I’ve had a few hours to sleep on it. Haven’t looked at the media yet. This was a great game for Pitt. Not just because they won — though that was a huge part of it. It was how they did it. Without playing a perfect game.
They made mistakes. They screwed up on special teams. They turned the ball over a couple times. Stull threw some horrible passes. Mistakes were made. Yet, instead of retreating into conservatism and everything Wannstedt has usually done, he let the team stay aggressive and keep attacking. The defense kept going after Grothe. The offense still threw the ball — downfield.
The players responded. Their energy was excellent the entire game. It was the sort of effort and game Pitt fans have been wanting to see. It’s not about making the offense more “exciting” or something it isn’t. It is seeing Pitt use the players in ways that takes advantage of their skill sets rather than just jamming them into the system regardless of fit.
Hail To Pitt!
This team has the talent, now the coaching has to keep righting the wrongs from the first 4 games.
One last thing. The running play on 3rd and 8 when Pitt kicked the field goal to make it 20-14, was another questionable call. Look I’m not trying to spew all negativity and i never write, but I am a season ticket holder and have seen some really spotty play calling which I hope the coaches have worked out of their system. The players are too good for anything less.
Great win, to bad no one saw it.
I might be Debbi Downer, but I’m still waiting for the bottom to fall out, it was only a couple of years ago Pitt was 6-1 and then we went 0-6….Let’s wait and see before expecting miracles from Dave Wannstedt.
This was also a good performance for the coaching staff because the team was coached up, disciplined, and had a lot of heart after USF made their last score. I gotta say I’m glad they kicked out of bounds though!!!
Kudos to the coaches.
It’s alot more fun to pick apart a game after winning a close one to a ranked team on the road than say, Buffalo. Great win but we still have to fix mistakes. Forget about all of us bloggers, I think that the coaches and players just proved to each other that they are a good team and if they fix the mistakes, they can be great!
Great day to be a Pitt fan. Wannstache might get this thing turned around. The only thing that stinks is that we have to wait 18 days to see these guys play again!
Pitt just beat a top-10 team on the road. That Pitt team with Palko would have gotten the shit kicked out of them against USF. The difference between this team and that one is the d-line. If we can force long third downs, those guys effing dominate.
And how about all the blitzes. That was so fun to watch. I don’t know what happens next, but I think we are in for a fun ride this season. I think that Bowling Green loss and the close wins were EXACTLY what this team needed. Notice how they didn’t play tight when they lost the lead. That was huge.
“Great win, to[sic] bad no one saw it”
The game was on ESPN’s primetime football broadcast. I think a handful of people may have seen it.
HAIL TO PITT!
Nice will, Pitt!
We made plenty of mistakes against USF… but a good sign is that we recoverd from them and still was in control. Thats one thing that seperates this pitt team from the previous ones….
We need this heart and determination no matter who the oppenent is. I hope we can do that.
What a jerk! I guess we have a new sore loser in the conference since DickRods departure.
Did you forget about the blocked punt for a TD Mr. Leavitt you douchebag. If it wasn’t for that, then you wouldn’t have been in the game at all.
For the next 15 days, let’s revolve the discussions around our FIRST PLACE PITT PANTHERS instead of the Wannstedt bashing!
Hail to Pitt! 🙂
On the downside too many mistakes and we need to have a KILLER INSTINCT. That 3rd and 8 up by 3 late in the 4th if we score a TD there game over. I don’t get just running it up the middle try something safe but creative that did that all game! And I know the wild cat didn’t work but they only had Cross and McCoy run something 3 times give it a chance. The Pitt coaching staff preaches patience have patience with some gadget plays keeps the other D off balance.
Play with intensity and purpose and don’t play to lose look what happens!
I am happy how things are going this year so far. I am not overly excited as I was in the beginning of the year, but more focused on details on how this team can improve week to week and seeing results in wins. This is a good way to build this program. Plus we are so young.
How is that Leavitt being a sore loser? He said that with all of their mistakes, he’s surprised the final margin wasn’t bigger. Meaning that they didn’t play well enough to even be within five of us. That’s not sour grapes, that’s him saying they got beaten WORSE than the final score indicated.
You’re misusing the term ‘Royal We’. Unless your name is Wanny, Pederson, or Nordenbitch you can’t employ the Royal We.
Nice win for Pitt. Unfortunately, being a long time Pitt fan, I’m already getting a bad feeling about Navy in 2 week.
People are already calling this win the “fluke” and the Bowling Green win the rule and not the exception on some message boards I’ve seen.
Bullshit!
Our lines DOMINATED the action. I said before, Shady had room to run, and Stull had time to throw.
We weren’t even blitzing all that much, just rushing the front four and were STILL getting pressure on Grothe.
Flukes are when you fumble away games or give up a few bad big plays. But when your lines dominate like ours did last night, that’s the real thing.
BTW, did anyone go to the game last night? I’ve heard murmurs of some mistreatment of Pitt fans in Tampa.
Rhoads would have lost this game.
Go Pitt! I don’t want to be ranked before Navy – it will get in their heads. We never tell my daughter’s softball team if they’re winning their game, either.
I have a good feeling about the USF game. This is what they have been saving Cross for. We will throw the playbook at USF and they will be expecting Shady up the middle.
Comment by AJ 09.30.08 @ 12:45 pm
AJ-
You’re funny…I applaud the sense of humor. If you really think, after so much proof to the contrary, that Wannstedt and Cavanaugh will suddenly change coaching strategies they have both employed for years and years, you have mental problems. Then again, we ARE all thinking we could still win a Big East title somehow…but I can’t see them opening up at all.
Comment by merlin 09.30.08 @ 1:33 pm
Pitt 26-USF 21 NUFF SAID
I think Leavitt was saying that USF played so badly and were still in the game. I took it as a slight at Pitt. Why not just say Pitt played better and deserved to win.
That’s a good night’s work.
They had a pick, a blocked FG, and a failed fake FG.
We had a blocked punt, TWO fumbles, and that horribly botched fake punt…. not to mention Stull fumbling on the 2-pt conversion play.
So USF bumbling the game away is NO excuse because we actually out-bumbled them and still lost.
We won the game at the line of scrimmage, and that’s a VERY good thing.
Here in Tampa up until last night, USF could do no wrong. They were the little, new football team that fought their way onto the national scene and everything was warm and fuzzy towards them. They were a local “phenomenon”, complete with bandwagon fans and all.
But I notice the attitude has changed around here as of today.
Pitt has ended the Tampa-USF honeymoon.
Now people are calling for the offensive coordinator’s head, and even murmuring that Leavitt might not be the guy to lead the Bulls any further than they’ve already been.
Anyone else have this feeling?: In the split second while Stull’s pass was in the air on the last scoring drive, I thought to myself “Holy $#@*, Turner is WIDE open! If he drops this pass, I’m going to kill him!” Luckily, he held on! Beautiful play.
I can’t wait to drive to Annapolis! I shall say no more as not to jinx myself.
Solid playcalling and aggressiveness?, this part was the most rewarding. That is why people watch sports. We have taken small steps to get here but maybe it’s worth it. I am not saying that we have turned the corner and now we’re a lock to get a BCS bowl bid every year. Looking at the schedule though, I don’t see how we can lose if we play like we did last night. It’s a scary feeling, but I rather feel like this than feel like we’re still rebuilding after all these years.
Why don’t you go find something “better to do” than come on a Pitt blog and criticize the team the day after they beat a top 10 team on the road. Do us all that favor…
If you didn’t even see the game, I don’t see how you can diss the win. But I guess if you are basing your analysis on the expertise of your brother, then it makes sense why every post you have made on every Pitt blog in the last 2 months has been moronic and nothing but negative.
Last week you were making fun of Pitt for losing to Syracuse until Pitt won. This week you are making fun of Pitt for beating the no. 10 team in the country. It is clear that you hate Pitt. It is obvious that they can’t do anything to satisfy you. But the real issue is this: who cares what you think?
The Big East is weak. Big deal. So if Pitt loses in the Big East it is proof that they suck. If Pitt wins the Big East, it is proof that they suck because their conference sucks. I don’t think Pitt could beat a team like Oklahoma in a bowl game. But we don’t need them to. We just need them to give us a reason to believe they can win their next game. As long as they keep doing that, then they will eventually climb to a more “elite” status. Then again, Pitt manhandled WVU last year and WVU manhandled OU. So just maybe Pitt is actually a decent team that can beat decent teams.
Ok, sorry for “speaking for you”. You were in the 1%-5% who were “mildly optimistic” as opposed to “ecstatic”. The fact remains…the fan base was pumped when the ‘stache got the job.
Oh, and you’re an ass.