Are you excited about the home opener? When were you most excited about a home opening opponent?

[cbpitt2]

Here's the list of home openers Pitt had the past 10 years:
'19 - Virginia
'18 - Albany
'17 - Youngstown State
'16 - Villanova
'15 - Youngstown State
'14 - Delaware
'13 - Florida State
'12 - Youngstown State
'11 - Buffalo
'10 - New Hampshire

Some other years home opening opponent:
2005 - Notre Dame
1996 - West Virginia
1994 - Texas
1993 - Virginia Tech

 

[GT74]

The ACC opener against Fla St, and Wanny's first game at home against ND come to mind, but this one is special, in that it is so important to the success of the season. A win is a step forward in the Coastal, and would get some attention. A loss sets Pitt back both in the Coastal and in the overall season. It is a tough early schedule, with Ohio, who is no slouch, then PSU. 2-1 is acceptable, anything less could put the pressure on for the rest of the season.

 

[RingDinger]

The Weaver thing took the wind out of my sails a good bit. No matter how good we are/aren't this year, I'll know we should have been better. I was never bullish on this team to win ten games or anything like that, but I still feel more "wait and see" than I did before his injury.

 

[Delpanther]

Most excited...Pitt vs. ND on national TV in 1976. Haven't played a game with those kinds of stakes for decades.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Since the upcoming one offers hope..... I will pick this game vs VA!

Remember, Panther fans, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Against FSU I thought we had no chance. So I am saying the 2005 opener with Wanny against ND was the last big "opener" to me.

 

[BuffetParrothead]

The Weaver thing took the wind out of my sails a good bit. No matter how good we are/aren't this year, I'll know we should have been better. I was never bullish on this team to win ten games or anything like that, but I still feel more "wait and see" than I did before his injury.

IMO - It will be this kind of year for PITT ( a wild ride) for sure especially with a VA opener and the Nitter game soon after the opener, but hopefully we stay afloat and win a bunch of games.

The staff, the players, and the whinny no show fans will have to work hard to avoid this result if we have a bad start to the season.

 

[hoclaw]

Best home opener in many, many, years. We need to rock the place!
I remember our first ACC game against FSU in 2013; I had tlked to the late
Monk Bonasorte, the spring before; ( he was on campus visiting his BB Chuck; he told me I would see a team unlike any I had ever seen; until last
years Clemson team of course. RIP Monk

 

[McKee Place]

I'm excited for it every season.

I probably was most excited for the opener in my freshman year. Against Fordham in '36 of course.

(It was actually BYU in 84 but who's counting...)

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

I was really excited about FSU opener. And then the game started.

 

[ratking17]

I am always pumped for home openers and every pitt game. ND in 05 was great leading up to the game. Fun activities all day long. The other opener that was really fun was 2016 with conner coming back. That was a special moment

 

[9nationalchampionships]

I was in the end zone for that game with the father of a future panther. BYU had it rolling that year!

I'm excited for it every season.

I probably was most excited for the opener in my freshman year. Against Fordham in '36 of course.

(It was actually BYU in 84 but who's counting...)

 

[DiehardPanther]

The Weaver thing took the wind out of my sails a good bit. No matter how good we are/aren't this year, I'll know we should have been better. I was never bullish on this team to win ten games or anything like that, but I still feel more "wait and see" than I did before his injury.

EVERY YEAR teams have injuries or suspensions to key players. You should not be surprised.

 

[str61166]

I was really excited about FSU opener. And then the game started.

If I'm not mistaken, Pitt did take a 7-0 lead. And Tyler Boyd began to live up to his hype coming out Clairton.

But yeah after that, the game was basically all about Jameis and FSU's NFL-like roster.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

If I'm not mistaken, Pitt did take a 7-0 lead. And Tyler Boyd began to live up to his hype coming out Clairton.

But yeah after that, the game was basically all about Jameis and FSU's NFL-like roster.

good call, yes, we did take the opening drive in. i think Winston threw two incompletions all day and one was an INT and one was a catch that was ruled out of bounds.

not a huge fan of Herbstreit saying that Heinz field is the best place for a freshman QB to play an away game in due to it's less than hostile environment. could have done without hearing that broadcasted over national tv..

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

I am unexcited about the season at this point so the home opener wouldn't excite me no matter the opponent. After the last few disappointing (to me anyway) seasons I have retreated into "show me" mode.

If they come out and start well I will regain some enthusiasm. If the opposite, and we have an early head start on a mediocre (at best) season, I will likely tune-out the remainder of the season and focus on the upcoming hoops season.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

I am unexcited about the season at this point so the home opener wouldn't excite me no matter the opponent. After the last few disappointing (to me anyway) seasons I have retreated into "show me" mode.

If they come out and start well I will regain some enthusiasm. If the opposite, and we have an early head start on a mediocre (at best) season, I will likely tune-out the remainder of the season and focus on the upcoming hoops season.

geez, that's depressing..

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

geez, that's depressing..

Guess it comes from being an old guy who lived through the Majors I, Sherrill era. I just find it hard to be a fan of a team not regularly making it into the top 25.

 

[Farnox]

I'm really looking forward to this game. Knocking off Virginia, who is a pick to win the coastal this year, would certainly establish a big positive for the season.

 

[McKee Place]

I was in the end zone for that game with the father of a future panther. BYU had it rolling that year!

It foreshadowed much of the future for sure. Meanwhile I had watched Pitt for the past decade, our good period coinciding with my coming of age as a sports fan, being accustomed to our winning 9, 10, 11 games pretty regularly... only to finally make it to the school as a student only be confronted with a 3 win disaster.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

WHile I follow Pitt football it had little to do with me choosing to attend the school. My degree has served me well!

It foreshadowed much of the future for sure. Meanwhile I had watched Pitt for the past decade, our good period coinciding with my coming of age as a sports fan, being accustomed to our winning 9, 10, 11 games pretty regularly... only to finally make it to the school as a student only be confronted with a 3 win disaster.

 

[pittdan77]

I don't know that fans were necessarily excited for Villanova but there was a pretty respectable turnout for that game. I think people had high expectations for that season.

 

[McKee Place]

WHile I follow Pitt football it had little to do with me choosing to attend the school. My degree has served me well!

Well, me neither. High performing football was just (supposed) to be a bonus. We still had fun. There were still some interesting teams and colorful stars in my undergrad years. But a drag compared to how it was the decade prior. Of course future classes were to have it much worse in comparison.

 

[DiehardPanther]

I don't know that fans were necessarily excited for Villanova but there was a pretty respectable turnout for that game. I think people had high expectations for that season.

That was James Conner’s first game back, and that had something to do with it.

 

[JED_72]

Of the openers you listed, I was at the Villanova, FSU, ND & WVU games. Concerning this year: I'll be at the Virginia game with apprehension. If we lose that game, I figure we have a 5-7 season at best. Win and 6-6 is realistic and 7-5 possible (not counting some minor bowl.) By the way, I'm always excited about the upcoming season but have had to learn to anticipate disappointment. But, I'm a Pitt guy and just keep coming back.

 

[Ol_Roy]

while all games matter, it has been a while since the opening game meant so much with respect to the overall success of the season.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Against FSU I thought we had no chance. So I am saying the 2005 opener with Wanny against ND was the last big "opener" to me.

I agree. We all fooled ourselves into thinking that maybe Wanny was going to be a different coach here than he had been in the NFL. And instead that game showed us that Wanny gonna Wanny.

 

[Mufasa94]

Most excited...Pitt vs. ND on national TV in 1976. Haven't played a game with those kinds of stakes for decades.

The '82 opener vs. UNC should be up there. Stand alone night in prime time. Pitt no. 1 w/ Danny boy, UNC top 10 (5?), was it with RB Kelvin Bryant? Wasn't it at Three Rivers?

 

[wbrpanther]

Most excited...Pitt vs. ND on national TV in 1976. Haven't played a game with those kinds of stakes for decades.

You're getting old Del. The OP said home opener. The one I remember most was Pitt-Purdue in 1985. Portable lights for the first night game. Pitt wins when Jim "Chrissy" Everett throws a 2 point conversion into the end zone turf. People were yelling [new OC] Cuck Stobart for President. By the end of the year they wanted to hang him. Rod Woodson was a junior on that Boilermaker team.

 

[wbrpanther]

I agree. We all fooled ourselves into thinking that maybe Wanny was going to be a different coach here than he had been in the NFL. And instead that game showed us that Wanny gonna Wanny.

Notre Dame was so much better at the LOS it wasn't funny. Hardley Wanny's fault.

 

[wbrpanther]

The '82 opener vs. UNC should be up there. Stand alone night in prime time. Pitt no. 1 w/ Danny boy, UNC top 10 (5?), was it with RB Kelvin Bryant? Wasn't it at Three Rivers?

I don't think they had Kelvin Bryant. Could be wrong.

 

[wbrpanther]

If I'm not mistaken, Pitt did take a 7-0 lead. And Tyler Boyd began to live up to his hype coming out Clairton.

But yeah after that, the game was basically all about Jameis and FSU's NFL-like roster.

Best QB performance I ever saw.

 

[str61166]

Best QB performance I ever saw.

Same, I was in attendance and didn't even realize until recently beyond Jameis just how many notable NFL players were on that FSU roster.

 

[Delpanther]

You're getting old Del. The OP said home opener. The one I remember most was Pitt-Purdue in 1985. Portable lights for the first night game. Pitt wins when Jim "Chrissy" Everett throws a 2 point conversion into the end zone turf. People were yelling [new OC] Cuck Stobart for President. By the end of the year they wanted to hang him. Rod Woodson was a junior on that Boilermaker team.

Getting older every year....however, I started following Pitt FB ( thanks to my dad) when I was about 8 years old so that my recollection/knowledge of Pitt FB history begins well before my time as a Pitt student.

The years Pitt has played anything other than a cream puff in the home opener are far and in between. I was very excited for the home opener against UNC at 3 Rivers. Marino was a senior and I was expecting a run for the national championship. Also was Foge’s first game as HC......turned out to be a low scoring, mistake filled dud.

I remember the Purdue game..Charles Gladman ran wild.....attended the game with my uncle. How about the set of backs Pitt entered the season with....Gladman, Anthony Brown, Napoleon. Foge effed that up too!

You and I could spend hours chatting about Pitt FB.

 

[mike412]

Most excited...Pitt vs. ND on national TV in 1976. Haven't played a game with those kinds of stakes for decades.

That was an away game.

 

[wbrpanther]

Getting older every year....however, I started following Pitt FB ( thanks to my dad) when I was about 8 years old so that my recollection/knowledge of Pitt FB history begins well before my time as a Pitt student.

The years Pitt has played anything other than a cream puff in the home opener are far and in between. I was very excited for the home opener against UNC at 3 Rivers. Marino was a senior and I was expecting a run for the national championship. Also was Foge’s first game as HC......turned out to be a low scoring, mistake filled dud.

I remember the Purdue game..Charles Gladman ran wild.....attended the game with my uncle. How about the set of backs Pitt entered the season with....Gladman, Anthony Brown, Napoleon. Foge effed that up too!

You and I could spend hours chatting about Pitt FB.

Also had Bryan Davis and Ironhead. The story I got was Bryan Davis was a knucklehead who was always being disciplined. Foge would tell him he was suspended for the next game but when gameday came he would relent and play him. This was the reason AB Brown and Napolean fled to Morgantown mid season.