in Pitt Football 65 Words

New Thread – 4/12/2022

I have been busy and have not completed an upcoming article on “Boston College – 2021 Production Lost”. Have at it until i finish and publish.

I will be available if anyone wants to write an article on any Pitt related subject. Some of you have my email address. If you do not, send it to Reed and ask him to forward the article to me.

108 thoughts on “New Thread – 4/12/2022”

  1. On a non-Pitt related comment – I spotted my first Hummingbird of the season. About two weeks earlier than normal. I am in process of making my first batch of Hummingbird nectar.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. A few years ago someone made humming bird nectar and vodka drinks…a Humming Mule.
    Too sweet for me.
    Scooter had a couple though.
    🤣

    Liked by 3 people

  3. Good news for the baseball team. Pitt has recruited LH Pitcher Zach Oswald to play next year. He’s 203 LBs 6’5” and almost unhittable. Currently he plays for Harford Community College and I’ll get to see him pitch and report back. Maryland and Harford County has sent 29 players to the pros including both Ripken Brothers.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. That’s good to hear.

      In related news, a promising lefty pitcher from Mt. Lebanon has committed to Auburn…. ☹️

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  4. A segment on the local 11 o’clock news last night on “The Penn State Rapist” story. Surprised to see the local CBS station cover it so much…. Happened over 40 years ago.

    PSU issued a statement noting that the rapist had been dismissed from the football team and they regretted all the pain he cause…. With the guy’s HS background, maybe the question should have been how did he ever get on the team. Course we know the answer to that one…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I read the ESPN article about that guy. It’s sickening. Àfter being found guilty in Center County of rape the judge let him go free pending his appeal. So the guy goes back to Long Island and rapes several others and kills 1 man. Unbelievable.

      Liked by 2 people

        1. I think you are correct. But he served the minimum sentence – 7years of a 7 to 21 year sentence. With all the violence of his actions that is hard to understand.

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  5. Good ole Richard, a man as diverse as the name of the road he was raised on.

    I hope by PITT winning the ACC Championship, it didn’t take all the fun out of being a PITT fan for some of you 😉

    Again, don’t count out Nick Patti just yet, he’ll get his snaps this coming year.

    Looked like Daniel Carter was ready to make an impact last year but hurt his ankle real early on, only to re-injured it first game back??

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Absent injury rotating 4 RB’s would not be a sound strategy IMO. So the question is whether or not Carter will replace one of the 3 named backs from last season for his carries. I think there is a distinct possibility that Hammond will be Red Shirted this current season.

      Like

    2. I keep my participation trophies in the attic.

      When one thinks of the Coastal, one sees it as one of the weakest divisions in all P5. When one thinks of the ACC conference, one sees it as a basketball league led by Tobacco Road. Perception is reality.

      So Pitt wins a weak division and beats a small private basketball school in the conference championship only to lose a meaningless bowl game against a school as irrelevant as Pitt is in football. That truth hurts.

      Tex- the Contrarian. Not mandalorian. I could be the Northman however. A soon to be released movie 🎥 that I highly recommend. Best Viking/Hamlet movie ever. 🍿 Like in EVER 🇳🇴

      Like

      1. How do we explain away Pitt’s #12 ranking at season end and also top 15 preseason ranking?

        The entire NCAA football program must be down??

        Face it: Pitt was conference champion of one of 5 Power Conferences. And they would have been a top 10 team had Mr. Patti not broken clavicle in the first quarter.

        2021 glass most definitely NOT half empty.

        Liked by 5 people

        1. Ohhh nooo, let’s not get in the prediction game of, if someone would have played and someone wouldn’t have played. We have no idea what the outcome would have been had Patti continued to play. We just don’t.

          If you want to argue about the perception of whether we won a weak conference, think about ending up ranked 12th, when there are only 5 power conferences. If each conference is strong, each would be in the top 5 rankings. The fact that we won (which is great), means that we were the best in a bad conference. That is okay! I would rather win a bad conference, than finish 2nd or worse in a bad conference.

          I would argue that the Pac10,11,12 may have been really bad too, but utah may have finished higher than Pitt in the AP and Coaches, but i didn’t check that. Now I’m starting to think we finished worse than 13 because i thought we were 12, going against the 10 and lost. Hmmm, getting old. Memory is going!

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          1. Any year a program finishes in the Top 15 is good unless one is Alabama or Ohio State.

            Given where the program has been in the past 30 years, it wasn’t just a good thing but rather a great thing. It’s OK to leave it at that as it’s what any reasonable Pitt fan would hope for. Anything beyond that is arguing about style points.

            Liked by 9 people

            1. I can dig it! I am not disappointed by a top 15 finish at all. I am quite happy with the result as it is the first time under the nardstop that we finished in top 20. A Top 15 run every 4 years is very good. Always around the top 25 should be the expectation and yes, that includes a top 35 (other votes) every once in awhile.

              I don’t think that is asking too much!

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    1. Hard to believe that PSU is still has the nerve to use “Success with Honor” — now as their NIL motto.

      Amazingly inappropriate…

      Go Pitt.

      Like

    2. Agree JoeL. Colorado St, Nebraska and Purdue expanded their NIL today as well. Such an interesting space. I think the concept floated by Bickel may struggle if they have a handling charge to connect athletes to businesses.

      In other news the frozen pond was watched by like 405k people this year, down from 435k last year. However, viewership crushed two years ago number of like 315k. Could have been the teams involved of denver and minnesota st. vs. umass and st. cloud state last year! Boston market. College Hockey is growing but i have some biases there…….:)

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I couldn’t find the new AP pre-season poll but I did see the Sports Illustrated pre-season poll that came out April 10. Pitt is ranked 13th in that poll as well.

      https://thespun.com/college-football/ncaas-college-football-preseason-top-25-rankings

      BTW I’m glad Pitt cancelled the PSU series because there is no value in playing an unranked team. If we win everyone will say, so what they’re not very good. If PSU gets lucky and pysch’ed because they’re playing a ranked team while Pitt overlooks them, then that will hurt Pitt’s CFP playoff chances. Besides they’re not really a rivalry.

      Liked by 5 people

    1. I would love to hear the argument that we were in the strong conference last year, ummmm, with appropriate support of the argument. I mentioned we were probably on par with the pac 10,11,12. I think that is fair.

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      1. That’s fair, but the root of that discussion- today at least – is Tex’s feeble attempt to denigrate Pitt’s season for whatever reasons he may have.

        Pitt won 11 games, including its conference championship and finished ranked #12. Isn’t that enough?

        Reasonable folks know the ACC is not at the same level as SEC or B10. There is absolutely nothing Pitt or the ACC can do about that within the span of a couple years. I’m not sure that’s worth any energy.

        Liked by 8 people

  9. Imagine being Texas football. You have an unlimited budget and have one 10 win season in the last thirteen years. One. The worst run college athletic program in the country. Wishing they were Alabama but they can’t even better TCU and Houston in their own state.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Plus they will soon be whipping boys to the other SEC schools and being lead by a coach without a proven track record as a winner.

      Liked by 1 person

    3. That’s what happens when you recruit RGIII and Money Manziel as defensive backs instead of QBs – your program can turn stale. Look no further than our own Pitt Panthers in the 1980s passing on Kosar and Gottfried recruiting Major Harris as a DB. Ouch. In fairness to Foge, he recruited Harris to be his QB.

      Foge never gets fired if he has Kosar. Sherrill sure botched the QB recruiting in the early 80s.

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  10. I’ll take any year we beat Tennessee at Rocky Top and Clemson no matter how down they are, plus a championship game no matter who we play. Seriously Tex should go hide under his bed again.

    Liked by 10 people

  11. So the Coastal Division is weaker yet Pitt went 3-0 against the Atlantic, beating its top 2 teams. No matter how you dice it, Pitt was legit.

    Sent from my iPhone

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    Liked by 10 people

    1. ohhh good grief….yes, the coastal is and has been weaker, generally. Only 3 teams out of 6 were .500 or better and 4 teams in the atlantic were .500 or better last year. The coastal also had 2 teams with only 3 victories. No such poor performance in the atlantic.

      Noone said Pitt had a bad year. Too much effort being made to build this up and make it more than what it was. Pitt had a very good year!

      Very similar to the big10 east and west. The west is always weaker but occasionally things align and the west wins a championship. Very similar to the sec east and west, subbing in georgia for wisconsin. Big12 didn’t have divisions.

      Many on here did not want to play clempson twice last year, including me. Also, I like Tex and his comments. “I ain’t quittin you tex!”. One of my favorite quotes from Night at the Museum!

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  13. Good question, i think it was night at the museum. Can’t say I saw the other movie, so I defer to your expertise on that one. Yeeehaw!

    Like

  15. I am on the last leg of my non-golfing golf vacation here in Williamsburg and I must say Noah Collier will be living in a beautiful place. Good luck to him. Last days in the sun and eighties till I head back to wet, cloudy Pittsburgh.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. I think it is rather strange that Pitt fans believe that if Patti didn’t get hurt we’d have won that bowl game and end up in the Top 10…which I agree with, however they use it as an excuse for the loss.

    But when a finger points to Pickett bagging out of what would have been the most important game of his Pitt career (giving us the first Pitt 12 win season ever and a high ranking at season’s end) everyone seems to think that is just fine.

    I guess business is just business now in the world of college sports and that’s just too damn bad IMO.

    BTW – not everybody looks at more money as a deciding factor in life decisions… I cant even count the number of military guys and gals I know who reenlisted after they passed the 20 year retirement mark -turning down private sector job offers that were 2 or 3 times their DoD or DHS salary at the time.

    I did just that in my own career when I chose to Serve rather than make (a lot) more money. Maybe this is a generational thing and that $$ rules the day now.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. If you want to pick at that scab, I’ll play…I’m waiting on an oil change.

      1) Fully disagree with your notion that Pickett bagged the most important game of his Pitt career. 12 wins is a stat thats important to fans and alums….but then so is (and was) 11… and 10 wins.

      When Pitt ended practice, or a sideline meeting, one never heard the chant, “12 wins!” or better yet, “12 wins for the self-loathing older fans from the 70’s!”

      The chant was – and is – “ACC Champs!” THAT was their focus last season. And that game in Charlotte was the most important one for Pitt. Pickett will tell you its among a group of games he marked down when deciding to come back. One of those was Clemson. He wanted to wash the stink off from their last matchup with Dabo’s boys – and that he did. On national TV in front of one of the top programs in the country.

      It was in the middle of THE pivotal point in the ACC schedule… the part everyone talked about before the season… the stretch that included VT, Clemson and Miami. A number of folks here did not see us at 3-0 heading into the Miami game.

      Picket went 29-40 for over 300yds, 2 TD and no INTS – in front of the largest crowd at Heinz for a non-PSU game in … geez I don’t even know how long. It was a big stage and he delivered. IMO…. his biggest game of his Pitt career, aside from the magical night in Charlotte. But reaonable people can disagree.

      2) Everyone does not think its fine that Kenny decided not to play in the Peach Bowl. Most of the response here was negative. I am one of the exceptions to that… there were a couple others. Excited to see where he goes in the draft. Im all in on Kenny.

      Im not sure you can conclude that money alone factored into his decision. The guy wants to be an NFL QB…. probably dreamt of that as a younger kid… and wants to win a Super Bowl. Money comes with that of course, but getting a higher draft pick also means getting a longer look from a team and in the case of being a first rounder, one gets a chance the be “the guy”. I don’t mean or want to discount the money aspect, but the money argument likewise shouldn’t discount that a number of the guys who play in the NFL are living a dream and simply love the game.

      Car fixed!!!

      Liked by 1 person

  18. A couple pieces of breaking news

    1). As Dan pointed out, the Backyard Brawl will be played from 2029 thru 2032

    2). Speaking of WVCC, they just got a QB transfer who likely start the opener. JT Daniels, who started for Georgia a couple of years ago, is headed to the Hole

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Here I go disagreeing with Reed and Huff the Third….. SURPRISE!

    It’s absolutely OK for me to believe PITT would have won if Kenny would have played in the bowl game. I’m 99.9% sure PITT wins that game even if KP goes down with an injury. Patti insures that. They meant that much to PITT. You don’t have to see the dog running around your house at night to know it happened when after you fall asleep and it begins to snow… Pretty sure it would have happened

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Ike, when you get that same feeling again, can you call me so I can bet your house on the result? I am thinking you would never do that. Your argument can never be proven, never! So why argue a position that can’t be proven.

      We can never predict outcomes based on injury or non-injury. In football, every play changes the next play based on circumstance. Example: 1st and 10 Pitt at the 40 yard line. All options on the table. First and 10 for Pitt on their own 6 inch line. Same plays are not on the table, sorry.

      PS: Ike, Do you disagree with me alot or Reed? I haven’t noticed.

      Like

  21. See, here’s what happens when you don’t win that 12th game…

    The Pitt Graduate Nursing School is ranked higher than the football team. 😊

    “Pitt Ranked #7 Among Graduate Schools in Nursing

    —The University has once again earned a top 10 spot in U.S. News and World Report’s ranking of Best Graduate Schools in Nursing. The School of Nursing Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) received the No. 7 spot (tie) in the newly released 2023 U.S. News rankings…”

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 3 people

  22. So I see that Raiders’ QB Derek Carr signed a 3-year contract for $121,000,000!

    That’s $121-Million bucks!

    Huh?

    Go Kenny Pickett!

    Like

  23. If/when Kenny gets his big payday maybe he can be the official sponsor of the POV Red 5A tailgate. Fran and Wolfe can be ” The Kenny Pickett POV Red 5A Tailgate Masters”.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Fingers crossed that KP8 does NOT go to the Steelers.

      If I’m Kenny’s agent, I pull a John Elway and refuse the get taken by “that team”. In Elway’s case it was the Colts.

      Liked by 1 person

  27. Just saw a pre-season ESPN poll which had Pitt ranked 9th. Imagine that — the org that usually has Pitt at 5.5 wins per season!

    Clemson is 6th; Nits are 12th

    Sent from my iPhone

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    Liked by 2 people

        1. But I suspect that the presence of Partridge as the “defensive ends guru probably overcomes
          any supposed weaknesses in Borbely’s coaching.

          Like

    2. WVU – Missing 5 starts of 65 starts. Player was the 6’th man off the bench. Tennessee lost one starter.

      All in my production lost articles. But it is a long time before the season starts. So, it may be a while before you see the write-up.

      Liked by 1 person

  30. Apparently the poll I referred to above was the ESPN FPI rankings, which makes more sense because you know voters from other areas would not vote Pitt that high

    It is based upon the amount of production Pitt has returning, even with KP gone

    Sadly, the FPI is a worse predictor than even the AP or Coach’s poll. But I’m still very positive

    Sent from my iPhone

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    Liked by 2 people

    1. Right Bill, people wanted PITT to be in the top ten, they didn’t say which poll. I put a bit of faith in all of them. Better to be in one than none at all

      Like

  32. Should the POV do an over/under on the amount KP donates to Pitt upon signing his contract? Will it be of Aaron Donald proportions? What’s left to name after him?

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    1. Second contract is the huge money contract. The first one is good for a donation. The second contract is where the HUGE money typically comes from!

      Jordan Whitehead just cashed in on his second contract.

      Many agents have changed their marketing strategy and represent the players on their first contract for free, so long as they sign with them to do their second contract. Agents do this because the second contract is so much larger.

      Like

    2. The KP8 2021 Men’s Head Basketball Coach – the donation would include a carved out buyout for immediate execution.

      We can dream, right?

      Liked by 1 person

  33. Getting pre-season ratings is a good thing especially if we get off to a hot start.
    It should help with recruiting. Love to get a couple more difference makers off the portal.

    Like

  34. Kenny will do fine wherever he goes. Granted some teams are better fits. But I see him as having a Derek Carr like career. And that would be very good for the Steelers. Kenny’s floor is Andy dalton who wasn’t too bad but I don’t think he will be elite and a hall of famer. But a team like the Steelers doesn’t need a Tom Brady to win. I’d be more than fine with the jersey boy in black and gold.

    No pitt QB this year will come close to Kenny’s production. If you think so, you are the jester in the Northman. Albeit a fine actor.

    Like

  35. To no rocket,
    The worst run athletic department just won the directors cup usurping Stanford for the first time in decades.

    Generates the highest revenues of any school. And is one of the most profitable.

    Moreover is ranked 33 in the world in academics. Pitt is 72 helped only by research dollars in medicine.

    Let facts be facts.

    And both son and daughter go there.

    Like

    1. Football is the only thing that matters in Texas and they are running the program horribly. All that money, crap results. That’s a fact.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. So horribly run that the sec accepted them. That’s an extra $30 million a year for Texas. I beg to differ that football is everything in Austin. There’s a pretty good baseball and basketball team there as well. Football is a sleeping giant at UT. UT has one of the best AD’s in the land. I’ll bet my cowboy boots that Texas wins a NC within three years. And Pitt won’t sniff another top 15 ranking. I’ll also throw in a bottle of Balcones.

        Like

        1. The only thing Texas football will see is another coaching change and millions lost. They will never be successful in the SEC.

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          1. Come 2030, Texas will have a winning record against every SEC school except Vandy. Texas is positioned for success given its AD, facilities and booster clubs. It doesn’t buy two star rejects from Elon with used Chevy Malibu’s.

            Like

  36. And that dude that just won the Masters. The number ONE ranked golfer in the World. Guess what school he graduated from. I’ll give you a Lone Star guess.

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      1. IMO, there are two teams that are out of place – Texas and Auburn if you are doing a ranking (like the AP, Coaches and CFP).

        But since ESPN’s FPI is a “predictive” ranking, I would say Pitt. That is based solely on recruiting as one of the factors used in building FPI. No matter what recruiting service you use, Pitt’s prior recruiting is no were near the level of the other 9 teams. Maybe ESPN gives extra credit for the spotting and coaching up players like Dennis, Baldonado, Bartholomew. Wayne and other lower rated 3-stars.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. The only one that makes sense is bama since they reload each year. Teams like pitt are constantly rebuilding particularly when you have a new QB and new system. Bamas stability is consistency in approach, a proven and successful one, that allows them to plug and place.

        Pitt still lacks depth in key positions and the offense despite continuity in personnel must learn a new playbook under a new OC who is no QB whisperer like Mister Charmin.

        Bama runs their organization like a Fortune 500 business.

        Texas at least tries. I swear Pitt is controlled by Soviet Nitters conspiring to keep us fans in long food lines for a loaf of stale state bread while being subject to endless propaganda about how the agony of defeat and achievement of mediocrity is good for the soul.

        Like

  38. Yeah, taking a picture of that list might be the smart thing to do for posterity and the answer to trivia questions for all the future Barry McGuire-esc / realists to come.

    Liked by 1 person

  39. Narduzzi has his hands full with this. Have to make sure the kids realize nothing is given and any success the team could have must be earned.

    Likewise, many of us fans are sure to be excited and when that first loss comes – and it will – it will hurt a bit more. One can already imagine folks bringing out the SOP, and “so Pitt-like” when that will inevitably will happen.

    All of that said, its damn fun to be in the conversation at least. Of course, UNC was in that discussion last year and look what happened. So, Im done enjoying that and back to viewing it as a big fat jinx.

    Liked by 4 people

  40. Well the problem with these ratings is that you have to live up to them. Instead of being the underdog you are now the favorite. My opinion has not changed though, Pitt has to play its best in each game to win. otherwise it is Western Michigan. Everyone is still good enough to beat us.

    Liked by 2 people

  41. Hopefully good for early season ticket sales… just bought 4 for the Johnny Majors Classic.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=dike+vs+pitt+1976&source=hp&ei=5cxYYq6lG4_EytMP6ueukA8&oq=dike+vs+pitt+1976&gs_lcp=ChFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocBADMggIIRAWEB0QHjoCCCk6DggAEI8BEOoCEIwDEOUCOggILhDUAhCRAjoLCC4QgAQQxwEQowI6DgguEIAEELEDEMcBEKMCOggIABCABBCxAzoFCC4QgAQ6BQguEJECOgQIABBDOgoILhDHARDRAxADOgUIABCABDoICC4QgAQQsQM6CwguEIAEELEDENQCOgcILhCABBAKOgoIABCABBBGEPkBOgoILhCxAxDUAhAKOggILhCABBDUAjoHCAAQgAQQCjoHCAAQsQMQCjoECAAQCjoGCAAQFhAeOgUIABCGAzoICAAQFhAKEB46BQghEKABOgQIABANOgcIIRAKEKABOgUIIRCrAlCICliCXmD9YmgBcAB4AIABfogBjQ6SAQQ1LjEymAEAoAEBsAEU&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:1f2d9ed4,vid:o_iboRZqTq0,st:0

    Liked by 1 person

  44. Kaymar Mines has entered the Transfer Portal. Feel bad for the young man. Never did find a position.

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    1. Agree – hope he finds a good spot.

      Opens a scholarship for a good portal TE who’s otherwise stuck behind somebody…

      Go Pitt.

      Like

    1. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Pitt has a tendency to finish poorly. See 1-4 record in games. People remember the ends of things more so than the beginnings. That’s human nature.

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  46. 9th, 13th, 15th or unranked… fact is the bar has been raised — and that’s a good thing

    Getting its highest final ranking in decades and having a nucleus returning to expect another double digit win season is something just a few years ago was beyond comprehension — and that’s a good thing

    Imagine this team winning just 9 games this season and we are disappointed— and that’s a good thing

    Imagine Pitt

    Sent from my iPhone

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    Liked by 4 people

      1. I don’t think Pitt will win 6 in basketball. I see Pitt Football making a National Championship run. It’s 1976 all over!

        Liked by 1 person

  49. You as well Izzy and to all…. HAPPY EASTER

    Good post wwb, I would love to call you a genius for your PITT thoughts above Bill but I think you would agree…. it’s NRS

    Of course, it’s only a few who are like a game show contestant with their parting gift, they cannot believe their eyes, with what PITT did last year..

    Liked by 1 person

  50. I think everybody saw and acknowledges what Pitt did last year. Unfortunately, I think those same eyes also saw what Pitt did the 39 years before that. That being said, you can’t have back to back ACC Championships if you don’t have the first one, so that was a very good first step.

    We are all so old here that we can hide our own easter eggs and have a wickedly hard search for them 30 minutes later…..

    Liked by 8 people

  53. PITT FOOTBALL

    Kenny Pickett Won’t be in Vegas for the NFL Draft per PSN article this week.

    Smart move by KP8 – I remember when ND QB Brady Quinn was hyped similarly a few years ago and he was in a room at the NFL Draft’s first round selection event with a camera on him for just about all of the top 20 picks.

    Enjoy the moment with the fans that matter most – mom, dad and fiancé.

    Liked by 2 people

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