in Pitt Football 1,461 Words

Evaluating Whip

Well here we are, twenty-one games into the Whipple regime, and sure enough fans are calling for his head. It’s not unwarranted. In Whipple’s first full season as offensive coordinator Pitt ranked 87th in total offense and 114th in scoring offense, averaging just 21.2 points per game. (That’s 114th out of 130 teams folks). Considering that the object of a football game is to score more points than your opponent, well, 114th is not so good. On the flip side, it’s not like Whip had a lot to work with. The running back room was a disaster. The offensive line depth was paper thin, and the wide receivers were a ragtag collection of injury-prone transfers, unproven players and a guy named Maurice Ffrench (who actually turned out to be pretty good). Pitt also didn’t have a Tight End who could consistently hang onto a pass. Fortunately the quarterback (our boy Kenny Pickett) was serviceable , and it was on him that Narduzzi pinned his hopes. I’d venture to say that based on the supporting cast, Pitt would have finished a lot lower than 114th in scoring without Kenny, and his grit and late game poise willed Pitt to an eight win season.

Okay so year two…The offensive line returned a bunch of starters (albeit bad ones, save the Center) and Pickett returned. The running backs (again, not exactly world beaters) came back and we got a talent upgrade at WR with Addison and Turner. Tight ends continued to be a liability, but damn if we weren’t sold on continuity in the offseason! Well despite the Tight End position being a disaster as predicted, all of it has added up to improvement. A touchdown’s worth of improvement to be precise. Pitt is averaging 28.5 points per game, up from 21.2 just one year ago. And our scoring rank improved from 114th to 69th (out of 127 instead of 130 but still an improvement). I think I said in an earlier article that Kenny Pickett makes Pitt’s offense something close to average, and well there you go.

Whipple may not be retained, of course, even after improving the offense by more than a touchdown per game. If he goes, then the team has to learn and a whole new system, and that’s likely to set everyone back. If he stays, well, we’ve all seen how he likes to call the game, and I’m not sure the fan base is up for another season of that, especially when the quarterback position is likely to take a step back. And we all know a really good OC can breathe life into a program in year one , and I’ll refer you to Northwestern (my brother’s Alma mater, which is why I know this) as a case study.

Last year Northwestern averaged 16.3 points per game. 126th in the FBS. So if you think Pitt was bad…well at least you aren’t my brother. BUT…Northwestern fired their OC and lo! They are now averaging 24.8 points per game. A full 8.5 point improvement! But wait…isn’t that kind of similar to what Whipple did YOY at Pitt? Actually yes. Yes it is. And we didn’t even have to fire anybody. Okay okay, lets look at Miami. They brought in Rhett Lashlee – very very hotshot OC. And a bigtime transfer quarterback. Surely that has to be worth something. Well it is. Exactly 7.5 points per game…almost EXACTLY THE SAME AS PITT IMPROVED YEAR OVER YEAR. Last year Miami (under their old OC) averaged 25.7 points per game. This year? 33.2. If Lashlee hadn’t brought in D’Eriq King, do we think they would have seen this kind of improvement? Probably not. But they needed Lashlee to land King, right? Certainly they needed him to placate the fan base.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that a new OC isn’t going to be the end-all-be all. Pitt already got their 7.x point YOY improvement (even though it sure doesn’t feel like it sometimes), and they are still pretty thin in the talent department (Wide receivers – yea they are developing, O-line average at best, running back meh, tight end nonexistent, and lets be honest here, after seeing Yellen and Beville in limited action the quarterback position has EVERYBODY worried. But Whipple, apparently is the whisperer. Right? We can hope.)

Well I think we are talking about ceiling here. And say what you want about Lashlee in year one at Miami, he put up 41 points at SMU in year two (and about thirty in year one…) Whipple on the other hand. Well, read ahead at your own risk.

In 2014 Whipple took over a program that had made the jump from FCS to FBS just two year prior. In their first two years at the FBS level, UMass (coached by one Charlie Molnar) won exactly two games. Molnar was subsequently fired and Whipple (who won a natty with Umass at the FCS level in the 90’s) was brought in. Whipple got five years to try to elevate the program, and elevate it he did. They averaged slightly more than three wins per season during his tenure, which is a 200% improvement over his predecessor. Of course, as I’ve pointed out, the bar was pretty low. Whipple peaked at four wins in in 2018, and was replaced by Walt Bell, who promptly went 1-11. This year Bell has posted a record of 0-4. Wait, so Whipple – who we all hate – was able to coax three and four wins out of a team that two other guys can only win one with? Yes college football is not an exact science but hmmmm…

Okay so lets dive into his offense. His 1990’s sideways-pass-to-set-up-the-run West Coast offense.

  • Year 1 (2014): 421 YPG, 27.3 PPG
  • Year 2 (2015): 399 YPG, 22.2 PPG
  • Year 3 (2016): 356 YPG, 23.3 PPG
  • Year 4 (2017): 433 YPG, 30.6 PPG!
  • Year 5 (2018): 437 YPG, 32.8 PPG!!! (I’m kind of facetious on the exclamation points here, but if Pitt were averaging 32.8 PPG this year we’d be 7-2. Still it’s no Rhett Lashlee 41 points…)

Again for comparison sake Pitt:

  • Year 1 (2019): 380 YPG, 21.2 PPG
  • Year 2 (2020): 367 YPG, 28.5 PPG

So what can we take away from this? Not much really. Pitt is likely an entirely different situation from UMass with different personnel at different stages of development, different assistant coach strengths and weaknesses and different player development potential. But since we are in the armchair quarterback business, lets go ahead and take a shot. First of all, Whipple in year three at Umass was abysmal. His quarterback was a first year starter, sophomore Andrew Ford. Ford threw for 2600+ yards, 26 TD (we can only imagine…) and 14 INT. That equalled a very Kenny Pickett-esqe 138 passer rating. Umass’ leading rusher was Sophomore Marquis Young who toted the ball 197 times for 898 yards (a respectable 4.6 average) but only four touchdowns. He also caught 26 balls for 5.7 yards.

I can’t resist a sidebar / fun fact here, and that fun fact is that that Umass’ third leading rusher in 2016 was Pitt 215 commit Sekai Lindsey who decommitted when Chryst left for Wisconsin. Not sure if that was because he was “advised” to or because he wanted to, but he landed at Umass and apparently washed out after the 2016 season. His 2016 stat line for the Minutemen was not bad. 33 rushes, 156 yards and 1 TD, 4.7 average. Pitt’s other running back commit in 2015 was Darrin Hall. To think Lindsey could have gone to USF, NC State, or Georgia Tech instead. Or just stayed at Pitt, redshirted and maybe been the lead back last year. Or maybe turned into nothing. The watchword here is stick to your commitments people.

Okay so where were we? Whipple’s offense in Year 3. Not good at Umass. Probably not going to be good at Pitt. Yellen (or Beville I suppose) has to develop, or they need a transfer quarterback. If not, are we look at 21 points per game? I can tell you what we are not looking at 41. And if it’s anything less than 28, there is no way Whipple gets a chance to get to year four. Reputation bought Pappy five years in Amherst, but on the flip side, the fans probably didn’t care. Whipple has no such luxury at Pitt.

Still, I’ll tantalize you with Whipple’s year four numbers at Umass. They are just good enough to be a step change from what we are seeing now. And that step change is just good enough to keep Pitt at the eight – nine win plateu (with the right schedule). If Whipple gets to stay on this season, and if he can coax them out of the team next year, then well he’s probably going to be here as long as Narduzzi, good, bad or indifferent. But getting back to the UMass year four stats… Whipple had man-among-boys Tight End Adam Breneman that year. I guess Lucas Krull had better hit that JUGS machine….

Pick your beverage carefully folks.

Hail to Pitt

Michaelangelo Monteleone

168 thoughts on “Evaluating Whip”

  1. Michael, I didn’t read your entire article too much detail for my tied old eyes. I think Whipple did well in yr. 2. We had a fine group of receivers and Kenny always had the talent and was now more comfortable with the system. We were/are hurt by our offensive line and poor running game.

    I don’t like dishing our players, but Yellen is Whipple’s mistake. His recruitment isn’t close to recruiting of a Nathan Peterman to PITT. Who is going to throw the ball next year to all those good receivers? Beville hasn’t had a chance really to show anything. Patti was been forgotten. We need a transfer than can play immediately! A mobile QB.

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    1. RB Todd Sibley ran for 106 vs Delaware last season only to disappear from the line-up. Maybe an injury, maybe not. It’s obviously a secret.

      What isn’t a secret is the fact that no RB has come close to 100 yards rushing – the recruiting racking for our RB group is amongst the best stats for any position. So what is the problem?

      Development? Scheme? The HC wants no part of the O responsibilities?

      Duzz has had three very good RB’s and I hate to say this, but again, it’s not a secret that they were all Chryst recruits.

      Conner
      Ollison
      Hall

      Liked by 1 person

        1. I go back to the press on this one. Why is it that during the weekly press conferences, the reporters aren’t even asking the questions like “what happened to Sibley?”, “why are we not seeing Izzy?”. I know he won’t answer or will give some vague response but at least ask the questions.

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  3. Good article, MM. Didn’t know where you were going, which strangely enough makes some sense with Coach Whipple.

    I think the whole offensive staff should be replaced. No area on offense stands out as being well-coached. (Though I was impressed by the job the backup Olinemen did…)

    On the other hand, I’m not a fan of the RPO offenses. We need to go directly to whatever will be the hot offense after the RPO… 😊

    Go Pitt.

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  4. Pitt’s offense was …..well offensive against good teams. It was great against poor teams(well mostly).

    It wasn’t up to snuff against some poor teams, like Syracuse for instance. Syracuse’s defense gives up almost 32 ppg. We scored just 21.

    Pitt’s offense is tough to watch, it does not take advantage of anything. It just dinks and dunks it’s way down the field on exhaustive drives, where 1 penalty can derail it quite easily. We finally saw a flea flicker in Game 10……way to go. And it was executed so poorly….really. You practiced that.

    The 28.5 ppg is still only 68th in the country and that isn’t nearly good enough with a Senior QB and guys like Mack and the Maryland transfer WR who are both seniors as well. Nope the 28.5 is skewed with the 55 against the FCS Rent-A-Win, and two extremely bad, former bad boys of the ACC….VPI & FSU, where Pitt was getting the ball in FSU territory consistently.

    Whipple and his 1990’s offense isn’t going to excite anyone, who isn’t a regular, to invest in season tickets.
    Heck, I’ve fallen asleep watching Pitt games for the first time in my life.

    It’s time to dump this old man, with his old ways of not only the 1990’s offense, but in running the QB over a gazillion times a game to the sidelines, to get his great plays. Give me a break. For that stunt alone he should be given his walking papers. Dooz must owe all these antique coaches. Take a look at Matt Campbell’s staff. Mostly all young energetic up and comers. Not old men who long ago lost most of their zeal. Is Dooz afraid of bringing in guys that are not antiques in the coaching fraternity. Wake me, when he does. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

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  5. A blast from the past mentioning Sekai Lindsay. He decommitted as did several others when Chryst left. I did some sniffing around the farm and herd Sekai got arrested in Florida for some mischief last year. Interestingly, Hornibrook followed Chryst, but the big one we lost to KY was Davon Hamilton. Hamilton then went to OSU and got drafted in the 3rd round.

    Charmin was 16-44 as a head coach at Umass. That should tell you all you need to know. He does not recruit well or strategize well. Maybe it tells you that he hired a DC and told that person that “defense is all yours and knows nothing about it”. I heard that happens. End of the day, Charmin gets squeezed and gets flushed out of the system. He will be 64 at the beginning of next season and appears to be wiped, mentally and physically.

    The double ply will rip and he will be gone by January 4th in my estimation. Nard will not “enjoy the go” butt will succumb to the pressure to can him. If not by then, when pigs fly because it will be another huge error in strateegery. Salem goes too, butt that’s another article.

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  6. Firing Whipple will certainly accomplish one thing. Appease the PITT masses that are constantly chattering away about heads rolling. These people are simply not happy unless someone gets fired. Having said that, I’m all for firing Whipple. Why.

    Two reasons, imo he’s been mostly ineffective and not well received. Secondly, PITT will be breaking in a brand new QB, so PIT might as well roll the dice and hope they come up a winner. Yet we all know that 75% or more posters will find fault in their age, background, looks and/or the clothes they wear. << Same people who laughed at jimmie (one finger) for asking a potential coach if his wife was good looking. Cynical PITT fans want to know if his arms are hairy or what the coaches wifes favorite color is.

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  7. It’s hard to pull for Whip’s offense but when kp to Addison is working it looks pretty good. When kp to turner is working ditto. When the passing is working the run game comes alive, of sorts. We all agree Pitt’s offense needs to improve, the big question is, is getting rid of Whip the quickest way to do it. It seems like Whip has seen so many different plays in 40 years of coaching that he can’t decide on which plays to run to best utilize his players specific talents.

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  8. Too many FGs… not enough TDS …. doesnt have a verticals game…. and scores a big fat zero in the shovel pass department….kidding on that one…. does he recruit anyone???

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  9. It seems like the offense is likely to regress next season, with or without Whip. As a regression would likely produce a firing next year, I say start the rebuild now. Perhaps a new young hotshot OC can bring a hotshot QB with him….receivers we got.

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  10. Arnold Z @ 2:16 pertaining to Whipple’s record at UMass

    before Pitt hired Charlie Partridge back a couple of years ago, he was HC at Florida Atlantic (2014-16) and got fired after a 9-27 record. He seems to be doing alright as an assistant these days

    Erie E @ 5:12 pertaining to a lack of good backs recruited by PN

    you make a good point, but I think a lot has to with the de-emphasis of the run in Whipple’s system which uses short passes instead of runs in many cases. Note that last year, Pitt ranked 7th in passing attempts @ 39.1 per game. Wash St led with 54.6

    While looking at passing offenses this year, Pitt is 13th with 39.1 per game. Miss St leads with 54.8

    In rush attempts, Pitt has is 107th with 33.75 per game. Miss St is last @ 16,25

    (Mike Leach coached Wash St last year and Miss St this year)

    BigB@7:41 … you are correct about too many FGs, but that was an issue in 2018 also. Maybe a Pickett thing but likely also an OL / TE issue

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    1. Thought someone would fall for that. Partridge is a positional coach. Whipple can be a QB coach, that’s fine. My preference is elsewhere though.

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  11. Maybe later on during the off-season we can get a list of grad transfer QB’s? Funny thing about that is we lick our chops over this guy and that guy all the while Narduzzi comes up with a player we never heard of or didn’t know was available.

    Ever here of the old phrase, “well I just can’t stand pat and let it happen” That old phrase has a whole other meaning these days.

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  12. as far as HCPN leaving the offense totally in care of the OC …. I have little issue with that if the OC has the experience.

    This has been re-hashed many times but the one big issue I had with P Chryst at Pitt was his emphasis totally on the offensive end. In fact …

    — not only was he considered an offensive guru, in 2013 he had an OC AND a QB coach on his staff

    — at the same time, he hired the least experienced DC in D1 and had a grad assistant (H Poteat) as Cornerback Coach. The LB coach came from Mt Lebanon HS

    — the 2013 recruiting class consisted of 27 players with 18 players on the offense. And the highest rated defensive recruit was a DE from Erie

    The only reason the defense wasn’t a disaster in his years were because of players like A Donald, K Williams. J Hendricks, T Jarrett, L Pitts, D Render, T Thomas, S Gordon, N Grigsby …. players PC inherited,
    it also had E Price who barely played

    You want to know why the offense flourished in 2016 and defense didn’t …. well there you go

    Liked by 2 people

    1. You can have 20 years of experience and have the same talent as someone with two years, and an up and comer that can recruit. You have to look at the full picture.

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  13. FWIW, QB transfer aside ….. I’ll be very disappointed if Beville isn’t given an even chance with Yellen come spring. The depth chart listed both of them as backups, and I would have to believe that Yellen got the nod because he has some experience while Beville had none.

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    1. Beville will need to get faster this off season. Looks like he has a nice arm, but his legs might be an issue. Watch the few attempts against Clemson when he scrambled right. He will get run over unless he finds a new gear quickly. Same with Yellen. With our OL, neither would make it through the season. Heck, we had a scrambling QB and he couldn’t.

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      1. Funny, but my impression of seeing limited Davis Beville was that his arm was the main concern. He threw a few passes where the guy was open but the ball came in at there feet. Probably just bad foot-work by DB.

        But I did see DB scramble and he did run for a first down. Course he tripped himself one time too. The spring game when he just came in he looked pretty nifty moving around…

        Go Pitt.

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  14. I’ve said this on previous threads but if Yellen is unwilling or unable to run, our offense has no chance to be successful. Between our poor oline and receivers not getting open, Pickett’s legs have often turned chicken poo to chicken salad. The man’s legs were an extra point away from willing us to a win against BC.

    Does anyone know if Beville is able to run? The one series he got against Miami and Austin Peay has not been able to give the fans any indication of what he is capable of.

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  15. Yes aj, Beville can run I think he’s suppose to be a bit nifty and has a real strong arm. I will say, Davis did not look very comfortable when he was in the game. Then again he did not have the benefit of spring practice to get ready.

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  16. My question always is coaching vs. player talent. Last year Whipple had a brandy new O-line with guys that couldn’t run block at all and were marginal at pass blocking. This makes it pretty difficult to execute an offense. Also, there was no stellar running back. Receivers that dropped way too many balls and no decent tight end. A QB that was not consistent good at times, average most of the time and poor sometimes.

    So this year, there was some improvement in line play, but only marginal and mostly against the softer teams.
    Whipple finally settled in on his starting and second running back, which is somewhat of a mystery since Sibley, Carter and Izzy all show more power, but who knows? Running stats are still awful. Dropped passes are fewer but still too many, still no tight end. A QB that improved a little but still inconsistent.

    I must say that I have not been crazy about Whipple’s play calling, there appear to be too many plays and many that are executed poorly. No bread and butter play.

    The stats as displayed by MM are a little surprising since we played an all ACC schedule, but for 1 and a tough one at that.

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  17. There’s a reason Yellen left powerhouse ASU and came to PITT…he wasn’t good enough! I don’t see him becoming a world beater or have the instinctive “gamer” in him like Kenny, I would like to see more of him (and Beville) but based on my small sampling- that’s a scary thought.

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    2. Powerhouse ASU? Good one. And yes, good point. I actually liked Yellen’s decision making in his first start, but soon came to realize that regardless, a guy that immobile is not going to last in today’s college football.

      We would’ve been better off with Jurkovec, he’s not great either, but has had a solid year for BC, due in part to being on a well coached team.

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  18. From prior thread with tie-in to Whipple

    If Nard goes 1-1 over the next two games. 6-6.

    Interesting comparable to Wanny since they both are at their 6 year run.

    Wanny 42-31
    Narduzzi 41-34

    Very similar, but Wanny got fired. Also Nard did better the first two years (16 wins) with Chryst recruits while Wanny only had (11 wins) with Harris recruits. More interestingly, both had 5 wins their third year, but then Wanny crushes him in year 4 thru 6. Nard gets extended and Wanny gets canned despite trajectory of program.

    Nard receives excessive pay based on todays dollars to what Wanny received. Nards budget is huge compared to Wanny. Wanny worked for the ultimate jackwagon and Nard works for someone who is afraid to make the right call and can her friend who got her the job. Having such a large blindspot, will make it easier for the execs to remove her.

    Wanny had Cavanaugh – lots of experience, very poor OC and Recruiter.
    Nard has Whipple – lots of experience, very poor OC and Recruiter

    Seems like we been down this OC incompetence road before and it wasn’t good enough. Still isn’t.

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  19. Without a solid QB next year could be a tough one to watch….no QB -no ACC Championship even if it’s just a participation trophy.

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  20. Firing Whipple is the least of Pitts problems.

    Replacing Kenny will be a major problem. Many rag on him but he’s the best QB since Palko. I don’t count the transfers. You can’t replace his leadership and grit. Remarkable that he’s even on the field.

    The fish rots at the top. Unless Narduzzi is replaced, be prepared for the impending dumpster fire in two years. No sane coach will want to walk into that situation. Your qualified candidate pool shrinks substantially and the asking price just shot up.

    Keeping Narduzzi for his recruiting class or for stability is asinine when it will result in a future hot mess.

    The money is there for the buyout. It’s called a loan. But Pitt won’t take out a loan for one non academic person because it failed to take out a loan for the hundreds of staff it’s already given pink slips due to covid.

    That’s the rub.

    And no booster is going to bail heather out. Boosters come will strings. The asking price would be too high. Quid pro quo.

    Heather will be judged on her two primary hires. Narduzzi and Capel. Heather extended Natduzzi so that’s reupping…hired for a second round. Capel still has another year of grace but I’m losing confidence each day.

    You hire the wrong people and these are the results you get. Y’all love stable programs but what good is stable mediocrity. Who wants to go through life being average (I owe you that math calculation Ike)

    Tex
    🤠

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    1. Tex, I don’t think anybody in their right mind is advocating keeping Narduzzi simply because of the good recruiting class. I think most people just realize that due to the Buyout on top of the covid-induced financial strain make it unrealistic that we will fire him after this year, especially after turning things around following the losing streak, so we look at other options for now, and Borbely and especially Whipple seem to be the next men up in the line of fire, understandably so.

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  21. Since I see the biggest problem being recruiting, how much will a new coach be able to improve the performance of what we have? Most will depend on QB play and we don’t really know what we have in our current three and the one we have. I am still sick about not getting Jurkovec, but the timing was wrong.

    If we do make a change it must be someone who can improve the recruiting of skill players. The lack of players that can make splash plays has really hurt, especially at running back and tight end. It is pretty sad when a late pick-up from Maryland beats out everyone on the roster. Good thing that he did though especially for punt returns. Addison was a great find, but they asked him to do to much.

    To me winning a sporting event always comes down to guys that make the plays. and guys that do not.

    While I lean towards a change if it is not a good one it will make little difference.

    I must say that I was impressed with the way Pitt bounced back offensively vs FLST and VATech and the coaches get a lot of credit for that.

    I think if we get get good offensive production against GT….

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  22. Yellen has shown that he senses when to move in the pocket to extend plays, but he also showed no inclination to try to pick up yardage. We certainly need a QB who can run it at least as well as KP….otherwise it will be just too easy for the defenses we face…

    Go Pitt.

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    1. We wouldn’t need a running QB if we had a running game. No doubt KP picked up a lot of first downs with his legs, but he also missed big plays when he ran too early and too often. Just a guess but he was probably our most productive red zone runner the past three years, not good.

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      1. GC – I think good college offenses need a QB who can run some and mediocre colleges offenses really need a QB who can run some.

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  23. Best possible outcome we get a young OC who brings a grad transfer QB with two years eligibility.
    Too bad it won’t happen. Narduzzi has only brought in older guys with long resumes, unlike Majors and Sherrill who could identify young up and comers.

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  24. As I look at the OC situation for next year, it comes down to two things. First Naduzzi: if he thinks he has one more year to save his job, does he keep Whipple, bring in an outsider or promote from within? Second, if Whipple is fired, could a HC on thin ice really expect to bring in a top OC talent from outside? Maybe a young ambitious coach who would like to add to his resume with a year of OC could be enticed, but any outsider would have to weigh the distinct possibility of being here for only one year. And he would likely have minimal, if any, experience at coordinating the offense and play calling.

    Breaking in a new QB could be the defining factor here, and I’m guessing he dumps Whipple and promotes from within to satisfy Lyke and keep the same offensive system. Narduzzi has boxed himself in with his previous shuffling of OCs, and even a $1 million salary offering for an outside OC may not be enough to acquire the necessary talent.

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  25. Just because a bunch of guys on blogs say Narduzzi should be fired doesn’t mean he is in hot water. This is Pitt. This is not like Stallings with no wins and an empty Pete. This is a crazy year with lots of exceptional challenges. This is far from a priority within the University. Narduzzi lost two one point games that he should have won. That’s not going to get him fired. Just like ranting and raving about an OCS is not going to get one built.

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    1. Pitt will react like they always do when the Steelers move to cranberry to build their 80k retractable roof stadium borrowing my stade Pierre mauroy concept

      They will host a Super Bowl, final 4’s, international soccer events

      Heinz will be imploded. Pitt will be screwed. Land is too valuable to have an aging and falling apart stadium be used for only 7 games out of 365 days.

      What is Pitts plan? It doesn’t have one.

      This won’t be part of heathers legacy so she doesn’t care. In two years she’s off to Sparty.

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        1. I do like Butler County rather than Washington, glad you made the switch. Maybe they will tear down Monroeville Mall and put it there. lol

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  26. Natduzzi is lucky it’s a covid year.

    Revenues are down due to covid and not him.

    With the vaccine next summer, fall games will be at 100 percent capacity. Unless you’re pitt and it’s 50 percent, lowest in the ACC. Facts. Not fake news.

    But if this team stumbles and fans get tired of his act, capacity could be at 30 percent. Pitt will notice that.

    Pitt will notice fewer booster donations

    Pitt will notice fewer advertisers

    Pitt will notice the money hit

    Pitt can find a coach that gets pitt to ten wins and saves kittens. Plenty of coaches on my list are good with ladders.

    But those guys are in hot demand. Half won’t be on the list next year. A smart school will grab them.

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  27. Arnold Z … comparing Wanny’s record vs Narduzzi’s record which are nearly the same:

    The following is a year by year listing of teams each faced that finished the regular season ranked in the AP:

    D Wannstedt
    2005: Notre Dame #6 9-2 / WVU #8 10-1 / Louisville #18 9-2
    2006: Louisville #8 10-2 / WVU #11 10-2 / Rutgers #13 10-2
    2007: WVU #5 10-2 / Cincinnati #20 9-3
    2008: Cincinnati #12 10-2 / WVU #25 8-4
    2009: Cincinnati #5 11-0 / WVU #17 9-3
    2010: none

    P Narduzzi

    2015: Notre Dame #6 10-2 / Iowa #8 11-1 / UNC #10 11-2 / #21 Navy in bowl
    2016: Clemson #3 (12-1) / PSU #7 11-2 / Ok St #11 10-2 / Va Tech #18 (9-4) / Miami #20 8-4
    2017: Miami #7 11-2 / PSU #9 (10-2) / Ok St #14 10-3 / NC State #23 9-4
    2018: Clemson #2 13-0 / Notre Dame #3 12-0 / UCF #7 12-0 / PSU #13 9-3 / Syracuse #15 9-3
    2019: Penn St #10 10-2 / UCF #24 10-3 / UVa #23 8-4
    2020 (current): Notre Dame #2 10-0 / Clemson #3 9-1 / Miami #10 8-1

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  28. I’d like to know the number of signature wins and the number of blowout losses

    Signatures defined by a win over any top ten team

    Blowouts are losses by 20 or more

    I bet Dave wins that battle.

    I want the stache back

    Tex who likes a good fish samich.

    Like

    1. aside from 13-9, what were Wanny’s signature wins?

      But even moreso, who did Wanny face that could blow out PItt? How many Top 3 teams did he face other than WVU in 2007? none

      2005: ND 42-21; Lousiville 42-20: WVU 45-13
      2006: WVU 45-27 Lville 48-27
      2007: unranked UVa44-14; unranked So Florida 48-37\
      2008: Rutgers 54-34; (scoreless in bowl game)
      2009: none but loss to the 2 unranked teams it played
      2010: unranked WVU 35-10

      Like

      1. I did some quick checks and thought Narduzzi was on a pace to pass majors in blow out losses. He is

        Wanny didn’t have many signature wins. But he did have THE signature win. Narduzzi has clemson, penn state and Miami.

        And yes Wanny has that terrible Cincy loss in the de facto big east championship game.

        My point is if Wanny was fired for these results, why isn’t Narduzzi. I’ll even call it a draw between the stache and meatballs despite those blowouts and nay a ranked season or ten wins.

        Why put up with Narduzzi when history at pitt shows, the admin and boosters force you out when you reach your ceiling and not go past it.

        They did it with Walt and Wanny. Why is the Dog so special?

        It must be due to kitten saving.

        Like

    2. Wanny finished ranked 15th post season, once. Narduzzi hasn’t finished ranked anything, EVER. Wanny had a #8 ranking during season, Nards best was 21. The reason the other teams finished so high was because they beat the snot out of Pitt along the way.

      Quick look excludes Virginia in 2007 and Louisville who was probably top 10 pre-season, but faltered.

      At time of play in 2008, there was USF and Oregon State, both ranked top 25. Iowa also finished top 20. I just did a quick scan of AP so the question is whether you want to count records when they played or end? Slice and dice is fun, but…

      Tex, this was pretty cool. In games decided by >20 points :

      Narduzzi 8-9 (still has 1 or 2 games left to get an idea)
      Wanny 20-5

      Like

  29. Love when Narduzzi’s record is discussed and it’s quickly called to our attention that PN won with Chryst players. Yet PC didn’t win with his own players and he couldn’t coach the defense. Funny thing, the player mostly responsible for Narduzzi winning with Paul’s’ players was his own player, Peterman.

    Further more, (I have to do this every so often) I’m not Narduzzi’s biggest fan. If I thought PITT was going to fire Pat I wouldn’t be the least bit upset AND they have a better plan in place. Which I know they don’t because they have no plans to let Pat go. None!

    That said, I do think there is a mix up of coaches planned. I look for a new OC next year. As far as Lyke goes, she’s done ok and is a steal for the money, just the opposite of Narduzzi. Another funny thing about some of you. When she showed up at halftime and recognized deserving folks with a small honor you all laughed at her for hogging the spotlight. Now you’re complain-ing about her lack of appearances. Another example of not being able to do anything right in some eyes. That’s laughable in my eyes though.

    Me? I just hop on the train and see where it takes me without trying to play the big boss with all the answers when nobody is asking me any questions or for my opinion.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. She now makes around $800k from her beginning salary of $425k

      She’s a thief as well

      The crime is that Gallagher is only around $1 million in total compensation. He manages a $2 billion dollar budget.

      Heather manages a $100 million dollar budget and loses over $10 million each year.

      Puts sports into perspective doesn’t it?

      Like

  30. After reading Mr. Monteleone’s timely & thoughtful article, I still come out on the side of holding someone accountable for this year’s offense. Since its not going to be Narduzzi, then the next most likely candidate is Whipple, probably over Borbely at this point. The thing I liked about Canada is that I thought he did a good job of making the most of our talent, and this is the very area where I think Whipple has come up short. So yes, my vote would be for an upcoming young OC to replace Whipple, maybe even someone who has potential to be a HC. I know its risky to bring in a new OC again, I don’t really care, it’s what I’d do.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I agree with your post. A big difference between Canada and Whipple is that the offense was so disciplined under Canada. We had motion galore but few penalties; we had lots of tricky quick handoffs to jet sweepers but we didn’t mess one of those up until about the 8th game of the season. Those things impressed me.

      What does Sabin always say — “RUN IT AGAIN!” Apparently we don’t “run it again” enough under the Whipster.

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  31. Tex, I spit out my water when I just read you type that Wanny wins the battle against Narduzzi. Wanny was a flop. Nard has never lost to a Mac team, the only non-Power 5 loss Nard has is to a great UCF team. Wanny needed a number of years to have his two great seasons at the end of his tenure.

    I remember these Wanny disgraces as an undergraduate, saw them right from section 211: blowout opening day loss to Bowling Green with Bill Stull at the helm, an OT loss to the mighty Ohio Bobcats on the night of my grandfather’s funeral (thank God he didn’t have to witness that ), a thrashing at Heinz in 2009 by football powerhouse UConn, yearly losses to Rutgers who really only had one great season as a ranked team, and several stampedings by the South Florida Bulls. There is no excuse that Pitt should not have won MULTIPLE Big East championships in that joke of a conference. The competition in the ACC Coastal one would argue is a tad more intense than the last incarnation of the Big Least.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I don’t consider Wanny to be a flop. I don’t think there is a question that Walt is the best HC since the 80s. And for reasons I stated above, Nard takes a slight edge over Wanny for 2nd.

      But all of these coaches are victims of circumstances, namely ….

      — an admin that never maintained FB as a priority
      —- playing in a pro city that adores its NFL team
      — poor attendance, apathy both from students and locals
      — lack of national and even local exposure
      — and now, even a dearth of local high school FB talent

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Narduzzi is fully supported with a top third budget. And has a boss not named Cornhole. Those are huge advantages over Walt and Wanny.

        Again, why should Narduzzi be spared when the other two coaches were not.

        He needs to be led out to the slaughterhouse otherwise pitt is being very hypocritical.

        Does Narduzzi have dirt on heather

        Does Narduzzi get bonus points for every kitten he saves

        Like

      2. Recruiting isn’t local for anyone except for florida schools and texas schools. Excuses i tell ya!

        Everything else on the list is solveable with the right people. It’s just not the coach. It’s the organization. You can’t fire the organization. You can change the culture however. Pitt just has no clue on how to do that.

        Like

    2. I watched in horror as Ok State hung 59 on Pitt and it could have been 80, but they let up. 0-28 VT made me puke and of course what is the explanation for 6-51 against The Pennsylvania State University of Farmers? Way more embarrassing.

      Does Nard have a 13-9 moment? Maybe Clemson. Most would probably rate the 13-9 Victory much higher than Clemson. Clemson still went on to win the National Championship, so the game really didn’t impact the landscape of college football for the year. We knocked the mounties out of the National Championship. Definitely more impactful.

      Point is. No matter how you slice it, the records were comparable. The blowout wins over blowout losses definitely favor Wanny. Nard cheated and hid it from his compliance boss for quite some time. Must have locked the gates on her too. Wanny brought in some questionable players. Wanny got fired. Narduzzi hired the AD and got extended. What could go wrong?

      I liked Walt alot, but he coached scared for some reason. Similarly to Wanny and Nard. They all look like deer in headlights and none were average, let alone above average game day decisioners.

      Like

      1. Wanny capitalized off the big one. The program got a huge jolt. Look at recruiting and wins after that game.

        Narduzzi did not. Meatballs failed to capitalize. His trendline is down with his recruits.

        That clemson win means nothing

        13-9 is the stuff of lore.

        Like

    3. I would take Wanny back in a heartbeat over Narduzzi. Look at Wannys last three years. His recruiting. His love of pitt. His ranked seasons. His ten wins.

      It’s all relative.

      But Wannys not on my list to replace Narduzzi and even a young Wanny doesn’t fit my criteria.

      Wanny was an emotional hire by Pitt

      Narduzzi was a stupid hire and the extension was insert swear word.

      Like

  32. Let’s look at the offense going into next year thru an opposing defensive coordinator planning for Pitt assuming Whipple remains the OC:
    Scat back as primary running back
    Offensive line’s inability to block for the run last 2 years
    Nonexistent tight end in passing game
    New QB – Graduate Transfer or Beville / Yellen
    Low probability of hurry up game due to QB running to sideline for plays
    Conservative offense pro-style offense
    POVers what are your thoughts about my view of 2021?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I agree with most of it except Maybe Krull and I see Carter and Izzy getting a lot more carries if they stick around. O-line should improve somewhat as they mature.

      Like

          1. Yep, would laugh my butt off at that episode and all others….what a gang!!!…need a T with Spanky, Buckwheat and Alfalfa on it….”Hey’ we all got along !”…Watched a Dean Martin 1968 Christmas
            Special…great stuff LMAO…..oh, to step back to those days but pass on PITT FB ’68 edition !!!

            Like

        2. That was in reply to the comment about looking at Pitt’s O through the eyes of an opposing D coordinator111

          Like

  33. Question for the gallery, would KP staying one more year be a good thing, for Pitt for him?

    Who else is likely to stay?

    Like

  34. What I learned from the article.. There is an offensive coordinator out there who can give Pitt a 7 points per game increase.

    That would put us at 35 points or more next year. I’m on board.

    Like

    1. Assuming Kenny comes back and Pitts not breaking in a new QB

      But the D will probably give up 7 more given the loss of all that nfl talent

      It’s a wash

      Another 6-8 win season.

      And for 90 percent of you, that is fine. Hence the BoT is fine. And Gallagher is fine. And heather is fine. And Narduzzi has no incentive to do or be any more.

      The sooner y’all realize that Whipple is a symptom and scapegoat, the sooner you will be on the path to truth and awakening.

      Like

  35. Regarding an OC, consider Mike Yurcich, current OC at the University of Texas. Former Oklahoma State OC who was hired by Ohio State to be the passing coordinator and QB coach and then lured back to the Big 12 by Texas to be the OC there. Coached and designed very high powered offenses at high powered football schools. Played QB at California (PA) for three years after starting out at Mount Union. Has bachelor and master degrees. Texas coach Herman is in some hot water over not winning enough so maybe Mike might consider a change back east to perhaps Pitt. Mike is from Euclid, OH where he starred as a QB on very good Euclid High Div. 1 teams. Since I was a principal there. that is why I am proposing him. OC when Oklahoma State rang up 58 points on Pitt at Heinz. Just my take for what it is worth.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. He’s one of the few brightspots for the horns this year. He’s a future HC. Just not at Pitt. He’s also too smart to work under Narsnoozi.

      Like

    2. Sounds like a great idea. That is why Pitt won’t make it happen. I keep saying Pitt just doesn’t know how to manage a football team, not since it fired Cas Myslinski.

      Like

  36. Ok, I was not happy with Wannys record and after a blowout loss to GA Tech and a bowl loss, I will not be happy with Duzz’s record.

    Do we want to go to a “clap clap” RPO offense ?? Or continue
    being the only team that has our QB run to the sideline to get plays. I vote for a complete coaching change and a hire of Canada as HC. He did a hell of a job taking over Maryland after the coach was fired. Players and Alums raved about him. He’s a terrific recruiter and a master of details.
    Offense solved, recruiting solved.

    Liked by 1 person

  37. Since we’re talking coaches, Brian Kelly has won the last 30 games where Notre Dame was favored. Hasn’t lost a game he was favored in since 2017. How many games has Pitt lost as a favorite in the same time period?

    Like

  38. for you guys who complains about Duzz’s blowouts … watch college football!

    Wanny’s best team 2009 lost to Cincy but in the bowl game, Florida went out to a 30-3 half time lead and beat Cincy 51-24. The fact remains that Wanny rarely played the top teams while Narduzzi has.

    But also …. face it, we are in a whole new era

    Here are the last 5 championship game scores
    LSU 42-25 Clemson
    Clemson 44-16 Bama
    Bama 26 – 23 Georgia
    Clemson 35-31 Bama
    Bama 45-40 Clemson

    Here are the final scores in the Wanny era (2008-2011)
    Alabama 21 – 0 Georgia
    Auburn 22-19 Oregon
    Alabama 37-21 Oklahoma
    Florida 24-14 Okla

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The professionals didn’t have the spread at 27. In fact, the spread was 12 and the over under was 57.

      This gets old, so here goes.

      What many don’t recall was that prior to the bowl game, urban announced he was stepping away from the program and it was Tebows last stand which when combined, amped up florida like nobody’s business. You need to remember all that emotional hysteria.

      Also, and just as big, Brian Kelly did not coach that game. He quit and accepted the ND job and cincy wouldnt let him coach.

      Down on the farm, we tend to look at the rest of the story like the fighting Paul Harveys.

      Like

  39. So many factors go into any stat, especially PPG. Level of competition, how good is your D, talent, etc.

    Looking at the UMass schedule in 2018. The numbers are slightly skewed by two super high scores against crap teams. 63 against Duquesne, 62 against Liberty before Hugh Freeze.
    They were 36th in scoring in 2018. 47th the previous year.

    If you look at his QB passer ratings the last two years at UMass they were pretty good.
    2018 – 161.5 with a 62.9 completion rate(8th in the country)
    2017 – 151.1 passer rating, 63.2% completion rate. 17th in the country.
    Again, let’s take into account the level of competition.

    He has sucked at Pitt for two years. Pickett: 122.4 last year, 132.7 so far this year. That isn’t close to top 50.

    Top 50 quarterbacks in 2019: 154.1 passer rating, 65% completion rate, 13.0 yards per completion, 2.0% interception rate
    The best in recent years, like Mayfield, Tagovailoa and Murray are around 199 passer rating.

    Compare Whipple’s background to the other ACC OCs that run some kind of spread, not including Clemson. I think Narduzzi just made a bad choice.

    Miami – OC – Rhett Lashlee – 33.2 ppg
    Former SMU OC. Lashlee helped lead the Mustangs to a 10-3 finish in 2019, guiding an offense that ranked No. 7 in FBS in scoring (41.8 points per game), No. 13 in passing offense (309 yards per game), No. 9 in total offense (489.8 yards per game) and No. 12 in first downs gained (322).

    UNC – OC – Phil Longo 40.2 ppg
    Former Ole Miss OC. Longo engineered two successful seasons at Ole Miss, producing top-20 units both years. In 2018, his offense ranked seventh nationally in yards per play (7.1), ninth in total offense (510.5 ypg), fifth in passing offense (346.4), 25th in red zone offense (88.9) and 33rd in scoring offense (33.9). The Rebels finished the year sixth on the SEC’s all-time list for passing yards per game and were first in the nation in first down production.

    NC State – OC – Tim Beck – 31.9 ppg
    Former Texas, Ohio State OC. Under his guidance, Texas’ offense ranked among the nation’s most prolific, especially over the past two seasons. In 2019, the Longhorns ranked 17th nationally in scoring (35.2 ppg), 17th in completion percentage (.651), 20th in passing offense (289.3), 12th in red zone offense (.920), and 14th in total offense (465.8).
    At OSU, OSU ranked 14th in the FBS in scoring offense with an average of 39.4 points per game in 2016. The rushing attack ranked 12th nationally at 245.2 yards per game, which led the Big Ten, while the team’s completion percentage (62.3%) also led the conference.

    VT – OC – Brad Cornelsen – 33.2 ppg
    Followed HC from Memphis.
    • In 2015, Memphis finished 11th nationally in scoring offense (40.2 ppg). The Tigers also converted 48.8 percent (101 of 207) of the time to rank eighth in the FBS.
    • In 2014-15, the Tigers averaged 185.0 rushing ypg and scored 60 TDs on the ground, producing 11 games with 200 or more net rushing yards.
    • The Tigers set a school record for points in consecutive seasons (993 in 2014-15) and boasted a +19 turnover differential (53 takes/34 gives) over that timeframe.

    BC – OC – Frank Cignetti
    The jury is still out. Give him two years. Passer rating just better than Picketts and only 27.4 ppg.

    WMG!

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Give Pickett the NCAA average for drops. Does it change his passer rating much? I doubt it.

        I don’t think Pickett is bad and I think there is talent on the offensive side of the ball. It all falls on Whipple.

        Like

    2. Toilet Paper….had 2 qualifications. He was available….. since he was Fired.

      And he offered no threat to Narduzzi’s job.

      But in an ironic twist, it could be Toilet Paper who loses Doozer his job, (not this year as coronavirus is being used as an excuse for everything). But if Pitt loses 8 or 9 games next year. Very possibly

      Like

  40. One possible benefit of Narduzzi’s contract through 2024 is that he just might be able to lure a successful OC from one of these programs where the HC gets axed. Pitt will pay $1 million for the right OC, so if Narduzzi could convince some fool that he will be at Pitt for the balance of his contract then maybe someone good would come aboard.

    It is even possible that Lyke has told Narduzzi that if he just keeps the program clean he will be around for the rest of his contract. Two years ago, ND fans were clamoring for the school to run Kelly out of town. Now, he’s headed for the playoffs and they love him. Winning solves everything..

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Kelly’s ND went 4-8 in 2016. Of course, we played them in 2015, 2018 and this year — all 3 times finished in Top 10

      Like

    2. Winning does solve most things but Narduzzi is a loser.

      Pitt is stuck with him because of that God awful extension.

      Thanks heather. I’m going to burn a yellow blouse now.

      Like

  41. how great is this! Undefeated BYU #13 will play undefeated #18 Coastal Carolina this Saturday in a game that was just finalized yesterday. TV on ESPNU 3:30

    Like

  42. So maybe we should win more.

    Same with Franklin. He was a couple weekends away from getting canned at Penn State Farmers Dairy College and poof, he beat OSU. The vibe changed lickety split. He might be back in the crosshairs soon because he was stupid to say he expects championships, thus putting an expectation on himself, that nobody was pressuring him to do. Loose lips sink ships!

    Like

  43. #freeNike

    Liked by 4 people

  44. A new OC can do wonders for a team, especially if the new OC has a stellar resumé, and is replacing a not-so-good OC. Look at what Oregon did when it hired Joe Morehead. Here’s an article I previously posted, but now that the subject is Whipple it is even more germain.

    This shows (1) the difference between last year and this year in how the OC affects the team, (2) the on-field results with the new OC, and (3) a HC who put his program first, leaving any concerns about a threat to his own position behind.

    https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/john_canzano/2020/11/canzano-oregon-ducks-victory-over-washington-state-was-a-joe-moorhead-welcoming-party.html

    Liked by 1 person

  45. here’s more data about comparing Wanny’s (apples) and Duzz’s (oranges) scores

    In 2009, there were 2 teams that scored > 40 ppg (Houston and Boise ST). This year, there are 13 teams

    In 2009, there were 2 teams with > 500 yards per game (Houston and Nevada). This year there are 12 teams

    Heck, in 2009 Cincinnati was 4th in scoring @ 38.6 ppg while this year Clemson is 5th @ 46.1 while ND is a measly 22nd @ 36.9.

    It’s a whole different era

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Which is why the wins and the losses are a great measuring stick. Not the end all, but a good barometer. Both are dudes are close in wins and losses. One got canned due to a conflict with an incompetent AD. The AD put a black eye on Pitt as part of a plan to seize power from Wanny.

      The other coach learned from wanny and instead of being at odds with the incompetent AD, he embraced her and spoke highly of her. Got her hired. Voila!! He isn’t completely dumb. He knows where his bread is buttered. He got her hired. She got him extended. He then got her a raise and an extension. What a scam, but not unlike corporate america in some ways. They are both playing the game at the expense of the fan and the alumni. Gallagher is not too smart, for being so intelligent. He’s just out of his element, like down here on the farm when the duck gets out of the water.

      Like

  46. Luring any coach to Pitt now will be a problem because its HC may not be around much longer. I suppose a MAC coordinator would be interested in just moving up to a power 5 program.

    Like

  47. Some info from Pittsburgh Sports Now article on recent women’s basketball WPIAL 2022 commitment Aislin Malcolm. She is Pitt’s first WPIAL recruit since 2016.

    “Malcolm was recently named to ESPN’s Class of 2022 Top 100 Watch List and named one of the Top 20 guards in the country.

    Pittsburgh Sports Now spoke to a local college basketball talent evaluator who provided this evaluation of Malcolm: “She is an extremely high-level shooter that was invited to a really prestigious All-American camp this year. She is likely a point guard at the next level. Aislin is an elite 3-point shooter and passer.”

    This is the type of local player who usually would go to Maryland or ND. Aislin makes deep threes, but she also has a nice drive-to-the-hoop game. This is a big get for Coach White and his staff, whose recruiting has been leaps and bounds better than what our last Coach was bringing in…

    Now the biggest recruiting issue is adding a legit post-player for next year’s class – a tough challenge.

    Go Pitt.

    Like

    1. If I’m not mistaken, Aislin Malcom is now a Junior. She was the Trib’s player of the year last year. Her team the last two years has been state champs. Only a junior now — don’t let her slip away, Coach !!

      Liked by 1 person

  48. Wanny a flop….haha. Wake me when Pitt wins 10 games in a season.

    Even 9 games. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    Like

    1. Wake me when Wanny doesn’t kick off to the best returner in the land and make another egregious sideline call.

      Worst gameday coach ever… until Narduzzi

      Like

      1. Worst gameday coach, has the ONLY 10 game win season at Pitt in almost 40 years.
        And the only 2nd…. 9 win season in almost 40 years.

        He must have been doing something right. No ? You Wanny haters are incredible. Won’t admit you WERE WRONG.

        Like

  49. Here’s something more hysterical. Coastal Carolina is better than Pitt.

    I think they’ve been playing D1 football for 10 weeks now .

    NarduZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    Like

  50. This is a response to Tex from about 50 comments ago:

    Walt did not have his contact renewed, his was looked down upon by the high and mighty administration due to some minor personal situations, essentially he was run out of town by Jeff Long for essentially nothing. Long didn’t like Walt, Long hired Wanny then bolted for Arkansas.

    Enter Stevie P II, Wanny was canned because he wanted to run the whole show, Stevie P who was incompetent at Pitt had to get rid of him. Eventually Stevie P’s incompetence was finally realized and he was fired.

    Narduzzi will be gone after the 2021 season, he will fire some offensive coaches at the end of this season but unless they get a QB transfer who is mobile it is going to be a sub .500 season and the last straw in year 7.

    Due to a subpar offensive line next season they will have major problems. Bevis and Yellen are not the answer, they are both essentially immobile and will be sitting ducks.

    Like

    1. Yellen and Bevis (& Butthead) have to be in Spread Offenses like Washington State or Texas Tech.

      Which was requires lots of 3 step drops and immediate throws. With Pitt’s glaring recruiting weaknesses, the great equalizer in College Football is the Spread.

      Hire a Leach or TT disciple.

      Or Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

      Like

    2. Yes. Long didn’t like Walt. Cornhole didn’t like Wanny. But heather owes Narduzzi. That’s the BIG difference. Only at Pitt. Unless you’re part of government or a small business.

      Like

  51. The mystery recruit///Nate Yarnell from the same Texas Hs as Baker Mayfield. The 6ft 6″ youngster had a serious hand injury which sidelined him this past year. Ya neva know what a kid is from Texas HS Football.
    Let’s just hope that he is a sleeper and has a good OC to bring him along…not Mr. Charmin.

    Like

    2. Since he apparently didn’t play much in HS, I will have extremely low expectations for Yarnell — at least until he is around a couple years.

      At least that’s what QB history at Pitt shows…

      Like

  57. And Pitt won’t play the Dukes because some petty gripe Capel has with the Dukes coach. Why doesn’t heather just step in and do the right thing. Well because she’s a dope.

    Like

    1. Tex, you don’t have a clue as to what is going on between the two sides so you don’t have any business calling names.

      Like

  58. Looks like Skippy contacted Duquesne and they will accept him as a walk on.
    First Pitt player to ever play at Duquesne.

    Liked by 1 person

  59. Milton MacKenzie has just entered the transfer portal. If the name rings a bell, it’s because he lit up Pitt as UCF QB back in 2018. In 2017, he led UCF to an undefeated season and was doing the same in 2018 (while getting a lot Heisman hype) before getting a devastating knee injury that knocked him out both last year and this (note that he was supposed to be a first rounder for the 2019 draft)

    Now usually elite QBs transfers to elite programs …. Justin Fields to OSU, Jalen Hurts to Okla, Kyler Murray to Okla, Joe Burrow to LSU, etc. But this may be different since he hasn’t played for 2 years and the elites are usually stocked with talented QBs.

    Since under Whipple, Pitt is in the Top 10 for pass attempts and Pickett is leaving, he may give Pitt a look. But I certainly wouldn’t bet on it. Note that he is a native Hawaiian and he may opt to stay home (and play for Fraud Graham). It will be interesting to see how much interest he gets

    Like

    3. I read they basically had to save his leg at the hospital. You have to wonder just how much he can run?

      Like

  60. So it looks like Alabama, ND, Clemson and tOSU in the playoffs is pretty much a done deal.
    Even though tOSU may not be eligible for their Championship game.
    But what does the committee do if ND beats Clemson for a second time.
    ACC refs will not let that happen.
    Also, what if Clemson and ND play for a third time in the playoffs.
    Weird stuff.

    Like

    1. if Clemson loses twice, my guess is that opens the door for Tex A&M, Florida or Cincinnati. Florida will likely play Bama in SEC championship. They have 1 loss … by 3 pts to A&M. A&M’s one loss was to Bama 52-24 …

      see that POVers … the 5th ranked team in the country lost 52-24!!

      Cincinnati is undefeated and 7th ranked due to easy schedule. They won every game handily except for 36-33 vs UCF (6-3), and will play at Tulsa next weekend which will likely be its biggest test

      Liked by 1 person

        1. it should be known that NC State is 7-3 and will likely finish 8-3 as they play GT tomorrow. BC is 6-4 and plays at UVa tomorrow. So both of these 1 point losses were not to bad teams as originally thought.

          Nonetheless, Pitt should have won these games …. especially vs NC St

          Liked by 2 people

          1. But they didn’t. And their record is what it is. They are a mediocre team with mainly Mac type players and a high school head coach.

            Like

  62. Look, the kid learned a valuable lesson and he learned it quickly. On his hit, he did not lead with his head, so that was a learned lesson. Shows he is teachable. Additionally, he showed very poor form in that he did not wrap up the ref with his arms. I see the kid accepting a schollie to East Mississippi Junior College. He is clearly faster than his teammates and coaches that could not intercept the strike.

    As a disclaimer, the A Ziffel Foundation does not condone such brutality n sport.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. this from wilipedia

        CAST — Main characters

        Oliver Wendell Douglas: Eddie Albert (170 episodes)
        Lisa Douglas: Eva Gabor (170 episodes)
        Eb Dawson: Tom Lester (148 episodes)
        Sam Drucker: Frank Cady (142 episodes)
        Eustace Haney: Pat Buttram (84 episodes)
        Hank Kimball: Alvy Moore (79 episodes)
        Fred Ziffel: Hank Patterson (50 episodes)
        Doris Ziffel: Barbara Pepper (1965–1968) (30 episodes)/Fran Ryan (1969–71) (7 episodes, 5 as Doris Ziffel)
        Arnold Ziffel: (Original pig came from the town of Union Star, Missouri)
        Ralph Monroe: Mary Grace Canfield (41 episodes)
        Alf Monroe: Sid Melton (1965–1969) (26 episodes)

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  63. As the initiator of WMG I couldn’t help but add some thoughts. First, MM your article was great, and included a lot of great research, was fair, and ultimately allowed each of us to come to our own conclusions. A welcome way to run a blog.

    WMG is a given in my world. He is stuck in a system that he can’t walk away from and it is not a system that generates the scoring that is necessary to win in this FBS era. How many offensive series are automatically stopped by even a 5-yard penalty. No downfield threat, lots of motion with no purpose, throwing short of the sticks (inaccurately) leading to “3 and outs” routinely.

    There is good reason that Pitt has to kick FGs instead of scoring TDs, the offense is non-productive in the red zone because he won’t allow the QB to actually throw into the endzone. Defenses have figured out, play the WRs close and tackle them short of the sticks or the endzone and watch Pitt punt or kick FGs.

    Finally, for God’s sake signal in the plays, you look stupid having the QB run around the field to be told the play, 129 FBS teams have figured out how to signal in plays, could they ALL be wrong.

    I don’t see any reason that a young hot-shot OC would be interested in coaching a Power-5 team in the ACC, where they have a TV deal (unless you have Comcast) and schedule with national teams like, VT, Miami, Clemson, Fla St., and the Carolinas.

    Also. formerlywwb, you’ve been spot-on with your posts on this subject.

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      1. As someone who has spent most his life studying and absorbing the English language, I thank you

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    2. Thank you for asking. Racked my brain for a topic. All I could think of was comparing stats. But we only have one more week & Pitt is done for the ACC year.

      I am working on a new GT article for next week.

      Liked by 1 person

  67. Re-watching that high school kid, led me to the thought of William the refrigerator Perry being used in short yardage downs to just plow over unsuspecting defenders. A big expansion of the Charmin playbook would be to have the converted TE to OL, line up in the backfield and clear the path for the “flea” since he must have something on the coach, or more preferably Sibley or #4.

    Down here on the farm, us hogs get the job done in the trenches and they now let us hop on the internet too.

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  68. Yesterday a couple star Pitt DE target decomitted from LSU.

    Today:

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    1. Too bad no offensive four star wants to play in Pitts offense stuck in the pop warner era.

      Offense wins games in college

      And in pros
      See KC
      See Chicago…a wannyesque and Narsnoozi like team on O

      Pitt needs a QB and O linemen that can start and play now

      We giving nard another 6 years to figure things out

      Heather busy writing up another extension

      She will never admit her mistake. Would be career suicide.

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  71. After watching the recent recruits film, let me offer our Texas friends some help with their eval.

    He gets caught from behind easily after interceptions
    He celebrates too much after big plays
    Is he too scared to play TE

    JK, we all hope he lives up to his 4* rating.

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  72. Let me quash your fears Ike, I don’t think anyone complains about getting a four star. The complaint is that we do not get enough four stars. They are out there. They are gettable. Other programs get em without brown bags. It only requires harder work than the other teams recruiters.

    Personally, I let out a little squeal when the news hit. Hopefully Naquan can reach out to the other LSU commit (Davis) and work on him to flip too.

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  73. If you are into looking at bizarre things that nobody reports, Army has 83 commitments this year according to Rivals.

    Also, if the Pitt class stays intact, they will finish about 25th. There are several teams with rivals average stars at 3.3 or better. So when they fill in their respective classes, they should pass our team. That is not a complaint. Interestingly WV has 4, 4 stars and Penn St Dairy Farmers High has a bunch. They just dont have the class fill-ins yet.

    Maybe Davis changes his mind and sees we have 2 four stars on the DL, one at LB and his one as a safety would be a great defense in the making. Can we flip em? LSU program will be in trouble very soon.

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