in Pitt Football 204 Words

And the Rain Came Down

The quarterback loaded up everything that he owned
On an offense headed out west
The tight end fearlessly faced the unknown
‘Cause he figured the OC knew what was best
And they settled down hard on a skinny lil post
With six points to score to thrill an overtime host

And the rain came down
Like an angel come down from above
And the rain came down
It’ll wash you away and there ain’t never enough

Fall into endzone with the ball in your hands
Over and over again
Number Seven took cheers from the crowd and moved on
And the Defense stayed strong and plowed it back in
And the good Lord he giveth and he taketh away
And the restless shall go and Pitt faithful shall staaaay

And the rain came down
Like an angel come down from above
And the rain came down
It’ll wash you away and there ain’t never enough

Kenny Pickett broke records on this field he was born
Five or so seasons ago
And I could have sworn he was beside us tonight
When the Tarholes showed up at our door
So don’t you come around here with your Same Old Pitt sins
‘Cause you can have the naysayers but you ain’t taking my win

And the raaain came down…


123 thoughts on “And the Rain Came Down”

  6. How many three and outs did the defense produce today? Third and fourth down stops?

    A team that scored 58 last week against an undefeated division leader.

    Remarkable

    Liked by 7 people

  7. Just back to hotel soaking wet. You have to see Pickett live to see how good he really is! Second half malaise was on Whipple. UNC was rushing 2-3 and dropping everyone else into coverage 2nd half and Pitt played right into their hands. Every first down UNC knew it was pass and blitzed.

    Pitt very very lucky to win. It didn’t have to be that way. Defense won the game for Pitt. Someday I hope we get a D back taller than 5’7”

    I’m exhausted physically and emotionally. Can’t come back and do this next week.

    Liked by 6 people

  9. Just when I think that Whipple has figured it out he falls back into that old mindset. They couldn’t even get a play called without burning 20 seconds in the final minute. Even though they won, 31 running plays (10 were Picket) out of 75 plays is not good when you are ahead by 2 scores.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Very un-Pitt like to pull this one out. Thank god I took a poncho in.

    A couple quick thoughts:

    One is WTF was Whipple thinking in the early part of the 2nd half with a 17 point lead. Felt like he wanted to show us he is smarter than everyone else. Davis in the backfield and pass first mindset. It was really bad judgment to be nice.

    Second is I’m glad for the rain and pissed at the same time. The rain helped us in OT…. don’t ask me how, but it did. And pissed because it robbed – me at least – of a nice postgame cocktail at Red5A.

    Dan – heard you stopped by but didn’t see you. You must come back next Sat to rectify.

    Does any remember me saying during pregame that an immutable law of CFB is when everyone projects a track meet, the defense shows up?

    A memorable night and glad we were on the good end of it.

    Liked by 10 people

  13. Cannot believe I got up at 6am. Couldn’t sleep after getting soaked. Some observations:
    1) Yea me for taking the under.
    2) Yea Mrs Joeknew for not allowing me to take the Heels and the points. ( never, ever allowed to bet against Pitt).
    3) Some crazy, nutty playcalling. Sometimes I think they try too hard to be the smartest guys in the room.
    4) KPs Heisman hopes ended yesterday, but that’s OK. Long shot anyhow.
    5) Ya, half time adjustments. Not!
    6) The d played like they had something to prove. One of these times well put both sides together in a big game and stun the world. We’ve been close, but not quite.
    7) Howell needs to come back for another year. Reminds me of KP last year. Needs some fine tuning.
    8) Battered and bruised receivers, didn’t ya feel good that Tipton got a couple catches. Good for him!!
    9) Be honest, when Carolina was driving and had the ball on the 2, and in OT, didn’t you say SOP, come on, somewhere in the dark corners of even the most positive it crept in, even for just a second.
    10) Ride home would have been just awful if they lost. Dark, wet, and miserable. Now it’s all sunshine and unicorns. He still can lose 5, lol. H2P

    Liked by 8 people

  15. I know we all have Post Traumatic Pitt Disorder from painful SOP losses of the past but let’s bask in the glory of this one for awhile and be positive and thankful. Great comeback by the guys, great character shown, and some old demons were put to rest. Whoo!

    Liked by 10 people

  16. Can’t explain Whipple after half time. Just dumb. Like Dan said, UNC (and everyone in the stadium) knew he wouldn’t run (except on 2nd and 10 for 2 yards) so we didn’t eat enough clock and were too often stuck in 3rd and long. We made it easy for them. I have no logical reason for Whipple’s halftime “adjustments” with a big lead. On the plus side, the D line showed top big after disappearing against Miami.

    Crowd question: I sit on the home side and it seemed pretty crowded and loud. My friends at home said it looked empty on TV. How did it seem to those that watched from home?

    Liked by 1 person

    3. I thought it was very crowded for a Pitt game. Maybe 48,000
      Very late arriving crowd with about 15,000 stuck outside at kickoff. Very understaffed ticket takers. Only at Pitt!

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Very artistic rewording of the lyrics, Michaelangelo! If I tried something like that it would be some simple-minded limerick with Nantucket in there somewhere. Bravo!

    Liked by 7 people

  18. All the credit in the world goes to our kids who never ever quit and won a game in the most inconceivable way. But, when you get the best possible start of a game and have the best offense since the Glory days, why do you refuse to take what the defense gives you. Why do you keep trying to go deep when the run and the underneath pass are there for the taking.

    I think the hubris started with the trick play when UNC was on it’s heels and you could have ran it down their throats.

    The utter disdain for the run and using the clock allowed UNC back in the game. The defense’s brilliant first half was nearly wasted with our powerful offense getting shut out in the second half. Do not blame them for allowing UNC back in the game, they did their job and then some. Pitt only scoring 23 vs their suspect defense is sad.

    This is not on KP, this is on the play calling.

    I have never been as disgusted after a Pitt win, I guess that is progress.

    Liked by 4 people

      1. I wouldn’t count the OT points. We scored only 23 in regulation, zero the 2nd half and left points on the field. A bad day for the offense.

        Like

  19. Boy, isn’t is something how great Pickett has been for most of the year and how bad Whipple has been at times?

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

    Liked by 2 people

  22. Penalties hurt the O in the second half. Can’t play behind the chains and miss scoring opportunities.
    Interception on a screen play that would have gone for a huge gain hurt bad.
    Make the extra point and don’t have a field goal blocked and the game doesn’t go to OT.

    I’m the last person to defend Whipple, but Pitt hurt themselves more than Whipple hurt them.

    D was awesome. I’d still like Petrishen to play less. He’s a step slow even at LB. DL played great. Danielson was very good. Baldanado and Dennis always good.

    8-2 is awesome. The games do indeed get bigger. Enjoy the ride!!!!!

    Liked by 2 people

  26. Watching the tribute and highlights of Ironhead Heyward on the big screen last evening reminded me of how bad I am at appreciating what is right in front of my eyes while it is happening. Shame on me.

    Liked by 8 people

    1. I assume Ironhead’s off the field escapades had a lot to do with that.
      Also him leaving early which wasn’t done that often back then.

      Like

  27. I don’t intend to be critical especially in a good win. And I’m much more tolerant of player mistakes than coaching issues that potentially cost Pitt a win. But seriously, the run/pass mix must be corrected. Pitt had 75 plays to about 61 for North Carolina. Yet the time of possession for Pitt was only 24 minutes, even with Pickett running 10 times.

    That says there is too much passing, which exhausted the defense which was on the field too much, and it almost cost them the game. Five first half sacks and zero in the second half. What does that tell you? We all saw that Pitt was throwing into a UNC defense that was dropping everyone and had only 3 DLs on first down. Talk about predictable.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Let’s be honest folks Pitt’s running plays between the tackles is not very good. If our RB can get on the outside we can get some decent yardage. Pitt should really incorporate much more of throws to the RB’s and our freshman TE Bartholomew. Why did Bartholomew disappear from the passing game when played so well in the first Q would be my first Q to Whipple.

      Liked by 1 person

  29. I did think Pitt was going to win when everything went wrong, including key special teams problems. We are better than the 5-5 opponent and it showed.

    NC helped immensely by staying in the shotgun from the 1 and 2 yard line in my opinion. I don’t think their qb played well with his decisioning on several occasions within the RPO framework. They had crucial unforced penalties too often which was the difference, in my opinion. The UNC OL did not have the proper body language showing they were dialed in to the task at hand all game.

    Refs – We should Stop this non-stop complaining about refs. UNC 12 penalties for over 100 yards. Pitt, 6 penalties. I watch with my heart at times too, but the facts are just the facts. I did not like the “dead ball” unsportsmanlike conduct on Minor and said so during the game. They missed that one, but they miss a lot of games. The speed at which these players move any more makes it more difficult to make snap decisions, accurately. Also, the refs are not professional refs which makes it all the more challenging. These dudes have day jobs. PS: i am not a ref and do not play one on tv. I just think that the conspiracy theories don’t hold water. Each game tape is reviewed (from every angle) and these guys are scorecarded on their calls.

    Whipple and Nardstop try to be cute, when cuteness is not called for. Could have been a real special season and still might be, but we shouldn’t get overconfident that we have the right people in place for longterm success. We do not. Looking forward to beating UVA next.

    Liked by 1 person

  30. PITT is 8-2 and led the entire nation in offense production and we still have experts here at the POV criticizing Whipple and whining about the play calling? I find that so cute, hehe. One over zealous PITT(?) fan suggesting Narduzzi is the worst head coach in the nation and the PITT team sucks. (not so cute)

    Liked by 7 people

    2. Ike, with a 16 point lead at the half we should have been doing everything we could to run clock the 2nd half. Whipple decided he wants to make Kenny a Heisman winner (which would be great) at the expense of the team winning the game. The TOP tells it all. Why weren’t we running the playclock down to 10 seconds before snapping the ball? Why not more running plays to give the D a rest? Why aren’t any of the coaches seeing this and making changes? This has happened in both games we lost and again last night. It is maddening to sit there and watch our team slowly get overtaken by our opponent when we have the tools to put them away. I will still criticize Whipple. You can’t have half of an offense and win championships.

      Liked by 2 people

  31. can ANYONE see my comments? I’m signed in to the WordPress feed directly trying setting up second accounts, using different browsers, everything possible to be able to return to commenting

    I can read everything on both, see none of my posts on the original site I’d used for years but CAN SEE my comments on the WordPress site you can log into directly(if you want to set up your own page or read data on posts, etc)

    Like

      1. tvax— I’ve had the same maddening experiences with WordPress. Sometimes it won’t let me log in. I keep trying different things and somehow I finally get access back, but I never know for sure what the problem was…

        Like

  32. Another big game next against VA. The last home game for many good players. Should be on national network.

    Rivals says UNC has more better ranked players but FB games are team affairs. More team games left.

    Liked by 1 person

  33. Losing the coin flip in overtime was the best thing that happened to Pitt in a long time. I don’t don’t think we could plan on that scenario to bail us out our next couple of games. however But I guess we can always hope for “divine intervention” to come to the rescue for Pitt for the remainder of the season.

    Liked by 2 people

  34. The refusal to run the ball when the O was struggling is mind boggling. If it is not working find a way to win.
    Run and shorten the game. If you are going to go 3 and out anyway get the most out of the lead.
    AND…
    The profoundly, stupid call to attempt a 53 yard field goal with a guy who misses extra points. Again, punt and make them go the distance and use clock.

    It is almost like the coach wants to lose.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thats another example of Duzz’s unrealistic belief that his D is invincible.

      The Pitt D has made some amazing stands in critical situations but you can’t keep making dumb coaching decisions and expect that D to bail you out.

      Like

  35. Great win last night. This was never a game I thought we’d win, very glad I was wrong. Credit to the coaches and players, but the coaches especially are NOT beyond criticism and second guessing. Aren’t we supposed to learn from our mistakes? Well Pitt scored with 4:40 left in the first half, then did not score again until Overtime; I DO give NC credit for their adjustments, but Pitt not scoring for that long is all the proof anyone needs that we went into a shell and it almost cost us. So hopefully we learn from that. The offense needs to better incorporate the run game, and get Izzy more opportunities.

    But most importantly, by far, another W.

    My question for those of you ‘in the know’ would be: what player(s) might we get back between now and next Saturday? Not so concerned about the receivers, but the linemen more so.

    H2P!

    Liked by 1 person

  36. —Hoping Fran is feeling okay. Wolfe did a great job at the tailgate, but it’s just not the same without Lastrow.

    —MM – you’re a creative son-of-a-gun! Nice job. And I’m still trying to dry out…

    —We think our coaches leave something to be desired, what about UNC. Thank goodness their coaching was so bad.

    —I thought a lot of the problem was that KP wasn’t just taking what the UNC drop- back defense was giving us. We had RBs and Bartholomew with space in the flat several times but KP went downfield.

    —With the lead, Pitt could have shortened the game by 4 or 5 minutes, and rested the defense, simply by not consistently snapping the ball with over 20 seconds on the play-clock. I just don’t understand this…

    —A big thanks to UNC for giving us the ball first in the OT. The timing of the really heavy rain was awesome and contributed mightily to the win, IMHO. (I suspect that ike may have intervened!). Howell looked like he really struggled to throw that wet ball.

    —Here’s proof that this season is different. On that last play, Howell laid on the field for a long while. I kept searching the field for the roughing-the-passer flag. Don’t know if my heart would have stood it…

    —We had a ton of backups on the field at crucial times. Congrats to them for their contributions. (But running the clock would have left the starters fresher.)

    —Throughout the second half the trend was clear and I was preparing myself the whole time for another devastating Cincinnati-type ending. I’m filing this good-ending memory away for future use…😊

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 8 people

  38. Brother ike, I’m with you on most things but leading the nation in scoring is just a statistic. A team leading the nation in scoring with over 40 points per game should not have lost to WMU and Miami. The coaches are responsible for dissecting the reasons for these losses and making changes. Last night showed me that Pitt is a better team, but Narduzzi and Whipple have not gotten over their love affair with Pickett, and a team like Wake Forrest could beat them.

    As I said before, Narduzzi’s goal should be to win games and not to push Pickett for the Heisman. If Pickett had gotten hurt this season Pitt would have lost at least two more games because they have not developed the running game sufficiently. Pickett ran 10 times last night, and Pitt is playing this season just one injury away from disaster. This is all on the coaches, not the players who are playing their tails off.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I agree with much of what you say. I’m divided about Narduzzi always mentioning the Heisman in front of a national audience. On the one hand, it enhances Pitt’s visibility, which would be good for recruiting and just bringing more attention to Pitt. On the other, it could over-inflate his draft value and lessen the Steelers’ chances of getting him, if they have that intention (which I believe they should).

      Liked by 1 person

    1. True Major but then many would have to give the coaches the credit for the “better team” versus the “better recruits”.

      Like

  40. Too often everything nowadays has to be binary…you either have to be all in and an unbridled optimist or a hater.

    But life isn’t really like that…

    For instance, I love that the fact Pitt won last night. I love the fact when they always win, but that does not mean I have to love everything about it.

    You see, watching that DB slip and UNC getting an easy TD, pisses me off to no end. It’s ok for me to feel that way. It’s also ok for me to be pissed off at the OC not making in game adjustments.

    You see, it’s coaching that has prevented this team from being undefeated this year. And dare I say it…it will be this same coaching that will prevent it from ever being undefeated.

    Doesn’t mean I am not excited about heading into UVA. But, and I say this with history as my guide, I feel huge apprehension. I remember a 2009 Pitt team heading into the final two weeks as a 1 loss team. Even after a huge disappointment with a loss to WVU there was still a shot at 9-2 of winning the Big East and a BCS bowl bid.

    You all know the history…but just like some on here today have pointed out, it was apparent the coaching would only take this team/program so far.

    Again, this does not mean I am not enjoying the game nor the season, but it does mean I can face the reality. I think under this regime this is as good as it gets…and while I hope for the best and this team runs off 4 more wins. I will say this if it doesn’t it will be because of the limitations of the coaching, not the players.

    So be it if my criticisms of the coaching makes some frustrated…watching a 23-7 lead melt away because of coaching frustrates the hell out of me.

    I mostly have made peace about what Pitt is today…it was hard for me to accept that it is highly unlikely I will ever see them in the show again. But by God, that means I was blessed to have seen them when they were great (it makes me old too, lol).

    Also, I have been around the block enough to know (the FB head coach carousel we have had since Wanny and our basketball experience post Dixon) that the grass isn’t always greener and by firing the devil you know, you may get the “Trust the process” devil (lather, rinse, repeat).

    I just think it’s fair to point out that this is the type of team, with good coaching, that would’ve been in that discussion of being in the show (our arguements on this thread would’ve been more of why the playoff ranking are so disrespectful of Pitt vs they are playing in a weak ACC this year).

    That said, I love the fire and the drive of the kids out there. They never quit, they never blink. I am pulling for them every play, every game.

    It’s just that damn “man on the island” defense that brings me back to the reality that a 6 game win streak (including the first 2) is highly unlikely.

    But I do hope.

    Dave Dellett

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I agree that nothing is all good or all bad. Whipple’s passing offense is genius with excellent plays and we don’t win without the great first quarter or the OT pass, but the lack of running, when we have the talent and not adjusting to what the D was giving in the second half is frustrating.

      Narduzzi’s (Bates) defense was as good as it gets yesterday and they played great against Clemson and pretty well with the two exceptions, so there is a lot of good.

      Fact is that Narduzzi doesn’t get enough credit for all the guys that came back this year and all the three stars that he turns into NFL guys. If those guys don’t come back this season doesn’t happen, and the offense and defense are much worse.

      Many if not most here though Pitt would stink this year, and you know who you are. Miami, UNC and VT were all picked above Pitt. Clemson, BC and NCST were picked above Wake. Did anyone see VA coming on?

      Frustrating as it was last night kept hope alive, still a 50/50 chance that Pitt wins out. The argument that they will do it in spite of coaching is ludicrous, you have to take the good with the bad. No credit to the coaches that our guys were penalized less than UNC.

      Just hope we don’t have to have another downpour to get another win.

      Hope that ND physically wears out VA.

      Liked by 3 people

    3. I guess my question Dave would be who do you think would be that better coach that would be flawless when it comes to making those coaching decisions? Jesus Christ comes to mind but I don’t think he would be available to Pitt at the current pay scale Pitt offers.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Lol, I have a list of 5 coaches that I can e-mail AD Lyke…oh wait nvm…

        Where did I say we need a new HC? I said it fair to criticize. I also think it’s fair to say that after 7 years..it is what it is…

        I also think it’s fair (and we can debate this point ad nauseum) to say the losses that this team had this year falls more on coaching inability to make the necessary adjustments.

        I appreciate the snarky JC as a candidate remark (I did chuckle at it out loud), but it probably would’ve been better served if I started out by saying “The Narddog is the root of all evil and must be replaced.”

        The fact is I said pretty much the opposite later in my thread where I pointed out that in my “grass is always greener” comment.

        oh on a side note…you know what really pissed me off last night? DirectTV recording it for me to watch and even on extended recording settings…ENDING RIGHT AS KP HAS THE BALL SNAPPED ON THE FINAL DRIVE IN REGULATION.

        I hate DirectTV

        Dave

        Liked by 1 person

    4. David, I agree with most everything you’re saying, the top part mostly. I often mistaken for an everything is roses kind of a fan. I’m really not that guy, seriously. I get upset when plays don’t work or a DB falls down out on his island.

      During these times I try and remember we’re talking college football here, I also realize the other team is trying to win.

      It’s the ridiculous (imo) comments like the worst ever and all the time and never that I believe some fans expose themselves for what they are. Not college football head coaches.

      BTW, running on first down and gaining nothing is the same thing as running the ball on second down and gaining nothing. Having said that I do agree I would have liked to see more runs on first down but there are no guarantees.

      Bottom line I’ll stand behind Whipple who is a former head coach that led his college football team to a national championship over some guy who finally finished his career high in third place of his fantasy football league. After being his own head coach of his team twenty seasons.

      Liked by 5 people

  41. kman — it was great to see Dave Havern and Steve Moyer at the tailgate last night.

    Loved talking to Steve about some of the guys he played with on the football team and I played with on the baseball team…

    Dave and Steve were a couple of my favorite football players back then…

    Go Pitt.

    Like

    1. Dave is coming back next weekend. You guys made him a regular. I do not know about Steve. I just met him last night, but he is a terrific guy.
      Hav is too and we are completely opposite of each other politically but enjoy each other’s company.

      Like

  42. Just a few random observations (opinions): football is always a game of emotion—we had the emotion in the first half and they had it in the second half—fortunately we won the overtime; Krull has dropped way too many passes this year, but I’ve never seen as much emotion from a player as I saw from him after the OT touchdown catch—he has also typically the first to go the whoever has scored a touchdown for Pitt to congratulate him; UNC has far more highly rated athletes than Pitt; UNC has an almost legendary head coach who attracts these athletes; while I fully realize that Narduzzi is not a great gameday coach, does he not get any credit for (as Dave just said so well) “the fire and drive of the kids out there”? ; each coaching decision/play call that does not work is assumed to be dumb; each coaching decision/play call that does work is good; the average gain per pass (including incomplete passes) was over 8 yards; the average gain per rush was about 3 yards per carry— if you subtract Pickett’s rushing attempts (including sacks and sack yardage lost) then the average gain per rush goes up to about to 5 yards per carry; are we sure that if we ran more we would’ve been more successful? Perhaps……

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Though I have at times been critical of Narduzzi for not adjusting to situations, I have to say that I have gone back to appreciating a number of things about him. He really seems to care about his players first and foremost; he seemingly runs a clean program; and lastly he is passionate about his job and the future of the program. Win or lose, I think that the more recognition he gets for the good things that he is doing, the more he can get the attention of better recruits to enhance the program’s visibility.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. One thing I saw on tv last night that I’ve never noticed before was Narduzzi was wearing a Rosery ring. It puts in perspective how important he sees his job and the safety and success of the kids by wearing something important to his faith during the game.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. A lot of the runs were on third and short, so you are not going to help the averages.
      But when they are rushing 3 and playing for the deep ball you have a good chance
      to break off a decent run. We never run twice in a row, let alone three times in a series.

      Like

  44. Pitt out performed and out coached UNCs highly paid staff in the first half and late in the game when it counted. Period.
    My God, enjoy the win.

    …and if you think Pitt would be undefeated with different coaches you are on crack. This isn’t the University of Alabama.

    Liked by 7 people

    1. No difference between 2-8 and 8-2 with some of these football experts. Please keep posting it’s just entertainment.

      PITT is on record of rushing the ball 31 times last night. Not enough?

      Liked by 2 people

    2. I think its fair to say that everyone on this board thoroughly enjoyed the win. It’s also fun to dissect it. Hopefully we learn from our mistakes because the next one is the biggest of the year, would be great to see the kids seize the moment! But regardless, this year has been fun.

      Liked by 3 people

  45. Dave, I was also irritated at Mathis for slipping and giving up that TD. But on the replay I looked at the field where he slipped and the condition of the turf was terrible. With new sod in some places and hard dirt in others, it’s no wonder there weren’t more slips if the wrong type of cleats were used.

    A combination of good athletes and a seasoned, experienced group has contributed to this season’s success. But one has to wonder how a defense can play so well against UNC and yet lose to Miami and WMU. They have the depth to substitute, apparently, but the type of offense Pitt runs leads to too much time the defense is on the field. It’s coaching 101: A good running game is needed to control the clock in the second half when a team is ahead by two scores. Repeated throwing on first down when ahead by two scores leads to a quick out offense, a tired defense and a motivated not demoralized opponent.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Well put, Voice.

      Still wish we would dumped it off to the flat a few times in the second half. I’ll bet KP agrees…

      But snapping the ball with 20+ seconds on the play-clock, with a couple score lead, was just plain stupid football.

      And even in the first half, I didn’t think we should have kicked that first FG, be bold and aggressive or go home…

      We did miss Mack, big time. The WRs didn’t seem to be coming back to the ball at all well last night…

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. VoR..re “type of offense and leaving the D on the field too long” the ACC is morphing into the Big12 where scoring frequently is the game…I like old school FB with balance offenses an good D but I don’t think any of us will live to see the veer attack used in the Dorsett era,,,,wonder what the next evolution will look like….starting to look more like Canadian FB, eh, with multiple guys in motion (but not towards the LOS) with very little running and throwing the ball all over the field…..maybe hire Tino and his CFL experience to morph/tweek the O…..

      Liked by 2 people

  46. Oh, one other thing I’m thankful for and that’s Mack Brown. Yup, he’s so old all the talking heads love him, never thought he was all that and last night proved it. Anyone else thought he screwed up going for 2 so early? Guarantee if the Duzz did it he’d be blasted, and IMO rightly so.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I was happy to see their awful play calling. And was pleasantly surprised when UNC punted from mid-field down two scores. Pretty weak…

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  47. Maestro, love your writing style and you throw in a little bonus bad ass Steve Earle !!!

    I was dreading this game just because of the history between these 2 FB programs and personally witnessing so many games in which we came up short at the end after leading for most of the game and this one appeared to have all of the trappings of snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory…that monsoon was dialed up with impeccable timing…

    Observations from the living room: Krull redeemed himself for the initial drop big-time which had me bitch’n and complain’n…. Wonder what scouts have to say about him ? Doesn’t have the consistent hands needed to be an NFLer, IMO….Stovall was there for a catch or 2 then disappeared-was he injured ?….Kradel is a really good lineman and has been solid for 2 years- didn’t see a reply showing the injury but he appeared to be in a lot of pain..I guess he might/probably be out for the UVa game….I am with yinz on the play calling by Whipple i.e. lack of running the pigskin but hey, POVerts, this is what we have been witnessing for years so to expect the coaches to change is an exercise in futility from this fans viewpoint…..Why aren’t there more plays for BigBart???…kids a beast when he gets his hands on the ball!!!….was nice to see the TE get a short TD pass in the Red-zone- too many times have seen the opponent hit the wide-open TE on a short score….D really came to play and held up much better than I thought they would against Sam and company…would like to hear Coach Bates expound on why we didn’t get consistent pressure or sack(s) in the 2nd half after having their way with the heels in the 1st half..looked like a cat toying and slowly killing a mouse it captured….LBs played good ball much better than I expected considering Carolina team speed to get to the outside… the boys got some good licks on Sam when he ran for most part- Sam is one tough kid and fun to watch- he needs to come back for another year of college ball……. I read some criticism of John Petrishen “being a step slow” …he’s a good player and has a nose for the ball…probably makes up for that “step slow” with FB smarts and leadership…..What a fun season (WE COULDA BEEN 10-0…%sSOB# how did we lose to those teams)….injuries are stating to add up (for other teams too)…UVa up next…we know what we got and we mostly know what to expect most of the time….so let’s keep helping Duzz and Whipple get things right…that’s what we do here in POV -land…..HAIL to PITT

    Liked by 7 people

    1. —Good stuff, BigB.

      —Stovall came up limping after that nice reception down the sideline. Seemed to be something with his foot…

      —Agree completely on Bartholomew. Feed the beast…

      —Great job by Coach Bates. And he had to put up with the Pitt offenses quick 3 and outs…

      —I focused on Danielson on one play and he tackled the RB for a loss…. Nice.

      —Howell had to be exhausted after that game…

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

  48. So Brennan Armstrong has a rib injury going into the ND game. I wouldn’t want to be him, ND has a pretty good pass rush. Also, he is a running QB, but probably not this week. Would Mendenhall hold him out of the game since next week is the one that counts?
    Really good for Pitt to have two extra days to get healthy. Especially the O-line.

    Another good game Saturday, NCST vs Wake.

    ACC not that good according to many, but it sure is competitive, and fun to watch. Don’t know about the ratings last night, but it was very entertaining except when it wasn’t. (For us diehards)

    Liked by 3 people

    1. GC, lotta good games on Saturday…looking forward to our southern cousins in Knoxville and hope they punch Georgia in the mouth,,,would like to end the regular season with only 1 undefeated team- the Bearcats…I really like that team and their mascot…let the pollsters have fun figuring out which Big10 and SEC teams to promote…there is a bias if you haven’t paid attention…

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  49. Biggest play of the game was Mack choosing not to go for it on fourth down.
    He said if he knew about the downpour he would have gone for it.
    Hard to believe no one was watching the radar.

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  52. Going to enjoy this victory over the Tarholes for a few days (actually longer than that since I live in the Tarhole state).

    Just going to enjoy and not over anal yze this game. Think we all tend to over do this(me included), cause of all the incessant talking heads on TV these days, the pod casts, the radio shows during the week, etc. etc.

    It seemed to more enjoyable back in the day….when there was certainly a lot less of the aforementioned
    tripe. You can overkill just about anything.

    We just took the games for what they were. And maybe we should try that again.

    Enjoy the season and the wins and the Heisman stuff with Kenny…..cause it doesn’t happen often.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Yeah, Duzz said he’d be out recruiting the next couple days…

      Duzz has his faults, but he’s certainly passionate and “all in” about his Panthers…

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 3 people

  54. Reviewing the stats and, if you take away the long NC TD when our DB fell down, Pitt was way ahead in total yards. KP really impressive with his accuracy, especially on TD toss to Krull in OT. TD passes to tight ends,… never thought it would happen. Also note that penalty yardage for Pitt was minimal. Definitely should not have needed to go to OT for the win, but a win is a win and Pitt teams in the past would have found a way to lose a game like this one. Nice break before UVA to get everyone healthy. Lets enjoy the ride fellow POV’ers. H2P!!!

    Liked by 2 people

  55. I was thinking last night right before I went to watch the Raven’s game that the rain was our 12th Man. An SOP reversal of fate if you will…

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  57. just thought about games where we have jumped out to big leads, namely, UCF and UNC at Heinz several years ago, Duke in 2019 in Durham and UNC last night…great to get those leads then PITT does all it can to hold on and mnearly lose…this seems to happen too consistently to the Panthers..it’s almost a trade-mark..opponents never seem to be beaten to the point of giving up hope..quite the opposite is true-they compete harder and make for some way tooo close games…my question is “WHY” can’t the Panthers put the boot on the throat of the competition when they are blowing them out of the water…on the upside at least we battled back from a couple of deficits this year…

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  60. I have been quite critical of Coach Narduzzi in the past and will be in the future. After last night’s win, one thing stood out to me, for all his faults, Narduzzi can still out coach some much better recruiting coaches such as Mack Brown. Why do you into a shotgun formation at the 1 yard line with a big, physical quarterback? I know that going for two points on their first score was to make it a one score game but I believe at that point in the game it was way too early to do that. Also going for it on all those 4th downs especially when UNC’s defense was playing so well in the second half against Pitt’s patched up offensive line did not make sense. Another coach that fits the Mack Brown profile is James Franklin at Penn State. He has really made some boneheaded in game coaching decisions as well.

    For once Pitt football is relevant well into November. As Narduzzi has been stressing Pitt needs to maintain this one game at a time philosophy! Virginia plays Notre Dame this weekend. I hope to watch most of the game. From what I understand Virginia’s quarterback is a bit banged up. Playing against Notre Dame will probably not be the best therapy for improving his condition.

    As for the game yesterday, a win is a win! It may not have been pretty but it counts just the same! Hail to Pitt!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. disagree with the statement about mac brown strategy. Going for two was a good strategy in my opinion. The score was 23-13. If he makes the 2 point conversion, it’s 23-15 and they are only one score and 2 pt conversion behind. They miss and they still need 2 scores to tie, which is what happened. We can’t predict how the game would have transpired had he kicked the extra point as each play effects the next, etc.

      Everyone knew the weather was going to be an issue as the game moved on and field goal kicking would be difficult. The rain held off…..until the end. Had it come earlier it may have made a difference in decisioning, but it didn’t.

      You say bad choice and that might be right. I say good choice and that may be right. Either way, he didn’t get an extension for getting his AD hired.

      Liked by 1 person

  61. Last thread someone said they thought Danielson would be a liability. Good kid, but too slow and not that athletic. I never noticed, so I paid extra attention to him last night live. He is definitely not our most athletic but seems to have a great motor, always finishes plays and seems very strong at the point of attack. HE definitely did not hurt us last night.

    Liked by 1 person

  62. With the injuries mounting on our OL it is good to know the OSU transfer Ryan Jacoby was approved to play at Pitt on Wednesday. I have no idea if he is good or bad but at 6’4″ 305lbs we might be able to utilize him to some degree in our late season games.

    Liked by 3 people

  63. Second half cuteness – backwards lateral from pickett to Wayne, who throws an ill-conceived pass downfield. Great against Umass and NewHamp. Ditching the run game out of the mid-game siesta….errrr, halftime. Using flea despite his propensity for the dreaded run for loss stat and minimal yard per carry average. Yes Izzy missed a block on a blitzer…..but if you watch closer, izzy was wide open had the qb thrown it at him, lol. Always attack from where the pressure came from. double lol..

    Pitt’s vaunted offense only scored 23 points in regulation against a porous 5-5, UNC team, (28 against 4-5vt), 27 (clemson) and 34 (Miami). An average of 28 points per regulation game against the best teams on our schedule, not great teams. That whole 50 point a game expectation goal is bunk, cute even.

    The coaches and players run their traps like the expectation is 50 points a game. If that is the expectation, they have failed more than half the time. Now, if that is the expectation against division IV teams and d1 teams with awful records, by all means, puff out your chest. cute! 🙂

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  64. For what its worth I’ve always been an advocate of having my OC up in the box to call the plays. By seeing the whole field IMO he would be much better to view the opportunities created by the opposition defenses.

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  65. This is an interesting stat for the Narduzzi fan club. He is 19 and 1 against the opposition when his team has 5 plus sacks in the game.

    Liked by 1 person

  66. Thursday night is date night so I didn’t see the game. It’s recorded in case I want to watch key plays but I think all of you on here have given me the gist of it. Thank you for that. (And, for the record, I really appreciate the civility shown here. The fact that we can disagree without being disagreeable, the fact that we listen to other points of view in the hope of, perhaps, learning something should be emulated in other deliberative bodies where it really counts.)

    So, to recap:

    D played better than expected
    O underperformed
    Therefore, D carried O and made up for all the times earlier in the season when O had to cover for D
    Pitt had fewer penalties and penalty yards than UNC but Raleigh may have put its thumb on the scale one time and that loss of down MIGHT have made the difference in the game
    So —> ACC bias lives! (Some might say that refs are just human but history tells me that my paranoia is not entirely unjustified.)
    KP is still terrific but there are other contributors
    Several players made some amends for past errors
    Pitt won with “we not me”
    Coaches are predictable (read stubborn) – last time I looked, all of us are, they just do it in public
    Pitt can still be Coastal champs, ACC champs, go to a meaningful bowl game, win 10+ games
    Pitt is still in the conversation in November (and maybe into December)
    Pitt is ranked
    People are actually including Pitt in the list of teams that could go to the CFPs
    I looked but I can’t find a post where anyone said all of those things pre-season

    Did I miss anything?

    And, for the record, I’ll take an ugly win – mud and all – over a picture perfect loss any time. No matter what the final score is, as long as we have one more point than they do, I’m content.

    Kudos to MM for a great set of lyrics.

    H2P!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. For some reason (thank you WordPress) this post didn’t format correctly. The statement, “I looked but I can’t find a post where anyone said all of those things pre-season,” was meant to refer to the four lines before it only. Apologies for any confusion.

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  67. I will not give full attention to the BB game tonight but it will be on my computer. We hope the BB gods show a little mercy.

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  68. I have been sitting in front of my computer screen for about 15 minutes asking myself if I should dampen the festive mood that all of us are enjoying by simply mentioning that we have a BB game tonight against the Hoopies and it ain’t gonna be pretty.

    Ah, screw the BB waste dump for this -year BRING ON VIRGINIA!!! H2P!

    Liked by 1 person

  69. One more observation on the time clock: Someone mentioned that Pitt was snapping the ball with 20 seconds left on the play clock. It seems that they are not sure if they are in a hurry up offense or a standard set from a huddle. So they end up in a place where they fail to run off more clock time, while still letting the opponent set its defense. As mentioned, they could have run off much more time overall while maintaining a 2 score lead with better clock management.

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  71. Crazy night, like many stress filled Pitt games, but with the difference being the W at at end of the rainbow. Many at the tailgate were apprehensive before the game started and astounded by how Pitt played coming out of the gate. It’s sad but true that I and I expect that many of us were less surprised by Pitt’s stumbling in the second half and almost blowing the game. After all Pitt rarely let’s their fans stay comfortable from start to finish.

    At any rate, I think that some of the changes that we have talked about for a long time are coming to fruition. For instance 1) we have long said “why does Pitt only play man coverage on D”…we are seeing zone being mixed in more recently.
    2) “Why doesn’t Pitt use their Tight Ends more?”…See Krull and Blue Mountain Bart’s stats.

    So our 3rd lament is usually “why don’t we run the ball more”. That hasn’t come to pass yet, BUT perhaps we will see a trend towards more reliance on the run game over the next two games.

    Finally, I have to say that disagree with Gordon about Sam Howell. Annie and I were discussing during the game that we thought he had an awkward throwing motion, and I wasn’t impressed with his running speed. I’d favor Kenny (or Tyler Van Dyke) over Sam Howell. Sorry we missed you at the tailgate Dan72.

    Liked by 2 people

  72. A Few Tiny Things:

    Would it be bad of me that the Virginia QB needs one more game off then have a complete recovery?

    Speaking of Mack, PITT missed Taysir and Bardon last night. Tipton catching passes is not the greatest of signs lately.

    To Dad, change your “play night” to Tuesday.

    Brandon George making his presence known to all on one play. PITT can use a big bad-ash in the middle of their defense.

    Could the loss of Kradel and Houy have anything to do with the second half drought and the play-calling?

    8-2 with two regular season games to play. Sounds like the coaching staff is just fine.

    Never-mind looking into the portal, Narduzzi should jump into it and tear the portal apart until he finds a dependable placekicker.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Ike – Your point is well taken. That being said, Pitt doesn’t play that often on Thursday, it’s close to the end of the week, we like the ambiance in the restaurant on Thursday (yes it’s always the same one – at least for the foreseeable future), and, it’s easier for me to take Friday off than Wednesday if need be.

      H2P!!!

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    2. Good stuff, ike.

      I agree we really missed WR Mack. We also missed WR Stovall after he went out early with an injury…. I think those two, with their experience, would have been more helpful to KP when he was scrambling…

      And we were all worried pre-season about our crappy OL and crappy OLine Coach. Now we have some key injuries on the OL – so some struggles in their execution-level shouldn’t be surprising…

      Great news that the transfer OLman just became available…. Kind of like the timing of the arrival of the “Mack Monsoon”…

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 4 people

  73. It was a great finish to a game of ups and downs. Really thought Pitt would lose this one, but it’s a terrible mistake to not give credit to the rush defense Pitt showed, holding Chandler down most of the game. The kid was a beast against WF, but again WF doesn’t have the LBs and DL that Pitt has put together.

    However, here’s some food for thought.

    What’s the better way to instill confidence and trust into a player. After Krull drops a pass (again) what does KP do but throw 2 consecutive passes his way to get him back into the game and give him the chance to redeem himself.

    On the other hand, Izzy admittedly misses a block that costs Pitt dearly with a sack at an inopportune time. So what does WMG do, well he shackles the young man to the bench for his transgression. In my opinion, that was a terrible coaching decision, just as bad as not running the ball against one of the worst rush defenses in the ACC.

    Again, I admit I’ve been wrong many times this year, thinking that WMG was washed up when in reality he has coached KP8 up into one of the top QBs in college football and he has shown that with the right talent at WR/TE and QB his passing attack can be very effective. I also thought there was little chance of Pitt beating NC, and obviously that was a big mistake.

    However, vindictively treating a young player who is getting his first meaningful playing time in a season for his mistake is short-sighted and petty. KP8’s handling of Krull showed WMG how to build a player up, instead of tearing a player down. The student teaches the teacher.

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  75. Stat I just saw: Pitt’s opponents have “gone for it” this season 17 times on fourth down. They have been successful twice. That’s pretty damn impressive, IMO.

    Liked by 1 person

  76. Repeating a post from other thread:

    Kenny and Kayla are both solidly entrenched in 3rd place (out of 10) for the Senior Class Awards. Popular vote counts for 1/3 of their total evaluation. The things they have both done (especially Kayla) should help them a lot.

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  77. Note that Pickett is the only QB on this list. I don’t think he really has much of a chance even if they wind up as AAC champs, but……

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