Pitt will now open next year with Wofford on Sept 2, 2023. Clemson apparently dropped Wofford, as the game was to be played Sept 2, 2023. My guess is that Clemson possibly has a big time neutral site game for Sept2. This is total speculation on my part. If so, Clemson and Pitt worked together, and it puts a 1-AA game to open the season, which makes sense to me if you are going to play them. Discuss....
Wofford
- Thread starter GreatBear71
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Had to be something big like that. Wofford is like a traditional opponent for Clem and his son.
We play a d2 school in week 3 so your statement is incorrect
Remember the facts how this happened. When Scott Barnes was here, Penn State was stonewalling for ANY kind of extension beyond 2019, so Barnes signed WVU for 4 games, 2022-25. He then got Cincy for 23-24, and they were still in the American, and for the River City Rivalry trophy to be resurrected. Notre Dame is scheduled by the ACC and ND. ND provided the dates, and the ACC the teams. There are 2 contracts with ND, from 2014-2025, and 2026 -2037. So ACC teams know up to 2037 how they have to schedule around ND. Wofford just added recently. Heather most likely tried to move Cincy, which is speculation on my part, but with them now in the Big 12 next season, which is 9 league games a year, their 2023 schedule is fine with them. This is how this happened.
Also, this present season, complaining about starting with WVU and Tennessee. We originally had West Virginia for the 3rd game and Tennessee for the 2nd game, which was the return game for the Johnny Majors classic. ESPN wanted to "reintroduce" the Backyard Brawl to the nation, and looked what happened: the largest crowd in the history of Pittsburgh sports came, which was slightly over 70,000. WVU wants this rivalry, as much as many Pitt fans want the PSU rivalry. The PSU game in 2016 was over 69,000, which was the previous record of ANY sporting event in Pittsburgh history
I don't give any type of reprieve for Cincinnati, because that is the absolute worst kind of game you could schedule. If you beat a G5 team, no one cares. But if you lose to a G5 team, well, you just lost to a G5 team. So games against teams like Cincinnati and UCF are worse to me than games against P5 competition.
This is good. I much rather have the FCS game on Labor Day weekend instead of a throwaway game during the season.
Knowing that we're gonna have a new starting QB, a rebuilt O-line, and other new players on defense, a lower division team is a nice, preferable opener for the season.
From an entertainment standpoint, definitely. It's impossible to get up for an FCS game after you've already played real games.
Cincinnati, Central Fla, Houston, and BYU are in 2023 Power 5 games, as they join the Big 12 next year
Pitt controls the clock and beats Wofford 14-13 after winning the battle in the trenches. Hammond shines with 112 yards on 47 carries. New QB is allowed to throw the ball 9 times for 67 yards. "We're easing him in" says Cignetti.
I'm a big fan of opening with an easier opponent -- G5 or FCS. That first game normally sees a multitude of new players who have never competed as a team before. I think it valuable to have a game where the team has a chance to forge its identity without a risk of an early loss (this is the goal -lol.)
Under the current situation, 10 P5 teams is the number I would like to see.
Having said that, I'd like to suggest that the new playoff system will make it possible to play tougher teams out of conference. If one is insured of a playoff spot as a conference champ, there can be less fear of an OOC loss.
For example, a team could start off with Tennessee, Penn State, West Virginia, and Notre Dame with no fear of missing a playoff. Yes, a couple losses would affect the rankings, but it would not eliminate one from the playoffs. Eventually, some coaches might even elect to play tougher non-conference games just to toughen up the team for conference play.
It will be interesting to see how the new playoff format will affect scheduling.
Under the current situation, 10 P5 teams is the number I would like to see.
Having said that, I'd like to suggest that the new playoff system will make it possible to play tougher teams out of conference. If one is insured of a playoff spot as a conference champ, there can be less fear of an OOC loss.
For example, a team could start off with Tennessee, Penn State, West Virginia, and Notre Dame with no fear of missing a playoff. Yes, a couple losses would affect the rankings, but it would not eliminate one from the playoffs. Eventually, some coaches might even elect to play tougher non-conference games just to toughen up the team for conference play.
It will be interesting to see how the new playoff format will affect scheduling.
Apart from the fact that this game will indeed be a P5 game, Cincy has achieved sort of a Gonzaga-like status in CFB where a win over them absolutely would resonate.
I was obviously talking about when it was scheduled. It was done so in 2015. At that time, they weren't a P5 team or a G5 team that was considered to be on a tier among other P5 teams. They were just a really solid G5 team. Not sure how them being a P5 team now is a counterpoint to what I said at all.
