rd and 25 play, yep called for holding on the bump. Now today, six plays run from inside the Miami 10 with no throws into the endzone. And, of course the capper, 3rd and 4 or 5 on our second to last possession and we run off tackle! That ball needed to be put in the air. Yes, the biggest factor in the loss was turnovers. But, if our coaches would have been more aggressive on offense today we had a good chance to win even with all of the mistakes on offense. So I agree, it’s easy to second guess the coaching this year. On a positive note, I love watching this defense play. They are talented and will keep us in every game this year.

    Like

  322. Yep. We win and UVA loses and we take sole possession of 1st in the Atlantic. Yeah! UVA LOSES!! Oops………

    Like

    1. That’s the dagger that hurts the most. But hey if the offense had just executed a little better on one or two plays. Game of inches.

      Like

    1. Agreed – no way, no how. Pitt will be 0 for the last 7 vs UNC on a lightly sprinkled Pittsburgh crowd on a Thursday night ESPN game.

      Like

  324. Turnovers, dropped passes and penalties killed PITT today. This song has been played way too often this year. Yeah, it’s now on the coaching staff and Narduzzi is at the forefront of it all!

    btw, I wouldn’t play Griffen-Stewert again if you held a gun to my head. Matthews with another important drop! Get it together gorilla arms!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. The coaches keep playing these receivers with the drops. They need to sit and let the next man up play.

      I thought for sure Kyi Wright would see the field today at TE.

      Instead the coaches pee’d in my Cheerios.

      Like

  325. My parents saw this game in person with my nieces. I need to pray harder next time.

    At least the POV has the tailgate. Thanks Fran for your hospitality. My parents enjoyed meeting and talking with you.

    Liked by 3 people

  326. Someone kindly explain to me why Kenny gives us a better chance to win.
    Admittedly, Kenny didn’t drop any passes, but many of his decisions were suspect if not downright terrible.
    And yes, Ike, Griffin-Stewart should never again be given the opportunity to catch anything but a cold.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. He has an incredible inability to put any arc on a touch pass. Led to his second int.

      Also, some QBs have small hands and are very affected by rain.

      Like

  327. Pitt clinches a 37th straight season with at least 3 losses.

    Brought to you by the one and only Poni

    Like

  328. Tough loss. Snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Next game can’t come soon enough. I agree that we should have gone for the TD and not settled for 3. H2P always!!!!

    Like

    1. I really don’t fault pn for the decision to kick. I do fault he coaches for crappy play calling to go three and out to force a crappy punt.

      Like

  329. We really don’t have a good offense…..to many weaknesses…. time to give Carrigan some playing time at TE….

    Like

  330. Golfed today and then came home to enjoy the DVR replay.

    OMFG!!!

    How my family allowed me to do that with knives and guns anywhere in the house. They must want to see me jailed. The big screen is new so that is the only reason it survived. I could have shot 18 straight hole in ones and it wouldn’t have been able to outweigh the slow motion abortion I just witnessed. Hell, I could have shot 18 straight holes in negative one and not counterbalanced this.

    Read many of the posts above but not sure anybody mentions that we just need to tackle and the somewhat horrible Miami kick game must execute to win it. They would have.

    I have so much more, but why.

    Liked by 3 people

  331. Tex, it was my pleasure meeting your parents. I have a very nice photo of them I can send you if you like.
    Text me at 724-309-4343 and I will send it.

    Like

    1. just texted
      my parents were a bit apprehensive but i highly encouraged them to stop by
      i told them they would be welcomed with open arms
      and you did not disappoint
      you da man and much more
      looking forward to meeting you and the rest of the posse next year
      H2P!
      Class of ’93

      Liked by 1 person

  332. I live in Central PA and have a young one at home. So I get to one game per year generally. Unfortunately this was the game. I lost my voice from yelling at that garbage.

    Like

    1. I can’t remember a more frustrating game in the last two years. Maybe last year’s Penn State or UNC game?

      Like

  334. Ran into Pat Bostick after the game as I was going to get my truck… Pat re-iterated what many have already said… “ we need to score touchdowns!”

    Liked by 1 person

  335. When one is a Pitt football fan, one needs to be a fatalist. That is the best tactic to take, that a good sense of humor. Unfortunately Pitt football continues to be several pieces away from being a good team. Receivers dropping balls, Pickett being Pickett, etc. Hopefully some day Pitt will finally get all the pieces in place. Our offensive line should be better next year assuming we have a replacement for our center. We need someone to play tight end that can actually catch the football. Until that time we will have to console ourselves with Pitt Volleyball, our improving soccer programs, and our improving basketball programs. This year Pitt football will be 7-5 which is still an improvement over my original 6-6 prediction. H2P!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Pickett will be a senior and Narduzzi will play him all year no matter how bad he stinks. Both KP & Duzz have job total security. Another season in the toilet is all but a lock….

      Like

  336. Many weren’t there today and many who were will never come back again. There is no hype for our program, piss poor advertising and only wins will get out the public….. and it’s been like this for 44 years.

    Like

  337. From the Trib:

    After Pitt took a 12-10 lead on Kessman’s 29-yard field goal with 7:19 left in the fourth quarter, Miami replaced Perry with freshman Jarren Williams.

    Williams led the Hurricanes on a late-fourth quarter touchdown drive, going 62 yards on nine plays.

    A freakin’ freshman. Yet Narduzzi let Pickett stink up the place for 60 minutes. At least throw in Patti for a series or two to shake things up some. I doubt Narduzzi will ever learn how to be an effective HC.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. He can’t learn because he doesn’t have the capacity to learn or understand. A lifetime assistant coach is he. His arrogance shouts out his shortcomings.

      Liked by 1 person

  338. And so I just heard from the rest of my Pitt Alums who attended the game and have finally sobered up.

    Evidently there were no programs today and no hot chocolate! What a small time operation Heather runs.

    No wonder we have to pay folks to attend.

    Liked by 1 person

  341. Pickett has a QB rating of 115.31 which is horrible. His yards per attempt is 6.0 and yards per completion is a poor 10.1. 8 TDs to 6 INTs, and one TD for every 36 attempts. That’s really not effective at all.

    Patti is at a 147.52 rating …ypa is 7.2 and ypc is 11.8. He’s at 3 TDs to 1NT and throws a TD every 13 passes.

    But Patti stinks apparently, at least King Pat seems to think so. But he’s not the only Pitt HC not to give backups their chances. That’s a trend among Pitt coaches.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. If Pickett gets benched he hits the portal next year and Pitt will only have two scholarship qb’s on the roster.

      Like

      1. I would not be too upset if Pickett left and got on with his life’s work. The portal taketh and the portal giveth. We also could get another recruit qb.

        Like

      2. I doubt he’s that much of a baby. He must know he can get benched during a game when he’s stinking up the place. We’re not not talking about a permanent move to back-up QB.

        Like

  342. I watched the game realtime today. First chance I’ve had to do that since Delaware so felt like joining in the negative fans that are in the majority here today.

    As I said, I still see us getting 7 wins, so more positive than some commenters.

    Liked by 1 person

  344. I’m still expecting 8 wins at least. (regular season) PITT should have won today but this game sucked. Coaching sucked and so did the players. Too may mistakes. PITT was the better team on the field today, just not on the scoreboard. < unfortunately. 🙂 Narduzzi has to do much better……….

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Too many repeat mistakes Dan, yesterdays game falls squarely on Narduzzi’s shoulders. I still think PITT wins the coastal division and gets a participation trophy plus 9 wins including a bowl victory.

        Like

  345. It’s not Heather’s fault there was no hot chocolate. That is Heinz Field operations. They don’t have enough concession stands open either. We really need a stadium that makes the football experience enjoyable. I’m hating Heinz Field more and more these days….

    Liked by 2 people

  346. Shabby game experience.
    Terrible game.
    Miserable product.
    I loathe the concept of ‘deserving more.’
    Nobody deserves pancreatic cancer or to be hit by a car.
    But the Pitt football faithful have given more and received less than any other fans….except for those of the Cleveland Browns.
    Maybe we were bad people in a previous life.
    That’s all I can figure.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m thankful to the good Lord that I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and grew up in a fun neighborhood. He could have put me in Haiti….

      Liked by 1 person

  347. I’m sure Coach Narduzzi and KP and the receivers are getting hammered in the comments above. This was Picketts worst game so far if only because of that awful decision to throw that pass off his backfoot into double coverage. He did make some nifty scrambles today, but we didn’t take advantage of them.

    We used some formations today with 3 receivers to one side, and I was perplexed to see TE No. 86 as the middle receiver. This was even before any critical drops. I presume he was there to potentially block on WR screens, but I’d rather see another WR out there.

    Miami does have a good defense – they are fast, and their LBs are tough. This was the first game this season where I thought the Pitt D was not the fastest unit on the field.

    Besides better hands on the receivers, we really need to find a more dynamic RB. There were plays where there seemed to be some space, but we still only get maybe 4 yards. I don’t see a burst or a long-run threat.

    I expect KP to bounce back from this performance. I don’t think Patti is the answer based on some of his passes in the Delaware game, but I would like to see him incorporated on some plays because he looks decently athletic.

    I will be depressed until at least Wednesday by this loss, even though it makes no sense to me that our roster should be able to beat their roster.

    Dang — we were so close.

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I really appreciate your insight into the details of the game, John. You see things that I would never notice. Thanks and keep it coming.

      I assume you anticipate your depression ending on Wednesday since that is the first Pitt basketball game of the season. Petersen Events Center here we come!

      Liked by 1 person

  349. And a great job, as usual, by Fran and Wolfe and other contributors at the tailgate today.

    (With awesome French Toast by Kim!)

    Go Pitt!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thanks for your kind words John…Wolfe carried the day with his culinary skills. Dude was cooking for 2 hours.
      Pretty sure the sun will come up in a few minutes and my angst will diminish.
      Looking forward to the NC game with Biggie and his NC posse along with the return of Iek!!

      Liked by 3 people

  350. I still expect 8 wins and THIS was a huge lost opportunity…mostly due to KP and secondly bonehead coaching on both the offense side’s second to last series and defense second to last series where they at least needed to force a FG attempt.

    Liked by 1 person

  351. 7 teams in the top 25 lost yesterday. Pitt was not one of them, but they still lost.

    The Panther’s blew this game, the chance to be ranked and attract fans for future games.

    Next home game attendance will probably clip 25k with an announced 35k due to season tickets already sold.

    Like

  352. I think this pretty much from says it all … David Hale, ESPN ACC writer
    @ADavidHaleJoint

    UNC is 12 pts away from being 8-0 & 10 points away from being 1-7.

    Wake is 3 pts from 7-0 & 14 from 2-5.

    FSU is 14 from 7-1 & 12 from 2-6.

    Pitt is 11 from 7-1 & 24 from 0-8.

    Miami is 21 from 8-0 & 17 from 1-7.

    VT is 7 from 6-1 & 16 from 2-5.

    BC is 5 from 6-2 & 21 from 2-6.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Good stuff wbb, shows why every game is a crapshoot, and again why Pitt was one big play away from a win.

      Like

    1. And Pitt VB swept Louisville today- 2 more sweeps for the week. They’ve still only lost 1 set in ACC play so far (30 out of 31 sets)! Two home games coming up this week- Vs. Wale Forest on Friday and Duke on Sunday!! Go support the ladies!! Tickets are only $3!!!

      Like

  355. I get the frustration, Pitt is a very flawed football team with a number of weaknesses. .

    But with a Coastal Division where pretty much anyone can beat anyone when the ball doesn’t bounce your way. Miami was lucky enough to jump on their own fumbles and we were not. Their D held us to field goals, but ours could not do the same.

    Their O-line, QB and receivers came through on their final drive. Ours did not, on our final two drives.

    Every game we have played, and every game we will play, will most likely be this way, down to the wire where the team that makes the play will win. The team that makes the most mistakes will lose.

    Liked by 2 people

  356. In defense of Pickett, he made one critical mistake yesterday on the second INT, the first was tipped.

    His receivers did not help him with 6 drops and a fumble. His line had him scrambling quite a bit.

    He probably made a few poor decisions, but he also picked up at least three first downs with his feet, one of them a big run.

    Miami has a quality defense and they needed a win worse than us.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I felt the same way. His 2nd interception which led to a TD was terrible. Double coverage and if you see a replay, you can see he was leaning backwards when he threw … reminiscent of some of my golf swings.

      But he recovered and played a pretty good 2nd half, and as you wrote, didn’t get much help from his receivers … especially his TEs.

      Like

      1. KP’s 1st INT that was tipped was also thrown into double coverage. Another bad decision amongst many yesterday (collective team effort).

        Like

  357. I saw Nordy at the concession stand… that was the low point of my day… som beech … are we still paying SmileySmugSteve???

    Like

  358. Another big factor is that Mack has had two poor games in a row. Seven catches for 41 yards and a fumble in the last two games from your best receiver is a problem.

    Like

  359. The lack of a quality tight end really hurts in the red zone. Along with not having a power back is a big reason we are settling for field goals. At least Kessman made all four so he is off the s&%t list for now.

    Like

  361. Mack got behind a defender on a deep ball that was slightly under thrown.. he had to turn around, the defender closed the gap- the ball was catchable but hit Mack’s face mask…might have been the 1st deep ball TD for KP this year( excluding trick play)
    We needed 1 TD to win that game or a couple of 1st downs when we were up 12-10….to kill the clock… didn’t happen…we almost beat a bunch of 4-5 stars with our lowly ranked team. Need more pieces on the O side…. TRUST the PROCESS!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. That’s a great post BigB. There are some who scoff or smirk at TRUST THE PROCESS. However, many of us who are supporters of TRUST THE PROCESS realize it is a work in progress and not a miracle cure or quick fix. We can see that the football program is trudging forward and making real progress. Sure, the MIA loss stings and yes, I feel we should have won, But, there are 4 games in the regular season to be played and Narduzzi will have his charges ready for all of them. So, today, although our heads are bloodied but not bowed we still TRUST THE PROCESS.

      Liked by 1 person

      3. Sorry, I don’t see real progress. I see a program that can’t beat crummy teams like Miami or North Carolina, or win a bowl game.

        Like

  362. Pitt’s kicking game is like my golf game.

    In the 1st half of the season, the kicker was bad but the punter was good. But, for whatever reason, it’s been quite the opposite the last 2 games

    Liked by 2 people

    1. The team lacked focus yesterday (coaches & players). The punter would be included in the “lost focus” category. Kessman on the other hand is focused because he must be on the hot seat for early season blunders.

      Anyway you look at yesterday’s game – bad performance, bad look on national TV, bad loss to a bad team, bad weather, bad attendance, bad coaching and a bad season momentum changer.

      On a positive note, my wife may have had her best day in the past 4+ months – and she did not watch one second of the Pitt game. Good for her – I wish I could say the same (the entertainment value of the miami game was a minus 9).

      Liked by 4 people

      1. I should clarify, other than the Pitt game, I too had a very good day.

        Thank you all for your thoughts & prayers for my wife’s health battle these past 4 months. We still have a long recovery ahead of us, but we are seeing positive progress.

        Liked by 5 people

  363. Hey guys, just back from a stint in England and am slowly getting caught up on all things Pitt.

    Haven’t been able to watch the last few weeks, but caught yesterdays game.

    Terrible. If you want to know how we were out-coached I will give you one perfect example. When Miami punted towards the end of the game, the ball landed on the 26 and was allowed to roll dead on the 6. There was a 15 yard penalty against Miami, which put the ball on the 21.

    Had FFrench fair caught the ball at the 26 and you add in the 15 yard penalty, Pitt is 1st and 10 at the 41. Three runs and we are punting from around the 50 and pin them deep in their zone. A different outcome results for sure. Our guy did that on punt returns at least twice in the second half, giving up valuable yards. Those are critical coached plays where our coaching was sub par. But it was big and NOT recognizable by the POV or attendees or the talk shows.

    I watched the 4th quarter twice. We are terrible. Please stop making excuses for poor tight end play and OL play, or QB play. We should have beat the other team and didn’t. Quit blaming a lack of Offensive coordinator, the weather and everything else. We are not good and have to be at our best to beat most teams. Today, we weren’t , again. When you look back at a season you can say what if…but unfortunately we have been saying what if for 40 years.

    This is never acceptable in business, but acceptable here and at Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. The BoT sure hasn’t been looking back and saying “What if.”

      If they cared Pitt never would have been hiring mostly assistant coaches since 1982.

      Yesterday stunk and was not shocking. I’m only shocked the coaches still keep putting #86 in the game. His drops have been just atrocious. All the drops by the receivers have been bad, but in #86’s case he has been wide open with no one around him.

      Next up a Tech team in transition.

      Like

    2. Huff — good point on that punt not being caught. I thought the same thing, but it wasn’t Ffrench out there as the punt returner. I think it was John Vardzel. I wondered if that was because Ffrench had an injury.

      Anyway, the punt went well over the punt returner’s head but he didn’t even attempt to retreat to catch it. If fact he ran to the side and forward signaling to everyone to stay away.

      Was peculiar. As you said, the roll resulted in a big change in field position. Maybe Pitt was concerned about another Paris Ford-type muff without Ffrench there — or a Ffrench-type muff for that matter…

      Ffrenchy had come off the field holding his arm at one point during the game. Perhaps this ties in with Ffrenchy’s big drop on the pass over the middle in our last possession??

      Go Pitt.

      Like

      1. Ffrench had something in his eye, which is why he wasn’t back there on that punt. Terrible decision by Vardzel to let the ball bounce. Had he caught it coupled with the 15-yard penalty on Miami then Pitt is looking at having the ball at the 40.

        Players have to step up when it matters and he must have been scared to fumble so he let the ball bounce.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Thanks, nate. Always more to the story than we know about…

          When it wasn’t Ffrench who went out as the punt returner, I remember thinking — how nervous must that guy be…

          As BigB has said – catching a punt isn’t as easy as these guys make it look…

          Go Pitt.

          Like

  365. One last thing that I learned today and thought was somewhat terrible that not one person is talking about today. Did anyone else hear that our head coach allowed our quarterback to interview and sign off on Whipple before he was hired? Who does that?? Tell me whether Saban, or Urb, or any other head coach allows his current player to interview and approve of an offensive coordinator!!!

    Only at Pitt. Pitt does this when we hire an athletic director!! The head football coach gets to interview and approve the hire of a non P-5 experienced AD and then that AD turns around and extends the head coach as a quid pro quo. Whipple stays with Pickett because of the same reason. Take the politics out of sports Pitt. This crap happens during kids sports, not big time college football.

    Pitt Admin is beyond terrible!

    Way to go Rachel!!!

    Like

  366. Well, I’m not the only guy watching and writing about Pitt football who looks past the first line of game stats…DiPaola does also.

    “The running game, while racking up 176 yards, was less effective than the stat sheet would indicate. Excluding a 33-yard wildcat run by Todd Sibley and a 30-yard Pickett scramble, the Panthers averaged 2.82 yards per rush. And situationally, well, Pitt’s ground game looked like it has for most of the 2019 season: Inept.”

    As of today after 2/3 of the games have been played we have done this on offense:

    119th passing yards per completion (ypc)
    115th scoring offense
    109th rushing offense
    101st passing efficiency (team)
    Etc…

    This is what I wrote about when warning about Whipple’s hire earlier. His successes were highlighted by his UMass conference weakness and very lopsided to big passing yardage but real passing inefficiency…along with terrible running teams.

    We are seeing that writ large this year and wasting a very efficient defense which is the best D we have seen since DW’s time onboard.

    We have two wins over P5 teams and sit at 2-3 with that so far. Duke was a quality win…SYR not so much. It will be an interesting down the stretch run for us.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think the stats are an indication of what you pointed out a while back … that the OL recruiting has been less than stellar under HCPN. And as I had been pointing out, HCPN is the antithesis of HCPC … one did pretty well on offense (other than QB); the other on defense.

      Whether Watson or Whipple, the bottom line is that Pitt can’t score TDs. They move the ball but all too often, it results in FGs. 3 times from the one vs PSU — nothing. 3 times yesterday, FGs after Pitt got to the 12, 7 and 1 yard lines respectively

      Like

  367. Truth is with stats, many look past it when convenient and around it when convenient and at part of it when convenient and throw out some that don’t fit when convenient….

    Like

  368. Huff. The lack of the fair catch was noticed in section 536 even by the tailgaters I sit with…judt not posted on this blog. Totallycagreecwith your points save one…don’t think anyone is in acceptance mode here at POV.
    The anger post game was palpable, even among the kinder, gentler of us.

    Liked by 1 person

  369. Let me give one simple explanation to the above statement.

    Doesn’t EVERY TEAM INCLUDE ALL RUNS BY EVERY PLAYER ON EVERY PLAY IN THEIR STATS TOTALS? I don’t give a F if the right guard breaks off a 99 yard run or the left tackle scores a 99 yard trickeration pass reception for 5 touchdowns. THEY ALL COUNT IN EVERY TEAM’S STATISTICS, NOT JUST FOR PITT. Stop with the statistics manipulation and then make the point.

    Pitt has enough flaws on their own for everyone’s point to be made without any “help”.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. You also can’t exclude a 30 yd scramble and still subtract 24 yds in sacks to make your point.

      This is like subtracting Hall’s big runs last year. Ridiculous.

      Like

  372. Here’s a thought… PITT wins out and finishes the season 11-3 ………… Whaaa?

    Miami with 12 first downs ……..Whaaa?

    Miami with 208 yards of total offense ……….Whaaa?

    PITT with 322 yards. C’mon Narduzzi!

    Like

  373. Firstly, I didn’t see any of yesterday’s game, so my comments are based on all of your comments and getting periodic game updates, and my son’s take on the game…in a word “AWFUL”.
    Numerous games this year the remark is made that drops cost Pitt the game. I kind of get that but drops are also part of the game and there are drops also in games that are won by Pitt and others. So to me general offensive strategy, game calling, i.e. COACHING are more responsible for this result than “dropped balls”.
    I’m sure after the game Minnie Diaz, like many of us, was quoting Dennis Green’s “They are who we thought they are” line.
    Finally, I’m still expecting Pitt to get 2-3 more wins this year, and by the laws of averages expect them to have one game where everything goes right and they throttle their opponent. We shall see.

    Like

    1. Mark — you’re correct that drops are part of the game, but I don’t recall a team having drops anywhere near the number this team has had. One or two a game is the usual, but 4 or 5 per game is a killer.

      And it’s not just that we are dropping throws that are on target, in yesterday’s game we made no exceptional catches. At least I can’t remember one.

      These shortcomings play a big role in the game, IMHO. If we catch just two of the at least 5 drops, then our offense holds the ball longer, our defense is on the field less time, and the number of Miami possessions could easily be one less…

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 2 people

  374. So what can pitt do about it. Their offense that is. If I were king Pat for a day, I’d make a few changes.

    1) I’d replace Kenny with Patti
    2) I’d replace the running backs. Find a frosh on the team and give him the rock or convert one of those fast receivers. We need speed.
    3) go to a vertical passing game. Kill this west coast short passing crap.
    4) eliminate the tight end position. Go with an extra tackle or extra back. Pitts tight ends are worthless. Can’t block or catch

    These are desperate times. With some luck, Pitt can still win the Coastal. It needs to run the table and win some tie breakers. But I believe.

    Like

    1. Duzz don’t like change. We will see the same old, same old with the personnel who logged the most minutes this season.

      In the HC’s mind, we almost won and that is good enough for Duzz and Ike.

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  375. I may not replace Pickett but I’d split the first string practice snaps and let Pickett know that he needs to perform or will be replaced.

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  376. Well
    As I told Fran after the game I expected this result. I was thinking this morning that if the game times were reversed and VA played at noon we really would have pulled a Pitt special.
    Win control the coastal, get in top 25, go on the road against a rebuilding team and follow on national TV the next week.
    They gave the chance to be nationally relevant away today. It happens year after year. The 3 and out Wanny ball (wife told me that at game in real time). Then the 30 year old punter kicks it 27 yards.
    The fake injury to the Miami player helped too. The good old boys added back 10 seconds!
    If anybody here thinks the Miami kicker would have missed is not a real Pitt fan.
    He would have hit it right down the middle from 50 for his first kick over 30 yards in his career.
    Rick glad to hear things are improving for you.
    KMAN

    Liked by 6 people

  378. Couple thoughts:

    —The long FG by Kessman was really impressive. There was a strong wind coming across the field at the time, but he hit that ball so well that it never moved at all…

    —Would love to have seen what would have happened if Ffrench catches that pass over the middle at the end of the game. He was in full stride – who knows how far he might have gone,,,

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  380. Turnovers are the killer. Otherwise we win the game.

    Ford came very close to two INT’s, Jones forced a sack fumble and they fumbled on the goal line, they snatched up both of them.

    They scored on both INT”s.

    Does anyone have a total count of Tight End drops this year? that has been a real killer.
    Otherwise, I would say the drops are pretty normal, but when added to the tight ends….

    I actually thought the crowd was pretty good on a rainy day, fair weather fans….

    The refs did a better job, although what was different about the targeting call and the Paris Ford call?

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    1. I was shocked that they overturned the targeting call. The tackler led with his helmet and hit our guy in the head.

      I guess I don’t understand the rule. Apparently it’s different for a receiver versus a receiver who turns into a runner???

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  381. I’m just sick and tired of PITT not putting a complete game together. I keep recording these games but I never re-watch them they make me so sick and tired. Put the players in that can catch a dam football. What about Cam O’Neil?

    Liked by 1 person

  382. With the exception of the INT on Miami’s 17, and the penalty to the 35 Pitt started all of its drives deep in their own end. Once on the 6 and twice on the 9. Pitt lost the game of field position. Our punter didn’t help either.

    It is a lot easier to score on a short field.

    Liked by 2 people

  383. —Yesterday, my son and I had the chance to go down on the field before the game. This is a fun experience that Pitt needs to market to its fans…

    —At one point, OT Ulizio came up to one of the grad assistants, put his hands on the guy’s shoulders, and let out about an 8 second primal scream. It was great. Gave me a totally different impression of Ulizio. 😊

    —But the highlight for me was talking to four members of the women’s basketball team. They couldn’t have been nicer or more engaging to talk to. I think they were surprised/shocked that I recognized them as being Pitt BB players. Said hello to Coach White too and congratulated him on a recent new commitment he received.

    —Cool to be down there when the players come running out of the tunnel….

    —I really appreciate that Pitt allows former lettermen (who have paid their Varsity Letter Club dues) to do this. Sam Clancy led us into the stadium. Had a chance to say hello to Walt Harris, one of my favorites, too.

    —Still bummed about the game though….

    Hail to Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

  384. The refs weren’t bad but did anyone notice the head officials southern draw? BTW, that targeting call that was overturned was pretty much what Ford did the previous week.

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  385. Hungry players catch balls. Dreamers drop balls. Dreamers try to force passes resulting in interceptions. Wrong pre-game psyche for this team. Time to go back to pre-Penn State game mentality.

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  386. Looking back on this game, something I really don’t like to do but in hindsight. All PITT had to do was play a clean game. PITT had 3 turnovers to Miami’s 1 and 7 penalties to 3 or 4. Drop passes are a part of football but when it becomes an epidemic like it has, changes should be automatic.

    This game slipped right through Narduzzi’s fingers…… and no, I don’t blame him for kicking the field goal. Having Varsdel back who doesn’t catch that last punt, (terrible) and whatever Christodolou was just plain awful though!

    As much as I like Andre Powell I think PITT needs to bring in another special teams coach. PITT also needs another big-time running back. How do you like Hall now?

    I’m more upset now than after the game yesterday.

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  388. I rewatched yesterday’s debacle sans scotch and after church. I have a theory on the drops.

    When I was a sophomore football player at Baldwin, Bob Longo (former Pitt star) came to visit us receivers at summer camp. I was learning the split end position.

    We had a senior QB named Jerry Brukas who used to break our hands throwing hot 10 yard look in passes as hard as he could. Bob commented that it doesn’t matter how hard a QB throws the ball if the nose is up, it’s very catchable.

    I watched Pickett’s throws yesterday all with great velocity all nose down. The next throw he makes with any arc or touch on it will be his first. He throws nose down bullets.

    Last but not least, how many Sunday’s like this have we Pitt Fans had? Misery and what could have beens! Will it ever end? When’s the last time Pitt had a game like Michigan had last night routing Notre Dame? Seems like it’s been forever.

    Liked by 1 person

    2. I have no reason to doubt this nose down difficult to catch theory but it sounds kinda odd. So, KP is screwed from the get go and probably shouldn’t be a D-1 QB? or he should just go straight to the pros where the receivers can actually catch most everything?

      Either way, I have no doubt that this coaching staff is way too dumb to both know and/or fix this. For God’s sake, this comes under the minutia of detail that is far more precise than dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. We are screwed if we need to fix things down to this level.

      Hey, anyone know if the MIT football coach is available? 😉

      Kidding a bit Dan,,,,btw, I still don’t have my new house address and set of keys. 🙂

      Like

      1. Hang in there TVax1. Pitt Football is a bad enough downer most weeks but you add personal problems to it, it can be overwhelming. I suggest 1-2 glasses of scotch a day as a cure!

        Liked by 1 person

    3. Dan — I agree that KP needs to learn “touch” and putting some air under the ball. But the nose down / nose up thing makes no sense to me.

      All good QBs throw passes that turns nose-down after they reach the apex. If it doesn’t, the ball will flutter and lose velocity.

      Actually, I noticed that Patti threw some balls that fluttered in the Delaware game – something he needs to work on…

      I’m no QB guru, just stating my opinion…

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  389. I’m still ticked off about yesterday’s game, with just a few additional comments: There is no excuse for not having a power fullback for the one yard situations. After the George Aston years, where it was obvious that even a walk on FB can be a game changer, why haven’t they made this a priority? Second, why is it so hard to get a decent TE? I watched some MAC teams recently, and even the MAC gets decent TEs who can block and catch. They can’t be that hard to recruit. Instead we get stone hands cast offs like #86.

    As for Pickett, it appears he is a slightly above average QB who on good days can get it done, but cannot do well against teams with strong DLs and good pass rushes. I wonder if there is a stat that calculates the average time available to throw over a season. He still gets trapped too many times in a collapsing pocket and forces a throw instead of dumping off to a RB or WR in the flat.

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  390. **Just some of the recruits visiting today. Alan Saunders it’s the most recruits he’s see visit this year.

    CJ Dippre – Lakeland High (Pa)
    Johnny Crise – Highlands
    Ta’Mere Robinson & Kevin Smith – Brashear
    Jack Flowers – Upper Arlington
    Kyler Barnett – Coventry
    Luke Bauer – Archbishop Hoban
    Ryan Hallan & Nijal Mooney Roger – Bacon HS
    Brian Shane & Matthew See – Archbishop Alter
    Tyler Hill Seton – LaSalle
    Ethan Carr – Penn-Trafford
    Marques Watson-Trent – Blackhawk
    Levi Wentz – Pine-Richland
    Jalen Carter, – New Jersey

    There goes those guys….

    https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2019/10/26/twitter-reaction-to-pitts-disappointing-loss-to-miami/

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  391. Wheeler looks like a wasted player on the field, he’s not getting what he’s in there to do (BLOCK!).. Griffen-Stewert needs sat down as well. At this point PITT, needs to spread the field out. I also would look at Daniel Carter at RB and other receivers.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Kyi Wright should have seen the field at TE yesterday. At least try something new if the others aren’t able to catch the ball.

      Liked by 1 person

  392. Pitt favored by 9 vs GTech – the Jackets scored 2 TD’s vs Miami in Miami.

    I think my money will be on the Rambling Wreck – and no that is not Pitt’s new nickname – lol.

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  393. I think Pitt needs to change its recruiting philosophies— and likely the associated coaches in a couple of areas.

    —One is Running backs. We have gotten these 4-star guys, but none of them bring a burst or elusiveness. I’d take Miami’s guy Harris, who I think is a backup, in a second. Maybe it’s changing, and hopefully they can hang on to Parrish, but get more guys with some wiggle.

    —Obviously TE. We recruit these guys who might turn into OTs. Well, they’re nice and tall but too slow to play TE. We need to recruit some pass-catching TEs and work on their blocking, versus the other way around. Tim Salem seems like a tireless recruiter, but we are not seeing results.

    —I think we have changed the type of OLinemen we recruit since Peterson left, especially OTs. Takes a while to see them though…

    Go Pitt.

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  394. Pitt FB trivia:

    It was 40 years ago this weekend that freshman Dan Marino took over as Pitt’s QB after Rick Trocano went down with a leg injury.

    It was the 7th game of the season. Marino stepped in and led Pitt past Navy, stopping a Navy winning streak…

    Think about that – Jackie Sherrill had a future Hall-of-Famer on the bench and only went with him as the starter after 7 games when Trocano was injured…

    Hail to Pitt.

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      1. I’m not so sure he does, his mechanics seem odd, see if you can find some video on him and watch, I’m not sold on him or Pickett.

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    1. Now that is a good stat. Plays into short field & average starting field position. One of 5 key indicators that Bill Connelly (used to be at the SBNation college football site & now at ESPN) used in analyzing weekly college games.

      Is there a site you got this data from or did use look at old game recaps?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Taken from PittsburghPanthers.com Game stats.
        Also indicates our scoring drives take more plays and a long field. Lack of big plays give more opportunities for the turnovers IMO

        Liked by 1 person

  396. I see where Pitt Women Volleyball beat Louisville today moving their record to 21-1.

    Ho-hum…

    (Annie pleased!)

    Go Pitt.

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  397. Pitt volleyball has a chance to be the highest ranked ACC volleyball team EVER after the poll tomorrow. Both number 1 Baylor and number 2 Stanford lost this weekend. Stanford has multiple loses and should fall below Pitt. Baylor got swept by Texas but only has one loss. There is an outside possibility that Texas could jump over Pitt as the ACC is and is seen as a weak conference.

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  398. Thought about this during the game but why is it that opposing QB’s when flushed out of the pocket which happened a bunch yesterday and last week almost always manages to throw the ball away while KP has far too often run the ball out of bounds for a 3 to 5 yard loss? Throw the damn ball out of bounds or at someone’s feet!!! or for that matter, just try to drill it to the opposing team,,,,they’ll never catch your uncatchable ball. LOL!!!

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    1. When your QB Pickett plays like a scared little girl, he does stupid things as he did all day yesterday!

      Tough … my ass!

      Like

  399. Ah oh, looks like were are starting the infamous refrain of…… put in the back-up QB… It’s not like Nick Patti was a 5* QB recruit and also a high round baseball draft pick by the KC Royals. I’ll wait and see how the next two games play out.

    The tie breaker system in the ACC will come into play when it’s all said and done. and I still think PITT can give Clemson a run for their money.

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  400. Did anyone mention that Pickett Tinoed as he scrambled out of bounds for a 4 yard loss instead of chucking it out of bounds and landing it in the POV tailgate area? All of these small things make for a big loss.

    Mack looked miniscule yesterday. Another transfer that has been promised playing time, like Ulizio and the rutgers transfer. Why coach, why? Why are you making deals with 20 year old kids? Why did you let an 18 year old Pickett interview and have a say in the hiring of your offensive coordinator? Why hasn’t Pickett been benched is because Whipple owes Pickett for getting him hired…..kind of like the head coach getting the AD hired.

    Good grief!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yea there were a couple of times he should have thrown it away. One of them was an int. Trying to do too much. He’d be 20% better if he played within himself. I guess that’s the difference between 117 and 90…

      Like

    2. Firstly, yes. Stupido KP.
      Secondly, how do you know about these “deals”?
      Thirdly, you must have missed how the Whip yelled at KP earlier in the season. Doesn’t quite fit that narrative.

      Both good and bad grief!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I have been very frustrated and venting as well. But I just wonder why you follow Pitt football only to make your presence felt when things go bad? Pitt has had an encouraging season. Yesterday was devastatingly bad. I just wonder why some even follow pit if they’re only going to show up when things go bad and complain.

        Liked by 4 people

        1. And losses like this are nothing new for this program as we all know. That is why I was expecting a loss because pitt has been losing games like that for 30+ years .

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          1. What’s somewhat encouraging to me, looking at the big picture, is that Pitt has also lost games like UCF, Delaware, Duke, and Syracuse in those 30+ years, but somehow we came back and won those games this season…

            It was our opponents who looked like SOP in those games…

            Go Pitt.

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  402. But whoever said it was correct. If Pickett just doesn’t throw those interceptions in the first half we win the game. Period. I still say we could have one out if we saw good Kenny the rest of the way and yesterday we didn’t have good Kenny.

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  403. @tvax – if you dvr’d the game, the announcers clearly stated those things. Thanks for attacking instead of reading my original post on it where I explained what I heard on national tv. Re-watch the entire thing if you can stand it.

    I don’t come and go. I have been in England and haven’t watched for about three weeks. Everyone on here knows that I pick Pitt to win every game. Always have. In fact, I make up weird scenarios most of the time as to how they can win certain games (i.e. dairy high).

    If you tell me I’m wrong about my observations, we can quibble about it for sure and I welcome that because I tend to go back to just the facts. Believe me, I want them to go 14-0 every year and will always type that I want them to go 1-0 each saturday, but you all get very defensive and make excuses too much that just aren’t acceptable in the real world, just here.

    There is nothing provable in saying that an interception in the first quarter cost us the game. That is hogwash. One play does not cost a team a game. In fact, every play that is made or conversely not made, impacts the next play, which in turn impacts the next, etc. After the interception, had our D caused a fumble and recovered it, what would be the narrative? It surely wouldn’t mean we would have won, or lost. You can’t play what ifs fellas. You just can’t. You can only opine based on what really happened, not what ifs.

    Miami might be saying that they would have blown us out if they would have made the qb change in the first quarter. Would they be wrong? Cant play woulda coulda shoulda in any other place but on a blog.

    Well, if we didnt have a te transfer from rutgers yadda yadda yadda. We do! We have to deal with it and the coaches have to figure it out. If they do, great. If they don’t great. Pitt hasn’t figured it out in 35 years. Don’t blame me for saying that, blame Pitt for being that.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Huff …we are all pissed off and you,as you’ve stated have been gone. I put this loss just outside the top 10 worst losses of all time for Pitt. It had everything to annoy even the most optimistic Pitt fan (Ike?). The stakes were enormous. Pitt was the better team on the field most of the day and easily won the stats. Errors, misjudgments, worst QB play since PSU a year ago, horrible coaching decisions, rain etc this game had it all. Our punter even forgot how to punt! It was utterly maddening and still is today. There’s not a Pitt fan out there who doesn’t think this is the beginning of the end this year. I’ve talked to five who say they’re not sure Pitt will win another game this year. So lighten up a bit on TVax1.

      Liked by 1 person

  404. Attacking? No, it is called questioning.

    I am familiar with your posts here, I like and agree with much.

    I did dvr the game and promptly deleted. Without trying to find it, I have yet to hear announcers with anything much more than hot air filling the otherwise down time to avoid dead air. I would never rely on their “inside information or insights”. I am surprised YOU would.

    If this seemed like an attack, it is not. If you post here, maybe a response or question should be expected if you are posting inside info and facts rather than opinion.

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  406. Hold on my friend Dan, this last game hurt like hell and really did piss me off but I’ve bounced back and figure PITT wins out the rest of the season. 🙂 It’s all I got.

    Eli The Lucky ran out of luck. He drops to 4-1. I could sense he just wasn’t focused. He’s been going through the terrible two’s, as in months. I’ll get him game ready for GT!

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  408. Growing up, and now living, in central PA, I always hated poopy pants. Phoney Joe.
    But he was always prepared. And he seemed to always pull out a victory when defeat was inevitable.
    That’s called preemptive thinking.
    What do I do in this situation, that situation?
    Do we have a coach who does that? You decide.
    ‘Trust the process’ but this is year five. How much do I need to trust before I say SOP?

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  409. We long suffering Pitt fans all deserve better. Hell, I experienced the worst period of Pitt football as a young adult. Growing up a young kid, I saw the best. You should pray for us Gen Xers. Any Xer still supporting this program should be on the fast track to sainthoood. Particularly the alums like myself.

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  411. I’m not that broken over this loss. It didn’t come down to a single play. I’m surprised at those who wanted to go for the TD on 4th down. Imagine the meltdown of those calling for his head once Miami’s talent stepped up to stopped the ball to win 10-9. This wasn’t Ohio. Narduzzi would have been run out of town. Pitt knocked out their starting QB who avoided sacks with his legs, the next guy with no legs peels off a long slow run, and an ankle tackle still would have left them a minute to score. This team had enough to win, we just needed not to screw it up but we didn’t know it until the end of the game. ACC nation didn’t want to see Pitt vs Clemson again anyway. The refs would have protected the ACC’s only playoff contender and then what’s the point. A different whipping boy plays better, although this defense could have given Clemson fits.

    The pressure is now off. They just need to take it one game at a time the rest of the way.

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