Pitt picked up a verbal from four-star DE Elliot Donald on Friday, and I don’t need to belabor the point that this was a win.

Depending on the scouting website you use, Donald is top five or six in the state and top 10 nationally at his position, and Donald’s pledge catapulted Pitt to 26th in the rivals recruiting rankings and 27th in the 247 composite rankings.

I bring the 247 rankings into the discussion for two reasons.  First – they don’t get enough press on this site, which has historically stuck to “if it ain’t rivals it’s trash” ethos, and second – I’m about a reference and article that uses the 247 rakings, so there is a bit of selfishness going in here as I attempt to legitimize them.

First, here is an overview of how Scout ranks players in general.  Note the breakdown within three-stars.

  • Five-stars (98-110 rating): The top 32 players in the country to mirror the 32 first round picks in the NFL Draft. These are 32 players that we believe are the most likely to be drafted in the first round from each recruiting class. The full list of 32 with five-star ratings typically isn’t complete until the final ranking. Any player with a rating of more than 100 is considered a “franchise player” and one that does not come around in every recruiting class.
  • Four-stars (90-97 rating): These are players that we believe are the most likely to produce college careers that get them drafted. By National Signing Day, this number is typically in the range of 350 prospects, roughly the top 10 percent of prospects in a given class.
  • Three-stars (80-89 rating): This is where the bulk of college football prospects are found and it incorporates a large range of ability levels, all of whom we consider as possible NFL players long term.
    • A high three-star (87-89): is considered a player with significant NFL upside who expect to be an impact college football player.
    • A mid three-star (84-86): is a player that we consider to be a capable starter for a Power Five football team and an impact player at the Group of Five level.
    • A low three-star (80-83): is a player that we consider to be a potential contributor at a Power Five program but a probable Group of Five starter with impact potential.
  • Two-stars (70-79 rating): These are prospects that we consider to be FBS-level players with very limited NFL potential.

Rivals on the other hand is a little less granular, but generally does things the same way.   Clearly there is less segmentation going on within the ranks of three-stars.

  • 6.1 Franchise Player: considered one of the elite prospects in the country, generally among the nation’s top 30-35 players overall, a potential first-team All American candidate and a player deemed to have first round NFL potential.
  • 6.0-5.8 All American Candidate: considered one of the next-tier elite prospects in the country, generally among the nation’s top 300-325 prospects overall, a national All American candidate and a player deemed to have first to third round NFL potential
  • 5.7-5.5 All Region Selection: considered among the region’s top prospects and generally among the nation’s top 800-850 prospects overall, a potential All-Conference candidate and a player deemed to have mid to low-end pro potential and ability to impact at the college level.
  • 5.2-5.4 Low End FBS prospect: considered a mid-major prospect with limited pro potential and expected to contribute 1-2 years at a high level maximum or often as a role player.

247 goes a step further though and also does a composite ranking,  which basically takes all the other rankings into account.  Per 247:

The 247Sports Composite Rating is a proprietary algorithm that compiles prospect “rankings” and “ratings” listed in the public domain by the major media recruiting services. It converts average industry ranks and ratings into a linear composite index capping at 1.0000, which indicates a consensus No. 1 prospect across all services.

The 247Sports Composite Rating is the industry’s most comprehensive and unbiased prospect ranking and is also used to generate 247Sports Team Recruiting Rankings.

If you want to go really deep on the 247 rankings system here is a link: https://247sports.com/Article/247Sports-Rating-Explanation-81574/

With that being said, outside of the composite – which I think is a tremendous tool – Scout does some things that I really like, for example show a team’s rank within the conference and their average player composite ranking on the summary page.   They also show the previous year and next year rankings for context.  Handy if you like data.

247 Summary

https://247sports.com/college/pittsburgh/Season/2020-Football/Commits/

So for example, we can now easily look at how a guy like Pat Narduzzi has done over his tenure just by looking at average recruit rating year over year.

I’ll throw in 2015 even though it technically wasn’t “his” class.  Interestingly it was also his second most highly ranked full class, at least according to 247.  Any way you slice it though, the Duzz has been pretty consistent.  (Some of you will say consistently mediocre.) The addition of Donald though does put the ‘Duzz’s 2021 class as his highest ranked of all time, if only by the slimmest of margins.  Of course history shows us the final ranking will probably end up somewhere south of it’s current .862 ranking.  But on some level we are splitting hairs here.

Pat Narduzzi:

  • 2015:  .860
  • 2016:  .856
  • 2017:  .849
  • 2018:  .858
  • 2019:  .849
  • 2020:  .861
  • 2021:  .862
  • Average:  .856

Just for reference here were Paul Chryst’s three classes:

Paul Chryst:

  • 2012:  .858
  • 2013:  .841
  • 2014:  .841
  • Average:  .847

Aaaand because this is just so easy, and because he seems to be the measuring stick, lets throw in Dave Wannstedt.  Surprisingly with the exception of 2008 his recruiting was not much better than Pat’s.  Whats even more interesting is that Wanny’s famous 10 win season (2009) happened largely without the contributions of his highly rated 2008 recruiting class.   The notable exception of course was Jon Baldwin who was ranked at 0.9914 and played to every bit of that rating in 2009 as a true Sophomore.  (57 / 1111/ 19.5 avg / 8 TD).

Dave Wannstedt:

  • 2005:  .810
  • 2006:  .856
  • 2007:  .852
  • 2008:  .872
  • 2009:  .856
  • 2010:  .864
  • Average:  .852

And so for those of you who are now crying “but star power!” on the back of that Jon Baldwin factoid, I have to throw in Fraud Graham’s class, just to round this all out.  Woof.

Fraud Graham:

  • 2011:  .804

Can we stop for a second here and point out that these damned lies and statistics somehow make Pat Narduzzi out to be a better recruiter than Dave Wannstdedt?

Ah yes, but Wanny’s first year.  He was clearly saddled with Walt Harris’ poor recruiting legacy, and the ‘Duzz clearly picked up a tailwind from Paul Chryst’s momentum.  (I can’t believe I just said that…).  In the spirit of the Pitt POV lets remove each coach’s first year:

  • Revised Average ‘Duzz:  .856
  • Revised Average Wanny:  .860  .

THERE.  THERE is the smoking gun I told you about. WANNY WAS A MUCH BETTER RECRUITER THAN PAT.

That is sarcastic yelling by the way.  The real question is how much is 4/100ths of a point worth across five or six seasons?  I don’t think we’ll ever answer that question but here are average season wins and Strength of Schedule averages so we can reboot old conversations.

  • Wanny:  7.2 / 1.78
  • Duzz:  7.2 / 3.70
  • Revised Wanny (First season removed):  7.6 / 1.89
  • Revised Duzz (First season removed):  7.0 / 3.68

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that, despite all the negative press that he gets for his bonehead in-game decisions and his complete ineptitude in preparing his teams for bowl games, Duzz is probably a better overall coach than Wanny.  It doesn’t take a statistics major to realize that the Duzz’s schedule was twice strong as Wanny’s but his average wins are equal.  Even when you throw out the first seaons, Duzz’s numbers are favorable.  His win total is just about 9% lower than Wanny’s while his SOS is over 100% tougher.

Anyway, I didn’t want this to turn into a referendum of Duzz vs Wanny, but we are where we are.   And despite my previous statement about Duzz being the overall better coach, the truth is probably that yes Wanny was a tick better of a recruiter once he got rolling.  Another measure of that of course is star power, and that’s kind of what kicked this whole thing off (because Narduzzi just recruited a star, out of Pennsylvania no less).  While I was researching this article I came across a very in-depth analysis of PA recruiting over the last twenty years, and it is absolutely worth a look, especially if you are quarantined and have a bunch of spare time on your hands.  Here is the link.

Here is a graphic from the article, with the Pitt coaches added it.  It will probably be hard to read, but I’ll summarize.  It shows the college choice of the top five ranked football players in PA since 2000.  (247 composite ranking).  As you can see Wannstedt reeled in five over his first five seasons. Narduzzi nabbed four.

PA Top 5 - updated

Last but not least I want to talk “hit rate”, because at the end of the day it’s as much about what the recruit does at Pitt as it is about landing the recruit.  My comments are in italics.

Walt Harris 50% hit rate:

  • 2000:  Dustin Picciotti – Concussion issues.  Never saw extended playing time.
  • 2002:  Larry Fitzgerald –   (From MN but gets credit in this analysis bc attended Valley Forge Military Academy when he signed with Pitt.  By the same token Shady McCoy does not show up in Wanny’s totals bc he attended prep school in NY.) – Hit.  Turned out to be pretty good.

Dave Wannstedet 60% hit rate (75% hit rate if you include Shady):

  • 2006:  Dorin Dickerson  – You don’t get the nickname “Scorin’ Dorin” if you’re a bust
  • 2007:  Pat Bostick – While I wish I could include his contributions from the announcer’s booth, and his role in 13-9, you have to consider his playing career was a little bit underwhelming.  Had Wanny not been fired and Bostick stuck around for his senior year (Fraud Graham year…) this may have turned out differently.    
  • 2008:  Jon Baldwin – Not a bust.  
  • 2008:  Lucas Nix – Hit.  Productive career as OL.  Signed as Free Agent with Oakland Raiders.  
  • 2008:  Shayne Hale – Injury riddled until his senior year, he recorded 36 tackles, 9.5 TFL and 3 sacks as a senior.  Sorry but that’s not top-five-in-PA production.  

Todd Graham 100% hit rate:

  • 2011:  Lafayette Pitts – Hit.  Productive career at Pitt through many coaching changes.  Has bounced around NFL for last few seasons after signing with Miami as a free agent.  

Paul Chryst – 66% hit rate:

  • 2012:  Rushel Shell – Bust but not because of talent.  Work ethic was just not there.  
  • 2013:  Dorian Johnson – Hit.
  • 2014:  Alex Bookser – Hit.  Productive OL.  Would have been better if he’d been allowed to stay at Guard his senior year.  .

Pat Narduzzi 100% hit rate on active players:

  • 2015:  Jordan Whitehead – Hit
  • 2016:  Damar Hamlin – Hit
  • 2017:  Paris Ford – HIT
  • 2020:  Dayon Hayes – TBD
  • 2021:  None – Donald is currently ranked #6

Now none of this takes into account the two and three star guys that coaches developed into on-the-field stars.  Heck none of this even takes into account guys in the PA top 10 who weren’t top five.  Aaron Donald?  Ranked 12th in PA.  He turned out pretty good, right?  Elliot Donald is ranked #6.  Nahki Johnson is ranked #8.  Narduzzi still has a shot at one top-five player in PA (Gateway’s Derrick Davis), but at the end of the day the ‘Duzz’s bread and butter is coaching up his guys, regardless of stars and rankings, especially on the defensive line.  Jaylen Twyman had an 86 composite score, and was ranked 47th in the country.  He’s now an All American.  Patrick Jones brought an .835 composite ranking to Pitt.  He’s now an All American candidate.  Rashad Weaver checked in at .823.  He’s an all-conference candidate.  Hayes, Donald and Johnson ostensibly bring even more talent to the table than Twyman, Jones and Weaver.  Do they bring the same work ethic and developmental potential?  If they do, it’s not out of the question that Pitt’s D line (and with it, their overall program) continues to improve under Narduzzi.  If not, well then this is just another kool-aid article that’s not going to age well.  But given Narduzzi’s momentum, I think the ceiling is high.

Hail to Pitt

Michaelangelo Monteleone

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.

232 thoughts on “D-Line Kool-Aid”

  1. Thanks Michaelangelo Monteleone for getting it! Double !!

    Also happy to see a week off has reinvigorated your creative mind.

    I’ve said this all along for PITT………. recruiting is all about identifying talent that other teams don’t see and may have passed up on… Let’s not forget about the coaching though.

    Great comeback article Mike and great to see you back.

    Liked by 3 people

  2. OK, my rude ike side says………… you don’t form one of the best D-Lines and best D-Backfields in the country because you suck at recruiting. Thank You..

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Last I checked this game called football also requires an offense. Did I mention that this game is geared to the offense? I don’t call 13-10 games entertainment. Partridge is a big reason for the recruiting today. Give credit where it’s properly due.

      Well researched and interesting article.

      A cold turd is a better coach than Wanny. And he never recruited well at the most important position. In Webster’s dictionary, both Wanny and Narduzzi are examples for mediocrity. Wanny is also found under fish samiches. Narduzzi under meatballs.

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        1. A room temp turd

          The man had passion
          Low budget
          Little support
          Bad boss

          But the man was horrible at coaching

          And his recruiting was over rated.

          He helped ruin two nfl teams. And then pitt hires him. Wtf. Because he’s a yinzer and alum

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      3. Recruiting on the offensive side is why Coach Duzz’s hiring of Coach Whip was such a good move. Coach Whip has a history of getting WRs, TEs and QBs very good stats. That’s a huge selling point in recruiting.

        I think we will see the benefits over the next couple of seasons, (whenever they may be…)

        Go Pitt.

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  4. — 16 and 17 year olds

    — current top 3 players were rated 2, 3 and 4 stars

    — over this millennium, the amount of quality recruits has severely shifted from WPa to EPa

    — overall the number of quality PA recruits have severely dropped (to an all-time low number in 2020 to just 3 four-stars). In fact, Ohio which has less HS players than PA, have produced more quality / D1 every year since the early 2000s

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    1. Yea. That article clearly lays out your last two points. PA becoming less and less relevant overall. Also if you look at totally recruits from PA Wanny vs Duzz there is a big difference

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  5. Welcome back, MM! Another great job of researching stats and crunching the numbers. Thank you!

    I still question the “science” of assigning a rating number to a kid in the first place. What measurable, objective criteria can you use to assign that number? Obviously you have physical stats of height, weight, jumping height, measured speed, BMI. You have game stats but no way that I know of to incorporate level of competition. Not just classification of opposing team but how good is that kid lined up across the line of scrimmage from your prospect? Is that kid fighting the flu and giving your guy highlight film chases and sacks for us to ooh and ahh over?

    Why do we assume 2 and 3 stars are “coached up” to become good players while 4 and 5 stars are busts or wasted by coaches when they don’t pan out? Why do we not assume that the rating services are just crapshoots providing numbers for us to ponder and argue without any solid basis of origin?

    Anyone who has coached kids knows that there are more immeasurable qualities that make a kid a success than there are measurables. I have mentioned before that I’ve had the opportunity to see first hand what it takes to become a D1 player. This girl worked out on her own almost every day. She traveled the country attending clinics to pick up little points on improving her pitching technique. Most impressive, she threw a hundred pitches each night to her dad in her basement all winter long. That’s the kind of dedication that makes a winner. Character, dedication, coachable, drive, dealing with setbacks, etc. How do rating services gurus see that?

    Now I know there are analyses out there that attempt to show that winning teams have 4 and 5 star players and losing teams have 2 and 3 star rosters. So I will accept that the elite teams get the players they think are the best in the country and the also rans take what’s left. Seeing a kid’s rating suddenly increase when offered or signing with an elite team during the offseason just confirms what a joke these services are. At least in my mind.

    But just once I would like to see the detailed objective criteria used by the rating services eyes in the field to assign those numbers in the first place. If that is not out there, I would at least like to see a discussion of how anyone thinks you can reasonably rank a kid on a highest classification team in California (say 85 player roster) against a kid on a lowest classification team in Pennsylvania (maybe 23 player roster) when they have exactly the same physical stats. And that is where this whole recruiting discussion begins.

    Liked by 7 people

    2. you make all very good points … one more consideration: the task of rating hundreds of thousands (see below) of players is an impossible task. Yes, the elite stands out …. but after that IMO it is a crapshoot

      Now you probably can’t open the link below, but the NCAA estimates that > 1M participate in HS football, of which > 73,000 will compete in the NCAA (all divisions.) Just in D1 which consists of 130 teams, there are currently at least 11,000 of them on scholarship …. and thousands more in D2 and D3

      http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/estimated-probability-competing-college-athletics#:~:text=Nearly%20eight%20million%20students%20currently%20participate%20in%20high,to%20compete%20at%20the%20professional%20or%20Olympic%20level.

      Liked by 3 people

  6. Welcome back Maestro, interesting read. Narduzzi still has time to raise the bar this year, or lose a guy or two as they change their mind(s).

    Love getting Donald because he is a legacy and he is WPIAL.

    Question how much his rating is jacked up because of his superstar uncle? Even if it is not an official factor, it has to bias the judging somewhat. In any case he has a lot to live up to.

    So this is the week we should hear from the ACC, Keeping fingers crossed for football this year but……

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      1. 23 offers. 4 star qb. Florida Atlantic? Maybe everyone else likes him as a defensive back?

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  7. I enjoyed the read. Your take on 247 & the last 4 Pitt coaches confirms my data using Rivals.

    I will continue using Rivals as my go to recruiting site but have no problem with 247. IMO, it is more consistent for all to use one set of data to discuss recruiting. But in general both have their strong points.

    BTW – who is the “Chris Peak” of the 247 Pitt site?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I agree they both have their strengths, just like angering else in life. And Chris Peak is a strength for rivals. 247 – for all its fancy analytics – doesn’t quite seem to have the same personality and depth of character (and insider knowledge) as Peak

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  8. The sad thing about Chryst was he didn’t take full advantage when PSU was punished. He did get Boyd and Johnson, but missed on many others.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That’s really good context. He should have been able to load up on Pa kids. Just imagine how he might have done if PSUx was at full strength

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        1. Kman, I could not agree more.

          This has been one of my biggest gripes of the last 8 years. Maybe Wanny wasn’t a great or even good game day coach, but he would have been able to take full advantage of the Pedos probationary period. While he may not have been the tireless recruiter than some believed him to be, he was hands down better than Chyrst.

          Chryst and his guys were wandering around out there and some recruits didn’t even know if Pitt offered them scholarships. Truly bizarre and an extraordinary opportunity was wasted by Chryst and his dithering staff. I still harbor a ton of resentment toward Chryst for that.

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  9. Have a lot of things I’m doing this AM, but I have given things quite a bit of thought over the weekend, and will have a 2 parter later today ( so I don’t lose it).
    Quickly, the knock on 247 is they do very little, if any in person scouting. Think they just compline stuff from other sights. I certainly could be wrong, but that’s my understanding. Later

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  10. Super article, MM! Thank you.

    What kind of amazes me is the number of Pitt 4-stars who ended up contributing nothing or very little. Pittsburgh Sports Now has an article right now which lists recent Pitt 4-stars. Oh the excitement on signing day for guys like Pugh, Shell, Rippy, Bostick, Grimm and Sadler! Oh the disappointment when they — were such disappointments…

    Go Pitt!

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  11. When was the last recruiting class that Pitt had a five star recruit committing?
    Of course in hindsight the “recruiting services” missed on giving five stars to Aaron Donald, based on his already stellar NFL career. So I guess this recruiting services gig is fraught with it’s own human error issues as well, just like the coaches recruiting efforts are. But back to my question. Who & when was Pitt’s last Five⭐️?

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  12. First, Tex, Pitt has two offensive players on College Football News 2020 All-American teams. So I guess Pitt and Narduzzi check that box for you.
    The first of those two, Jimmy Morrison,(rated by CFN as the 4th best center in the FBS), had 0 stars from 247 so he pulled now Narduzzi’s 2016 rating. Good thing Duzz didn’t try to inflate his rankings and go after a 2 or 3 star center. The second player is Bryce Hargrove who is rated as the 11th best OG in FBS (keep in mind every team has two starting OG’s). He was rated a .8253, 3-star player in 2016 by 247, so he also pulled down Duzz’s 2016 class average rating.

    Liked by 2 people

    3. I remember when Hargrove was recruited. He was listed as a DT. I remember watching his video and thinking that this kid is a reach – mainly because he didn’t have a quick first step.

      I imagine the Pitt coaches always anticipated him switching to the OL – which he did rather quickly, if I remember correctly…

      Go Pitt!

      Like

    4. You need skill players on offense. The line just needs to be experienced and solid. Who are the studs at receiver, back, etc. there are none. Hence the problem. Maybe someone breaks through. But right now nobody to carry the O. No fitz. No shady.

      Like

  13. It’s what a team does on the dam field and not how many stars a player has. Of course there are also people that don’t want to recognize any success if “their” team doesn’t win 10 games and/or a national championship. It’s important to know which team you’re rooting for. PITT can and will win another national championship but to expect them to win like the cheaters in college football, think again. PITT is not your man.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgTywQQ_3eA

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Not sure if they can win a natty without playing the game but I do think the arrow is pointing up

      Like

    2. This team is good at winning seven games, losing bowls. And finishing ranked in the 50’s in rpi and saragin.

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  14. I agree, it is what the team does on the field that most counts. As such I would expect more blow out wins against what should be inferior competition and no more BC losses, Brother ike.

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    1. Agree… while I’m generally optimistic about the direction we had a real chance to win 10 games last year and we stumbled against bc and Miami.

      Counterpoint – we had the worst offense in recent memory (and in the FBS) and still won 8 games.

      Counter counterpoint – even with that crappy offense we should have smoked BC and you can’t win when you turn the ball over five times.

      Liked by 1 person

  15. OK, I just want to put this out now, before the “season”.
    1) Pitt will play 3 games or less. College football will start, as $ dictates, however, there will be deaths. Sure, these kids are in get shape and young, but many are obese, some have asthma and other conditions.
    2) One major school will refuse to play, much like Duke in the NCAAs, and that will cause the majority to fold.
    3) SEC and some BiGs will try to play.
    4) Land grant schools, well, there is a reason state govt gave that land away, it was worthless. Those economies will get crushed. Sorry, but big concrete structures out in the middle of nowhere are as out of date as email mail, they just don’t know it yet. Once our gene is gone it will be watched on TV, CMU study was right.
    5) In those 3 games Pitt will disappoint, I expect them to,win all 3, so I will be disappointed with anything less.
    TBC

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Hey JoeK on point # 2, The phillies already are postponing their baseball game tonight due to covid. This isn’t going to end well.

    Beaver stadium may be exempt then. It’s an erector set made of steel, went to a game there and once in the stadium I was still getting soaked from the rain. It should be called “The Colander” It drains like a sieve.

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  17. Great article MM! I’d like to know why the Phillies have a bunch of COVID positive players? Weren’t they isolating at home for two weeks before the start of the season? If these players are so irresponsible, the team should just forfeit the games where they can’t dress enough players.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. They played Florida. I think Florida players spread it.

      Just like Florida players will get pitt players sick and coaches possibly dead.

      Just a real bad idea to play outside a bubble when we have so many hot states and regions near apex.

      Like

  20. Just watched 2021 2 star Pitt CB recruit, Stephon Hall’s HUDL highlights. Tell me Rivlas or Pittpovers why he isn’t a 3 star. And he looks good at WR too.

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    2. Because you’re only looking at his highlights. I’d be a five star if I showed mine. But 95 percent of the time I was a two star.

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        1. Gottfried would have passed but with Narduzzi you never know. Good grades. High character. Willing to save kittens. I bet you would have gotten a scholie.

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  21. I think a Florida team has to postpone as well? This covid fungus is among us and it ain’t going away until there is a vaccine.

    Keep on keeping on Russ!

    If PITT can sharpen up the details they can score points. Cracks me up that we all know they have played a tough OOC schedule, dropped passes and had crucial turnovers the past 5 years but we still blame the coaches. NO!, Narduzzi has been very far from perfect but even further away from imperfection. PITT is in good hands and he ain’t a-going nowhere. Deal with it!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s mental Ike. And practice. But those are closed aren’t they. And if receivers really have hands of stone, why are they trying to play receiver. These are mental mistakes. Narduzzis team is soft and undisciplined. Dropped passes. Penalties. Bad second half’s.

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Miami Marlins BB game against Baltimore and the Yankee’s game against the Phillies both cancelled tonight on the covid problem. MLB is holding an emergency meeting this week and as such the entire mini season is now potentially in jeopardy of being cancelled.—-Doesn’t look too good for any fall sport except for golf IMO.

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  23. And — the hits just keep on coming! Nice job, Maestro!

    The only thing I’m sure of this season is……..Nard Dog won’t be kissin’ on his playaz 😉 – Italian blood or not!

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Virginia has delayed the entire HS fall sports schedule. It’s planning on starting their fall sports after Christmas on Dec 28th. Good luck on getting that accomplished unless you think the cold weather will sweep away the virus.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. It all started with Marlins. They had 1 positive test on Friday, 3 on Sunday and now have 13 … 11 players and 2 coaches. The Yankees were to use the lockeroom that the Marlins used yesterday, so that’s why both Marlins game and the Yankees at Phila game are cancelled.

    I assume that the players will have to quarantine so it will be 11 players on the 2 week DL. Stay tuned

    This is why I said over a week ago to keep your eye on MLB since they are traveling … unlike NHL and NBA

    Like

    1. As good as Gunn, sims, spindler, Hamilton, grossman, Gilbert, siragusa?

      Those guys were from my day

      Like

  28. MM, I finally had the chance to finish listening to the Peak podcast interview with Mike Farrell. Very interesting. Of course there is enough information to arm both the skeptics and the disciples of the recruiting ratings process. Mike says the Rivals evaluations are based first off highlight films, next in-person scouting of games and camps, far down the line are stats and almost not at all on quality of offers. He almost sounded defensive when Peak listed that as one of the criteria and he denied it.

    Nothing in the discussion implied any real measurable component to the ratings. The closest was when he states that he underrated Aaron Donald because he was not tall enough to be a DT. He also indicated that if there is no season and no additional evaluation opportunities, he can see players ratings being moved up but not down. ??

    For some on here maybe the final five minutes would be of most interest. Peak asks Farrell where Pitt belongs in the recruiting rankings. Farrell says he sees them right where they should be. He called it truth serum. Says Pitt is mid-tier Power 5 and that is where we belong. Said the biggest reason is the coaching churn we’ve had. That combined with the WPIAL being down is what he calls the perfect storm. He also mentions the lack of an on-campus stadium.

    Definitely worth a listen if you haven’t yet. It is about 45 minutes long but ….

    Thanks for the link, MM.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. “Mid Tier Power 5” is right. And anyone who can’t get their head around that is deluding themselves. Is there opportunity to improve? Yes. “Coaching churn”. Ie you shouldn’t have fired wanny and disbanded the golden panthers.

      Ocs… still not sold that this impacts recruiting as much as ppl thinks it does.

      Appreciate the synopsis! Will give it a listen

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Coaching churn?

      The average tenure is five years among P5 coaches nationwide.

      Narduzzi has five years and will be here for at least another three

      Chryst left the program very stable even after just three years. And actually fraud did much in just his one year to stabilize things.

      Lack of on campus maybe. It’s more to gen up revenues. Not sure how it helps attract elites. Much more to it than that.

      I agree that pitt is mid tier among all P5. But again pitt is going up against state schools. Pitt is a large private for all intents and purposes. That’s a bad fit.

      Isn’t mike a Nitter? So take what he says with a cup of salt.

      Like

      1. tex, in what universe did fraud stabilize the program? It certainly wasn’t in this solar system.

        I guess when he bailed without a goodbye, then the entire Pitt universe despised him … so there’s that

        Liked by 3 people

        1. Graham’s recruiting class ended up being somewhat comical. There might have been two players who weighed more than 200 pounds… Speed, speed, speed, I guess…

          Go Pitt.

          Like

        2. He took a job nobody wanted

          He focused on discipline and the classroom.

          He cleaned house since Wanny had some questionable players

          Fraud got out once he found something better. Good for him. Cornhole was his boss. Nuff said.

          Fraud owed Pitt nothing.

          Like

        1. I could have sworn he was a Nitter. He’s always been very effusive of praise for penn state. He lapped up everything JoePa said. He’s a closet Nitter. I don’t trust him.

          Like

    3. I listened to it today on my early morning walk. It was enlightening…shows that there is art and bias involved in the evalaution process. And the guys who named himself the “Godfather of Recruiting” does appear to have any formal experience in evaluating HS football talent than his time at Rivals.

      One should keep that in mind when debating an individual recruit’s score/stars.

      And welcome back Maestro! Hope you had a nice week.

      Like

    1. That should have said………… You just don’t get this part Tex, sorry. PITT is trending up a very long and high mountain to climb.

      Like

  30. Does not look good for BB or NFL/college FB. Virtual games are all we have. We have to wait for the vaccine.

    I have always said that in the future college studies will be virtual with zoom except for selected labs.

    Like

  31. Realistic scenerio:
    No college sports for 20-21. Don’t even try.
    Get a vaccine that is proven at least 90% effective. Mass produce it. Mass distribute it. Incentivize getting the vaccine. E.g., no vaccine, no college.
    Get back to “normal” mid-21 IF no missteps.
    Resume college sports fall-21.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I was a bit disappointed to read in the Pitt Magazine that none of the three Pitt vaccines have moved to the human-testing phase yet. They have been successful in animal testing. The article said that each should move to human testing this summer though…

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  32. My one son told us months ago that coivd is a hoax, now my sister-in-law is saying that Fauci is in on it. My own family has gone mad, why would I expect the whole country to maintain coherency? Unless it’s just my goofy family.

    Like

  33. Hood-Schifino 2022 4 star guard decommits from Pitt. Maybe Capel can get him back but I wouldn’t count on it with some big names going after him now.

    Liked by 1 person

    3. That family is unstable imo. Uncle Drew is a nut case imo. The poke will be around back on the porch.

      Like

  34. Seems like the commentor was indicating a top tier which is the top 22 teams, a mid-tier which is 23-44, and a bottom tier of 45-66 (65+ND). So, if Pitt is in the mid-tier, we should finish in the top 25 more than once every 7 years. We should also recruit in the top 25 more than once every 7 years. But we don’t.

    Maybe this is the year…..for both!

    Expect the Tight End to be raised two a 2-3 star the next time the rankings are updated. They typically do not rank players every day or week so you need to allow time for the services to do some diligence. I think it is more like every 3 months. Same with our other 2 stars. End of the day, I expect the zero stars and the 2 stars to get elevated.

    With respect to players getting an increase but not a decrease in stars, it seems easy to figure. If there are no games or new film, those that are ranked as 4 and 5 stars can go down in rankings based on whether
    they get faster, heavier, slower and the like as camps and workouts continue. Same with a 1 star. A one star can grow three inches, gain 30 pounds, get faster, get stronger over the next 6 months. That will allow an increase in stars without playing a snap.

    Like

  35. Part 2 – WordPress Knocked Me Out because koolaid is not my preferred drink.

    Many on here keep harping about the drops last year and how much better our QB would be if the receivers didn’t drop passes. I would charge the Pitt Football Administrators to develop a statistic that shows the number of passes that were horrible, that the receivers caught but probably shouldnt have. That is a fair way to judge a QB, not just looking for excuses as to why completion percentage was bad. Things work both ways fellas.

    Final thought on 4 star recruits that don’t pan out. One of the reasons in my estimation is that for a majority of the 4 stars, they get the offers from bigger programs early and then the offers become non-committable. Although still 4 stars, the big programs have moved on from them, leaving them for our guys. That was not the case with Nakhi, Devon and Elliott. I was just referencing the Pitt guys listed above as perhaps…..bustesses! LOL@me. Bustesses!

    Like

    1. Huff – the drops observations went beyond the “many on here”. The media picked up on it and commented on it during game broadcasts and updates. It was the worst – and by a large margin – among P5 programs.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Right JoeL, didn’t hear much commentary on how well PITT receivers caught bad passes. Although the Mack game winning catch was spectacular but actually was a good enough pass. I trust my eyes over all things and I saw flat out drops all year.

        Like

        1. and another thing. While we have the “football administrators” investigating bad passes caught, lets have them investigate exactly what down and distance the drops occurred. If my memory serves, lots of big passes in key situations all year long. Drive killers is what they were and made the defense look bad. Goes to show us all how good this group will be with a good offense. (which they will have this year)

          Like

          1. It’s true that Kenny threw many an uncatchable ball – especially in the early part of the season when his yips were at the worst. Anecdotally id say he got better as the season wore in (at least that’s what I’d like to belive) but all that aside a drop is considered a catchable ball and is scored as such. I think the total number of drips was something like 40 passes. That’s a full 8% of passes. If all of them had been caught his completion % would have been 69.6% which is pretty much where you want your West Coast quarterback to be.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Sure KP, like a lot of QB’s, threw ,many bad passes but they were mostly not caught they were so bad. His touch needs a lot of work. Thanks for the data Mike. To be fair, all QB’s have catchable passes dropped. It happens.

              As far as west coast goes, which he basically is, he did throw deep quite a bit. Which will bring down completion % and at the same time, spread the field while opening up the run game. We will see a different offense this coming season.

              Like

              1. I don’t think we had the o line to allow KP to go deep as much as whipple would have liked. Could also be that Whipple was “asked” to call a more ball control style of game which led to KP’s dismal 6.6 ypa

                Sounds like something a defensive minded coach like Narduzzi would do

                Like

            2. Said another way, a criteria for a recorded drop is that the ball is deemed catchable.

              I don’t have a stat on drops that were drive killers, but my eye told me that we had too many drops on thrid down. It stuck out.

              Liked by 1 person

  36. OK Mike, my bad.

    Many of the four stars that don’t pan out is because the late maturing 2 and 3*’s catch up to them sooner or later.

    HT3rd, Wide Receivers are supposed to catch the good and bad passes. I was told if you got a glove or your hands on it, catch the dam ball.

    Like

  37. Terrell Prior, Herb Pope, Mjustapha Heron and now Hood-Schifino …. only Isiaih Epps matriculated to Pitt, and he lasted a year

    Like

  38. This kid never should have committed in his sophomore year. The fact that Pitt is staring down at a possible fifth-consecutive losing season surely was fed into his mind from opposing coaches.

    Capel could still land him and I would not be shocked if the Panthers turn the corner and Drew decides that Pitt is It in a couple of seasons.

    Just remember, the current state of hoops is the direct fault of the current chancellor.

    Like

  39. If 4 stars don’t continue to improve even they will get recruited over. In football the mental part of the game is equally important.

    Like

  40. Local player Donavan McMillon picked Florida, who came in late in the recruiting process. In an article in a South Hills local paper, he says that he wanted to play in the top league and the Florida coaches are the best and he felt at home, blah, blah, blah. Then the kicker: “I love the weather in the Sunshine State.”

    Tough for Pitt to compete with that…
    Good player; I hope they can find a helmet that fits him. At least he didn’t go to VT, who made his final 5.

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. He will come crawling back…. Hope Narduzzi says NO AGAIN! He made his bed, lets wait and see how comfortable he lays in it?

      Like

    3. Florida is a good school academically. Better program. Better conference. Better weather. Can’t blame him.

      But these schools can only take some many recruits. Sometimes your second choice or fallback schools turn out pretty good if not better

      Question is: would he be riding the pine down there. At Pitt he’d probably get to play far more quickly.

      Tex who prefers dry heat over humidity

      Like

    4. Florida is a good school academically. Better program. Better conference. Better weather. Can’t blame him.

      But these schools can only take some many recruits. Sometimes your second choice or fallback schools turn out pretty good if not better

      Question is: would he be riding the pine down there. At Pitt he’d probably get to play far more quickly.

      Tex who prefers dry heat over humidity

      Like

  41. and then I start to wonder…..? Is this Schifino kid playing the college bagman game like a fiddle? His family is from Penn Hills and his uncle Drew still lives in WPA as far a I know? He never had any intentions of going to PITT…… IMO!

    Like

  43. when I listed former HS sophomore commits who ended up decommitting from Pitt BB (above), I had forgotten about Ron Rowan. He was shoed away by his dad

    Like

    1. btw, Ron Rowan was the dad (yes, I’m at that age) …. can’t remember the son’s name but believe it was a different

      Like

  45. Watched a few innings of the Pirate game last night. Watched them blow a 5-1 lead in the ninth.

    If the MLB season ends quickly, could be a blessing…😷

    Go Pitt.

    Like

  46. John, when both Ryan Braun and Gregory Polanco came up in the ninth inning you just knew what was going to happen in each case….

    Like

    1. I couldn’t believe they brought in Crick. He’s throwing the ball horribly. His breaking ball looks like Pony League level – seriously…

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. John, I actually laid awake in anger for an hour post game. Crick has the worst mechanics of any pitcher on the Pirates. Felez is who he is….one day a stud, next day a dud. Still you can’t beat any good team with only 6 hits.

        Liked by 1 person

  47. ahhh…old Chinese baseball proverb:

    No pitching
    No BULLPEN
    No hitting
    No competitive PAYROLL, because
    NO OWNER that give a ***** about winning

    …then you get what you pay for….

    NUTTING 😦

    (repeat…and rinse…year after year after year……)

    Like

  48. Well, we’ve been told for years to boycott the games. So at least they suck in front of zero fans. Now we are all in total control if we want to watch this schitt show or not. It’s called self boycotting instead of self isolating.
    Nutting is the BEST at being the WORST!

    Like

  49. In the 9th inning with a 4 run lead, Feliz walked one batter and hit another …. that’s what riled me the most. I turned off the game, didn’t even watch the bottom of the 9th

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lets see how our new mgr handles this stuff over time. His rationale for sticking with Feliz was the he was ahead in the count before losing it.

      Like

  50. Looking up and down the Pirates roster, it looks like a Triple A team. If they had kept Marte, the abbreviated season wouldn’t have cost them much. Just another example of terrible decision making just to try to save the almighty dollar. If they field this team next year, the 2021 attendance will look like THIS year’s attendance.

    Like

    1. I sure hope so. Would hate to be a pitcher with an infield of Bell, Moran and Frazier…

      Like

  52. As long as the Pitt athletic department is doing the counting and can announce the attendance, the pirates will continue to have great attendance.

    The Pirates and Pitt have been the biggest sports disappointment for 30 years running…..

    Like

      1. And you can view that participation trophy behind glass somewhere on campus I’m sure. Fans are lining up to see it.

        Like

  53. I watched the condensed virginia game on utube and it was awfull. The announcers beat up on Picketts decisioning and deservedly so throughout the game. I then watched the Delaware game and it was awfuller…..yes i made up that word. Reminded me of my kids tshirt that reads Hockey is important, but school is importanter!

    I couldn’t watch any other games from last year. Maybe later tonight. The OL was horrific during both of those games and hopefully not horrificer this year. There will be football….

    Like

    1. hope your kids won their league championship or maybe you’re not as hard on your kids as you are on other parents kids?

      Like

      1. Ike, if you ask me if I am hard on my kids in comparison to other parents kids, I don’t say squat to other parents about their kids other than x had a good game. That’s it. My kids, I push. Sometimes I push hard, sometimes not. I learned from a professional super bowl coach who said the following “If your player had a really good game, you find something wrong with what they did”. Why, because they are already over-confident because they had a great game. They know it. Their heads get big and you need to control them. It is perfectly acceptable to say great game, but then comes the teaching moment. Great this, great that, great that,….ooops, need to do some work here…and here…and here.

        When they have a bad game is when you need to pick them up and find something good about their performance. I think Narduzzi does this exact thing with Pickett except he does it too much which tells me he is trying to convince himself that KP is the man as well as convince KP. The most glaring example of coaching psychology was when Tino accumulated like 650 yards of offense in a game and Fraud Graham said he should have done better. Something to that effect. People complained about Fraud for doing that without even thinking about the psychology of sport. Graham said the right thing but people didnt get what he was trying to do. It”s the cupcake culture.

        So kids 7-17, I dont rip on. College men on schollie’s, sure. Same with the pro’s.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. I gotcha Ht3rd. Coached somewhere around 16 or 17 years of youth sports. No two kids should be coached the same.

          Like

        2. Huff, I have a 7 year old grand son (playing against 8 & 9 year olds) that has the genes and potential to be really good. One minute he’s on his game looking like a star and the next he’s begging to go home, he’s tired and bored. Now this is my sons problem and he wouldn’t want me to be his coach but I stay out of it. << That’s my point. But Hesus, these kids are spoiled these days. We spent $100.00 on his birthday gift last year and I asked if he liked it. He didn’t a clue what we got him.

          I deeply appreciate hard work and effort. Sometimes it pays off but I know you can’t make a race horse out of a jack-ass but I really don’t like to be hard on a hard worker. Pros are an all together different story.

          I was always tougher on my boys than the others.

          Liked by 1 person

  54. Well that’s ok…. goes to show me you will never appreciated anything PITT accomplishes. That’s your prerogative and I accept that. Yet you tout the volleyball program that basically has done the same thing.

    Like

    1. Volleyball got ranked number two in the nation

      Yes they win the very weak ACC conference for three years running now

      But there’s no question that they are a consistent top ten team in the nation now. And can compete against anyone

      Wrestling and soccer are on this path as well

      I compliment those programs worthy of my praise

      What did pitt do after they won the Coastal. They dropped games, got blown out and then lost their bowl.

      Like

      1. Love what the PITT volleyball team has accomplished. Yet they did get upset early in the tournament. I don’t hear the disappointment in your words like I do with Narduzzi, Heather and the PITT football program.

        Like

        1. I was disappointed. But they don’t need to rebuild. They reload now. And they are a legit elite team now. It only took coach fisher five years. Hasn’t Narduzzi been on the job for five now. Still mediocre with no end in sight.

          Like

          1. And before you start defending him, I know it’s easier to become elite in a shorter span with volleyball. But what coach fisher has done is very impressive. His recruiting has finally caught up with his coaching. He’s an excellent coach first. He inherited a bad team and did it on a shoestring budget, poor facilities and lack of local talent. All the more impressive. He found a way. Not excuses.

            All I want from Narduzzi is consistent top 25 rankings. That means 9-10 win seasons. Why is it so difficult? Again, no excuses. Fans of fisher don’t make them.

            Like

  55. It was pretty clear from where I sat that Whipple had very little faith in his offensive line last year. Why do I say that? Simple, his persistence in calling many passing plays on quite a few 3rd and 1 plays. He had no confidence that his OL and RB’s could get that yard on short yard situations.—-Which by the way is the reason I have very little confidence in Pitt having a much better OL this season. Let’s hope I’m wrong on that prediction.

    Liked by 1 person

  56. Imagine if the Florida Marlins had to wait 14 days to get their test results back. Most of mlb would have been infected by mid August. Season would have been scrapped.

    Do colleges administer the instant test or one they can get back within 24 hours. Otherwise testing won’t be an effective way of containment.

    Those tests don’t come cheap. And one must test every day. Where are the colleges going to find the money. Projected revenues have already been slashed. Does heather have that answer?

    Like

  57. Tex, this latest law being worked on in Congress provides billions for testing. I can see where UPMC could set up a test lab at the Southside facility to handle daily testing with rapid turnaround time. They would probably get reimbursed by the Feds at little or no cost to the university.

    Liked by 1 person

  58. I find the Pirates relievers to be pretty much on par with the Pitt OTs. With all the off-season love shown Morrisey and Hargraves and the promise of Kradel, I would hope that Whipple doesn’t hesitate run behind them on short yardage this year …. if indeed its in his playbook. After last year, I’m not sure it is

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Borbs has had these guys for three years. If the line doesn’t show marked improvement he needs to be shown the door

      Liked by 2 people

  59. No pitt coach has delivered consistent top 25 rankings because…

    Pitt made the wrong hire
    Pitt starved the program with inadequate funding
    Pitt let their facilities fall apart

    Pitt has two of the three solved today

    Where does that leave us

    Like

  63. Okay, so the Pirates pulled it out. They still have no bullpen and they aren’t going to out hit many teams.

    Like

    1. This is why winners don’t panic VoR. You’re the Voice of Reason here……….. It’s the guys and teams that keep their poise that you can count on to pull through in tough times. Not that I think this Pirate team will pull through Jack…. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  64. Someone give the great news about Ben DiNucch to RKB, he needs prayers and something to life him up.. I think he knows the family?

    Like

  65. it seems that the ACC Pres will again delay its voting on FB scheduling. The Charlotte Observer hinted that it might have something to do with Notre Dame and financial distribution, which should surprise nobody.

    But before you cut down ND, note that it obviously have leverage here …. or this wouldn’t be taking so long. As long as ND continues to have its own network and draws a good audience, it has a lot of power, and like it or not, the B10 and B12 would immediately accept the Irish as a full time member if it decides to go in that direction.

    I’m no ND fan but these are the facts

    Like

    1. The ACC has the most leverage ever, where does ND play this year if not the ACC? Let them go to the B1g if they want, or fight with Texas over a financial split.

      I think the financial distribution is a small part of the story right now. Much more uncertainty on how to deal with Covid outbreaks, and whether there will even be school at many locations. Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas are still hot spots. What happens if and when the second wave comes in the fall as many have predicted?

      When baseball which has much more at stake can’t even get through early days, and can control the lives of the players much more is in jeopardy. How does college football expect to get it done?

      Plans are easy, execution of those plans a whole different story. One step at a time, first step develop a plan that everyone can live with (literally and figuratively), second step, survive Fall Camp.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. ND had 3 games cancelled so far …. Stanford, USC and Wisc. And the ACC are contractually liable for 6 games. Their games with Navy, Arkansas and WMU are still on. So right now, they have 9 games. And I cannot see them having an issue picking up another game or two if they choose to

        Like

        1. How enforceable is a contract if conferences can just dump their OOC games? Not saying it would be in the ACC’s interest to dump ND, but when the season is in jeopardy, they are kind of starting from scratch.

          Obviously Navy is still in the mix, but the ACC should not be negotiating from a position of weakness.

          Like

          1. Part of ND’s strength is they help pack opponents stadiums. Pretty much a mute point now.

            Like

            2. and the other part of ND’s strength is that it has its own network which is still very much in play. The ACC may have more leverage than usual right now, but obviously they very much think the association with ND is beneficial which must be considered in the long run

              Again, I have never ever been an ND fan but $wise they hold the cards

              Like

  66. They have all the leverage. They are smart. I dont fault leaders for being smart. Pitt I fault most of the time deservingly so

    Like

  67. The issue with ND could be that if the ACC picks up some additional games will they be televised on the ACC Network or NBC if at ND? This could potentially violate their contract with NBC. ND is going to have to cough up some of that cash if they want the ACC to absorb them for a year.

    Like

  68. ACC network, ND, no fans in stands, Comcast, league games only, bowls, etc., are all cards floating in the air all at once. Where they all land could be in the virus toilet.

    Liked by 1 person

  69. Do not forget the fact that NBC is very likely carried by every cable system in No America, and even those streaming can pick it up locally. Conversely, the ACCN is not even on Comcast, one of the, if not the, largest cable system of all

    Like

    1. from wiki …. Comcast Corporation (formerly registered as Comcast Holdings)[note 1] is an American telecommunications conglomerate headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[8] It is the second-largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world by revenue and the largest pay-TV company, the largest cable TV company and largest home Internet service provider in the United States, and the nation’s third-largest home telephone service provider. Comcast provides services to U.S. residential and commercial customers in 40 states and in the District of Columbia.

      But get this …. (also from wiki) .. As the parent company of the international media company NBCUniversal since 2011, Comcast is a producer of feature films and television programs intended for theatrical exhibition and over-the-air and cable television broadcast, respectively

      Like

  70. In UPitt land, biked from Ohiopyle to Confluence.
    Lunch at River’s Edge, a favorite. Trail is mostly shaded, whew!

    Like

  71. In UPitt land, biked from Ohiopyle to Confluence.
    Lunch at River’s Edge, a favorite. Trail is mostly shaded, whew!

    Like

    1. I conversed with Mark (Upitt) just this morning via quite a few texts. He’s doing good and his Dad is doing good. Mark is a good man. Despite being from Fayette County…. 🙂 ….LOL!

      Liked by 1 person

        1. That’s a great place that I’ll never see. We went to Bedford Springs once (the kids paid for it) that everyone raves about….. We were bored out of our minds. Homebodies in the first degree. Guilty as charged.

          Like

        2. That’s a one bridge town isn’t it. I’ve driven on that bridge before. The backwoods way to the parents.

          Like

    1. Mlb off to a bad start

      Nfl also bad and hasn’t even started

      And how can college football not be bad

      This will not end well

      Now premier league soccer did well. They travel. No fans. But these are pro athletes. And the virus level is relatively low in England.

      Like

    1. I’ll make sure to spike it with some vinegar. 🤠

      I just can’t see how football will finish. It’s outside a bubble. These are college kids. There’s travel involved. There’s physical interactions on campus from inside and outside. I see many a game being forfeited.

      Liked by 1 person

  75. I agree Tex…. I’m wavering back and forth taking into consideration the NFL component. The college players have a life to get on with.. It’s a complicated mess.

    Like

    1. To be honest with you, no college kid needs to forgo sex and beer just so fans can be entertained and for colleges to make money.

      Start up come Fall 2021.

      Like

  76. “I see many a game being forfeited”. I don’t have a problem with that. During the course of a COVID season (any sport) there will be periods where teams will have to use players deep on their depth chart, or possibly even have to forfeit a game or two if they can’t field a team safely. Probably would affect most If not all the teams. If the games can be done safely, I think it will make the season very interesting. I will hate if the season gets cancelled because their would be no guarantee that one one the Big Boy schools would win it all.
    PittPT who enjoys a good conspiracy theory…

    Like

    1. Some schools will be impacted more than others. But I think every school pretty much has to deal with cases. Depth is critical. And that applies to the coaching staff. But when kids and coaches start dieing, I think the discussion changes. And there will be a few deaths. Just don’t see how the season will last past October.

      Like

  77. If I understood wwb’s recent post, if the ACC were to terminate all its games with ND, they would be left with only 3 scheduled games this fall. That should provide some leverage that only a conference can wield. I previously mentioned that the selection of the national champion could likely go back to the old way by voting of coaches or the press. This could take into consideration the final strength of schedule due to the number of games played less any cancellations or COVID forfeitures.

    Also, the bowl season could be opened up to give teams some scheduling options in January, maybe even allow teams to schedule 2 January games to finish the season. If this were to happen, the NCAA could delay the start of the season until the end of September and still provide a route for interested teams to play 12 games.

    And I think when it gets right down to it, the college games will be played with or without fans in the seats.

    Like

    1. let me repeat …. obviously the ACC values the ND relationship and sees it very beneficial to the conference. Another thing to be realized is that ND is actually an ACC member in all other sports except ice hockey. Thus, this isn’t like Pitt telling Marshall ‘sorry, but it ain’t happening this year’

      Lastly, the ND games this year vs Duke, Clemson and Louisville will be broadcast on NBC — not the Comcastless ACCN which can’t be seen in most areas around the country. Like it or not, it is in the ACC’s best interest to maintain a long term interest with the Irish

      Like

  78. ACC announced football model for the this year. Only one division. Notre Dame is part of it. Not sure how Notre Dame is sharing their revenue yet. Pitt has 10 ACC opponents and one TBD non-conference game.

    Like

  79. Well, with this new schedule, as good as this Pitt team may be, it will struggle to go 6-4. At Clemson, at FSU, crime, the ACC did them no favors whatsoever. Crap!!

    Liked by 1 person

  80. Pitt will host Louisville, NCS, ND, Syr, and VT. Will play at BC, Clemson, FSU, GT, and The U. Not sure what OOC game it will play

    Like

  82. Haven’t had the chance to inspect the new schedule so correct me if I’m wrong but it doesn’t look like UNC is on it?

    Like

    1. you are correct. Don’t play UNC, Duke or WF …. the last 2 would likely be easy wins

      Like

  84. How in the hell does this happen to PITT. << No question mark as that’s a thought not a question. If PITT can win 8 games this year it would be a major miracle. Nope, not making excuses yet but how does Clemson magically appear on their schedule? Forget it… just bring em on!

    Like

  86. If I can trust my math….. looks like ND plays 10 ACC games? wtf? Notre Dame are the star boys and PITT is the Red-Headed stepchild of the ACC! Show me the money ND.

    Like

    1. Its my understanding that ND makes $15M from its NBC contract plus another $5.8M from the ACC for all the non-football games, so sharing the money means ND makes more TV money this year.

      Like

  87. I’m reading on the crawl of the Paul Finebaum that the ACC will play 1 OOC game in their own state. So I guess that means Miami O …. since Richmond is cancelled, ND is in conference and Marshall is an away game

    Like

    1. excerpt from Trib (DiPaola story) …. . The school and the league agreed to equally share TV revenue — including the Fighting Irish’s deal with NBC as an independent — among the 15 schools.

      Like

  88. It may be psu? Might as well throw them into the pile while we are at. I wonder if the Clemson people are thinking….. oh crap we have to play PITT?

    Liked by 1 person

  89. Thinking positively, we will then play either Clem or ND twice with one game being in the ACC championship game. I sure hope the players get their jersey money this year as they will surely have earned and deserved it.

    Question: who will be the 16th member ACC football team? I vote for Temple which is down the street from Comcast HQ.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. having a team in the Philly TV market would make sense … and they are building a brand new OCS I think

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  90. Wow, I did not expect this. Instead of staying with normal conference foes and making up the difference, they shuffle the whole deck. Slam us with away games at Clemson and the two Florida schools. Clemson or FLST would have been near sellouts at Heinz but noooo. As wbb points out the North Carolina teams all dodge Clemson their next door neighbor, funny how that works. At least our kids get to go deep south, will it be later in the season? Doubtful, not when they can send us to Covid hotspots.

    It is tough being the evil stepchild.

    We have a plan, will it actually happen? Stay tumed.

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    1. The rationale – if there even was one – is hard to figure. Unless they’re thinking the games down south could be back-ended on the schedule for better weather if the “season” gets drawn out…

      Don’t like not being scheduled for Duke, Virginia and UNC. But I don’t expect them to pull this off — now if we were in Europe, I could see there being a season.

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

  91. I don’t get this schedule at all. Was someone advocating for Pitt during the scheduling discussions? This will turn out to be one of the toughest schedules in the country.

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  93. If it happens, it will be fun to see how we perform, our guys like to get up for big games.
    Plenty of opportunity for upsets.

    Don’t see any reason for an ooc game though, especially since we have an experienced team.

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  94. When you have a AD with Zero Pull or Respect you get this. For all yu Heather Fans you made your bed.

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      1. Pitt is just ahead of Louisville in the ACC pecking order. And maybe not even

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  95. Honestly, why did the ACC even invite Pitt in if all they ever intended to do was treat them like crap and make sure every game is officiated by some dim-wit with a southern drawl.

    If they go 5-5 in the ACC they will have had a very good year. Wake, Duke and Virginia will be doormats but they won’t be welcoming Pitt!!

    Clemson learned its lesson and will never take Pitt lightly again. After getting trounced by the Tigers, we get to play FSU and Miami in away games. Two of the longest commutes possible in this horse-dung league.

    Wonder if the league was scared of what Pitt’s D-line might do to its fair-haired UNC Heisman wannabe QB. UNC probably better than Pitt but still, Howell has to have breathed a sigh of relief.

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  97. A 7-4 record would be impressive but I’m sure fans and Ron Cook will call for Narduzzi’s firing and Pitt will wilt. The Louisville and NC State games are crucial and can swing the season.

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  99. I doubt the season gets played in it’s entirety but if PITT can pull off 7 or 8 wins and depending on how the games play out would be a big win for PITT. I’m going with 8 wins with that defense. Hope they get the games in and I’ll sit back and watch…

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  100. I have a degree from the school (with a major in)…….. only worry about what you can control…… Proud alumni of Reality University. Let’s play ball.

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  101. One silver lining: we’ve been saying that this 2020 Pitt team could be the best in a decade. If they get to play the season, we’ll find out just how good they are.

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  102. so much for cutting down on travel

    Chris Peak@PantherLair
    ·This schedule has literally the 5 longest possible road trips for Pitt.

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  103. In 120 years of playing football, Pitt has only lost to Clemson once. What, me worry?
    I can’t wait to see Trevor’s golden, flowing locks dancing in the wind as he is chased around the backfield and thrown to the ground by Patrick Jones, Jaylen Twyman, Rashed Weaver and a blitzing Paris Ford

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  105. Assuming that Pitt football games cannot be played before Sept 7th, there is only one Saturday where the Pirates play at home. That’s Sept 19th. Hopefully we will play away on that day and not be forced into a noon game/7 AM tailgate situation. I know, I know. We don’t even know if fans will be permitted to attend. But I’m thinking positively.

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