The Church Brew Works made All About Beer’s 125 places to have a beer before you die (in the world) list. I really have to get back there some time. ESPN.com’s Big East reporter/blogger Brian Bennett was in Pittsburgh for the game and was smart enough to go there that night.
I’ve been to places before that used to be old churches, but this was something different. This still looks exactly like a working house of worship, except for the huge vats of microbrew beer. Very cool place, especially for someone who spent 12 years in Catholic school. As Homer Simpson once said, “Mmm…sacrilicious.”
He also listed Dave Brytus as BMOC on special teams in the Big East this week and Mick Williams for defense. The Big East agreed with him about Dave Brytus, naming in special teams player of the week. On defense, though, they gave it to Scott McKillop.
Cat Basket wants to see more of Greg Cross — not get called for more plays — just out on the field more.
The disappearance of Cross for most of the game made Paul Zeise’s ugly list. In “Bad” is it any surprise that the return of conservative play calling the minute Pitt had an 11-point lead?
The idea that a 14-3 lead in the first half is something worth trying to protect — as opposed to extend — is a little frightening.
Especially while still in the first half.
The booing by the fans at the end of the first half seems to have become a topic of debate.
Q: What the heck is going on with all this booing from “Pitt fans”? I watched the game at a bar with a few people from Pitt and was embarrassed by the fans who need a reality check. I mean, the team was beating a pretty good Big Ten team at half time and getting booed running into the locker room. What is wrong with these people?
ZEISE: I agree. In fact, if I had not been at the game and just based the outcome on my e-mails I would for sure thought they had lost the game given all the negativity and the venom directed at the coaching staff. I don’t get it — yes, the coaches didn’t make every play call they should have and yes, they gave up on a few possessions when they got into second and long by getting very conservative — but Pitt did win the game.
Let me repeat — Pitt won a game against a BCS conference team (time will tell how good this team is obviously, but it seems like a good team with some good players) with a big crowd at home on a beautiful sunny afternoon on national television. What is there to be angry about? …
Sigh.
The booing was not at the players but the playcallers. I would think most people understood this. This was in the midst of the 5 straight 3-and-outs. While letting the clock run out at that point at the end of the half was defensible given the field position, that was as much a carry-over from Pitt’s previous series.
With 1:21 left, Pitt started on its own 20 after Iowa had missed a 35-yard FG. Pitt’s plan was to go into the half by running LaRod Stephens-Howling straight ahead impotently to burn the clock. Iowa and Kirk Ferentz seemed to surprise Wannstedt by immediately calling timeout. Which they did on each play since he had all 3 timeouts left. Pitt didn’t do anything to counter. If anything, Wannstedt seemed stunned that Iowa would be that aggressive. As if it violated the book on how you play football. Instead sticking with another run straight into the defense and a 2-yard pass. All, very safe and took all of 18 seconds. Again, for those in the stands, it was seeing the reversion to Bowling Green conservatism at the end of the half. That had some small booing, but mainly muttering and looks of disgust in the stands.
Luckily, Brytus had a solid punt and no return yards. Iowa fell a yard short and had to punt. Pitt had 2 timeouts and 17 seconds from the Iowa 20. Yeah, the likelihood of anything happening was really low, but to simply take the knee and run off the field was so typical. The fact that Pitt didn’t even try to move the ball on the prior possession along with taking the knee was too much for most fans. That’s when the booing really hit. I didn’t blame them at all. I was too disgusted to bother booing.
Pitt was lucky to be leading 14-10 when they could easily have been down 17-14. Yet the coaching staff had played most of the second quarter like they had built a big lead.
And you know what? That was what really helped color a lot of the negativity, despite the win. A strong perception that this is what we will see. A coaching staff that is so afraid of mistakes and so conservative that it will paralyze the team at the first opportunity.
In a way, it made things more frustrating since Pitt actually took some chances. They did learn from the BGSU game to go for it more on 4th down rather than punt inside the 35.
In fact, all three of Pitt’s touchdown drives were extended when, at some point, Wannstedt made the decision to go for it on fourth down instead of punting or attempt a long field goal.
And the third time he went for it on fourth down — it was a fourth-and-one at the Iowa 30 in the third quarter — the Panthers were trailing 17-14 and could have easily opted to try and tie the game with a 47-yard field goal.
“We felt like we would have to be aggressive, go for it,” Wannstedt said. “Where we were at on the field we were just out of field goal range and we felt good about the down and distance. I think most of them were 2-yards or less and in that situation I don’t feel bad about going for it but when it gets up to three or four yards, then you are rolling the dice.”
Must strictly follow formula. No deviation allowed.
Lastly, WE WON!! COMEON! seriously, don’t say iowa is that bad, just be happy we won and Wannstache’s conservative play calling worked!
And, again, it doesn’t help at all. It doesn’t improve the situation. What does it accomplish, Matt? And, if it does accomplish something, is it enough to outweigh the fact that people think we are some of the nastiest fans in college football?
The players supposedly like Wannstedt. If the crowd boos him, what if they stick with Wannstedt? Maybe they say “eff it” when they come back out for the next series.
Of what if a recruit is in the crowd. We already operate at a disadvantage given that we can’t fill our stadium; a stadium half-full of people who only support the team when they are winning and winning the way the fans want them to? That could have an effect on someone, couldn’t it?
So, again, Matt, besides the strong argument you posited that it “isn’t Little League,” why are we supposed to “boo?”
They lost “the running game.”
They lost “the passing game.”
They lost “the time of posession game.”
They lost “the turnover game.”
They lost “the yardage game.”
They lost “the field position game.”
Christ, it seems like the only thing they won was “the scoring game.”
Maybe if our players “execute better” next week we can win some of those other games instead.
The article above is 100% spot on. With this offense and this play calling, it’s ensures that we never blow out anyone and give opportunities for less talented teams to beat us.
The level of ridiculous-ness here is getting out of hand. Count me among those who will NEVER boo my team or coach no matter how bad they play, or how frustrated I am with them. So, how any “self-respecting” Pitt fan could ever say this is beyond me. Its almost as if some people here would have preferred to have lost! At least then they’d actually have something to complain about.
Or more realistic….play to win all the time. Especially at home.
BTW…I never boo the Panthers…even in the worst of times.
I suspect the same fans that make a show out of their displeasure by booing loudly at the games are the same fans that can’t give anyone a cheer or one iota of credit for the good things they do. They walk away from a win bitching about all the things we didn’t do and downplay those kid’s efforts in getting that win.
But hey, boo all you want – you paid your $12 to see a PITT football game, and you have a right to it. I just wonder why some one spends the time, energy and money investing in something that brings them so much displeasure on a constant basis.
It’s because they are pussies, chicken shit, wussies. In short the coaches are not “conservative†they have very small balls and need to grow a pair.
Defending this action in any way — in fact, doing anything but condemning it — is indefensible for a publication that seems to traffic in “support” for those who are taking the abuse.