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August 30, 2008

Right now, the scoreboard is saying that the end of last season was the aberration.

I haven’t read the comments yet. 190 is what I’m seeing as I start this. They should be fun.

The worst thing about a loss and a noon games is that I come back the same day. No drinking afterwards to try and lessen the pain. Just hanging around in the parking lot for a little while as the traffic lessens, then 2.5 hours of driving home. Alone with thoughts about the game and replaying much of what was seen.

From a marketing standpoint, this was an abject disaster. Bordering on a worst case scenario. The one thing that could not happen was Pitt to come out and flop. To lose at home to start the season. A team that showed very little that could be considered a positive. The team’s performance completely lost the crowd and turned them. A crowd that was looking to support, felt let down.

I haven’t even looked at the stats yet. I’m just giving some impressions from sitting in the stands for (almost) the entire game.

The offensive line is a mess. Bowling Green’s D-line was supposed to be improved, but there’s no excuse for how badly the O-line looked. They were continually being blown backwards up front. Trying to run in the middle of the field was a joke.

Stull felt the pressure. With the O-line struggling, Stull had trouble finding room to set his feet to throw. As the game wore on, he got worse with his footwork. Shuffling his feet a lot and losing zip off the ball. Especially when he was finally allowed to try and go deep.

The lack of deep balls until it was too late was frustrating. There was no pass for 20 yards or more attempted in the entire 1st half. No attempts to stretch the field. What good are all the weapons Pitt is supposed to have on offense if they don’t use them?

The defense sure didn’t look fast. Maybe the defense looked fast against Pitt’s offense in practice, but practice is over. Everyone knew the offense BG runs. Everyone knew they were down a running back and forced to rely more on Turner and throws. The BG O-line had its own problems.

Pitt players and the defensive coaches did not adjust to the short tosses and having receivers all over the field. That’s why they call it a spread offense.

A big problem for the defense last year, showed up again in this game. The inability to get off the field on 3d downs. BG showed contempt for Pitt’s defense in the 3d quarter. 6:41 left and facing a 4th and less than 1 at midfield. Still only trailing 3, they went for it. And they got it. There was no heart.

Ever have the alternator on your car go? You lose power, and everything dies. I may be forcing this a bit, but since the wife called me before the game to tell me the car died on her while out with the kids — and yes it was the alternator — it seems something of an apt comparison. Pitt came out and scored, seemed solid on defense. Then sputtered, faded and just had no juice.

Pitt had never, ever lost a home game to a MAC team until today. Pitt has lost 3 times to MAC foes in its history — twice under Wannstedt.

It’s hard to pinpoint when Pitt let the game get away from them. It was a slow fade. Started well, missed an opportunity, but still up 14-0. Then the Falcons found what was working. The short, underneath passes. Getting the ball in Turner’s hands.

As soon as the game was tied at 14, I knew it was going to be a tough game. BGSU had confidence and knew they could hang with Pitt.

Still, Pitt had a chance before the half as they got down field quickly. Then Wannstedt went ultra-conservative. With 12+ seconds left 1st down, and Pitt inside the 20, Pitt could have called a time-out and taken at least one shot to the endzone. Instead, and to a chorus of boos, Pitt let the clock wind down and took a 33-yard Field Goal to end the half with a 17-14 lead.

The first deep ball was thrown with 3:02 left in the 3d quarter after Pitt had lost the lead. An underthrown ball to Oderick Turner.

The wide receivers as a unit was a complete disappointment. They were running poor routes, turning the wrong way. Showing poor hands.

Matt Cavanaugh, is not distinguishing himself thus far. The O-line was giving nothing up front, but both McCoy and Stephens-Howling were getting good chunks when going outside. Yet there was a stubborn streak of sticking with straight up the gut — and getting shoved back.

By the way, what happened in the second half to Stephens-Howling? BGSU was keying on McCoy, but LSH was tearing through them. Yet, he barely touched the ball in the second half.

You could sense the panic on the offense in the 4th quarter as they realized they were running out of time and chances.

This Pitt team came out and faded. They showed no heart, no pride and no clue. They seemed unprepared to actually battle for an entire game. They were a complete disappointment.

With 4:43 left in the game, and another blown offensive series, there were sporadic chants breaking out in the stands of “Fire Wannstedt!” That was unexpected and not a good thing

It goes back to and on Coach Wannstedt. These are his players. The Walt Harris recruiting excuses are done. The players came to play for him. It is his job to get this team ready to play an entire game.

When the game started going south, it was up to him to get them to slow down and just take one play at a time. Instead, much like in the stands, the sidelines seemed to be in a collective state of, “uh, what the hell do we do?”

Ugh.





PATHETIC. I really wanted to see DW succeed, but I think all is lost at this point. Pitt was totally outcoached in every respect. 14-0, then BGSU (yes, that’s Bowling Green State University) whooped Pitt’s ASS 27-3 the rest of the game. 4th and 10? Throw a 5 yard out. WHAT THE FUCK. This is stuff you learn as a freshman in high school. Cavanaugh must go NOW. UNACCEPTABLE. The BGSU defense gave up an average of 500 yards per game lat year. We made them look like the Nebraska blackshirts of old.

I watched as they started crowding the line an blitzing as soon as the putt rush was starting to wear on them. You would think this would be a perfect time to start sending the ball downfield, right? NOPE. 5 yard outs, screens, WR screens. BULLSHIT. Cavanaugh west coast offense BULLSHIT. These poor suckers are so Fing FIRED it isnt even funny. We have 10X the talent and cant even be COMPETETIVE with a MAC team. SICKENING.

Comment by Dan35 08.30.08 @ 10:38 pm

Well said, Chas. Today really, really sucked. The offensive line couldn’t give Stull anytime, nor could they open something up for McCoy. He had to go through all of last year without any real holes to shoot through and he can’t be too excited after today.

Luckily, the sky hasn’t fallen.

Yet.

Comment by Dennis 08.30.08 @ 10:41 pm

Also…for as much as I’d like to bash the coaches, turnovers like Ced McGee handing the ball over to the BGSU defense are squarely the poor execution of the players.

BTW, did Aaron Berry lose the punt in the sun when he let it drop and roll 35 yards? Or is he just that stupid?

Comment by Dennis 08.30.08 @ 10:51 pm

The worst part of this game is that Wannstedt lost any and all goodwill he had built up. He can’t really do much to find forgiveness at this point from a fan base that doesn’t like him, but was ready to jump behind him if he could put together an average season. No matter how the season turns out, this game will be a black cloud.

The calls for his firing and whatnot are sad because if we get rid of Wannstedt then we are basically writing off another couple of years while a new coach gets in and gets his system and recruits together. Of course, keeping Wannstedt equally appears to be writing off the foreseeable future since it is apparent he can’t coach.

Wouldn’t it be great if somehow they could talk him into staying on staff for recruiting, but also get someone who could coach?

Comment by The Prowler 08.30.08 @ 11:06 pm

Looked to me like he just lost it in the sun. I saw him give the “oh shit I lost it in the sun” gesture. I think it would be unfair to fault him on that one, since a muff recovered by BGSU would’ve been way worse. Typical Pitt luck though, the Fing ball rolls to the damn 2 yard line after hitting around the 35. Just a drop in the bucket compared to the constant shitstorm that it is being a Pitt fan year after year. Can you believe I’m actually traveling to 3 road games to see this sideshow?

Comment by Dan35 08.30.08 @ 11:07 pm

Fire Wannstedt. He has to go. It’s the only thing that will give us a chance to turn things around. 2 years ago I said he must go when they gave up first downs on fake punts on consecutive possessions in a loss to USF. He could not possibly have had his team prepared and allow that to happen. Now I am SURE that he must go, and he can take Cavanaugh with him. You cannot possibly lose to Bowling Green at home, as a ranked team, after all the off-season BS hype, with all of the talent they supposedly have recruited in the last 4 years. But they did. Goodbye DW!

Comment by Wayne 08.30.08 @ 11:16 pm

Prowler, I want you to take a close look at Duke this season. In previous seasons Ted Roof brought in the hosses, but his sheer stupidity and lack of conditioning drills led to continual disappointment. Tonight, Duke came out with the hosses and an intelligent coach in David Cutcliffe and spanked the #2-ranked DI-FCS team, JMU, 31-7, exactly what a true DI-FBS team should do. Yes, it’s one game, but it’s beginning to look like a special season for Duke to finally break .500. All this Pitt team needs is a competent coach, because the hosses are here. Everyone knows that should Wanny’s crap continue the next two weeks, recruiting will fall off a cliff because Wanny won’t be able to sweet-talk any more Western PA recruits like he had in the past few years.

Comment by Joshua 08.30.08 @ 11:24 pm

It’s late at night and I’m looking at the ESPN ticker on the bottom of the TV screen. I’m looking at all these teams who blew out their small conference opponents in their home openers. Then I see pitt and it just baffles my mind.

The only other game that was equally as embarrassing was Texas A&M losing to Arkansas State in their home opener today.

Then again, A&M has a new coach in his first year. Pitt has a coach in his 4th year, with a system firmly in place, and with recruits much more coveted than anyone A&M can field right now.

As far as the game is concerned: I listened to it on the radio for the most part, and then tuned in on TV when there was 8 minutes left and ESPN was kind enough to show just how uninspired Pitt was playing. In those 8 minutes, I saw poor O-Line play (The right tackle was badly beaten on the inside), half assed play by Derek Kinder (Fralic and Hillgrove were noticeably angered on the radio because of his effort late in the game). The only reason the drive stayed alive was because of a ridiculous excessive celebration penalty on BG. We get into FG range and Conor Lee badly shanks it wide left.

I was going to ordered tickets to the Iowa game tomorrow for my Dad and I, since they go on sale at 10 AM. But after seeing what I saw today…I don’t even want to waste my money.

Comment by Ryan M. 08.30.08 @ 11:29 pm

Joshua,

It isn’t just about recruits but about system. Michigan has solid athletes on their team, but DickRod runs a completely different system than they were recruited for. How did that go to start the DickRod era in Michigan? Loss to a team they should have beat.

If Pitt fired Wannstedt and hired someone with the same philosophy with the addition of the ability to implement that philosophy then maybe they would come in and win right away. Then again, coaching turnover affects more than just the players on the field. Instability in coaching affects recruits wanting to come. So firing Wannstedt, even with the talent that is currently here, could have the impact of players for the next year or two being hesitant to sign on at Pitt if it looks to be a program in turmoil. One of the reasons Wannstedt has had recruiting success is because Pitt and Wannstedt both give the impression that he will be here for the long haul and apparently recruits really like him.

Comment by The Prowler 08.30.08 @ 11:41 pm

I have been going to games for twenty years and it gets tougher to be loyal. I really wanted to see Dave Wannstedt succeed too. I would need to see the rest of the season before deciding if he should stay or go. Pitt has gone through many coaches over the years, and that takes away any chance for consistency. The coach that ABSOLUTELY MUST GO IS MATT CAVANAUGH. He’s still glorified because of the ’76 National Championship and the Super Bowl with Balitimore. People forget that their offense was still one of the worst in the NFL that year. CAVANAUGH HAS NO CREATIVITY OR COMMON SENSE. Pitt was definitely outcoached in every respect.

Comment by Dean 08.30.08 @ 11:42 pm

DeCeccio was pretty awful today too in his first start. Missed way too many tackles to be a starting safety. Needs to cut the crap with his tats and play some ball. One thing I hate in this world is kids who act tough and then play like soft on the field. Speaking of which, Fields should have started.

Meantime, I didnt miss Shane Murray one bit out there today. I thought Ransom played well in his absence.

But Cav is just an awful O Coordinator. I agree.

This team will be lucky to win 3 games this year…with a capital L.

Comment by PPF 08.30.08 @ 11:49 pm

Aw, dammit. I seem to have run out of Kool-Aid.

Comment by Brian of Brooklyn 08.31.08 @ 12:03 am

I thought Stull was horrible. I was at the game and those of us in my section wondered why there were no shots down the field. Once Stull took that shot to Turner and I saw how under thrown it was we realized, “Oh my god, they must have no confidence in his arm.” I really didn’t like what I saw from Stull today…

Comment by Brad 08.31.08 @ 12:06 am

Did anyone pick up on the dig by Shady in the AP recap story?

McCoy didn’t seem to like the conservative play-calling, which came after Pitt punted from the Bowling Green 35 and 34 early in the game.
“It would have been nice to get a touchdown but, you know, we follow the leader (Wannstedt),” McCoy said.

Comment by BigGuy 08.31.08 @ 12:08 am

There’s a lot of football left to be played and I think they can still get to at least seven wins, provided that they put things together quickly. I think back to how bad this team looked at this point last season, and they still managed quite a turnaround in terms of quality of play over the second half. I think this Pitt team has more talent and is capable of more than they were at this point last season. So if they can put it together over the next few games, there’s still a season that can be salvaged here.

What killed Pitt today seemed to be sloppy execution, turnovers (a product of sloppy execution) and a conservative approach that I lay squarely at the feet of the head coach and offensive coordinator.

That being the case, I’m willing to give Wannstedt the rest of this year.

However, the best thing that could happen to Pitt’s program is for Matt Cavanaugh to be completely removed of his coaching duties and divested of any and all involvement with this program as of like right now. When I played football in 5th and 6th grade, I encountered coaches with more imagination that the poor, pathetic mockery of a coach that is Matt Cavanaugh.

I’m done buying into the bullshit that this coaching staff spews every summer. All I read all summer was about the offensive diversity that was available. They had all this depth. They had all these options. They had all these playmakers. They were going to be able to throw multiple packages out there and prove that, by golly, the offense was really cued into the 21st century of college football.

What’s more…Wannstedt and Cavanaugh said during the offseason that they realized you can’t lay off the gas pedal in college football. You can’t build a two-TD lead and sit on the ball. You have to keep the pressure on when you’re on offense. Wannstedt SPECIFICALLY mentioned that when he was asked this summer about some of the mistakes he made in the past. He SPECIFICALLY mentioned that when he was very candid in accepting blame for the UConn loss a few years ago, saying he never should’ve taken the ball out of Palko’s hands.

And yet here we are. They got a two-touchdown lead and the game plan became something right out of the Baltimore Ravens playbook. It was the same old pro-style, outdated predictable offense.

Where the hell was Greg Cross? Where was the wildcat package? Where was the option-based package? Where was Jonathan Baldwin? Where were the adjustments when it became apparent in the second quarter that Bowling Green was keying solely on taking McCoy out of the offense?

Again, no imagination on the part of the coaching. Nothing to convince me that the coaches are capable of recognizing where adjustments must be made, let alone making the correct adjustments. Nothing but another shining piece of evidence that this coaching staff truly does not understand the modern college football game.

Comment by Stoosh 08.31.08 @ 12:11 am

Actually there is some good news: Pitt’s basketball team starts practice in about six weeks. We can look forward to something.

Comment by BigGuy 08.31.08 @ 12:13 am

well put stoosh. i feel exactly the same way.

Comment by yeahimajerk 08.31.08 @ 12:21 am

If Wannstedt wants to save his job, he better start acting like a head coach and remove Cavanaugh before it’s too late. The problem with this coaching staff is they coach scared. Let the kids have fun and their confidence will grow. Coaching this conservative breeds lack of confidence and lack of enthusiasm. If we think we’re bored in the stands, how do you think the kids feel? The only thing that concerns me about removing Cavanaugh is Wannstedt will replace him with someone just as conservative. Wannstedt’s coaching style is so boring they’ll be paying fans to come to the games soon. I liked what the Prowler said, keep Wanny for recruiting, but get a real head coach.

Comment by ltl 08.31.08 @ 1:31 am

Didn’t see the game, but the reviews sound pretty bad — tired of no backbone calls on offense, for sure. However, we weren’t going to go undefeated this year, so might as well get your ugly game out of the way at the start, then start the uphill climb to improvement — maybe just what they needed to forget all their hype, focus, and get pissed off. Maybe.

Comment by Matt N. 08.31.08 @ 1:40 am

can someone just tell me why derek kinder is on the bench and aaron smith is our primary receiver on the biggest play of the game?? please englighten me…have we heard from aaron smith all pre-season? where is tj porter or baldwin….throwing to him is completely inexcusable. I hate it, but someone needs to go.

Comment by tdemps 08.31.08 @ 2:26 am

Though the opening was mighty ugly, I still feel Pitt will have a winning season and make a bowl. In which, the Stache will keep his job. I just wish they would friggin open it up, take shots down the field. I’m still in awe that Pitt lost today, they completely dominated the first half and the game stats.

Comment by Dugdog 08.31.08 @ 2:50 am

Cavanaugh must go ! It wouldn’t take an offensive genius to run some play action or misdirection. Not one time did the Pitt offense fake a handoff to Shady and throw the ball , quoting the BG coach we blitzed on every down, meaning their defense over pursued evry down. A play fake or misdirection could have burned BG and reduced the presuure on the o line. And Bendal reported daily on the radio of the Baldwin catch of the day in practice. Yet no Baldwin, even if baldwin can’t run his routes yet why not put him out there on a fly pattern to stretch BG’s defense.
Again one man the offensive coordinator is resposible for these oversights. Cavanugh must GO!

Comment by Marty 08.31.08 @ 8:49 am

Mike Tomlin: “When you’re not tackling, you got to play basic football. … That also goes for an inexperienced offense.” That goes for any level of football not just the pros. If Cavanaugh had opened up the offense the score would have been doubled, BG 54 to 17, that is. Sometimes (when the offense is inexperienced and incapable of handling anything more complicated) conservative is not only good but imperative.

Shady should keep his mouth shut, his fumble cost his team a TD.

The O-line is worse than reported. So far thin and trim isn’t working. Maybe they are over trained.

Stull had his opportunities, but he can’t hit anything deep. He missed Baldwin twice for scores. One in the end zone, was late and way high. Another was out of bounds down the side lines.

The receiving core as a whole sucked. How many passes did they drop? None of them went for any of the passes that Stull threw close enough to be receptions. If the receiving team would have done their job, Pitt wins.

How about that punt that Berry lost in the sun? BG never had a problem.

The defense didn’t tackle and blew assignments all game. The hardest hit in the game which was by McKillop was to Gunn. According to Larry Coker the defense was “in position” on the swinging gate and other weird formations. That means that the coaching was ok, the players just didn’t make plays. If the defense wouldn’t have overrun plays, messed up assignments and made some tackles, Pitt wins.

Wannstedt or any other coach on the staff for that matter doesn’t play a single down of football, the players do, and they made too many mistakes to win. They blew it not the coaching staff.

Comment by shadyforpresident 08.31.08 @ 9:01 am

I don’t know much about schemes but the Phil Bennett defense seems to “read and react” just as much as the Paul Rhodes defense that I hated. I saw Aaron Berry burned on variations of the same play 5 times because he had to play 10 yards off of the ball according to the scheme. Phil, you’ve got to adjust. If a regular joe like me can see something wrong from the stands, you better have the sense to fix it.

Comment by AJ 08.31.08 @ 9:06 am

I have been a season ticket holder for six years. (Five as a student, 1st as public) This was the worst game I’ve ever been to for several reasons.

1)I have parked in the same garage for $12 for three years and you don’t have to wait in traffic. This year, the garage is presold so I am screwed.

2)I don’t know Northside well so I paid $25 to park at the Science Center Warehouse lot. I should have bought Stevie P’s parking permit but I thought I had my garage.

3)I get to my seats. They are great. Two BGSU fans are sitting in them refusing to move. I have to get an usher and it is a bit of an ugly situation as they complain.

4)Fans behind me are ripping on Penn State. My girlfriend is a PSU grad/fanatic and came with me today because she wanted to watch a “real game.” Boy, we all felt like jerks as PSU put up 66 and we choked. We played so bad, my girlfriend enthusiastically cheered for Pitt because she knew how upset I’d be if we lost.

5)It took 45 minutes to get from the Science Center to 279 North. I miss my garage spot.

6)While waiting at a red light in the Northside, a women attempted to cross 5 lanes of traffic and almost hit my car. The incident was 100% her fault and she pulled up to me and called me every foul word known to man. I was so stunned I did not reply.

7)I had to go to dinner with friends who went to ND and PSU and had to deal with a variety of insults and embarrassments.

8)Wonder how many people will be at the Buffalo game? I’ll be there.

Comment by AJ 08.31.08 @ 9:12 am

Dugdog–I agree, like the rest of us I hate the playing not to lose offensive style. Yet, as you said, when you look at the boxscore for the game you see that Pitt’s defense only allowed ~250 yards to BG (it allowed an average of 297 last year to finish #5 nationally). So, that’s a reasonable number vs a pass oriented spread offense. That in turn means that if your offense plays well it should be a good enough effort for you to win the game because it shouldn’t result in giving up more than ~17 points. Even yesterday’s ultra-conservative Pitt offense generated 393 yards total which should normally translate to ~27-28 points scored. Bottom line, when you look at those stats the score should have been flipped with Pitt winning 27-17. And, as many have observed, who knows what could have happened with a more creative and agressive offensive approach. Those who have remarked that turnovers are more costly when your offense is very conservative are surely correct! Being -3 on turnovers with such an ultra-conservative offense is an absolute killer!!

It seems to me, that the offensive coaching criticism aside, there are some other issues with the offense. First, as several have observed here and on the other chat boards, the Pitt OL did not play well yesterday and Stull did not have adequate time. That right tackle position we worried about during camp appears to remains a problem. Second, Stull (and maybe all the rest of our QB’s except perhaps K. Smith) lack the arm to throw the ball deep with any accuracy. That concern had been in the back of my mind since I watched fanfest on Aug. 21. If we throw long to try and stretch the field we likely run a high risk of being intercepted as a result of floaters and underthrows.

Finally, I do agree with you that a winning season is still possible. Aside from the offensive play calling concerns, the OL is probably going to improve over the course of the season. Also, I have the impression (sure hope it is correct) that a large part of yesterday’s problems were the result of a team that was trying too hard to “Prove It” and, as a result, played too “tight.” If tired legs were also an issue as was suggested, perhaps they also trained too hard. Both of these things (and especially the latter) are on the coaching staff.

So, IMO, if they can put this over-trying stuff behind them and just let the game come to them hopefully the drops and turnovers will disappear, confidence will be regained and, along with it, a winning season with a bowl game.

Comment by pitt1972 08.31.08 @ 9:17 am

BGSU is not a bad team (8-4 last year + bowl game) and a close loss would not have doomed this season for Pitt b/c it was going to be tough to defend a gimmick offense with a new D coord. I think Collier had that stat that 25 of Stull’s 29 completions were for 12 yards or less. Doesn’t that just play into their plan to stack the box against McCoy? I agree with many others that Cavanaugh needed to stretch the field more. When they finally started (4th qtr), it seemed like Stull was locking onto a receiver and not doing his check-downs (or maybe there was another reason to throw to double/triple covered Dickerson). Was blocking on kick-offs optional? Where was the new defensive focus to force turnovers? The only possible “good” news is that no one will have trouble getting through to order tickets this AM and if one game is an indicator, McCoy will be back for 2009.

Comment by C 08.31.08 @ 9:18 am

I love how every single headline uses the word “stunned” to describe the outcome. Were any of you stunned that this 4-7 team was beat? Anyone who was stunned has obviously not kept up with this team under this staff. If the players were arrogant enough to be stunned by this loss then they deserved to lose.

Comment by Jon C 08.31.08 @ 9:38 am

Stull definitely was locking on to receivers and throwing into coverage. What do you expect? He has no experience, first full game as a Panther. He needs to learn look off the db on deep balls and pump fake if he gets the time. The line was so bad he was lucky to leave the game alive. He really took some punishment that most likely affected his throws.

Comment by shadyforpresident 08.31.08 @ 9:41 am

If I hear one story where they ran a vanilla offense and defense in order to not to show too much for the BE schedule I’m going to blow my stack. And the problem was if that wasn’t a vanilla offense and defense we are going to have a long season. No creativity on either side of the ball.
And screw redshirting players, screw not showing too much for the BE schedule, the time is now to win. They have to put the 11 best players on the field and play with a SENSE OF URGENCY. If they win they will get recruits and continue to re-load but they have to win and win RIGHT NOW!

What used to piss me off to no end under the Walt era was how conservative he called games. The frigging quick punting and never going for it. I thought with Wanny that would not happen but it has and yesterday punting two times in the first half inside BG’s 40 are you kidding me? Are you f’ing kidding me? Did we need to pin them back and play a field position game with BG?? We could have scored both those times and put them on theirs heals. It could have been 17 or 21 nothing. Lose trying to win putting it all out there, playing with a SENSE OF URGENCY don’t lose on being conservative.

Comment by DJ 08.31.08 @ 9:49 am

Good news, no one got hurt. We’ll feel better when we beat Buffalo.

Comment by alcofan 08.31.08 @ 9:49 am

C and others-FWIW, A pass oriented spread has got to be the most difficult offense to defend effectively. In effect, your opponent is running a 2-minute drill offense the entire game. Holding that type of an offense run by a decent team with an accurate QB to 250 yards is an okay defensive effort overall. Yesterday’s loss is 90%or more on the Pitt offense–coaches and players alike.

Comment by pitt1972 08.31.08 @ 9:51 am

Other Pitt news: Palko and Poteat were cut.

Comment by C 08.31.08 @ 9:55 am

Pitt1972- I understand the difficulties of defending the pass-spread and knew it was going to be tough in week 1 with a new coord. However, I didn’t see the breaks on the passes trying to get interceptions as was touted in camp. Agree that the main problems were not on the defensive side of the ball.

Comment by C 08.31.08 @ 10:01 am

Why is it that every team has the ability to adjust and we can not? We are up 14-0 they have negative yards on offense, two or three series and 0 first downs and than BG adjusts goes to a different look we can’t adjust and now the score is 14-14.
The second half they adjust their defense and we don’t score?? Where were our offense adjustments?? A team that allowed over 30 points per game last year we can’t find a weakness to exploit?
I just don’t get it.
That is a coaching loss. Because man for man we were bigger and more athletic. You replace our coaching staff with BG’s coaching staff and we win that game by 21 points.
All our coaches Wanny, Wise, Cav, Bennett, Greg G are all over 50 years old and i just think this new college game has passed them by.
Makes sense why they recruit well they are all older, mature understand how to relate to the kid’s parents, can talk football, can talk about all their experiences, etc… and Wanny is a likable guy.
But when it comes to creativity, game planning, adjusting in game situations, evaluating talent, making players play to their best that just isn’t our staff.
How can two of our line men get drafted last year and we had a very weak O line…coaching.

Comment by Art_pitt91 08.31.08 @ 10:03 am

Wow. I am a Pitt alum and played at Pitt in the 80’s….I ran into Randy Holloway and we bullshitted before the game and felt so excited about the season. We were both keyed on Byam…..this kid is truly a great athlete. Dreams of sugar plums danced in our heads the night before as we dreamed of BCS bowls…..but awful coaching took care of that. It just wasn’t the play calling it was the preparation of the team. It is very apparent that the team does not have the discipline to perform every Saturday. The Offensive line was as bad as advertised, and Deciccio needs to sit….he wiffed so bad on the long run by BG that set up the TD before the half, he was out of place half of the game…..

I did not see fields dressed for the game until the fourth quarter……have to make a few calls to see if I was ray charles or he was hanging with the dogs at Duquesne and missed the bus…lol

Dare i say this…..i guess we got to wait to next year…..I have been saying that for 20 yrs!

Comment by WTF 08.31.08 @ 10:14 am

what pitt needs to do is bench thomas, DeCeccio, and turner. let the players be accountable for there actions on the field. i was watching the missouri game last night and their coach benched their good reciever for a quarter after fumbliing the ball. Hell, bench McCoy for fumbling the ball for a couple series. these kids need to be taught a lessen, you make dumb mistakes, your sitting. DeCeccio missed ALOT of tackls and at times looked like he was afraid to tackle. Let fields get out there at that point and see what he can do.

Comment by mike 08.31.08 @ 10:17 am

Yeah a pass oriented spread offense is difficult offense to defend, but the defense really screwed up. Nobody was within 20 yards of the fullback just standing in the endzone waiting for the TD on one play. Nobody covered the FB and he killed us on one play after another. On another play the QB ran up the middle untouched for another
TD. The D ran them selves out of plays and missed tackles all game long that had nothing to do with the spead offense of BG

Comment by shadyforpresident 08.31.08 @ 10:17 am

Why do you think BG scheduled Pitt. Over rated program, falsely imagined as upward bound- and a sure WIN

Comment by Mike 08.31.08 @ 10:25 am

Jon C,
Err… that was 5 and 7 in 2007. And anybody predicting that this was a top 25 team is out of their freaking mind. They need to sharpen their pencils and come up with some realistic expectations for this team.

Comment by shadyforpresident 08.31.08 @ 10:30 am

We loss the game in the first half when Wanny decided to TWICE punt the ball when we were inside Bowling Green’s 35 yardline!…What shitty and passive way to coach the game!…But it gets better, at the end of the first half, Pitt had a second-and-10 on the Bowling Green 20 with about 30 seconds left in a 14-14 tie.

Go for the end zone?

Throw the ball?

Be aggressive?

No, no and no. Cavanaugh, the offensive coordinator, called for a draw play to LaRod Stephens-Howling. Wannstedt proceeded to let the clock run to three seconds before ordering a third-down field goal.

Unbelievable!

ESPN analyst and former Pitt star Mark May said, “You can’t coach scared. It sends a bad message to your team that you’re a passive coach”

Mark May made that remark after former PITT coach Walt Harris called timeout and instructed quarterback Tyler Palko to take two steps to his right and slide to the turf, thereby creating a better angle for a field goal.

I put this lose SOLELY on the coaching staff…Wanny and company has proven time and time again that they can’t coach the talent they have on the sideline…I waited ALL year for this football season to start, what a fuckin let down!…IT’s gonna be a long season BOYS!

Comment by jumpingjohnniePITT82 08.31.08 @ 10:49 am

several obserbations

Decicco is a bench player not a starter. Should be great help on the return team with his blocking etc.

E. Fields should be given the starting position. Decicco stunk it up all day long.

Howling-Stephens must be used more often. Great change from McCoy. MC and DW didnt recognize his value. He had 58 yrd in 4 carries in the 1st quarter then they sent him to exile. Poor decision.

Oderick Turner is a role player not a starter. Too poor of an effort and concentration. Not Big time. Get the Baldwin kid in there ASAP.

Mick Williams and Ranson are players!

McKillop cant pass defend. Plain and simple. Great against the run between the tackles but blows coverage in the pass protect.

Entire defense secondary and linebacker have hugh intelligence gap in covering the misdirection tight end cross. They killed us on this play over and over. Where was the coaching.

What I hate most is that neither the head coach or the cooordinators seemed to make any adjustment. No coahing. They seemed more lost than the players. ALmost as if the players turn to them for leadership and they had blank faces on saying I dont know. Someone needed to step up and take control. I like Wanny, mainly because he is a PITT guy, but the reality is that he has perpetrated a fraud on the head coaching profession. Times up. The emperior has no clothes!

Comment by pitt fan 08.31.08 @ 11:00 am

Where is the Greg Cross. Good showing in Spring game. Athletic and mobile. The evolution of the offense in college football has gone to a mobile QB. Time to give Cross a chance!

Comment by frustrated 08.31.08 @ 11:06 am

Where was Greg Cross? OSU used effectively Pryor in a run shoot style offense yesterday, but they have an offensive line. Apparently he has’nt improved enough since the spring.

Comment by shadyforpresident 08.31.08 @ 11:21 am

after next years ND game I will never go to another Pitt game unless there is a coaching change. I agree with the stability in coaching leads to recruiting theory, but if you can’t coach it, why the Heck recruit it? I have been goin to Pitt games since I was old enough to walk (both parents & sister Pitt alums + 95% of my family) and the total lack of effort coaching and players alike, makes me wonder why i wasted a beautiful saturday afternoon in the Burgh. If the players and coaches don’t care, why do I? If Pitt is going to play like a bunch of dogs all year, at least make the schedule tailgate friendly. If the pirates are in town, have the game at the wolverina in turtlecreek, because that would easily accomodate the rest of this years “crowds” If we are going to lose our home opener every year at least play an attractive team at a better time 3:30 pm is perfect.
wait till next year…wait till next year, sounds like the pirates, I am tired of waiting!
get some young fired up coaches(bo pellini anyone) ? and get some players who want to play.

Comment by Kurt 08.31.08 @ 11:25 am

McCoy has no business talking any shit. His fumble basically cost Pitt the game. The coaches suck, but Pitt would have won the game if they never gave up the lead. Wannstache can’t play from behind. He can’t. Pitt football is tough. It is just tough.

Comment by Omar 08.31.08 @ 11:39 am

I think enough has been said about how bad the offense was but what concerns me is the defense, which was supposed to be the team’s strength. It was like Paul Rhoads was back. Third & 3 – why not play a 10 yard cushion on all receivers? They have 5 receivers out there – let’s stick with linebackers in coverage…..

The players screwed this game up. The coaches screwed this game up. 25,000-if that, for Buffalo.

Comment by Joey D 08.31.08 @ 11:43 am

Unreal. Unreal.

Comment by Omar 08.31.08 @ 11:48 am

The one thing that we tend to forget is that most of the coaching staff is new except for the OC and HC and we haven’t had a chance to develop a consistency in coaching.

I remember the changing coaches ever year philosophy till we get somebody that can win. If you look at this year’s coaching carrousel it is the popular thing to do. It was bad, very bad.

63 Rose bowl – Pitt up at the top.

Posvar emphasizes education by de-emphasizing football – followed by four consecutive one win seasons. We beat either William and Mary or Army or Navy depending on which service academy we were playing that year. You can blame that on the administration not the coaches. But it seems that they were replacing coaches on an annual basis.

Then Johnny Majors comes to Pitt and in 1976 a national championship. Tennessee hires Majors; administration refuses to pay to keep him here. Jackie Sherrill takes over, does good, then he is hired away, again Administration to cheep to keep him. Remember the rules aren’t the same as they were in the Majors era.

“We loss the game in the first half when Wanny decided to TWICE punt the ball when we were inside Bowling Green’s 35 yardline!” If I remember correctly we were ahead both times giving up 30 yards in field position is just stupid while you’re in the lead.

“At the end of the first half, Pitt had a second-and-10 on the Bowling Green 20 with about 30 seconds left in a 14-14 tie.” I can’t defend that. I would have liked to see them throw in to the end zone but that didn’t cost us the game.

Comment by shadyforpresident 08.31.08 @ 11:54 am

“Good news, no one got hurt. We’ll feel better when we beat Buffalo.” Please keep thinking this way. I’m sure that’s what they thought would happen vs BG. Nothing like over confidence.

PTR

Comment by promorobot 08.31.08 @ 12:18 pm

Wannstedt must be removed now. How many years can we put up with this mess? He is a total loser of a coach. All the marketing in the world will not put fans in the seats when the team stinks up the place.

Comment by TonyinHouston 08.31.08 @ 12:21 pm

aaron berry should never be back on the punt return team again. twice, he cost us significant field position. on his second fair catch (the one he actually caught instead of letting roll 30 yards to our goal line), there was nobody within 15 yards of him. grow some balls dude.

overall, the seconday was pathetic and would’ve had a hard time covering good high school receivers.

how long till basketball season????

Comment by disgusted 08.31.08 @ 1:06 pm

Wow, I remember nearly crying myself to sleep after the Pirates 92 NLCS loss as a kid.

I remember what seems like countless Steeler AFC championship losses.

For whatever reason, I took this loss just as hard. I mean FUCK, 9 months of looking forward to this, and we shit the bed… NINE MONTHS! Braggint to everyone I know in FL that we’re going to break through this year, then having to field phone calls from each and every one of those people last night.

I found myself passed out drunk on a raft in my friend’s pool at 4 am last night. What a fucking mess.

Comment by Jimbo Covert's my Dad 08.31.08 @ 1:11 pm

Flew up to Pittsburgh from Houston excited to to see a Pitt game up close in person. I have Direct
TV and all the sports channels so I watch Pitt football all the time. I thought this was going to be the year. Heinz Field is great. A winning Pitt program will keep the place full. But Wannstedt hasn’t improved at all from the first game he coaches – ND vs. Pitt. They look as bad in person as they do on TV. It makes me wonder what Dave really had to do with the WVU win and how gullible we all have been. Don’t think Buffalo will be an easy game – they scored 40+ points yesterday and Turner Gil is a real coach – unlike the great pretender Wannstedt and his horrible, I mean horrible, offensive coordinator.

Comment by TonyinHouston 08.31.08 @ 1:34 pm

I think people are being too hard on the defense. The MAC is an offense-based league. Our defense wasn’t given the best opportunities (BGSU starting at the 11 yard line) and in reality they held them two one drive of 70 yards and only 2 more of 50 yards. Against a high-powered offense that is likely to drive the field time and time again against bad defenses, giving up long drives when the defense has no chance to rest isn’t that awful. I blame this game solely on the gameplan and the play calling. If they players aren’t excited to go out and play, they won’t work hard. LSH had some great carries early on because he ran to the outside. Shady wasn’t getting anything because he was being told to run up the middle when BGSU was stacking 8 or 9 guys in the box. It wasn’t until the 3rd quarter that we even thought about going long, and it was just a fly route. I would have loved to see some 20 yard posts followed by a screen pass, vary it up! It is so damn frustrating to watch your boring offense run the same plays over and over. I know that this is just the first game but I don’t see this as anything that will change over the course of the season. We’d love to be optimists and say that Wannstedt and Cavanaugh will change, but what have their histories told us? They said this was the year to “Prove It” but all they are going to prove is that they just can’t cut it at the coaching level.

Comment by merlin 08.31.08 @ 1:45 pm

LAYMAN’S DEFINITION OF INSANITY:

DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND EXPECTING A DIFFERENT RESULT.

Three years of no bowls, and the beat goes on and on and on.

Comment by Gas 08.31.08 @ 1:57 pm

Things we learned from yesterday heartbreaking loss.

First… we will have a great season…TRUST ME!!!

The halo that the program had above our heads dropped six inches and turned into a noose. The pressure got to everyone, players, and coaches. We were reading the press clipping and espn.

We got a very very good football team on both sides of the ball. We needed this loss bc the players and fans heads were getting way too big.

Mick Williams is the truth!!! I am very very very impressived with him. First team big east and possible 2nd team all american. Sheard and Romeus are studs. Actually the whole defensive line is NICE

McKillop cant cover but man does he flies around the field. Tough game for him but he never quit.

Austin Ransom is a great athlete. Sorry it took him five years to show the fans. Great game. I think he is better suited to play against a BG than a IOWA or south fla but i hope he proves me wrong.

Phil Bennett is a good DC. Phil waited too long to unlease the dogs. Than became predictable with the blitzs late.

Kudos to Nate Nix. Good job replacing Dunn ( i hope dunn is okay)

Our TEs are great. Get them the ball. Bynham is a 1st or 2nd round pick. Dorin could be a Shannon Sharpe type TE

Turner makes too many mentally mistakes (i.e running before he catches the ball). May be time to bench him

Our RT got wind burn from BG’s DE blowing by him

Stull arm is weak. His 20 added pounds did nothing for his arms strength. Give Baldwin a chance. Had him open 2x and missed him badly. Also, stull stares his receiver down when he has to go to a 5 or 7 step drop.

Dom is not ready to play. Could not make the big open field tackles that would have ended the two of the scoring drives. Also, had problems covering anyone. Scooter needs to get on the field but I do understand why Dom started. Dom did everything the program ask while scooter was effing around. Nerves played into this one

Our Running backs are NICE. Hey Cav just maybe it would be nice to run through 4 and 5 hole or call some flares and screens.

Berry is a legit corner and punt returner. Tried to make up for his fielding problem in the first quarter. No worries..

MC needs to apply pressure to the throat this predictable lou offense has too go. We got too many weapons on both sides of the ball for this.

DW needs to stop protecting Cav. Cav owes us answers for the play calling.

DW take over the rein of the offense. Lets be agggressive. We have deep threat to combat the 8 men in the box.

As we learned 13-9 means jack sh&^t along with a tee shirt slogan.

NOW IT IS TIME…. TO PROVE IT….. IN PRACTICE, IN THE CLASSROOM, IN THE COMMUNITY and ON THE FIELD.

I am not giving up on this team, players or coaches b/c this is going to be a very special year. Tough loss but not the end of the world.

The pressure and the clipping got too everyone. Back to reality.. teams arent going to give us wins becasue we beat WVU, had three staright years of god recruiting and were ranked.

LETS PROVE IT…

HAIL TO PITT and Buffalo be ready because the Panthers you see next saturday at 6pm is going to be ferocious.

Comment by cdmoore25 08.31.08 @ 2:13 pm

Let me see if I understand. East Carolina has losing football seasons, and they hire a new coach at the same time Pitt hires a new coach. Witin two years, ECU is playing in a bowl game. At the same time trhat BGSU is whopping Pitt, ECU is beating Virginia Tech. Did I state that correctly?

link to reflector.com

Comment by BigGuy 08.31.08 @ 2:31 pm

I’ve been reading the articles and posts over the course of the last 24 hours, and it’s evident that this program is a mess. I don’t think I’ve seen as much hostility and frustration from Pitt fans/writers over the last ten years as I’m seeing now. And the sad part is, it’s all justified. And I agree that Shady and others need to take more responsibility for turnovers BEFORE they critique the coaches. The fans/writers/experts will take care of that for him. For us to get to even 7 wins, we will have to go 7-4 the rest of the way. There’s no way we lose four or less games. I know the AD has been supporting DW since he came back to Pitt, but if we lose as many games as it looks like we might, and if the AD doesn’t commit to a major change at the end of the season, I would imagine a lot of the hostilities will be directed at the AD in addition to the coach. Otherwise the program could fall into a ditch that could take a decade or more just to get out of. By then, everything will be lost. What a mess. It stinks that one game could mean so much, but this is one of those rare instances that it really does (unless we go on a really, really long win streak).

Comment by downandout 08.31.08 @ 2:37 pm

BG blitzed on almost every offensive play….and that played havoc with Pitt’s stodgy I back attack…..this has been a feature of Wann/Cav offense for the past 3 years…..1st half play decent….keep the game close with safe, safe, safe short passes and runs….then in the 2nd half…the opposing team figures that that’s all Pitt got….so they blitz and blitz some more….so it doesn’t matter if it’s Palko or Bostick or Stull…our QB spends the 2nd half running for his life….we abandon anything to counter the blitzses…Cavs sphincter tightens up…..and there you have it…..another loss to a team the Panthers should beat….
My prediction…..if this team doesn’t throttle Buffalo in the first half and never let’s up….. it will be another long hard season..

Comment by deter 08.31.08 @ 2:43 pm

I do admire your post though cdmoore. It’s hard to point out any positives after such a game, but I can’t argue with you too much. It’s good to look at something half positive every 50 posts or so.

Comment by downandout 08.31.08 @ 2:45 pm

As surprising as this might sound, the Athletic Department and Pederson did their job. They atmosphere around the stadium was amazing. Perhaps it was just Rib-fest but the student tailgate was a neat sight.

We also had the largest student section since the Backyard Brawl was in town….everyone delivered but the team.

I was getting really excited because next week is a night game, and even more students would have shown up…but now I doubt it.

I’m done cheering for Wannstedt’s team until they give me something to cheer about.

Comment by Jerry 08.31.08 @ 2:49 pm

I’m speaking as an outsider, but as a big critic of Dave Wannstedt. Sunday Morning QB once called these NFL-outcasts “Maestros of Risk Aversion” and that’s exactly what they are. Dave Wannstedt has no backbone and Pitt is coached like an NFL team.

When you’re the superior team, take some chances! Pitt has talent and if the coaching staff would take a few more risks, they would pay off.

Comment by Eric 08.31.08 @ 3:08 pm

Punting at the 34 and 35 yard line has to be placed in the same category as the Palko slide. Palko didn’t like it then and McCoy now feels his pain and frustration. The option could easily have replaced a RUN ON THIRD DOWN. I would rather fail this way.

I can see where they are trying to take this offense but it just felt that the plays were done in the wrong order. If the playbook developed Dyslexia then I apologize and ask for forgiveness. If, however, the coaches just made those pages sticky with conservatism then let my pimp hand striketh you down. “Awful” is a good word to describe what happened yesterday right?

I haven’t abandoned hope. That will happen if we lose to Syracuse. No offense Orange fans, at least you guys lost to a BCS team, bravo. I still think we can have a good season but the coaches need to stop clenching their ass cheeks and the players need to stop dropping passes and fumbling the game away. If we lose to Buffalo next week, I might _ _ _ _ myself. Add any four letter word you think fits the best.

Comment by Panthoor 08.31.08 @ 3:47 pm

Pitt losing to Buffalo: suddenly a possibility if not a probability.

Comment by Jon C 08.31.08 @ 4:47 pm

This was absoulte fucking bullshit. Im sorry but I put the blame on this lose on DW. He had all summer to get them ready and they were not. How do you loose the battle up front when you have done nothing but preach physicality from your line play since you where hired. Also how does your great defense miss routine tackles to stop the Bowling Green? And dont say there where tired, either. All you heared from DW at camp was”where physicall up front, we tackle well on defense, and were in shape.” Is he blind? I saw the opposite Saturday. I saw a team get manhandled by a mac school. I just dont understand? One thing is for certain however since DW has been here I have never been more frusterated in my life watching a football team/program. If the team does not muster anything in temrs of going to a decent bowl game(such as a Meinike bowl or more) then its a no brainer. DW has got to go. Its one thing if we knew this team would be bad. Ok I could live with that. But what the fuck? I dont think I have ever been ever more frustered leaving a stupid football game than yesterday. The better team on paper lost, and never should have.

Comment by Lou 08.31.08 @ 5:05 pm

I never liked Wanny. But the guy seemed to be getting some great players into the system so, I have given him a pass. At this point that pass has expired. It wouldn’t be so bad if we didn’t look so bad in the losing effort.

MATT CAVANAUGH Sucks it! Really hard. He just sucks it.

I can’t get excited about the offense when it’s working. It’s like watching paint dry. WR screen!?!?! I have seen that POS not work for years and yet we run it 6 to 7 times a game. Run up the gut on 1st down? That is an automatic play call until we are down by 10 late in the game. I know it, all the fans know it and the D on every team we play knows it.

How about that two minute drill? Stull has no clue on how to run it. How is that his fault?

Anyone think this team had a chance of coming back when they got down by 10? The fans at the stadium didn’t they started rolling out as soon as we went down by ten.

Maybe if we had an offense that could move the ball more then 3 to 5 yards at a time things might have been different.

I am emailing Peterson Right now and telling him that I am done with this team until MATT CAVANAUGH is no longer employed by the university.

I have said it before and I will say it again. Bright back Walt as OC! He was able to get a ton more done with a lot less.

Comment by Tony In Harrisburg 08.31.08 @ 5:10 pm

Nobody mentioning that Collins only had one rush attempt? Maybe we SHOULD bring Walt back, Tony. Even HE would run Collins to bruise BGSU’s D up for Shady and LSH.

I too am EXTREMELY concerned with Stull’s arm strength….

Comment by Ed 08.31.08 @ 6:49 pm

Walt Harris was just as frustrating….overly complicated offensive schemes that even his own players couldn’t figure out..don’t forget Walt’s own debacle trying to institute the spread formation….cost a very good Pitt team 4 losses..Harris never had a solid O line or a physical D…He also basically turned off the WPIAL coaches…..Harris won with smoke and mirrors…but at least he won….

Wanny seems to recruit better players…but other than the WVU game…..I don’t see superior talent being used like it should be

Comment by deter 08.31.08 @ 8:32 pm

The superior talent fumbled the ball three times gave up an interception, didn’t tackle, didn’t block, dropped passes and lost the game on the field period. Even the most brilliant coaching can’t over come that.

Comment by shadyforpresident 08.31.08 @ 9:14 pm

Shady I think game preparation falls under coaching.

Our Offense is BORING BORING BORING & predicable.

I think our D is fine for now but we only put 17 on a team that Tulsa blew out?

Walt’s offense could move the ball. Walt for OC!

Hell I would take just about any OC from most other schools and that includes a few in High Schools.

I’m watching Colorado and Colorado State play right now and it’s fun. They both have more then one page in thier playbook. I haven’t yawned once. I fell asleep in my seat at last years U Conn game.

This is it for me should both Wanny and Matt C make it back next year I for one won’t be. (8 year season ticket holder)

I will watch the games from my living room. It’s just to boring a game plan to see in person. At least when I fall asleep here I will be in my easyboy instead of the hard plastic seats at Heinz.

Comment by Tony In Harrisburg 08.31.08 @ 10:16 pm

Did anyone else who attended the game notice that Stull refused to turn his head and look at both sides of the field? Once he dropped back, he locked in on one half, and ignored receivers on the other. All the BG d-backs had to do was just follow his eyes. I don’t understand why he voluntarily removed half of his passing options on each play…

Comment by dcpanther 08.31.08 @ 10:40 pm

[…] Bowling Green game loomed as a sleeper for Pitt, but it was still a surprise that they lost. They will have their hands full with Buffalo. It’s not good that the Big East has two […]


The game was one inadvertent whistle away from being a whooping!

This is the type of game that any good MAC team should never lose. Thankfully, BG did not lose it.

Any good MAC team lusts for the scheduling quirks that give it a game against an historically weak BCS team. Pitt fits the profile so well, as does Northwestern and Minnesota in the Big 10, Vanderbilt and Kentucky in the SEC, Oregon schools in Pac 10, UNC and Duke and NC St in the ACC, Missouri (it took a MAC coach to make it good) and Kansas and Iowa State and Baylor in the Big 12, Syracuse and Rutgers in the Big East

In 2002, after BG absolutely demolished Missouri and Kansas, there was considerable conjecture that it could win the Big12 North.

Buffalo is a better team than BG, and the team absolutely believes it should never lose to Pitt. If it loses at Pitt, it will always viewed as an opportunity lost.

The word out of BG prior to the game was that although it was a game it should never lose, it just might because so many of its good players were kicked off the team or suspended because of legal problems.

Comment by Dave Albrecht 09.01.08 @ 3:58 pm

[…] sticking with the turnovers are the thing theme. The part that has me most worried is that what I saw on the sidelines of the Bowling Green game did turn out to be true. The biggest improvement between the first and second week, Wannstedt said, […]


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