Does Pitt even need to throw the ball to beat Penn State?

[steel_curtain]

-Looking at lasts years games, these teams pounded them into the ground.

-Army put up 270 rush yards on Penn State

-Maryland put up 240 rush yards on Penn State

-Michigan State posted 190 rush yards and 3 Rush TD's on Penn State

-Ohio State put up 320 rush yards and 3 Rush TD's on Penn State

-Northwestern put up 240 Rush yards on Penn State

-Temple put up 150 Rush yards and 3 Rush TD's on Penn State

-This team couldn't stop anyone last year that had any pulse whatsoever in the run game. Pitt has a better offensive line and stable of RB's than all of these teams going into next year. And Penn State lost all its talent on the D-line. And everyone knows Matt Canada loves pounding the football and running it.

- 270 Rush yards given up to 2-10 Army Black Knights at 5 yards per carry. We should run the ball over 75% of the entire game if not more using the barge formation. They aren't stopping it and we are going to look like 95 Nebraska running against this team. They are going to get a big wakeup call real soon. No wonder the point spread in Vegas is so high. Now that I looked closer at their run defense last year and the inexperienced underweight smurfs they have on the D-line this year, its laughable. We are going to blast this team in the run game.

 

[JHud986]

I hope you are right!.
But remember this will be an emotional game for both sides.

I was taught a long time ago to always respect your opponent.

 

[steel_curtain]

I hope you are right!.
But remember this will be an emotional game for both sides.

I was taught a long time ago to always respect your opponent.

-Jim Chaney would be trying to throw the ball to Boyd the entire game even though Penn State's Rush defense couldn't stop a nosebleed let a lone Powerhouse Army Black Knights. We have a Real Offensive Coordinator now that understands a Power Run Game and exploiting weaknesses, and its going to look beautiful watching it. Punting Jim Chaney out of Pittsburgh was a monumental win.

 

[mjsdoc3]

Punting you off the Pitt fan base would also be a monumental win, given you only give credit to Pitt! I Love your confidence, but hate your boastful insults, and lack of respect for others. Take a lesson from JHud! Geez, we are nearly 5 months out from the game and haven't beat anyone yet!

 

[Pittbaseball11]

No.

Should be a romp and nothing less if we do nothing but hand it off.

 

[Hero of the Oppressed]

The first offensive play of the game for Pitt will be a clear out with our QB rolling to his right and passing to the tight end for 18 yards.

We need to pass 45 % of our offensive snaps.

 

[steel_curtain]

The first offensive play of the game for Pitt will be a clear out with our QB rolling to his right and passing to the tight end for 18 yards.

We need to pass 45 % of our offensive snaps.

-The best college football team of All time, 1995 Nebraska, ran the football on 75% of its plays, including bowl game, and that team would have killed any team today, and would have annihilated Clemson last year, completely annihilated them.. I see no reason to throw the football on 45% of the plays when we have one of the best offensive lines and running backs in the entire country. 45% sounds like Jim Chaney. Pass. If we aren't running at least 65% run plays, there is a problem. When Matt Canada Coached Wisconsin in 2012 when they won the Big Ten, they ran the football 68.5% of the time. Everyone here should get used to the run, that is what we are going to do.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

-The best college football team of All time, 1995 Nebraska, ran the football on 75% of its plays, including bowl game, and that team would have killed any team today, and would have annihilated Clemson last year, completely annihilated them.. I see no reason to throw the football on 45% of the plays when we have one of the best offensive lines and running backs in the entire country. 45% sounds like Jim Chaney. Pass. If we aren't running at least 65% run plays, there is a problem. When Matt Canada Coached Wisconsin in 2012 when they won the Big Ten, they ran the football 68.5% of the time. Everyone here should get used to the run, that is what we are going to do.

There's a reason why so few college football teams run the option and the ones that do aren't particularly all that successful. And no NFL teams do.

 

[MajTom]

This game will be a war. I give it 50-50. PSU does not suck. Thinking overconfintly would be a big mistake. I dislike the fact that we are favorites. It sure is going to be exciting and a long time coming. A win would be a big boost for either program, mainly to in state recruiting. A loss will also hurt CJF badly and put him on the hotseat.

 

[steel_curtain]

There's a reason why so few college football teams run the option and the ones that do aren't particularly all that successful. And no NFL teams do.

-In the NFL there is to much speed. The NFL is not college.

-LSU ran the football on 65% of its plays last year. The year before that, it was 69% run plays. The year they won the National Title, they ran the ball 60%. The reason I chose LSU, is because its A) Not Alabama and B) They recruit well but not the best.

-You play to your team strengths. Our strength is the line and the RB's. To pass the football 45% of the time would be flat our retarded and not playing to our strengths. Les Miles uses a dominant defense, a dominant run game, and doesnt use the option. LSU has also won at least 10 games in 7 of the last 11 seasons with this style of play, my style of play.

-These are LSU's play formations

1. Shotgun, 1 TE, 3 WR:
2. I-back, 1 TE, 2 WR:
3. Pistol, 1 TE, 3 WR:
4. I-back, 2TE, 1WR:

-All dominant run game. They are a National Title favorite this year, because of a dominant defense and dominant run game and having a superstar RB in Leonard Fournette. Im not asking for the option, Im asking to pound the football with the run game and have a dominant defense, ala LSU.

 

[vegasgreed]

Remind me again how QB recruiting is going? How many kids has Canada whiffed on?

 

[9nationalchampionships]

I expect a close game and yes, both teams will run and pass.

 

[rockypanther]

I wish Steel was our OC instead of Canada.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I cant imagine their DL is going to be as bad as some make it seem. And I dont believe out OL will be as elite as it should be, even though we have at least 3 NFL players on it.

 

[Piranha]

Remind me again how QB recruiting is going? How many kids has Canada whiffed on?

He kept MacVittie and brought in the UCF transfer. It is f'in 9 months until signing day, and the guy has been on the job for about 4 months or so.

 

[vegasgreed]

He has whiffed on everything. He's currently on plan E. I don't care what time of the year it is, one can not spin this as a positive.

In regards to mcvittie, he was staying with or without Canada. He and his family were fully locked into Pitt before Canada was hired.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

We have a new OC, our third different OC in the past three years. Our O-line is good, but this will only be their second game playing with a new system.

We have an inconsistent QB.

Our WR's are questionable - note that I didn't say "bad" - just questionable.

The Nits are gonna be playing "eight-in-the-box", daring Pitt to throw.

The Nits redshirted some decent players.

Any Pitt fan who thinks that this will be an easy game hasn't been paying close attention to Pitt football. (When does Pitt ever have an easy game?)

 

[Piranha]

He has whiffed on everything. He's currently on plan E. I don't care what time of the year it is, one can not spin this as a positive.

In regards to mcvittie, he was staying with or without Canada. He and his family were fully locked into Pitt before Canada was hired.

How exactly do u know who plan A, B, and C are?

 

[ratking17]

I am so confused here. Cheney seemed to be the lair message boards whipping boy for his 3rd down toss sweeps. Canada is here for a few months and already people are deeming him a failure. Just a thought, can we see his offense in action for maybe a game or two before labeling him a failure? Salem was said to be mediocre coming in and since day 1 he has lit up the recruiting trail. Maybe Canada can as well. But let's wait a recruiting cycle or two before making judgements

 

[Piranha]

I am so confused here. Cheney seemed to be the lair message boards whipping boy for his 3rd down toss sweeps. Canada is here for a few months and already people are deeming him a failure. Just a thought, can we see his offense in action for maybe a game or two before labeling him a failure? Salem was said to be mediocre coming in and since day 1 he has lit up the recruiting trail. Maybe Canada can as well. But let's wait a recruiting cycle or two before making judgements

Some of the people posting on here are ridiculous. Signing day is 9 months away, and the season has not even started but Canada is already the boogeyman.

 

[LeftCoastPanther]

Pitt should be pounding the ball the entire season with its O-line and stable of running backs. Heck, if JJ-S isn't in the starting five I'd like to see him as an extra tackle like Wisconsin did with Aaron Gibson back in the mid-90s. Defenses these days face so much spread they'd wear down and quit after a constant pounding from this Panther O-line.

 

[vegasgreed]

We have a new OC, our third different OC in the past three years. Our O-line is good, but this will only be their second game playing with a new system.

We have an inconsistent QB.

Our WR's are questionable - note that I didn't say "bad" - just questionable.

The Nits are gonna be playing "eight-in-the-box", daring Pitt to throw.

The Nits redshirted some decent players.

Any Pitt fan who thinks that this will be an easy game hasn't been paying close attention to Pitt football. (When does Pitt ever have an easy game?)

Bingo. It's going to be a close game. You mentioned their RS players, one of their best ones was Givens, a Pitt verbal at one time.

 

[LeftCoastPanther]

But Givens is only 19 years old. That's no place for a lineman to be in college football. Or is it only no place for Pitt players at that age? I have no idea what position Givens plays, but if he's getting the better of one of Pitt's lineman then the Panther program is in big trouble in 2016.

 

[88Pitt88]

Pitt should be pounding the ball the entire season with its O-line and stable of running backs. Heck, if JJ-S isn't in the starting five I'd like to see him as an extra tackle like Wisconsin did with Aaron Gibson back in the mid-90s. Defenses these days face so much spread they'd wear down and quit after a constant pounding from this Panther O-line.

I have no doubt that our identity will be that of a power running team. However, I would add that offensive football at any level clearly is most effective when there is balance. We don't need to be 50/50 run and pass, but lining up and powering for three straight plays can be a recipe for three and outs against a solid defensive team. Power running can be quite demoralizing to the opponent if they can't stand up to it though.

As for steel's prediction, he is quite the homer. We all love Pitt here, but some of us are smart enough to understand that this should be quite a game and they are not going to come in here and lay over and die for us. They have plenty of talent. What they lack, and what I suspect will lead us to a close victory, is the coaching edge we get from our staff over Milk-dud and his revamped staff. One must remember we are still Pitt until Narduzzi can amass enough talent to start blowing teams out, we always keep opponents in our games whether they should be or not. When we start blowing teams out, then Steele can get on here and make his crazy proclamations.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

We all love Pitt here, but some of us are smart enough to understand that this should be quite a game and they are not going to come in here and lay over and die for us. They have plenty of talent. What they lack, and what I suspect will lead us to a close victory, is the coaching edge we get from our staff over Milk-dud and his revamped staff. One must remember we are still Pitt until Narduzzi can amass enough talent to start blowing teams out, we always keep opponents in our games whether they should be or not. When we start blowing teams out, then Steele can get on here and make his crazy proclamations.

I predict something like a 20-13 win but to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if we DID blow them out. If the line is as good as expected, I could see Conner rushing for 225 and becoming the very early Heisman leader. They have a new OC, new offense, new QB. I could see them really struggling to move the football. Their spread ain't exactly gonna be North Carolina's.

So, a 35-10 easy win would not surprise me.

 

[ricflair4LIFE]

-Looking at lasts years games, these teams pounded them into the ground.

-Army put up 270 rush yards on Penn State

-Maryland put up 240 rush yards on Penn State

-Michigan State posted 190 rush yards and 3 Rush TD's on Penn State

-Ohio State put up 320 rush yards and 3 Rush TD's on Penn State

-Northwestern put up 240 Rush yards on Penn State

-Temple put up 150 Rush yards and 3 Rush TD's on Penn State

-This team couldn't stop anyone last year that had any pulse whatsoever in the run game. Pitt has a better offensive line and stable of RB's than all of these teams going into next year. And Penn State lost all its talent on the D-line. And everyone knows Matt Canada loves pounding the football and running it.

- 270 Rush yards given up to 2-10 Army Black Knights at 5 yards per carry. We should run the ball over 75% of the entire game if not more using the barge formation. They aren't stopping it and we are going to look like 95 Nebraska running against this team. They are going to get a big wakeup call real soon. No wonder the point spread in Vegas is so high. Now that I looked closer at their run defense last year and the inexperienced underweight smurfs they have on the D-line this year, its laughable. We are going to blast this team in the run game.

But that was last year. New year different players. And I'm sure even the teams you cited passed the ball some time during thev game.

 

[88Pitt88]

I predict something like a 20-13 win but to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if we DID blow them out. If the line is as good as expected, I could see Conner rushing for 225 and becoming the very early Heisman leader. They have a new OC, new offense, new QB. I could see them really struggling to move the football. Their spread ain't exactly gonna be North Carolina's.

So, a 35-10 easy win would not surprise me.

Nobody would love a beating like that more than me. I suspect this game may be somewhat high scoring. I am worried that if they run a spread attack we will struggle to defend it well, as that style has always been a problem for us. I believe our linebackers are still the weakness of this defense and a good running qb could give us fits. I am not sure if Mcsorely is any good but until we see their offense, I am at least a little worried that they can score on us.
At this very early time I will say 32-23 Pitt, but 35-10 I like much better!

 

[MajorMajors]

The problem with a team that depends on the running game is that one penalty puts a halt to the drive.

I expect Pitt to score on prolonged drives; I expect UPS to score on big plays. I am concerned for how well Pitt will handle a fast-paced offense -- conditioning-wise. For example, how many snaps can Jarrett go at a fast pace when he already struggles to cover ground...

Whoever makes the fewest mistakes will win.

Go Pitt.

 

[pittmeister]

-Looking at lasts years games, these teams pounded them into the ground.

-Army put up 270 rush yards on Penn State

-Maryland put up 240 rush yards on Penn State

-Michigan State posted 190 rush yards and 3 Rush TD's on Penn State

-Ohio State put up 320 rush yards and 3 Rush TD's on Penn State

-Northwestern put up 240 Rush yards on Penn State

-Temple put up 150 Rush yards and 3 Rush TD's on Penn State

-This team couldn't stop anyone last year that had any pulse whatsoever in the run game. Pitt has a better offensive line and stable of RB's than all of these teams going into next year. And Penn State lost all its talent on the D-line. And everyone knows Matt Canada loves pounding the football and running it.

- 270 Rush yards given up to 2-10 Army Black Knights at 5 yards per carry. We should run the ball over 75% of the entire game if not more using the barge formation. They aren't stopping it and we are going to look like 95 Nebraska running against this team. They are going to get a big wakeup call real soon. No wonder the point spread in Vegas is so high. Now that I looked closer at their run defense last year and the inexperienced underweight smurfs they have on the D-line this year, its laughable. We are going to blast this team in the run game.

You bet your ass they'll need to throw the ball.. PSU will load up the line and will try and stop the run. The game will come down to whether we are effective throwing the ball.

 

[steel_curtain]

I have no doubt that our identity will be that of a power running team. However, I would add that offensive football at any level clearly is most effective when there is balance. We don't need to be 50/50 run and pass, but lining up and powering for three straight plays can be a recipe for three and outs against a solid defensive team. Power running can be quite demoralizing to the opponent if they can't stand up to it though.

As for steel's prediction, he is quite the homer. We all love Pitt here, but some of us are smart enough to understand that this should be quite a game and they are not going to come in here and lay over and die for us. They have plenty of talent. What they lack, and what I suspect will lead us to a close victory, is the coaching edge we get from our staff over Milk-dud and his revamped staff. One must remember we are still Pitt until Narduzzi can amass enough talent to start blowing teams out, we always keep opponents in our games whether they should be or not. When we start blowing teams out, then Steele can get on here and make his crazy proclamations.

-Why didn't anyone stop 1995 Nebraska?

-Why is LSU running the football on 65% of its plays?

-Why does Vegas have Pitt a 9 point favorite over Penn State?

-Why did Army rush for almost 300 yards last year against Penn State?



-I predicted Pitt to win 8 games, minimum. Per ESPN's power index and the early lines, Pitt will be favored to win in at least 8 games this year. I also predict Pitt is going to run hog wild all over Penn State. Penn State can put 10 in the box, they arent stopping it.

-People need to watch more football outside of Pitt. I think one of my favorite games last year was watching Baylor run the wildcat all over Oklahoma State. They did it over, and over, and over again, the Oklahoma State couldnt stop it. They flat out couldnt stop it. That's why I love Power run games.

-Matt Canada = Power Run Coordinator.

 

[steel_curtain]

You bet your ass they'll need to throw the ball.. PSU will load up the line and will try and stop the run. The game will come down to whether we are effective throwing the ball.

-Let them. Because when they do, all it takes is to break through the box, and its an 80 yard TD run with ease. Stacking the box every plays means home run plays throughout the game.

 

[MajTom]

I predict something like a 20-13 win but to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if we DID blow them out. If the line is as good as expected, I could see Conner rushing for 225 and becoming the very early Heisman leader. They have a new OC, new offense, new QB. I could see them really struggling to move the football. Their spread ain't exactly gonna be North Carolina's.

So, a 35-10 easy win would not surprise me.

Conner isn't expected back and is targeting the first conference game. It is unreasonable to expect him to dominate the PSU game. We would all love it if it happened but is unrealistic. It will take him significant time to get into the shape he was in at the start of last year. Who knows how his body will react to the trauma it has gone through. I do think the team can rush for 225 but we will likely be forced to pass and possibly beat them through the air. Our passing game has to show up and keep them honest, that goes for all games. PSU has the corners to go man and stack the box and or blitz a lot. I think it will be low scoring. Their qb is the wild card, he could be a handful. I'm hoping their OC Morehead is a bust and they don't have continuity on offense.

 

[Hero of the Oppressed]

We are going to beat them on the field physically and the final score will be at least 10 point victory. The PSU team luxury buses will depart afterwards only to head south and accidentally cross into West Virginia, where hoopie fans will attack them with furniture. Chairs and other objects engulfed in flames being tossed at the PSU busses for a couple of miles as the bus drivers attempt to get back across the state line and safety A fitting end for the Nitters.

One can only dream !!!

 

[tps48]

-Looking at lasts years games, these teams pounded them into the ground.

-Army put up 270 rush yards on Penn State

-Maryland put up 240 rush yards on Penn State

-Michigan State posted 190 rush yards and 3 Rush TD's on Penn State

-Ohio State put up 320 rush yards and 3 Rush TD's on Penn State

-Northwestern put up 240 Rush yards on Penn State

-Temple put up 150 Rush yards and 3 Rush TD's on Penn State

-This team couldn't stop anyone last year that had any pulse whatsoever in the run game. Pitt has a better offensive line and stable of RB's than all of these teams going into next year. And Penn State lost all its talent on the D-line. And everyone knows Matt Canada loves pounding the football and running it.

- 270 Rush yards given up to 2-10 Army Black Knights at 5 yards per carry. We should run the ball over 75% of the entire game if not more using the barge formation. They aren't stopping it and we are going to look like 95 Nebraska running against this team. They are going to get a big wakeup call real soon. No wonder the point spread in Vegas is so high. Now that I looked closer at their run defense last year and the inexperienced underweight smurfs they have on the D-line this year, its laughable. We are going to blast this team in the run game.

Bragging should come after a win, not before.

 

[rockypanther]

-Why didn't anyone stop 1995 Nebraska?

-Why is LSU running the football on 65% of its plays?

-Why does Vegas have Pitt a 9 point favorite over Penn State?

-Why did Army rush for almost 300 yards last year against Penn State?



-I predicted Pitt to win 8 games, minimum. Per ESPN's power index and the early lines, Pitt will be favored to win in at least 8 games this year. I also predict Pitt is going to run hog wild all over Penn State. Penn State can put 10 in the box, they arent stopping it.

-People need to watch more football outside of Pitt. I think one of my favorite games last year was watching Baylor run the wildcat all over Oklahoma State. They did it over, and over, and over again, the Oklahoma State couldnt stop it. They flat out couldnt stop it. That's why I love Power run games.

-Matt Canada = Power Run Coordinator.

We don't have Tommie Fraizer or Lawrence Phillips running a very difficult offense with option.

Leonard Fournette is by far and away going to be the best running back in college football.

Army runs every okay and still got 300 yards in a very unique running formation.That's not that great.

Pitt doesn't run anything that is hard to prepare for. Mostly dives and off tackles. A few jet sweeps. We have no QB that can pose as a running threat. We also lost a great blocking tight end in JP. Connor most likely will not because to handle much more than 15 carries. They will load the box and we have no receivers who have proven they can deprecate. We have one TE only we know can catch.

There is such a thing as being a homer. There is also a such thing as basically throwing out crap to get yourself attention. Your schtick is really old. Do you really think Connor will run the ball 30 times for like 200 yards, something like 3 touchdowns in his first game back against a 10 man line?

I wish you had the guts to post on the paid board. You would get destroyed.

 

[rockypanther]

I have an idea. Go back to trolling other message boards.

 

[jtbuba]

I'm think Pitt will win, but make no mistake it will be one hard hitting game and plenty of bloody noses.

 

[thebadby2]

-Why didn't anyone stop 1995 Nebraska?

-Why is LSU running the football on 65% of its plays?

-Why does Vegas have Pitt a 9 point favorite over Penn State?

-Why did Army rush for almost 300 yards last year against Penn State?



-I predicted Pitt to win 8 games, minimum. Per ESPN's power index and the early lines, Pitt will be favored to win in at least 8 games this year. I also predict Pitt is going to run hog wild all over Penn State. Penn State can put 10 in the box, they arent stopping it.

-People need to watch more football outside of Pitt. I think one of my favorite games last year was watching Baylor run the wildcat all over Oklahoma State. They did it over, and over, and over again, the Oklahoma State couldnt stop it. They flat out couldnt stop it. That's why I love Power run games.

-Matt Canada = Power Run Coordinator.

Baylor threw for 400 yards against OkSu and ran for 300, but averaged only 4 yards per run. They are far from a "power run" offense. They only went to the wildcat that we all saw in the bowl game against UNC as a desperation move after they got down to their 3rd string QB late in the year and lost a couple of games with him. Baylor runs the ball well, they do everything well offensively--but they do it by spreading the field, the O-line uses super wide splits, and most of the run plays are zone read options. I would add that OkSU is a horrific defense, even by B12 standards. Nobody in the B12 defends the run.

LSU runs the ball 655 of the time because they haven't had a capable QB since Jamarcus Russell. Fournette was stuffed by Bama, Arkansas, and Ole Miss in 3 consecutive losses. Not because he isn't a great back, he is--but because you can't run the ball every play against good defenses no matter who's in the backfield. Eventually you have to have a QB who can make plays in the passing game. Miles was essentially fired at the end of the season, the primary criticism has been his totally lackluster offense and failure to develop a QB and balance out the offense. And you want to hold LSU out as the shining example of the virtues of the "power run game"?

Your posts continually reflect a total lack of knowledge and understanding of the game of football. Every time I read one I just shake my head. You're clueless.

 

[steel_curtain]

Baylor threw for 400 yards against OkSu and ran for 300, but averaged only 4 yards per run. They are far from a "power run" offense. They only went to the wildcat that we all saw in the bowl game against UNC as a desperation move after they got down to their 3rd string QB late in the year and lost a couple of games with him. Baylor runs the ball well, they do everything well offensively--but they do it by spreading the field, the O-line uses super wide splits, and most of the run plays are zone read options. I would add that OkSU is a horrific defense, even by B12 standards. Nobody in the B12 defends the run.

LSU runs the ball 655 of the time because they haven't had a capable QB since Jamarcus Russell. Fournette was stuffed by Bama, Arkansas, and Ole Miss in 3 consecutive losses. Not because he isn't a great back, he is--but because you can't run the ball every play against good defenses no matter who's in the backfield. Eventually you have to have a QB who can make plays in the passing game. Miles was essentially fired at the end of the season, the primary criticism has been his totally lackluster offense and failure to develop a QB and balance out the offense. And you want to hold LSU out as the shining example of the virtues of the "power run game"?

Your posts continually reflect a total lack of knowledge and understanding of the game of football. Every time I read one I just shake my head. You're clueless.

- Your record prediction for Pitt and LSU this year?

 

[steel_curtain]

We don't have Tommie Fraizer or Lawrence Phillips running a very difficult offense with option.

Leonard Fournette is by far and away going to be the best running back in college football.

Army runs every okay and still got 300 yards in a very unique running formation.That's not that great.

Pitt doesn't run anything that is hard to prepare for. Mostly dives and off tackles. A few jet sweeps. We have no QB that can pose as a running threat. We also lost a great blocking tight end in JP. Connor most likely will not because to handle much more than 15 carries. They will load the box and we have no receivers who have proven they can deprecate. We have one TE only we know can catch.

There is such a thing as being a homer. There is also a such thing as basically throwing out crap to get yourself attention. Your schtick is really old. Do you really think Connor will run the ball 30 times for like 200 yards, something like 3 touchdowns in his first game back against a 10 man line?

I wish you had the guts to post on the paid board. You would get destroyed.

-Expect me to brag heavy with Pitt and LSU this year.