Observations and a conclusion

[cruzer]

Well, that was fun. Yet another sh*& the bed performance by the ultimate under-achievers. A few thoughts:

1. Our "vaunted" defense was completely exposed. The D Line didn't do squat and when they're not sacking or pressuring the QB, our DB's were exposed for the mediocre players they are. Hamlin and Pinnock in the NFL is a joke. Ford was invisible. Williams was toast too.

2. Play calling was terrible yet again.

3. Our O Line stinks again. How in the name of god can you not get 1 stinkin yard in 4 attempts?

4. Our RB's are even worse than I originally thought. At the beginning of the year I thought we were average. Now I think they're below average. V Davis seems to have lost a step and has zero wiggle. Can't make anyone miss, slow to hit what little holes there are, couldn't break a tackle if he stepped on one. Izzy did nothing. Sibley at least ran hard and didn't pussy foot around in the hole. AJ Davis has his best game of the season.

5. Do we even have a TE on the field?

6. That was one of the worst coached games I've seen in a while. Completely unprepared and not focused. 10 penalties in a half? One of the coaches should have been frog marched out of the stadium just to set an example.

7. Whipple, Borbs, and Salem all need to go. They can't recruit and their coaching is crap.

On the good news front, it only took 4 weeks into the season to bring Pitt fans back down to earth.

Another piece of good news is that the younger fans are slowly learning why they sound so silly to us old timers every time they say "this year is different".

The final good news is that every year Pitt disappoints (which is something like 30 years running now) I get a little less disturbed each time we screw up. By the time I'm 90, I will hopefully be fully cured of the mental disorder called "being a Pitt fan".

Cruzer

 

[Cap pitt]

Whipple and Borbely need to go, Whipple's play calling sucks, he has no imagination, Borbely sucks as a O line coach because the O line has sucked for a couple of years. They can one year run block and the next year.only pass block, but they can never run and pass block in the same year. And this game the defense sucked also, nc state solved the Pitt pass rush. Pitt took the lead 29 - 24 with 1:44 left in game and went right Down the field like there was no defense, the game was a whole team effort of sucking

 

[PittPoker]

Well, that was fun. Yet another sh*& the bed performance by the ultimate under-achievers. A few thoughts:

1. Our "vaunted" defense was completely exposed. The D Line didn't do squat and when they're not sacking or pressuring the QB, our DB's were exposed for the mediocre players they are. Hamlin and Pinnock in the NFL is a joke. Ford was invisible. Williams was toast too.

2. Play calling was terrible yet again.

3. Our O Line stinks again. How in the name of god can you not get 1 stinkin yard in 4 attempts?

4. Our RB's are even worse than I originally thought. At the beginning of the year I thought we were average. Now I think they're below average. V Davis seems to have lost a step and has zero wiggle. Can't make anyone miss, slow to hit what little holes there are, couldn't break a tackle if he stepped on one. Izzy did nothing. Sibley at least ran hard and didn't pussy foot around in the hole. AJ Davis has his best game of the season.

5. Do we even have a TE on the field?

6. That was one of the worst coached games I've seen in a while. Completely unprepared and not focused. 10 penalties in a half? One of the coaches should have been frog marched out of the stadium just to set an example.

7. Whipple, Borbs, and Salem all need to go. They can't recruit and their coaching is crap.

On the good news front, it only took 4 weeks into the season to bring Pitt fans back down to earth.

Another piece of good news is that the younger fans are slowly learning why they sound so silly to us old timers every time they say "this year is different".

The final good news is that every year Pitt disappoints (which is something like 30 years running now) I get a little less disturbed each time we screw up. By the time I'm 90, I will hopefully be fully cured of the mental disorder called "being a Pitt fan".

Cruzer

I called this the whole offseason. All the pollyanna's on here claiming that this was the year Pitt would take that next step smh. I mean, Narduzzi is not a good football coach so no Pitt team will be taking a next step under him. They just won't.

If you like 5-7, 6-6, 7-5 teams and playing in garbage bowls then Narduzzi is your guy. Because that's the ceiling under him.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

I called this the whole offseason. All the pollyanna's on here claiming that this was the year Pitt would take that next step smh. I mean, Narduzzi is not a good football coach so no Pitt team will be taking a next step under him. They just won't.

If you like 5-7, 6-6, 7-5 teams and playing in garbage bowls then Narduzzi is your guy. Because that's the ceiling under him.

What’s amusing is some crowing about the next recruiting class. On paper it’s only marginally better than the previous. They’re listed 24th on rivals, but when you go by average stars they’re in the low 50s. 247 composite has them 30th. So maybe split the difference? Not really anything to be excited about there either.

 

[Joe Magarac]

Well, that was fun. Yet another sh*& the bed performance by the ultimate under-achievers. A few thoughts:

1. Our "vaunted" defense was completely exposed. The D Line didn't do squat and when they're not sacking or pressuring the QB, our DB's were exposed for the mediocre players they are. Hamlin and Pinnock in the NFL is a joke. Ford was invisible. Williams was toast too.

2. Play calling was terrible yet again.

3. Our O Line stinks again. How in the name of god can you not get 1 stinkin yard in 4 attempts?

4. Our RB's are even worse than I originally thought. At the beginning of the year I thought we were average. Now I think they're below average. V Davis seems to have lost a step and has zero wiggle. Can't make anyone miss, slow to hit what little holes there are, couldn't break a tackle if he stepped on one. Izzy did nothing. Sibley at least ran hard and didn't pussy foot around in the hole. AJ Davis has his best game of the season.

5. Do we even have a TE on the field?

6. That was one of the worst coached games I've seen in a while. Completely unprepared and not focused. 10 penalties in a half? One of the coaches should have been frog marched out of the stadium just to set an example.

7. Whipple, Borbs, and Salem all need to go. They can't recruit and their coaching is crap.

On the good news front, it only took 4 weeks into the season to bring Pitt fans back down to earth.

Another piece of good news is that the younger fans are slowly learning why they sound so silly to us old timers every time they say "this year is different".

The final good news is that every year Pitt disappoints (which is something like 30 years running now) I get a little less disturbed each time we screw up. By the time I'm 90, I will hopefully be fully cured of the mental disorder called "being a Pitt fan".

Cruzer

Your Observations, and particularly your Conclusions are spot on.
Sadly, two of the coaches you cite in #7 are the second failures in a row and the third coach has only been taking up space for the past six years. Pitt’s defensive genius, head coach has shown he has an abysmal record for hiring offensive assistants.
What a surprise that Pitt’s offense has been abysmal for the last two seasons.

 

[PittPoker]

What’s amusing is some crowing about the next recruiting class. On paper it’s only marginally better than the previous. They’re listed 24th on rivals, but when you go by average stars they’re in the low 50s. 247 composite has them 30th. So maybe split the difference? Not really anything to be excited about there either.

I get that this is a Pitt message board and you would presume that most on here want to be excited about Pitt right? But I think there is also a lack of reality by some on here. You bring up a good point. Recruiting under Narduzzi has been generally meh, average. Nothing at all to get excited about. Most of his recruits are 3 stars with a couple 2 stars and 4 stars mixed in. Rinse and repeat. I think Wanny recruited much better but I could be wrong.

I just wish some on here were more grounded in reality that Narduzzi so far in 6 years is a mediocre. 500 coach. Getting all excited that this guy will take Pitt to the next level sadly isn't going to happen.

 

[crharris8892]

Team was ranked, expected to win with a higher point spread, gushing reviews of our defense, accolades on ACCN, Narduzzi finally has his defense and leading the nation in sacks...playing an ACC bottom feeder... what could go wrong? Its like stocks and follow trends, sometimes you bet against the expected outcome. We are Pitt. Thank God no Pitt legends were invited and hurt in viewing of this game.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

I get that this is a Pitt message board and you would presume that most on here want to be excited about Pitt right? But I think there is also a lack of reality by some on here. You bring up a good point. Recruiting under Narduzzi has been generally meh, average. Nothing at all to get excited about. Most of his recruits are 3 stars with a couple 2 stars and 4 stars mixed in. Ronse and repeat. I think Wanny recruited much better but I could be wrong.

I just wish some on here were more grounded in reality that Narduzzi so far in 6 years is a mediocre. 500 coach. Getting all excited that this guy will take Pitt to the next level sadly isn't going to happen.

I fear you’re correct. Once in a while the stars could align but by and large I think this deep in we know what we have.

And also on recruiting - there was no bounce in 2020 from that great division championship. We were assured we’d see it for 2021 since it was late in the cycle. Heard it from many including Narduzzi himself. Whoops - not so much.

 

[gary2]

Team was ranked, expected to win with a higher point spread, gushing reviews of our defense, accolades on ACCN, Narduzzi finally has his defense and leading the nation in sacks...playing an ACC bottom feeder... what could go wrong? Its like stocks and follow trends, sometimes you bet against the expected outcome. We are Pitt. Thank God no Pitt legends were invited and hurt in viewing of this game.

Pitt needed to discourage State early.

The Addison TD was a great start. Unfortunately State immediately responded (mainly due to a pass interference call thrown not by the official who was 5 feet away, but someone quite a distance away)

Pitt foolishly insisted on trying to run he ball. We thought we were Virginia Tech.

1st Qtr - 3 passes and 8 runs

Falling behind by 10 does not discourage a 14 point underdog.

Narduzzi coaches too conservatively. "He" makes these games close.

We need to be aggressive and put teams away. Don't let the last drives of games matter.

 

[thebadby2]

I called this the whole offseason. All the pollyanna's on here claiming that this was the year Pitt would take that next step smh. I mean, Narduzzi is not a good football coach so no Pitt team will be taking a next step under him. They just won't.

If you like 5-7, 6-6, 7-5 teams and playing in garbage bowls then Narduzzi is your guy. Because that's the ceiling under him.

Any chance the team had to have a good year was dependent on the O line being about 150% better than it was last year. That wasn't going to happen.

But it's great that we were ranked for a couple weeks before half the teams in college football even started playing.

 

[thebadby2]

I fear you’re correct. Once in a while the stars could align but by and large I think this deep in we know what we have.

And also on recruiting - there was no bounce in 2020 from that great division championship. We were assured we’d see it for 2021 since it was late in the cycle. Heard it from many including Narduzzi himself. Whoops - not so much.

I can't even imagine sitting in a kid's living room trying to sell "ACC Coastal Champs" when my program lost the ACC champ game 42-10 after putting up 8 total passing yards and becoming a national laughingstock in doing so. Not to mention the horrific beatdown loss to PSU and getting crushed by a terrible Miami team to end the regular season. pretty sure that "championship" didn't sway a single recruit pone way or the other.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

I can't even imagine sitting in a kid's living room trying to sell "ACC Coastal Champs" when my program lost the ACC champ game 42-10 after putting up 8 total passing yards and becoming a national laughingstock in doing so. Not to mention the horrific beatdown loss to PSU and getting crushed by a terrible Miami team to end the regular season. pretty sure that "championship" didn't sway a single recruit pone way or the other.

Agreed. I was skeptical at the time to say the least. It was better than not winning that mess but it was still the same old same old from a macro level.

 

[Panther Holla]

Well, that was fun. Yet another sh*& the bed performance by the ultimate under-achievers. A few thoughts:

1. Our "vaunted" defense was completely exposed. The D Line didn't do squat and when they're not sacking or pressuring the QB, our DB's were exposed for the mediocre players they are. Hamlin and Pinnock in the NFL is a joke. Ford was invisible. Williams was toast too.

2. Play calling was terrible yet again.

3. Our O Line stinks again. How in the name of god can you not get 1 stinkin yard in 4 attempts?

4. Our RB's are even worse than I originally thought. At the beginning of the year I thought we were average. Now I think they're below average. V Davis seems to have lost a step and has zero wiggle. Can't make anyone miss, slow to hit what little holes there are, couldn't break a tackle if he stepped on one. Izzy did nothing. Sibley at least ran hard and didn't pussy foot around in the hole. AJ Davis has his best game of the season.

5. Do we even have a TE on the field?

6. That was one of the worst coached games I've seen in a while. Completely unprepared and not focused. 10 penalties in a half? One of the coaches should have been frog marched out of the stadium just to set an example.

7. Whipple, Borbs, and Salem all need to go. They can't recruit and their coaching is crap.

On the good news front, it only took 4 weeks into the season to bring Pitt fans back down to earth.

Another piece of good news is that the younger fans are slowly learning why they sound so silly to us old timers every time they say "this year is different".

The final good news is that every year Pitt disappoints (which is something like 30 years running now) I get a little less disturbed each time we screw up. By the time I'm 90, I will hopefully be fully cured of the mental disorder called "being a Pitt fan".

Cruzer

Seething over this latest bed soiling by Pitt, I compiled a very subjective list of the last 39 football seasons (since 1982). For each one, I identified the game, IMO, that was the Pitt/Lucy Yanked the Football season-killer. That defeat was not necessarily the game that eliminated Pitt from a major bowl or a title.... it was the gut-piercing loss, the one that broke big dreams into smithereens. The game where Pitt showed its glass jaw and got clobbered, or lost to a vastly inferior Temple or Rutgers in humiliating fashion, or allowed a Bowling Green to make Pitt a national joke, or caused Pitt to fall out of the national rankings.

For example, Pitt started 1984 0-4: BYU, Oklahoma, Temple, WVU. While the opening loss to BYU was hard to accept, the following week blowout at home vs, Oklahoma knocked Pitt from the Top 25 and effectively ended any talk of a major bowl. Pitt's 3-5-1 finish was anti-climactic.

The Lucy Games happened in every month: Aug (twice), Sep (13 times), Oct (17), Nov (7), Dec (once). If you prefer to divide a season into quarters of 3 weeks each, the numbers are 12, 12, 11 and 4. By either measure, Pitt's goose is typically cooked by Halloween. Interestingly, Walt Harris's teams fared the best as far as extending hope deep in to the season -- 4 of Walt's teams held out hope for us into November. In contrast, Narduzzi's leave us wounded and bleeding in October -- and this year, again IMO, in September.

So when you say, it only took 4 weeks -- you are correct. Usually Pitt teases us a little longer before shanking us in the ribs.

 

[KennyTheKangaroo]

I can't even imagine sitting in a kid's living room trying to sell "ACC Coastal Champs" when my program lost the ACC champ game 42-10 after putting up 8 total passing yards and becoming a national laughingstock in doing so. Not to mention the horrific beatdown loss to PSU and getting crushed by a terrible Miami team to end the regular season. pretty sure that "championship" didn't sway a single recruit pone way or the other.

You left out the part where they scored 13 points in the sun bowl.

 

[YUK2]

Are our hopes completely crushed by this one game? If so, why? We just need to regroup and win against BC. At least there is Hope each year. During my 4 years, the Back to the Future years, there was never any hope.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

Are our hopes completely crushed by this one game? If so, why? We just need to regroup and win against BC. At least there is Hope each year. During my 4 years, the Back to the Future years, there was never any hope.

Depends on your hopes. It would be nice if they’d win the ones they’re supposed to win instead of laying an egg as usual. When a better team beats Pitt I think most of us understand and accept it. But the NC St game is why a good many of us feel like it’s the same old nonsense.

I realize the schedule changes didn’t do any favors. Unless they beat BC, GT and Fl St it’s gonna be another mediocre season. And may be regardless. I’d expect a loss in the other 4 but we often so steal one somewhere so we’ll see.

 

[thebadby2]

Are our hopes completely crushed by this one game? If so, why? We just need to regroup and win against BC. At least there is Hope each year. During my 4 years, the Back to the Future years, there was never any hope.

Hopes for what? I think for most of us this loss is just the disappointment of the reality of another year of more of the same. 30 plus years of it now.

 

[docpanther26]

...and a lot of us knew this year was not going to be much different than last because of those glaring problems we have. I would love to be wrong!

 

[docpanther26]

One thing that absolutely disturbs me is if, and I mean if, our O line actually creates a hole, our running backs have the amazing ability to still run into the pack...completely missing the hole. Frustrating so say the least.

 

[thebadby2]

One thing that absolutely disturbs me is if, and I mean if, our O line actually creates a hole, our running backs have the amazing ability to still run into the pack...completely missing the hole. Frustrating so say the least.

They don’t have that problem often. The O line is not good.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

The refs would not allow Pitt to put away NCS early!