8-3 sure feels....
- Thread starter thebadby2
- Start date
IMO, while the teams are basically the same, given the home away, this years schedule is a bit more challenging than last years, I posred that before last year.
This kind of coaching would have had at least the same results last year as this year.
This kind of coaching would have had at least the same results last year as this year.
Don't you mean, "this year, as last year" ? rather than the other way round?
Narduzzi's comment, "we need we would win the game, just not by how much" is so different to the Cypher of yesteryear.
Narduzzi's comment, "we need we would win the game, just not by how much" is so different to the Cypher of yesteryear.
According to Sagarin, the schedule to date is the 25th toughest in the nation. Pitt played 2 teams fighting for a playoff birth. Your statement that this is "not a great schedule" isn't accurate.
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This should be the minimal expectation .
With remotely competent defense we should have won 8 the past couple of years, too.
With remotely competent defense we should have won 8 the past couple of years, too.
OK, you're right-the schedule itself is "tougher" because we played, and lost
to, 3 top 10-12 teams. Two of those teams, despite the delusions of some posters, manhandled us badly. Our conference schedule is the weakest in the P5. We have 8 wins, but no signature win over a strong opponent . How's that?
It feels fantastic to me, because we have a new HC and it's his first HC position (I believe). I would not expect such a strong performance from a new coaching team playing with others' recruits.
We have lost to good teams, and beaten the ones we should have. With the last 3 head coaches, we would have lost to VT, Duke, Cuse, and LOU...maybe more.
So I am really pleased. I actually don't expect us to "Pitt" now like I did during games 1-5.
We have lost to good teams, and beaten the ones we should have. With the last 3 head coaches, we would have lost to VT, Duke, Cuse, and LOU...maybe more.
So I am really pleased. I actually don't expect us to "Pitt" now like I did during games 1-5.
Honestly you could look at almost any team's schedule this season and make the argument it is pretty weak. Compared to many team's schedules Pitt played a pretty damn good one this season. Not the SEC West, but I'd say much tougher than playing in the SEC East. On top of that, Iowa AND Notre Dame on the non-conference slate is probably much tougher than what most other teams can claim.
This is the key to me. With Chryst, I have no doubt we lose at least 3 of those 4 games and win no more than we have. The season would be another disaster.
so how much of this is HCPN, and how much is the administration coming up with the financial commitment to allow Narduzzi to surround himself with good assistants? It's really a rhetorical question because I think the 2 are co-dependent to produce the team we have this year. "I'm so f'ing proud of these guys" - admin and coaching staff - for planning for success for a change, instead of what we've suffered through for how many years - planning for mediocrity.
Well, given how Paul Chryst took half of his coaching staff with him to Wisconsin (and apparently attempted to bring board favorite Matt House also), I would say it goes to Narduzzi.
And aside (potentially) from another board favorite in Cheney, I don't think too many were really lured away from their previous jobs with above market pay.
Of course, getting ACC television revenue helps also.
The coaching staff has made a difference. I truly believe with last year's staff, Pitt was on its way to another 6-6 season. Narduzzi and his staff has this team winning the close games and that will help move this team forward. It was unfortunate that Conner missed the season as Pitt could have had some more impressive wins. You figure the Iowa game was there for the taking and they could have played ND and UNC closer if some bounces went there way. But there is still work to be done and I expect a win this week followed by a bowl win and you get to double digits.
Narduzzi has made all the difference IMO. As several posters mentioned. We won the games we were supposed to win and even a couple where we were slight dogs per the Vegas line, which is an automatic upgrade over the past regime. We are finding ways to win instead of ways to lose. We are playing hard and with enthusiasm to the final whistle. All a direct reflection of the personality and competitive fire of our head coach. We are a year or two away from knocking off a heavyweight but I think we have every reason to believe that's coming soon as well.
The coaches' emphasis on the 4th quarter and finishing the game are paying off big time. We never had that under Chryst, and Wisky lacks it now.
And... dont forget we are playing without the best player and ACC player of the year. Most certainly we woulda won another with James Conner.
Very good year. Miami will be tough next week, we we are playing the best ball of the year the past 2 weeks
Its true Pitt doesn't have a signature win, but this team also doesn't have any bad losses. For years this team always had at least one bad loss; that they don't this year is a huge improvement.
Weak schedule? We lost by 3 AT Iowa a team that might just go undefeated and be one of the 4 BCS contestants. Duzz was just getting his feet wet with game conditions with his new team. I would love to Play the Hawkeyes again!!!! As for the schedule, it is the ACC what more do you expect? Look at the ACC record in bowl games the past couple of years, I would bet it compares in wins to the Big 10 if not better.
The scheduling comment is idiotic. Go figure out how many other P5 teams play an Iowa and ND type team OOC. MSU is the only B1G team with a top 25 SoS (@24 and still behind Pitt).
Pfft Michigan played 3 of 4 OOC vs schools that will qualify for our 1 P5 game starting next yr as a B1G requirement. BYU, ND, and Boise are considered as acceptable for the requirement.
When we play Ohio this coming week, that will be 5 teams that were rated in the top 25 total that we played this season.
You just made my point. That's one B1G team playing anything close to a decent OOS and even with that you need to put magic qualifiers all over your thoughts. That's not exactly scheduling ND, USC, ect. either.
I think he's talking about the conference schedule, which was certainly manageable.
Are you saying that playing in the ACC Coastal in any given year, including this one, is "much tougher" than playing in the SEC east? If so, you gotta be kidding.
Agree wholeheartedly. Big improvement with that alone. The wins over the big dogs will come in time.
I'm saying if you're in the SEC East, you play a really bad schedule. Not even saying any conference is tougher than any other, expect for the SEC West clearly being the best. I really think comparing conferences is apples and oranges. The ACC Coastal has North Carolina and Pitt at the top, other than that no good teams really but no cupcakes either. Pretty much any other conference has at least 3 cupcakes. Not saying that makes any conference better, just that while other conferences might have 2 teams that are really, really good, they almost all have teams at the bottom that are just flat out awful.
I just pointed out the SEC East because I don't even think Florida is very good let alone any other teams. South Carolina beat North Carolina when UNC played about as bad as they've ever played, I really don't see Florida being competitive with the top two teams from any other division or conference.
I think the biggest difference between last year and this year is that our players are a year older/more experienced this go round.
For reasons that I cannot quite explain, people constantly underestimate the value of experience even though Pitt's consistent lack of quality experienced depth is directly responsible for many of our greatest frustrations.
For example, I will always believe that we lost the Cincinnati and Connecticut games primarily because we were playing too many young players who did not know their assignments and/or they were not mentally tough enough to execute them. And that is just two games that spring immediately to mind. There are dozens of other such examples that we consistently blow off.
That lack of experienced depth is directly related to our unusually high rate of attrition, which is a direct consequence of our constant coaching turnover.
When people ignore that ENORMOUS fact, everything else they say should be taken with a sizable grain of salt. Those folks are merely whistling past the graveyard.
Pitt absolutely HAS upgraded it's coaching staff this year and I don't think there's any question about that. In fact, I don't think there has ever been any question about that.
However, it is crystal clear to me at least that our success this year goes well beyond that fact.
Our offensive line line has now strung together a bunch of games together. That cohesion is a big freaking deal! That is how you can afford to lose the reigning ACC Player of the Year and still run the ball effectively, all while breaking in a first year starting quarterback.
We are very young and thin on the D line. Thank God for the play of fifth year senior Juan Price.
When one of our safeties, for example, gets injured or needs a blow, we are able to replace them with similarly experienced players. Again, a big deal!
Reggie Mitchell isn't going to make anyone forget about Tommy Flynn or even Ramon Walker but he's probably one of the better back up safeties in the ACC.
Football is still a complex and violent game fraught with inconsistencies and injuries. As such, it is still a game of attrition and therefore depth. I look forward to the day when Pitt can have that luxury all over the field. It is going to take years to reach that point but hopefully we get there someday. When we do, we are going to be really, really good.
Last year, Pitt had a younger roster than Penn State – which was in the midst of NCAA mandated sanctions. In fact, the Panthers had the youngest roster in major college football and no less an authority than Phil Steele called it the youngest roster he had ever seen.
That's a really big deal and completely inexcusable! Penn State had so many freshmen and sophomores because they had to have them. Conversely, we had them because we ostensibly chose to have them.
Take a minute to let that wash all over you and fully comprehend just how insane and damaging that is to a college football program.
Then to have all kinds of people completely ignore that fact and say, "Hey, we are more successful this year than last primarily because our new coach is more charismatic," is almost the same level of crazy.
Unreal.
At the end of the day, we are 8–3 and I'm positively thrilled to say that. The road to this point did not need to be nearly so circuitous or uneven but the bottom line is that we are here now and the best part is that better days lie ahead... Unless we shoot ourselves in the foot...yet again.
H2P!
For reasons that I cannot quite explain, people constantly underestimate the value of experience even though Pitt's consistent lack of quality experienced depth is directly responsible for many of our greatest frustrations.
For example, I will always believe that we lost the Cincinnati and Connecticut games primarily because we were playing too many young players who did not know their assignments and/or they were not mentally tough enough to execute them. And that is just two games that spring immediately to mind. There are dozens of other such examples that we consistently blow off.
That lack of experienced depth is directly related to our unusually high rate of attrition, which is a direct consequence of our constant coaching turnover.
When people ignore that ENORMOUS fact, everything else they say should be taken with a sizable grain of salt. Those folks are merely whistling past the graveyard.
Pitt absolutely HAS upgraded it's coaching staff this year and I don't think there's any question about that. In fact, I don't think there has ever been any question about that.
However, it is crystal clear to me at least that our success this year goes well beyond that fact.
Our offensive line line has now strung together a bunch of games together. That cohesion is a big freaking deal! That is how you can afford to lose the reigning ACC Player of the Year and still run the ball effectively, all while breaking in a first year starting quarterback.
We are very young and thin on the D line. Thank God for the play of fifth year senior Juan Price.
When one of our safeties, for example, gets injured or needs a blow, we are able to replace them with similarly experienced players. Again, a big deal!
Reggie Mitchell isn't going to make anyone forget about Tommy Flynn or even Ramon Walker but he's probably one of the better back up safeties in the ACC.
Football is still a complex and violent game fraught with inconsistencies and injuries. As such, it is still a game of attrition and therefore depth. I look forward to the day when Pitt can have that luxury all over the field. It is going to take years to reach that point but hopefully we get there someday. When we do, we are going to be really, really good.
Last year, Pitt had a younger roster than Penn State – which was in the midst of NCAA mandated sanctions. In fact, the Panthers had the youngest roster in major college football and no less an authority than Phil Steele called it the youngest roster he had ever seen.
That's a really big deal and completely inexcusable! Penn State had so many freshmen and sophomores because they had to have them. Conversely, we had them because we ostensibly chose to have them.
Take a minute to let that wash all over you and fully comprehend just how insane and damaging that is to a college football program.
Then to have all kinds of people completely ignore that fact and say, "Hey, we are more successful this year than last primarily because our new coach is more charismatic," is almost the same level of crazy.
Unreal.
At the end of the day, we are 8–3 and I'm positively thrilled to say that. The road to this point did not need to be nearly so circuitous or uneven but the bottom line is that we are here now and the best part is that better days lie ahead... Unless we shoot ourselves in the foot...yet again.
H2P!
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This sums up the schedule pretty well.
With that being said, how many seasons in a row (including our time in the big east) did we face a underwhelming conference schedule and still end up with a lousy record?
With one game left, we have won all the games we should have won and lost all the games we should have lost. And there were a few toss up games, and Pitt came up on the right side of the toss up. That is good enough for me.
Not sure who can complain about our OOC schedule. Sure, we played YSU, but we also played two teams in the hunt for the CFP.
In past years, I think we probably lose the GTech game, the Syracuse game, and we lose by more than three to Iowa. So we would be 6-5 and have a lot less to feel good about.
With James Conner, we might beat Iowa and be 9-2. And JC would have made both NC and ND a lot closer (though not saying either would have been a win).
In past years, I think we probably lose the GTech game, the Syracuse game, and we lose by more than three to Iowa. So we would be 6-5 and have a lot less to feel good about.
With James Conner, we might beat Iowa and be 9-2. And JC would have made both NC and ND a lot closer (though not saying either would have been a win).
yeah, for once and as long as I can remember, there was not one "geez, they really pissed that game away" game.......... fingers crossed and behind my back for Friday....
Overall schedule is what matters, not OOC. Of course OOC shapes the overall schedule, but overall is all that really matters.
Iowa is the one game I would point to where we could honestly say we win with a healthy Conner. We got beat fairly well in the other two losses but with a healthy Conner extending some drives where we had to punt who knows how those games would have gone?
Of course playing experience matters and has a big impact. Some other things that matter greatly: Attitude, culture, confidence, toughness, discipline, aggression, competitive fire, team identity. That all comes from the HC. Teams and players don't run through walls for their coordinators and position coaches. They take on the identity of the head man. We have had experienced teams in the past that find a way to lose close games more often than they find a way to win them. We have had experienced teams that look all hangdog in the 4th quarter when they're down or things aren't going great. We have had experienced teams lose to MAC opponents and get soundly rolled by underdogs.
Paul Chryst may have been able to get to 8-3 through these first 11 game this year too, I'll concede that. Christ I'd certainly hope so, he would have been in his fourth year here with his own players and the same playbooks. But I'm pretty confident that if he was a first year head coach with this same team, that would not be the case.
There is a whole different attitude and feel about the program under Narduzzi. A lot more energy, enthusiasm, confidence and toughness. You can see the players are having more fun playing the game. They play to the last whistle. They have been able to pick themselves back up after getting punched in the mouth. Their coach is engaged with all of them--offense, defense and special teams--the whole game.
Look what has happened at Michigan, Ohio State when Urban took over, or Michigan State when Dantonio took over. It has everything to do with the head coaches.
As one final note, and it's an important one, one that is just as crazy as discounting playing experience--this team has entirely new playbooks on O and D--totally different schemes and terminology than these guys have been learning the past 3 years. So that tempers the advantage of being more experienced significantly. To use your words:
to have all kinds of people completely ignore that fact and say, "Hey, we are more successful this year than last primarily because our players have an extra year of experience," is almost the same level of crazy.
Unreal.
Please name the "cupcakes" in the SEC west.
I count two that might fit that category--Vandy, and arguably Kentucky, which is on the upswing. Other than that, just because Georgia, UT or S. Carolina is down in any given year doesn't mean they aren't stronger than the vast majority of P5 programs. Those teams are still pretty well loaded with athletes and talent.
The best team in our division lost to the worst team in the SEC west. We can just leave it at that. You can make any kind of excuse for that you want to, most teams have excuses for losing games. The better team doesn't always win. But wins and losses are the only measure of success in this business, and every team wins a game it shouldn't or loses a game it shouldn't somewhere along the line in every season.
No, it doesn't. Not even slightly. It's not like these guys went from a power offense to a totally different concept. That's why I liked this hire in the first place! Because for once in our lives we weren't going to do the dumbest thing possible and radically overhaul systems yet again.
The biggest thing experience gives you is an understanding of how to handle the greatly enhanced game speed and how to handle the increased pressure. Chris Blewitt MADE the big kicks he did against Georgia Tech and Syracuse largely because he MISSED a similar kick last year vs. Duke. That has nothing to do with anything but experience and the only way to get experience is by playing and often failing.
Out of necessity, because Pederson had DESTROYED the football program, we were forced to play WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too many inexperienced and under-qualified people last year and it led to a lot of narrow losses. This year those losses have turned into wins because all of those young people are a year older, a year smarter and a year stronger.
You don't think those players learned from the Houston collapse last year as Louisville was mounting its comeback on Saturday? I'm sorry but I think that's ridiculous. Of course they learned from that failure and it helped them keep their composure this time around.
Now, they may have received better coaching too. In fact, I'm sure they did. However, as the old expression goes, the best teacher is experience and our guys got it on the fly last year.
Look, I understand that my dose of reality doesn't jibe with fairy tales and narratives about attitude changes and cultural changes and all the rest of it but it is the cold hard truth. And remember, I was a Narduzzi guy from the jump and I remain THRILLED with the hire. I definitely agree that we upgraded. I just don't think people fully appreciate how much the previous staff sacrificed to help facilitate the growth we have experienced this year and will continue to enjoy going forward. I, for one, sincerely appreciate their approach. It stood in stark contrast to the slimeball staff they succeeded.
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It's the SEC East not West. And I agree about the any given year part. I just happen to think this year it is very bad. Just because you are a big name school doesn't mean you're good.
Look, I understand that my dose of reality doesn't jibe with fairy tales and narratives about attitude changes and cultural changes and all the rest of it but it is the cold hard truth
That's right-your "dose of reality." We've heard the players talk about the new attitude, the new culture. Caprara just used that term the other day. We've heard the coaches talk about it. We've heard people in the business, smart people that know what they're taking about like Herbstreit, talk about the change in culture at Pitt, the players buying in. But I guess you know better.
And on that note, you're also saying we are running basically the same O as we ran under PC. We are a run first team, that's about where the similarities end. The scheme is very different. We are in the shotgun pistol with one back the majority of every game. The QB is rarely under center. We run a lot more zone blocking stuff as opposed rto the traps and counters and power stuff we ran with PC. There is a ton more pre-snap morion. Receivers motion into the backfield routinely. We play fake out of the shotgun and run misdirection with sweep action. It's a new playbook, new scheme, new terminology, new timing, new formations, etc. On top of that, it's a new QB with a bunch of young TBs and a freshman tackle who played TE until April of this year. Defensively, it's a completely different scheme and philosophy. Different techiniqe at every position. Different responsibilities and assignments. If you don't see the differences, and you obviously don't, that says it all. You act as though it's some kind of seamless transition from the prior regime. Have you ever picked up a playbook? You have to unlearn a whole bunch of things that have been drilled into you for years, and learn to execute something different.
A reasonable man would acknowledge that all of these things-experience, coaching, talent, attitude, culture-make the difference. You're insisting that it's only the experience. You're disavowing the changes Narduzzi has been working on installing from the minute he got here, starting with getting the players to have some fun, play loose amd fast, and finish the game, as opposed to folding like they did in the Houston game. Changing the culture. It's a real phenomenon. Ask Harbaugh, Dantonio, Meyer. Ask their players who were there when they took over.
Or keep insisting that it's all nonsense, just because you say it is.
Nope, it's the head coach. No way we are 8-3 right now especially without Connor if Chryst was coaching. I'd say more like 4-7.
"The biggest thing I can say is the culture just changed,"Price told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last Saturday. "We get energy from [Narduzzi]. He takes chances calling plays no matter what the score is, so we definitely get that energy, that confidence he exudes. Right now, we’re expecting to win."
Badby, right on on 2 points. First the culture change. We had the culture to lose those games ladst year.
Second, the players themselves are saying what you are saying it's not your opinion you are stated fact that many players this year said.
Dies experience mattrr... yep but ask Jane's in state college if just experience cam make a better team. You need good coaching
Second, the players themselves are saying what you are saying it's not your opinion you are stated fact that many players this year said.
Dies experience mattrr... yep but ask Jane's in state college if just experience cam make a better team. You need good coaching
