You now owe us *TWICE*.
We handed you the 2007 national championship. And now you're getting our OC.
For those that don't recall the circumstances.... LSU went into the final week of the 2007 ranked 5th with 2 losses. Here was the Top 5 on November 30th:
1. Missouri (11-1)
2. WVU (10-1)
3. OSU (11-1)
4. Georgia (10-2)
5. LSU (10-2)
LSU needed to beat Georgia in the SEC title game... then have two of the three teams above them lose. Missouri lost to Oklahoma in the B12 title game and then.... Pitt beat WVU 13-9.
If there is such a thing as cosmic karma.... LSU is going to be doing Pitt a big favor sometime in the future.
'89, so put yourself in my shoes, as probably the only long-time Panther-Lair member who has ties to both of these schools. I graduated from Pitt and my daughter graduated from LSU. And while LSU's success on the gridiron in this millennium has been much better than Pitt's, they have not always performed to the level of their recruited talent. Especially on the offensive side of the ball. I've seen the good and the disappointing. For both Pitt and LSU. For Pitt, I sat in the wet snow at Heinz Field to watch Pitt lose in the final moments vs UC back in 2009, and have seen last minute meltdowns (pun intended) by LSU (during both the final Saban year as well as under Miles) when they lost bowl games to Iowa, Penn State, ND, Clemson, and Alabama in a NC semi-final after going undefeated ... notwithstanding all of the recent regular season losses to the Crimson Tide, and embarrassing losses to Arkansas, Auburn, et al.
A lot of LSU's success was at times magical and comical under Les Miles. He had a lot of great assistants over the years, but his own stubbornness - on offense especially - and inability to recruit a top-notch QB proved his undoing. Coach Orgeron - and as well, the boosters and backers of the program - want to bring LSU back to competing for the NC again. Soon. And the combination of Aranda (DC) and Canada (OC) may be the pieces of the puzzle needed to make that happen.
OC Matt Canada certainly proved at Pitt just how exciting and productive his offense can be. And we (Pitt) had quality players for him to craft his offense. At LSU - with the overall level of talent they recruit - he should have no excuse not to have equal or greater success. It is freaky to watch HS kids from LA (and other southern states where LSU recruits) play football.
While grateful for what Matt did at Pitt - and for making us "known" again in college football - I'm confident that Coach Pat will hire another "diamond in the rough" to replace him, and continue to build on the program. Duzzi's reaction and comments to Canada's leaving further validates why Pitt will rise as a football power in the ACC. The best compliment a HC can have is when his assistants are being noticed, and ultimately have a chance to advance their career - either to a more coveted program or as a head coach.
Happy to be a fan of two very exciting football programs. My blood flows Gold and Blue (Hail to Pitt!) but I can also proudly say: "Geaux Tigers!"
