Game Thoughts

[cruzer]

I'm going to keep this relatively short because anyone with two eyes could see the issues today.

First and foremost, the difference in this game was very simply talent across the board. Pitt has some talent in a few spots (Boyd, Whitehead). ND has top flight talent across the board. We were simply overmatched today.

That said, some may question why we constantly put our rather pedestrian CB's on an island against the ND receivers. The answer is simple. Narduzzi's defensive philosophy is to sell out to stop the run. We put 8 guys in the box to stop their run. There simply is no one left on many plays to provide deep help. The fundamental problem is that we still got gashed up the middle. Matt Galambos and the rest of the LB's got abused. Yes, he caused a fumble for TD... when the game was over. Most of the game he was invisible. Those few plays he made were 8-10 yards downfield. The guy is simply not a D1 caliber MLB. Unfortunately, he's probably the best we have right now.

Not only were we unable to stop the run, we were mostly unable to pressure the QB. Yes, Price had a few big plays, but so many passing plays, Kizer could have had a latte he had so much time. No way any CB's are going to cover the ND receivers for that long.

On offense, it's pretty simple as well. We lack dynamic playmakers. Boyd was largely ineffective today against the ND coverage. If there was a bright spot, at least Ford made some plays today. Our tight ends had a ton of drops which is actually unusual. RB's basically played very little role in the outcome of the game. Whitehead is probably our best RB and he's not even an RB. We desperately need a big time playmaker in the backfield. Ollison is punishing but not a game breaker. James shows me very little. Hall is still a question mark but hasn't impressed.

This game was actually a great wake up call in terms of understanding where we are and where we need to go to compete at the highest level. It's going to take several years of much better recruiting for Narduzzi to really show what he can do.

All that said, I still think Narduzzi is our guy. He just needs to seriously upgrade the talent. That will take a few years.

Cruzer

P.S. - this comment is not sour grapes. ND was clearly the better team, but Jeez were the refs bad. That play with Ford that got overturned was criminal that no interference was called. I counted at least 4 easy holding or interference calls that did not get called against ND. It would not have impacted the outcome, but holy crap were the refs bad.

 

[The Loaded Italian]

good analysis, and they couldnt call PI during the replay? I know on other replays they called penalties like face mask and other things.

 

[LeftCoastPanther]

Linebacker recruiting has to pick up. Brightwell, McKee and Pine will help out immensely. Pitt's linebacking corps have been bad for so long.

 

[UPitt '89]

The bad officiating was ridiculous.... and I would argue it did have some impact on the game. It is a much different game if Pitt's first drive of the 3rd quarter cuts the lead to 21-17.

Pitt needed to take advantage of every opportunity. We forced two fumbles in ND territory but couldn't recover. Those two plays go our way, and the game is different. Boyd dropped a TD pass on the first drive that cost us 4 points. Peterman's interception cost us at least 3.

Yes, we would've had to play mistake-free football to win, but we weren't completely overmatched.

ND outgained Pitt 430 to 400 today.

Yes, they have a deeper roster than us, but that game was not unwinnable.

 

[Hailpitt]

Linebacking corp was bad. The D-line was horrendous. ND O-line pushed them around like they were high school players. Render, Mosely-Smith and Taleni do not have an ounce of toughness. This is the defense that quit vs Houston in the bowl game. Play young guys rather then these retreads

 

[MajorMajors]

I'm going to keep this relatively short because anyone with two eyes could see the issues today.

First and foremost, the difference in this game was very simply talent across the board. Pitt has some talent in a few spots (Boyd, Whitehead). ND has top flight talent across the board. We were simply overmatched today.

That said, some may question why we constantly put our rather pedestrian CB's on an island against the ND receivers. The answer is simple. Narduzzi's defensive philosophy is to sell out to stop the run. We put 8 guys in the box to stop their run. There simply is no one left on many plays to provide deep help. The fundamental problem is that we still got gashed up the middle. Matt Galambos and the rest of the LB's got abused. Yes, he caused a fumble for TD... when the game was over. Most of the game he was invisible. Those few plays he made were 8-10 yards downfield. The guy is simply not a D1 caliber MLB. Unfortunately, he's probably the best we have right now.

Not only were we unable to stop the run, we were mostly unable to pressure the QB. Yes, Price had a few big plays, but so many passing plays, Kizer could have had a latte he had so much time. No way any CB's are going to cover the ND receivers for that long.

On offense, it's pretty simple as well. We lack dynamic playmakers. Boyd was largely ineffective today against the ND coverage. If there was a bright spot, at least Ford made some plays today. Our tight ends had a ton of drops which is actually unusual. RB's basically played very little role in the outcome of the game. Whitehead is probably our best RB and he's not even an RB. We desperately need a big time playmaker in the backfield. Ollison is punishing but not a game breaker. James shows me very little. Hall is still a question mark but hasn't impressed.

This game was actually a great wake up call in terms of understanding where we are and where we need to go to compete at the highest level. It's going to take several years of much better recruiting for Narduzzi to really show what he can do.

All that said, I still think Narduzzi is our guy. He just needs to seriously upgrade the talent. That will take a few years.

Cruzer

P.S. - this comment is not sour grapes. ND was clearly the better team, but Jeez were the refs bad. That play with Ford that got overturned was criminal that no interference was called. I counted at least 4 easy holding or interference calls that did not get called against ND. It would not have impacted the outcome, but holy crap were the refs bad.

Speaking of the officiating, how about the no call when Challingsworth was clearly held on the play where T. Boyd was going to pass. The ND DB was clearly going to be beat so he grabbed Challingsworth and held him up - no call. And an official was standing about 10 yards downfield of the play which was coming right at him.

How about the call that went against ND, where the Pitt players were all walking back up the field assuming it was yet another call against Pitt...

Go Pitt.

 

[MartyInLawrenceville]

Here's what I liked about the offense...they threw the ball downfield!!! No passes out into the flat (where ND would have absolutely killed our receivers).

 

[MrGee]

The bad officiating was ridiculous.... and I would argue it did have some impact on the game. It is a much different game if Pitt's first drive of the 3rd quarter cuts the lead to 21-17.

Pitt needed to take advantage of every opportunity. We forced two fumbles in ND territory but couldn't recover. Those two plays go our way, and the game is different. Boyd dropped a TD pass on the first drive that cost us 4 points. Peterman's interception cost us at least 3.

Yes, we would've had to play mistake-free football to win, but we weren't completely overmatched.

ND outgained Pitt 430 to 400 today.

Yes, they have a deeper roster than us, but that game was not unwinnable.

Bad officiating was a contributor---talk about ignoring holding & PI--unreal---on the other hand, there was a lack of energy out there today on both sides of the ball, no one, not even Boyd, making plays ---continue to give up deep completions for tds---playing the same defensive scheme that will fail against decent teams---Boyds miss early on for a td hurt

 

[deepelemblues]

On offense, it's pretty simple as well. We lack dynamic playmakers. Boyd was largely ineffective today against the ND coverage. If there was a bright spot, at least Ford made some plays today. Our tight ends had a ton of drops which is actually unusual. RB's basically played very little role in the outcome of the game. Whitehead is probably our best RB and he's not even an RB. We desperately need a big time playmaker in the backfield. Ollison is punishing but not a game breaker. James shows me very little. Hall is still a question mark but hasn't impressed.

Pitt still managed to run the ball well in the first half but got nothing save a field goal out of it.

The problem is one Pitt offenses have had for forever, a negative play erases momentum way out of proportion to what it should and the offense stalls. It doesn't matter if you just moved the ball 40 yards upfield and looked damn good doing it if one bad play from that point usually means the drive is over, regardless of what down it is. The offense instantly looks like its very far back on its heels. And as we saw today there are times when the 3 and outs cluster; the bad play comes on the first set of downs and that's it.

 

[UPitt '89]

I thought the flea flicker was an incredibly stupid call on the first drive. Pitt just got two first downs and was moving the ball at midfield and Chaney f-ed up with that call.... just like early in the UNC game.

The one real downside to this coaching staff is that Chaney is a weak link. But this team is night and day much more fun to watch under this regime. This kids do NOT quit.

 

[runthewildcat]

I'm going to keep this relatively short because anyone with two eyes could see the issues today.

First and foremost, the difference in this game was very simply talent across the board. Pitt has some talent in a few spots (Boyd, Whitehead). ND has top flight talent across the board. We were simply overmatched today.

That said, some may question why we constantly put our rather pedestrian CB's on an island against the ND receivers. The answer is simple. Narduzzi's defensive philosophy is to sell out to stop the run. We put 8 guys in the box to stop their run. There simply is no one left on many plays to provide deep help. The fundamental problem is that we still got gashed up the middle. Matt Galambos and the rest of the LB's got abused. Yes, he caused a fumble for TD... when the game was over. Most of the game he was invisible. Those few plays he made were 8-10 yards downfield. The guy is simply not a D1 caliber MLB. Unfortunately, he's probably the best we have right now.

Not only were we unable to stop the run, we were mostly unable to pressure the QB. Yes, Price had a few big plays, but so many passing plays, Kizer could have had a latte he had so much time. No way any CB's are going to cover the ND receivers for that long.

On offense, it's pretty simple as well. We lack dynamic playmakers. Boyd was largely ineffective today against the ND coverage. If there was a bright spot, at least Ford made some plays today. Our tight ends had a ton of drops which is actually unusual. RB's basically played very little role in the outcome of the game. Whitehead is probably our best RB and he's not even an RB. We desperately need a big time playmaker in the backfield. Ollison is punishing but not a game breaker. James shows me very little. Hall is still a question mark but hasn't impressed.

This game was actually a great wake up call in terms of understanding where we are and where we need to go to compete at the highest level. It's going to take several years of much better recruiting for Narduzzi to really show what he can do.

All that said, I still think Narduzzi is our guy. He just needs to seriously upgrade the talent. That will take a few years.

Cruzer

P.S. - this comment is not sour grapes. ND was clearly the better team, but Jeez were the refs bad. That play with Ford that got overturned was criminal that no interference was called. I counted at least 4 easy holding or interference calls that did not get called against ND. It would not have impacted the outcome, but holy crap were the refs bad.

Play calling was terrible once again. Why do we abort the run so quick? Did the same thing against UNC.
Not quite sure why we waited 9 weeks to put whitehead on offense. Hopefully he'll be the Boyd of 2016.
How is Maddux our best corner? He's short yet slow. Not the best combo.
Without Connor our pass game sucks. Pitt has a successful pass game with play action if we can establish the run game. Today and last week we gave up on the run early on.
We have to be one of the worst offensive teams in the red zone.

 

[Burgh15]

I feel that schematically, the offense and defense is coming together. Today was an example of the lack of execution from the players, in a major part because of the talent gap between the two teams. Not to say the coaching staff called the perfect game, but there were plays there for the making that were botched.

Until the defense can shut down the run, they will continue to allow points. Teams can continue to employ a balanced attack. It's frustrating to continue to watch this team miss tackles in the backfield every week only to allow an eight yard game.

The receivers and tight ends were horrid. Peterman didn't play well, but he had zero help.

And yes, the ACC referees continued to perform below the line.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

This

Linebacker recruiting has to pick up. Brightwell, McKee and Pine will help out immensely. Pitt's linebacking corps have been bad for so long.

 

[Pittx9]

P.S. - this comment is not sour grapes. ND was clearly the better team, but Jeez were the refs bad. That play with Ford that got overturned was criminal that no interference was called. I counted at least 4 easy holding or interference calls that did not get called against ND. It would not have impacted the outcome, but holy crap were the refs bad.

If I was Narduzzi I seriously would've considered taking the team off the field. It definitely could've affected the outcome but again, even if not that doesn't mean it's not a big deal. But seriously, some of those calls were not only so unbelievably terrible but they also turned the game completely around.

I think Notre Dame is one helluva good football team and one of the best in the country, but there really was not much they did today without the help of the officials. Not taking away the fact they played good and are a great team, but just about every big play the refs made a ridiculous error. It is seriously disgraceful to allow such bs officiating to take place.

 

[JJR2013]

I feel that schematically, the offense and defense is coming together. Today was an example of the lack of execution from the players, in a major part because of the talent gap between the two teams. Not to say the coaching staff called the perfect game, but there were plays there for the making that were botched.

Until the defense can shut down the run, they will continue to allow points. Teams can continue to employ a balanced attack. It's frustrating to continue to watch this team miss tackles in the backfield every week only to allow an eight yard game.

The receivers and tight ends were horrid. Peterman didn't play well, but he had zero help.

And yes, the ACC referees continued to perform below the line.

Perfect example: Tyler Boyd dropped touchdown early. I was mad with the play call not to run it run it and run it but what more can you ask other than a 1 on 1 with TB and a ball that hits both his hands?

 

[Pittx9]

Perfect example: Tyler Boyd dropped touchdown early. I was mad with the play call not to run it run it and run it but what more can you ask other than a 1 on 1 with TB and a ball that hits both his hands?

Absolutely huge. No clue how the game turns out if he catches that ball. Also that throw was absolutely perfect, no reason at all not to catch it.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I know on other replays they called penalties like face mask and other things.

No, they don't.

 

[paulbl99]

Absolutely huge. No clue how the game turns out if he catches that ball. Also that throw was absolutely perfect, no reason at all not to catch it.

The Boyd miss was important along with several other misses following that one. Not sure what was going on there.
But fact is ND is a very talented and very good football team. Pitt not so.
Someday though, I'm hearing

 

[Pittx9]

The Boyd miss was important along with several other misses following that one. Not sure what was going on there.
But fact is ND is a very talented and very good football team. Pitt not so.
Someday though, I'm hearing

I still fully believe Pitt is on the up and will be a very good team soon. Let's face it, no Conner and suddenly this offense is not that good. Our defense last season was the most putrid thing on Earth, we returned many of the same guys. Narduzzi is a good coach and that's why the defense has improved slightly, because of coaching and the kids playing their hearts out for him. They still are not that good though.

One day though Narduzzi will have a full roster of his recruits here and have them coached up. Then we will really see a winning Pitt football team I believe. I still see no reason we shouldn't win these last 3 games though, we just happened to play one of the best teams in the country today. For every reasonable Notre Dame fan that enjoys football and just roots for their team, there's 5 obnoxious drunk Irish fans who know nothing about football. That makes it very hard for people to admit Notre Dame is good because everyone hates them. No doubt about it though, that is a ridiculously good football team.

 

[bwh05]

Notre Dame is a top 10 team and we aren't. My hope before the season was we could go 7-5 or 8-4 and I'll still be happy if we do.

We simply aren't athletic enough to match up with ND or FSU type teams right now. We had to play and coach perfectly to win and we didn't. I'm greatly disappointed in Chaney but I thought he opened things up in the second half (because he had to) so maybe we'll throw downfield more in the last 3 games.

 

[Ditka1960]

The Boyd miss was important along with several other misses following that one. Not sure what was going on there.
But fact is ND is a very talented and very good football team. Pitt not so.
Someday though, I'm hearing

Pitt scored 4 TDs in the second half. Few teams do that against ND or any other top 5 team. Relax.