I got back late this evening from visiting family. I was able to see a good chunk of the 4th quarter and spent the all the overtimes away from family in the downstairs bar at the restaurant. Unbelievable.
My big regret from the screwed up schedule of being out-of-town. I couldn’t record College GameDay Final. I really wanted to see Holtz have to take crap from Mark May.
Since I’m tired and it’s late, I’ll keep the recap stuff on the brief side. I agree with Coach Wannstedt about this.
“I really can’t describe the heart that our football team has,” Wannstedt said. “We have been behind several times this year and fought our way back, but never against a quality football team like this, on the road against a full house. We’ve got wonderful kids. They never came unglued, as many adverse things that happened in the game, nobody ever folded.”
Pitt kept fighting back and it was a tremendous effort in the second half. That said, I can’t agree with him on going this far.
“All the legends are made in games like this,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “Big games, national TV games against great traditional teams like this. The great thing about this win is, the entire team will be recognized and remembered for this for the next 25 years because of the overtime and everything. It’s not just an individual. The entire team can share in it.”
Let’s not get carried away. This will not go down as a legendary win for Pitt, even as it gives Pitt it’s 10th win in South Bend.
This is a decent ND team, but it’s not like the Irish have shown a lot of heart in games this year.
“Right now, I’m not worrying about closing out the game; I’m worried about the psyche of the team,” Irish coach Charlie Weis said.
Yet there is a pattern developing, with the Irish’s inability to close out games against vulnerable opponents.
Against North Carolina three weeks earlier, the Irish had a 17-6 second-quarter lead, only to lose after being outscored by the Tar Heels 20-7 in the second half.
And in that game UNC was without their starting QB and had lost their best player in the first quarter. And that wasn’t the only time this year.
After opening up a 21-point first half lead on Michigan, the Irish gave up ten consecutive points, did not score in the third quarter and allowed Michigan to come within eleven twice, before a late score put the game out of reach.
After scoring 21 straight points on Purdue, the Irish gave up a touchdown and allowed Purdue to climb back within seven before they self-destructed.
After opening up a 21 point lead to Stanford, the Irish give up two scores to the Cardinal in the second half and narrowly hang on to win 28-21, failing to score in the fourth quarter.
Yes, believe it or not, Notre Dame seems to have trouble with that “Suuuuppper-genius” on offense, Charlie Weis going a little too conservative in the second half of games. To say nothing of a growing chorus of second guessing of Weis with more than a little bite:
Notre Dame had a chance to win in regulation, driving to midfield. Faced with a fourth-and-1, the Irish decided to go for it and called a pass because they thought Pittsburgh would blitz. The Panthers didn’t, leaving Clausen scrambling and turning the ball over on downs.
The play left Weis, who when he first arrived in South Bend said he’d have a “schematic advantage†in playcalling, decidedly schematically disadvantaged.
“They win the chalkboard on that one,†Weis said.
Then after Notre Dame trotted Walker out one too many times, Pittsburgh also won the game.
Yeah, they kept having to go back to their kicker, Brandon Walker. He struggled to start the season (1-8), but had been solid of late. When he nailed that 48-yarder, before missing the 38-yarder, he had saved the game for them.
This seems quite familiar.
What this loss pointed out for Irish fans is that progress here still isn’t linear.
We still don’t know what’s coming from week-to-week. We still wonder if or when they will beat a good team this year. Time is running out. Only Boston College and Southern Cal fit the good category.
What I believe is this: Notre Dame should be better than it is.
This is just what it feels like.
Weis, as he is prone to do, will break down every phase of the game and analyze it in a way that makes it seem like the sum of the parts wasn’t all that bad.
The Irish played well in the first half, not so well in the third quarter, when they ran just 11 plays and got just one first down.
These themes are becoming redundant after losses.
Yes, they are better than last year but still not as good as they should be this year.
This is the problem that Weis has to figure out quickly before it’s too late.
The difference between Pitt and ND. Pitt has shown more fight this year.
Pat Bostick started scary, but finished stronger. He did enough. As did the defense.
Jonathan Baldwin’s catch after 2 overthrows to tie the game didn’t surprise the anyone as to the play.
Dave Wannstedt said there are no secrets about what Pitt tries to do when it throws.
“That’s about the extent of our passing game,” Wannstedt said.
McNeil wasn’t surprised by the call. He was just disappointed with the result.
“I knew it was coming,” he said. “I just got a little too high on him and he made the catch.”
As usual, though, with a big Pitt win. It’s LeSean McCoy, LeSean McCoy, LeSean McCoy.
S is for Shady. LeSean McCoy earns the Mandom Award for the week: 32 carries, 169 yards and 1 TD. Most importantly: zero fumbles. McCoy does not have a problem fumbling the ball, but we mention it just to drive home the importance of not turning the ball over in a defensive-minded four-overtime game on the road. The Wannstache appreciates the attention to detail.
Pitt is -9 in turnovers this year. They only “won” the turnover battle against Syracuse. Otherwise it was even with Buffalo, and “lost” in the other 6 games.
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