Here we go....

Pitt is hosting Louisville transfer receiver Cataurus Hicks for a visit today.

Hicks is from Miami and signed with Louisville in the 2023 recruiting class. He played in two games as a freshman; this past season, he caught 12 passes on 19 targets for 149 yards, and his best game of the season actually came against Pitt when he caught 6 of 6 targets for 63 yards.

Here are a few of his catches from that game:

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Hicks looks like the kind of receiver we've seen this staff target: smaller, quicker, with good route-running. And I think he looks remarkably physical for a guy his size (and not just because Pitt's tackling was particularly poor in that game).

Hicks went into the transfer portal earlier this week, and as far as I can tell, Pitt is his first visit. Given the current timeline, that would seem to bode well for the Panthers' chances.

It’s like destiny for them. The easiest possible route to get to the semifinals and now Notre Dame has broken out with a flu. Peds now favored. Just unreal.

As someone who has followed the Pittsburgh Steelers for 55 years and counting, I'm asking: can you identify one player on this team who you'd focus on keeping, to build a team around? I can't. Highsmith, maybe? The center (kid from WVU), maybe?

The case against Mike Tomlin. Time to go.

*Eight years without coming close to a playoff win

*Six straight playoff losses in which his teams have been cumulatively outscored in the first quarter, 73-0.

*The playoff-win drought of eight years is the Steelers’ longest since a streak that began in the 1960s (they actually didn’t win a single playoff game, ever, until 1972).

*The average margin of defeat in their six-game playoff losing streak is more than two touchdowns.

*They have also missed the playoffs nearly 40 percent of the time in those eight years — three out of eight — and have been disregarded as double-digit underdogs in each of their past three

*They have won three playoff games in the past 14 years, or half as many as the Houston Texans in that time frame.

* Tomlin owns the NFL record for most consecutive playoff games surrendering 40 points or more (three, from 2017-21)

*The division title drought of four years is the Steelers’ longest since a streak that began in the late 1980s.
* In five of the past seven years, the Steelers have lost at least three games in December.

*The Steelers ended this season on a five-game losing streak in which they were outscored 137-73.

*The Steelers have not beaten an upper-echelon quarterback in a playoff game in 15 years.

*“They weren’t ready to play,” said ex-NFL GM Doug Whaley on the WPXI postgame show, “and that falls squarely on the coaching staff and Mike T.”

*Game analyst Kirk Herbstreit was even more critical after the Steelers fell behind 21-0.
“I don’t see any fight, any pushback,” Herbstreit said. “Where the hell is the fight? This is the Pittsburgh Steelers. There’s nothing. They’re just going through the motions.”

**** man. I hate making these threads but I’m so ****ing irate right now

Capel has fixed NOTHING .

The same issues that we identified week one are even WORSE now.

And there’s been zero sign he can fix it.

Kelsey draws up these perfect plays for his guys. Knows when to use timeouts. Always had an answer

Capel just be rolling the ball out and refusing to make adjustments

The team continues these stupid drives into the teeth

The team continues to have massive defensive lapses

The team continues to have ludicrous shot selection

The team continues TO GET MURDERED ON THE GLASS

And he never subs so they’re exhausted at the end!

Lots of threads with lots of names, but here's the latest tally on the commitments Pitt landed today.

Blaine Spires - Defensive end, Utah State
- Youngstown native and former Bowling Green transfer was expected to have a big year at Utah State before he got hurt

Rashan Murray - Cornerback, Cal (Pa.)
- City League standout and D2 All-American had four interceptions at Cal this year

Andy Jean - Wide receiver, Florida
- Former four-star prospect from Miami who has caught six passes for 97 yards in five games at Florida

Joey Zelinsky - Defensive end, Eastern Michigan
- A high school teammate of Gavin Bartholomew, Zelinsky had 67 tackles, 11.5 TFLs, and 3.5 sacks the past two seasons

Jayden Bonsu - Safety, Ohio State
- Four-star safety in the 2023 recruiting class who didn't see the field at Ohio State but looks like a good fit at boundary safety at 6'2" 207

Keith Gouveia - Offensive guard, Richmond
- Interior offensive lineman who started 24 games at left guard over the last three seasons

According to Evan Miya, Pitt has two of the best five-man lineups in the country in terms of efficiency margin:

Lowe/Leggett/Dunn/Austin/Corhen has the fourth-highest efficiency margin in the country. Lowe/Leggett/Dunn/Guillermo/Corhen is 13th.

Auburn is the only other team with two five-man lineups in the top 15 nationally in efficiency margin.

Obviously, there are some caveats with two lineups that include Dunn, since he missed a bunch of games. Both both of those lineups played 90+ possessions on each end of the court, so it's not entirely a small sample size. At the same time, most of those possessions came against mid or low-major opponents, so that's worth considering, too.

Overall, I think it speaks (somewhat) to the value Dunn brings and how Pitt is at its best with him on the court (although I know that most people's concerns are not about the guards).

This probably doesn’t need it’s own thread but…

Has there been a more overhyped quarterback in recent memory? I mean he gets talked about like he’s a Heisman finalist and one of the next prodigous NFL quarterbacks. He is big and he can throw a ball far. Cool. I don’t recall him ever looking elite for a half, let alone an entire game. He routinely misses easy throws and goes like 12/20 for 150 yards.

That throw to Notre Dame at the end of the game though…beautiful. Maybe my favorite pass of the year 😉 Thank you for saving us from having to watch Penn State play in a national championship with that one Drew!

Very good WR from Tennessee state that could provide instant help at the WR position for PITT. He had over 1000 yards and was a three star that was overlooked in 2020. We need players that fit the puzzle for PITT. I believe he has one year left.

85-61 win at Syracuse but Smith only had 10 points. Now 6-1 with wins against Clemson, UNC and Pitt, they have established themselves as the second best team in the league. After losing by 11 at home against Duke, they have won 6 in a row all by double digits except for the game Saturday. Louisville won at FSU 92-76 and 70-50 at UVA. They are 4-0 on the road in conference. Pretty impressive.

The rest of their schedule only has 2 potential challenging games, at SMU and Pitt at home. They could go 17-3 or better in conference. They are heading towards a top 5 seed.

Clemson also heading to 6-1 winning at Ga Tech. We had better get back on track tomorrow night.

A reporter asked Pickens if he’s optimistic going forward? He said…Nah. Funny as hell. He sees the writing on the wall with this shitshow.

Told my wife once the fires started before the playoffs who is the team out there. Just like patriots on 911 and saints when dam broke. N.F.L. is a disney script gentlemen. Place bets wisely.

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Found this interesting, some good stats in here.