Made the trek from the OC to Syracuse on Wed overnight to Thursday midday. Stayed in Carrier East Circle area, in fact not far from the team hotel, which according to busses and the Panther big rig I saw was the Doubletree by Hilton Carrier Circle.
Not much to do from a highlight of the area perspective, just enjoy a small city in the sticks. To put in the proper light, a mix of city folk and country folk in equal proportions.
The Carrier Dome is an interesting venue. It was actually good for watching football, at least I found it so. It handles the sound to make a small crowd seem even louder. Their attendance was like a Pitt vs Delaware crowd, but they seemed to be louder than Pitt fans, who other than students seem louder on the road.
Speaking of their fans, what a fickle bunch. maybe due to the expectations coming off a 10-2 season to maybe getting into a bowl game at 6-6. They were very loud on Pitt 3rd downs, but our offense did a very good job by converting many of them and quieting the crowd.
A cuse fan in front of me, was saying it was a good hit on Ffrench when he caught that short punt at the 40, I disagreed, he was right though, but I warned him there would be a similar situation where he would want a Pitt player ejected. So when Ford hit DeVito, another good hit with the shoulder, he yelled for Ford's head, I noted, I told you so. He got up and left, haha.
While we're on the subject of cuse fans leaving, they did that in droves starting at the half, and then throughout the 2nd half. In fact the crowd was close to half Pitt as we ran the clock out at the end.
Whomever thinks Pitt doesn't have a running game, didn't watch that game. Sure, there were a lot of instances where we were stuffed and made nothing, but often in the game we gained 4 to 7 yards a carry, and AJ Davis almost broke a couple and had at least 3 runs of 10 or more. But playing Vincent Davis with a splint/cast on his wrist at the end, was plain idiotic. Glad they got the call correct at the end there.
The refs were equal opportunity horrendous. They screwed both teams. Some of the calls such as the PI on Mathis when DeVito was hit and the ball landed 15 yds short, wtf, no way that was a catchable pass. On one of their good runs, there was a blatant hold on Jones on the outside, that sprang the runner, and the official was right there. But looking back we got away with a few holding both in the line and defensive backfield. Their calls were inconsistent, and that 3rd/4th down 5 minute review, wtf!
Kenny was the qb he is, made many good passes, a couple of those dropped, made some throws behind the receivers, a couple of those were dropped. But he was a good game manager overall, and made enough good passes and plays that led to the victory.
This defense is relentless in pursuit of qbs, amazing. Cuse fans were amazed at how we got that pressure, and to think, that is without Weaver and Camp, watch out next year Pitt fans, or should I say Pitt opponents.
Our receviers were good and bad, Mack had a few catches but didn't seem much a factor, Ffrench was his usual receiver, a favorite target of Kenny, who can be dynamic after the catch. The tight ends did as much damage with their hands as they did good, that dropped by Griffin-Stewart was almost fatal.
And lastly, how can I ignore Carson Van Lynn, who seemed to be a penalty waiting to happen with his pre-snap arm lift and lower, head turn and seemingly never being set for a second after that, in fact could time the snap by his head turning and his arm going down. Alas, he did provide the comedic highlight of the year, whence in the midst of that pre-snap routine, he fell flat on his ass. Most obvious illegal movement ever, or at least the most hilarious.
I do recommend a trip to the Carrier Dome, just to see another college football venue that is unique in it's own right. Much better that Archbold Stadium, that I visited in 1975, and sat on cold concrete throughout a cold late fall day.
Hail to Pitt
Not much to do from a highlight of the area perspective, just enjoy a small city in the sticks. To put in the proper light, a mix of city folk and country folk in equal proportions.
The Carrier Dome is an interesting venue. It was actually good for watching football, at least I found it so. It handles the sound to make a small crowd seem even louder. Their attendance was like a Pitt vs Delaware crowd, but they seemed to be louder than Pitt fans, who other than students seem louder on the road.
Speaking of their fans, what a fickle bunch. maybe due to the expectations coming off a 10-2 season to maybe getting into a bowl game at 6-6. They were very loud on Pitt 3rd downs, but our offense did a very good job by converting many of them and quieting the crowd.
A cuse fan in front of me, was saying it was a good hit on Ffrench when he caught that short punt at the 40, I disagreed, he was right though, but I warned him there would be a similar situation where he would want a Pitt player ejected. So when Ford hit DeVito, another good hit with the shoulder, he yelled for Ford's head, I noted, I told you so. He got up and left, haha.
While we're on the subject of cuse fans leaving, they did that in droves starting at the half, and then throughout the 2nd half. In fact the crowd was close to half Pitt as we ran the clock out at the end.
Whomever thinks Pitt doesn't have a running game, didn't watch that game. Sure, there were a lot of instances where we were stuffed and made nothing, but often in the game we gained 4 to 7 yards a carry, and AJ Davis almost broke a couple and had at least 3 runs of 10 or more. But playing Vincent Davis with a splint/cast on his wrist at the end, was plain idiotic. Glad they got the call correct at the end there.
The refs were equal opportunity horrendous. They screwed both teams. Some of the calls such as the PI on Mathis when DeVito was hit and the ball landed 15 yds short, wtf, no way that was a catchable pass. On one of their good runs, there was a blatant hold on Jones on the outside, that sprang the runner, and the official was right there. But looking back we got away with a few holding both in the line and defensive backfield. Their calls were inconsistent, and that 3rd/4th down 5 minute review, wtf!
Kenny was the qb he is, made many good passes, a couple of those dropped, made some throws behind the receivers, a couple of those were dropped. But he was a good game manager overall, and made enough good passes and plays that led to the victory.
This defense is relentless in pursuit of qbs, amazing. Cuse fans were amazed at how we got that pressure, and to think, that is without Weaver and Camp, watch out next year Pitt fans, or should I say Pitt opponents.
Our receviers were good and bad, Mack had a few catches but didn't seem much a factor, Ffrench was his usual receiver, a favorite target of Kenny, who can be dynamic after the catch. The tight ends did as much damage with their hands as they did good, that dropped by Griffin-Stewart was almost fatal.
And lastly, how can I ignore Carson Van Lynn, who seemed to be a penalty waiting to happen with his pre-snap arm lift and lower, head turn and seemingly never being set for a second after that, in fact could time the snap by his head turning and his arm going down. Alas, he did provide the comedic highlight of the year, whence in the midst of that pre-snap routine, he fell flat on his ass. Most obvious illegal movement ever, or at least the most hilarious.
I do recommend a trip to the Carrier Dome, just to see another college football venue that is unique in it's own right. Much better that Archbold Stadium, that I visited in 1975, and sat on cold concrete throughout a cold late fall day.
Hail to Pitt
