Monkey’s on our back…

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.

584 thoughts on “UNC at Pitt Open Game Thread”

  2. Should be a good game, Ike. Special teams could be the difference. Pitt’s return game is not good but the fg and even punt units must have a good game to win. Now for the kick off…

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  3. Looks like Sibley and Ffrench are not dressed(from the Lair) for the game. Well I guess that will cut down on passes behind the line of scrimmage that Ffrench always gets.

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  5. Ok. Nobody within 20 miles of me in my seats..but the give-away gloves seem popular!!

    Defense does their job as always.

    Come on Kenny!

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  10. Two dropped passes on that drive. Although the one to Wayne should have had a touch more air under it

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  13. Another game…another targeting call. It was a boneheaded play by watts.

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  16. Another dumb penalty. How stupid are these guys? He possible could be ejected from a blow to the head IMO.

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      1. No not a bad call. I’d say this was the most egregious targeting we’ve committed all year. I think it was a make up call for a couple of bad targeting calls earlier. Just my opinion

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  22. Well a NC touch down and it would have been pass interference if he didn’t catch it. Pitt will be called for at least 8 pass interference calls this game they way Howell throws it and how our CB’s play it.

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  23. Justice is right. They deserved that TD.

    This team has no discipline or accountability. If they win, it will be in talent (??) Not coaching.

    Help me Ike??

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  24. We have not changed anything about what our corners do over the season. No adjustments by of defensive coaches to make that pass interference call less likely.

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  40. Good call to go for it. Lack of talent and testicular fortitude is our problem.

    This offense sucks and we are stuck with what we are. D1 pP5 defense and an offense that doesn’t scare Gannon or Cal….

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  43. This offense STINKS. I believe in Whipple. Sadly, it’s the players who can’t catch or throw. Defense remains undisciplined and plays so incredibly stupid at times.

    Let’s see how many more pass interferences targeting calls and drops on offense they get.

    Total Pass interference calls on Pitt over/under 3.5 ( have one already )
    Total Targeting calls over/under 1.5 ( got one out of the way already)
    Drops over under 5

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    1. I’ll play

      PI – over
      Targeting – under
      Drops – over. It’s cold out there

      I’ll add one. Sacks 2.5

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        1. Head to head at very high speed. I’ll rewind and revise my call if I see different

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      1. What does that even mean? So what ur saying is the refs get together before the game and hey, let’s give unc some calls. Wink wink. Sorry, that’s a bit conspiratorial.

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  56. Many receivers do not use their hands to catch the ball. Mack almost never.

    TOTALLY WRONG REVERSAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    F!!!!!!!!!!!!! REPLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    1. Bahhahaaa not a fan of their yinzer banter? I’m grinning from ear to ear

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  63. Pickett playing well and our passing game should be available all game long if we keep the pressure on. I think we will have to because NC can score quickly with their WR’s.

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    1. Clear your cache to the beginning of time . And send a nasty note to WordPress

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    2. Actually if you have a phone use the WordPress app. I’ve had zero issues with it

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  65. I have been following Pitt football for more than 60 years and the call to cancel Shockey’s
    catch should go into the Bull Shite Hall of Fame.

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  66. On the bright side Kenny has put the appropriate amount of air under not one but two passes so far

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    1. 3rd and 21…

      Get a look at formation and protection. Force them to change the call. Stop em here and we got all the momentum. I like it

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  78. We all have been calling for Shocky to stretch the field all season long. Other than a much slower Mack and a much shorter Ffrench we haven’t showed much on the long pass.

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    1. Their players are stronger than ours. Or want it more. That’s been my opinion all game

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  83. Shocky just thumbed his nose at the refs for that last rip-off reversal. Thank god he didn’t break his ankle sliding into the wall!

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    1. Well we are going to need more than a 7 point lead at the half to win this game

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  89. No reason to stop throwing the long ball to Shocky and Mack now. That should also open up the intermediate throws because their safeties have to watch for the long pass.

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    1. He also didn’t follow his blockers. Talented and yet undisciplined. Sound familiar?

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  96. It is just me or does the head ref sound like he has a slight suburban Philly accent ?

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  103. There seems to be some pretty good confidence by these guys. They have bought into the scheme on both sides of the ball.

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  116. Pickett should have run it on 3rd down. He would’ve walked in. Then bad Kessman shows up.

    This Team cannot get out of its own way

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  121. Wow…..this is unreal. Freezing my butt off watching us hand the game on a silver platter….to a team from NC that doesn’t want to even be here. Absolutely no killer instinct.

    The players WILL win this game despite the inept coaching.

    Should be 31-7 if my 8th grade O coordinater was coaching….

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  122. That low snap could be the best defensive play we’ve made on this drive

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  132. If his eyes were on the WR it was targetting. His eyes were clearly on the ball the whole time

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  137. At least justice was served on that int. This one is going to come down the wire. As usual

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  140. Weird plays like the one on Hamlin are why we seem to lose against these guys every year. That was just bs.

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  143. Doesn’t the word targeting in football mean you are or were targeting a player on purpose. Hamlin was playing football all the way. I may have to revert to rooting for the PITT badminton team?

    Can’t believe how many text messages I received the first half complaining about coaching.

    Let’s see if PITT can actually score points in the second half of a football game?

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    1. Not sure why? Except for a missed fg, I thought the coaching has been pretty solid. I don’t like passing from the shotgun on 4 and 1.

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  144. I have said for a long time targeting is a bullscat rule. It takes no consideration of the O guy lowering his head and using his helmet as a weapon. When he does that, doesn’t mean he’s defenseless; he’s attacking with his head, and HE should be called for targeting.

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  146. There are points to be scored against UNC. We should have a lot more already. The offense will need to step up to win as UNC will take advantage of Hallet in the second half

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    1. I think it will be stocker (he played the whole GT game) … but yes they will go after him.

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    1. I’m perfectly fine with a Pickett 50% completion percentage if he continues to avoid interceptions

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  149. I was good with hamlin getting tossed. He started to go for the catch and then he switched his target to the hit in my opinion. At first i thought it was bull butter, but after watching it a few times, yu can tell he shifts from receiver to hitter.

    The missed chip shot field goal and the 4th and 3 fail instead of a field goal, might hurt us.

    I don’t know about yu guys, but i thought we dominated the first half….only to be up by a TD.

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  151. Question. Did we win the coin toss? (had to put the kids to bed so missed the kickoff)

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    1. He made up for it by taking out the pulling o lineman on that third down stop so that bright could make the tackle. Selfless play that will never go into the star book.

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  167. Pitt will need multiple score this half to win this game. Howell will beat us on their long passes if we don’t get some points.

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  184. Pitt alert 🚨 🚨
    Now is the time you have hope and all of the sudden the defense or special teams gives up a terrible easy score to keep it close.

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    1. Or (I can’t believe I am saying this) the decision not to kick on 4th and goal from the 3…

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  195. Another Pitt defensive TO. I’m not sure these have paid out for Pitt in the past. Let’s hope this time is different.

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  196. Sorry…my hands are freezimg and I was busy watching the Dance Team!…

    Ugly but a win. Can’t complain and i liked how the O line played.

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  199. 3 sacks through 3 quarters. We are undefeated under Nardduzi when we sack the QB 5 times or more per game.

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  209. Pitt will need another TD now. At the very least another FG. I’m sure Whipple and Narduzzi realizes by now going conservative is not an option. But who can tell what they are thinking based on past history.

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  210. remember … we all expected this. We all expected this. Remain calm people. Three and out or turnover coming up next

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  239. So you’re up by 7 In 4th Q and Davis is really starting to establish the run. What do you do – pass on 1st and 2nd down. I don’t get it

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    1. Yea we can beat 7 in the box all night long on the ground. Whip needs to realize that.

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  240. Momentum all going for NC now and Howell has the long pass available to him anytime he wants it would seem. Not having Hamlin can’t have been made that amount of difference could it?

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    1. Agree. I don’t thing that fg will be enough, unless the d line wakes up

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    2. But it’s better than zero points.

      Missed field goal looms large here. If we were up three he might have gone for it

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  254. Twyman time! 4 sacks for pitt. Need one more… Jones was tackled no flag

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  287. As i freeze in the stands by myself…

    Anyone diageee that Duzz is a moron, a ‘limp” head coach who leads his men to mediocrity and “I hope we win” play???

    If not, you are blind or are not paying attention…s

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    1. Also the decision on 4th and goal from the three. Pat has the worst inside-the-five karma in the FBS

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  292. Why is Pitt running back that kick off? A fumble on that play would have killed us.—-In OT Pitt must try to score TD’s on every series. FG’s won’t get it done.

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  313. Who is the idiot that gave Pat Narduzzi a timeout to use on a defensive 4th and 4. This has only worked once…

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  335. WR was wide open in the end zone on that play for NC. I think the pressure got to Howell slightly on that last play.—-Now a huge game coming up for Pitt at VT next weekend.

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  338. Kenny Pickett outplayed Sam Howell. Carried the offense and led his third game winning drive of the season. He may not be Dan Marino but damn he sure has show up clutch.

    359 yards passing. 1 TD. 0 INT. 8.8 YPA. 12 Rushes 53 yards. 2 Rush TD.

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  342. When we lost the OT coin toss, I thought it was OVER. When we got the penalty on 2nd and 9 to make it 2nd and 14, I would have bet my life we were finished.

    MONKEY BLOWN UP by KP and a good team effort.

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  344. I know the defense disappointed today. But is it possible the offense finally woke up? They looked much better tonight.

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  346. Hey, whats so fun when your team wins 76-0? That was a fun game made better by the big win at the end. Kudos to the POVer’s that brought home this win!

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    1. not fun, not at all
      Syracuse game 3? years ago was a joyous circus/comedy act, this was a multi-car wreck at a car race with Pintos and Gremlins where at least nobody died and your AMC automobile crossed the finish line first.
      🙂

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  348. Game was only fun cause we won. Giving up a 14 point lead in a blink was not fun. Freezing weather was no fun. Long plays were a lot of fun. Not going for early fg was no fun. Missing another chip shot was no fun. Taking TOs on d with no results was not fun.
    Bottom line, it was a football game with lots, and I mean lots of ups and downs. Winning was great, but undisciplined, sloppy play needs to be called out. Give credit for great plays, but boneheaded plays…….well, that is another story.

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  349. Kenny was superb.
    Pitt’s defense held up in the end when it counted the most.

    Myles Garrett tried to kill Mason Rudolph tonight. Garrett should be charged with assult with a deadly weapon.

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  351. Well, I am thankful the kid overthrew receivers that were wide open at least 3 times, or the paramedics would have been involved. Good night and God bless all.

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  352. Great win by these kids.

    What a nerve-wracking game. Whipple still drives me crazy with his calls. Third and 2 and he throws then Kess misses a chippy. Run in twice in heavy set or set Kess up in the middle of the field in the run its stuffed.

    Kenny was terrific tonight and Shockey and Wayne made me feel better about the WR position in 2020.

    Safety depth is terrible and that is unacceptable in year five.

    Love Narduzzi’s shot at the refs in his presser. Those Tobacco Road officials sure are jagoffs.

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    1. Agree on the safety depth. Someone needs to step up bigtime in the offseason

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  353. Another nail biter is in the books. Many thanks to Fran, et al for another awesome tailgate. Fran, we’re 3 for 3 with the victory cigars.

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  355. 1:29 am. Got home 20 minutes ago from Heinz. Read the POV posts from the game. Trust me, it was just as nerve wracking in person. Kenny is a gamer. If he had receivers who didn’t consistently have the drops, he’d be even better. Defense didn’t play their best tonight, particularly the secondary. But I’ll take the win. Bring on the Hokies!

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  356. Just back from the game sucking down a JOhnny Black in my hotel room..Got to meet the POV elite including the lovely and beautiful Annie. Great to see Rick and Rachel! Nice conversation with my college idol Dave …. thank you Ohhowihate! My seat was 24 rows up on the 40 yard line and I witnessed at least 14 uncalled holds on UNC. This ACC officiating vs north teams has got to stop. It was the single worst officiated game at Pitt I’ve ever watched. All one way!

    It was very cold!!

    I wouldn’t have given you a plug nickel for our chances late 4th quarter. Narduzzi made some of the most questionable game management calls ever. Just shook my head in disbelief.

    The curse is over….H2P

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    1. Dan — seems like the last Pitt game is the worst officiated game we’ve ever seen —— until you see the next Pitt game… 🤔

      Go Pitt.

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  358. Great job by the coaches and players. That’s a really good win by pitt. Pn has the team playing hard. That’s s great sign.

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  359. It was good to be back in the burg last night with Mrs. Erie – she enjoyed the tailgating festivities – the numbers at Fran’s tailgate had a far higher ratio of attendees than the Heinz seats.

    Estimated at 60+ and those who welcomed Mrs. Erie back could not have done it any better than they did.

    To top it off, KP picked up the D on their off night.

    H2P!

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  360. The horrific ending in the Steelers game is overshadowing Pitt’s win today locally …. not that it wouldn’t normally happen. But nothing belies the fact that by all accounts, the college game last night was far superior to the pro game. Just another NFL dud against pure entertainment (even though Pitt fans once again were on the edge of their seats)

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  361. VaTech will be a hostile environment with it being DC Bud Foster’s last home game.

    But these Panthers know what hostile, cult-lyke environments can be as they played well enough to beat the nits in creepy valley. The coaches on the other hand…

    I’ll leave that for another day.

    Was it 3 time outs when our D was going for a crucial stop or 4?

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  362. I lost count on the defensive TO’s. What worse I think we only stopped them once from getting that first after we called a TO. And in the case we stopped them they gained 16 of the needed 21 yards.—-How about the last play by NC in OT. What was it 4th and 16 from the 17 yard line? We play man coverage and #5 beats our DB across the field by at least 5 yards. It was only the pressure from Alexandre on Howell that kept that pass from being a TD. If you zone across the field with your 3 safeties at the goal line you at least have someone in place for any pass.

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    2. Or QB Howell throws the ball over #5’s head?

      The point being, the DL got the right pressure and Pitt won.

      WE DID NOT LOSE THE GAME BECAUSE #5 WAS OPEN!

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  363. Nateb mentioned PN in the post presser. Solid jab but he could have included we beat “everyone on the field and one in a booth somewhere”

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  364. I know you don’t want to hear this but when it comes to announcers … just remember your bias

    Dr Jerry Punch, the original sideline reporter, tells of the time he was doing the Mich – OSU game in Columbus, and he had to drive to Detroit right after the game. He listened to the ;post-game comments from Columbus radio in the first hour but then listed to Detroit radio in the 2nd half of his trip …. and laughed how both fan bases claimed how the TV announcers were biased against their teams.

    We have a tendency to focus on everything they say we don’t like much more than when they say good things

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    1. While that is true in the rest of the civilized world, I’ve been reading this Pitt blog for years. We are the most one-sided, critical of self, subjective leaning in favor of OPPONENTS, self-loathing, etc. fan base on earth….with a few exceptions.

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      1. can’t argue there …. all you have to do is look at yesterday’s prediction blog. And I’m as guilty as anyone

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        1. This team plays better when they have something to prove. We are all part of that in a small way.

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  365. Kenny had nice touch on his ball tonight… did you notice he was wearing a glove on his throwing hand??? Keep wearing them…

    Poor Jazzie was being picked on and was getting beat like a drum until they finally pulled him… Proves how good Hamlin is- NFL talent…

    Heels have some really good receivers – good thing we were getting hits on Howell- at least three times the Tarheel receiver easily got behind our guys only to be overthrown. Hope we have a couple of stud pass catchers in the pipeline!

    I hate those f’ing Official reviews and that says a lot considering how bad the reffing is… totally disruptive to the flow of the game ( like a Duzzy time-out after we sack them leaving a 3rd and 17) bet at least an hour is added to the game with all the timeouts….

    Great game… we are 7-3… Gobblers will be looking for revenge after the way we kicked their ass last year at Heinz!

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      1. VT is in total control for the Coastal Division if they win out against GT, Pitt and Va. They have come a long way from their early season failures.—-They will be at least a 6 point favorite against Pitt if they roll over GT come Saturday. And as such they will be psyched for the Pitt game and the Va game to follow.

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  366. Great & entertaining victory.

    Statistically speaking (passing efficiency), Pitt continued its streak of holding the opposing QB to less than his ytd rating. Prior to game, Howell had a 153.0 rating Pitt held him to a 144.1 but the worst of the 9 games played.

    Kenny’s rating of 142.6 was the second best (Ohio 152.1).

    My day starts off exceptionally well.

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  367. Grizzly @ 12:29 – past my bedtime!
    That Browns player should have been arrested for “Conduct Unbecoming a Thug”, indicted, jailed in a federal penitentiary, and served 7-10 with no chance for under pants!

    (Just my humble opinion)

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  369. Rick/Erie: I arrived late to the POV tailgate, as I drove in from Wilkes Barre yesterday afternoon. Thrilled to hear that you and Mrs. Erie made it in for the game. Sorry I missed you. Hopefully we’ll play some golf in the spring.

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  370. We sure got our money’s worth last night. Plenty to bitch about, plenty to rejoice about, and an exciting finish with the good guys winning in the end.

    What boggles my simple mind is that this team is just a few plays and maybe a more advantageous schedule from being 9-1 or 10-0 and highly ranked

    AND just as close to being 3-7 and looking for our next HC.

    I like where we are and where we are headed.

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  371. Wow, great win. There were quite a few of us that begrudgingly thought the team with the better QB would win, well it turns out they were right. Still disappointed with the number of WR drops, but I’m very happy with the emergence of Shocky (& Wayne). Shocky was always worthy of opportunity, and finally got it due to an injury, he is a dynamic player.

    In the end, I’d say we won this game because we made more big plays on both sides of the ball. Statistically, NC ran the ball better (5.5 ypc vs 3.8 for Pitt, incl. Pickett), and completion percentages and number of throws were the same, but the long completions by Pickett, combined with the sacks & TFLs by the defense, were just enough. Also, the loss of Hamlin really hurt. No offense to Stocker personally, but I never thought he was the next best safety and I still don’t believe that, but he’s a senior…

    One final thought, I think the targeting rules need to be cleaned up big-time, they are hurting the game, the calls are inconsistent, and nobody knows what they’re going to call, even after seeing the replays. Not good. They should do it like the NHL does, a review from a neutral third party site reviewing video and give them about 2 minutes tops to make the call, less would be better. The current system is crooked, lacks transparency, and makes people wonder what the motives are for those making the “calls”.

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  373. That was probably the best group of receivers that we’ve played against this season (yes, better than psux receivers). The UNC QB is a helluva player as a true freshman. Hope that he doesn’t stick around for four years.

    Nice game by Kenny. Glad that he used his legs as well as his arm.

    I wasn’t paying enough attention – is Ffrench hurt?

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  374. Thought the offense was pretty good, defense was excellent except for a period in the 4th qtr. Refereeing was terrible. Typical for this year’s PITT team. Plays close and can’t get too much separation in the score. Pickett also had one of his best performances…..who invented Thursday night college games in cold weather places ought to be shot!!….on the VT.

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  376. Don’t knock those kiddies at Carrick. They’re helping me draw the conceptual design of the new on campus stadium. It’s going to look beautiful in crayon.

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  377. The call on Hamlin was bogus as hell and it nearly cost PITT a win. Since when is diving for the ball illegal? I hope Narduzzi told his players to keep doing the same thing Hamlin did.

    Sammy Howell missed receivers because he was getting super pressured all night.

    The secret last night was indeed KPs legs. That young man makes everyone around him play just a little bit harder.

    So sorry I missed the tailgate, sounds like it was a blast.

    PITT is 6-1 last seven games, too many people do not appreciate how good of a job Narduzzi has done with this team. btw, Eli the lucky is also 6-1 since we brought him home, this Saturday it will be only one loss in the past 9 weeks. When was the last time PITT has done that?

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    1. I don’t think there was much pressure on Howell for much of the 3rd Q. With the game on the line Pitt’s pressure on Howell excellerated. This was probably Pitt’s worst defensive effort this season mainly because IMO NC probably was their stiffest offensive test.

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      1. jrn, pressure on a QB is perception. Once you get in the QB’s head there is pressure and he will rush his throws for the entire game.

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        1. I agree. Howell was off on his long throws after we started getting pressure on him.

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        2. Ie after we sacked him a couple of times. Maybe we weren’t close to him on those throws he missed but I bet he was hearing the proverbial footsteps

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    2. Ike, the team is winning despite Narduzzi. His coaching in this game was poor like the officiating. He has Kenny to thank for saving his arse.

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        1. Kenny was the reason why Pitt won. Without his play, pitt loses. As a team, pitt will go as far as Kenny. That’s football. And Kenny is a leader and has the moxy needed to be successful. He does remind me of Palko. Good Pitt dude.

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          1. His legacy at Pitt will be one of winning ore than he lost. And I think he still has some upside if he can consistently do what he did last night. That’s the key though…consistently

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  378. I’m sorry but I am tired of thinking, “a win is a win” you can’t keep playing with fire and not get burned. This is happening way too much where the defense can’t get it done in the fourth qtr. I am thrilled they are 7-3, I just wish they’d clean it up some and win a game by the score that its feel like it should be. H2P

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    2. C’mon JD, when ISN’T a win a win? UNC has played a nearly identical type of a season, yet hasn’t come away with a win is a win like Narduzzi and PITT have. PITT is having a pretty good season and I think we should all embrace it and hope like hell they can finish up strong.

      Liked by 3 people

    3. You might consider that all of our opposition utilizes scholarship players also. The idea that Pitt football teams which have been in the doldrums for the better part of 35 years now should all of a sudden be able to dominate our opposition is just plain silly. It takes time to rebuild an entire team after being in a dumpster for decades.

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    1. Well if we take care is business and VT beats them justice will be served

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  380. Just win baby! The monkey is vanquished! 2 or 3 more wins (is asking for 3 wins too greedy?)just like it please! H2P! Beat WVU like a drum tonight!

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  381. PITT isn’t exactly the type of team that anyone should expect and blow a team off the field. After-all, they are still PITT. BTW, some of the shots of Mack Brown on the sideline looked like “old-timers” is kicking in?

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  382. Really great to hear that Rick and Rachel made it to the game, sorry we missed you guys. Hope pictures will be popping up soon.

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  383. The VT game should be the opposite from what we saw last night. Very likely to be a low scoring game … kind of like the Miami game.

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  387. Stocker had a bad game but he has been good all year until last night. They should have made an adjustment to get him some help instead of keeping him 1-on-1 against a slot WR clearly faster and better all-around than he was.

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  388. For those of you that are tired of PITT winning close games a question…….. How does it feel when PITT loses a close game? This is where my brain goes… Give me a horse and I won’t look in his mouth. That one is for you Doug.

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  389. Finally thawed out the fingers so I can type. Sick and tired of playing NC in November on Thursday that’s for sure.

    ACC is a BS league of Southern simple-minds who still can’t get over losing the Civil War. Referees are atrocious, including replay officials who must not be watching TVs in color or high def.

    Watts was targeting and Hamlin was the furthest thing from targeting, and yet they got them 100% wrong. Pitt WR almost had had his head ripped off, Offensive interference is the only think that kept Pinnock from intercepting the pass in the end zone, and the defensive holding call that kept NC’s TD drive alive had to be the worst call of them all

    HCPN’s dig in the press conference was too mild for my taste, call the bastards out by name. Saddest part of all, instead of grading these assholes harshly, the ACC will likely give them the highest grades possible for “showing them Yankees whose boss”. Swafford has to go . . . . Lyke tomorrow!!!!!

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  391. I agree with the “a win is a win” sentiment.

    UNC is a talented team that hasn’t quite put it all together. Based on the star system, UNC has something like 15 four stars to Pitt’s 7. Pitt is solid. But, not good enough to blow out many (any?) teams in the ACC.

    Both teams have some injuries. Ffrench was out, Kylan Johnson was somewhat missing (or it seemed that way to me) and we had the early season ending injuries to key DL players earlier in the season.

    So, a win is a win!

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  392. Lucky Howell had an off night. He missed countless wide open receivers that continuously got behind our DBs. It could have been a blow out in the other direction.

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  393. Ike I think you will like this quote from a local recruit that Narduzzi made an offer to last night( from a Hammett article on the Lair). Donavan McMillin a 2012 Safety from Peters Twshp “We(Narduzzi and he) met for the first time last night and after speaking with him, I wanted to run through a wall for him.” Now that’s what some of our POV Narduzzi detractors don’t seem to get IMO. He might not be Bill Belichik on the sidelines but his players do love him for the most part and would run through that same wall.

    Liked by 3 people

  394. Thanks jrn and I do like that quote and appreciate you posting it. I just don’t get the disdain by many for a head football coach for the team we all follow that wins conference games. I do realize this is a blog that is driven by opinions and facts by commenters so in no way am I saying those opinions are not also appreciated. Narduzzi started out on the wrong foot here at PITT but he’s come around with his off sense of humor and seems to be on a better stead with the media. I focus more on results on and off the field, which HCPN seems to be doing a decent enough job.. an at!

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  395. Haven’t had a free minute to post much but need to tell this story…as overtime starts Scooter removes his jacket to reveal his famous old school Pitt basketball reversible jersey. He reverses it from blue to gold and…well now you know how we won.
    Special thanks to Ike for giving up his seats to me.
    Sitting with Annie is always a treat.
    Got to meet Dave Havern at the tailgate…great guy. Kman’s friend.
    Rick and Rachel attending was truly special…
    Sitting with Scooter two rows behind Biggie heightened the entertainment value.
    Thanks again to Wolfe, JoeL, Big Al and Scooter for all their work to make the tailgates fun.
    Lastly, thanks to Biggie for the NC barbecue.
    Off to Hemingways shortly for the hoop pregame show.
    No rest for the wicked.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Fran – I always thought I’d want to retire. But now that I’ve gotten a glimpse of retired life as you do it, I’m pretty sure it’d kill me. And I’m not ready to go yet!

      Liked by 1 person

  396. Anyways, on to more important things, saw a group photo of the Fran tailgate from last night. UNBELIEVABLE! What a great group of POVers. It continues to amaze me the metamorphosis that has taken place with strangers gathering together into becoming great friends. One for all and all for one!!

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  397. NC QB Coulda, shoulda, woulda…but he didn’t. Give some credit to the Pitt D!
    Also, KP had a great game. Let’s hope we can keep the good mojo going..unlike how we finished last year.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Exactly! Perhaps the Tarhole QB was off because the Pitt D was in his face a lot.

      Oh that’s right….it’s always about what what we didn’t do, what they did do or dumb luck.

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  398. Maestro – later today I’m gonna sit down and read this entire thread in 1 sitting. That way, I can re-experience all the emotional highs and lows in (hopefully) less than 4 hours!

    Liked by 1 person

  399. should have included Wolfe, JoeL, Big Al and Scooter for all their work to make the tailgates so great. and always BigB and JeanieB for their graciousness of giving.

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  400. Hope everyone is home safe and well this afternoon.

    Looking forward to tonight’s game.

    Yesterday was everything I expected and more. Not for the timid or weak hearted.

    Another game that could have easily gone either way

    We won the turnover battle, lost to the referees, and came out slightly ahead in the big play department.

    We we were lucky that Howell didn’t hit those wide open receivers, they were lucky that KP just misses on a few of his throws. The whole targeting thing needs to be looked at again, when did a defender lose his right to go to the ball? Some weird interference calls, but no calls on their line for tackling our pass rushers.

    Our vaunted defense doesn’t seem to have that killer instinct, although questionable penalties are usually involved.

    Great game by Twyman, what happened to POD? Definitely miss Hamlin when he is out.

    I wouldn’t have thought we could win without FFrench, rest of the guys really picked it up.

    You guys that were whining the whole game need to know by now, this is how we role.

    Every game is like this, don’t know any other way to play.

    Most of the ACC wishes they had out record, still alive.

    Personally, I hope we win the next two and VA wins out as well. Let them get killed by Clemson.

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  401. Oakland Zoo@OaklandZoo
    The Backyard Brawl tonight is gonna have a record breaking Zoo Largest student attendance in the Oakland Zoo expected TONIGHT at 7 PM as we play West Virginia

    It’s on ESPNU

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  402. Anyone notice that Van Lynn and Houy played some OT last night. Didn’t focus on them to see how well they held up, but I’m encouraged by this…

    Warren seems to be struggling some. I watched him on one play right after he came back in and the DE faked up field and then cut inside and had a clear path to chase KP. Warren still has a lot of work to do.

    Go Pitt.

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  404. Big game tonite. I’m predicting Pitt 65 / Hoopies 62

    Murphy with the game winner at the buzzer

    I hear Pitt is offering a discount on dental services for any WVU fan in attendance.

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    2. Shocky with his height and speed can stretch the field more so than Ffrench. I always thought that Whipple would use Ffrench more in the slot and let Mack and Shocky stretch the field.—-By the way folks the biggest play by Pickett last night was IMO that pass in overtime to Mack when it was 3rd and 14 from the 29 and Mack made the 1st down by a half yard at best. Had that play not been made then we were looking at a long field goal from the Pitt 36(a 46 harder). That probably was the play that won us this game.

      Liked by 3 people

  406. Question, was there a post game tailgate considering the late finish and cold weather? Those crazy 8:00 Thursday night starts can screw up people’s schedule, I know it did mine. I had to take today off I was so tired.

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  407. OT: I don’t want people to think I’m a complete nut but after the game last night I was so pumped I did my daily walk from 12:30am(couldn’t sleep) until 5:30 plus this morning. Got an hour sleep before the game and added only hour plus so far today. I’m not sure I can stay up very long to watch much of the BB game tonight.

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  408. Right on JoeL, PITT gets lucky when they win and stinks when they lose. In other words, PITT never wins in some eyes. Narduzzi is terrible because he lost to a Miami team with at least 26 four and five star players on their roster. All of a sudden that doesn’t matter so much?? After saying that << PITT was the better team that day and should have won. It’s just that Narduzzi didn’t dropped those passes.

    Did PITT have a bye week last week or this Saturday or both? btw, PITT has won after a bye week this year TWICE! Lots of monkeys that are history.

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  409. Peak@ the Lair reporting Tode Rodemaker the potential QB commit plans on making an official visit tp Pitt the weekend after Thanksgiving. I’m guessing for the BC game. I really liked this kids video and I’m just hoping he doesn’t finally chose VT(I believe he was at VT last weekend) over us in the end.

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  410. One player that stood out to me was Wayne. Thought he looked really good. He may be that player.
    I also think the criticism toward the team is really frustration, more like what could have been. There is 7-3 and there is 7-3. Do it impressively and you are ranked, do it another way and your considered more like a AAC team.
    All that said I’m thrilled we are where we are, but there is nothing wrong wishing for more. In the world of recruiting, donations, and national perceptions style points do, in fact matter.

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  411. LA Panther, here. Some day I’ll figure out how to change my name and post a cool avatar, or whatever those things are…

    Howell’s season completion % is about 59. Last night it was about 63%. His season average yards per completion is about 14. Last night it was about 12. His TD per game is about 3, and last night he had 3. So it seems he completed maybe 1 fewer long pass than usual and a couple more short passes. It doesn’t seem like an off night, really. In the end, they scored just below their season average of about 28 points I do think our defensive pressure rattled Howell, however. UNC gives up only 2.5 sacks per game, on average, and we had double that. Also, UNC averages only about 1 interception every 2 games. And we got one when it really mattered. To me it seems UNC had an average offensive night, albeit ref. aided, and we had an really good offensive night, which should have been even better, but we’re getting there.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Good info, LA, thanks for digging that up! I will add this though: several times Howell heaved up bad passes under pressure, he’s lucky he didn’t have 3 interceptions at least (one was actually overturned).

      Liked by 1 person

  412. Well said joeknew, and I agree on Wayne, though Shocky was more impressive to me- I like both players quite a bit. Last night have Ffrench out was a blessing in disguise (no offense to Ffrench!), and I do wonder as stated above, if Ffrench in the slot would be worth a try?

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  413. Woo hoo! I figured it out. No more lighghteyeye. I got my West Coast name back! That means Pitt will be 10 and 3 this year, right? Or, dare we hope, 11 and 3????

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  414. Ike, we had a postgame tailgate..
    Lasted till 1:15.
    Scooter, Tommy, Joel’s crew and assorted others.

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  415. Thank you again to Fran, Wolfe, JoeL, and all involved for another great tailgate. I was lucky enough to get the last of JoeL’s jambalaya which was delicious and sample the pumpkin butter brought by Annie. (Did you or Kurt make the pumpkin butter, Annie?) It was also great to put a face to OHIHOhioState and his lovely bride. The return of Rick and Rachel was truly special. I look forward to seeing everyone at the tailgates like family. You won’t find a better group of people anywhere. H2P!

    Liked by 1 person

  416. I am a little surprised though…. I thought we would have seen a Peter Gabriel “Shock The Monkey “ video by now 😎

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    1. Yes, I wondered that in the 4th quarter since I hadn’t heard his name but then noticed he was on the field

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  419. Fran, my son mention his friend either met or heard Scooter at the game. He was sitting in the same section, do you remember meeting him? His name is Toss.

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      1. Could be a matter of speed. Stocker has the speed but I don’t know about the instincts.

        UNC best our DBs one-on-one, but they also schemed for good matchups. On one long third down late in the game, they managed to get Bright one-on-one with Newsome and picked up the first.

        Fans talk about how bad of a team UNC has been — but they have players.

        Last night, Cleveland had better players than the Steelers — Steelers lost.

        UNC had better players, at least on offense, than Pitt — Pitt won.

        Go Pitt.

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  421. A play that impressed me:

    When the UNC tailback broke through the line and ran for 59 yards, did anyone notice the speed Jason Pinnock showed in running the RB down?

    Really impressive – like he was shot out of a cannon. Hope he’s not tempted to leave early. He’s an NFL talent, IMHO.

    Go Pitt!

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  422. And a big thanks to our esteemed Pitt fan Scooter for doing his magic in OT with the Pitt shirt!

    Pitt needs to extend Scooter’s contract. 😊

    Go Pitt.

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  423. One more thing, the best offensive player on the field last night was No. 5 for UNC, Newsome.

    We have an excellent defense with very good DBs, but we couldn’t cover No. 5 and we couldn’t tackle No. 5.

    My hats off to No. 5…

    Go Pitt.

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  424. Fran, thanks for the hospitality last night. Joe, Jeff and Rich, it was nice meeting you guys, and thanks to everyone at the POV tailgate for making my girlfriend and I feel so welcomed.

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  425. Jackagain, thanks for the link to the condensed game highlights.

    Noticed what I missed at the game, Brightwell hardly played, if at all. Is he hurt? Pine held up well so it wasn’t as noticeable. Also, have I missed the announcement but Reynolds has disappeared. Is he still with the program?

    Also noticed that NC’s OL was holding Pitt’s DL often and I can’t remember even one call against them. Lastly, although it didn’t matter in the end, missing the PI call in the endzone when Piinnock had clear position for the interception was inexcusable. The ref was 3 feet from the play, either he’s Ray Charles or in NC’s pocket.

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