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Pitt Football Schedule 2021

LINK: Pitt Football Schedule           LINK: Pitt Football 2021 Tickets

Pitt’s 2021 Football Schedule Announced

PITTSBURGH—Pitt’s 12-game football schedule for the 2021 season was unveiled today by the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Panthers will host seven games at Heinz Field, including four pivotal ACC contests.

The home season highlights: 

·         Pitt will host three foes that finished last season among the nation’s Top 25 teams: College Football Playoff participant Clemson (Oct. 23), Miami (Oct. 30) and North Carolina. The Tar Heels will visit Heinz for a nationally televised Thursday night contest (Nov. 11).

·         Following a one-season hiatus, Pitt will resume its series with ACC Coastal Division member Virginia (Nov. 20).

·         The Panthers open the season on Sept. 4 against FBS independent Massachusetts. Pitt hosts additional non-conference opponents Western Michigan (Sept. 18) and New Hampshire (Sept. 25).

Pitt plays its road opener at Tennessee—under the new direction of former UCF coach Josh Heupel—on Sept. 11. The Panthers have not visited Knoxville since 1983.

The October slate includes consecutive Coastal Division road trips to Georgia Tech (Oct. 2) and Virginia Tech (Oct. 16).

November will be bookended by away contests at Duke (Nov. 6) and Syracuse (Nov. 27). Since joining the ACC in 2013, the Panthers are a combined 13-2 against the Blue Devils and Orange.  

Pitt football season tickets are now on sale. Fans can purchase full seven-game season ticket packages for as low as $175, while lower bowl seats are available starting at only $205. Flexible payment plans are available. For more information, click here or call (800) 643-7488.

The Panthers’ complete 2021 football schedule:

Sept. 4: Massachusetts

The Panthers and Minutemen meet for the first time.

Sept. 11: at Tennessee

Pitt last played in Knoxville on Sept. 3, 1983, knocking off Johnny Majors’ Volunteers, 13-3.

Sept. 18: Western Michigan

Coach Tim Lester has led the Broncos to two bowls in the last three seasons.    

Sept. 25: New Hampshire

In the lone prior meeting, Pitt defeated the Wildcats, 38-16, on Sept. 11, 2010.

Oct. 2: at Georgia Tech*

Pitt will play the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta for the third consecutive season.

Oct. 16: at Virginia Tech*

Kenny Pickett threw for 404 yards in a 47-14 rout of the Hokies last year.

Oct. 23: Clemson*

Perennial CFP contender Clemson visits Pittsburgh for the first time.

Oct. 30: Miami*

The Hurricanes earned a No. 22 final ranking after going 8-3 last year.

Nov. 6: at Duke*

Pitt won a 33-30 thriller at Wallace Wade Stadium in 2019.

Nov. 11 (Thurs.): North Carolina*

Pitt hosts UNC on Thursday night for the fourth consecutive time. The Panthers claimed a 34-27 OT win at Heinz in 2019.  

Nov. 20 : Virginia*

The annual Coastal foes did not meet in 2020 due to the revised non-divisional format.

Nov. 27: at Syracuse*

The Panthers have won 16 of the past 19 games against the Orange.

*ACC game

Times and television arrangements will be announced at a later date.

243 thoughts on “Pitt Football Schedule 2021”

  1. Pitt will play UMass and NH on AT&T SportsNet: Clemson on regional ABC; UNC on ESPN but opposite the Steelers who will play the Browns on Thurs Nite … and the rest will be on ACCN

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  2. Heather should be fired just for the Thursday night game with UNC. It sucks.
    It is worthless now that the NFL plays Thursday.
    It is a crap time.
    Traffic nightmare and crappy empty dump stadium on national TV.

    Tailgate good!

    Liked by 1 person

      1. That’s her problem. She says nothing. Point – we haven’t seen or heard her speaking in person in public since July. When will she come out of the basement?

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Who would agree to play opposite the Steelers?
    Just go play at UNC then.
    and as Al Pacino would say to the Steelers wherever you are F U TOO!

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    1. sorry, I was just having some fun. However, the last time Pitt played UNC on Thur nite. that was the situation. Pitt beat UNC in OT at the same time Mason Rudolph was getting bashed by his own helmet

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  4. Should hopefully be the first 4-0 OOC record for Pitt football in a very long long time, as Bruce Feldman loves to remind everyone every year

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    1. while Tennessee is a program in flux, let’s remember why they are program is in flux. Here are the recent Rivals recruit rankings …. 20th, 13th, 8th and 14th (current)

      Yes, there are a handful on the transfer portal, but even more are staying

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Call me a crazy optimist, but the offense should be better next year, with more experienced O-linemen, plus depth.
    I also see Abanikanda and Carter getting more carries in a power running game. If Krull comes through, Pitt may finally have some tight end production since he will be auditioning for the NFL. He is a big man.
    Addison should have another year of muscle as will Barden.

    Liked by 3 people

  6. We need to be like sub Reddit and force the Athletic Department to move the game. It is a dereliction of duty.
    We should file suit against ACC also.
    What the he ll are they doing.

    Let’s move all the other games to Sunday at 1pm. That should help.

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  7. Sure hope Pitt is 5-0 heading into the VTech game and coming off its bye. Losses to Tennessee and GTech and one would have to think it is the end for Narduzzi. Of course, another mediocre coach will be hired next.

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  8. I’m going out on a limb here, I know, but I predict 7-5 best and 6-6 worst on the season.

    And the Panthers will drop at least one of the first 4. Just because we are Pitt.

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    1. I think 8/4 is a possibility but sadly they will lose to a very inferior opponent thereby yes 7/5 and the beat goes on.

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    1. remember Tex, NC State can make the claim that they beat a few ranked teams this past year …. including Pitt which was ranked 24th at the time NC State beat them. This is why I never consider the team rankings until the end of the year

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I agree

        But it appears the consensus is that Pitt is anywhere between a 6 and 8 win regular season team. I tend to agree with these outsiders looking in. Curious what the Vegas line will be. I’m thinking 6.5 and pitt comes in above.

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      2. The more accurate measurement for me is at time of play ranking. For instance Pitt was ranked 24 when they played ncst and most everyone here thought it was a solid ranking. DiPaolo didn’t. NCState should get credit for beating a ranked Pitt team as it is more accurate as to their performance and ranking at time of play.

        Some teams are awful at the beginning of a year when you beat them and go on a winning streak because they changed a key player or a player came back from injury, etc. The rankings at time of play to me are more accurate because it is point in time, not three months later. Too many variables exist three months later and oftentimes and you end up comparing apples to oranges. Time of play is apples to apples. Now, if you want to say rankings should not occur until week 4, I would support that argument. Teams are not the same in December as they are in Sept. Ask the Steelers. You played the Steelers in the first 10 weeks, you got something much different then the last 6 weeks (injuries, schedule, player meshing, etc.).

        Should the team that beat the steelers in week 15 be seen as a giant killer as the steelers were awful at that point in time? The media re-ranks football teams every week in the nfl and it is more accurate in my mind.

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    2. Unfortunately, I think this article emphasizes the perception issue the program has. Although Pitt’s records have been steadily mediocre, they have mostly been just good enough to disappoint, they only had 6 losing seasons in the past 20 years. UCLA (3 tiers above Pitt) has had 10, including the last 5 seasons.

      I’m not sure if i buy the resume builder argument for a program that I think is better than people give it credit for. The records have been mediocre but the out of conference opponents (where half of normal teams wins usually come from) mostly have not. Pitt shoots its own foot with scheduling and scheduling like Syracuse’s OOC every year would have provided us with a few double digit win seasons that would have raised perception.

      It’s a tough argument ranking us in a tier with mostly G5 schools when we’ve finished sub .500 in conference once in the last 6 seasons. I mean Maryland & Coastal above us is pure blasphemy. Maryland can claim 14 losing seasons in the last 20 years, including the last 6 seasons…

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  12. nice to see Va Tech not ranked high like they usually are, but wouldn’t bet against them being pre-season Top 25 in the AP

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  13. The Athlon way too early predictions actually occurred before the schedules were produced, but their logic was good.

    Good news for Pitt. The number 1 and number 2 rushers for Tenn have moved on, with their top returning back going to UNC and their second leading rusher committing to Oklahoma. They obviously had the talent at Tenn, so the more defections, the better for our chances, especially with an early season match up. The game keeps moving towards even with each defection. There will be more defections from all teams after spring ball, when players realize they are deeper on the three deep then originally thought.

    I wonder if all the 5th, 6th and 7th year returnees were promised playing time? That would be an awful coaching move as it stunts real competition. Let the player’s play decide who wins the competition and don’t promise it away coach.

    Too early for me to guess at wins and losses without knowing what rosters will look like going into the season. GC, haven’t you said that the Pitt OL has a lot of returning experience for like, in Tipton years (7)? I am waiting my promised 30 minutes to Ikey before commenting on the thursday/ thursday scheduling.

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    1. Good and bad news for Pitt regarding Tenn…. new coach. Josh Heupel brought on from UCF. He runs a good offense, but maybe wont have the horses marching in formation the first year.

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  14. Pitt will be the underdog in the games against Tenn, Miami, Clemson, NC and probably VT. And if the stink it up against either Mass, New Hamp. or Western Michigan they will underdogs in some of their other games also.

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    1. Im in week two of cord cutting. Quit Comcast cable and went with YouTubeTV. Same stuff as Comcast, BUT has ACCN. PLUS…saving over $100/mth. I feel stupid for not doing this 6 months ago.

      Liked by 1 person

  16. Pitt’s offense will not improve because once again we will have to watch players like AJ Davis, Tipton, Sibley, etc. play instead of moving on to their life’s work.
    Add that to Whipple’s crap offense.

    7 wins max.

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  20. A couple reactions:

    1) Weddings should be forbidden between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. And thats all I will say about that.

    2) I don’t get why folks don’t recognize that the issue is in Greensboro and not Oakland. Clearly Pitt does not want to go against the Steelers. Why would ACC brass want to put one of their member schools up against a local competitor for TV sets? It makes zero sense if one is attempting to improve the ratings of ACC football. Zero. Better yet, why would the smart guys at ESPN in Bristol, CT want to do that? From afar it seems like a simple fix, but Im sure someone in NC or CT will explain why its not.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Here’s how Vegas will see it
    Mass is a win
    Tennessee is a loss
    West Michigan is a loss
    New Hampshire is a win

    That’s 2-2 in the ooc

    Ga tech is a win
    Va tech is a loss
    Clemson is a humiliating loss
    Miami is a loss
    Duke is a win
    NC is a win
    Virginia is a win
    Cuse is a loss

    4-4 in ACC play

    6-6 final record

    Bowl game in Detroit against a Mac team

    Another bowl loss for a 6-7 record

    Heather finally comes out of the basement and extends Narduzzi for the next 20 years

    Heather then resigns and accepts the Sparty opening

    Fail to Pitt

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    1. and then Gallagher coaxes Barnes to return as AD who fires Capel and brings back Stallings, and fires Narduzzi and brings in Gary Anderson

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  22. let me clarify something. What I wrote above about what games will be televised was written in jest … based on what has happened in the recent past. The NFL probably won’t release its actual schedule until well after the Super Bowl.

    But if Pitt’s Thursday night game vs UNC does conflict with the Steelers (like it did in 2019) …just remember where you saw it first

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    1. oh….you are now officially a rear-end. And you Net Promoter Rating has just taken a seriuos hit. And no soup for you.

      And if kman needs medical attention, we will all make you pay the bills.

      Liked by 1 person

  23. Ok
    Well that is somewhat better. However, Thursday night is a loser now that NFL plays on Thursday.
    It is also harder for Pitt to get fans on a Thursday night. Pitt already has a tremendous problem with attendance.

    The game is on ESPN and will be on in the background of many homes and bars. All people will see is an empty yellow dump stadium with zero fans. It is a total negative for team and brand.

    Finally, Does UNC pick the time? Oh we will play Pitt on Thursday night. When has Pitt played the same team on the same day and time every year they go on the road.

    Again, the AD out to stand up and say no!

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    1. And with covid, there could still be restrictions on capacity. I just hope tailgating isn’t restricted. Personally I feel if you can prove you’ve be vaxed, (via card) there should be no issue

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  26. since Pitt joined the ACC, they hosted either Va Tech or UNC on a Thu night every year but two …. and the original 2020 schedule had Va Tech here on a Friday night this past season. Pitt did play a Fri night at UVa in 2018 and a Thu night at Ga tech this past year (which was re-scheduled due to Covid)

    And of course, they seemed to play on Thursdays every year in the Big East

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  28. Why does it bother only me that we play three milksop teams in our first four games…or that they are on the schedule at all?

    I get having one or maybe even two – but three is just to try to ensure wins for the final W/L tally at season’s end. I don’t care that ‘other teams do it’. If you want your team to be ranked at season’s end (fingers crossed) you have to convince the writers that all of Pitt’s wins were of some decent quality.

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    1. It’s the only way an incompetent fraud like Narduzzi can have any shot at a winning record!
      I am putting money away now to bet Tennessee when;Pitt comes to town. Not that I’m trying to be negative….

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    2. Doesn’t bother me. Very few people remember who you beat, just the Ws. Rutgers got ranked for finishing 11-2 and beating four cupcakes in 2006.

      Pitt should have been scheduling cupcakes for years, even dating back to the 90s. All that matters are Ws. Just one more cupcake gets Pitt to 8 wins in 2018. No OSU in 2016 and ’17 and we’re 9-4 and 6-6. Looks a lot better.

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    3. It worked for Syracuse…you can’t tell me multiple 9 win seasons with cupcake wins doesn’t raise the profile of the program. Half the voters don’t even look to see who played, they only look at records…

      The average Pitt fan probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference either…

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    4. As a season ticket holder, I’d rather have one of those be a more interesting choice.

      That said there appears to be more people on this site criticizing Heather for the home and home with the Vols (which looks like an ACC initiative btw) instead of playing a patsy.

      But with the move to conference only play in Oct, I’d rather have a deceptive 3-1 or 4-0 record than a 2-2 with big time OOC opponents.

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      1. If Pitt had to play a sec school, pitt should have held out for Georgia or Florida. Pitt only recruits crap quarterbacks from Tennessee. I drove through that hick town of voytiks one summer. Believe me, Indiana, PA looks like Paris to that village.

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        1. I visited distant family barnyards in voytik land as well. I actually went there to see what it was like. You are right! Awful.

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  29. PSU has never had to convince writers that all their wins were of decent quality after scheduling some pretty low quality teams prior to playing any Big 10 games.

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    1. Please – the football playing historical reputation Penn State carries way outshines Pitt’s and that give them an edge with the voters and the benefit of the doubt. Something we don’t get.

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  30. (Sent to me from Mike just now)

    Regarding the Tier 7 – “fodder” discussion above here is the text of that article as it pertains:

    https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30742483/ranking-all-130-college-football-teams-tiers-2021-season

    Tier 7: The résumé-builders

    Air Force, Appalachian State, Arkansas, Ball State, Baylor, Boston College, Buffalo, BYU, Cal, Colorado, Houston, Kansas State, Kent State, Liberty, Louisiana, Marshall, Memphis, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon State, Pitt, San Diego State, San Jose State, SMU, Stanford, Tulane, Tulsa, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

    We all know a great win when we see one. Two top-10 teams face off, one emerges a victor, and we’ve got ourselves a clear playoff contender. But those games actually are pretty rare. Last season, we had just nine regular-season games between top-15 teams, with only Alabama playing in more than one. In 2019, there were just 17 such games and only five teams (including all four that made the playoff) won more than one of them. That’s why this tier of teams is so important. They’re the solid C-plus students. These teams can help us split hairs between the elites.

    It’s a mistake to use “top-25 wins” on a playoff team’s résumé because how much better is a win over No. 24 than one against No. 28? Identifying teams outside the top 25 that offer some measure of talent, coaching, star power or experience is critical because, while they’re unlikely to make a run at the playoff, they provide real challenges to the teams that will. While Clemson, Oregon or Oklahoma might face just one other elite opponent in 2021, a steady diet of “not half-bad teams” offers its own challenges, too.

    Will anyone in this group make a push for something more? Odds are, at least one will. Who saw Coastal Carolina coming last year? Or Minnesota in 2019? Or Washington State in 2018? You might want to argue for Liberty, though the Flames’ 4-1 record in one-score games offers concern. They also were the only team in the playoff era to finish in the AP top 20 with an FPI ranking worse than 70th. Perhaps better cases can be made for App State (No. 26 in SP+), Virginia Tech (No. 28) or Minnesota (No. 34). And then there’s BYU. The Cougars certainly weren’t a one-man team in 2020, but the headline act from Zach Wilson was so impressive that it’s hard to see this team repeating the performance with a new QB in 2021.

    Somewhere in this mix are one or two legitimate top-20 programs and the rest likely provide cannon fodder for the elite teams looking to pad their résumés. In short, after we get past the truly interesting teams, this tier represents the rest of the top half of college football.

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      1. We’re C plus students it says. Well we have a C plus coach and recruits so that makes sense. B plus fans. I can’t give Pitt fans anything more since they don’t donate or travel to bowls. But then again, many don’t give money to support mediocrity and would rather not spend Christmas in Detroit.

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  31. Just noticed that three of our opponents are Tier 9: Yikes teams; Duke, Syracuse and GT.

    So if we win those three games along with the little sisters of the poor New Hampshire, Western Michigan and UMASS then we are 6-6 at least with, most probably, another contract extension for PN because, you know – he doesn’t have many losing seasons.

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  32. I have been trying to tell you Pitt alums for years that there is no evidence that Pitt is close to a top tier program. In 15 years time, it went from a Top 5 team to a program that was seriously considering dropping to D2.

    It made a comeback but again, it just doesn’t have the assets to be a top tier ever again. Sketchy attendance, location, lack of donors, up against a beloved NFL team, and now a dwindling recruiting base.

    Maybe you should be thankful that it averages 6 or 7 games wins a year. Nebraska is the state’s only big school, sell out after sell out, big donors, big enrollment and one of the best traveling fanbases around. FSU is located in a recruiting paradise, a really nice facility and recent success. There are at least a dozen other schools with many more assets than Pitt that have been falling by the roadside.

    Yes, 2021 will have the easiest OOC since 2014 … but even in 2014, Pitt went 2-2 in the OOC including a home loss to Akron. The fact that Pitt and Syracuse are the only two P5 schools never to have an undefeated OOC should tell you all something.

    Liked by 1 person

  33. didn’t expect this …

    Craig Meyer@CraigMeyerPG
    2h
    Jeff Capel on the recent lack of playing time for freshmen William Jeffress and Noah Collier
    “Guys have to earn playing time. This is not high school or AAU where everyone gets the same amount of minutes. If those guys practice better, they’ll earn playing time. We need them

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    1. I’m cool riding it out with Toney/Champagnie and the two freshmen barely play.

      Justin needs to shoot the ball way more for Pitt to win. I think he will be leaving for the NBA after this season, so ride him and let him fire away. Only nine shots versus Carolina. Get as much as you can from Champagnie while he wears the Pitt jersey.

      Like

  34. The Pitt admin brokers….don’t particularly care if were in the Tier 7 ‘Cannon Fodder’ group.

    And if they don’t care….why should anyone else ?

    They should be ashamed to be Cannon Fodder. But they aren’t !

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  35. Tex – You are making the very point many have made many times already. Pitt has to compete with pro sports, sometimes even on the same day. That is the hurdle that many of the teams you compare us to, will never, ever have to face.

    You have no idea as to whether Heather stood on her chair and screamed until her yellow blouse turned blue about this horrible scheduling gaffe. Fact is, no one in the ACC gives a flying fig that this will kill Pitt’s attendance.

    If you think that having someone like Tressel screaming instead of her, is nothing but your opinion, which is totally unfounded in fact. You have no idea and neither do any of us either.

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    1. I got an idea. Sorry Iker. Our AD has been in over her head since she took her first AD job and that is great that she changed professions and got a top job, so well done by her. It’s not her fault she got the job! She needed about five more years in Michigan before moving to P5. She did not have the background for P5 this early. She was an Associate AD of Compliance, which does not typically even report……to Athletics. Think about it for a second, if compliance reported to the AD, there would be no governance of your own program…..duh! But Pitt never figured that out. Some will say there is a dotted line and therefore a connection, but when you have dotted line reporting to multiple supervisors, you have no reporting.

      I have been saying this for as long as both blogs and Doakwhich has been in business. You schedule 3 easy OOC, no question. 3-0. In those three easy games, you schedule where your players are from or where you want to establish or grow your recruiting footprint (Georgia St., FAU, FIU, USF). For your 4th game, it should be against a decent opponent where you have a better than 50% chance of winning.

      You let the P5 conference carry the water for the rest. This is where your AD has to have a plan to change the mediocre culture of a program to that of winning. If she does her job and gives Nard the right games for a big winning season and he doesn’t produce, than he is the issue. Right now, they are both the issue. Scheduling UMass and New Hamp does not help our recruiting footprint. The demographics are all southeast and we go and schedule north east. This free advice to the Pitt BoT and Athletic Department is sponsored by Reed.

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      1. The UMass scheduling has to have something to do with Whipple Charmin Man.

        And you’re right, first off… it’s like Yankee Conference area and we play in a Southern League.
        And 2nd….. that area of the country produces among the least D1 prospects.

        Stupid all the way around. But that’s Pitt. They scheduled Maine & Albany the other year.

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    2. Heather had every chance to get out of Tennessee. I have no problem with Thursday night games. All I want are top 25 seasons. That means 9 win seasons. Narduzzi is a 7 win average coach with a poor bowl record.

      And heather would look less like a banana or canary if she dressed in pitt blue.

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  36. Sorry Reed, I’m in the camp of scheduling as many cream puffs as you can. The fact is that if Pitt makes it to the ACC championship game with 4 OOC wins against any team in the nation, they will be in a Jan 1 bowl game and there will be much hype about them.

    The ACC schedule gives them all they need to be considered a relevant team, so the OOC is irrelevant. Now winning the Coastal is where this falls apart. Can’t win in FBS if you have a less than mediocre offense, and that is the high end of where they can every be with WMG at the helm. Nardummy’s bit mistake will cost us.

    Liked by 1 person

  37. OT — Pitt women BB team lost to Syracuse tonight. Trailed by 15 in first half, cut it to two in the 4th quarter, then hardly scored down the stretch and lost by 20+.

    One of those days when the opponent shot 41% from 3, making 12, while Pitt was 3-17. Ugh.

    Syracuse has a 6-7 Center with long arms. I’d settle for a 6-7 center with short arms…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Is that your hope, prediction or what ?

      Cause he avg’d 4.3 yards per carry which is also his career avg with the Stillers.

      Exactly the same ypc as Leveon Bell’s career ypc. better than Bell’s 2017 avg of 4.0.

      Why do supposed Pitt fans like to rag on James Conner ?

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  40. To Reed’s point above, in order to recruit better players, you need to sell them a vision of championships. Recruits don’t look at who you played ooc. They look at your record. When Pitt schedules easy and comes out 4-0 and then has a 6-2 coastal record, it becomes easier to land top talent because you can sell to the 4 star that they would be the difference between 10 wins and 11 or 12 and a birth in the playoffs.

    After 4 or 5 years of executing the strategy and improving recruiting, you can add a little more difficult ooc….because your team is better!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hey we can sell…at 6-6 or 7-5…..going to all the great Bowl destinations Nardoozi has taken us.

      And of course all the Bowl losses.

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  41. So 2021 football marks the third straight time Pitt is playing at Tennessee….any reason for this? We seemed to bitch when Penn State wanted a 2 for 1, but we are willing to travel to Tennessee in ’80, ’83 , and ’21. Who scheduled this totally unnecessary game? Lyke or Barnes?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That was looking like a sure win for Pitt ….. with Tenn is turmoil.

      Now I’m not nearly as sure, since they hired Josh Huepel was UCF’s coach.

      In 2018 Huepel and UCF murdered us 45-14. Now we did somehow manage a 1 point win the following
      year 35-34.

      But the fact that Huepel has faced a Dooz defense and scored 79 point in 2 games, takes
      away my previous enthusiasm for the game.

      And btw Tenn does visit Pitt in 2022….hopefully by then the idiots will unmask us.

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      1. Not entirely sold on Heupel as a program builder and Im sure Vols fans are disappointed.

        His record at UCF suggests he could not sustain the success his two predecessors had before him. Won with Scott Frost’s recruits and last year was meh… Narduzzi-like for you realists.

        Remains to be seen if he can actually build a program – and Tennessee is a rebuild…. by any P5 conference standard.

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  42. Heupel’s 3 UCF teams were 6th, 5th & 8th in scoring in the nation. 43.2 ppg, 43.4 & 42.2.

    Pitt has had one team in it’s football history average 40 ppg.

    And it’s not going to happen anytime
    soon with Charmin calling the 3 yard pass plays.

    Liked by 1 person

  43. In what universe is Heather Lyke considered a bad AD? Collectively, the last 3-4 years may be the best Pitt sports have ever been in its history. The rollout of the new brand was clean and nationally recognized. The department is also pretty well regarded for it’s academic support and career services. She made a smart move in cutting an unsustainable tennis program and adding a LAX program that could be better managed (facility wise). If you’re complaining about a Thursday night football or Comcast not carrying the ACCN, you’re barking up the wrong tree.I just don’t see the beef with her? I mean, in over her head? Come on…

    Also, for the absurd let’s schedule Georgia or Florida instead of Tennessee comment. not only is that a sure loss, but it wouldn’t move the needle at all here and the game would only serve as a home game for the other team (always a bad look). We need to focus on building our brand locally first, then we can move onto these better matchups. We need to start winning 9 games every year, whether that be regular season or with a bowl victory. This will better our recruiting pool as kids see Pitt as a winning program.

    This is why the cupcake scheduling is necessary. Case in point Syracuse two years ago when they went 10-3. Three wins came from Wagner, UCONN, and WMU. They went 6-2 in conference. They not only were ranked but the hype/momentum carried over the following year when they started the season on the national media’s radar.

    Pitt needs this exposure. Narduzzi has won at least 5 conference games in 4 out of 6 seasons at the helm. He’s won 6 games in conference twice. Realistically, he will probably go 5-3 or 6-2 most years. That’s automatically 8-9 regular season wins a year and would probably get us ranked. You string a couple of those together and the nationally televised games and fan excitement become inevitable. On top of that, the HOFers and the rest of our tradition begins to get talked about again. Winning changes the perception no matter the difficulty of those wins.

    I’ll take 4 cupcakes every year until the profile of the program is at a point where we feel comfortable taking the next step. David Cutcliffe beat Troy, Navy, NCCU, and Memphis on his way to winning 10 games and people have considered him a genius coach ever since. This is not that hard.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Tim – are you talking about the rollout of the grey uniforms and them being nationally recognized? Or, are you thinking of all the time she wasted making a decision to go back to the real Pitt colors of the glory years? Even the folks here were in agreement on changing colors (which is unheard of, mostly). I am thinking any low grade moron could have gotten that correct, but she waited, and then fumbled with the grey matter uni’s.

      When your revenue producing sports that are used to fund the rest of the athletic department are mediocre, her job performance must be judged as mediocre. She stayed in her lane since she arrived here, which was small, non-revenue sports, because making tough calls with the big sports can get you canned. Nobody cares if lacrosse or tennis fails, let’s be clear there (except the impacted athletes).

      Look at Tenn and Danny White. Did he come in on day 1 and look at the rowing team? NO! He took on football and made an immediate hire of a potentially very good coach, with head coaching experience. He didn’t go with a DC, even the one serving as interim, because he knows how to build a winner. And, he did this while the university is under investigation, just a few years removed from the Bruce Pearl years and current multiple infractions. He didn’t extend the DC. Ours did, despite a very mediocre record.

      She failed at her first basketball search, getting played along the way by at least one head coach. She let them control the process because she was afraid and had no experience in these things. Lets call it what it is. Personally, I think Capel will do well at Pitt and I like the eventual hire, but again, she was over her head during the process and got used.

      If you are a historian of Pitt sports, you would recognize that womens volleyball was a power in the 70s, 80’s and early 90s and it started to slip. Before your time grasshopper, AIWA administered womens sports at the collegiate level as it pertained to vball. In the late 70’s and early 80’s, Pitt was #1 in the Eastern Region 3 or 4 times and they built on that when the NCAA took over in the early 80’s. Pitt brought in Dan Beerman (RIP) in the early 00’s, and he took WVB to new heights in the early to late 00’s. Those teams successes made it easier to attract great talent to play over the last 5 years. The current vball coach was not her hire. She promoted womens vball but she had nothing to do with it. It wasn’t the AD, so stop.

      Same with Wrestling. Look at the history of pitt wrestling. They only finished one season outside the top 40 since 1990 and have had All Americans in many of those seasons. Pitt has the history, so our AD can’t take credit for that either. Stop.

      She can take credit for Fanta, extending a revenue producing head coach for so long, that canning him for mediocrity just isn’t viable. Donations (according to tex) are at a low point, attendance is awful (although she will take credit for growing attendance by the thousands after this covid year. No OCS or victory heights plans that are executable. She needs money and donors to do that and I haven’t seen anyone step up there, which is her responsibility. She can take credit for scheduling umass and new hampshire in the recruiting hotbeds of the tundra up north or even keeping them on the schedule. She has no plan to support the team. Let the kids from florida and georgia go home. Let them play USF FAU FIU, Georgia ST. Get your coaches contacting potential recruits and selling that Pitt will always be playing in the south, so leaving home is not that bad!! There is so much more.

      The penguin arena is 1.5 mile from the cathedral. An easy win is to partner with them. Pitt starts hockey, plays in PPG arena and the Pens don’t have to leave home to scout college talent. Many NHL’ers now play college hockey first. A win/win. Tons of high school and travel talent in the area. Hint: That is why bobby mo, mercyhurst and penn st have successful teams. If steeler stadium is a selling point to football recruiting, why wouldn’t penguin arena be the same, if not more?

      Feelings of greatness don’t fly in my camp. Facts and results do, however.

      I’ve met our AD. She is a very nice person. Just in over her head.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. This post is laughable man. Sure the return to traditional colors was an easy move, but she did it and it was done well. I don’t like the grey Unis either but I missed the part where Nike hired her as a seamstress. These are unis worn once, maybe twice a year, don’t get so bent out of shape.

        Let’s talk about one of those revenue sports when she got here. In her first year, she witnessed an 0-18 basketball team take the court and canned the basketball coach after the season (and by all accounts with cause to lower the buyout). I’m sure all of that was way too much for her too handle, she was so scared I’m sure and was so in over her head that she went and hired the assistant coach of a Legend (with prior HC experience) who has the team already back on track to compete in the ACC. You literally gotta be blind to think she messed this up.

        By comparison, your boy Danny White that you just slobbed over went and hired a Coach that took an undefeated team and went 12-1, 10-3 & then 6-4 over the next 3 years. I believe most on this site say by Year 3 the Coach has “his” players. I may need a refresher on statistics, but I believe that’s called regression. Capel’s first 3 years by comparison was 14–19 (ACC 3–15), 16–17 (ACC 6–14), & now 8–3 (ACC 4–2). What do they call that? It was a good hire regardless of the circumstances and your logic for Huepel being a good hire makes your logic for Heather not being able to make a big decision collapses on itself.

        I’m well aware of the prior success of the Women’s Volleyball team and Wrestling. But both are Top 15 teams now and you wanna make their prior success a knock on her? That’s a really dumb argument. Also, she made the Keith Gavin hire when it was lined up for her to hire Pat Santoro. I’m sure she was so scared to tell the Alumni and Donors no and the decision was too big for her. Come on man…

        On top of this, Pitt Men and Women’s soccer anyone? Waldrum was another good hire and he is HC of the Nigerian National Team. Give her credit and stop the senseless bashing, that’s three good hires by all accounts. Who cares if she didn’t make the Fisher hire, the team is still thriving on her watch and that’s all that is needed of her.

        By saying you rely on facts and results argument and then just graze over the fact that most programs have been ranked in her time here (my count is 8), makes me think you are simply just talking about the Football side of things. That kind of success for the Olympic sports is virtually unheard at any time in this department’s history and Capel’s steady improvement of the bball program is encouraging since he inherited a “dumpster fire.”

        Also, we didn’t have to cut any programs like other schools have had to do during the pandemic. Please send me a link to the donations being at an all time low and please ensure that it’s from a non pandemic year. Remember ADHL got here in 2017 and it was well established we were at the bottom of Alumni donations well before that.

        As for football… I agree that the extension was questionable, I also think Whipple is Narduzzi’s undoing right now. I think we would have been better served with an OC search this offseason. If Narduzzi fails after this year, Heather will probably can him after the season. A 9-win season (bowl win or not) will keep him around and by all accounts most people on this site thought Wanny should have been retained with those types of results. We also have a Top 25 recruiting class for the first time in years and we have a pretty established defensive identity. The program has lacked any identity and you need to remember the coaching fiasco before Heather got hired was really not that far in the distance past. Stability serves this program well right now, but the ridiculous out of conference scheduling does not.

        Don’t let the mediocrity of the football program overshadow all the success and improvement of the other programs. There is no evidence that she is in over her head, she has been a pretty decent AD and I think that will be evident when bigger programs need to find one.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. If I had to pick an sec school. Forced to do at gun point. Georgia and Florida would be the two. In Pitts recruiting footprint. But Pitt picks Tennessee instead. That’s stupid. Probably cause of the majors connection. Just like mass is a whipple connection. When was the last time pitt recruited someone from mass that stayed all four years. You want to retract that stupid comment?

      Like

      1. Tennessee is a storied program that is currently down that is looking like a real W for us. It’s the equivalent of playing somebody like Texas A&M and beating them… Getting crushed by Georgia/FL in Georgia/FL isn’t going to help us sell the program to recruits.

        Who cares about Whipple being from MASS man, do you think PSU cared that Moorehead coached in NY?

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  44. Taxing matters and Arnold are spot on in the “cream puff” scheduling analysis IMO. If Pitt goes 7 and 1 in their ACC games nobody will even notice the 3 cream puff games from early on. Pitt would crack the top 25 easily if they beat the 3 cream puffs and then went 7 and 1 in the ACC. And even 6 and 2 in the ACC might do it if they also beat Tenn at Tenn.—-Yes, PSU has that national reputation and will always be given the benefit of the doubt on their wins. But if they easily beat their cream puffs and then went 50/50 in their Big 10 games there wouldn’t be much love from the national media or coaching poles.—The real problem here is that you Narduzzi “dislikers” don’t want to have any basis for Narduzzi being retained as head coach and you just fear the 3 cream puffs games with Pitt wins would make it much more difficult in having him fired. So I’m guessing you can always hope that one or two of the cream puffs actually beat Pitt. And after watching Pitt football over the years losing to any cream puff is certainly not out of the question.

    Liked by 2 people

  45. Too bad Pitt doesn’t run a real college offense. They might have had a shot at Will Levis. The kid is a stud.

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  47. It’s time to call a spade a spade … I am sick and tired of this macho, anti-feminism mentality that persists by a segment of POVers. While Pitt athletics have inherent issues to deal with no matter who the AD is, let’s discuss why the two most visible teams have suffered in recent times. Steve Pedersen and Scott Barnes … both males. Pedersen, in his 2nd stint, has systematically harmed the FB program over his last 6 years while it took Scott Barnes less than two years to destroy the basketball program.

    Steve Pedersen …

    — destroyed any momentum that the 9-win 2008 team may have built by decreasing the recruiting budget
    — fired a coach that had the best 3-year record of any coach in over 3 decades. Yes, there were disciplinary issues but the program broke no NCAA rules .. none.
    — then after finding out that his top 3 or 4 prospects weren’t interested, he hires a HC with a very brief history and champions the discipline that the new HC brings to the table. But of course, he then has to fire him 2 weeks later because of mistress abuse issues .. and Pitt becomes a national laughingstock
    — he begs the chancellor to pay 50% more in salary to bring in this new coach that will turn things around, but this guy leavers after a year without even saying goodbye … and Pitt becomes even a bigger laughingstock
    — then with all confidence lost in him to the extent that a committee has to do the coaching search, he eventually is let go ….. but with this golden parachute that was very much undeserved

    Scott Barnes …
    — took over a basketball program which was on the decline but still was averaging > 20 wins. In fact, the final Dixon team made the NCAAs and returned 6 of the top 7 scorers. This program still had a lot to sell and by all accounts would attract very promising coaching prospects.
    — But he instead interviews one coach and hires him, a coach that was about be fired who had both on-the-court and off-the-court issues. A hire that was ridiculed by ALL of the national media, not only for hiring a subpar candidate but as being an inside job .. and to make it worse, he gives the guy a ridiculous buy-out.
    — He then escapes after less than 2 years leaving the next AD with a ridiculous situation

    But go ahead …. keep telling everyone about how she is ‘over her head’ … ‘wears yellow blouses’ …. ‘gives students Fantas’ …. ‘keeps Meatballs as FB coach’ , etc. …… it sure impresses the hell out of me!!! NOT

    Liked by 6 people

    2. So weak
      You destroy your own argument by bringing up the other athletic directors. The posters are not giving Heather a hard time because she is a woman. It is because she is not doing a very good job.
      You should applaud them for treating her just like the men you mention.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. as soon as someone here ever comes close to telling me why she is over her head here aside from blouses or Fantas, I may agree with you.

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  48. Barnes did begin discussing ways to increase donations. He had a master plan for capital projects. He hired the two most successful coaches at Pitt. Yes he gave Pitt Stallings.

    I have nothing good to say about Cornhole 2. But the first coming of Stevie wasn’t bad except for his number one mistake. I understand the economics but I resent the lies he used to justify that decision

    Heather sure wasn’t hired for her experience. She checked certain boxes. Pitt touted that she was a good fundraiser because she got some dolt to stroke a 2.5 million check for football. And they attributed the recent success of football to her. Nobody wants to discuss that horrible expose on the program about football and financials and consequences. I suggest you watch that documentary. Sure enough eastern Michigan was forced to cut several successful programs when she left town leaving the new AD holding the bag and being forced to make those tough decisions. He commented that he didn’t realize how bad things were financially.

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  49. An AD is judged on certain things. I posted a link a while back based on what the researchers and administrators thought and what the directors thought. I posted who was ranked as the best. Yes the horns have one of the best. Pitt has one of the worst.

    When heather came in, she was one of the lowest paid directors in P5. That says something right there. She now makes close to the average among ACC directors. Around $800k based on what pitt discloses. Important caveat.

    Directors are judged by the following

    Head coach hires
    Fundraising
    Capital projects
    Program competitiveness
    Culture
    Financial health
    Scheduling
    Brand
    Other

    Shall I grade her

    Coach hires is an incomplete. Heathers been here going on four years and most coaches need four years to prove it. But we’ll know soon on several. Only the wrestling coach hire stands out right now. We might have a winner in women’s basketball. Capel?

    Fundraising. She did such a great job with victory Heights that it had to be scaled back and Gallagher commented that the project could easily become a debt on our future. He’s very concerned about the over reliance on debt financing.
    Pitt still ranks dead last in the ACC for athletic gifting

    Facilities. There have been upgrades to the Pete and to the soccer and baseball field. Kudos. But Pitt still doesn’t have a track and pitt still plays at Fitzgerald and will be for at least another three years. No feasibility for football. No plan for when the Heinz lease expires. No release of the nhl sponsored study for hockey

    Competitiveness. The only program that has improved is soccer. Volleyball was good before her. Wrestling was always solid but improving. Basketball has at least stabilized. Football is consistently mediocre. Directors cup last year was dead last in the ACC and pitt got beat by 70 other non P5 schools. Only men’s soccer picked up new points from the last calculations. Pitt would still finish last in the ACC if covid didn’t screw up things. And mind you many directors get bonuses for their placement in the Cup.

    Culture. Well I haven’t seen heather since July. She isn’t open and transparent. She runs rigged meet and greets. She flat out lies on attendance numbers. But I guess any culture is better than the previous toxic one

    Finances. Pitt is near dead last at generating revenues in P5. It borrows millions from the general fund each year to balance the books. It has one of the highest athletic subsidies in all P5. I guess nothing has changed from heathers Mac days.

    Scheduling. She could have gotten out of playing Tennessee with minimal financial consequences. She has plenty of time to do it. And why is pitt playing New England teams this year. Not in Pitts footprint. Just stupid if you ask me.

    Brand. Well pitt did make that color change. I still think they got the wrong shade of yellow. But how difficult a decision was that? And nearly every fan wanted pitt script for years. But how do outsiders perceive pitt. Has the brand equity increased. I think Pitts brand stands for stable mediocrity. How does that front porch look?

    So here are my grades
    I’ll make it easy
    All F’s

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      1. No based on facts. Prove to me that pitt has strong financials and isn’t heavily subsidized. I’ve provided links to all this stuff in the past. I’m tired of doing your homework.

        And do you not watch the same football games as I do. That’s heathers hire right there.

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  50. And if I’m anti Italian for the meatball jokes. Sexist for the yellow blouse comments. And anti science for the atom counter remarks. Then so be it. I’m proudly all those things and more.

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  51. Oh yes. Compliance is another category. Ranks near the bottom on how directors are judged. But heather is miss compliance.

    Directors don’t much care for it. Gets in their way. But then again the NCAA doesn’t much care. Around solely for pya. Legalities. Cover from potential suits.

    Pitt runs a clean program depending on how you define that word

    Pitt is under probation. Both happened under heathers watch. She self reported. Huff or the pig explained why.

    But bigger point is that both coaches respected her so much that they cheated under her nose.

    She gets an F there as well

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  52. Wait a second! We are in PN’s 7th year coming up and his last four years have been a 26 – 24 record! That includes a 5 win season also, something no other Pitt HC has sunk to in the previous 12 years. When in Hell is this great positive sea change supposed to happen for him if it hasn’t already?

    You all are speaking pure theory here without seeing what is happening right in front of your faces. Winning against crap OOC teams hasn’t done one thing for PN’s recruiting over the years. It has been subpar since he has been here save for a couple of DL kids. And spare me the chest beating ‘But we just had the 22nd ranked class!’ That will show it’s worth in two or three years if at all.

    If this last season doesn’t prove to you what our mediocre at best HC is all about when the most hyped Pitt team in ages fell flat on its face in many different ways – and with Narduzzi throwing a complete girlie fit because we weren’t ranked preseason…throwing it in public by the way… then you truly have blinders on.

    By God it gets old listening to the same old excuses being made for this guy year after year. Yes, give a new HC 3 or 4 years to get things in place and running smoothly but when that doesn’t happen take a damn hard look at exactly who you are paying too much money to for poor results.

    And please quit glossing over the truly humiliating losses to ND and Clemson on national TV. ND beat us by 42 points which was the biggest point difference of their season save for them beating South Florida by 52. South Florida of the AAC. Clemson had us by 35 points including passing for 403 yards against a defense Pitt fans slobber over.

    This is the crap we are seeing from PN in his 6th (6th!!) year. Every year the media and fans predict 8, 9, or 10 wins… You’ll do it again come August I’m sure and again in January we’ll be wondering why he’s still here.

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    1. But he’s doing his most important job according to you and the BoT: graduating and keeping kids out of jail. Know we know the administration are a bunch of frauds since Stallings was fired after his team posted the highest GPA ever for a hoops team, so another seven-win season will see Narduzzi fired.

      Not because Narduzzi will be disliked by the university, but because Pitt also has a way of tiring on coaches and showing them the door, like Walt.

      But don’t fret, another mediocre coordinator will be hired on a prove-it contract. We’ve seen Pitt not step and pay coaches so if he succeeds he’ll be a quick goner.

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      1. Like I’ve always said, until you have separate boards – one for athletics and one for academics, nothing will change.

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      2. There were two major reasons Pitt let Harris go so easily, one was the crap with Harris’ agent and the other was a negative personal action Harris took. But remember this – Harris was not fired just as Wannstedt was not fired. He resigned his post just before the hammer dropped as did DW.

        I do like the fact that Narduzzi has the roster both under control and doing what they are supposed to be doing as student/athletes.

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      1. Probably why they avoided a Bowl game. Another Bowl loss would have capped an extremely disappointing season…at 6-6. After all the pre-season hype and Dooz hysteria. Calls for Dooz’s
        head would have significantly mounted.

        At 6-5….hey we had a ‘winning’ season.

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    3. They couldn’t fire him after this season because of the pandemic and money. We are not an SEC program where some donor will pay the buyout.

      Also, Syracuse got blown out to by ND in their 10-win year. Still didn’t matter, everyone talked about them. I just think the scheduling hasn’t really been kind to Narduzzi, that’s my point. But historically speaking he will will about 5 games in the ACC every year, so knowing that you can compliment a 5-3 ACC record with at least 3 OOC wins.

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      1. The ooc hasn’t been kind thanks to his boss who he helped hire.

        But the man is a 8 win ceiling coach. For 4 million, Pitt can and should do better.

        And I’m on the record for saying I like meatballs. I make a damn good one. My Sicilian wife can’t really cook.

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        1. I agree Pitt should do better for that kind of money, but you also need to look at the college coaching market before saying he’s getting paid too much. $4 million is what most P5 programs are paying coaches and most of them are pretty average

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            2. and Franklin got $1.75M for each win … and both Harbaugh and Brohm got > $2M for each win …. and PJ Fleck got > $1.9M for each win.

              Hell, Duzz is a bargain

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  53. Unless fans stop showing up at games, Narduzzi will be here until his contract expires. Heather owns his extension. She will not be the one firing him. That would be a resume killer. She is building a resume at Pitt for a future big ten job. And frankly most pitt fans are fine with 6-8 win seasons and running a clean program comprised of true scholar athletes. I’m just not one of them.

    Tex who shoves old ladies in front of busses on Fifth and has dogs chase cats up oak trees where they don’t come down unless they want tossed

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    2. ………or saved by pitt players fulfilling narduzzi’s community work exercise.

      Don’t beat up for typing that. I was just helping Tex complete his thought since he has had a couple grape slushes.

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  55. Thanks for the article Tex…I see Jeff Long was highly rated (article is 2017)
    What did most think of him when he was at Pitt?

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    1. He was at one time highly respected by his peers. Just not sure what his legacy is at Pitt. The NCAA did have him chair or lead some big thing at one point. It’s so big that I don’t recall the name of it. So he was liked by many and thought of as competent.

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    2. Not much he ran Walt out of town, he did hire Wanny but then bolted for Arkansas thereby giving us Stevie P II.

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    3. Maybe the best AD since Cas (not a real hire bar), but not here long enough to be remembered. He did hire Wannstedt and would have been smart enough not to fire him in 2010. Oddly, Long and Dixon didn’t have a great relationship.

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  56. Pitt could hire Slippery Rocks coach and he would win six games. PN isn’t setting the bar high for his predecessor.
    Maybe Pitt will never be good again, but it is worth a shot.

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    1. With an easier ooc, a cold turd could win at least 6 and be bowl eligible every year.

      And fans would perceive you as a gold nugget.

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  57. Chairman of the college football playoff selection committee

    Now he’s AD at Kansas making double heathers salary.

    Easy google research. But don’t believe everything on the internet. Like Pitt football is poised for a ten win season. That’s fake news. Conspiracy. Koolaid talking.

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  59. Jeff Long hired Jamie Dixon and that worked out very well for 10+ years. Yes he did offer the job
    to Skip Prosser first, but in the end it still worked out very very well for Pitt.

    And Jeff Long hired Dave Wannstedt who won 27 games his last 3 year, including Pitt’s only 10 win season since 1981-82 and Pitt’s only Top 15 ranking since 1982-1983.

    So as far as the 2 premier revenue tv sports…he done good !

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    1. He done us good then. As good of a Texas compliment that you’ll ever get from a Texan.

      Tex – 21 years in this Republic. I’ve earned it.

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        1. It was Marc Boehm. The guy who made the comment “we’re still gathering facts” after Howland left for UCLA. Amazing Pitt, with its history, survived that cluster F after Howland and Pederson left close to one another. Nordy, Boehm, Cochran in the Think Tank. Scary.

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    4. He also got rid of the dinocat and “Pittsburgh” and went back to “Pitt”.
      In fact he did such a good job there that a number of places are still selling Pitt stuff in blcok letters.

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  60. Listen now. Texans like to brag. And I’m not a fanboy of Elon, not the school, but he chose Austin as his home. He’s the richest and most brilliant man in the world. I plan on having my chem engineer son (on UT scholie) meet him one day. I might just show up at his doorstep. Just hope he’s not armed like most Texans. Now where is this going. I’m not sure. I took a detour on a country road after the third shot of bourbon. It’s my day off. Take it easy. Trying to see straight and plant my cold crops right now.

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  61. In the entire list of what makes a good director Tex, you obviously forgot to mention….Female!! How dare you. Because you now have to be a female to be a good AD according to wbb. No anti-feminism here wwb. You don’t know me, but maybe you do. Accusing without knowing is a recipe for your embarrassment and continued anger.

    I don’t believe Steve Peterson was loved here, and especially not by me! He may have been a male. Trying to slant the argument to an anti-feminism take is awful. Stop. When you miss on the facts, go to the feelings.

    Tim missed the entire point. Danny White went immediately to the big revenue producer and made changes. Our AD upgraded the ping pong tables (example for emphasis) quickly, and extended a very average coach because he helped her land the job in the first place. The teams that both revenue producing teams play and played had/have the same issues. The results are, what they are. Talk to the AD’s that are ranked in the top 10 of AD’s and each will tell you that the revenue producers determine your rank.

    Look at the sports results.

    Reed – Pitt has not scheduled ooc cupcakes, so this would be a new approach.

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  62. Real honest question deserving honest answers. If anyone can refute what I say about heather, prove it with evidence. I try my best to leave opinion out and to stick with the facts. Where are your facts? Otherwise, don’t be spouting nonsense that would be quickly dismissed by any competent and impartial judge. Y’all know I’m right. But it pains you to admit it because you’d have to leave your fantasy world for a minute.

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    1. Tex – you and Arnold haven’t been able to back up your “facts” at all yet. Where is your evidence? I already asked for the donor info and I’m yet to see anything on that. You guys are just pissed that she extended Narduzzi and you’re creating a narrative that she’s in over her head for that reason only.

      Seriously what evidence is there that this is accurate? The best support you’ve provided is some bs SI article that lists Whit Babcock (VT), Mack Rhoades (Baylor), Mark Hollis (MSU) as great ADs? Boy oh boy do i love this. Babcock and his “big boy” decisions has kept Fuente long enough to completely destroy VT football, love that decision making, really shaking up the big revenue sport. Oh yeah, the next guy really had to make a big boy decision when he had to fire his coach because he allowed the player culture to go so unchecked that the football players could rape girls on campus and still play on the weekends. And oh yes, Mark Hollis. Might want to look into why he resigned.

      There’s also the Duke AD and Stanford’s AD on your list. Duke football is still trash and Stanford just had to cut a bunch of sports.

      I live in no fantasy world. If the worst decision Heather makes is extending Narduzzi two years too long, I’ll take that because firing a guy after a poor season or two hasn’t worked for us at all in the past two decades. We are still not even a decade removed from the most embarrassing and unstable period in Pitt football history. I make no excuses for Narduzzi, he needs to perform this year or I would fire him. The defense has shown flashes, I think they are worse on paper because of how terrible the offense has been and the bad field positions they’ve had to defend. This is the year they need to win 9 at least or Narduzzi absolutely should be gone, but don’t make it sound like Heather is not qualified to make that decision.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I’ve posted links in the past. I’m done with doing other people’s homework. I don’t just make up stuff. I’m an INTJ for Christ’s sake.

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    2. Where to start…

      Coach hires – C+
      Narduzzi’s extension is bringing her grade down but if she gets bashed for PN’s extension, she should get credit for Fishers extension. Capel vs Stallings, huge upgrade. She needs to hang onto the soccer coach.
      Facilities – A
      Victory Heights is a victory for Olympic sports. Covid may delay it but it is much needed. So the plan is in place for the other athletes. That is a positive that no other AD before her accomplished. The Pete (big improvement), soccer and baseball fields upgraded at the same time. So yes, facilities have gotten better under her watch.
      Irrelevant assumptions: You have no idea if there is or is not a feasibility study for a football stadium or if there is a plan for after Heinz. I can just as easily say there is one. Nobody in Pittsburgh wants college hockey at Pitt. The Pens rule the city.
      Competitiveness – C+
      Soccer is good, basketball and wrestling improving, volleyball has maintained excellence because of her. Improvement is the key. Football brings her grade down again.
      Culture – B
      Again, an improvement over the last two morons.
      Finances – ?
      Nobody on here knows the true financial situation of the University of the athletic dept.
      Scheduling – B
      It is what it is. All fans bitch about schedules. If you have a good team it doesn’t matter.
      Brand – A+
      New Nike gear is awesome.

      Glass is half full, not half empty, LOL. I see improvement.

      Narduzzi’s lack of success could be overshadowed by Capel, if he turns Pitt basketball around. Capel could eventually save her and she stays and picks a new football HC.

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      1. Brand is about identity. Pitts brand is mediocrity. It goes above and beyond a color scheme for that front porch.

        And I suggest you visit more college campuses than Pitt. Heck. Come on down to Texas. Most high schools have better facilities than Pitt. I don’t jest. I carry.

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  65. The Beatty loss will be a big blow to recruiting IMO. It’s tough enough trying to compete with the salaries offered by the BIG college FB programs but competing against NFL salaries might be even a bigger challenge.

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  67. So many commenters, me included suggested that Beatty get promoted to CO-OC in order to keep him, like we did with partridge (or whatever title we gave him). But no, Charmin nixed it as being offensive to him and Nard and AD wouldn’t put their foot down. Now, he leaves. This is all about the willingness to do things differently to give you a competitive advantage. Pitt messed up. He was an awesome recruiter for that area.

    Wrong move after wrong move by the decision-makers.

    Maybe we can send Nard to be a non-football coach assistant next year to Alabama. Look at the football analysts that are paid by Alabama, but are not considered coaches, that left in the last few weeks. In 2020 they were Butch Jones (head coach, Arkansas State), Charlie Strong (Jacksonville Jaguars assistant coach), Major Applewhite (offensive coordinator, South Alabama), Andy Kwon (tight ends coach, Arkansas State) and AJ Milwee (quarterbacks coach, Texas). That’s a good lineup of coaches that are definitely used in the recruiting game….plus the actual paid coaches on staff. That’s all about commitment fellas and not being too proud.

    Hey Gerry, did you put us in the top 25 this week?

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    2. If you say so man… Rivals guys (who no doubt probably know more than you) said they were able to keep other colleges from poaching.

      The Fantasy Land is believing that a college job is better than an NFL job. But your assumptions must be the “facts and evidence” that only you, Tex & Arnold are aware of… Keep pushing this narrative though man, you guys are making it too easy.

      On a side note – I also love that you are now comparing Pitt to ALABAMA, my goodness did everyone start drinking early today or something?!

      Liked by 1 person

      2. So what stops narduzzi from employing such a strategy?? Saban is 69 years old and innovative in more ways than our coach who himself said he washes his hands of the offense. Those are facts. He said it. He admitted it. He only coaches at maximum 2/3rds of the team. Keep protecting him with feeling statements.

        Saban does his gig, all within the rules. Why hasn’t narduzzi done it? That was the question?? Nothing stops a head coach from being innovative.

        Nard doesn’t know how to be pro active with his coaches. For the good coaches and recruiters, he waits until the coach gets the offer to go and then tries to keep him with bogus dollars (see canada). This is a repeat of Canada. Partridge did the same thing and they gave him a title and cash.

        You can make college jobs better than nfl jobs. Plenty of college coaches never went pro. Your friend Joepa may have been one of those, but there are scores and scores of others. An average Assistant Coach in the NFL makes $400k in 2020 according to Forbes. The Chargers hired him as a positional coach, which would be less. Deduct you some California tax on top of that.

        You can’t convince those who brains are closed. Those are the koolaid drinkers and think the last 40 years have been awesome. Keep thinking that way because it works. Not.

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  70. He was a position coach for God’s sake. They float around like a fart in the wind.

    The important part is hiring someone just as good in recruiting and better at coaching WR.

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    1. I saw him coach at the Palestra back in his heyday vs St Joe’s. Big 5 game back in the day were really something

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  74. meaningless guess Huff = Arnold
    so Arnold/Huff, not sure where you get “anger” from wwb’s post

    Tex doesn’t know his “facts” leading to his opinion hits opposition with the opinion part, maybe some question the fact part too, depending on how presented

    how does Reed think OOC has been soft during HCPN?

    why is there continuing name/alias altering happening and being allowed?

    PSA – make a will, it might be tough to contemplate but if not done can be huge burden left behind
    I’ve no idea if those cheap will kits are worth anything if you aren’t leaving much but the very free version which is none at all is expensive in time and $$ too 😦
    –at the very least spend a day with your parents and organize documents and asset/debt list

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    1. I’ll debate you on the facts any day. I’m still waiting for your facts to prove that heather doesn’t deserve an F grade.

      Let’s leave coaching hires off the table since it’s still too early to judge.

      Waiting Texas style

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        1. Clean my gun. Plant my cold crops. Feed the neighbors horses. Install new window screens. Prepare a smoked pork butt. Wash my pickup.

          Yes. There are several things on my to do list today.

          Tex who gets up at 5 to milk the Longhorns.

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    2. Maybe this from wwb earlier – “time to call a spade a spade … I am sick and tired of this macho, anti-feminism mentality that persists by a segment of POVers”. And then calling me a chauvinist pig. Sounds kind of angry, but to each his own. I am not sure if we know each other, but being called a chauvanist pig is laughable. My disdain for peterson is much worse than this AD. I like the current AD and yes I have met her. She is extremely nice. Being nice doesn’t make you qualified for a position. It just makes you nice.

      If you read reed, you will note that he said he doesn’t think there should be a soft ooc schedule and it hasn’t helped recruiting or the record. He has said that for years and repeated it earlier. I disagree with Reed on this and think you start by building a weaker ooc schedule and play teams from your recruiting footprint, which is not mass or new hampshire.

      Good psa tvax arnold – totally agree with that. Wills are a great thing especially if you only have one parent left. Actually, if you have kids, it’s a great idea to interview their grandparents if possible so that you can pass down your family history to them.

      Like

      1. Hey Huff, look again …. I called Arnold Ziffel a ‘literally chauvinistic pig’ ….. sorry that went way over your head.

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  75. OT – I just finished chapter 5 of former Pitt kicker Sean Conley’s book “The Extra Point”.

    LMAO with the first two colleges he attended – won’t give it away in case others want to read it.

    Thanks MM & Reed for inspiring me to read this book. Plan to read James Connor’s book when I finish Sean’s piece of American literature.

    Good read so far – just a few “F” bombs – not uncommon in Erie – “F” bombs that is.

    Like

    1. Finished the book in one day – very good read and even though I could have bootlegged it via download (don’t ask, I have a genius for a daughter) I spent the asking price so the alumni gets a few bucks from a reader.

      Like

  76. Pitt lost to UVA in wrestling and our best FB recruiter on the same day.

    Not great for the Panthers under ADHL.

    Look for former Pitt WR Mike Shanahan to be brought in from JMU. Mike is also the recruiting coordinator their under Cignetti.

    Liked by 2 people

  77. A bit surprised that Coach Beatty is off to the NFL, but best wishes to him.

    Just seems odd for a coach whose strength seems to be recruiting. I guess Hafley did the same thing and it worked for him…

    Like

      1. In life you’re always trying to sell yourself. Always trying to prove yourself. Always hustling.

        Pitt could learn these things but bureaucratic mindsets are tough to break.

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  78. His recruiting duties are now off the table and from where I’m sitting I kind of like the idea that I wouldn’t have to make hundreds of calls on a weekly basis keeping in touch with prospective recruits going forward.

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    1. And he gets to work with adults who take their job seriously…most of the time. He might also have to deal with JuJu. Odds are he’s going there.

      Like

  80. I meant to say he gets to live in freaking Costa Mesa…darn auto correct. 😎
    Also Peak said on his radio show that if Pitt goes 4-0 in non conference it will be the first time they go undefeated playing more than 1 non con scheduled game (2020) in EVER.
    Didn’t know that.

    Like

    1. I wouldn’t want count on Pitt beating Tennessee at Tennessee. Pitt will certainly be an underdog in that game.

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  82. Who schedules Louisville’s ooc.

    Most schools are like pitt with three lames and a solid. But typically the solid is a historical rival. Or a school in the same recruiting footprint.

    But Pitt picks the lame from New England. And then from Michigan. And the solid has only played pitt three times in 50 years

    May I suggest picking the lame from the south or Ohio. May I suggest getting Cincy and temple back on the schedule. Even Rutgers and Maryland. They all are solid schools. Just need to play one of them each year.

    Remember three lames or rent a wins preferably so no reciprocation and then only one solid.

    Are you listening heather or don’t you get wi fi in the basement?

    Like

    1. Ix-nay on the Ohio lame. They have beaten us far too much. Don’t even want to name them to bring
      back those nightmares again.

      Playing Maryland, Buttgers, Cincy or Temple isn’t going to do anything for attendance.

      Cincy would probably be the best of that lot, and Heather could dust off the River City Trophy thing.

      Like

  83. Before we switch over for the BB game against 5-9 Notre Dame tonight here is an article that is worth reading about Pitt’s 2020 FB season. It actually gives grades for the special teams, offensive and defensive units.

    https://saturdayblitz.com/2021/01/29/pitt-football-final-report-card-2020-season/

    No – I didn’t write the piece but those grades do closely reflect what I have been writing about the team over the last week on here. What do you think – agree or disagree with the writer knowing that he graded the team with an unbiased eye. Which I know is hard for Pitt fans to do because of the emotions involved.

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  84. More like a C or C minus for the offense. Where was the offense against better defenses. C plus grading on a curve maybe.

    And I think the C plus grade for defense is too harsh. I’d go with a B.

    Tex who is as real as they get.

    Like

  85. Not sure this guy watched many games after this:
    …west-coast like spread offense centered around getting the ball out quickly with(out) a complementary running game.

    so I added words in parentheses( ) for accuracy above and below

    after this I couldn’t force myself to read any further:
    Pickett is a (not) good decision maker that gets the ball out of his hand quickly.(slowly)

    Like

  86. BTW – how far in advance of the BB games do you think it best to post the Pregame Threads???

    Right now I’m doing 90 minutes prior – but I wonder that if the previous article’s comments might not be so good we wouldn’t want to interrupt that.

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    1. If you already have the Pregame Threads set for 90 minutes prior, I’d leave well enough alone until someone makes a point with compelling reasons to change.

      Did you read Conner’s book? If yes, was it worth your effort?

      Like

      1. Yes I did. It was fine but more personal than Pitt issues. Mostly his life from 7th grade until he was truly an adult (no spoilers here…) Pitt was mentioned rather briefly because he was here for only one season. Worth the time to read it.

        Buying it is another matter but I did to support a first time author.

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  87. Pitt actually did well in time of possession, red zone efficiency and turnover margin. It was however one of the most penalized teams.

    Like

  89. I think 60 minutes before game time would be fine,

    Interesting article, a lot of truth in it.

    I think the D does deserve a B or B-. When you have ab A+ line and B linebackers.
    Pitt faced a number of really good QB’s this year, obviously big numbers put up by Clemson and ND.

    The offense certainly did not help the D with many three and outs.

    The lack of any running game until the finale was devastating. Why IZZY and Carter didn’t get more carries, especially in the red zone is dumbfounding as is the non-use of Sibley and limiting him to the Wildcat.
    The lack of a power runner in the red zone was the kiss of death for the last two years. Also the lack of a decent Tight End.

    Taysir Mack’s play seemed to decline yearly, until he was pretty much a memory last year.

    Injuries to KP and Addison hurt the most during the year. Probably would not beat ND and Miami with KP, but most certainly affected the stats offensively and defensively.

    The two one point losses turned an eight win season to a 6 win season. In both of those games the difference was QB play, theirs were slightly better than ours.

    Liked by 1 person

  90. The killer on those two one-point losses was that we had the senior QB. A senior QB is supposed to be ready to make those game-changing big plays that lead to a win…

    Go Pitt.

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  91. All this talk about Narduzzi and heather is a Debbie downer. Let’s move on to basketball. Pitt has a chance to prove it tonite. Let’s make it happen.

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  92. Hitting golf balls into the 40 acres behind me in 75 degree weather. I’m launching them at least 300 yards. Albeit aided by a 30 mph wind.

    It’s good to be Texan.

    PS: I said to hell with half the things on my to do list today. Hitting balls and drinking made the cut.

    Like

        1. I call mine a Power fade. One thing I could always do was absolutely clobber those little white balls.

          Driving Range was like Aggression Therapy !

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  96. Seriously morrisey just played himself into a third round pick at guard. He’s looking real good.

    Clemson guys looking real good to

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  97. How many Pitt players were asked to college all-star games and refused to play in them. Zero I’d bet.

    But a bowl game…”Oh, heaven forbid we do that. After all we put it to a vote (doubt it) and felt that it wasn’t worth getting a 7th win if we could also get a 6th loss. 6-6 is not good, no, not good at all. 6-5 is way better that 6-6.”

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    1. totally different for these guys directly affecting their future after several weeks of not having to continue their CV regular season limited activities

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  98. Speaking of Morrisey…Pitt’s going to need a new Center….are any of the current recruits Centers ?

    I don’t seem to remember many Centers being recruited. If any. Which is why we needed a walk-on
    to man the position. Ming better hop to it.

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      1. Thx Cmdr. Reed. Got some extremely tall O-linemen coming in,

        6’7″
        6’5″
        6’5″
        6’6″
        6’6″

        The two from 2020 class were 6’7″ tall as well. These kids today are massive.
        Must be all the frozen pizzas, chinese take-out and franchise pizza.

        And a 6’6″ QB. If nothing else, we are going to look much bigger as a team.

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    1. The same way we only won 8 games with Pitt’s highest scoring team EVER and several
      NFL players in 2016.

      Brilliant coaching !

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    1. Never

      And when was the last time pitt was ranked?

      Says it all right there

      The jury’s verdict is….

      Guilty as charged.

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  105. What’s impressive is that morrisey is at the end of every play. Don’t underestimate that. This Pitt guy will make a very good pro.

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    1. since Brady was a 6th rounder, all teams including the Patriots picked someone else picked 5 or 6 times

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    2. Pretty amazing Martin over Brady and Bulger. Cowher was pretty awful when it came to QBs. He didn’t want Ben, rather a lineman. Brady had a good enough senior season to show he was more of a pro-style QB than Martin.

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  107. I know I don’t drink the Koolaid. But you hear it hear first. Morrisey will be a better pro than pouncey. Is that mark madden enough?

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  111. Read on “Outkick” Jordon Whitehead might not be playing in the super Bowl…. Antonio Brown is doubtful.. both with injuries.

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    1. Whitehead is a big loss.

      AB not so much

      How the world turns.

      My money just got placed on KC. Not a big gambler but those I hang with are. $500 on the chiefs.

      So what if my kids go hungry.

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  112. From PSN pre BB game fodder:

    “Before the season, the Irish were projected to finish 12th in the conference, while Pitt was projected to finish 13th. That prediction is shaping up to be fairly accurate for Notre Dame, as it currently sits at 12th in the ACC.

    On offense, the Irish are led by Nate Laszewski, Prentiss Hubb, and Dane Goodwin, all who are averaging more than 12 points per game.”

    All three will have big nights vs Pitt at the Pete – the Irish also get back their #4 scorer from injury tonight. Look for the 3 ball to rain in purple with Laszewski leading the nation in long ball percentage at 55.1% ikr.

    Ladies and gents, we know this going into the ND game – I’m hoping our coaches do too and have a game plan to combat the raining 3’s.

    Go Pitt!

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