in Pitt Football 139 Words

Pitt 72 – Florida State 79 recap 2/20/21

I”ll open with the last comment I made on the game blog. Pitt doesn’t have a
single player that could make the starting five for Florida State.! Not Champ…no
one. Florida State was the much better team size and ability wise.

I thought Pitt played fairly well considering their disadvantages in size and ability.
Champ is definitely playing hurt.

I liked the guard oriented offense (without Toney) and thought Sibande played a
very good game. Pitt lead 6-4 and that was it. All Florida State after. Once Pitt got
within three points but mostly it was a 6-10 point Seminole lead.

I could nit –pick and talk about Pitt’s dribbling contest while the offense stood
around and lack of rebounding out of the zone defense but over all I think Pitt
played about as good as they could.

H2P

Dan

75 thoughts on “Pitt 72 – Florida State 79 recap 2/20/21”

  1. Copied from the last thread….I didn’t see the game but was following the Live Stats from the Pitt website. It must be exhausting to constantly be playing from behind. If Pitt could avoid getting down by 8-10 points they wouldn’t have to work to get back in the game. Duh, I know, but there seems to be a motivation problem out of the gate each game.

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  2. So Pitt doesn’t have ACC players. And the coach can’t coach up these guys. And I see nobody coming in that can help next season. Are capels days numbered then?

    Was he a $3 million dollar mistake?

    BTW – I had nothing to do with it. I told y’all who to hire.

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    1. Heather gave him extension apparently…that quietly was non-reported by the Pittsburgh media poser sports journalists (sic).

      So we’re saddled with him, his brother, the other 2 loser former HC assts for god knows how long.

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      1. I think ADs make this untimely extensions so they have less work to do…no difficult conversations, no interviews, no lawyers.

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    1. Probably yes. But no other Pitt player would sniff it. Capel had time to build a team. And even more time for next year. But I don’t think he knows the difference between apples and oranges when shopping for recruits. And frankly his coaching at this point is abysmal. He blames the players for not listening and not executing. Tell you one thing. I never blamed any of the players I coached. I benched them and rode them hard in practice to break them. Capel is too soft mentally. I can clearly see it now. Thanks heather. And no dan it’s not hindsight. I had insider knowledge on Oats. It’s who you know. Heather blew it.

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      1. Tex…the way I coached and ran a business. Never ever blame the player. Give constructive criticism. If things go wrong it’s my fault, when things go right, it’s all you!

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    1. Even though it states he couldn’t sign with another SEC team, I believe it was annoying he signed with Auburn.

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  5. Hindsight is 20/20 Tex. I was thrilled that we got Capel but am starting to doubt both his coaching and recruiting abilities. I don’t think any of the top tier coaches would have ever lost to St.Francis.
    I will say had we retained Hugley, it would have been a different last 9 games. No coach can plan for that. It’s not rocket science. Pitt needs a center and a point guard that can shoot and play under control. Why we’ve heard nothing about recruiting next season, seems very suspicious.

    I think Heather must be hiding under her desk!

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    1. Come on dan…..’starting to doubt both his coaching and recruiting abilities’.

      You can see what I can see…..and it’s an ugly picture on all sides.

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    3. So Heather signed this extension last January. Based on what? A string of losses to close out his first and second seasons? She is starting to look like the problem at Pitt.

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  6. Chapel not going anywhere as he was extended through 26-27 season. I’m sure with solid raises in there as well.

    Lyke has in both FB and BB coaches solid citizens. Not proven winners but running pretty clean programs. Maybe that’s all the front porch is expected to be at Pitt.

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    2. If that’s what Pitt wants as a front porch, I want nothing of it. I’ll send my money to Texas and wipe my hands of Pitt until they hire people who get it. Who did I recommend for AD before the name became fashionable. I forget. Someone please remind me.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Upitt and Huff………I think that was your recommendation. How much casheeesh have you raised on the go fund me buyouts for capel and narduzzi and lyke. Or are you having a separate go fund me for green and white blouses?

        I wish someone would confirm the sneaky behavior of capel’s extension. Talk about ripping the spirit away from what’s left of a fanbase!!! Extensions are usually announced because the AD is ecstatic with the results of the coach. Ours was ecstatic because narduzzi got her hired for big money too. All you ticketholder’s should feel like pittsburgh pirate season ticketholder’s. “we expect championships”, she says. Laughable.

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        1. Yes it was. And tressell and Riddick.

          Gallagher has no idea on how to build a front porch. And heather appears to be doing her best to kill pitt spirit with these poor contract extensions rewarding mediocrity.

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    4. No fans at the games did both Narduzzi and Capel a favor this year. Bring on the fans next season and the seats of both guys will get warn. Both programs will not sell out games expect for the marquee opponents. Lyke will be drawn into the discussion even if she doesn’t want to be.

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  7. I think we can all tell our grandkids what it was like in the heyday of Pitt hoops.
    “And maybe in forty years you kids can see something like that again.”

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  8. I made it clear, Lyke, Frauduzzi and Capel are all bad hires if you want to win.

    Lyke was hired based on what success? EMU – She almost bankrupted them. Her hires haven’t won. She has worked from home for what 11 months?

    Frauduzzi – He is a clown. 2-3 games above .500 and people love him because he is loyal. Cal U wouldn’t want the guy.

    Capel – I won’t even waste time here. He had success as an Asst at Duke because of Duke’s name. Zero success as a HC. OU got rid of him fast.

    No one cares at Pitt about winning. I gave up a while back.

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    1. A small minority of fans do care.

      But you are correct, nobody at Pitt really cares about winning. They will do the minimum amount of work needed to collect that $30 million dollar check from the ACC each year.

      There is no incentive at Pitt to work hard and to work smart. No incentive to work period.

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  9. I think Capel made a huge mistake not giving Sibande, Jeffries and Colliers more minutes throughout the year.

    If Horton can’t shoot the three, he is useless.

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  10. Both coaches will never be fired unless they have severe breakdowns of conduct by them or players. Both have lengthy extensions that I am sure have big buyouts. They certainly are not on anyone’s radar as potential candidates at other universities.

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  11. I agree with Dan’s opening paragraph above. FSU without question is the best team I have seen this year. Their length, depth and athleticism puts them on a level above any other ACC team.

    Sometimes I think Pitt’s lack of execution is mistaken for lack of effort or lack or discipline. The fact is that yesterday, Pitt did as well as we can expect. The fact that they had the game within reach going into the final minute is quite an accomplishment.

    One big fault, however, stuck out like a sore thumb IMO. This team stands around on offense way too much. They just don’t seem to put themselves into position to help their teammates when they are being doubled-team, but instead of coming to the ball, they often stand flat-footed.

    But the reason they lost is this team’s biggest weakness …. the lack of inside presence. They would often defend hard for much of the shot clock only to give up an offensive rebound which would end up with a put-back.

    One thing of note ….FSU’s roster is upper-class dominated, They have a handful of seniors with a nice sprinkling of sophomores and frosh. It is not like the Duke’s or UNC’s and their series of One-and-Dones.

    This is a model of what Pitt can become, and it will not happen overnight. And of course, Capel better start to recruit better .. and especially big men. They don’t have to be 4 or 5 stars but they do need to be strong aggressive

    Liked by 2 people

      1. ……and Narduzzi’s upperclassmen excuse? 6-6. Wait for it….the narduzzi excuse is that he played against the best qbs in college football.

        Have we not heard about how our OL for the last 3 years was young and was improving every year? What happened there?

        Excuse city…..Wins and losses? Championships? Who sees improvement in the revenue producing sports? You know, the sports where the AD is judged for 99.5% of all universities.

        I have never seen or heard of a group trying so hard to excuse away bad results.

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  12. Heather says Capel is building Pitt the right way with the right people. Is she serious?

    Yep we are stuck with Capel until 2027. Unless a booster or two come up big with buyout money.

    https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/28446858/pittsburgh-inks-coach-jeff-capel-2-year-extension

    BTW heather also got a big extension after only being on the job for less than two years. She followed up by placing last in the directors cup and taking another $10 million from the general fund to balance the books.

    The BoT is approving these bad contracts.

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    1. Liar, liar .. pants on fire, Yes when she came in back in 2017, Pitt was dead LAST in the Director Cup rankings …. 138th.. And now is the latest, they are up to 36th. (note that due to the current Covid situation, there is no current upgrade- the link below is the most recent)

      You owe Heather and us POVers an apology

      https://nacda.com/news/2020/1/16/directorscup-final-fall-di-learfield-img-college-directors-cup-standings.aspx?path=directorscup

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      1. No I don’t. Because this is a covid year. I base results based on final results. Pitts points are always front loaded due to football and volleyball. Wrestling always gets points. Men’s soccer was the only new points. And she didn’t hire coach Jay.

        Many conferences and schools didn’t play secondary sports this year. Many had abbreviated schedules. Many decided to delay until spring.

        So what you see are fall results

        When the final results get published in July, pitt will be last again. Since I expect no points from basketball, swimming, track, gymnastics, baseball, softball or cross country.

        Pitt already banked all their points.

        Come down to frigid Texas and watch how a real AD conducts business and gets results.

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        1. Many Colleges didn’t compete in a full slate of sports this year and won’t get the all important director cup points. Look at Stanford as an example and the Ivy League and a bunch of other teams and conferences that didn’t participate and get points.

          I disagree that pitt will be last this year for that reason. There is a reason for it. Lack of full participation by other universities. That’s not a ringing endorsement of Pitt sports at all.

          Understand the entire landscape, the full story. Year 5 for the AD. Pitt is not trending in the right direction athletically. The Chancellor doesn’t understand it either.

          Wait til Heather convinces the Chancellor that she increased attendance for the 2021-22 athletic year. It’s all smoke and mirrors.

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          1. Yes. They probably won’t finish dead last since men’s swimming will pick up points. But you’ll be hard pressed to find 5 P5 schools with less overall final points than Pitt. BC will be one however.

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  13. Based on performance alone, there are only 5 programs out of 19 worth keeping. The other 14 programs are mediocre at best and just aren’t competitive in the ACC. That’s why the MAC or AAC is a better fit for most of Pitt sports.

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  15. Listen I don’t have to lie to make good points.

    But it helps to have context behind numbers and how they are calculated. The sports playing field this year is different. That’s why every coach, except in Texas, is getting a free pass. So AD’s don’t have to make tough decisions.

    Pitt does enough lying themselves to ignorant fans.

    They lie about attendance
    They lie about winning
    They lie about their financial situation
    They lie about the future

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  16. Agree there’s WAY too much standing around on Offense. Seems to be a total lack of imagination.

    Guard passes ball. Guard moves away from where ball goes. Guard stands in corner and waits.

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  17. As for the issue raised in an earlier thread concerning Odukale’s role on the team. He is a POINT Guard.

    In his own words.

    xxxxxxxx

    Femi Odukale, the 6-foot-5, 194-pound point guard from Springfield (Mass.) Commonwealth Academy, has committed to Pittsburgh, he told ZAGSBLOG…

    “I’ll be playing the point guard and making plays for them, and just being a winner,” he said recently of Pitt.

    xxxxxxxx

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    1. Again he’s being forced to Point Guard. sheesh. He never played Point Guard in HS. So he’s
      getting on the job training in college in the ACC.

      Yea, that makes a lot of sense. We’ve seen how ‘on the job training’ with PG’s has worked out
      with X-man.
      And kids will say anything, like who is recruiting them, that aren’t.

      Rivals, 247 and the others don’t have him listed as POINT Guard. Hey but continue on with your
      incongruities.

      Femi Odukale
      American basketball player
      Femi Odukale is a 6-3, 185-pound Shooting Guard from Brooklyn, NY. He attends Commonwealth Academy in Springfield, MA.

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    2. he doesn’t look like a shooting guard with his “shot”

      he needs to dramatically improve at the FT line to be a PG

      he seems to have a good handle and dribble/drive

      I think he will improve in all those areas,,,, but he has a long way to go to get near All-ACC imo, and imo none of those things will happen due to coaching, it is all on HIS work during the season and especially off-season

      all you guys talk about shooting form and how horrible some of our kids look and how that is a reflection of poor coaching
      at this point, changing any of that appreciably is near impossible, John Wooden couldn’t
      the only way that reflects on coaching is that the coach RECRUITED that kid

      now, movement off the ball, type of offense, running SET plays, style of defense, matchups, in-game adjustments, etc., that is all coaching

      recruiting – THAT IS COACHING, so someone remind me who is in the next recruiting class?

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      1. Yes I agree, his shooting (at this point) doesn’t warrant be called a Shooting Guard.

        But then again, neither do Horton or Sibande who shot 27% from the field yesterday.
        For the season, Horton is shooting 39% FG and Sibande is shooting 30% FG.
        But where else can you play either one, if they’re on the team ? (they’re not on
        my team btw, if I’m HC.)

        Femi was ranked by the recruiting services as a Small Forward. And you see Shooting Guard
        listed for him as well. What you don’t see on any of the recruiting sites when he was as
        Sr in HS……. is Point Guard.

        I have no clue what kind of league he played in in Springfield, Mass. For all I know he could
        have been the tallest player on the team (or court). And if he was, most of his shooting
        would seem to have been within 15 feet or in the lane, and you see that in him at Pitt, him wanting to get
        closer to the basket to shoot.

        And we have NO recruits at this point for 2021. And he needs to go out and get some big men, since
        Hughley is probably gone and even if he isn’t, as he could be a dud anyway. He needs to
        go out and recruit his first PG ever for Pitt and he needs a Power Forward, as we’ve been
        undersized there since Dixon left. Basically playing 3’s at Power Forward.

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  25. Pitt may well drop in the Director Cup rankings but the FACT remains ….. when Heather arrived here in the spring of 2017, Pitt was dead last. And 3 years later, it ranked 36th.

    Tex, Pitt has lied about attendance well before Heather arrived. And how could Pitt lie about winning and the future?

    and for the umpteenth time, do not blame the current personnel for decades of sins of their predecessors

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    1. The fact is two years ago pitt finished 138 in the cup. You have to go back to the mid 90’s to find a finish that bad. Heather has been here for 4 years. This marks her 5th. Outside five sports, pitt is not competitive in the ACC. Pitts financials still stink. She is overpaid for her performance. Much like the two coaches she extended. They frankly all need fired. Pitt doesn’t have a front porch and the pitt spirit is dead.

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    2. I think he mentioned and I just read…those ranking are based ONLY after the Fall Sports concluded.
      So we have yet to finish the Spring Sports. So hopefully we will still be ranked 36th or better or it could be worse.

      So let’s wait until the FINAL RANKINGS are done, BEFORE…we give Heather credit for something,
      that the FINAL RESULTS are not yet in on.

      That would seem to the barometer, the Final Rankings.

      Pitt Football was ranked #24 after the first 3 weeks of the season, and we saw how that
      turned out !

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  26. I am a frustrated olde fart. I have followed my Panthers for more than 60 years and my clock is ticking.

    When I read that Heather has given Coach C an extension I couldn’t believe it. At Pitt MEDIOCRITY
    MATTERS —wowza!!

    Odukale seems to have real talent, however, he has been buried on the bench for most of the season,
    Horton has UD Blue Hen ability, but is NOT a true ACC level player. Sibande ///who knows? The
    transfer has been relegated to being a spectator for far too long.

    The one thing that is OBVIOUS is our lack of height. Hugely will never put on a Panther uniform
    and hopefully, he will find a path to a much better future. Our AMAZING inability to recruit at the
    1 position falls entirely on our newly extended Heather favorite…..ouch!!

    KRAZEE as it sounds I think Duzzi’s team might have a better future than the occupants of the Pete.

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    1. lol….That wouldn’t be hard since the bball team is, other than Wake Forest (who we lost to) and Boston College (who we probably would lose to now) the worst bball program in the ACC.

      And nobody is in the 2021 recruiting class. A big Goose Egg.

      And Heather will have to add Egg on her face, if Capel’s struggles continue after she extended
      him until almost the end of the decade.

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  27. Can’t blame Capel for Hugely and then criticize him for recruiting kids that stay on the straight and narrow. Classic heads I’m right, tails everyone who disagrees with me is wrong. Let’s grow up.

    I agree his recruiting hasn’t produced the players needed to win in the ACC however, the days of Pitt getting blown out consistently and not looking like they even belong are gone. Capel needs to expand his recruiting to find actual 3 point shooters who produce and legitimate big men who show better judgement.

    Too early to tell if he’s a mistake, but definitely agree it’s WAY TOO EARLY to sign him to lengthy extensions. Heather deserves the blame for that mistake on both the football and basketball side.

    BTW, WMG and Nardummy is going to see why this coming season.

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  28. Contrary to many fan’s views I think Pitt Football will be better when Pickett leaves.

    His stats are good but I think that because of that our OC and HC willingly abandon a strong run game and a chance of a balanced offense.

    Also, and I know this sounds bad but I think the reason The OC has Pickett run to the sidelines for plays is because KP isn’t fully capable of playing winning QB without the exact play given to him.

    I’d rather see a different QB get the starting job in April, then take all the QB1 snaps through fall camp and into the games…

    Or fire the OC in the off season and get someone who values the ability of a solid run game to keep our defense off the field and well rested into the 4th quarter.

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    2. I don’t disagree. I was disappointed with Pickett’s decision to return because I was more anxious to see what Yellen or Beville could do with more snaps. With Pickett’s first ever start vs Miami in the 2017 final, I think he got the rep of being clutch but I thought he failed in key games late in 2019 .. Miami, Va Tech and BC. He was more consistent last year but still not overwhelming IMO

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Agree Reed. However KP’s most important stats stink. TD passes. 13 and 13 in the last 2 seasons,
      in a passing offense is horrendous and one of the reasons Pitt stinks inside the Redzone, or for
      that matter inside the 30 yard line.

      No big play, long pass capability means opposing defenses are not stretched Vertically and can
      pinch the LOS…..another reason why we don’t run the ball effectively.

      Pitt needed to move on from KP, but Nardoozi is too scared. Just as he coaches, scared.

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  30. I remember many on here bashing Marcus Carr at PG. Wouldn’t it be nice to have him now.

    Terrell Brown’s lack of any go to move to score is mind blowing. Never saw the kid pivot, no hook shot, no jump fake, nothing. He has had the worst coaching ever. Granted, he has hands of stone and lacks energy but come on.

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  31. Capel not getting Jeffries and Collier decent playing time this year will hurt next year. They weren’t making the tournament this year. He should have been developing depth for next year. You can’t win without depth in a P5 conference.

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  32. Pitt is excellent at mediocrity. Concentrate on how Pitt strives to be “average at best” and you’ll appreciate its excellence. Arriving at this insight took away my fan angst. Sigh and double sigh.

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    1. PS. Pitt’s athletic shortcomings are not failures, but rather successful tactics to achieve mediocrity. I think I’m on to something here.

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  33. Find it humorous how people think just anyone can play Point Guard. Hey well, he’s playing Point Guard so he must be a Point Guard. A good example of this is: Jamel Artis played PG his last year, so he
    must be a PG. This year we have 2 examples, X & Femi. Neither are real Point Guards. They
    are just playing there, because Capel has yet to recruit a real Point Guard. And someone has to
    play there.

    It takes years of playing Point Guard to be good at it. Some never are, so they move to 2 Guard (Shooting Guard).

    Point Guard takes a very special kind of player. They have to have several more attributes than other players. The main ones are:
    it’s about the team winning, not me. it’s being selfless.
    it’s about seeing plays and how they could develop before they’re put into motion.
    It’s about being the Coach on the floor. The Floor General. some of you might have heard.
    You also have to be a good FT shooter, since
    the ball is in your hands the most and you’re making plays, you’re apt to be fouled quite a bit,
    especially if you can drive it to the basket. And in crunch time at the end of games, YOU HAVE TO
    BE A GOOD FT SHOOTER, since it will be up to you, to protect the BALL & the LEAD.
    A Good PG, is also a good Assist man, again it’s about the team winning and I get the ball to
    the player with the easiest shot to make.
    And a Great PG is also a good to very good Outside Shooter, with all these other attributes.

    A good Point Guard just does not happen, because you have no one else to put there and one
    is thrown into action in that role.

    And the lack of one on Pitt’s team, is one of the main reasons, they stink. Along of course, with
    the fact they have no 5, no 4 and no good 2’s. You can’t be very good, when the only decent
    players you recruit are all 3’s. That results in a lot of players playing out of position and a mess.
    Pitt is a mess of 3’s playing the 4, 5 and even the 1.

    Liked by 1 person

  34. I don’t understand Reed’s point about running to the sidelines is about getting KP “the exact play given to him”
    are you implying that KP is intellectually limited? or MW? or what?

    meanwhile, I might agree that Pitt football could be better once KP leaves because to me it often looks like HCPN makes questionable talent choices and tends to over weight seniority, this year seems to have changed with that just slightly

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    1. Wonder if Whipple insisted his QB’s at UMASS run to the sideline to get the plays ?

      That would be interesting to know.

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        1. I didn’t watch the game Yellin played. Was he also a sideline runner to get the vaunted plays from the great QB whisperer, Whipple ?

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