in Pitt Football 281 Words

Good, Bad and Ugly: Austin Peay

Quick observations…

Good: Really the first all around dominant Pitt win we’ve seen a while, even though it was against sub-par competition. Still, we’ve seen the Panthers play sloppy football in these types of situations and to their credit, they came out and took care of business.

Also good: 1st team offense. 1st and 2nd team defense. Backups got some work. We got a look at the backup QB’s. DJ Turner played well for only 10 days of practice. The refs let the kids play. Pickett was not touched in the pocket and Carter Warren looked like a different guy out there.

Bad: Two, maybe three dropped passes in first half. I’m picking nits here though. Maybe I’m just a little shell shocked. Pickett also should have rightfully had three TD’s – Kyi Wright dropped one and Jaylen Barden clearly was in bounds and over the pylon bit the refs called him out at the 1. Baldonaldo injury. Krull on sideline. Joey Yellen was a dumpster fire out there. Pat Narduzzi somehow managed to ice his own kicker…(and then that was followed up by a botched snap and missed xp…)

Ugly: (Note there is some question as to whether this is actually a penalty. I looked it up and the rule reads “no two players of the same team shall participate in the same down wearing identical numbers. This was the 2018 rule book.). The punt team had the same number on the field at the same time multiple times. They need to get that cleaned up next time. Really inexcusable and is the only part of the afternoon that stank of SOP. Yep I said it.

137 thoughts on “Good, Bad and Ugly: Austin Peay”

  1. I would like to remind everyone that Pitt opened up in 2014 with a 62-0 romp … only to late lose at home to Akron by 11 points

    And the last time Pitt dominated a game from start to finish, was back in 2017 when Reed’s favorite QB was 28 for 32, 410 yards and 4 TDS. That team won 5 games.

    While I have no doubt that this team is much more talented than those 2 teams, we have no idea how hard or soft the schedule will be, only thing for sure is that Pitt will play 2 really good teams.

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  2. What a joy to watch Pitt football and not tense up. The play did not look at all like it was the 1st game of the year. No 1st half penalties called on us (that I can remember), tho the refs missed a pass interference call or 2.

    It was nice to see our receiver get separation, and make catches. Lot of film on backups to review and teach from. Glad to see so many backups in the 2nd half get a lot of time. And, yes, Mike I, too, was disappointed in Yellen’s play – nerves , or not yet ready for prime time??

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  4. GOOD:

    A convincing win with several starters sidelined

    Freshmen contributing in many ways

    Punt return rush

    The ACC season starts next week vs cuse

    BAD:

    Two dropped TD passes

    Back-up OLine except Zubovic

    Punt returns (the only thing we know is we can catch the ball)

    UGLY:

    No fans, not even parents in a 68,000 seat stadium (really poor optic)

    Missed FG and botched extra point

    Coaches not knowing whether to accept or decline a penalty for what seemed lyke several minutes

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      1. It’s not upto Pitt — that decision was made by the others, the SEA I think. No fans at either PNC or Heinz in September.

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  5. Good:
    So many kids getting to play
    So few penalties and the offense looked sharp, especially for a first game.
    KP was very accurate.
    Big plays by so many.
    Narduzzi showed class calling off the massacre in the second half.

    Bad:
    Baldonado getting hurt
    second string offense was very weak
    Parents should be allowed to attend.

    Ugly:
    Not a thing

    Need to stay healthy

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Rick, (EE) I really didn’t watch Drexel very much, I’m too anal and just the ball like a cave man.

    Maybe there is a special rule this year that allows same numbers on the field since there are so many eligible players to play?

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  8. It happens every year — why won’t Narduzzi allow a real competition for the QB job instead of just giving it to Pickett?

    (I wanted to make sure we didn’t miss this traditional annual post after the opener… 😊)

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 5 people

  9. Didn’t see the game as I didn’t have time to find a stream of it.

    The goods for me were that it didn’t sound like Narduzzi minimized things so as to not give up secrets, and I loved that so many players got in the game (70?).
    The bad for me was not getting to see Kroll play.

    BTW, I have it on good authority that Austin Peay loaded up on asparagus in their pre-game meal….

    Liked by 2 people

  10. Based on saying hello to them at an LOI event and watching their interviews, I gotta think that Damar Hamlin and Paris Ford are two of the coolest guys in all of college football.

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Posted at around 8pm last night

    Andrea Adelson
    No. 1 Clemson to be without 3 starters vs. Wake Forest
    Clemson will be without three starters — CBs Derion Kendrick, Mario Goodrich and DE Justin Foster — for Saturday’s game at Wake Forest. No reasons were given for the absences.

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  13. Maestro – glad to see you were motivated to do a good bad & ugly posting.That’s actually great.

    The kids were ready to play and executions was very good most of the time. We beat them as we were supposed to – which by the way is a very good thing. Winning when you are supposed to is one of the foundations of a good, well-coached team.

    Pickett looked faster than last year. I liked that they ran some designed QB runs.
    Addison likewise has great speed and appears to tbe able to catch a ball.
    Both of which have absolutely nothing to do with the level of competition faced. Nada.

    Running backs – AJ Davis almost coughed up the ball. I believe he’s the one who fumbled in the UCF game deep in our own end that started the Knights comeback. He’s gonna have a tough time getting touches with that stuff happening. Betting that Vincent will get all of the Davis calls this year. Glad Izzy got some touches. Hope he continues to run well as the competition level increases. Was glad to Sibley in the game – he’s oour biggest back and was disappointed we did not see more of him last yr, although I understand he wasn’t always healthy.

    Drops again. I saw where Huff’s book scored the one as uncatchable. I’ll stick with Bostick’s view – alligator arms. AJ Woods getting beat was not good and I hate to say it, but is reminscent of opening games gone by when we made lesser teams look good.

    Loved the implementation of the mercy rule for the 2nd half Was the right thing to do

    Love Billy Hillgrove and its clear that just like Mike Lange, he is starting to lose his edge a bit. That said, I thought Jeff Hathorn did a decent job (please don’t respond as if I said exceelent), but the best play by play guys are those who can not only desribe the play as it unfolds, but do so evocatively. Those of you who said it was an awful broadcast are spending your superlative chips like a drunken sailor on shore leave.

    Pitt did a nice job witht he On Location stuff. Creative and adaptive. Remember folks, Heather gets no credit for any of that stuff.

    I thought the attendance sucked, btw.

    Liked by 3 people

    2. Hey and a tip of the hat to Austin Peay for making bourbon out of vinegar. They are playing three games this year…correct? Good for them to use the opportunity to keep their kids engaged while everything else is nuts. Hope they – and the Pitt squad remaina healthy.

      Liked by 3 people

  14. Pitt’s defense, as good as advertised.

    Austin Peay QB was their starting QB first game last year. He got hurt first game. They won 11 games and had many starters back. Are they up to PITT standards? No but they are well coached yet out-manned by P-5 teams. PITT did what they were suppose to do. Good for them.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. ike, you were supposed to sleep well last night due to the big win, and you were up posting at 4 AM. Must have been the heartburn from the wings!

    Anyway, the good is obvious, the bad is Baldonaldo’s injury and maybe some lack of DL depth next Saturday if Weaver and Camp can’t play. The ugly was the missed field goal. No pressure, medium range and yet a miss. I predicted 8 wins this year that included 2 close ones decided by our kicker. Should I worry?

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  16. Couple thoughts:
    —Nice to see KP get rewarded for keeping his eyes down-field on the TD pass to Turner. (I can hear Scooter screaming “He’s open! He’s open!”)
    —I hope MM is right about Warren. He does seem to be moving with a bit more urgency, but I remain skeptical on how he will do again ACC DEs with any quickness…
    —Shocky going to get the business from his teammates today for not getting into the end zone on the long pass play. Where were the jets!
    —V. Davis has a nice burst – looks like he added some muscle.
    —V. Davis also took a helmet to the helmet at the goal line with no call.
    —The burning question – what to do about that cornerback spot. Based on the past, it takes Duzz’s corners some time to get the knack of playing that position. Course, we don’t have any time this season…
    —I feel bad for whoever is the punting-unit coach for Austin Peay.

    Go Pitt.

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  17. now you see what happens when you schedule OOC like most other programs …. many people with rosy outlooks. Look at many of the comments above.

    I estimate the cynicism starts in 2 weeks, even if Pitt is undefeated.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. One more factor to consider this year. The Navy coach said they didn’t do any tackling in Fall camp due to COVID concerns, and they got smoked in the first game. So preparation could be an issue in some early games.

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  19. MM – FYI, for some reason, this “Good, Bad and Ugly” article is not showing up when I go to WordPress. I had to use the search on WordPress to get it to come up.

    Probably just me…

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    1. Interesting, so how about that? When a team is already covering a bet at halftime, the game is disqualified because of time played. hmmm? What that tells me is the money was on PITT. hmmm……..

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  21. Flipped on College Gameday to see if any Pitt highlights were shown..
    Might have missed it but didn’t see any. But they showed highlights of an OLD big 10 Michigan v Minnesota game. Also a long segment of what might happen if the almighty big 10 decides to play.
    WRECK?
    Also a large block of

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  22. The Good: Addison, Bardem, Abanikanda, Hayes, Battle …. all from the 44th ranked class

    The Bad: Baldonero injury

    The Ugly: many petty things mostly in 2nd half

    Liked by 1 person

  23. The Good: Just about everything including the wings. Special shout out to Kenny Pickett.

    The Bad: Baldo’s injury surely wasn’t good and it would be tragic to lose him for the year when he was getting a free year anyways.

    The Ugly: No fans, No parents and No respect from a few that Poo Pooed the win. There I said it again.

    iek, who is suffering from insomnia and is Poo Pooed out.

    Liked by 2 people

  24. I thought I saw about 47,000 fans in Heinz yesterday… Oh wait, that was Heather’s estimate. ike, would you rather Poo or Peay next week for Cuse? By the way, this guy Bardem is an interesting fellow. I never heard of him before, but there is something about him that tells me he is going to be a good football player.

    And one problem we POVers will have as the weeks go on is that with COVID positive cases we won’t know if a player is injured or out for a specific period with COVID. Krull was on the sidelines so I’m guessing he was banged up, but Camp was nowhere to be seen, so maybe he and Weaver went to the same party?

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    1. Camp and Weaver are roommates.

      Which coach calls the plays if Whipple tests positive for COVID-19?

      UNC ran rough on cuse in the 2nd half. Pitt averaged 4.2 ypc against a FCS team. A lot to be learned next week.

      H2P!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hate to say it, but Coach Salem might be the backup play caller. When Chaney bolted I think it was Salem who called the miserable bowl game against Navy…

        Go Pitt.

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      2. Whipple would call plays from his remote location. Actually I think Pickett could call his own plays.

        Why do I feel Tommy Diveto will have a hangover for next weeks game?

        Anyone hear from Tex? I think he has his own hangover and is drowning in his sorrow over this PITT win. Jus kidding you buddy but I had to go there. 🙂

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  26. College’s Poll now has Pitt ranked 27th with 81 votes just behind Georgia Tech but just ahead of WVU. No sight of Penn State on the list. Oh, wait. Just remembered. Too bad (not)

    Liked by 2 people

  28. The Big 12 got clowned yesterday. Iowa St,. Kansas & Kansas St. all lost to cupcakes…..and Texas Tech barley won by 2 over Houston Baptist, 35-33.

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  29. On both of Kenny’s longer scampers he almost stopped, stutter-stepped, and juked his defender before blowing past him. There is your shifty runner you’ve been searching for Majors. Just wish you could have watched it.

    Liked by 2 people

  30. It was great to see a blowout!!!! Pitt does not have them very often any more. Hopefully all the Covid cases will test negative next week.

    Picket looked great. I hear that there are tight ends that can actually catch footballs thrown to them. Maybe we shall see one someday wearing a Pitt uniform. We used to have them but they have become very scarce in these parts. That is the only ugly I can think of from watching the game. Hopefully the injury was not serious.

    Looking forward to watching the Syracuse game next week to see were we stand against better competition.

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  31. Oh and BTW, the asterisk already has become prevalent and is in play. Second half ten minutes shorter than a regular college game will make football stats irrelevant. First off, I call BS on the decision and secondly I feel bad for Richard, who depends on statistics. Sadly, they will be even more meaningless to me now than they were before. Just like PITT being rated higher than psu right now. Not sure if an asterisk is a big enough word, how bout bogus? Such is life these days.

    Wait, here is another thought. There are a couple cool points about the lack of fans in the stands.

    It’s fun to hear the interaction, play calling and getting the players set with all the terminology.

    Does anyone else feel like the players are more respectful towards each other? Cause I have.

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    1. Ike – don’t worry about me. I got it covered. Stats are easy to track if you know what you are trying to do. Just finished sending some data to Mike. Took me about 3 hours to do but what else would I do with that time.

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  32. The Good:
    Narduzzi had the team ready to play despite there being no fans, and play they did.
    Of course Pickett and the offense.
    The defense threw a shutout.
    Getting to play some of the freshman like Jordan Addison (who looked good)
    A full game enjoyed without ever getting nervous.

    The Bad:
    No fans or TV to let everyone enjoy it (although I did have a link)
    Baldonero injury
    Back-up QB’s stared down receivers.

    The Ugly:
    Ike gained 20 lbs eating 55 wings yesterday….

    Liked by 1 person

  33. I’m not sure it is a good idea having Pickett run so much, especially as a called play. There are enough skill players on this team that it is not necessary, other than to show the opponents occasionally that he can run if necessary. With no experienced backup QBs available, it would be a real disaster if Pickett got hurt running the ball into the end zone when there are plenty of backs to to it.

    Liked by 1 person

  34. Pitt is ranked 25th in the AP poll of only teams that are playing this fall. Four of this year’s opponents are ranked ahead of us. If Big Ten plays this fall, per expected announcement this week, we may fall out of the top 25 even if we win big over Syracuse next week. Doubt we will win big but still stranger things have happened this year.

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  35. Great day for Pitt football even if it was a patsy.
    My ugly was seeing aj woods get burned. I fear that is a preview to come in that side of the field this year.

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    1. Starting this week only teams that are playing are considered for rankings. Earliest the Big Me-too will start playing is mid-October after Pitt has played (hopefully) Syracuse, Louisville, NC State and BC.

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  37. Good point Frank, there will be two sides to this coin. Some will say they should be in consideration because they didn’t lose a game all season. Others will be quick to point out that they didn’t win one either.

    Jack ^^ above. I did set a new record for eating the fewest wings of all times. I had two yesterday and two today. My stomach has been in a nasty dispute with food for quite sometime now. Grilling wings were much more about the vibe, aroma and atmosphere. I tried recreate and to be at Fran and friends tailgate in the best way I could. I miss those folks.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I’ll share with you my secret sauce recipe for wings one day Ike. My buffalo posse says it can’t be beat. It’s got 5 wet and 10 dry components.

      Tex whose cooking turkey wings for the Steelers game.

      Good win for Pitt but tells us little. Cuse is a better barometer but not much. Good scrimmages at least.

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  38. Va Tech who had its game cancelled is 20th. Pitt is 25th having played someone way below its level. Just shows you how silly rankings are — especially the early ones

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Voting shouldn’t begin until at least two games are played. It’s only done to sell and make money. If you ever question why something is what it is, look at the money trail.

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  40. Good – Finally got an exhibition game scheduled to work off the rust and kinks, like the first punt return non-communication which will lead to turnovers if not fixed this week. Sad that it took covid to figure out how to schedule OOC.

    Bad – any injury or new covid case (even MM’s) that results in prolonged loss of participation. Pitt is not deep and the tall lanky lefty Reed is warming in the bullpen for spot duty.

    Ugly – The silly hype about any player, or coach or team when the victory equates to a Varsity team beating a Freshman or JV team. The koolaidpaloossa going on here. Flush the peay. When its yellow, be mellow. Cmon guys, koolaid is overflowing. Not too high, not too low.

    Ugliest – Broke the all-time low attendance record. Missed opportunity to let the players families and friends attend the game. This is another example of the Steelers telling Pitt that Pitt will do what the Steelers say they will do. Embarrasing response by Pitt AD and Administration.

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    1. I think it was more a state thing. But Pitt could have used leveraged and influenced Harrisburg. Should have had family, students and staff in attendance. Heather dropped the pass on that one. Sign her up as a receiver. Fits right in.

      Tex whose waiting for Ike’s defense of miss yellow blouse.

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    2. I will never defend Heathers yellow blouse (it should be blue) but I think it’s a state mandate not to have anymore than 250 people at public events.

      Huff, you don’t see how you want it both ways here? Cause I don’t think you do. I’ll splain it, you want to play crappy teams, you want PITT to beat the hell out of them and you don’t want people to talk about how they looked good. But if PITT had won 30 to 27, you would have jumped all over them. Your venom towards PITT and Heather is insatiable.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Ike that’s a bit too strong. Insatiable would be a desire for a grade A Nolan Ryan T-bone steak. Those are some good eats.

        Tex who loves 🐄 once butchered into little tasties.
        🥩

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      2. I don’t want it both ways at all Ike so please stop trying to tell me what I want. I want games like this to work off the rust, see what the freshman look like and get critical backups some real game looks. Period. Get on the same page.

        I don’t care about the final score. Had it been 30-27 with the athletic differential, sure everyone would be upset, not just me. It would mean we made a ton of mistakes with lots of work to do. That’s why game two is easy as well, but a little step up. The AD needs to give air cover with scheduling and support the team improving and winning every week in the normal OOC. Most every AD does this for their respective squads except for Pitt. OOC means ZERO in the grand scheme of things.

        Also, I am not going to jump up and down with excitement when they dominate. It’s like a team of 12th graders playing 9th graders. Sure, the 9th graders may have a couple nice players, but over the course of a game, the talent takes over.

        I spew no venom. I said they would win. I predict they will win every week when many on here say they will lose. I try to figure out how they can win when they are predicted to lose. NOBODY else on here has predicted a victory every game other than me since the prediction threads started, so shove it!

        Hey Koolaid!

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  41. Anything that increases the chances of games being played and decreases the chances for Pitt players to test positive – I’m all for. 👍

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      1. Syracuse has no offense and no playmakers. They’ll be lucky to win two games this year. Hopefully one of them isn’t against Pitt. Pitt should cover in this game.

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        1. I see what you’re doing here Tex. PITT can’t win either way? Myself? I’ll take a win any which way it comes. 20 pts is a lot to cover for a conference rival foe. Danny DeVito is pretty short but he can fling the rock, or maybe I got his first name mixed up?

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  44. Good: We did exactly what we were expected to do, wack an inferior team. This is unlike so very many of these games in the past. A lot, and I mean a lot, of kids got PT. Really nice to see.
    Bad: Back up QBs looked shakey. Glad they got some experience, but I never thought I’d be hoping KP remains healthy and those kids never have to play a meaningful,snap. Danielson wasn’t yanked early as he made multiple mistakes in first series. To his credit he did better later.
    Ugly: Aww, not all that much that wasn’t covered in the bad. Hope the kid isn’t hurt too bad, and I really hope we get a different testing company. Newest way for ACC to screw teams. On to Richmond, auuug, Charlotte, or whatever .
    Nice job, get well Mike.

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    1. Joe – Danielson did struggle in that first series. His ability to make correctIons is a huge upside for his future. Addison and Wright dropped passes were bad looks, but happened in the right game – nothing on the line. Both probably would have been TD’s – in a close, critical game (they will all be critical until we lose), those drops will hurt big time. Both players made a catch after the drop, so the coaches and KP did not give up on them.

      Jordan Addison may be a special talent we are entertained by for a few years in a Pitt uniform. Several other FR looked good as well.

      We need to dominate cuse – 35 to 3 would be nice. Just a little better than UNC. Remember, UNC’s D is not real good, and cuse’s O struggled mightily.

      Go Pitt!

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  47. Now when we go back to the Hugh Green days, those stats were for real. Let’s take a second and wait awhile. Although I think this defense can put up those type of numbers. They are that good.

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  48. Good: invoking the mercy rule that doesn’t even exist in college football.

    Bad: Baldonado injury. Kyi drop, in a tight game that would have been costly

    Ugly: Typical Pittsburgh media response from Mark Madden and John Steigerwold who are two of the biggest jagoffs out there. Both expect Pitt to open with Alabama and complain after a big win against an inferior opponent. At least Steigerwold is pretty much irrelevant but Madden still has a big audience for some reason

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Best of Mark Madden – as reported by Beaver County Times (March 2019)

      Mark Madden says former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky may have been ‘pimping out young boys to rich donors’

      Other than that, he’s worthless…

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  49. Some people will never be happy. Madden is a blowhard. One additional benefit of being ranked is that ESPN and associated channels may start to televise more games so us Comcast folks can see more games.

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  50. What does Narduzzi, Heather have to do to get in the good graces of some PITT fans? Cause I don’t know. I think PITT fans are myopic towards PITT and not paying attention to the rest of the football world. Early on in another game, announcers mentioned there were two players missing the game but it hadn’t been reported. So Narduzzi like or is it so college football like?

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  51. PFF College

    Highest-graded QBs in Wk 2 (2020) of College Football:

    Trevor Lawrence, Clemson – 94.2
    Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma – 93.7
    Jarret Doege, WVU – 93.7
    Kenny Pickett, Pitt – 92.6

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    1. If Addison and Wright catch those two TD passes, Pickett would be at the top of the heap. Sure it would be an askew stat considering the competition but a stat non the less. Yes you could argue that Addison’s catch was more of a difficult ball to bring in but Wright’s? Ask him what he thinks.

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  52. Tyler Boyd, playing with rookie QB Burrows, was targeted 5 times today and had 4 catches for 33 yards. Bungles lost to the Chargers 16-13.

    Go Pitt.

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  53. If there weren’t those 2 drops Pickett might be #1. Tex would be so proud!! I wonder if there will be any changes to the starters this week, maybe at RB? (not counting WR, DE and TE where there were injury replacements).

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  54. Right, there was a lot of talk about the 3 or 4 starters who didn’t play because of C-19 at Clemson, but no mention of PITT’s scratches. That’s alright, I like being stealth…flying under the radar. Soon, and very soon, everyone will know Patrick Jones II’s announcement; “We mean business.”

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  55. Huff, I won’t stop it………. You speak your mind I’ll speak mine. Next time you say one positive thing about PITT, Heather and/or Narduzzi maybe I’ll begin to think you could possibly be objective. I just don’t see it coming from you.

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    1. but so emotionless 😉
      bias, unjustified, mean-spirited…..none of which are, whatsoever

      easy to read behind, religion of jagoffery
      try and enjoy the entertainment, all types

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      1. Right Tommy, everyone is entitled to their opinion, I don’t come here to censor but reserve the right to disagree. Actually, I don’t care if I have the right, I do it anyway. To hell with Heather’s yellow blouse, it’s killing PITT football!

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    2. Never told you to stop Ike. I don’t really care. What i objected to was you trying to tell me what I am thinking, for you have not a clue. That’s why I told you to shove it. I usually don’t have a clue what I am thinking so for you to tell me what I am thinking is misguided at best. Again, I am the ONLY one on here that has Picked Pitt to win every game, some how. Noone else can claim that. Noone.

      Secondly, when Reed started this and Narduzzi was hired, I typed that he should have been extended after year one. I was ridiculed. That said, I wouldn’t keep him around if he can’t win 8 games, and that’s a bad number. I see many on here predicted double digits every year and when he wins 7, it’s like a celebration. That ain’t me. I don”t celebrate mediocrity, ever. I say great things when they are warranted.

      With Narduzzo, every time he loses a 4 star, everyone on here starts with the bag man theory instead of just saying he lost the kid. It’s excuse city. The weather is bad, the WPIAL is bad. PA is bad, Good grief! We are surrounded by OSU, PSU, WVU and you never hear them make excuses for not landing a kid, like the weather. The POV, “we are keeping an eye on developing more excuses for mediocrity”.

      Same with Heather. Her resume’ was weak. She smiles and tells the administration that Pitt sports is great and they agree. Our football head coach thought so little of her abilities to run the organization, that he cheated right under her nose. It wasn’t a small, unknown violation either. The coach knew.

      Everyone is excited that Pitt is ranked in the top 25 right now and thats great, but why? In a normal year, we would be at least 32-35. Jerry D didnt put us in at top25. Does that make him bad, or awful, or a pitt hater, NO. He was being realistic. It is what it is without the big10 and PAC however, and that is good, but throwing away and not including the totality of the circumstances of this season minimizes credibility. This season has a big asterisk attached for everyone, not just Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Well nardoozi did help hire heather. Then he cheated on her. And heather is like no worries. That’s why heather needs to go. She’s gained no respect for good reason.

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  56. The strength of the cuse D is their secondary. KP and his FR WR’s will see a dramatically different field this Saturday.

    My guess is Duzz will try to rely on the RB committee that averaged 4.2 ypc against an FCS opponent.

    Let’s hope KP and Coach Whip are up to the challenge to beat cuse with a good mix of run/pass.

    Whip took to Twitter to tell us fans that Pitt will continue to move up in the polls. 🤔

    Liked by 1 person

    1. PITT tried to prove they have a much more diverse offense last week. You have to run to pass and pass to run. Effectively that is. You rarely see receivers so wide open as PITT had against AP.

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  58. Good: Convincing win.
    Bad: SOP fans bitching about how backups played. This is college ball, not the pros. Many of the backups haven’t played meaningful snaps since high school. They aren’t going to shine, especially at QB and OL. Certainly not with other 2nd team players on the field with them.
    They don’t get to play against the scout team to prep for the opponent’s stunts, blitzes, coverages, etc.

    Liked by 1 person

  59. PITT being ranked #25 in the AP poll means nothing if they can’t stay there. The Syracuse game is an absolute must win game Saturday. A must win!

    Let’s just all hope that the drops don’t continue all this season as it did last year. Only first game so I’ll let it go …………… for now.

    Let’s also hope PITT comes out a little healthier than last week. I feel bad for Weaver and Camp but they should have stayed home, wore masks and social distanced. Maybe that could be a lesson and a blessing in disguise?

    Liked by 1 person

  60. Two questions. Why did Pitt wear their away uniforms for a home game? Who called for the 10-minute second half quarters: Pitt, Austin Peay, the referees, someone else, all of the aforementioned?

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  63. Two educated thoughts on those questions. I understand Austin Peay only has their home jersey’s since they only play three games. I know that doesn’t make sense but it’s why many of us has heard.

    Austin Peay made the request to cut the fourth quarter to 10 minutes. That blossomed into both the 3rd and 4th quarters. PITT agreed. They weren’t commanded.

    Still think there is waiver on the double number rule on the field at the same time must have waved this year. Narduzzi can’t be that dumb…… or could he?

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  64. after a review, the NCAA now officially has Pitt as giving up 1 net yard in rushing …. instead of 3. (note that sacks count in the rushing total). Glad that this has been cleared up

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  65. Pittsburgh Sports Now has an article by Alan Saunders where he breaks down some film on Pitt’s running game. I find this kind of thing interesting because you get a chance to study the blocking.

    You can see that KP could have had a ton of yards on the ground by faking the handoffs to the RB. Ironically, AP did not take the fake on the play where KP ran it in; KP just outmaneuvered the defenders…

    You see a lot of good blocks by Kradel. The RBs run hard. Rookie Izzy Abanikandi (love that name) shows a nice burst of speed on his TD run…

    Will be interesting to see how effective the run game is versus the Orange, who usually have a decent front seven.

    Go Pitt.

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  66. How can Pitt keep Dayon Hayes off the field for much longer? I know Pitt has a boatload of talent at the DE position but Hayes has a lot of Hugh Green in him IMHO

    Liked by 1 person

  67. Here’s some good news for Pitt fans…

    “North Carolina sacked quarterback Tommy DeVito seven times for 37 yards and he was hurried another nine times.”

    Hoping Panther pressure leads to some INTs and fumbles on Saturday…

    Go Pitt.

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  68. So what we assume because of a tweet is that Weaver and Camp were held out due to Covid. Most of the others held out were on the sidelines. So what if the Sunday tests show that neither have Covid, are they reinstated or do they still have to quarantine? Obviously so far a very small and somewhat questionable outbreak according to Weaver’s tweet. Hopefully if it does exist it has been contained.

    Stay in the bubble men!

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  69. Pitt QB verbal commit Nate Yarnell injured his throwing hand in practice, will be out for several weeks.

    Not good. Seems like he hadn’t played very much in HS…

    Go Pitt.

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    1. His season hasn’t even started I believe, not until October.

      I’ve also read this is a good thing as once schools see how talented he is he will decommitt from Pitt.

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      1. Yeah, I’m thinking of guys like Kevin Smith, who had all the tools to be a good QB, but who didn’t play very many games at QB in HS. The more opportunities to drop back and make a read, the better…

        Go Pitt.

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  71. It seems to me that the 14 day isolation period was for people who tested positive, or who contact traced as being in contact with a positive person without any follow up test. If Weaver and Camp test negative this week – probably in Wednesday and Friday tests, they should be good to go. Negative is negative, if they test negative they should be fine.

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  73. if Pitt wins by 20, amber Heather sucks and hairy PN is overpaid
    i hope they win by .5

    is hyperbole emotionless?
    thankfully it can be entertaining

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Heather does suck and king Pat is overpaid.

      But in two years heather will bolt to Sparty and meatballs will take a D coordinator position at the Bengals.

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  74. Right Tommy, already reading where Syracuse is absolutely horrible and beating them will be no big deal. I love this type of PITT can’t win either way strategy. Hesus, Not fooled at all, just last year the critics were complaining about how PITT sucks, now they are expected to beat a rival Syracuse team by 20, no sweat? If the don’t… they suck again. Now that is SOP fan talk and PITT is stuck in SOP fan quicksand.

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      1. Duzz wants to beat cuse by 35. He’s on your side of thinking Tex.

        UNC getting too much love – Pitt gets none, but building a sizable chip on their shoulders.

        Crush the orange, mix it with your Kool-aid and drink it all up! I say doctor…

        Liked by 2 people

  76. I think Cuse keeps it close for a half but Pitt covers easily 2nd half. That’s based on no more Covid departures!

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  78. I can’t say I even watched the Pitt game in total and not under normal circumstances.

    It was mostly while in a neighbor’s hot tub next to 65″ Samsung that had on the GaTech game(his son is a Grad Asst there) with a Heineken in hand(multiple over time) and a laptop with the Pitt game just off to the side which means no home-made replay with my own DVR that I wear out trying to see things properly(which I ALWAYS DO,,,,it just validates me 🙂 ).

    It was a great day for both teams and the only bad part is the neighbor is a WVU grad and they had to win too 😦 . Which at this point I don’t give a damn and if the Big 12 was the only conference having games, probably would endure and slightly appreciate any wins they had.

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  79. So sorry to hear of your rough day there T-Man, happy to see fought your way through it.

    Fran, I’m surfing the waves of a PITT win myself just not on a jetski, no Koolaid just pure facts. PITT is good.

    Now Narduzzi has to win by 30? Good gosh, hard to play ball when the goal posts are moved for set agenda’s. Actually, I am offended, you think some of us are stoopid and don’t get what you’re doing Tex. You remind of a few other POVer’s

    Liked by 1 person

    1. For $4 million, he needs to do more than cover the spread Ike. Otherwise the mans a thief and his boss condones stealing.

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  80. Off the top of your head Tex, how many times did the top 25 teams cover the spread last 10 years? Bigger question, who cares?

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