Pitt-MIAMI Game Day Result & Analysis!

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

Pitt-Miami game Day Result & Analysis!
Looks like the Panther Players celebrated on having a 8 wins Year early instead of showing up in the three quarters against a very talented Miami Team. When they finally did wake up, it was too little, and too late. Give great credit to Miami Players, Coaches and Team. Teh Canes of pain were prepared for the Panthers Defense by protecting their QB that kept beating the Pitt Blitz that did not get near him in the First Half. Pitt was sppose to stop the Miami Runners, but they did not do that either until later in the game. Finally, QB Peterman was rattled with a quick Interception and took him Quarters to recover his composure. This Pitt Team cannot think it can just show up for any Team that has more talent. In UNC, ND, and Miami Games, Pitt Players just were not prepared to execute early and often and they cannot beat any Top Talented Team when they prepare that way? Even though they did not quit and almost came back, they come up short in all 3 games, and that is just a fact they have to live with in not learning from the UNC & ND losses? However, credit goes to UNC, ND, and Miami being prepared and that is fact too. The Coaches had a pretty good game plan, but the Players were out executed and fell too far behind. They lacked sacks, pressure on QB, stopping the run, missed tackles, dropped and overthrew passes, and most of all, Special Teams missed two Field Goals, that negated a great Kickoff Return? The Team forgot how close they earned their wins late in games early in the year, and got a sense of overconfidence as many of us on the Lair did too, after winning Duke and ULou! Coaches can coach, but Players have to execute! The good news is Coach Narduzzi still had them playing in the 4th Quarter unlike losses seen at WVU and Penn State? Coach Pat & Staff will sue these losses to have them ready next year and in the Bowl Game, but the Ten Win Season did not get done! Better things are ahead for this Program! Next time Coach no Turkey Dinner at a Big hotel, serve it in Petersen Center with game mistakes from previous games are sen, and how to overcome them, to bne thankful that won't again? Pitt could have won at least 3 more games had they played better in the First Quarter and Second Quarters early against Iowa, UNC, and Miami and executed just 4 to 5 plays at key times that out them behind and catch up came up short! Still, they improved all season and game long and Pitt needs to win the Bowl Game! Pitt found a Coach that changed Pitt Players attitudes around in one year, and against Top Coaches!

Congratulations to Goalieman 28-24 Miami Win Heartbreaker loss Prediction spot on and PittZap Honorable Mention!

PITT-Miami Game Day Prediction!
Miami has much more talent but Pitt has much more coaching. Miami is coming off a good win against Georgia tech and close wins against UVA, Duke with a blowout loss by UNC. Sound Familiar, hardly, because Pitt is executing opponents now. Yet, Miami can play good 30+ Points Offense protects the QB and stop many passes with a superb Backfield. Pitt has more weapons now than just Boyd does and just like last year a Running Game to compliment them. Add in Special Teams and Pitt will not lose it on Special Teams anymore as they did under Chryst! Pitt is playing at home and that helps as well. The Canes will bring pain, but the Panthers will claw it away along with an early lead and nice win. The Panthers will move into the Top 25 and earn a better Bowl. Only a total breakdown by all Players will cause a loss. Coach Pat & Staff will not let that happen. Chad Voytik will get some snaps, Whitehead some nice returns and runs, and Orndoff a shovel pass or two. Defense will grab a pick or two too! I had this game as a Toss Up in the early Preseason but that was due to Conner! Today, I moved it to a Toss Up Win for Pitt due to Narduzzi & Staff!
Game Day Prediction:
33 PITT Miami 26
Game Day Result: 29 MIAMI Pitt 24 Grade D
Preseason Prediction August 2015:
Miami:
Coach Golden recruiting this year is ranked 7th, last year 26th, 12th in 2014 and 20th in 2013. They have better talent but not the better QB. The Canes of Pain will be hurtful and frightful in Defense, but if Coach Pat & Staff are winning 7 games by now, Pitt can do the same again like last year. It is tough to pick Pitt against Miami but Golden has had much trouble relating to his Players at Miami. PItt can win this at home in the cold!
PITT-33 Miami-32 (8-4) GRADE D-

Individual Game Results of Pitt-Miami Fl 2013-15
11/28/2015 Miami (Florida) 8-4 L 29-24
11/29/2014 @ Miami (Florida) (6-7) W 35 23
11/29/2013 Miami (Florida) (9-4) L 31 41

 

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

Pitt falls flat in finale loss to Miami, LINK!
From the first days of coach Pat Narduzzi's tenure — starting with predawn workouts on winter mornings to spring drills to summer training camp when the coach lived in a dorm with his team to the season's first 11 games — Pitt players prepared for this moment.


It just didn't look that way Friday for most of the 29-24 loss to Miami, which left Pitt with an 8-4 regular-season record, including 6-2 and a runner-up status in the ACC Coastal Division.


Pitt appeared so sluggish while falling behind 17-0 before the end of the first quarter that no one seemed to care the Panthers doubled up Miami and didn't allow a touchdown in the final 47 minutes, 34 seconds.


“You wonder why the energy wasn't there,” Narduzzi said. “I didn't feel it.”


He probably knew but neglected to mention the metrics of the situation: Pitt was outscored 81-16 in the first half of its four losses.


There was plenty of blame to toss around Friday, starting with the defense allowing a 75-yard, 6 minute, 12 second scoring drive to start the game. Then Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya started finding holes in the Pitt secondary. He threw for 166 of his 261 yards and his only touchdown — a 22-yarder to Rashawn Scott — before halftime.


Meanwhile, Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman never looked comfortable. He was hurried seven times, sacked three times and intercepted once.


The interception was only his fifth of the season, second since the Iowa game Sept. 19 and his first against an ACC opponent.


“The cornerback (Artie Burns) fell off,” Peterman said. “I didn't see him. I have to have a broader vision and not just look at the receiver (but) look at the defense.”


Peterman also took blame for a delay-of-game penalty that followed a false start after Pitt had a fourth-and-1 at the Miami 33 in the third quarter.


“Frankly, inexcusable,” he said.


The offense finally sprung to life, but it was too late.


Freshman running back Darrin Hall, given extra duty when Qadree Ollison injured his toe, carried 12 times for 103 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown in the third quarter.


Trailing 29-10, Pitt started a mild comeback in the final half of the final quarter.


Freshman Quadree Henderson set up Peterman's 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Scott Orndoff with an 89-yard kickoff return. Later, after the second of two Chris Blewitt missed field goals, Peterman scored from the 5 to account for the final score.


“Just a matter of getting comfortable with the situation,” Narduzzi said.


The Panthers got the ball back but had six seconds to go 80 yards. The game ended with Dontez Ford catching a 13-yard pass and trying to trigger a string of laterals that ended with Miami defensive Chad Thomas recovering a fumble at the Pitt 33.


“I can't really pinpoint or finger-point on anybody,” said wide receiver Tyler Boyd, who caught five passes for 70 yards. “A lot of guys, including me, weren't out there doing our job.”


Narduzzi was at a loss to explain his team's slow start but speculated the emotions of the last home game for Pitt's 11 seniors might have played a role.


“Sometimes, senior day, I've seen guys not play as well, period,” he said. “I don't know if that was the case or not. There is a lot of emotion out there to win a game like that.”


Boyd wondered whether “guys got gassed up too early.”


Outside linebacker Mike Caprara said he was “very surprised” at the slow start.


“It was one of those, ‘C'mon, c'mon, c'mon,' and the spark didn't really come,” he said. “Not the outcome we expected.”


Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.

 

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

Pitt notebook: Offensive struggles continue,LINK!
If you use yards and points as a guide, Pitt's offense has been on the negative side of mediocre most of the season. Ninth in the ACC in both categories before the 29-24 loss to Miami on Friday, Pitt put together consecutive halves without scoring a touchdown (first half against the Hurricanes and second half against Louisville).

Even in the second half of the Miami game, Pitt scored its touchdowns without much help from the passing game.
• Five runs by freshman Darrin Hall composed the first scoring drive.
• Quadree Henderson's 89-yard kickoff return to the 2-yard line set up the second.
• Tyler Boyd's 36-yard catch preceded the third touchdown in the final minute of the game, but before that he had only four receptions for 34 yards.

Toss in the first halves of the losses to North Carolina and Notre Dame (a field goal each), and the result is more pressure on a defense that overachieved for much of the season. Ultimately, the defense wasn't able to overcome many of the offense's failures against the strongest opponents. Perhaps the problems on offense start with pass protection. Quarterback Nathan Peterman has been sacked multiple times in five of the past six games (a total of 15). Peterman blamed himself.

“I'm going to be working extremely hard to make sure I don't cost us a game like this again,” he said Friday after throwing his first interception against an ACC opponent and only his fifth this season. Asked about Peterman's performance, Narduzzi said, “It was OK. We'll go back and look at the tape. Everyone has bad days, and everyone has good days.” Peterman's 12-game statistics are marginally better than what Chad Voytik, now the backup, did in 13 games last season.

Peterman completed 180 of 293 attempts (61.4 percent) for 2,150 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. Voytik was 176 of 287 (61.3) for 2,233 yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions.


Boyd needs help
Finding a complementary pass catcher to Boyd has been a problem for the better part of two seasons. Dontez Ford had two or fewer catches in eight of 12 games. Zach Challingsworth had one catch or none in 10 of 12. Backup tight end Scott Orndoff, however, has been productive, with a 21-to-8 ratio of catches to touchdowns during the past two seasons.


‘It is what it is'
Narduzzi made a point to praise his players' effort. “They're going to fight and continue to give you everything they've got,” he said. “It's our kids' mindsets, and that's why I love this team so much. “That's all you can expect out of them. It is what it is. That's what we have.”


2-headed running attack
Although the number of sacks allowed was up from the first to the second half of the season (10 to 15), the Panthers offensive line has blocked well in the run game. A Pitt running back has run for at least 100 yards in three consecutive games, with Qadree Ollison eclipsing the mark against Duke and Louisville (111 and 152) and Hall hitting a season high with 103 yards against Miami. “With every carry, I get a little more comfortable,” Hall said. “As the game went on, I felt like I was supposed to be there.”


Narduzzi noticed.
“He was running the ball on his first carry and looked like he was shot out of a cannon,” he said. Ollison injured his toe, but Narduzzi wasn't worried. “I don't think that will be a problem for the next game,” he said.


Going bowling
Despite losing three of its final five games, Pitt has the fourth-best overall and third-best conference record in the ACC. The Russell Athletic Bowl has the first pick after the College Football Playoff semifinal games and the ACC's so-called Host Bowls: Chick-fil-A Peach and Fiesta. Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina may end up in three of those.


That would leave Pitt in the mix for an ACC Tier One Bowl: Pinstripe, Music City, TaxSlayer, Sun or Belk. Of the five, the Pinstripe on Dec. 26 in Yankee Stadium is the closest to Pittsburgh. Syracuse, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Penn State and Boston College have gone to the past three Pinstripe Bowls.


On the spot
Strong safety Jordan Whitehead (Central Valley) has 99 tackles, seven short of the Pitt record for a first-year freshman. Defensive tackle Marc Spindler had 106 in 1987. Whitehead's offensive contributions in the Miami game were limited to one catch for zero yards. He did not have a run from scrimmage.

Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib