CFP rankings of course

1. Oregon
2. UGa
3. OSU
4. BYU
5. Miami
6. Indiana
7. Tennessee
8. Texas
9. Alabama
10. Penn State
11. SMU
12. Boise
13. Notre Dame
14. Texas A&M
15. LSU
16. Mississippi
17. Missouri
18. Pitt
19. Iowa State
20. Army
21. Washington State
22. Clemson
23. Kansas State
24. Colorado
25. Vanderbilt

** And so it begins … another season of what many of us love so much …Pitt Basketball!

** For most of us, I’m sure a season with much higher expectations is a most welcome return. But there are downsides to this too.

** When expectations are lower, it seems it’s easier to enjoy anything good we encounter in the early going, while simply dismissing the not so good as merely meeting expectations.

** That said, I suppose we fans should be nothing short of pleased with a 40 point opening win. And make no mistake, there was plenty that was pleasing.

** But when expectations are higher, this also invites greater scrutiny trying to decipher the differences between the pretty good of where we are and the really good of where we think we can be.

** So let’s start with some of that really good. Jaland Lowe and Ish Leggett were really, really good.

** It’s a little difficult to find something in either’s game this day that wasn’t at a high level.

** Jaland’s finishes sometimes defy description with how pretty and effortless he makes them look. Additionally, he commands the ball on the offensive end with a tremendous understanding of what he wants to do with it.

** Ish’s finishes are often the complete opposite, filled with strength and toughness. This also won’t be the first time Ish gets double digit rebounds, and he might be the odds on favorite to lead his team in the category.

** Both really got after it on the defensive end too, which really sets the tone for the entire team.

** These two are primed for combo season at the highest level we’ve seen from a pair of Pitt guards in a long, long time.

** Maybe Julius and Brandon? How about Jason and Sean? Maybe even better than both. We will know in time, but at the moment, it’s hard not to dream, and such thoughts aren’t out of the question.

** Behind our first pair would appear to be a really good second pair too. I was a little worried after Damian’s quiet first half, but he found his stride in the second half. He a quality guard, and I suspect there will be plenty of moments and matchups that will call for Mr. Dunn to back down a weaker guard for an easy 5 footer in the lane.

** Beebah has plenty of game as well. What we can tell about Mr. Cummings is that he knows how to score. But he also showed a little later in the game that he can be a bit loose with the handle when he tries to do a bit too much. For example, it’s going to take some time for him to learn that it’s a little harder to split screens with the dribble like he could in high school.

** The key for both is to find how they best compliment Jaland and Ish. This seemed to be a bit of an issue in the first half until it all came together in the second 20.

** Knowing that Amsal joins the fray soon enough, and he slates as a guard, this is a very deep and talented team at the 1-2-3 spots.

** Having said all of this, it’s probably fair to suggest that the difference between the pretty good and really good this year will be with how we progress at the 4 and 5 spots.

** We all know we have plenty of length and that will serve us well at times. Still, I left this contest a bit discouraged with how we defended down low. Both Cam and GDiaz were muscled in the paint, and allowed more baskets one on one than you’d like to see against a team like Radford.

** Granted, we never helped or doubled in the paint, and I’m sure that will be part of the defensive game plan at times later in the season.

** Both Cam and GDiaz have some needed offensive skill that was sorely lacking last year. This will certainly help, but both need to be more judicious on when to use it. Early on, it looked to me that Cam was looking to shoot the ball a little more than might be healthy for the greater good. And GDiaz really did not look good during his few attempts to put the ball on the floor and drive. There may be times for these actions, but the overall team’s offensive chemistry will depend on both filling their respective roles a bit better.

** Zach smartly didn’t force his offense, but we’ve learned to expect more on the defensive end than we got today. This was especially true on the defensive glass where he simply needs to claim more than one carom. The same can be offered to Cam and even Jorge to an extent.

** Clearing the defensive glass seemed like something that needs to be improved for the whole team. It even seemed like there were moments when Radford wanted it a little more.

** Despite overall concerns about interior defense, the defensive pressure from the guards was enough to hold Radford to 31% shooting for the game. And they hit about a half dozen of really tough, well defended shots.

** So I am I being a little too tough on our Panthers after a 40 point season opening win? Perhaps. But for this campaign with higher expectations, I hope our Panthers will concentrate on what it takes to be a really good team instead of a pretty good team.

** Really good teams leave no doubt. To me Capel’s crew learned in the opener tonight that there are still areas that need a little work to remove any doubt.

Pitt WR coach JJ Laster said the team had a "player-only meeting" on Sunday following Saturday's loss to SMU.

We'll see what comes of it - if anything - but I know everybody always talks about player-only meetings, so there's that.

Dominant again tonight. Looking like a $100 million + defense. Minkah and Watt making huge plays!

is khaleal sterling still committed yo Pitt.

I mean sure, a 7-1 start is more than anybody could have hoped for. But I am now very concerned about the offense, to the point where Holstein might seriously need to be benched. He has been that bad. I also blame Bell because I don't think his playcalling lately has given Eli the best opportunities to use his skills.

Then there's the defense which let's be honest, was embarrassing. The tackling or lack thereof was glaring, also imo the gameplan was terrible.

If we lost a close game or something or we played well but it didn't go our way, I'd feel a lot different.

But the SMU game was terrible on all levels.

Sorry just had to vent a little. Not sure how this season now will end up but us losing like 3 of 4 or something to finish the season would devastate me.

Are conference tournaments not a thing in volleyball? Why? That would help grow the game even further I'd think.

Lower Level as I hate heights. Driving up from North Carolina.

The first College Football Playoff ranking is out, and Pitt made the cut. On today's Morning Pitt, we're talking about the Panthers' place in the CFP. Plus: What are the biggest issues Pitt's offense needs to address in order to improve?

Could you get @RoadToNumber10 to do an offensive analysis of the past 3 or so games. I am curious about:
1) Our running game. Seems like straight ahead or simple pitches without creativity or trying to get to the edges with options to pitch.

2) Eli is only running when he is pushed up in the pocket and not getting anywhere instead of taking off. Did other teams take away running lanes or are they spying him?

3) Eli has been very inaccurate on the rare instances going down the field over the middle. Is it footwork?

4) Where are the OL breakdowns on pass protection happening the most?

The five-star DE will be at Pitt soon:

Some of these thoughts have already been expressed….

*The oddsmakers are once again correct. I guess we know why Pitt was 7.5 underdog.

*The turnout by Pitt fans for the game was fantastic. Kudos for showing up at a road game that’s not in driving distance. Too bad Pitt didn’t show up as well. However….

*SMU is a much better team period. Their only loss is to playoff contender, BYU. In fact, I think they’re just as good as Miami.

*SMU is a faster team than Pitt. Texas is as deep as Florida for football talent. A good reason to keep looking in Texas for recruits.

*I’m a little concerned about the play calling. It’s almost becoming predictable? Reid up the middle. Pass to Reid. Reid to the outside. I know he’s the best playmaker on the team, but it’s clear that defenses are keying in him. I don’t know what the solution is at this point with Holstein struggling. Perhaps a little more methodical on the play calling until Holstein is more comfortable?

*I don’t understand the lack of use of Daniel Carter. We all know that he’s not a threat to go all the way on every carry, but he can pick you up a few yards at a time and sometimes can break off longer gains. He seems to be a good runner between the tackles unlike Reid.

*The defense did a 180 from last week against Syracuse. No turnovers again by the defense. The tackling was poor. No pressure up front. Even when they got pressure on the QB, they weren’t fast enough to close in on him.

*As for Holstein, I know the OL is not playing well, but he’s not the QB we’ve seen the first 5 weeks of the season. I’m of the opinion that Holstein should start next week, but have a short leash. He needs more work on his mechanics.

*If we lose to Virginia next week, the season could spiral out of control with Clemson and Louisville on deck and BC on the road is not a bad team either. It’s a must win.

** And so it begins … another season of what many of us love so much …Pitt Basketball!

** For most of us, I’m sure a season with much higher expectations is a most welcome return. But there are downsides to this too.

** When expectations are lower, it seems it’s easier to enjoy anything good we encounter in the early going, while simply dismissing the not so good as merely meeting expectations.

** That said, I suppose we fans should be nothing short of pleased with a 40 point opening win. And make no mistake, there was plenty that was pleasing.

** But when expectations are higher, this also invites greater scrutiny trying to decipher the differences between the pretty good of where we are and the really good of where we think we can be.

** So let’s start with some of that really good. Jaland Lowe and Ish Leggett were really, really good.

** It’s a little difficult to find something in either’s game this day that wasn’t at a high level.

** Jaland’s finishes sometimes defy description with how pretty and effortless he makes them look. Additionally, he commands the ball on the offensive end with a tremendous understanding of what he wants to do with it.

** Ish’s finishes are often the complete opposite, filled with strength and toughness. This also won’t be the first time Ish gets double digit rebounds, and he might be the odds on favorite to lead his team in the category.

** Both really got after it on the defensive end too, which really sets the tone for the entire team.

** These two are primed for combo season at the highest level we’ve seen from a pair of Pitt guards in a long, long time.

** Maybe Julius and Brandon? How about Jason and Sean? Maybe even better than both. We will know in time, but at the moment, it’s hard not to dream, and such thoughts aren’t out of the question.

** Behind our first pair would appear to be a really good second pair too. I was a little worried after Damian’s quiet first half, but he found his stride in the second half. He a quality guard, and I suspect there will be plenty of moments and matchups that will call for Mr. Dunn to back down a weaker guard for an easy 5 footer in the lane.

** Beebah has plenty of game as well. What we can tell about Mr. Cummings is that he knows how to score. But he also showed a little later in the game that he can be a bit loose with the handle when he tries to do a bit too much. For example, it’s going to take some time for him to learn that it’s a little harder to split screens with the dribble like he could in high school.

** The key for both is to find how they best compliment Jaland and Ish. This seemed to be a bit of an issue in the first half until it all came together in the second 20.

** Knowing that Amsal joins the fray soon enough, and he slates as a guard, this is a very deep and talented team at the 1-2-3 spots.

** Having said all of this, it’s probably fair to suggest that the difference between the pretty good and really good this year will be with how we progress at the 4 and 5 spots.

** We all know we have plenty of length and that will serve us well at times. Still, I left this contest a bit discouraged with how we defended down low. Both Cam and GDiaz were muscled in the paint, and allowed more baskets one on one than you’d like to see against a team like Radford.

** Granted, we never helped or doubled in the paint, and I’m sure that will be part of the defensive game plan at times later in the season.

** Both Cam and GDiaz have some needed offensive skill that was sorely lacking last year. This will certainly help, but both need to be more judicious on when to use it. Early on, it looked to me that Cam was looking to shoot the ball a little more than might be healthy for the greater good. And GDiaz really did not look good during his few attempts to put the ball on the floor and drive. There may be times for these actions, but the overall team’s offensive chemistry will depend on both filling their respective roles a bit better.

** Zach smartly didn’t force his offense, but we’ve learned to expect more on the defensive end than we got today. This was especially true on the defensive glass where he simply needs to claim more than one carom. The same can be offered to Cam and even Jorge to an extent.

** Clearing the defensive glass seemed like something that needs to be improved for the whole team. It even seemed like there were moments when Radford wanted it a little more.

** Despite overall concerns about interior defense, the defensive pressure from the guards was enough to hold Radford to 31% shooting for the game. And they hit about a half dozen of really tough, well defended shots.

** So I am I being a little too tough on our Panthers after a 40 point season opening win? Perhaps. But for this campaign with higher expectations, I hope our Panthers will concentrate on what it takes to be a really good team instead of a pretty good team.

** Really good teams leave no doubt. To me Capel’s crew learned in the opener tonight that there are still areas that need a little work to remove any doubt.

on ESPN

looking forward to home opener against G Town on 8/22. how are supposed to look this year?

We are #18. Pretty good with the loss to SMU. No complaints H2P

2025 guard Chance Mallory just decommitted from UVA earlier this week. Two sources told me this evening that they expect Pitt to take a hard look at Mallory. I have also talked with Mallory since he reopened his recruitment and he is in no hurry. He is going to take his time to figure everything out. Kevin Willard from Maryland visited with him today

Whimper. .209 hitter. Somebody make it stop.

UGH. That is all I can say. I didn't start until I got home on DVR when the game was already at half time but my texts betrayed how bad we were playing. Here are some thoughts.

• I'm really happy that our players are mentally tougher than our fans. Some of the posts on here are embarrassing. Yes, we probably were not as good as most of us thought we were.
• It's hard for me to pin any of this on the coaches. I don't see Narduzzi as someone that takes any team lightly. It was just a bad night where everything went wrong.
• Holstein isn't right. Whether it's the shoddy o line play or not wanting to have another game like the Cal debacle, he's not hitting open receivers and is bailing from a clean pocket when he has one. 3 fumbles also aren't going to do it.
• I'm not about to discard the Bell offense because we see guys open on replay. However, we do not have a good run blocking line and played a stout run defense so why we continue to try and run for it on 3rd and 2 is beyond me.
• We need to get some linemen in the portal. We aren't going to run any offense with what we have this year but hopefully we see some improvement.
• Lost in all of this was a pretty good Kenny Johnson game. Season high 8 catches and his first TD since YSU.
• Congrats to Malachi Thomas on first college action and TD.
• I have to say, I really like Jake Overman. Shame he's a senior.
• That was the worst tackling I've seen from a Pitt team since I don't know when. I do think there were a few standouts even if our defense mostly sucked. Louis, Lovelace, McMillon (glad he's ok), Lynum, Bass, Edwards, Matlack, and Marcelin all flashed.
• If I had to guess where we end up, I'm saying 9-3. I think we will handle UVA and BC and likely lose to Clemson and L'ville. But I also think 10 wins is still possible either through a bowl game or a big time performance in either of the two potential losses. If I told you before the year that we might win 10 you'd have thought i was drunk. Luckily, no matter how bad we lost that game, it only counts as one loss.
• BONUS - PSU really is always the sum is lesser than the parts. OSU tried to give that game away. They were up 10-0 after the pick 6 and never scored an offensive TD. Smith stopped running on what would have been a walk in TD in the 4th. Warren is an incredible player and you somehow only have him touch the ball 7 times. On the final drive, OSU ran a read option twice and both times no one took the QB. Then you have Franklin jawing with a fan calling him out about being a man a week after hiding behind a curtain refusing to answer questions about yet ANOTHER rape under his watch.