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Random 1980s Pitt - ND stuff

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MarshallGoldberg

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Oct 23, 2017
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From an old magazine:
The Fighting Irish did miss out on 6-foot 8-inch offensive lineman Greg Skrepanak from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to Michigan and defensive lineman Marc Spindler from Scranton, Pa., to Pittsburgh. The latter helped another second-year coach, Mike Gottfried, bring in a fine recruiting class, one that also included standouts such as defensive back Louis Riddick, running back Danny Boyd and quarterback Darnell Dickerson.

Athlon had this Pitt recruiting class ranked #4 in the country. Notre Dame's was #1, which shocked people because Lou Holtz had a reputation as a guy who couldn't recruit before he got to N.D.

The following players were ranked top 100:
Darnell Dickerson (QB) Nelson Walker (DT)
Louis Riddick (FS) Eric Holzworth (RB)
Marc Spindler (DT) Pete Moore (OT)

At our peak once Sean Gilbert was drafted (#3 recruit in the country in 1989), we had 24 Panthers on active rosters in a smaller NFL, a number that will will probably never be surpassed. "Pitt Panthers in the pros" could have been a legitimate starting NFL defense and offense at that point.
 


1987 Panthers upset #4 in the country Irish, derailing national title hopes for 87 but helping set up their 1988 championship by forcing them to bring in some back-up quarterback Tony Rice. Is fairly well documented in the Catholics vs Convicts 30 for 30. As was the surprisingly close 1988 game.
 
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MarshallGoldberg said:
From an old magazine:
The Fighting Irish did miss out on 6-foot 8-inch offensive lineman Greg Skrepanak from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to Michigan and defensive lineman Marc Spindler from Scranton, Pa., to Pittsburgh. The latter helped another second-year coach, Mike Gottfried, bring in a fine recruiting class, one that also included standouts such as defensive back Louis Riddick, running back Danny Boyd and quarterback Darnell Dickerson.

Athlon had this Pitt recruiting class ranked #4 in the country. Notre Dame's was #1, which shocked people because Lou Holtz had a reputation as a guy who couldn't recruit before he got to N.D.

The following players were ranked top 100:
Darnell Dickerson (QB) Nelson Walker (DT)
Louis Riddick (FS) Eric Holzworth (RB)
Marc Spindler (DT) Pete Moore (OT)

At our peak once Sean Gilbert was drafted (#3 recruit in the country in 1989), we had 24 Panthers on active rosters in a smaller NFL, a number that will will probably never be surpassed. "Pitt Panthers in the pros" could have been a legitimate starting NFL defense and offense at that point.
Click to expand...
Those were the days... Pitt #4 in recruiting...
 
MarshallGoldberg said:
From an old magazine:
The Fighting Irish did miss out on 6-foot 8-inch offensive lineman Greg Skrepanak from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to Michigan and defensive lineman Marc Spindler from Scranton, Pa., to Pittsburgh. The latter helped another second-year coach, Mike Gottfried, bring in a fine recruiting class, one that also included standouts such as defensive back Louis Riddick, running back Danny Boyd and quarterback Darnell Dickerson.

Athlon had this Pitt recruiting class ranked #4 in the country. Notre Dame's was #1, which shocked people because Lou Holtz had a reputation as a guy who couldn't recruit before he got to N.D.

The following players were ranked top 100:
Darnell Dickerson (QB) Nelson Walker (DT)
Louis Riddick (FS) Eric Holzworth (RB)
Marc Spindler (DT) Pete Moore (OT)

At our peak once Sean Gilbert was drafted (#3 recruit in the country in 1989), we had 24 Panthers on active rosters in a smaller NFL, a number that will will probably never be surpassed. "Pitt Panthers in the pros" could have been a legitimate starting NFL defense and offense at that point.
Click to expand...


Pete Moore was top 100? Never would have guessed it.
 
Joe the Panther Fan said:
Syracuse was very good that year. But it's just like Pitt to beat "the big three" and then lose to the "other three".
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Syracuse went undefeated in the regular season and tied with Auburn in the Sugar Bowl, they never had a shot at the National Championship since Miami and Oklahoma were both undefeated and playing in the Orange Bowl. Had Pitt not lost to Temple and BC they could have ended up in the Cotton Bowl playing Jackie Sherrill and Texas A&M.

Pitt lost to a bad BC team in 1988 and it cost them a bowl game.
 
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This game is very high on our "ones that got away" list. Notre Dame wins their most recent national title because we fumble at at the end zone multiple times. Blah.

The 1986 game, the last of four straight over the Irish, was sadly deleted off youtube.
 
1989 Pitt - Syracuse. Finally got revenge.



Went into the Notre Dame gamed ranked top 10 in the country. That game was a debacle for Pitt.



Gottfried fired before the bowl game after a few losses, a public feud over academic standards, and an all but public feud with the Golden Panthers who don't understand why it isn't 1976 again. Emergence of Alex Van Pelt was the fun thing about that year.
 
I hated that 1989 game, iirc we started off undefeated 5-0? Went to South Bend and got curb stomped. Only worse loss to ND was 82.:mad:
 
Some interesting stuff in that clip, thanks.

I'm not sure but I think they were hinting that Sal Genilla was "much maligned" (only by mentioning it every play). :D
 
Joe the Panther Fan said:
Syracuse was very good that year. But it's just like Pitt to beat "the big three" and then lose to the "other three".
Click to expand...

Well losing to Temple back then was really bad. Especially for a team like that. You are right, so many people reminisce over the Gottfried era, but we had Top 5 recruiting classes and the best he could ever do was 8-3-1. His recruiting classes were stellar (and interestingly procured), the talent we had on staff was amazing, but this program should have been winning 10 games a year back then. We won 8. Once.
 
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recruitsreadtheseboards said:
Well losing to Temple back then was really bad. Especially for a team like that. You are right, so many people reminisce over the Gottfried era, but we had Top 5 recruiting classes and the best he could ever do was 8-3-1. His recruiting classes were stellar (and interestingly procured), the talent we had on staff was amazing, but this program should have been winning 10 games a year back then. We won 8. Once.
Click to expand...

Well I think the thing is he was fired after his best record in year four, which is fairly or unfairly related to how people feel like we fired Walt and Wanny after their best two season period. Maybe those were all good decisions, but at some point it starts to feel like we fire someone just as they start to raise expectations for themselves and then briefly fail at those new higher expectations.
 
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I guess luckily for Narduzzi, his teams have declined enough he'd probably only be fired after a 4-8 season instead of a 8-3-1 campaign that includes games against SIX ranked opponents out of 12 games and FOUR who were top 10, including the #1 and #2 teams in the country (I just described 1989.)
 
bwh05 said:
The last straw was going after DB in the locker room after the PSU loss. Gottfried totally freaked out and got physical. That was never made public.
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Many thought that both Dean Billick and Ed Bozik deserved to get their asses kicked.
 
Pitt MD said:
Many thought that both Dean Billick and Ed Bozik deserved to get their asses kicked.
Click to expand...

They undoubtedly did. Especially when they suspended Dickerson for not being able to pass algebra his freshman year.
 
bwh05 said:
They undoubtedly did. Especially when they suspended Dickerson for not being able to pass algebra his freshman year.
Click to expand...
That episode ranks among the all timers at Pitt which is saying something because we have had our share of incompetence.
 
Pitt MD said:
That episode ranks among the all timers at Pitt which is saying something because we have had our share of incompetence.
Click to expand...

That ushered In the Hackett regime because he said he could get players with higher academic standards and still win. As we all know, that went exceedingly well
 
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MarshallGoldberg said:
View embedded media


1987 Panthers upset #4 in the country Irish, derailing national title hopes for 87 but helping set up their 1988 championship by forcing them to bring in some back-up quarterback Tony Rice. Is fairly well documented in the Catholics vs Convicts 30 for 30. As was the surprisingly close 1988 game.
Click to expand...
Dickerson fumbling 3 times on one play while walking into the end zone didn’t help.
 
McKee Place said:
Some interesting stuff in that clip, thanks.

I'm not sure but I think they were hinting that Sal Genilla was "much maligned" (only by mentioning it every play). :D
Click to expand...

Much maligned by the coaching staff for sure. I will never forget John Fox throwing his headset into the turf after Genilla threw one of the worst passes ever seen in college football during the ‘87 loss to BC. He had to be restrained. You think Narduzzi gets emotional...
 
Black_Man_Panther said:
Much maligned by the coaching staff for sure. I will never forget John Fox throwing his headset into the turf after Genilla threw one of the worst passes ever seen in college football during the ‘87 loss to BC. He had to be restrained. You think Narduzzi gets emotional...
Click to expand...
Interesting story on how I learned the definition of salmonella. After one of Sal Genilla’s bad games the fans were making comments regarding the QB and salmonella. I asked my dad what salmonella was, and he told me. I learned from a young age how harsh some fans are.
 
It doesn't really matter but I am curious: was Sal Genilla biracial or was he just the sort of Sicilian who might have some Moorish ancestors?
 
Notre Dame had a 40 point quarter that game in 96.
Maybe the worst Pitt team of the last 50 years. 1995 had a worse record but 1996 had us losing to WVU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Miami by a combined score of 201 to 6. Add Syracuse and it was 256 to 13.

It was a mediocre I-AA team who was lucky Rutgers and Temple existed.
 
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Black_Man_Panther said:
Much maligned by the coaching staff for sure. I will never forget John Fox throwing his headset into the turf after Genilla threw one of the worst passes ever seen in college football during the ‘87 loss to BC. He had to be restrained. You think Narduzzi gets emotional...
Click to expand...
We've had many quarterbacks since who appeared far worse. Pretty much any pass Larry Wanke ever threw. Pretty much any pass Tony Zimmerman ever threw. Pretty much any pass Pat Bostick ever threw (yeah even that third identical fade attempt that finally connected for the winning td in the ND game). John Turman overthrowing wide open RJ English that would have stunned VT on the road. Rod Rutherford, I loved him, but agonizing pass that misfired over wide open Yogi Roth at Miami (and the loopy pass that was nearly vertical, nearly got #87 killed who had to stand there waiting for it to come down, can't recall his name ... EDIT, Rosey Bynes ... and after the hit he took he probably can't remember either). Bill Stull parking the ball about 19 rows into the stands on the 4th down final play at NCST after we had gotten a gift from God giving us the ball back. Tino getting discombobulated at Syracuse and turning and throwing a pass at a 90 degree angle to the sideline far beyond the bench (drawing the obvious grounding penalty that put us out of winning field goal range). Pretty much any pass Trey Anderson ever threw. Most passes Chad Voytik threw. Most passes DaNooch threw last year. The couple tragic looking ints that Pickett threw in the PSU and Cuse games this year. And countless others still to come (sigh)...
 
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