Stupid Northwestern game is dampering how some view our season

[panther.fan]

I feel that some people outside the Lair are undermining Pitt's talent and season due to how we played in one bowl game. Had we won against Northwestern, we would have ended up ranked in the top 20 in the AP (I saw we didnt even get honorable mentions in the CP which is an absolute joke). Also, if we won, we may be getting more recognition from the media (understanding that Clemson and Penn State lost to a pretty good ranked Pitt team).

It is frustrating to see the way we had to go down in that game (with so many key injuries) left an impact on the way people outside of this group view Pitt. I was at another bowl game and another ACC fan said "Man I cant believe Pitt lost to Northwestern". Today baseball insider Jon Heyman, posted about how clemson lost to Pitt and northwestern beat Pitt, and congratulating their coach on beating a team that beat the best (I actually dont think it was a quote that was that bad against Pitt, I just dont feel if we played with all our players healthy that we would have lost more than once or twice in a 10 game series against NW). I also dont think people understand how many injuries we had in that game.

I guess it is what it is, but we are in a situation where we could start off 1-2 next year and still have another very good team. It will take us weeks to get ranked again. This team was a lot better than its ranking at the end of the season, and its ashame others may not have seen this since we lost so many close games.

 

[Big Marty1]

We will not lose to the Nits.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

I feel that some people outside the Lair are undermining Pitt's talent and season due to how we played in one bowl game. Had we won against Northwestern, we would have ended up ranked in the top 20 in the AP (I saw we didnt even get honorable mentions in the CP which is an absolute joke). Also, if we won, we may be getting more recognition from the media (understanding that Clemson and Penn State lost to a pretty good ranked Pitt team).

It is frustrating to see the way we had to go down in that game (with so many key injuries) left an impact on the way people outside of this group view Pitt. I was at another bowl game and another ACC fan said "Man I cant believe Pitt lost to Northwestern". Today baseball insider Jon Heyman, posted about how clemson lost to Pitt and northwestern beat Pitt, and congratulating their coach on beating a team that beat the best (I actually dont think it was a quote that was that bad against Pitt, I just dont feel if we played with all our players healthy that we would have lost more than once or twice in a 10 game series against NW). I also dont think people understand how many injuries we had in that game.

I guess it is what it is, but we are in a situation where we could start off 1-2 next year and still have another very good team. It will take us weeks to get ranked again. This team was a lot better than its ranking at the end of the season, and its ashame others may not have seen this since we lost so many close games.

This should be a lesson to those who insist that "bowls don't mean squat". On these boards, the posters were constantly lamenting that "Pitt was only playing Northwestern"; one can't help whether this same attitude carried over to the team.

Sure, the questionable hits hurt the team, as did the Canada distraction. But truthfully, those shouldn't have led to the missed tackles, turnovers, and the other sloppy play that we demonstrated.

 

[panther.fan]

I would also like to add, I am writing this post in frustration of some of my nitter relatives telling me around the holidays that "Penn State would kill Pitt if they played later in the year".

They didnt seem to understand we beat Clemson on the road in November-not the first game of the year, and Clemson was a better team than they were.

 

[TheNoise88]

Media bias plays a part. If Ohio State had gone on to win the playoff, key blabbers in Pittsburgh and national media would be pointing out how great that makes PSU for having beaten the NC mid season, even though they lost their bowl (and in an ugly fashion on top of that). But since Clemson won, there was zero mention locally of that win validating Pitt's good season, and I may have read one reference to it on a national story. We lack shills.

That said, the program needs to prepare harder and try to win bowls, not half ass it. Pitt got solid fan support for two straight bowls only to see junk efforts. Other programs can get away with that given their volumes of fans and good will they've developed. Pitt really can't.

 

[Jakey_John]

For all the sh*t and slack that he took all year, this will be the defining moment of Ryan Lewis's Pitt career. Good for him.

 

[Jakey_John]

I would also like to add, I am writing this post in frustration of some of my nitter relatives telling me around the holidays that "Penn State would kill Pitt if they played later in the year".

They didnt seem to understand we beat Clemson on the road in November-not the first game of the year, and Clemson was a better team than they were.

Tell them if their aunts had balls they'd be their uncles.

 

[Cap pitt]

I would also like to add, I am writing this post in frustration of some of my nitter relatives telling me around the holidays that "Penn State would kill Pitt if they played later in the year".

They didnt seem to understand we beat Clemson on the road in November-not the first game of the year, and Clemson was a better team than they were.

Remind your relatives that the so called Big. (They call it Big) because they can't count, is highly overrated and it showed when they played and got thumped in out of conference games. They just take turns beating each other, and remind them of what happened on 09/10/2016 something like 42 - 39

 

[Jakey_John]

Then tell them Nebraska shucks and PSU swallows.

 

[Jakey_John]

Tell them anyway. For fun.Or you could also tell them it will take a lot more than water to get the stains off the Lasch Building showers.

 

[TD_6082]

If we are talking about perception, I think the thing that hurt this team more than anything was just how piss poor our defense was week after week.

Tune into any Pitt game this year, and regardless if we won or lost, you came away shaking your head at just how bad this team was defensively.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

We beat the national champs and had a good season. Would love to have beaten NW but but we did beat the Pedos. We have bragging rights over Pedo St until we play again and beat them once again.

 

[pittizit]

We will not lose to the Nits.

Now that's funny...

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Why is that funny? We won the last two games and one was a shutout.

Now that's funny...

 

[Franb]

This should be a lesson to those who insist that "bowls don't mean squat". On these boards, the posters were constantly lamenting that "Pitt was only playing Northwestern"; one can't help whether this same attitude carried over to the team.

Sure, the questionable hits hurt the team, as did the Canada distraction. But truthfully, those shouldn't have led to the missed tackles, turnovers, and the other sloppy play that we demonstrated.

One of the reasons that "bowl games don't mean squat" is that they are played so long after the regular season is over. Pitt had 31 days between the Syracuse game and the bowl - do you think that this contributed to missed tackles and general sloppy play? That much time off is guaranteed to produce unpredictable performances from teams. Even having a 1-week bye during the season often leads to sloppy play.

 

[bwh05]

It really sucks to end the season that way. Puts a damper on everything, even tho it's just a stupid exhibition game

 

[wbrpanther]

I feel that some people outside the Lair are undermining Pitt's talent and season due to how we played in one bowl game. Had we won against Northwestern, we would have ended up ranked in the top 20 in the AP (I saw we didnt even get honorable mentions in the CP which is an absolute joke). Also, if we won, we may be getting more recognition from the media (understanding that Clemson and Penn State lost to a pretty good ranked Pitt team).

It is frustrating to see the way we had to go down in that game (with so many key injuries) left an impact on the way people outside of this group view Pitt. I was at another bowl game and another ACC fan said "Man I cant believe Pitt lost to Northwestern". Today baseball insider Jon Heyman, posted about how clemson lost to Pitt and northwestern beat Pitt, and congratulating their coach on beating a team that beat the best (I actually dont think it was a quote that was that bad against Pitt, I just dont feel if we played with all our players healthy that we would have lost more than once or twice in a 10 game series against NW). I also dont think people understand how many injuries we had in that game.

I guess it is what it is, but we are in a situation where we could start off 1-2 next year and still have another very good team. It will take us weeks to get ranked again. This team was a lot better than its ranking at the end of the season, and its ashame others may not have seen this since we lost so many close games.

People actually in the know now remember this Pitt team as the only team to beat the National Champion along with knocking off the champion of the high and mighty Big 10

 

[daminals76]

If we are talking about perception, I think the thing that hurt this team more than anything was just how piss poor our defense was week after week.

Tune into any Pitt game this year, and regardless if we won or lost, you came away shaking your head at just how bad this team was defensively.

We weren't good on D, but we played more elite NFL level QBs than just about anyone... that didnt bode well for our pass defense...i thought we defended the run very well while our pass rush was kinda off and on.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

One of the reasons that "bowl games don't mean squat" is that they are played so long after the regular season is over. Pitt had 31 days between the Syracuse game and the bowl - do you think that this contributed to missed tackles and general sloppy play? That much time off is guaranteed to produce unpredictable performances from teams. Even having a 1-week bye during the season often leads to sloppy play.

The reason why I don't like to use the time off as an excuse for losing is that Northwestern was off, too. After their best, most exciting season in reason years, Pitt did their usual post-season bowl disintegration.

To improve their attendance, Pitt needs to attract the causal college football fan in the Pittsburgh area; ending their season on such a downer isn't the way to do it.

 

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

I feel that some people outside the Lair are undermining Pitt's talent and season due to how we played in one bowl game. Had we won against Northwestern, we would have ended up ranked in the top 20 in the AP (I saw we didnt even get honorable mentions in the CP which is an absolute joke). Also, if we won, we may be getting more recognition from the media (understanding that Clemson and Penn State lost to a pretty good ranked Pitt team).

It is frustrating to see the way we had to go down in that game (with so many key injuries) left an impact on the way people outside of this group view Pitt. I was at another bowl game and another ACC fan said "Man I cant believe Pitt lost to Northwestern". Today baseball insider Jon Heyman, posted about how clemson lost to Pitt and northwestern beat Pitt, and congratulating their coach on beating a team that beat the best (I actually dont think it was a quote that was that bad against Pitt, I just dont feel if we played with all our players healthy that we would have lost more than once or twice in a 10 game series against NW). I also dont think people understand how many injuries we had in that game. I guess it is what it is, but we are in a situation where we could start off 1-2 next year and still have another very good team. It will take us weeks to get ranked again. This team was a lot better than its ranking at the end of the season, and its ashame others may not have seen this since we lost so many close games.

Losing to Northwestern is not a shame they gave many Teams Clsoe games in 2017, and beat Pitt with Great Coaching, Preparation, and Execution. Patt Fitzgearald has betaen James Rranklin 4 in a Row now 2 at Vanderbilt and 2 Penn State.

Pitt Coach Pat & Staff are rebuilding a Program not just a team and now with 2 New Athletic Directors and 2 OC's in just Year 3.

Still, in 2015 Pitt had no Signature Wins and just learned to play all 4 Quarters in most games, with close Losses to Iowa, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Miami with much more Talent. Not bad for a First Year Coach & Staff?

In 2016, Pitt again had 4 Close Losses against North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Northwestern by just 18 points, and could not stay with Miami by the 4th Quarter, but had 2 Significant and Signature Wins Outright Wins against Penn State and Clemson with 3 Consensus All-Americans. This is an Improvement anyway one looks at it and with just 16 Four & Five Star Players.

Yet, you are correct, Pitt has to start Winning Bowl Games to improve with a National View not just early, mid-season, but late in the Season. The Blow out Loss to Navy in 2015 and Close Loss to Northwestern in 2016, needs to be overcome as well.

In 2015, Coach Pat & Staff restored Playing Winning all year long all 4 Quarters!
In 2016, Coach Pat & Staff had First Signature Wins with 4 Close Wins & Losses!!
In 2017, Coach Pat & Staff has to do both again, But this time with a Bowl Win Too!!!

There has been sea change in attitude on how Pitt Players now respond to a Coaching Staff glad to be at Rebuilding Pitt and one Fans see the difference and get used to it, along with understanding Pitt is improving with Great Coaching, Game Plans, and Execution and Pitt Player's having Focus and Fun!

 

[CrazyPaco]

It really sucks to end the season that way. Puts a damper on everything, even tho it's just a stupid exhibition game

Which is why it is not an exhibition. Losers call them exhibitions.

 

[upj87]

I feel that some people outside the Lair are undermining Pitt's talent and season due to how we played in one bowl game. Had we won against Northwestern, we would have ended up ranked in the top 20 in the AP (I saw we didnt even get honorable mentions in the CP which is an absolute joke). Also, if we won, we may be getting more recognition from the media (understanding that Clemson and Penn State lost to a pretty good ranked Pitt team).

It is frustrating to see the way we had to go down in that game (with so many key injuries) left an impact on the way people outside of this group view Pitt. I was at another bowl game and another ACC fan said "Man I cant believe Pitt lost to Northwestern". Today baseball insider Jon Heyman, posted about how clemson lost to Pitt and northwestern beat Pitt, and congratulating their coach on beating a team that beat the best (I actually dont think it was a quote that was that bad against Pitt, I just dont feel if we played with all our players healthy that we would have lost more than once or twice in a 10 game series against NW). I also dont think people understand how many injuries we had in that game.

I guess it is what it is, but we are in a situation where we could start off 1-2 next year and still have another very good team. It will take us weeks to get ranked again. This team was a lot better than its ranking at the end of the season, and its ashame others may not have seen this since we lost so many close games.

losses will do that...that is normal human reaction. not sure how a season ending loss would brighten your spirits unless you are in some kind of cult where you lose your bowl game by choking it away in the 4th qtr and then buy some lotion and have a circle jerk to celebrate it for two weeks as to this being a springboard to greatness next year...

 

[Pitt79]

Why is that funny? We won the last two games and one was a shutout.

It's not a lock.

And as for Northwestern, everyone was saying that bowls are meaningless exhibitions and "who cares", now complaining because losing one made us look bad? I guess they aren't totally meaningless then.

 

[pittzap]

The reason why I don't like to use the time off as an excuse for losing is that Northwestern was off, too. After their best, most exciting season in reason years, Pitt did their usual post-season bowl disintegration.

To improve their attendance, Pitt needs to attract the causal college football fan in the Pittsburgh area; ending their season on such a downer isn't the way to do it.

True, but they gave up big plays, too.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

People actually in the know now remember this Pitt team as the only team to beat the National Champion along with knocking off the champion of the high and mighty Big 10

And they also know we lost to a bad Northwestern team in our last game. The game, which while meaningless was the difference between 8-5 and 9-4 and the difference between the ACC's bowl record of 9-3 to 10-2 and the B1G's 3-7 record to 2-8. It was the last impression. It was an inferior team. So yes, great to beat Clemson, great to beat Penn State, but to truly reach another level, you can't lose to Northwestern.

My post above is based on fact and the big picture of college football. It is not intended to hurt nor offend anyone.

 

[TheNoise88]

The reason why I don't like to use the time off as an excuse for losing is that Northwestern was off, too. After their best, most exciting season in reason years, Pitt did their usual post-season bowl disintegration.

To improve their attendance, Pitt needs to attract the causal college football fan in the Pittsburgh area; ending their season on such a downer isn't the way to do it.

This. It doesn't seem to be a problem for our opponents to prep and motivate their teams, perhaps not to a razors edge precision, but demonstrably more than ours. NW was no exception. Our injuries were a shame but nothing was really sharp at all throughout the game. It seems the norm for our bowl games rather than the exception, alas.

Ironically the most impressive in recent years was the Bennett Bowl (the first Compass bowl) after Wanny was canned. The team performed very well and dominated KY. Even Tino was sharp. I was very surprised, given the player insurrection Wanny had organized earlier. If any team was likely to fold in a bowl, that one was.

As another here said well, perhaps they are "meaningless exhibitions" (though since the coaches count the W or L, and the stats are rolled into the rest of the season stats, it's "meaningful" at least that way). But it leaves just as bad as taste when you lose...especially to a team you should handle (and i certainly qualify NW and Navy as such), and particularly due to self-imposed mistakes (3 killer ones alone in the first quarter in the recent game). And it's the last taste we (and recruits) get of us for 8 months.

Finally as noted earlier it's particularly a bummer to those who carve out the time and money and go to the bowl. I've been to two bowls myself. Both were ugly losses. I certainly had other fun outside the game, but after the last one, I haven't seriously considered attending again (of course, some of the locales had more to do with that).

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

This. It doesn't seem to be a problem for our opponents to prep and motivate their teams, perhaps not to a razors edge precision, but demonstrably more than ours. NW was no exception. Our injuries were a shame but nothing was really sharp at all throughout the game. It seems the norm for our bowl games rather than the exception, alas.

Ironically the most impressive in recent years was the Bennett Bowl (the first Compass bowl) after Wanny was canned. The team performed very well and dominated KY. Even Tino was sharp. I was very surprised, given the player insurrection Wanny had organized earlier. If any team was likely to fold in a bowl, that one was.

As another here said well, perhaps they are "meaningless exhibitions" (though since the coaches count the W or L, and the stats are rolled into the rest of the season stats, it's "meaningful" at least that way). But it leaves just as bad as taste when you lose...especially to a team you should handle (and i certainly qualify NW and Navy as such), and particularly due to self-imposed mistakes (3 killer ones alone in the first quarter in the recent game). And it's the last taste we (and recruits) get of us for 8 months.

Finally as noted earlier it's particularly a bummer to those who carve out the time and money and go to the bowl. I've been to two bowls myself. Both were ugly losses. I certainly had other fun outside the game, but after the last one, I haven't seriously considered attending again (of course, some of the locales had more to do with that).

Well said Noise. We use the injuries as an excuse, but from the very first series, Northwestern looked much more prepared and motivated. We were outplayed. We were outcoached. That is not because of the injuries.

This post is not intended to offend anyone, just based off actual facts and events that happened in the Pinstripe Bowl.

 

[sappycrease]

I'm as happy as any PITT fan about beating Clemson and PSU but the fact remains that we lost 5 games. It's tough to look back and get excited about this season when I still have the horrible taste in my mouth from Northwestern game. Also, our defense was unbelievably frustrating to watch.

IMO the biggest takeaway from this season is the fact that Narduzzi teams have proven on multiple occasions that they belong (PSU, Clemson) but are still wildly inconsistent. This is something that a first-time head coach works on with more experience. I love the fire and hype he brought before certain games but I hope that he begins to bring a more consistent demeanor to each game throughout the season. It's obvious that his players take on the image of their head coach.

To be where we want to be, Narduzzi has to prove that his guys will be prepared week in and week out - not just for PSU/Clemson. Once that happens, watch out.

 

[Swervin27]

i don't think they are exhibitions, despite probably calling them that in the past.. Glorified exhibitions maybe, 30+ days separate from the real season, stuck in that middle ground of "should I play seniors or play younger guys getting ready for next year ground" that really muddies the waters on these matchups...

as a pitt fan, I wanted to win but value any bowl win / loss much less than that of a regular season game.. regarding perception going into next year, beyond laughable concept.. next year's teams in college football will be so much different than that one that played in late December bowl games, to use that performance as some sort of barometer for 2017 is beyond stupid and irrelevant.. Had pitt won, is our team better next year? say that out loud and try not to laugh..

 

[Panther Parrothead]

And they also know we lost to a bad Northwestern team in our last game. The game, which while meaningless was the difference between 8-5 and 9-4 and the difference between the ACC's bowl record of 9-3 to 10-2 and the B1G's 3-7 record to 2-8. It was the last impression. It was an inferior team. So yes, great to beat Clemson, great to beat Penn State, but to truly reach another level, you can't lose to Northwestern.

My post above is based on fact and the big picture of college football. It is not intended to hurt nor offend anyone.

Yessir. And people can gloss over it all they want, but the truth is that prior to the bowl, Pitt was ranked. Now they're not.

Anyone who doesn't think that being ranked (even #25) doesn't have symbolic significance is blowing smoke.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

The reason why I don't like to use the time off as an excuse for losing is that Northwestern was off, too. After their best, most exciting season in reason years, Pitt did their usual post-season bowl disintegration.

To improve their attendance, Pitt needs to attract the causal college football fan in the Pittsburgh area; ending their season on such a downer isn't the way to do it.

uh, Northwestern proved to be bigger cheap shot artists than Alabama or Texas A&M and knocked out our three best offensive players. Played the 4th quarter with a QB who didn't take a meaningful snap and you call it bowl disintegration? Wonderful fans we got here.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

Well said Noise. We use the injuries as an excuse, but from the very first series, Northwestern looked much more prepared and motivated. We were outplayed. We were outcoached. That is not because of the injuries.

This post is not intended to offend anyone, just based off actual facts and events that happened in the Pinstripe Bowl.

once again, we played the 4th quarter with a QB who never took a meaningful snap the whole season and it's not because of the injuries? okay then,

 

[Swervin27]

Yessir. And people can gloss over it all they want, but the truth is that prior to the bowl, Pitt was ranked. Now they're not.

Anyone who doesn't think that being ranked (even #25) doesn't have symbolic significance is blowing smoke.

I have a tough time seeing any real symbolic significance between being ranked in January from the past season and not being ranked. 2016 is in the rearview mirror for every fan base outside of Clemson and Alabama.. maybe there are a few that look at these ridiculously early pre season rankings as some sort of validation but those are de-bunked come first week of September anyways..

relax on the bowl game loss fellas, the one where we had our 3rd string qb in that was played on a baseball field.. our program is in good hands..

 

[Panther Parrothead]

uh, Northwestern proved to be bigger cheap shot artists than Alabama or Texas A&M and knocked out our three best offensive players. Played the 4th quarter with a QB who didn't take a meaningful snap and you call it bowl disintegration? Wonderful fans we got here.

I never denied the importance of the injuries. But as The Noise88 noted (above), Pitt wasn't playing very well even before the injuries occurred. The simple truth is that Pitt hasn't been showing-up to play in their recent bowl games.

 

[Swervin27]

I never denied the importance of the injuries. But as The Noise88 noted (above), Pitt wasn't playing very well even before the injuries occurred. The simple truth is that Pitt hasn't been showing-up to play in their recent bowl games.

tough to deny that.. you pitt fans that preach the importance to these bowl games, you guys need to stop telling us this and start communicating it to the players..

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

tough to deny that.. you pitt fans that preach the importance to these bowl games, you guys need to stop telling us this and start communicating it to the players..

I think the whole dynamic is off in bowl season. You have 3 weeks off until your game, you get out of the routine, finals, holidays, etc. Plus the added distraction of the bowls entertaining everyone and I would think it is hard to maintain focus. Look at how many 5-7 teams won....I think it was posted that they may have never lost a bowl game since last year. And 6-6 teams won often as well.

But that doesn't take away from the importance of reaching milestones such as a Top 25 finish and 9 wins. Just makes it more difficult to reach with all the mitigating factors I mention above.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

tough to deny that.. you pitt fans that preach the importance to these bowl games, you guys need to stop telling us this and start communicating it to the players..

What's been unsaid is that while the injuries hurt the offense, it didn't help Pitt's cause that the defense gave-up 462 total yards. They made a good (but certainly not "great") running back, Justin Jackson (224 yds, 7 yds/carry), look like the second-coming of Shady McCoy.

Your comment, "you pitt fans that preach the importance to these bowl games"....uhhh, Pitt's coaches preaches the importance of these bowl games, too. Pitt's athletic department is doing everything in their power to sell tickets. If Pitt's coaches can't motivate the players, then what chance do the fans have?

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

once again, we played the 4th quarter with a QB who never took a meaningful snap the whole season and it's not because of the injuries? okay then,

But again, from the opening series they were all over us. And they ran over us. Is that on Ben DiNucci?

Again this opinion is not born out of being a fan looking at excuses, but merely someone who understands football and watched the game. It is not meant to offend.

 

[Swervin27]

But again, from the opening series they were all over us. And they ran over us. Is that on Ben DiNucci?

Again this opinion is not born out of being a fan looking at excuses, but merely someone who understands football and watched the game. It is not meant to offend.

maybe our coaching staff did a poor job gameplanning for NW. is that possible? Can we give blame to our hero Narduzzi or is that off limits so we'll just blame the fans for not buying enough tickets..

 

[TheNoise88]

Well said Noise. We use the injuries as an excuse, but from the very first series, Northwestern looked much more prepared and motivated. We were outplayed. We were outcoached. That is not because of the injuries.

This post is not intended to offend anyone, just based off actual facts and events that happened in the Pinstripe Bowl.

We started out well and had some nice plays, but shot ourselves in the groin. Astin tripping over ... NY smog maybe? Conner trying to leap over the pile from like 6 yards away. Peterman throwing his ugliest pick ever in the red zone. Orndoff dropping a tying TD right in his bread basket. Henderson failing to make that one final move on a couple big runs. Obligatory missed Fg. All self inflicted, none a due cause of the injuries. The defense sucked too, but to be fair, no worse than usual (though even the run D joined the pity party this time) . This team lived on offense, knows it needs 40+ points every time, and needed to be far sharper, from the play calls on down.