Absolute gut punch of a game:
1. For the first time in weeks you saw the potential of this team. Even with the penalties, and the sacks there were was still some combination of good d and good offense that we have not seen for awhile.
2. Speaking of offense if we don't have the drops AGAIN Yarnell would have had 400 yards of passing. Even while he was getting brutalized in the pocket he made some courageous throws including a 25 yard dart to Konata on in route that of course was dropped. At least two drops would have been first downs. Not sure what's happened to these receivers all of a sudden.
3. There isn't much to say about the D. After getting burned in the first half with deep slants they played lights out in the second half including a stellar stop on a fourth down at midfield that gave us the shot at the FG that put us ahead. Alas it wasn't to be. All game they had made it their duty to stop the run and frankly maybe could have been a less aggressive at the end to force Clemson to be more methodical with no timeouts left however the QB draw was the perfect call. Short side of the field, against an aggressive stunt once the QB got past the initial line of defenders there really was a ton of open space and McMillan didn't have the angle on him. Just the perfect call against that D. Just give Clemson credit.
4. Pat Narduzzi has a habit of rushing to call his Timeouts and he did it again yesterday. Once on that abysmal goal line debacle where he negated a TD and the other curiously on the last drive when he called his second way too early on the drive. Not sure why but left us with only 1 as we were driving. Could have used that additional timeout because at the end we really had no choice but to throw in the end zone with the Clemson defenders defending the goal line.
5. Know how close games are? Maybe an inch separated Reid from touching the ball to the pylon. Also a great ankle tackle prevented another Reid TD on a wheel route over the middle. The LB doesn't make that tackle he's gone. People will point to the missed Sauls FG but come on it was from 59 yards out. I know we are spoiled by Ben but most teams wouldn't even try for a 59 yarder.
6. Bell made some adjustments going into the game and in game. First he was running Carter inside and it was effective until sadly he broke his leg. Secondly he finally gave Brown help by having the tight end chip the Clemson DE. The OL was a sieve and it's a miracle that Yarnell, who played a very good game, was able to make so many plays. Yarnell has two things going for him. Number 1 he is fearless and has a short memory in the pocket and number 2 he rarely stays locked in on his primary receiver. Late in the game he started breaking contain and running a little more which helped.
7. The refs? They were clearly bad as has been documented. Not much to say though I will say I didn't see a game changing call especially late. no I didn't think Reid made the first down so the stop was accurate to me. I didn't think he hit the pylon on his effort down the sideline. During the game there were several horrendous calls, including the bad spot for a Clemson first down, the roughing on Matlack and the hit on Yarnell that they finally re-thought and threw the flag which was nuts. It was obvious. Life in major college football, the refs are bad. It's not just an ACC thing. On one of the Clemson TD's it appeared that Fitz was tripped by the Clemson lineman as well but no call.
8. It will be interesting to see how this team ends up and more importantly what happens next season. In this era of NIL you never know who stays and who goes but clearly if the young players stay this team could be really good. They need some Offensive Lineman and maybe another playmaker but the roster is a good one.
9. There is a segment of fans that don't like Dabo Sweeney. I'm not one of them. Always thought he was classy. He was classy when Carter got hurt when he came out to talk to Narduzzi and pat Carter. He was classy about Pitt in the post game comments. He isn't a douche like a lot of CFB coaches are and I don't think it's an act. He has been outspoken about the transfer portal and has stuck to his guns.
10. You know sometimes you lose and it takes a while to recover. For me that was the UVA game because of the way we played and the way the game unfolded. Yesterday while it hurt bad, a part of me was proud of the team. Down 10, they came back and not only fought they dominated Clemson for a good portion of the second half. Sometimes you lose these types of games but the effort they put out there really isn't much to say.
11. Kade Bell needs to fix the coms problem in and out of the huddle. Either play fast or figure out what play you want. Down at the goal line they were clearly disjointed and I think it comes down to Bell. In golf, there is a saying commit to a shot. Decide on the shot and commit to it. If just feels like there is a lack of commitment to the play and it's reflected with the players tentativeness.
12. Think of what might have been had we pulled out UVA and Clemson? Alas we've said that too often. Onto Louisville.
Pitt82
1. For the first time in weeks you saw the potential of this team. Even with the penalties, and the sacks there were was still some combination of good d and good offense that we have not seen for awhile.
2. Speaking of offense if we don't have the drops AGAIN Yarnell would have had 400 yards of passing. Even while he was getting brutalized in the pocket he made some courageous throws including a 25 yard dart to Konata on in route that of course was dropped. At least two drops would have been first downs. Not sure what's happened to these receivers all of a sudden.
3. There isn't much to say about the D. After getting burned in the first half with deep slants they played lights out in the second half including a stellar stop on a fourth down at midfield that gave us the shot at the FG that put us ahead. Alas it wasn't to be. All game they had made it their duty to stop the run and frankly maybe could have been a less aggressive at the end to force Clemson to be more methodical with no timeouts left however the QB draw was the perfect call. Short side of the field, against an aggressive stunt once the QB got past the initial line of defenders there really was a ton of open space and McMillan didn't have the angle on him. Just the perfect call against that D. Just give Clemson credit.
4. Pat Narduzzi has a habit of rushing to call his Timeouts and he did it again yesterday. Once on that abysmal goal line debacle where he negated a TD and the other curiously on the last drive when he called his second way too early on the drive. Not sure why but left us with only 1 as we were driving. Could have used that additional timeout because at the end we really had no choice but to throw in the end zone with the Clemson defenders defending the goal line.
5. Know how close games are? Maybe an inch separated Reid from touching the ball to the pylon. Also a great ankle tackle prevented another Reid TD on a wheel route over the middle. The LB doesn't make that tackle he's gone. People will point to the missed Sauls FG but come on it was from 59 yards out. I know we are spoiled by Ben but most teams wouldn't even try for a 59 yarder.
6. Bell made some adjustments going into the game and in game. First he was running Carter inside and it was effective until sadly he broke his leg. Secondly he finally gave Brown help by having the tight end chip the Clemson DE. The OL was a sieve and it's a miracle that Yarnell, who played a very good game, was able to make so many plays. Yarnell has two things going for him. Number 1 he is fearless and has a short memory in the pocket and number 2 he rarely stays locked in on his primary receiver. Late in the game he started breaking contain and running a little more which helped.
7. The refs? They were clearly bad as has been documented. Not much to say though I will say I didn't see a game changing call especially late. no I didn't think Reid made the first down so the stop was accurate to me. I didn't think he hit the pylon on his effort down the sideline. During the game there were several horrendous calls, including the bad spot for a Clemson first down, the roughing on Matlack and the hit on Yarnell that they finally re-thought and threw the flag which was nuts. It was obvious. Life in major college football, the refs are bad. It's not just an ACC thing. On one of the Clemson TD's it appeared that Fitz was tripped by the Clemson lineman as well but no call.
8. It will be interesting to see how this team ends up and more importantly what happens next season. In this era of NIL you never know who stays and who goes but clearly if the young players stay this team could be really good. They need some Offensive Lineman and maybe another playmaker but the roster is a good one.
9. There is a segment of fans that don't like Dabo Sweeney. I'm not one of them. Always thought he was classy. He was classy when Carter got hurt when he came out to talk to Narduzzi and pat Carter. He was classy about Pitt in the post game comments. He isn't a douche like a lot of CFB coaches are and I don't think it's an act. He has been outspoken about the transfer portal and has stuck to his guns.
10. You know sometimes you lose and it takes a while to recover. For me that was the UVA game because of the way we played and the way the game unfolded. Yesterday while it hurt bad, a part of me was proud of the team. Down 10, they came back and not only fought they dominated Clemson for a good portion of the second half. Sometimes you lose these types of games but the effort they put out there really isn't much to say.
11. Kade Bell needs to fix the coms problem in and out of the huddle. Either play fast or figure out what play you want. Down at the goal line they were clearly disjointed and I think it comes down to Bell. In golf, there is a saying commit to a shot. Decide on the shot and commit to it. If just feels like there is a lack of commitment to the play and it's reflected with the players tentativeness.
12. Think of what might have been had we pulled out UVA and Clemson? Alas we've said that too often. Onto Louisville.
Pitt82
