Coach Pat & Staff and the Players have the right attitude with coming challenges in UVA, GT, CUSE, UNC, NOTRE DAME, DUKE, ULOU, & MIAMI!
I see a Coach not just saying the right thing, but one has his Players listening to execute and do the right things! UVA is not going to be easy, but these Pitt Coaches are not going to allow the Players to sit back and just show up.
The Virginia Defense in spite of giving up big points to Boise will want to make amends against a Pitt Offense still searching for its previous form from last year? Both Teams & their Players are coming to play on Saturday and this is a game to attend on a beautiful Day!!!
Article & Link:
Recent Pitt history is littered with scenarios that sound a lot like this:
• Fast starts, or a sudden midseason burst of success.
• A crescendo of high hopes, back-slapping and even a top-10 national ranking one ill-fated season.
• A crash and inevitable change at the program's highest level.
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi can't comment on a past that didn't include him, but he's determined to keep it from repeating. Pitt is 3-1 and unranked for the third consecutive season, and that's just fine with him and his players. “You focus on each play, each (practice) period,” middle linebacker Matt Galambos said. “Don't worry about the big picture.”
“All that baloney,” Narduzzi said, “we can't let it get to our kids because it can waterfall down the other way. We haven't allowed it where I've been. We've been pretty fortunate to keep our guys grounded. That's coaching.”
And so begins another challenge to Narduzzi's first season, guiding his players back home, keeping them focused and taking a swing at another ACC opponent. Pitt returns to Heinz Field on Saturday for the first time in 35 days to play Virginia.
“The kids were feeling good on the airplane going back (from Virginia Tech),” he said. “We got them back down to earth (Sunday) just because there are so many things we can do better.” Previous coaching staffs were unable to harness their players in celebrated instances from 2008-10 and '12. The results weren't pretty.
The most recent time Pitt played three consecutive road games ('08), the Panthers won them all under former coach Dave Wannstedt, rising to No. 17 in the Associated Press poll with a 5-1 record. The next week, Rutgers scored 54 points at Heinz Field, the Panthers lost by 20 and ended the season with a historically embarrassing 3-0 loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.
The following year, Pitt was 9-1 and No. 9 in the nation before losing three- and one-point decisions to West Virginia and Rutgers and settling for the Car Care Bowl. Then, in 2010, Pitt took a three-game winning streak into Connecticut and lost by two points. Less than a month later, Wannstedt was fired.
And who could forget Paul Chryst's first season? Pitt dragged No. 3 Notre Dame through three overtimes before losing 29-26, when quarterback Tino Sunseri publicly blamed the loss on a missed field goal. No one seemed particularly interested six days later in a 24-17 loss at Connecticut.
This Pitt team has enough holes to keep it busy at practice and humble in front of the cameras. “It might look good on gameday,” Narduzzi said, “but the eye in the sky doesn't lie. You see a ton of things you'd like done better in all areas.”
One of those is the passing game. It works well in limited space a little more than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, but quarterback Nate Peterman has yet to showcase All-American candidate Tyler Boyd's big-play ability. Pitt's only threat at wide receiver, Boyd is averaging 10.5 yards per reception, down 30 percent from his career rate of 14.9.
“Maybe we have to throw more deep shots,” Narduzzi said. “Nathan is going through his reads. We'll hit a few of them. It's nice to win without them.” Narduzzi also found fault with the defense that has recorded 17 sacks, four interceptions and a fumble recovery in four games while rising to fourth in the nation in run (71.3 yards) and total defense (243.8).
“There were a couple of times we didn't have contain and we still sacked the quarterback,” he said. “What if he runs away?” Narduzzi is never satisfied. “We're not where we need to be,” he said. “And we never will be.”
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
I see a Coach not just saying the right thing, but one has his Players listening to execute and do the right things! UVA is not going to be easy, but these Pitt Coaches are not going to allow the Players to sit back and just show up.
The Virginia Defense in spite of giving up big points to Boise will want to make amends against a Pitt Offense still searching for its previous form from last year? Both Teams & their Players are coming to play on Saturday and this is a game to attend on a beautiful Day!!!
Article & Link:
Recent Pitt history is littered with scenarios that sound a lot like this:
• Fast starts, or a sudden midseason burst of success.
• A crescendo of high hopes, back-slapping and even a top-10 national ranking one ill-fated season.
• A crash and inevitable change at the program's highest level.
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi can't comment on a past that didn't include him, but he's determined to keep it from repeating. Pitt is 3-1 and unranked for the third consecutive season, and that's just fine with him and his players. “You focus on each play, each (practice) period,” middle linebacker Matt Galambos said. “Don't worry about the big picture.”
“All that baloney,” Narduzzi said, “we can't let it get to our kids because it can waterfall down the other way. We haven't allowed it where I've been. We've been pretty fortunate to keep our guys grounded. That's coaching.”
And so begins another challenge to Narduzzi's first season, guiding his players back home, keeping them focused and taking a swing at another ACC opponent. Pitt returns to Heinz Field on Saturday for the first time in 35 days to play Virginia.
“The kids were feeling good on the airplane going back (from Virginia Tech),” he said. “We got them back down to earth (Sunday) just because there are so many things we can do better.” Previous coaching staffs were unable to harness their players in celebrated instances from 2008-10 and '12. The results weren't pretty.
The most recent time Pitt played three consecutive road games ('08), the Panthers won them all under former coach Dave Wannstedt, rising to No. 17 in the Associated Press poll with a 5-1 record. The next week, Rutgers scored 54 points at Heinz Field, the Panthers lost by 20 and ended the season with a historically embarrassing 3-0 loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.
The following year, Pitt was 9-1 and No. 9 in the nation before losing three- and one-point decisions to West Virginia and Rutgers and settling for the Car Care Bowl. Then, in 2010, Pitt took a three-game winning streak into Connecticut and lost by two points. Less than a month later, Wannstedt was fired.
And who could forget Paul Chryst's first season? Pitt dragged No. 3 Notre Dame through three overtimes before losing 29-26, when quarterback Tino Sunseri publicly blamed the loss on a missed field goal. No one seemed particularly interested six days later in a 24-17 loss at Connecticut.
This Pitt team has enough holes to keep it busy at practice and humble in front of the cameras. “It might look good on gameday,” Narduzzi said, “but the eye in the sky doesn't lie. You see a ton of things you'd like done better in all areas.”
One of those is the passing game. It works well in limited space a little more than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, but quarterback Nate Peterman has yet to showcase All-American candidate Tyler Boyd's big-play ability. Pitt's only threat at wide receiver, Boyd is averaging 10.5 yards per reception, down 30 percent from his career rate of 14.9.
“Maybe we have to throw more deep shots,” Narduzzi said. “Nathan is going through his reads. We'll hit a few of them. It's nice to win without them.” Narduzzi also found fault with the defense that has recorded 17 sacks, four interceptions and a fumble recovery in four games while rising to fourth in the nation in run (71.3 yards) and total defense (243.8).
“There were a couple of times we didn't have contain and we still sacked the quarterback,” he said. “What if he runs away?” Narduzzi is never satisfied. “We're not where we need to be,” he said. “And we never will be.”
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
Last edited:
