That's my lasting impression from Thursday night: Pitt's not quite "there" just yet. Not that I necessarily thought Pitt was "there," but like everyone else, I had moments of being tempted to believe that Pat Narduzzi had gotten the team "there" in Year One.
He hasn't. But he has gotten them a lot closer to being "there" - whatever you want to take that to mean, whether it's "arriving" or "taking the next step" or whatever - he has gotten the team a lot closer than I expected in Year One.
Count me in the group that thinks the odds would have favored previous Pitt teams losing this game by more than a touchdown after falling behind 20-3 (although it's notable that in 2013 Pitt fell behind UNC 27-3 and battled back to 27-27 before losing). I still think there's something different about this team with Narduzzi in charge, but there are some talent issues that have been causing problems the last few weeks.
This isn't to absolve the coaches of any blame for this loss; they deserve some. But even though Pitt lost on Thursday night, I can't shake the feeling that the team is making overall improvement this season. There will be another game or two like this; it's just likely to happen. How the coaches and players respond and move forward will be interesting to see.
He hasn't. But he has gotten them a lot closer to being "there" - whatever you want to take that to mean, whether it's "arriving" or "taking the next step" or whatever - he has gotten the team a lot closer than I expected in Year One.
Count me in the group that thinks the odds would have favored previous Pitt teams losing this game by more than a touchdown after falling behind 20-3 (although it's notable that in 2013 Pitt fell behind UNC 27-3 and battled back to 27-27 before losing). I still think there's something different about this team with Narduzzi in charge, but there are some talent issues that have been causing problems the last few weeks.
This isn't to absolve the coaches of any blame for this loss; they deserve some. But even though Pitt lost on Thursday night, I can't shake the feeling that the team is making overall improvement this season. There will be another game or two like this; it's just likely to happen. How the coaches and players respond and move forward will be interesting to see.
