Kenny or Eli. Kenny had one helluva year in 2022 but I think Eli is the best QB we have had since Dan Marino. 1) Eli is a big time leader refuses to lose 2) Eli has a quick release faster than Kenny. 3) Eli has the wheels just as Kenny had . What do u guys think?

Per Draftkings. Good bet.

Most of you probably are too young to remember Johan Neeskens, one of the MF players who made Holland’s “Clockwork Orange” the best soccer team in the world throughout the 1970s.

I believe the Dutch only lost three international matches in six years during that period. Unfortunately, two were World Cup finals. More unfortunately, the Dutch had to play the 1974 final against Germany in Munich (lost 2-1) and the 1978 final in Buenos Aires against Argentina (lost in extra time).

While Johan Cruyff was the indisputable star of the Clockwork Orange and the player I most admired, Neeskens was my favorite player. He was a born scorer who played primarily as a central midfielder for the good of the team.

In the three years Cruyff and Neeskens played together at Ajax, the won three European Cups.
A year after Cruyff left Ajax for Barcelona (after famously refusing a transfer to Real Madrid because he said he would not play for “Franco’s team;” that is Spanish dictator Generalissimo Franco and not Franco Harris), Neeskens joined him as a Blaugrana player. The team didn’t have great success while they were there as the supporting cast was not very good, but Neeskens was superb. I used to drive from Santa Monica down to Tijuana one or two weekends a month to watch Barca back then because all of their matches were shown live on Mexican TV.

I read today that Neeskens was listed as #64 on FIFA’s list of the all time best 100 players in the world (published in 2017). He certainly would be on the list of my 25 favorite players. If there is a soccer pitch in Heaven, you can bet he is already on it with Cruyff, Maradona, Pele, Best and the other greats.

Man is this a bad look for the sport




Bama kid started for 2 years before he’s been dealing with injury this year, the Iowa RB ran for 800+ last year, and the Iowa WR a former OSU transfer

Yea us!

8. Pittsburgh Panthers (5-0)​

Last week's ranking: 12th

SP+ and FPI rankings: 32nd and 32nd

SP+ strength of schedule to date: 81st

Odds of reaching 12-0, per SP+: 0.9%

What the Panthers did in Week 6: def. North Carolina 34-24. With the game tied at 24-24 heading into the fourth quarter, Pitt did what Pitt does: take control late. A field goal and a seven-minute touchdown drive allowed the Panthers to pull away.
Midseason MVP: QB Eli Holstein. Pitt has played three SP+ top-50 opponents -- granted, they were all between 37th and 50th -- and has won all three games by a combined 15 points. That doesn't automatically scream "ELITE!", nor does Holstein's overall stat line. But while he's only 56th in Total QBR, he has been virtually perfect in the fourth quarter: 22-for-29 for 362 yards and two touchdowns, plus 87 non-sack rushing yards and another score. The Panthers have already won three tight games, and SP+ projects all of their last seven games within 8.5 points. The close-game drama has just begun, but that's just more opportunities for Holstein to create his legend, right?

Most important player for remaining unbeaten: CB Ryland Gandy. Pitt's defense has already played a couple of top-30 offenses (Cincinnati and West Virginia), but the fact that the Panthers rank 75th in points allowed per drive is still a major concern. Their run defense is strong, but they're suffering a lot of breakdowns on pass plays; they blitz all the time but rank just 58th in sack rate, and the secondary has suffered quite a few big gashes. The risk-reward ratio is off, and it's putting too much pressure on Gandy and the back line. Gandy had allowed four completions of 20-plus yards heading into Saturday's game, and there are plenty of good offenses (Clemson, Louisville, among others) still to come on the schedule.

Next test: Week 7 vs. California

As clear of a targeting on Miami as you'd ever see. Textbook definition of it. No call on the field, no booth overturn. Cal punts, Miami wins. I said to myself there is no way they are going to overturn this. The ACC has to protect its top teams. We may actually benefit from this. These officials are ACC employees. They cannot make a bad call that potentially costs the league money. They have to be a thousand percent sure if they make a call not in the favor of the top teams. This is why I dont think refs should be employees of the league. They cannot be unbiased. They are human.

Pat Forde, who is no fan of the ACC and even lesser of a fan of Narduzzi, has us in the field of 12. His predictions each week are usually pretty of the cuff, but it is nice to be included in the discussion

We dont yet know when the event will take place, but Acrisure is one of 4 NFL stadiums to get picked by FEMA to serve as a crisis response center.

Bill Connelly projects Miami, Clemson and Pitt in for the College Football Playoff.

B10: 4
ACC: 3
SEC: 3
B12: 1
G5: 1

So , actually listened on the radio the first half after golfing and doing some running around .
Rob King did a terrific job
Wolfley needs to move back to the sidelines - with max starx doing color since he’s actually coherent .

Will they show a replay of the UNC Pitt game this week?

I’ve been watching cfb for more decades than I care to admit. I go back to a QB at Cal by the name of Joe Roth.
If you want to learn about a guy who did everything he could while on this earth with passion, look up “Joe Roth Cal”.
I have never taken Cal lightly and I’m not about to start.
I remember 1991 well.
We went into South Bend 5-0 and came out of that game with our tail tucked between our legs.
We were fools gold in ‘91 and went 1-5 after a 5-0 start.
Take this Cal team seriously. I’ve watched them and they play hard on every down.

Pitt has been doing a lot of things well this season, and the Panthers have been especially effective in the red zone in 2024.

According to the NCAA, Pitt’s red zone offense is ranked No. 31 nationally, while the Panthers’ defense inside the 20 ranks No. 25.

But a closer look at the stats shows that Pitt is even better at getting touchdowns and stops inside the red zone.

But I find an interesting thing that likely has been keeping our overall TV viewership down. Look, let's be honest, Penn State has a huge fanbase and huge reach. And alot of casual Western PA football fans just default to them when they are on, and us when we are on. Also, while many don't or won't admit, there is a faction of Nitter fans that watch us hoping for us to lose, like we do them.

Every Pitt game this year aside from the off week Pitt and Penn State has played at the same time. Every week. That is not helping our TV ratings.

Football still being worth following into mid-October. Saying that, I'm not so sure this team is going to fare well against Cal? They went to Auburn and beat them up physically and they kind of got screwed by the ACC refs against Miami.

I hope Pitt proves me wrong and wins this one at home.

I mean we are 5-0 and now nationality ranked and that's all he got for us? The damn Pinstripe Bowl?

Give me a break.

Empty seats in every stadium. Surprised
NC State looked full, then came the empty end zone shot.
Pitt draws as well as most.
Need everyone to wear yellow shirts at home…wont look so bad.
Made mention of empty seats in Chapel Hill.

How sweet it is! All in one Saturday we exorcise the Keenan Stadium curse, we go 5-0, and there is chaos in what was the Top 10:

1. When Eli threw his pick six in the first half, on a terrible read and throw, I said to myself " Here we go again. It's Chapel Hill" but credit to Holstein who seems to shake off adversity like it was lint on his shoulder. All he did was move on to the next play. Having a short memory when your a QB is a good thing.

2. I always have one my Pitt buddies on a text string during a Pitt game and after one of the failed 4th down plays by UNC (the long 15 play drive) I texted him "Why not take the points?". I listened to coach Brown’s post game pc and he said they didnt feel like they could stop us and went for it. Well they went for it 6 times made two and had they kicked two fgs, they might have had a chance at the end.

3. Good to have Sean Fitzimmons back and he clearly made his presence felt. While the D line wasn’t great at rushing the passer they did have their moments and on a hot day they held up when they needed to which is all you needed for the win. They will need to get better. Brewu on one replay just pancaked his man on the way to the QB. Listen there is talent there, young talent.

4. I have to watch the game again but it sure looked like we rushed 4 more than usual and played a softer zone. Outlet dump offs hurt us but it felt like we played zone to ensure that everyone had eyes on the backfield to stop their running game. I found myself multiple times saying “Why aren’t we blitzing?” I could be wrong.

5. A pet peeve and this is the only criticism I’ll give Kade Bell. Late in the game your on a time consuming drive and your in Sauls range why are you even putting the ball up twice, the second time being an almost disastrous late throw over the middle by Holstein that could have been easily picked off.

6. Reid is a major player for us. A unique back in space but on third and short how about giving Carter the ball some? Kudos to the OL yesterday against decent pass rush. They gave Holstein a clean pocket. Carter can push the pile Reid not so much.

7. Big Ten and SEC came up with a good one. It was reported that they proposed 4 automatic bids for each conf in the playoffs. This is where we are. There is so much money involved that each league is acting like mega billion $ corporation. Becausee nothing says fair playoffs more than ignoring the actual results on the field. I mean in one day Bama, Tenn, USC, Michigan all lost. For Michigan and USC it’s their second losses. Bama got skunked by Vandy, a team who lost to Georgia State. I mean I guess this is what they leagues are trying to protect. Can you cue up Paul Finebaum “How can we have a playoff without Alabama?” Monologue?

8. I got up at 2:20 AM to get some water and I checked my phone for the Miami game and the damn game was still going on? I put on the last 32 seconds. Whaaaat? I assumed maybe a weather delay or something. Nope just a long long game and as I I read about the game I realized that Miami was down 35-10 at one point. Holy crap? Like last week against VT, Miami’s D isn’t stopping anybody . Interesting. Miami is living on the edge. Maybe they are a little bit of a paper tiger.

9. And we get Cal next week. Which version will we get? The one where they cant recover from a heartbreaking loss or the one where they are desperate to salvage their season? Their QB got hurt though he came back for the last series. Interesting game at Acrisure next week.

10. The linebackers continue to be the best part of this defense. Especialllly covering and in space. Louis, Biles are elite athletes and their quickness and ability to close in space are covering up for a lot of mistakes. The one issue with both is if big bodies get their hands on them, because of their size, it does pose a problem. That’s why having linemen that can engage multiple blockers and avoid those blockers getting to second level is critical.

11. Ugh I love Duzz but my goodness someone remind him about his taking timeouts. Late in the game he took a timeout when he could have waited for the clock to wind down to kill some time. Sometimes he gets so excited that he rushes to the ref without thinking.

12. So does a two loss Michigan team drop from 11 to what 12 or 13? Bama will still be top 5, how about Tenn? I mean it’s why these early season rankings mean squat.

13. With Hammond back and Carter, it would be wise for Bell to distribute some of the carries more. Watching Reid get up limping is not a sight I want to see. It’s also possible that he takes out a TE and slots Reid with either of the other RB’s in the backfield. We have a ton of playmakers everywhere.

14. Speaking of playmakers. I know he’s only had 2 catches but have we ever seen Dae Dae drop a pass? His third down catch in a small window late in the game was huge and he got clocked. A Clutch clutch play.

15. Last thing I’ll say is that this was one of the cleanest reffed game I can remember in UNC. In years past, calls and no calls tended to kill us. I can’t recall during the game any blatant issues. The scoop and score that was called back was the correct call. It’s nice that the players decided the game.


5-0. Two games in a row at home. An offense that can score from anywhere quickly. A defense that I think is getting slowly better but that doesn’t need to be great or dominating to compliment the offense. Good times.


Hail to Pitt,

Pitt82

Another week, another win for the Pittsburgh Panthers, who continued their undefeated start to the season with a road triumph against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Panthers' troll after the game took aim at the two school's respective iconic architecture, posting a graphic displaying Pitt's 42-story Cathedral of Learning skyscraper toppling North Carolina's Old Well on a chess board.


WHO'S IN; WHO'S OUT
Pittsburgh won at North Carolina to start 5-0 for the first time since 1991 and enters the rankings at No. 22 for its first appearance in two years.

College Football Power Rankings: How did Week 6 chaos affect the top 25?​

After many surprising upsets this past weekend, five new programs join our top-25 list this week. Army takes the No. 25 spot after its best start in 28 years, alongside SMU, Pitt, Texas A&M and Illinois.

No. 19 Pittsburgh Panthers​

Previous ranking: NR

The Panthers are 5-0 for the first time since 1991, and redshirt freshman QB Eli Holstein became the first Pitt QB to win his first five starts since Dan Marino. So, things are great in the Steel City, right? Well, no one's going to complain -- other than coach Pat Narduzzi -- but Pitt could stand to get a bit more success in the ground game.

In its past two contests vs. Power 4 foes, Pitt is averaging just 3.2 yards per designed run, largely due to a lack of push from the O-line. -- Hale

I am 45 years old and have been a Pitt fan for 23 years. They are 5-0 for the first time since I was 12. Great win...thoughts:

• I'll say it again. 5-0. Narduzzi, despite a 3-9 record last year, is now 70-50 and 44-31 in the ACC. He's not perfect but he's been a great hire. Changed the way we did things and is reaping the benefits.
• Eli is the man. Over 1,500 yards passing in 5 games. We had a shade under 2,600 last year in 12 games. I don't think enough attention is being paid to how seamlessly he bounced back after that pick 6.
• This is a game I feel like Pitt historically loses. Minimum 10 point swing on the pick 6. (Correctly) overturned scoop and score. 17 points right there but they never laid down.
• I realize Hammond just came back but 4 carries is not enough, especially when we are salting away the game. I didn't love those Reid runs at the end knowing he was playing hurt. But...
• ...he had over 200 all purpose yards. Man is he fun to watch.
• Mump had an incredible game. His 427 yards receiving is only about 150 yards short of his total last year.
• Lee and Poppy also had great games. Now 6 TDs between them.
• With how close this game was, UNC did us a favor throwing the ball 45 times and running only 35. Even though we stopped Hampton at the end, it was clear he was their best chance.
• Defense - McMillon, Kyle Louis, Biles, and McIntyre all had great games. I also thought Fitzsimmons was a force. My only nit is our continued inability to turn pressures into sacks. We only had one on the day it was Louis's game sealing one.
• Did anyone think Sauls was missing at the end? He's 9 for 9...or exactly 2 less than last year already.
• Junko was fantastic. 50 yards a punt including a booming 59 yarder.
• I wish we would just run straight on punt returns. We had more penalty yardages on returns than actual return yards.
• I have no idea if Cal is good but we have to take care of business and get to 6-0 next week. We are now about to be ranked and I would say a good chance at being projected into the playoff is we beat Cal. If I had to project this team, I would say at worst we should finish 9-3 but I think we will be in each game.
• Great game lair men and women. Looking forward to repenting and a win next week.