Tough Hypothetical

[upj87]

Tough (for some of you--not me) Hypothetical.

If in August I said you had to choose between a 7-1 Pitt team with the one loss at the hands of Penn State or a 5-3 Pitt team with nail biter losses to three ranked teams with a win against Penn State... Which would you have chosen?

 

[sonofabit]

First place in the division given that. Not a choice if you ask me...and you did Plus all that goes with the record...ranking, publicity, prime time games.

 

[Jpripper88]

Tough (for some of you--not me) Hypothetical.

If in August I said you had to choose between a 7-1 Pitt team with the one loss at the hands of Penn State or a 5-3 Pitt team with nail biter losses to three ranked teams with a win against Penn State... Which would you have chosen?

Easy. 7-1 Pitt. Not even a remotely hard decision. 7-1 with our only loss being to PSU means we essentially wrapped up the division already. That would be far and away a better start and the reason it is even more frustrating changes weren't made by/during the UNC game.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

7-1. Looking at the PSU game prior, it looked like armageddon possibly. But the game really doesn't mean that much as we have found out. I could easily take the loss and have a 7-1 record. Provided PSU is 5-3.

 

[Swervin27]

We be ranked in the mid teens, undefeated in conference, in driver seat in coastal with a 1 and a 1/2 game lead with our only loss being against the #20th ranked team.

Is this really a tough hypothetical?

 

[OriginalEther]

7-1. Looking at the PSU game prior, it looked like armageddon possibly. But the game really doesn't mean that much as we have found out. I could easily take the loss and have a 7-1 record. Provided PSU is 5-3.

Hmm, I don't know.
I do think we needed to let Psu know that we're going to be a factor, especially at home.

And you know if Pitt was 7-1 with a loss the psu, the psu media would tell us we played seven softies and lost to a tough "battle tested" big ten team.

 

[MajorMajors]

I'd take the 7-1. Hell, I'd take 6-2. Beating UNC right now would feel better than beating PSU. I go way back with Pitt, but beating UPS this year didn't seem like that big of a deal.

Go Pitt.

 

[Piranha]

Some of you are either being dishonest or not reading the question correctly. IN AUGUST.....

 

[PhPanther1]

Who gives a shit about Penn State. Pitt needs actual championships, not some feel good victory for fans over some made up rivalry. Get real.

 

[Ol_Roy]

In August I would've picked beating penn state option. With that being said, I do think that if we finish 7-5 it's not a bad season. It's not an improvement, but we have been competitive in every game so far. That is not something we could always say in years past. A loss is a loss either way, but I still think this is an upward trending program.

 

[Pitt79]

First place in the division given that. Not a choice if you ask me...and you did Plus all that goes with the record...ranking, publicity, prime time games.

I'd rather be 7-1. I'd rather have a shot at the title game or a 10 win season.

 

[Piranha]

Who gives a shit about Penn State. Pitt needs actual championships, not some feel good victory for fans over some made up rivalry. Get real.

The only game this year our fan base showed up and was loud was against PS. The actions of Pitt fans speak louder than words.

 

[Pitt79]

Some of you are either being dishonest or not reading the question correctly. IN AUGUST.....

We beat ND in one of those 6-6 seasons, I'd rather have lost to ND and gone 8-4.

 

[revampedpanthers]

I would take the 7-1 record and loss to psu. Now I would take 5-3 and the psu win over 6-2 and a psu loss. To me the PSU win was like two wins. But it didn't make or break the season.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

The Penn State win, no doubt. The euphoria I felt after that game could not be equaled by beating VT and UNC. That was my National Championship. Sorry.

 

[h2p_5150]

My initial reaction was "obviously I'd rather be 7-1" but the atmosphere after that victory over nitters was awesome. Seeing all the Joebots dejected like that was great fun.

 

[PhPanther1]

Your obsession over 1 school has affected your ability to reason and set goals. Think about what that says about you.

 

[Safety Blitz]

This one is easy.....7-1.
I would answer the same way (7-1 w/ loss to Pitt) on the PSU board.
I like both schools, but I don't understand the obsession in both fan bases for a non-con early season opponent that neither team has played in a generation.
7-1 with a non-con loss would put either team in the hunt for a conference championship game appearance. Now that is something to get excited about.
I was on record years ago as not caring if Pitt and PSU ever played again. It was an enjoyable game to watch, but I still don't care if they play again and am against both teams tying up a non-con game on their schedules to play every year. I would much rather see a wide variety of national teams visit Pennsylvania.

 

[Swervin27]

The Penn State win, no doubt. The euphoria I felt after that game could not be equaled by beating VT and UNC. That was my National Championship. Sorry.

That's the little brother syndrome.

 

[Pitt79]

The only game this year our fan base showed up and was loud was against PS. The actions of Pitt fans speak louder than words.

So we lost because fans weren't yelling? LOL, what retarded BS. So if you need your fans yelling, that means winning on the road has to be impossible? And if fans where yelling vs. VT those cover guys would have had a super human effort and stopped those WRs cold, right? LOL, LMFAO!

 

[Swervin27]

So we lost because fans weren't yelling? LOL, what retarded BS.

you missed a thread on here a few weeks back where some people blamed pitt's poor play on people not standing enough..

 

[Pitt79]

you missed a thread on here a few weeks back where some people blamed pitt's poor play on people not standing enough..

Fans will yell more, if the team wins big and get's ranked, it will be louder because there are more of them. And I remember playing in high school football in western PA in the '70s, when crowds of 10,000+ was the norm. In all honesty, it might as well have been empty. As a player, when I was in the game, I don't remember noticing that there was any noise or any people there at all, all I could see or hear was what I was trying to do.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Some of you are either being dishonest or not reading the question correctly. IN AUGUST.....

That is a great point and you are right, I missed that. I cannot believe all of the angst I felt (and I am sure many Pitt fans) leading up to that game. Like that game was the be all to end all, that it would justify all that is right in the world or there is no justice in the world. Then we played them. We won. Barely. But we won.

What has changed? PSU goes on to come back against a mediocre Minnesota team and win in OT and we lose a tight game to OK State and UNC and all of a sudden, PSU is back to whiteouting Ohio State, we are back to Pitting into mediocrity. In other words, nothing really changed. We all thought the whole axis of at least Pennsylvanian college football was going to be determined by that game, but now almost two months later, it might as well be 2010 again. Nothing has changed.

PSU is still that football factory tapping into an amazing environment to gain energy into a big, nationally televised upset, Pitt in front of a half empty stadium had another soul crushing loss on national TV.

Just weird how wired I was leading up to that game. I just wonder when we were up by 3 TD's, if we went on to blow them out, the decisive victory would maybe have more of an effect. But we aren't seeing any particular uptick in recruiting. We haven't seen any uptick in attendance, the game is in the long distance rear view mirror of local sports fans.

I know this post will get slammed by "the Cheerleaders", but it is all true. I am not saying PSU has blown past as a program, but we also certainly haven't blown past them. They are ranked. We aren't.

 

[Ski11585]

Some of yinz guys are sad. Pitt gains way more by being ranked at 7-1 than by beating PSU.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Some of yinz guys are sad. Pitt gains way more by being ranked at 7-1 than by beating PSU.

I think the answer is easy. Would PSU rather be 6-2 and beating Ohio State or 6-2 and beating Pitt? We know the answer and the cache PSU got from the Ohio State win. I think we Pitt fans need to stop with our obsessiveness of everything Nitter. Because it is proof that beating them is no bigger deal than them beating us.

In other words, we need to stop falling into the trap of justifying our program in the eyes of Penn State fans and media. I fall into the same trap sometimes.

 

[VAPITTALUM]

You have to take 7-1. While beating your in-state competition is important, playing in conference championships with an outside shot of making the CFP is the ultimate goal. PITT would like be ranked in the 10-15 range with a huge road game coming up against Miami, which if PITT won, would set up a huge game with Clemson that would likely be on Gameday.

 

[Ski11585]

I think the answer is easy. Would PSU rather be 6-2 and beating Ohio State or 6-2 and beating Pitt? We know the answer and the cache PSU got from the Ohio State win. I think we Pitt fans need to stop with our obsessiveness of everything Nitter. Because it is proof that beating them is no bigger deal than them beating us.

In other words, we need to stop falling into the trap of justifying our program in the eyes of Penn State fans and media. I fall into the same trap sometimes.

I mean, I get it. I know I'm one of the more vocal "PSU isn't a rival" folks here. But I do get the desire to have an intense in-state rival. It's part of what makes college football great.

But Pitt fans need to realize the landscape of college football has changed. A win over PSU doesn't move the needle the way Pitt needs.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

I mean, I get it. I know I'm one of the more vocal "PSU isn't a rival" folks here. But I do get the desire to have an intense in-state rival. It's part of what makes college football great.

But Pitt fans need to realize the landscape of college football has changed. A win over PSU doesn't move the needle the way Pitt needs.

Exactly. And I was in the "PSU IS OUR RIVAL" camp. And we beat them. And you know what, life around this program is pretty much exactly the same before we beat them. The needle didn't move. My post was in hindsight thinking back to the angst I was having before the game and misjudging the impact of beating (or losing) to them.

 

[Panther Holla]

The Penn State win, no doubt. The euphoria I felt after that game could not be equaled by beating VT and UNC. That was my National Championship. Sorry.

I quite agree. Pitt could go 1-11 as long as that W was over the Pedds. Myopic, warped, illogical, yes. But genuine.

 

[Pitt79]

I quite agree. Pitt could go 1-11 as long as that W was over the Pedds. Myopic, warped, illogical, yes. But genuine.

Pitiful/Loser Mentallity

 

[Ski11585]

I quite agree. Pitt could go 1-11 as long as that W was over the Pedds. Myopic, warped, illogical, yes. But genuine.

That is a sad statement about Pitt's fanbase.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

Some of the posts on this thread are reflective of the attitudes of some Pitt fans. The ridiculousness of name-calling over a situation that doesn't even exist is mind-numbing.

The OP was hypothetical. The poster wanted opinions. That's all.....opinions.

The need for some people to immediately engage in name-calling because they disagree with someone's opinion is disgusting. I hope that I never meet some of you people in a social situation. I'm sure that you're a joy to be around.

But on the other hand, maybe it's better that you vent your pent-up anger on here, instead of beating-up your life-partner or your dog.

 

[Piranha]

So we lost because fans weren't yelling? LOL, what retarded BS. So if you need your fans yelling, that means winning on the road has to be impossible? And if fans where yelling vs. VT those cover guys would have had a super human effort and stopped those WRs cold, right? LOL, LMFAO!

You are a real dipstick! People can say whatever they want on here, but the only game Pitt fans showed up for and were into was PS. In a close game, a crowd can cause false starts which can impact a drive. It can also allow the players rushing the passer to get off a split second sooner which can throw off the timing. The crowd can also give the team energy when they are exhausted and need a boost.

 

[Jpripper88]

That's the little brother syndrome.

Yep. And, interestingly, it is the same people who constantly sunshine pump (in between being constantly focused on PSU and essentially being Pitt's version of JoeBots) who have it in spades.

 

[Pitt79]

You are a real dipstick! People can say whatever they want on here, but the only game Pitt fans showed up for and were into was PS. In a close game, a crowd can cause false starts which can impact a drive. It can also allow the players rushing the passer to get off a split second sooner which can throw off the timing. The crowd can also give the team energy when they are exhausted and need a boost.

Then let's pipe in crowd noise, that's not any less fake than putting up tarps.

 

[Piranha]

Then let's pipe in crowd noise, that's not any less fake than putting up tarps.

We need a 50k seat Stadium. You have 2 options - 1) Come up with $300,000,000 or 2) Tarp the Upper Deck of 1 side. Not a tough decision.

 

[PITTLAW]

Then let's pipe in crowd noise, that's not any less fake than putting up tarps.

Sweetening the sound may actually be a good idea. UConn was the king of creating noise in the stadium when there were not many people in the house. The noise is effective--tarping is not. Hail to Pitt!

 

[CampbellLION]

PSU likely doesn't beat OSU if it's not a white out. Even Urban has said many times that environment is difficult to play in. Are there people that actually don't think the crowd can influence a game?

 

[Panther Parrothead]

PSU likely doesn't beat OSU if it's not a white out. Even Urban has said many times that environment is difficult to play in. Are there people that actually don't think the crowd can influence a game?

I, for one, thought the white-out helped...as did catching tOSU in a "we can't possibly lose to those guys" mood. They went flat, and to your team's credit, they took full advantage of it. You've got too many weapons at the "skill positions" for the Buckeyes to (mentally) let-up and think they'd still win.

 

[Pitt79]

PSU likely doesn't beat OSU if it's not a white out. Even Urban has said many times that environment is difficult to play in. Are there people that actually don't think the crowd can influence a game?

You still have to have the PLAYERS. Pitt's 5-8 CBs aren't going to slow down VT's 6-5 WRs just because people are yelling louder.