UCLA game thoughts…can we win?

[4upmc]

If we win there is a good chance we finish in the top 25. We would have 20 wins over 2 years, the highest 2 year period in over 41 years. So yes despite what some say the game can mean a lot to this program especially back to back top 25 finishes to sell to recruits.

With that being said it’s going to be a tough game to win due to all of our key opt outs or injuries.

We are missing our 2 best players Kancey and Izzy. Kancey could cause havoc vs UCLA. For whatever reason some don’t like the term “home run hitter” but that’s exactly what Izzy is. I feel he would have had over 200 yards VS this D.

On D we are missing more than half of our sacks.

No Izzy, Kancey, Dennis, Alexandre, Hill, several others and dare I say our starting QB Slovis haha, don’t kill me but he and Wayne started to develop really nice chemistry. With those guys I was confident Pitt would win.

Without them our chances go down a ton. BUT for some strange reason (I’m probably wrong) I feel we have a chance. Patti is nothing special but I think the guys are going to rally around him and he will play above his talent level. Hammond may not be a “home run hitter” but I think our OL can pave the way for him, C’bo and Davis to do what we did VS Miami. UCLA is soft up front, we can beat them up.

On D we miss a lot but have a nice 4 man rotation at DT to hopefully stop their run game. The key IMO is if we can get enough pressure without most of our top pass rushers. Hopefully Hayes plays like he did against Miami.

None of the experts and most of our fans don’t expect us to win. The pressure is on UCLA who doesn’t have mass opt outs. Am I crazy to think we have a punchers chance?

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

If we win there is a good chance we finish in the top 25. We would have 20 wins over 2 years, the highest 2 year period in over 41 years. So yes despite what some say the game can mean a lot to this program especially back to back top 25 finishes to sell to recruits.

With that being said it’s going to be a tough game to win due to all of our key opt outs or injuries.

We are missing our 2 best players Kancey and Izzy. Kancey could cause havoc vs UCLA. For whatever reason some don’t like the term “home run hitter” but that’s exactly what Izzy is. I feel he would have had over 200 yards VS this D.

On D we are missing more than half of our sacks.

No Izzy, Kancey, Dennis, Alexandre, Hill, several others and dare I say our starting QB Slovis haha, don’t kill me but he and Wayne started to develop really nice chemistry. With those guys I was confident Pitt would win.

Without them our chances go down a ton. BUT for some strange reason (I’m probably wrong) I feel we have a chance. Patti is nothing special but I think the guys are going to rally around him and he will play above his talent level. Hammond may not be a “home run hitter” but I think our OL can pave the way for him, C’bo and Davis to do what we did VS Miami. UCLA is soft up front and I think we can beat them up. Thrown in some big plays by Wayne and we have a chance.

On D we miss a lot but have a nice 4 man rotation at DT to hopefully stop their run game. The key IMO is if we can get enough pressure without most of our top pass rushers. Hopefully Hayes plays like he did against Miami.

None of the experts and most of our fans don’t expect us to win. The pressure is on UCLA who doesn’t have mass opt outs. Am I crazy to think we have a punchers chance?

Anything can happen, but we are essentially playing our 2nd string against their first team.

 

[4upmc]

Anything can happen, but we are essentially playing our 2nd string against their first team.

You are right. The Pitt fan in me hoping for a chance. Really sucks we are without so many key players but many other teams including UCLA have most of their top players.

 

[mike 301]

Am I crazy to think we have a punchers chance?

No...

 

[4upmc]

I know the reason for opt outs are different for some guys. But to me a guy like Alexandre is strange. He is not projected to be drafted. So why not play in what could be your last FB game ever?

He will be in a NFL camp and I wouldn’t count him out. But the “experts” consider him a long shot. He was playing his best ball and could add to his film and help get him a better look.

 

[RaleighPittFan]

I think Pitt has a good chance to win.

Hammond is capable of producing a lot of yards; Patti has to think he has something to “prove”, so he should have a lot of incentive; my concerns are trying to replace Dennis and Kancey.

If Pitt can limit injuries, they should be in a good position to win.

 

[4upmc]

I think Pitt has a good chance to win.

Hammond is capable of producing a lot of yards; Patti has to think he has something to “prove”, so he should have a lot of incentive; my concerns are trying to replace Dennis and Kancey.

If Pitt can limit injuries, they should be in a good position to win.

you can’t replace Dennis and Kancey our 2 best pass rushers. But at least Simon had his best game when he played MLB.

Hammond and I wouldn’t count out C’bo both can get big yards if our OL plays like they did vs Miami. Patti is well liked and hopefully guys rally around him.

Our best chance is to control the clock running and thrown in some big Wayne plays.

 

[Burgh15]

It's tough to lose your best players, but for one game, guys stepping in can make it happen. They're going to be excited for the opportunity and having a chance to maybe win a starting spot for next year. The odds aren't in Pitt's favor, but I think they have capable guys stepping in.

 

[4upmc]

It's tough to lose your best players, but for one game, guys stepping in can make it happen. They're going to be excited for the opportunity and having a chance to maybe win a starting spot for next year. The odds aren't in Pitt's favor, but I think they have capable guys stepping in.

Good point. For one game who knows. And spots are open for next year at RB, DE, S etc so guys should be motivated as you said. A guy like McIntyre doesn’t have lots of experience but he has talent. He wants to claim a starting spot next year and this is a good audition.

 

[FireballZ]

The line still only sitting at -6 is so odd to me. I think ucla is probably a 1/2 point favorite on a neutral field if both teams are at full strength. So us missing 5-6 key players and them missing none is only worth 4/5 points? I have to believe UCLAs best players aren’t going to be as involved as you’d believe for a full game.

 

[4upmc]

The line still only sitting at -6 is so odd to me. I think ucla is probably a 1/2 point favorite on a neutral field if both teams are at full strength. So us missing 5-6 key players and them missing none is only worth 4/5 points? I have to believe UCLAs best players aren’t going to be as involved as you’d believe for a full game.

Would be nice if their star QB/RB sit.

 

[MajorMajors]

Seems to me that inexperienced safeties, even if excellent athletes, have struggled in our defense. I’m expecting UCLA will be looking to take advantage and will put McIntyre/O’Brien in situations where some poor reads will lead to some big plays against us…

Go Pitt.

 

[Jeffburgh]

Anything can happen, but we are essentially playing our 2nd string against their first team.

Just $hit luck at the qb spot last year and now all the opt outs w UCLA having pretty much their whole team suit up.

 

[yourhired]

The Pitt passing game should be improved but if DTR is playing it's going to be tough.

 

[ShipofFools]

Strange things can happen. Even without Kancey, Dennis, and Hill, this defense can cause problems. I look for the D to impact the outcome.

Hammond and Bart on offense also.

 

[thom67]

Would be nice if their star QB/RB sit.

They will sit when they are up by 28 pts.

 

[Gep Dawg]

So, I think we are totally fine of on offense. Hammond was the starter before he got hurt. He's not the HR afterburner Izzy is but he's a better runner finding holes. I still think he would have had a great year. The rest of the offense has been intact or filled in for injury earlier in the year.

On defense there is no doubt we lost a lot. But they play almost an option like offense that would have minimized our pass rush anyway. I don't believe they have the down field offense that will take advantage of our DBs on an island to begin with. Losing Dennis really hurts in this game. But if we can score with them and make a few stops our system against their system helps us despite having a lot of starters out.

 

[upj87]

No...

yes, for a 5.5 point underdog to pull this off it would be a miracle of Biblical proportions...."The Miracle Near Mex" will live on in lore for ages..

 

[sonofabit]

Won’t happen with Cigs around but Patti needs to absolutely air it out on the first play - to get all the steam out of his other jacked up throws to follow. Lol. He was jacked at the MSU Peach game.

 

[DruidTM]

Yes we can… yes we should… this team needs a bowl win… we are too shaky on bowl games… they need to take it seriously… punch UCLA in the mouth… remember Ben Howland “U She El Aay”…. Play tough … go home a winner Win the F@cking Footballing Game!!!

It’s ONE more… let’s get it done … rally around Nick Patti and send him off with a win!!! Then eat all the burritos you want before boarding the plane

 

[gopitt1976]

I got a good feeling about this one. Go Panthers

 

[Pitt1992]

As long as we don’t loose by 4 touchdowns I’m fine with this season,I don’t think we score much at all tomorrow

 

[4upmc]

Yes we can… yes we should… this team needs a bowl win… we are too shaky on bowl games… they need to take it seriously… punch UCLA in the mouth… remember Ben Howland “U She El Aay”…. Play tough … go home a winner Win the F@cking Footballing Game!!!

It’s ONE more… let’s get it done … rally around Nick Patti and send him off with a win!!! Then eat all the burritos you want before boarding the plane

All the burritos you want, sounds great! If that’s the case the guys are going to follow to famous quote of Vincent Davis “We finna get lit tonight”

 

[Team_Pitt_Fan]

Yes we can… yes we should… this team needs a bowl win… we are too shaky on bowl games… they need to take it seriously… punch UCLA in the mouth… remember Ben Howland “U She El Aay”…. Play tough … go home a winner Win the F@cking Footballing Game!!!

It’s ONE more… let’s get it done … rally around Nick Patti and send him off with a win!!! Then eat all the burritos you want before boarding the plane

Yes we should lol

 

[4upmc]

UCLA coach said no opt outs, not going to be easy.

Coaches and players on both teams want to win. But the money $ guys at UCLA (yes the have more than us) want this win as they are making it worth their while $$$ for top UCLA guys to play.

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

The line still only sitting at -6 is so odd to me. I think ucla is probably a 1/2 point favorite on a neutral field if both teams are at full strength. So us missing 5-6 key players and them missing none is only worth 4/5 points? I have to believe UCLAs best players aren’t going to be as involved as you’d believe for a full game.

You're making assumptions that starting with the premise that what you think is correct. It isn't. Also, it hasn't been "sitting" at 6. It was 3.5 like last week. Better luck next time, emoji boy.


💩😪😛🥳😎🤩😚🥰😍🤓😆😁😅🤣🤣🤣😏😩🥳😎

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

No

 

[FireballZ]

You're making assumptions that start with the premise that what you think is correct. It isn't. Also, it hasn't been "sitting" at 6. It was 3.5 like last week. Better luck next time, emoji boy.


💩😪😛🥳😎🤩😚🥰😍🤓😆😁😅🤣🤣🤣😏😩🥳😎

Reading comprehension seems to be amongst the many abilities you're lacking in life.

PS - Sagarin has UCLA as a 2 point favorite over Pitt on a neutral field.

 

[PittMan2003]

I don’t think we stand a chance

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Reading comprehension seems to be amongst the many abilities you're lacking in life.

PS - Sagarin has UCLA as a 2 point favorite over Pitt on a neutral field.

That ain't Vegas, Dipstick.

 

[BFo8]

The point spread has ping ponged back and forth on this game so much largely due to the conflicting reports on DTR’s status. Opened around 6.5 and got as low as 3 in some spots. The fact that is at -8 most places now pretty much tells you he’s going to play.

 

[neench]

UCLA's players planning on going to the NFL next year are ALL playing says the coach.

 

[Burgh15]

Given how many for Pitt aren't playing, is it just a team philosophy at this point? You're going to the NFL, stay healthy and good luck getting ready? I just find it hard to believe marginal NFL players wouldn't want to play one more game.

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

UCLA's players planning on going to the NFL next year are ALL playing says the coach.

So will that contrast even be mentioned by the announcers as the game? Media? It’s obviously due to payola for one Vs none for the other. But I bet isn’t it mentioned negatively whatsoever. The emperor really has no clothes, hell, no freaking hair or skin… and it’s sickening.

 

[4upmc]

Given how many for Pitt aren't playing, is it just a team philosophy at this point? You're going to the NFL, stay healthy and good luck getting ready? I just find it hard to believe marginal NFL players wouldn't want to play one more game.

A guy like Alexandre will be in an NFL camp but most likely won’t get drafted…why not enjoy one last game. Houy said he opted out to “prepare for the 2023 NFL draft”…sorry but zero chance he gets drafted. Minor made All ACC and has an outside chance to get drafted late. Much better shot at the NFL than Houy and he wants to finish what he started. If you are a fringe NFL player or almost no chance like Houy why not enjoy what could be your last game ever.

 

[Burgh15]

A guy like Alexandre will be in an NFL camp but most likely won’t get drafted…why not enjoy one last game. Houy said he opted out to “prepare for the 2023 NFL draft”…sorry but zero chance he gets drafted. Minor made All ACC and has an outside chance to get drafted late. Much better shot at the NFL than Houy and he wants to finish what he started. If you are a fringe NFL player or almost no chance like Houy why not enjoy what could be your last game ever.

Exactly, some of these players will be lucky to be on a roster or get more than a handful of fourth-quarter preseason snaps. This is possibly the last time they start and contribute on a team and they're passing it up. I understand the nature of things now, but it would be cool to see more guys finish it out. I think with so much NIL and pro focus, if the bowl payouts were split between the conferences and players who play in the game, more would finish out the season.

 

[4upmc]

Exactly, some of these players will be lucky to be on a roster or get more than a handful of fourth-quarter preseason snaps. This is possibly the last time they start and contribute on a team and they're passing it up. I understand the nature of things now, but it would be cool to see more guys finish it out. I think with so much NIL and pro focus, if the bowl payouts were split between the conferences and players who play in the game, more would finish out the season.

Nothing against the guys who made their decisions. But much respect to guys like Hallet and Minor finishing out the season and hopefully leading us to a win/top 25 finish.

 

[gerrypitt]

I think Narduzzi has a major problem with players opting out. This makes Pitt bowl games really ridiculous. UCLA should win big.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

The point spread has ping ponged back and forth on this game so much largely due to the conflicting reports on DTR’s status. Opened around 6.5 and got as low as 3 in some spots. The fact that is at -8 most places now pretty much tells you he’s going to play.

Any thoughts on why the total has moved down, especially with what we're missing on D and DTR likely playing?

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

I think Narduzzi has a major problem with players opting out. This makes Pitt bowl games really ridiculous. UCLA should win big.

A lot of teams have problems with players opting out. It's not just a Pitt or Narduzzi problem.

We have enough guys on D to keep the game interesting. However, I think inexperience will cost us a few big plays that will be difficult to overcome.