Back from UCF - thoughts

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Back from the UCF game with a few impressions:

• Football should not be played in the daytime in Florida until November. Ungodly hot.
• UCF issued a heat advisory for the game and said there would be cooling stations and places to refill your water bottles. Couldn't find either of these things and the ushers I asked looked at me like I was from outer space when I asked about it.
• Thought it was kind of interesting that the in-game promos were referring to the AAC as being a "power 6" conference.
• Nice on-campus stadium. No frills at all, pretty much Pine Richland stadium on steroids. Not even any TV's to watch the game in the concourse if you were trying to catch a break from the heat.
• Atmosphere was nice, great tailgating setup, victory walk to stadium lined with shops/restaurants, and pretty easy getting in and getting out. Good traffic flow.
• You can tell UCF would like to be big time, but you can also tell that they are late to the party and have a ways to go. Not sure if it was the heat (probably), but they had some big 3rd downs early in the game and their crowd was pretty dead.
• But I will say, the UCF fans were extremely hospitable. They didn't go out of there way too be friendly but there was no hassling the decent Pitt contingent either. No issues at all.
• The game....what can I say. I think it is pretty evident that Narduzzi has checked out. How can UCF with such lower recruit rankings not even make a game of it? And to run for over 200 yards. The next two games could be just as bad.

Final thought.....I don't think Heather will make a move this year. She was speaking glowingly of Narduzzi and his family at the alumni pre-game event. I know the coaching churn has killed us, but I don't see this getting better. The defense will absolutely not improve and this is four years in now. Not sure how this will all go down but I don't think it will be pretty. I see another year at least before anything would be contemplated.

 

[Pitt-Chains]

Back from the UCF game with a few impressions:

• Football should not be played in the daytime in Florida until November. Ungodly hot.
• UCF issued a heat advisory for the game and said there would be cooling stations and places to refill your water bottles. Couldn't find either of these things and the ushers I asked looked at me like I was from outer space when I asked about it.
• Thought it was kind of interesting that the in-game promos were referring to the AAC as being a "power 6" conference.
• Nice on-campus stadium. No frills at all, pretty much Pine Richland stadium on steroids. Not even any TV's to watch the game in the concourse if you were trying to catch a break from the heat.
• Atmosphere was nice, great tailgating setup, victory walk to stadium lined with shops/restaurants, and pretty easy getting in and getting out. Good traffic flow.
• You can tell UCF would like to be big time, but you can also tell that they are late to the party and have a ways to go. Not sure if it was the heat (probably), but they had some big 3rd downs early in the game and their crowd was pretty dead.
• But I will say, the UCF fans were extremely hospitable. They didn't go out of there way too be friendly but there was no hassling the decent Pitt contingent either. No issues at all.
• The game....what can I say. I think it is pretty evident that Narduzzi has checked out. How can UCF with such lower recruit rankings not even make a game of it? And to run for over 200 yards. The next two games could be just as bad.

Final thought.....I don't think Heather will make a move this year. She was speaking glowingly of Narduzzi and his family at the alumni pre-game event. I know the coaching churn has killed us, but I don't see this getting better. The defense will absolutely not improve and this is four years in now. Not sure how this will all go down but I don't think it will be pretty. I see another year at least before anything would be contemplated.

I don't our HC has checked out... player issue.

 

[pittiswhereiamfrom2]

Back from the UCF game with a few impressions:

• Football should not be played in the daytime in Florida until November. Ungodly hot.
• UCF issued a heat advisory for the game and said there would be cooling stations and places to refill your water bottles. Couldn't find either of these things and the ushers I asked looked at me like I was from outer space when I asked about it.
• Thought it was kind of interesting that the in-game promos were referring to the AAC as being a "power 6" conference.
• Nice on-campus stadium. No frills at all, pretty much Pine Richland stadium on steroids. Not even any TV's to watch the game in the concourse if you were trying to catch a break from the heat.
• Atmosphere was nice, great tailgating setup, victory walk to stadium lined with shops/restaurants, and pretty easy getting in and getting out. Good traffic flow.
• You can tell UCF would like to be big time, but you can also tell that they are late to the party and have a ways to go. Not sure if it was the heat (probably), but they had some big 3rd downs early in the game and their crowd was pretty dead.
• But I will say, the UCF fans were extremely hospitable. They didn't go out of there way too be friendly but there was no hassling the decent Pitt contingent either. No issues at all.
• The game....what can I say. I think it is pretty evident that Narduzzi has checked out. How can UCF with such lower recruit rankings not even make a game of it? And to run for over 200 yards. The next two games could be just as bad.

Final thought.....I don't think Heather will make a move this year. She was speaking glowingly of Narduzzi and his family at the alumni pre-game event. I know the coaching churn has killed us, but I don't see this getting better. The defense will absolutely not improve and this is four years in now. Not sure how this will all go down but I don't think it will be pretty. I see another year at least before anything would be contemplated.

Orlando is awful in the summer.

 

[Black_Man_Panther]

I don't our HC has checked out... player issue.

“Player issue”? I think you meant in the plural sense “issues with many players”. As in “doomed”.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

I don't our HC has checked out... player issue.

which player? Is the one player responsible for the poor defense?

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Orlando is awful in the summer.

For entertainment value, it is fun to watch kids and parents have big meltdowns in the unrelenting heat at Disney.

 

[DiehardPanther]

I don't our HC has checked out... player issue.

Let’s say Narduzzi truly wants to be here, but the problem is talent. Then he needs to figure how to land more talent or change his scheme to fit his talent.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Back from the UCF game with a few impressions:

• Football should not be played in the daytime in Florida until November. Ungodly hot.
• UCF issued a heat advisory for the game and said there would be cooling stations and places to refill your water bottles. Couldn't find either of these things and the ushers I asked looked at me like I was from outer space when I asked about it.
• Thought it was kind of interesting that the in-game promos were referring to the AAC as being a "power 6" conference.
• Nice on-campus stadium. No frills at all, pretty much Pine Richland stadium on steroids. Not even any TV's to watch the game in the concourse if you were trying to catch a break from the heat.
• Atmosphere was nice, great tailgating setup, victory walk to stadium lined with shops/restaurants, and pretty easy getting in and getting out. Good traffic flow.
• You can tell UCF would like to be big time, but you can also tell that they are late to the party and have a ways to go. Not sure if it was the heat (probably), but they had some big 3rd downs early in the game and their crowd was pretty dead.
• But I will say, the UCF fans were extremely hospitable. They didn't go out of there way too be friendly but there was no hassling the decent Pitt contingent either. No issues at all.
• The game....what can I say. I think it is pretty evident that Narduzzi has checked out. How can UCF with such lower recruit rankings not even make a game of it? And to run for over 200 yards. The next two games could be just as bad.

Final thought.....I don't think Heather will make a move this year. She was speaking glowingly of Narduzzi and his family at the alumni pre-game event. I know the coaching churn has killed us, but I don't see this getting better. The defense will absolutely not improve and this is four years in now. Not sure how this will all go down but I don't think it will be pretty. I see another year at least before anything would be contemplated.

I have heard their stadium is an erector set. It looks like a portable stadium on TV.....but at least its on campus. Id rather not have an OCS then have that

 

[Pitt-Chains]

“Player issue”? I think you meant in the plural sense “issues with many players”. As in “doomed”.

Secondary.. led by Hamlin.

Get to the game early and watch them practice..
Players that make plays get juiced.. the attitude is horrible,

 

[mbe 34]

which player? Is the one player responsible for the poor defense?

Maybe the same person responsible for the bad offense?
We left the game at half time.
Too Hot and Pitts offense had ZERO points.
Wasn’t this he first game Pitt scored more in the second half than first?
Is that progress?

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

I have heard their stadium is an erector set. It looks like a portable stadium on TV.....but at least its on campus. Id rather not have an OCS then have that

It is as bare bones as bare bones can be. As I said, Pine Richland on steroids. One elevator I think for the whole stadium. Need to go all the way down to the concourse for any concessions or restrooms from the second level. Hot metal bleachers most with no seat backs.

But it is functional and serves its purpose. That's all we would need, but the yinzers would then complain on the lack of amenities. Problem isn't plopping a stadium down in Oakland, the problem is the supporting infrastructure of parking and access roads.

After being there, I think I would take the UCF stadium in Oakland rather than the better equipped Heinz Field off site.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Maybe the same person responsible for the bad offense?
We left the game at half time.
Too Hot and Pitts offense had ZERO points.
Wasn’t this he first game Pitt scored more in the second half than first?
Is that progress?

no, 7 in the first, 7 in the second.

God bless anyone who lasted the whole game in the Pitt section. First score for UCF in the 3rd quarter was enough for me.

 

[mbe 34]

no, 7 in the first, 7 in the second.

God bless anyone who lasted the whole game in the Pitt section. First score for UCF in the 3rd quarter was enough for me.

Pitt’s offense scored no points first half
Ran back a punt for only score.

 

[HailtoPitt]

After being there, I think I would take the UCF stadium in Oakland rather than the better equipped Heinz Field off site.

Anyone with common sense knows a stadium in Oakland would be better. Problem is, many Pitt fans lack common sense.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Anyone with common sense knows a stadium in Oakland would be better. Problem is, many Pitt fans lack common sense.

Anyone with common sense knows that a stadium in Oakland is a pipe dream. Problem is, many Pitt fans lack common sense.

 

[HailtoPitt]

Anyone with common sense knows that a stadium in Oakland is a pipe dream. Problem is, many Pitt fans lack common sense.

It is true that a stadium in Oakland would be better and that it won't happen. Should have kept the space. They didn't. Program destroyed perminently as a result.

 

[pittiswhereiamfrom2]

For entertainment value, it is fun to watch kids and parents have big meltdowns in the unrelenting heat at Disney.

Ha. It is the reason my kid hates PE day at school here in Central Florida. She has a much better appreciation for inside things here.

When she is in Pittsburgh, she wants to be outside.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

It is true that a stadium in Oakland would be better and that it won't happen. Should have kept the space. They didn't. Program destroyed perminently as a result.

Your tendency to be singularly obsessed with a topic for years, is impressive .

Weird.
And not relevant to what matters to having a good or bad team.
But the neurosis is impressive

Decades of data demonstrate the stadium in Oakland didn’t prevent a losing program.
Accept that fact

 

[PittFanDan17]

Let’s say Narduzzi truly wants to be here, but the problem is talent. Then he needs to figure how to land more talent or change his scheme to fit his talent.

This is what sucks. He's an arrogant loud mouth who loves this team so much, and i want him (along with many other fans) to succeed here so bad because of those qualities, but he's just not a HC. Its that simple.

What i meant by the arrogant loud mouth is, I like it, and if this team was a winner he would be so insufferable to every other team/program it would be glorious.

 

[djbpitt]

Back from the UCF game with a few impressions:

• Football should not be played in the daytime in Florida until November. Ungodly hot.
• UCF issued a heat advisory for the game and said there would be cooling stations and places to refill your water bottles. Couldn't find either of these things and the ushers I asked looked at me like I was from outer space when I asked about it.
• Thought it was kind of interesting that the in-game promos were referring to the AAC as being a "power 6" conference.
• Nice on-campus stadium. No frills at all, pretty much Pine Richland stadium on steroids. Not even any TV's to watch the game in the concourse if you were trying to catch a break from the heat.
• Atmosphere was nice, great tailgating setup, victory walk to stadium lined with shops/restaurants, and pretty easy getting in and getting out. Good traffic flow.
• You can tell UCF would like to be big time, but you can also tell that they are late to the party and have a ways to go. Not sure if it was the heat (probably), but they had some big 3rd downs early in the game and their crowd was pretty dead.
• But I will say, the UCF fans were extremely hospitable. They didn't go out of there way too be friendly but there was no hassling the decent Pitt contingent either. No issues at all.
• The game....what can I say. I think it is pretty evident that Narduzzi has checked out. How can UCF with such lower recruit rankings not even make a game of it? And to run for over 200 yards. The next two games could be just as bad.

Final thought.....I don't think Heather will make a move this year. She was speaking glowingly of Narduzzi and his family at the alumni pre-game event. I know the coaching churn has killed us, but I don't see this getting better. The defense will absolutely not improve and this is four years in now. Not sure how this will all go down but I don't think it will be pretty. I see another year at least before anything would be contemplated.

There were places to fill water bottles with ice-cold water, just not many of them. Some of their fans were marginally friendly and ones near me were downtight rude and foul-mouthed -- to the point that we had words about their continual mf-bombs in front of my kids and the cops came over. Lots of "Pitt sucks" comments. I know that winning is pretty new to them and they probably have a lot of casual, bandwagon fans. But I NEVER hear things like that from Pitt fans, and haven't in my 40-plus years of going to games.

Some of their fans really think they are football royalty snubbed. They truly believe they belong in a Power 5 conference despite not having the right academic profile outside of the Big 12, having no basketball program to speak of and probably not even delivering the whole Orlando TV market.

Their on-campus tailgating scene was big and looked lively.

 

[PITTLAW]

There were places to fill water bottles with ice-cold water, just not many of them. Some of their fans were marginally friendly and ones near me were downtight rude and foul-mouthed -- to the point that we had words about their continual mf-bombs in front of my kids and the cops came over. Lots of "Pitt sucks" comments. I know that winning is pretty new to them and they probably have a lot of casual, bandwagon fans. But I NEVER hear things like that from Pitt fans, and haven't in my 40-plus years of going to games.

Some of their fans really think they are football royalty snubbed. They truly believe they belong in a Power 5 conference despite not having the right academic profile outside of the Big 12, having no basketball program to speak of and probably not even delivering the whole Orlando TV market.

Their on-campus tailgating scene was big and looked lively.

There were places to fill water bottles with ice-cold water, just not many of them. Some of their fans were marginally friendly and ones near me were downtight rude and foul-mouthed -- to the point that we had words about their continual mf-bombs in front of my kids and the cops came over. Lots of "Pitt sucks" comments. I know that winning is pretty new to them and they probably have a lot of casual, bandwagon fans. But I NEVER hear things like that from Pitt fans, and haven't in my 40-plus years of going to games.

Some of their fans really think they are football royalty snubbed. They truly believe they belong in a Power 5 conference despite not having the right academic profile outside of the Big 12, having no basketball program to speak of and probably not even delivering the whole Orlando TV market.

Their on-campus tailgating scene was big and looked lively.

Had a similar experience with the UCF fans near me..although I basically just ignored the cretins. I hung in there for the entire game. One of my buddies [who went to Pitt with me, and lives in Orlando], told me that when the stadium was constructed, they actually forgot to include water fountains. Obviously a major screw up and attracted plenty of negative attention. I also observed some large water cooler jugs for obtaining water--but I purchased the bottles. Was a painful game to endure. Hail to Pitt!

 

[Darth_VadEER]

For entertainment value, it is fun to watch kids and parents have big meltdowns in the unrelenting heat at Disney.

Ive seen it. Man it gets ugly. Everyone is miserable but they gotta soldier on because they just dropped $8,000 on the trip.

 

[OriginalEther]

Ive seen it. Man it gets ugly. Everyone is miserable but they gotta soldier on because they just dropped $8,000 on the trip.

The solution is arrive early in the morning, leave around noon, nap or swim, come back around dinner time.
If you do hang around, walk inside every chance you get

Works well for us, though I’ll admit I’ve never gone in late July

 

[Darth_VadEER]

The solution is arrive early in the morning, leave around noon, nap or swim, come back around dinner time.
If you do hang around, walk inside every chance you get

Works well for us, though I’ll admit I’ve never gone in late July

We've done one trip there as a family and it will probably be our last. My kids mostly wanted to go to the pool which we could do anywhere.

If you want a good laugh, there is a Reddit for Disney vacatiom stories....good stuff.

 

[Mikefln]

This is what sucks. He's an arrogant loud mouth who loves this team so much, and i want him (along with many other fans) to succeed here so bad because of those qualities, but he's just not a HC. Its that simple.

What i meant by the arrogant loud mouth is, I like it, and if this team was a winner he would be so insufferable to every other team/program it would be glorious.

The problem is when you don't win you are just a D1ck.

 

[HailToPitt725]

There were places to fill water bottles with ice-cold water, just not many of them. Some of their fans were marginally friendly and ones near me were downtight rude and foul-mouthed -- to the point that we had words about their continual mf-bombs in front of my kids and the cops came over. Lots of "Pitt sucks" comments. I know that winning is pretty new to them and they probably have a lot of casual, bandwagon fans. But I NEVER hear things like that from Pitt fans, and haven't in my 40-plus years of going to games.

Some of their fans really think they are football royalty snubbed. They truly believe they belong in a Power 5 conference despite not having the right academic profile outside of the Big 12, having no basketball program to speak of and probably not even delivering the whole Orlando TV market.

Their on-campus tailgating scene was big and looked lively.

Interesting. Most of the road games I’ve been to (Iowa, Louisville, OK State) the fans have been extremely friendly. I wonder why they were acting like this, since there’s no real history between the two schools? Perhaps they were hostile because of the whole Power 5/6 thing?

 

[MarySki]

no, 7 in the first, 7 in the second.

God bless anyone who lasted the whole game in the Pitt section. First score for UCF in the 3rd quarter was enough for me.

Thank you! Stayed to end

 

[KISA]

Here is how rivals recruiting ranking are setup. Say UCF offers a kid and he is a 2 star or 3 star. Say the kid commits to UCF. Now Florida, FSU or Miami comes in late and offers the kid and he decommits from UCF and commits to say UF. Now that kid that was a 3 star all of a sudden rivals bumps him up to a 4 star. How did this happen?

It happens because UF has more fans then UCF and they can sell more subcriptions. I have seen it happen many times over the past ten years it is not even fumny .How did this player improve? He didn't. Also some of these 4 star and 5 star player peaked in high school or think their talent alone will carry them like on high school and dont work hard. Another reason some of these 2 and 3 star guys out work the 4 and 5 star guys in college. And lastly coaching and development through strength and conditioning. Griffin with one hand out worked everyone on the team and slept in coaches offices watching film and worked his tail off in the weight room or he would of never been drafted in the NFL. Yeah feel good story but he earned it

 

[Knight_Light]

After being there, I think I would take the UCF stadium in Oakland rather than the better equipped Heinz Field off site.

As would 99% of any college football fan base...and that is exactly what UCF did when they moved from the city owned Citrus Bowl some 16 miles away in a bad neighborhood to their beautiful campus in 2007.

Like almost ever on-campus stadium...improvements happen all the time...and UCF has added stadium clubs and individual chairbacks for most sideline seats on both sides, which has really helped increase stadium revenue as well.

Most college stadiums today were initially built in the 1930's and 1940's...but have been renovated over time...and that's something UCF will do continuously for the coming decades too.

Game Day on UCF's Campus is amazing....considering the "drug den" that the city owned stadium is located in that UCF never has to play in again.

 

[HailtoPitt]

Your tendency to be singularly obsessed with a topic for years, is impressive .

Weird.
And not relevant to what matters to having a good or bad team.
But the neurosis is impressive

Decades of data demonstrate the stadium in Oakland didn’t prevent a losing program.
Accept that fact

You probably post about it more than I do.

 

[cbpitt2]

There were places to fill water bottles with ice-cold water, just not many of them. Some of their fans were marginally friendly and ones near me were downtight rude and foul-mouthed -- to the point that we had words about their continual mf-bombs in front of my kids and the cops came over. Lots of "Pitt sucks" comments. I know that winning is pretty new to them and they probably have a lot of casual, bandwagon fans. But I NEVER hear things like that from Pitt fans, and haven't in my 40-plus years of going to games.

Some of their fans really think they are football royalty snubbed. They truly believe they belong in a Power 5 conference despite not having the right academic profile outside of the Big 12, having no basketball program to speak of and probably not even delivering the whole Orlando TV market.

Their on-campus tailgating scene was big and looked lively.

You must be young. For YEARS, even when the opponent WAS NOT Penn State, there was a stadium-wide Pitt chant during games that ended, "Penn State sucks!" For a team we weren't playing, for a school that wasn't even a conference opponent. For years that went on. It screamed little brother syndrome big-time and showed they were living rent-free in our heads even when we weren't playing them. For years.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Thank you! Stayed to end

we need to clone you 60,000 times

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Had a similar experience with the UCF fans near me..although I basically just ignored the cretins. I hung in there for the entire game. One of my buddies [who went to Pitt with me, and lives in Orlando], told me that when the stadium was constructed, they actually forgot to include water fountains. Obviously a major screw up and attracted plenty of negative attention. I also observed some large water cooler jugs for obtaining water--but I purchased the bottles. Was a painful game to endure. Hail to Pitt!

The Pitt section seemed pretty calm, didn't notice any problems with the UCF fans. Walking to and from the stadium no one said a word, except for one kind of drunk UCF girl who made a comment about Pitt finishing with a losing record as we were walking by after the game. I just responded talk to me when UCF is in a real conference and that kind of ended it.

But I saw no water refill near the Pitt section which I thought was funny since they let you take empty water bottles in, but no full ones. Also, there were giant water refill outside the stadium, but it tasted like the water was freshly retrieved from one of Orlando's swamps.

 

[djbpitt]

Interesting. Most of the road games I’ve been to (Iowa, Louisville, OK State) the fans have been extremely friendly. I wonder why they were acting like this, since there’s no real history between the two schools? Perhaps they were hostile because of the whole Power 5/6 thing?

Inferiority complex over no Power 5 membership. I mean, when you have to hold your own "national championship" celebration ...

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Inferiority complex over no Power 5 membership. I mean, when you have to hold your own "national championship" celebration ...

not sure which is tackier....UCF putting 2017 National champ on their stadium ring or PSU saying F-U to the NCAA and putting the 2012 team on their ring.

 

[youghpanther1]

Seriously the head coach "checked out"? That's a b.s cheap shot. What are you the Amazing Kreskin ? ( Yeah go Google the name). He hasn't checked out . The team is not very good And no way Heather fires him like so many of you desire. She just extended the guy. Now I will check out.