in Pitt Football 2,574 Words

Pitt Loses Damarri Mathis for Season, Adds Austin Peay (Updated)

So it was kind of a bombshell newsday for Pitt. Starting Corner Damarri Mathis is out for the season with a “non football injury”. And then, as if to make up for the loss of Mathis (and it’s a big loss, more on that in a bit), Pitt announces they’ve added FCS power Austin Peay (pronounced Pee) as their September 12th game. Oh yea, and on top of that Pat Narduzzi held a press conference, which we will also dive into with our usual Pitt POV gusto.

First lets talk about Mathis. Anybody who thinks his loss will not impact this defense is either not following this team very closely or drinking so much kool-aid that they are [insert verb ending in “ing” here] red in the morning.

On the surface, Mathis was a slightly above average 2nd / 3rd corner on a good defense, and his 2019 stat line was not super-impressive. 23 tackles, 2 interceptions, 11 passes defended. Wait, what? 11 passes defended? Actually that IS kind of impressive. Upon further reveiw, it was second on the team behind Dane Jackson (12) and, and right above Damar Hamlin (10) and Paris Ford (9). Hmmm…

If we double-click into Mathis’ stats we learn that actually he was pretty doggone good. A quick look at the numbers: Mathis logged 372 coverage snaps last season. He was targeted on just 57 of those snaps, so basically he either had good coverage or the quarterback did not look Mathis’ way 85% of the time. Of the 57 times he was targeted, he allowed 21 receptions for 323 yards, and he gave up one touchdown. Meanwhile, Senior cornerback Dane Jackson was also targeted 57 times (although he logged 100 more coverage snaps that Mathis). Jackson gave up 27 receptions for 278 yards and FIVE touchdowns. Opposing QB’s passer rating vs Dane Jackson? 82.8. Against Mathis? 47.6. In fact, Mathhis’ 47.6 opposing passer rating was the best on the team (Kylan Johnson – surprise! – was second at 53.5, and Paris Ford was third at 60.9). Yea, Mathis had the propensity to give up the long ball, but despite what you may think, he was statistically our best corner last year, and it’s likely that he got better during the off season. That kind of skill set will not easily be replaced.

But it must be. So who will be replacing him? Well the conventional wisdom says there are two candidates:

  1. Marquis Williams
  2. AJ Woods

Lets start with Williams. He’s small (5’9″) but was highly recruited (23 offers – Mich State, Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Clemson –commitable? – being his best outside of Pitt), has some pedigree (5.7 on Rivals), and hails from Miami (always a plus).

So yes, you’d think that talent is there. He appeared in three games last season, but sadly, he did little to distinguish himself in coverage (although it can be said his tackling was highly rated by PFF).

  • UCF: 10 coverage snaps, 47.5 coverage grade
  • Va Tech: 0 coverage snaps
  • Eastern Michigan: 1 coverage snap, 60.0 coverage grade

Sadly, Williams was targeted six times and allowed five receptions for 70 yards and one touchdown. It was all against UCF after Jason Pinnock went out with an injury (he had one pass thrown against him in the bowl game). Still, Williams was not ready for prime-time against one of the better downfield passing attacks Pitt faced last year, and the coaches reluctance to give him meaningful snaps after that does not exactly instill confidence. Maybe he was hurt? We can only hope.

What we don’t know however, is how Williams developed since then. Surely he is better this year that last year. The question is how much better? Will he allow completions on just 50% of his targets instead of 83%? That’s better than last year, but it’s also not the guy we need playing our #2 corner position. Pat Narduzzi is going to talk him up…that’s his job, but until we see him on the field the jury is way out.

Also there is AJ Woods. Three star. 5.5. rating. 21 offers (Virginia, Temple, Navy being the top competitors…). Will be a sophomore. Did not log one coverage snap. Who the hell knows what this guy brings? Narduzzi is talking him up, so I’d say that gives us a 50% chance of Woods being competent. Time will tell.

Speaking of Narduzzi he held a presser today. So lets get into that.

He started off with a scrimmage update: Defense won the scrimmage by 2. We got a 123 play scrimmage in. It came down to the end. I feel the score was tied, 32-32. I always have different situations. I don’t know where i pulled this one. (Out of thin air Pat. You pulled it out of thin air.) After three overtimes, lets do two point plays, and the defense came up with stop down in the red zone. Most important we came out of it really healthy, and that’s all i got for you. What you guys got for me?

On how crisp the play will be to start out the seasons: Right now our guys are pretty crisp. They are having fun. I think their minds are a little bit better right now then they were a week ago or ten days ago, or 15 days ago, but even with missing spring ball, I think we got a smarter team. I know we are going to put a better team out there offensively than we did last year against Virginia. (Geez I hope so Pat) They are just way ahead of where they were last year. I feel good we are going to put a good product out there, it’s going to be fun to watch. Put your TV”s on, get your popcorn with a little extra butter and salt and get ready to go – as Paris Ford would say

On what’s improved mentally: We did some things in the off-season just during the quarantine time when they were home. All we had was our kids. If you asked any of our kids, just ask them about how were their meetings during quarantine, if they don’t say yes… I would say 90% of the kids we talked to were like “coach man i learned so much” (Well are they really going to say “hey coach I thought that zoom session was garbage – I’m kidding. I’m sure the sessions were valuable.)

Here’s an example: Borbs put on an “empty clinic”. “He we’re in empty – no back, just talking about every protection, every blitz total blitz they can get, and the O-line was just like wow. (How about a run-blocking clinic?)

Pat said they ordered greaseboards for every kid, so they could draw up a formation and then draw up the defense and the kids would put it up in front of them. Said he kept that one a secret so other teams wouldn’t find out. Always one step ahead that Pat Narduzzi.

On Joey Yellen: Quarterbacks are hard to tell unless you get them into a scrimmage, but I’d say there is a lot of competition at the QB position right now. Right now there is a battle going on between all three guys. We actually worked a lot of wildcat, because if you get in a jam, you might need that. But year QB’s are doing good. We’ve got a battle. (They say if you have three quarterbacks you actually don’t have any…)

On recruiting Devin Danielson: Coach Cherp [Bill Cherpak] was highly instrumental. I just remember a tough dude. A tough throwback defensive tackle that was going to playback a lot of football for us.

On When would they typically start looking at first week opponent: The first day we get off of recruiting in May. That’s why I was so upset with the Big 10. We put a lot of work in. Every coach in the ACC put a ton of work in. We spent a week on Miami of Ohio, maybe more. When the ACC scrapped our entire schedule and made up a whole new one, you know, why are we doing that. We were prepared for UNC, Virginia, Duke, we wasted a lot of time, and so did everyone else I’m sure. (Dude’s got a point).

On the scrimmage, what can we read from it: There is a lot to read. There were some explosive plays by the offense. We had a substitution issue. The offense is tempo a little bit. We had a red zone area where we had a stop and a Personal Foul on the defense – I won’t tell you who it’s on – It’s game-like situations that we put our kids in. Its something we have to work on defensively. [Editor’s Note: PAT YOU HAVE TO CLEAN THIS STUFF UP.]

On Izzy and the running back room: AJ was still banged up, but Izzy looked good. You know who really looked good was Daniel Carter. Just a big back, I don’t know what he weighs right now, he’s got to be about 230 lbs. Daniel ran with his pads low and with some leverage and was hard to get down. Obviously Vince Davis has had a great camp as well. There was nobody who was “The guy”. [As we suspected, Running Back by committee]

I’ll tell you Jordan Addison caught a ball down the sideline and took off like he was shot out of a canon. He’s going to be special.

Aydin Henningham has been impressive and Jaylon Bardon. Both two young guys who have really been good since the beginning. I wouldn’t be shocked to see those two playing for us this year as well.

On the CB’s – Freshman getting into the two-deep: Rashad Battle has played well. So has Jahvante Royal. Those two guys have stood out. Hunter Sellers as well. Battle and Royal are ahead. One of those three is going to play for us this year. We’ll see who can get to the 15th round of this heavyweight battle. (Dare I say… Battle Royal? I’m here all day folks.) All three are tough, and they’ve gotten a lot of reps. (Royal and Battle are four-stars I believe, both true Frosh.)

On the DT’s, losing Jaylen Twyman. Any position moves to cover? Thought about moving Bam Brima to DT. He’s tough, but still learning. The other guy – Deslin Alexandre is a guy that can play inside. I think he’s like 280 and moves really well. He could play D tackle as well if we got into a pinch.

On Paris Ford: Paris is beautiful. Paris had a pick-six. I won’t tell you who threw it. He has fun playing the game of football.

On Jordan Addison comparison: Boy I’m pretty bad at that. I remember is one guy probably don’t even want to mention his name in the city of Pittsburgh…

On how the players responded to taking one girlfriend instead of two or three: I think most of them are taking my advice! At the very least I say don’t break up with them until after this passes”

EJ interrupts: “Any non-romantic questions for coach before we move on?” [I’m now snorting my drink up my nose as I transcribe]

Unsolicited from Narduzzi: Danny Moraga has really gotten better the last couple days. [Oh very interesting you bring him up right after my TE article…]

Probably the other guy i’ll bring up that has had a great camp is Brandon Hill at Safety. Every day I have to say “Brandon Slow Down”. He’s always diving over the pile. He’s explosive, he’s physical. [Also interesting that Duz called him out because he was featured in the scrimmage film as the defensive #22 who I called out as “Playing with Leverage” in one of the early shots. I’m not saying I’m driving the agenda here, but it’s nice to get some context on the guys we are seeing on the highlight reels.]

On the Tackles” They looked …solid. I think coach Borbs was maybe not as happy…but you know the O-line take times to gel, and he’s moved a lot of guys around in there. I would say he would have given them a C on Saturday. He’s constantly pushing them, and they can be better. You know we can be better everywhere. If you can block our defensive line you can be okay wen you get into the ACC and the rest of the conference. [This is about as honest an assessment you are going to get from the Duzz, IMO. Basically he was like, well…they are okay. And that’s about what I’m ready to believe. How much better can they get between now and Sept 12th is the qeustion]

I’ll stop here and say that this next section is pure gold. Yes you can read it and you might chuckle, but if you watch the recording you will be grinning from ear to ear. At any rate, I’ll try to capture the basics.

On the AP Poll and Pitt not getting a vote: {Reporter}: Somebody on this call votes in this poll. It’s not me. You didn’t get one vote. {Narduzi}: I don’t look at all that stuff. Somebody on this call is a voter? Chris Peak is a laughing over there. (Jokingly) EJ, do not send [the voter] a the ZOOM link anymore! Are you kidding Jerry? Jerry…. why? Why did you not vote for us??? {Jerry DiPaola…deadpan serious}: Well you lost some some games at the end of the year; you lost Twyman. I’d put you at maybe 28 and 29. {Narduzzi, jokingly}: I used to like you…

On if the players care about the polls: I would hope they play with a chip. (jokingly) It’s typical when you have guys like Jerry voting…you know we have a pretty good defense coming back with some pretty good players, and you know Jerry talks bout losing Jaylen. And Jaylen did call me last night and asked about taking classes. See if we can get is degree for him. Last year we lost Weaver and Camp and knock on wood we don’t lose anyone else. If I’m voting for the USA Today coaches poll I’m voting us in the top 25 I can tell you that right now. I don’t know where i’ll vote us, but I’ll take our quarterback any single day, and I like the football team we’ve got, but what the hell do I now. I should be asking Jerry questions (smiling) He’s on my s___ list! {Jerry}: “You did ask me a question!”

Narduzzi was clearly having fun with this one, and it’s nice to have a coach who can cut up a little bit on camera. (But please leave the reporter’s wives out of it Pat!)

On the offensive tempo: You know there are times last season when we went fast, but I guess it’s just more tempo. More of what we did. Kenny really likes it. If you asked him about it, he’d probably get a big smile on his face. He likes to go fast. He wants to get the defense tired so they can’t rush the passer.

Even in a two minute situation when i want to use a timeout, Whip doesn’t want use a timeout, because he doesn’t want the defense to get a breath. So there are different strategies and different ways to look at it, but getting a defense tired so they can’t rush the passer, and them to where they can’t think

Well we certainly had some tempo on this Zoom call. Enjoy it folks & Hail to Pitt.

Michaelangelo Monteleone

136 thoughts on “Pitt Loses Damarri Mathis for Season, Adds Austin Peay (Updated)”

  1. Was anyone besides Tex hoping we opened up against ELON? Austin Peay was no pushover last year and may well give Pitt a decent game come 9/12. Keep in mind that Pitt really rolled over no opponent last season when trotting out last seasons offense.

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  2. Whats terrible about losing Mathis is that he was getting a free season anyways and now that is wasted. If PITT can’t whack Austin Peay then I have no business even caring about them whatsoever. SOP luck!

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  3. Austin Peay (pronounced “Pee”) is located in Clarksville, Tenn. and named after the TN Governor at the time. They are the “Governors” so they really must have liked old Austin.

    They are the “Let’s Go Peay!” School, so they have a sense of humor…

    Go Pitt.

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  4. Unfortunately I will be teaching a class on the morning of Sept 12, scheduled it when Marshall cancelled and the season was on the rocks. Think there is any chance it will be a night game?

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    1. Mark, check the Pirates and Steelers schedule for the 12th and 13th. Both teams are out of town so it could be a possibility but I have my doubts.

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      1. Great idea ike! My guess is that with Pitt originally scheduled to be out of town at Marshall the Pirates will be playing at night if home.

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  5. My guess is that Marquis Williams is the likely replacement for Mathis. Whoever is the replacement will be picked on big time.

    Williams is pretty quick, but at 5’8” he might be a clone of Avonte Maddox, so look for a lot of jump balls.

    A.J. Woods is probably the other candidate unless there’s a Revis-like corner among the Freshmen… AJ is supposed to have a lot of speed.

    “Pitt Football — Always Something…”

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. UAP, well, they put up a lot of points, have a big time wideout, have a lot of transfers from big time programs. If we can’t win going away it will be a long season

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  7. AP’s coach took a leave of absence this season, lost its starting QB and a good running back.

    I’m more worried about the loss of Mathis. I’m hoping Woods seizes the job. Head scratching that there is zero proven depth at corner when it seems we recruit 10 DBs a year. Safety depth is unproven and lacks numbers.

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    1. We move a lot of them to linebacker but you are totally right about the depth. Someone’s got to step up or it’s going to be a long season.

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  12. Does Pedo have a DB that wants to play this season? Someone who wants to head for the NFL this Spring might want to get some playing time in first.

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  14. If the big upset does occur, the headline will read : Peay all over Pitt…….

    Ike, when i read your aging fanbase and “LET Go Peay” instead of LETS…I was thinking incontinence as if it was an order from the brain, to the groin.

    Easy peasy first 5 games for the boyz of fall. They should be heavily favored in at least 4 of those contests.

    I am not overly concerned with Mathis loss and I hope it is not too serious or covid serious with a ticker. Wish him well and a speedy recovery. I think he played good, but not excellent. Reading comments it seems like all of our players should be # 1 picks. Mediocre players, mediocre coaches, mediocre recruiting equals mediocre record……usually! This year they have some players on D….well, we did.

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    1. Read somewhere that Mathis has like the 2nd best incompletion % against of all acc corners last year. Haven’t looked him up on PFF yet. It’s a blow. The depth behind him needs to develop or nards defense ain’t going to work right

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  15. from Pantherlair: Now the Pitt staff will have to find an underclassman – or two – to start opposite Pinnock. Redshirt sophomore Marquis Williams was projected to be the No. 3 corner behind Pinnock and Mathis, and he would figure to be the top candidate to step into the starting lineup.

    Last week, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi also praised the training camp play of sophomore A.J. Woods, who played in 10 games on special teams as a true freshman last season.

    “Williams and A.J. Woods are playing at a high level right now,” Narduzzi said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence putting those guys in.”

    Narduzzi has also praised current freshmen Jahvante Royal and Rashad Battle. Both were four-star prospects in Pitt’s 2020 recruiting class, and while Royal was listed as a safety and Battle was listed as a cornerback, they could play either defensive back position and have been working at corner since they got to Pitt.

    While Mathis is in his final year of eligibility this year, the NCAA’s decision to not count 2020 toward any fall student-athletes’ eligibility could allow him to return in 2021, if he is so inclined.

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  16. If you want to see a preview of Austin Peay, they are playing Central Arkansas for the first weekend of 2020 on ESPN this Saturday, Aug. 29 at 9 PM

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Wish Mathias a safe & speedy recovery. Non-FB related? Riding Tipton’s bike through Pittsburgh has already proved to be dangerous.

    Let the cornerback “Battle-Royal” begin!

    Next man up!

    Liked by 1 person

  18. BTW, 3-star Mathis had 20 offers according to Rivals, but the best offers besides Pitt were Louisville, Minnesota, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

    Chances Are we’re going to miss Mathis.

    Go Pitt.

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    1. Penn state? Clemson? (I doubt commitable). Wisconsin? Nebraska (ain’t what it used to be I guess)

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        1. Ah sorry too much margarita… got him mixed up with Williams who is likely is replacement … updated article coming. Man I am 0-2 today against you. You think I’d learn …

          Liked by 1 person

  19. Maryland has 6 or 7 DB’s in the portal – only one is a 4 star out of HS. Pass…

    There is a supposed good one from Stanford who has not signed with anyone yet – CB Eobi

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  20. Hey y’all I’ve written an actual article about all this now. Also added Duzz’ interview. Not my best work, but maybe worth refreshing your browser for.

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  21. Notre Dame always seems to have tall WRs, maybe a hassle for V Williams. He said that Borbs is hard on his OL and would probably gave them a C so far. Don’t knw how to take that, but I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it turns out to be a vastly improved unit

    I do think the offense will have more speed in all skill positions this year, so that may be the most positive thing to look forward to

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Mathis made the preseason Athlon 3’rd team All ACC. He was not on the Pro Football Focus All ACC +1 (Notre Dame) preseason team.

    Mike – I see you are using your new PFF toy. Adds another dimension to your articles.

    May I suggest you take a look at Pitt’s special teams- kickers, punters, etc. Interesting stuff.

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      1. Good – take a look at PFF’s preseason All ACC +1 . Especially in relation to my suggestion.

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  25. MM — Appreciate all that new stuff you posted. Love to hear the “coach speak” about camp – of course you have to read between the lines, that’s the game…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  26. Duzz pulled a reed on jerry dipaolo called him out for not voting for pitt im AP poll hilarious duzz gives the media a big eff you i love it .as far as mathis. Next man up

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  27. Jerry should have picked Pitt around 20th to preserve his inside status with Narduzzi. It really means nothing at this point since it is a judgment call, but I would hope that being on the good side of Narduzzi could get him a scoop or two as the season goes on (like what really happened with Mathis).

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  28. I’m not so sure if some of that was unrehearsed public banter. ?? Both seem to enjoy the back and forth although Narduzzi could be pissed but I really don’t think so. Always good to prove others wrong.

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  30. What is a non-football injury that would make a player be out all season?

    I think he is a bug loss, depends on the guys behind him. Good teams have depth that can produce.

    Liked by 1 person

  32. Let’s hope Narduzzi can reel this Burton OL in. BTW, we’ve heard in the past that Jerry sort of irritates Narduzzi, who never misses a chance to get under his skin. I personally like Jerry’s writing, and hope that he doesn’t move over to the Steelers beat.

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      1. Because he sucks as a coach? Is that good enough?

        Losing 3 of 4 to the Nitters is a fireable offense in the Book of Tex.

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          1. Walt didn’t get fired. He walked away. Smart man. You can’t fix stupid. And Pitt athletics is what it is…a drunken sailor with a venereal disease and a dime to his name.

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      2. Oh hell yes – 8-5 certainly demands a top ranking! OMG – we beat powerhouse EMU by 4 points! In a bowl game no less! No respect.

        Any coach with an average 7.2 wins per season at Pitt should be a damn shoe-in! To say nothing of his 1-3 bowl record.

        If that doesn’t define excellence what does?

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        1. ^^Did you ever hear of returning players and players lost by other teams? Kind of changes the playing field. Reed, do you still hate the Bates hire?

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        2. You guys would have like hearing Starkey defending Jerry on the radio today. Jerry was on and said it was all in fun – sort of… Starkey ranted on how Coach Duzz and Pitt haven’t done anything for many years to deserve to be voted for…

          Jerry said he got a good-natured e-mail from Duzz after the Zoom call…

          BTW, the N.C. State vs. VT game was rescheduled from their openers to Sept. 26th – so I think that means that N.C. State will no longer be off the week before playing Pitt…

          Go Pitt.

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            1. Apparently it is the Fan’s policy to never say anything remotely positive about Pitt. Must be in their individual contracts…

              Go Pitt.

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    2. Sheer marketing genius move by Heather. Associate yourself with a beer that tastes like toilet water backsplash.

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  34. I might have to drive up for the Austin-Peay game just so I can tell my grandchildren I was there for that history making match up.

    Hope all is well with the POV family…stay safe please.

    Liked by 2 people

  35. BTW – Joe Huber – what does “pulled a reed” mean exactly? If you are referring to me at least you can capitalize my name as a small point of respect. Or… you can address me as Commander Reed and then I shall address you as…???

    BTW – I have sung Narduzzi’s praises with his sterling off-the-field leadership of our players and his staff over the last five years. Sorry if that is more important to me than, as stated above, 7.2 wins a season.

    Also – how many actually one-on-one conversations have you had with Narduzzi? Or any of the Pitt staff and admin over the years for that matter? I’d guess none.

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  36. did someone spark a fire?

    glad journalists are so objective,,,,or is that not a thing

    fragile egos

    it was banter,,,and if it wasn’t, wgaf, it’s entertainment

    Liked by 2 people

    1. talking about it first is one way but not sure that opens it up completely

      probably needs to also waive privacy on it and best written rather than verbal

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      1. Does anyone remember the Iron City Beer commercial where two guys are fishing in a boat and one praises the beer – and the other guys says “What makes you an expert?” and the first guy says (as he’s slapping the cooler top closed) “Experience!”

        One of my favorites from back in the day.

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  38. BREAKING: NC St at Va Tech scheduled for 9/12 has been postponed until 9/26 due to cluster of Covid19 cases at NCS. Is this just the start of thing?

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  39. won’t finish due to the death of a player? unlikely but not impossible

    tired of this but do you know the CFR for under 20 without comorbidities?

    sit out the year if you are risk averse, quit football if risk averse

    coaches wear masks or sit out! especially if comormidities present

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    1. You must not live in reality. This will all end badly. It already has gotten off to such a splendid start and we aren’t even tackling each other yet. Just swizzling beers at the off campus party house. I’ll let you borrow the keys to my Tardis one day.

      Tex

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      2. it very well may,,,,right now I am happy, if it ends early, I will still be happy

        and don’t get me wrong, some things would make me far less happy and even sad and angry

        maybe I need a psych eval but I’d rather live and lean happy

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          1. I’m better after a shot of bourbon. I’ll buy you one some day on me. I may be the messenger of End of Days but I’m fun to drink with until it’s your time.

            Tex whose cousin is the Angel of Death.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Tex, if you think life’s bad now just wait till the common cold and ole norm flu season arrive in a few weeks… God forbid you catch one of those virus’s…. you’re so wired with the “ constant corona “ bombardment I worry you could blow a fuse if you catch a cold thinking it’s the COVID…

              Liked by 1 person

      3. Better bring your son home from college now. Not sure why you would even let him enroll this year Tex with the pandemic outbreak likely at his school.

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        1. He’s at home. Online schooling. His first day was today. Texas is doing things right. Not sure what happens second semester.

          My towns high school is also online so my daughters protected as well. My town is also affluent, highly educated and very diverse. I’m sure that has something to do with it. Sad but true.

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  40. I’ll believe there is a college football season when I see a game or hear one on the radio. If I were a Bama or Sec fan I would be more positive but I have my doubts. Priorities are just not the same.

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    1. So true. And I don’t care what they do. A&M just had over 500 students test positive. It’s a joke with Longhorn students. A very sad joke. But the Aggies have never been bright. No apologies to anyone who has a son or daughter in College Station. You’re a Nitter to me now.

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    2. Ike – Austin Peay vs. Central Arkansas This coming Saturday 8/29 on ESPN at 9pm. Just in time for one of many “let’s go Peay” for the night.

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      1. LOL Richard, I’ll be tuning in for no other reason than inspiration. Then watch it on tape delay later on. Actually, my prostate is one of the few dam things in my body that works halfway decent.

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  41. To schedule this game, i presume that Austin Peay has agreed to follow the Covid testing and safety protocols of the ACC?

    Here’s hopin’…🤔

    Go Pitt.

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    1. Pitt agreed to pay pee some gravy money. I figure one million. Elon probably would have accepted a mere $700k.

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      1. I understand that a POV team, led by I five-star BigB behind center, five-star Fran “The Franchise” Lastrow at tailback, five-star Wolfe in the slot, and four-and-a-half star Scooter set out wide (real wide), would have played for a mere $500K! 😊

        Go Pitt.

        Liked by 2 people

    1. I will be tuned into this game. Any college football is a good thing right now. I might even put up an open thread

      Liked by 2 people

    2. Sorry – didn’t see your comment or give credit to the previous commenter when I replied to Ike above.

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      1. Conference games to be played in the spring. Some FCS conferences allowed their members to play up to 4 non conference games in the fall.

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  43. I’m thinking right now the odds of college football lasting until October are about 1 in 5.

    “More than 500 cases at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Nearly 160 at the University of Missouri in Columbia.”

    And, this article in this morning’s NY Times sports section:

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  45. Good point jrn, if I shared the same views as Tex, I highly doubt I would send my favorite son off to a college campus. Unless it was to play football.

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    1. ah, sent my favorite away but he immediately gave up “favorite” status when he decided not to continue to wreslte 😉

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    2. My son is a five star academic recruit. Full ride scholarship. His playing field is his computer at home. Why are five star athletes forced to play? Talk about a double standard. These athletes are modern day slaves. The NCAA rests on a garbage heap of lies and hypocrisy.

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      1. They are free to leave Tex.
        That is not slavery.
        Anyway, have them go play minor league football.
        No class
        Plenty time to lift weights.
        Fine with me.
        Kids that are students and football players can stay in school.

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        1. I would also venture to say that many of them want to play. Just like many people want to go to restaurants. I’d you can follow a safety protocol at a restaurant then why can’t you follow a safety protocol on the football field? I don’t see the difference.

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          1. Mike – I hope that is tongue in cheek – in a eatery no one is spitting on you, sweating on you, breathing… you get the point.

            And they bite in those piles of sweaty guys also.

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          2. MM must go to some hellacious restaurants,,,probably worse than Dick’s Last Resort 🙂

            i hope the food is really worth it, it isn’t at Dick’s

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            1. Hah. Man if you only knew … some of these backwoods bbq joints down here in jaw-ga

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            2. I would eat a cold Narduzzi meatball before I ever ate at Dicks again. Probably a greater chance of catching food poisoning than the covid at that place.

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      2. That’s not a five star comment Tex… ask Twyman and many other players around the country. BTW we know nothing as to why Twyman left the team. As far as we know??????????? use your imaginations.

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  46. I’m actually fired up to watch Austin Pee vs. Central Arkansas, wait they didn’t come out right. … oh I did it again. Excited about the game will have to do.

    Liked by 2 people

  47. reed bringing politics into a football discussion hint i give zero effs about anyone heres take on covid stick to football

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  48. maybe you don’t know but they are somewhat related this year Jo unfortunately covid/politics/football mix hopefully only just this once

    otherwise everyone would give zero effs about your take too except for personal attacks and from what I’ve seen MM takes care of any of those well

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    1. Actually everyone does give zero effs about jo’s take, but he is entitled to his opinion.

      Jo – I’ll politely ask you to abide by your own advice and stick to football. No more mentions of Reed. We all know why you think about him. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  49. I’ve spoken with college kids, and they fully understand and are willing to take the risk of getting COVID on campus. They basically equate it with the flu, and believe they are not going to get real sick. The important thing is to stay away from adults and especially the elderly until they have had their COVID illness and are then not going to pass it along to others.

    Colleges should be focused on testing and containment so that kids who test positive can remain in isolated dorm rooms for 14 days while continuing classes online. Football players are safer in their contained bubble than in the population at large. If they get COVID, it’s two weeks on the bench (figuratively) in most cases.

    With the new saliva testing and rapid results for $10 a pop, the players can be tested early before practices and the games so that no player testing positive for COVID gets on the field and plays. Not sure if Reed is calling for terminating the season, but once again Tex takes the most extreme, inflexible position on this site.

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    1. Let’s see how this all plays out. You may not get ‘sick’ and die but could have future health complications. And you could catch it again. Tough to separate players from coaches. Unless they are testing every day with instant results and then do the proper quarantine and tracing, this experiment will end badly.

      My son isn’t being pressured to be on campus and in labs. Why? Because he doesn’t help make the university millions. But there is enourmous pressure on players to take this risk. And of course most want to play. That gets them out of taking a full slate of courses and allows them to keep in shape and have some fun. Get on TV. I understand that.

      But don’t underestimate that pull of the dollar over the health of all those involved. It’s not extreme to value health and safety over money. It’s not as safe as you make it sound particularly when contact begins with players outside your bubble.

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      1. can it be a bottle rather than just one shot?
        i think i’ll need more 😉

        tvax who literally just paid his kid’s out-of-state tuition via echeck rather than force him to choose UMD where it would have been virtually ZERO dollars

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        1. he’s worth it though

          please let the season make it to Nov 14

          anyone want to watch some wrestling videos? 🙂

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            1. I feel your pain tvax1. My younger son could have had a full tuition ride to Alabama, but we forked over the dough for him to go to Pitt. At least it was in-state tuition. Here’s hoping the season lasts til Nov 14!

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  50. I understand the medical/educational confidentiality reasons for not revealing which students/team members/staff members have covid 19 or any other medical condition unless the individual chooses to do so. However I don’t know that there is any restriction on sharing aggregate numbers. Does anyone know if this information is available? It would be good to know how many team members, students on campus, and others on the Pitt campus have been infected. H2P, Soccer Gramps

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  52. oh sorry, I didn’t include the term football. Ok, so you can take a saliva test before a game and know the results in the 4th quarter. Now it qualifies for football talk.

    Liked by 3 people

    2. I get it, if I ever post another video or post a social comment I’ll randomly insert the words PITT football. For instance, I’m having brain surgery early September and I may miss a few PITT football games. Would that be permissible? Jus kidding, no surgeries planned at this moment. Go PITT football!

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  55. The ‘long-term’ effects argument seems powerful as a deterrent for avoiding exposure to Covid19 for kids now, but then again, many other things they get exposed to routinely can and have long-term effects also (including heart and other serious concerns): chicken pox, various other flu/virus strains, herpes, hepatitis, bronchitis, mono, sepsis, ear infections, poison ivy/sumac/other rashes, on and on…and these are usually handled on an individual, ‘as-needed’ basis?! I get it that we don’t know a lot about Covid19 now but why do we have to automatically assume the worst in place of data? A few kids get very ill or die every year from heat exhaustion in summer/fall camps, or from carrying too much weight — that’s pretty bad too.

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