The Good, The Bad, The Takeaway
The Good
- Gritty gritty win, Duzz said it best. There's a lot to clean up but winning a game with the country watching and overcoming adversity against a rival is ALWAYS a positive
- Slovis from the gun. It's clear that Slovis is most comfortable taking snaps from the gun. He's better able to read pressure and get the ball out of his hand. Makes sense as Graham Harrell and his Air Raid was the system that Slovis played in at USC
This type of throw tells me he can be really good this season even if he's not Kenny Pickett (but who is?):
Backed up. 3rd down. Need a big play. And he throws a dart to the middle of the field for a 1st down on an eventual FG drive. That's a big time throw.
Here's another absolutely terrific throw that very few QB's in college football can make.
That's a special arm right there.
- Depth. Hammond had "it" tonight which made Izzy's off night survivable. Morgan played like a maniac coming in relief of Alexandre.
-The CB's really didn't play all that poorly. Daniels had some stupid completions that were low percentage plays. Subtracting those out and his statline was really bad.
Part I of Stupidity Rewarded
Part II
Wasn't it really really annoying just watching these? Both REALLY bad decisions that 9 times out of 10 would result in disaster but both ended up working out for WVU.
The 1st led to a touchdown.
The 2nd bailed them out of a terrible situation.
I disagree with people that are saying these were good plays but, hey, results matter so Daniels doesn't get dinged for them since they worked.
The Bad
-Obviously the OL performance wasn't what we hoped for
-One good thing is that they seemed more comfortable operating out of the spread. Switching to an under-center offense with a FB is a big adjustment. I expect this to improve as the season progresses but it wasn't a great showing from a unit with big expectations
-Yeah, the strange punter situation mattered.
His first appearance wasn't a complete disaster as WVU did get pinned at their own goalline.
The good news is this is a COMPLETELY correctable issue as he took about two steps too many when he should have been able to get the ball away pretty easily.
But yes, this can't happen again. If a kick is getting blocked it HAS to be because the other team made a spectacular play. This was just inexperience rearing its head in a bad spot.
-Maybe the most surprising negative this game was the run defense.
A big culprit was Kamara. He had some really good moments but he also was a little bit hesitant at times and definitely started to get gassed towards the end of the game.
You can see his hesitation lead to a few big gains. Kamara needed to fill quicker.
You could argue the 2nd clip wasn't totally his fault but these were all very similar plays.
Again, good news is these are correctable mistakes by a player making his first start and I am positive these issues will be addressed.
The Takeaway
-At risk of sounding cliche, my biggest takeaway is 1-0, beating a rival in a game where they really had to overcome adversity.
-On a per play basis, Pitt was better. I believe if this game were magically played this Thursday with a chance to watch the tape, Pitt wins comfortably.
-It's NOT good to give away points. But it IS good to win games when you've given points away.
I'll just end this with a perfect play to sum up why I choose to be happy about this game:
Hail to Pitt and I absolutely love college football. On to Tennessee week!
The Good
- Gritty gritty win, Duzz said it best. There's a lot to clean up but winning a game with the country watching and overcoming adversity against a rival is ALWAYS a positive
- Slovis from the gun. It's clear that Slovis is most comfortable taking snaps from the gun. He's better able to read pressure and get the ball out of his hand. Makes sense as Graham Harrell and his Air Raid was the system that Slovis played in at USC
This type of throw tells me he can be really good this season even if he's not Kenny Pickett (but who is?):
Backed up. 3rd down. Need a big play. And he throws a dart to the middle of the field for a 1st down on an eventual FG drive. That's a big time throw.
Here's another absolutely terrific throw that very few QB's in college football can make.
That's a special arm right there.
- Depth. Hammond had "it" tonight which made Izzy's off night survivable. Morgan played like a maniac coming in relief of Alexandre.
-The CB's really didn't play all that poorly. Daniels had some stupid completions that were low percentage plays. Subtracting those out and his statline was really bad.
Part I of Stupidity Rewarded
Part II
Wasn't it really really annoying just watching these? Both REALLY bad decisions that 9 times out of 10 would result in disaster but both ended up working out for WVU.
The 1st led to a touchdown.
The 2nd bailed them out of a terrible situation.
I disagree with people that are saying these were good plays but, hey, results matter so Daniels doesn't get dinged for them since they worked.
The Bad
-Obviously the OL performance wasn't what we hoped for
-One good thing is that they seemed more comfortable operating out of the spread. Switching to an under-center offense with a FB is a big adjustment. I expect this to improve as the season progresses but it wasn't a great showing from a unit with big expectations
-Yeah, the strange punter situation mattered.
His first appearance wasn't a complete disaster as WVU did get pinned at their own goalline.
The good news is this is a COMPLETELY correctable issue as he took about two steps too many when he should have been able to get the ball away pretty easily.
But yes, this can't happen again. If a kick is getting blocked it HAS to be because the other team made a spectacular play. This was just inexperience rearing its head in a bad spot.
-Maybe the most surprising negative this game was the run defense.
A big culprit was Kamara. He had some really good moments but he also was a little bit hesitant at times and definitely started to get gassed towards the end of the game.
You can see his hesitation lead to a few big gains. Kamara needed to fill quicker.
You could argue the 2nd clip wasn't totally his fault but these were all very similar plays.
Again, good news is these are correctable mistakes by a player making his first start and I am positive these issues will be addressed.
The Takeaway
-At risk of sounding cliche, my biggest takeaway is 1-0, beating a rival in a game where they really had to overcome adversity.
-On a per play basis, Pitt was better. I believe if this game were magically played this Thursday with a chance to watch the tape, Pitt wins comfortably.
-It's NOT good to give away points. But it IS good to win games when you've given points away.
I'll just end this with a perfect play to sum up why I choose to be happy about this game:
Hail to Pitt and I absolutely love college football. On to Tennessee week!
