Any doubts about UConn struggling to comprehend showing up for football games is no longer in dispute courtesy of a UConn beat writer.
Update 11:48 p.m.: Senior festivities. Nice touch by the Huskies. I would say there is about 10,000 fans in the stands, maybe.
Here is how it looks from the press box. 5 MINUTES BEFORE SENIOR DAY!
Click to see the pic. Of course the other explanation is that UConn imported the same crack gate staff that worked Heinz Field for the Backyard Brawl, which meant most of the people were still trying to get into the Rent.
After the game, UConn Coach Randy Edsall alternated between disappointment, being positive and chiding the fans.
It’s a downer, but also this is the first time ever that this school has gone to back-to-back bowls,†Edsall said. “And it is disappointing because you know what? We set our standards very, very high.
â€We want to win the conference championship and we didn’t get there this year, but I’m darn proud of what these kids have accomplished. … I think sometimes we spoil people. I think everybody wants us to win every game, but it isn’t going to happen. We’re still in a building process with this program.â€
Hey, you are going to the International Bowl in Toronto. Really, it’s far better than going to Birmingham. Closer and a better city.
5-11-1, 24 yards. 2 sacks for -13 yards.
That was Bill Stull’s line from the first half. He was matched in ineptitude that half by UConn’s Tyler Lorenzen. The second half, however, something finally clicked back into place for Stull.
Stull completed 5 of 6 passes for 117 yards in the third quarter, and finished 10-of-18 for 141 yards. Meantime, Connecticut counterparts Tyler Lorenzen and Zach Frazer combined to go 6-of-31 for 80 yards with five interceptions.
It was sweet redemption for Stull, who was sacked seven times and responsible for five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles) the past two games against Cincinnati and West Virginia.
“It’s awesome,” Stull said after Pitt (9-3, 5-2) received an invitation to the 75th Brut Sun Bowl on Dec. 31 in El Paso, Texas. “It feels good to finally do some good things.”
Still, on the downside, Pitt had six drives start in UConn territory, but only came away with 20 points. Not to mention two drives starting inside the 10 and settling for 6 points.
UConn’s quarterbacking. Wow. Trying to figure out how they won any games with that kind of play. Even with Donald Brown and a solid defense. Not that Pitt’s defense didn’t have something to do with forcing them to throw.
Pitt players, in case you forgot, had some big issues early with the footing on the field.
McCoy and some of his teammates, however, suggested after the game that perhaps the slippery field condition was more than just a coincidence given his reliance on speed, quickness and cutting back. And while he didn’t think Connecticut would have the field hosed down so it would be icy and limit his effectiveness, he wasn’t ruling that possibility out, either.
“I gotta be honest, can I be honest here,” McCoy said. “[Friday] when we visited the stadium and everything, the field was fine. Today we come out and it was really icy and slippery, so I don’t know.”
He paused. “Maybe some sprinklers? I just don’t know, it was tough, the footing was bad and I couldn’t really cut too well but we overcame it.”
Stull added, “[The field] really wasn’t [slippery on Friday for the walk through] and I was talking to the head official today before the game and he was surprised that when he came, there was no tarp on it or anything, I guess it was the equalizer.”
Homefield advantage however you can get it, I guess. Still, why they didn’t change cleats the minute they came out on the field on Saturday is still a question.
After the game, the invite to the Sun Bowl came in the lockerroom.
“Are you guys ready to go to El Paso?” Folmer asked, a question which was met with loud cheers from the players, coaches and even university officials who made the trip to East Hartford.
…
“As I said earlier, it is always better to get a team that won their way in instead of a team that’s lost their way in,” Folmer said. “These guys played really good all year long. We have a very good history with Pitt in El Paso and we can hardly wait to get them down there. I can promise you it will be a lot warmer there than it is here today.
“They are 9-3, they have a name, they have a good TV market. In our part of the country a lot of people still remember [Pitt head coach Dave] Wannstedt from his Cowboys days, and that is important. The people in El Paso like Pittsburgh and like the Cowboys so bringing them in will be great.”
Wannstedt said: “You know what is neat about this — going in with a win. We proved we deserve to be there. Our players deserve to be there. We’re not backing into anything.”
A cynic would simply see this as winning helps make any lockerroom very happy. It doesn’t hurt, but the players have long stood behind Wannstedt.
“It’s easier for a team to play when the people in charge have confidence that you can get it right,” Pitt senior center C.J. Davis said. “That’s one of the biggest things. We really believe this year.”
Pitt has 10 victories in its past 13 games, a reason why Wannstedt presented game balls to Nordenberg and Pederson for their willingness to make a commitment to him and his staff.
“When you see some of the things that are happening around the country, if our chancellor would have responded like some of these guys do, I’d be coaching in the NFL now or playing golf in Naples,” Wannstedt said. “That’s what separates our chancellor from others. This guy is committed to having the best program possible.”
The Beavers had to wait until after the formality of USC beating UCLA before Oregon State could get an invite. Now it is on to El Paso.
Both Pitt and Oregon State have been to the Sun Bowl before. Oregon State, under coach Mike Riley, edged Missouri 39-38 in a 2006 thriller. Oregon State scored and converted a two-point conversion with 23 seconds remaining to win that game.
Pittsburgh edged Texas A&M 31-28 in the 1989 Sun Bowl behind freshman quarterback Alex Van Pelt, who went on to a long NFL career as a backup quarterback with Buffalo. Pitt defeated Kansas, 33-19, in the 1975 Sun Bowl. Current Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt served as a graduate assistant coach for then-coach Johnny Majors. The Panthers set an NCAA bowl game record that day, as three players from the same team rushed for 100 yards. Tony Dorsett rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns and Elliott Walker added 123 yards and two touchdowns, while the game’s MVP, quarterback Robert Haygood, added 101 yards rushing.
Dorsett, of course, became an NFL Hall of Fame running back with the Dallas Cowboys.
Laughing, Folmer said, “Pitt came here once before with a pretty good running back. Now they are bringing another one.”
Yeah. He’s okay.
The Village People!
Participate in the world’s largest YMCA dance and sing along.
Um, I’ll be hitting the rest room then.
Looking closely at the record this year vs last was our winning the close games. We could have won 7+ games last year and this year we could have also won only 7 but the team grew up and found ways to win. WAY TO GO PITT!! Lets get one more win
But then, part of my deep dislike for UConn sports comes from their basketball only attitude (football had not joined the Big East when I first moved there). Fans started acting like they were all that b/c the hoops team was cruising in January. My attitude was along the lines of, wtf, the rest of us in the Big East have been playing for keeps since August, where the **** have you been?
I’m sorry, I can’t help it. I hate UConn. More than WVU and Penn State, I just really cannot stand the ******* Huskies. Sorry. I know its really just me.
As far as the game it was only 500 tickets shy of a sellout. Thing is it’s a LA Dodger crowd, arive late leave early. Very solid tailgate scene being the main reason.
GREAT season by Pitt. It was a roller coaster ride at times no doubt, but I don’t see how you could possibly complain. Can’t wait till New Year’s Eve- HAIL TO PITT!!!
Sweet Caroline…
LET’S GO PITT
Good times never feel so good
GO PITT
GO PITT
GO PITT
(anyone else agree that this song was the difference-maker in the WVU game?)
You are partially correct, except that you have set us up with an impossible standard. Detractors of the program, Coach Wannstedt, or the conference will find some excuse to illegitimate the accomplishments.
They will tell you that Pitt ‘doesn’t play anybody’, or that Notre Dame is the most overrated team in the country, or that the Big East is a joke. Thus, to these clowns, there are by definition no marquee games that we can win. Even when we get Miami back on the schedule as part of the ACC/Big East settlement, they will tell us that it’s not the same Miami team as the ones from when they dominated the Big East. So it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and even if Pitt runs the table and plays 8 bowl-bound teams, Pitt will still be considered overrated by these jokers.
The fact of the matter is, outside of the top 4 or 5 teams in the country, there is a precipitous drop in talent and depth. We are heading into what I think will be a modern era of greatness in Panther athletics, and just as Coach Wannstedt built up the team the right way, we are building up the fanbase and Panther brand the right way.
I’m only in my late 20’s and from the suburbs, but I hardly ever remember kids wearing Pitt gear growing up. Now, thanks in no small part to the efforts of DW, SP, Coach Dixon, and Chancellor Nordenberg, we have grown a much deeper regional fanbase. Even younger kids from our branch campuses are following the teams much more than I ever recall. And our student body has found a foothold into more areas of the Commonwealth as well as into DC/Maryland, NJ, and Upstate NY. So, just as Coach Wannstedt drew that metaphorical 200 mile radius, the Panther brand has similar potential to be effective within this similar radius. I firmly believe that with a few more years of winning, even more young kids will turn in their burnt orange Texas hats or Florida Gators t-shirts for a Pitt hat and Zoo tee.
Sorry for the long post. Hail to Pitt!
This team is much further along then Harris’s teams and its ludicrous to propose that it is not. What did Harris have? A QB that could throw and a guy like Fitzgerald or Bryant. The O-line was absolutely pathetic. Pitt could win against poor teams but had no shot at playing teams like Miami at the time because their QB would get hit every time. Their D-line was even more atrocious. Depth was absolutely a joke on Harris coached teams. If one player went down it was disaster. But come on, this team is an upgrade in talent over almost every position Harris put on the field. This team came back and won games, when Harris’s would’ve crawled into a hole. The biggest difference is that Wanny has pulled in top talent, which Harris for the most part could not do at all. There is no denying that Stache has brought tons of talent in. I’m not saying that they are the best team in the country by any means. But next year they will be the clear favorite in the BE. Yes, the league is struggling some but that doesn’t mean this is a poor team. They may not win every game, but they sure are fun to watch. These guys play with heart and there is a lot of talent out there. This program isn’t going to be Florida or OU in the next year or so. But, it will be a good team and good program. The improvement is there this year and there is no denying that. Wanny hasn’t been the best game coach the entire year, but he has shown adaptability which is good. He also gets his kids to play their hearts out.
The truth is, ND sucks (and it still took longer for Pitt to beat them than it took Syracuse), USF and WVU are way down, and Iowa is the fourth or fifth best team in the same Big Ten that a lot of you say is so overrated. Now is all of that true or is it not? It’s not being negative. It’s being truthful. I want this team to be ELITE and I’m not going to be happy that we are the third best team in a shitty conference. If that’s all it takes to make you guys happy then this program will never be pressured to be great. We got destroyed by Cincinnati and Rutgers, people. Have some perspective and want more for the program.
You have had this act going on for a few seasons now, and honestly, it’s getting old.
If you can’t find it in yourself to look at what this team has accomplished over the course of the season, never losing two in a row, beating ranked teams and bowl-bound teams, winning on the road, coming from behind to win, dealing with two major injuries at LB, etc…. then you’ll probably never be satisfied.
But, the ironic thing is the more your unsatisfied, the happier you’ll be because you can crow about being the Contrarian and having higher standards then the rest of us. That’s pretty much the mark of a fan who takes this way too seriously – when using the results of a third party to somehow make yourself superior to people you choose to interact with.
Therapeutic help is available for those with your problems.
How about you keep your negativity to yourself – or limit it to one small post, instead of pissing in our morning coffee when the rest of us PITT fans are trying to enjoy a great season?
CBS SportsLine has Pitt’s schedule as 18th toughest:
Pitt played nine bowl bound teams. Now, they weren’t playing juggernauts week in and week out. But they weren’t mopping up on the dregs of college football, like some other team I won’t mention…
Back to the Uconn game — I can’t believe how pathetic Lorenzen was on Saturday especially considering how effective he was last year at Heinz Field. I sepcifically remember a 3rd and 26 play where he completed a long pass right down the middle of the field for a 1st down. His 1st half last year was somewhat similar to Teel’s 1st half this year.
Next year promises to be a better year for Pitt but they will need shore up their secondary — I expect OSU to try to exploit them in the Sun Bowl.
Hail to Pitt!
You say you want this team to be “ELITE”, first I’d like you to define what you mean by “ELITE.”
Then please tell me if we are closer to being “ELITE” now or 5 years ago?
If we’re not closer now, in what areas have we regressed?
Specifically what things would you do differently that would get us closer to your “ELITE” standard?
ME2001
We certainly are not an elite program, nobody is arguing that, but I am pleased with the progress the program has made under Wanny to date. Should the jury still be out on him, absolutely. Next year this team will be loaded (especially for the BE). More than the Wins/Losses I love the progress that you have seen in this team’s mentality. They are incredibly tough and resilient and I think a lot of that goes back to Wannstedt. It seems like the players have bought into his system and what they’re trying to build here and that is something Harris was never truly able to do.
Just ask LeSean McCoy…he knows Pitt isn’t where it should/can be and that is exactly why he says he wants to come back next year: to put Pitt back on the map. That speaks volumes of the type of guy McCoy is, where the program is and where the people involved with the program think it can go.
We’re not there yet and there is a lot of work to do, but DO NOT call this team overrated.
But the 2002 team would easily handle this year’s team. What is this team’s weakness? The secondary. Rutherford, Fitzgerald, Wilson, & Co. would have a field day against this defense. The 2002 defense also was the best Pitt D of the past decade, including this year’s team. The 2002 team lost 4 games by a combined 24 points, and beat a team (Virginia Tech) better than any on this year’s schedule.
Sorry for the long post, but basically I don’t think it’s fair to take a dump on the accomplishments of past Pitt teams just to pump up DW (who I support) for having one good season.
Harris, although not a great recruiter (at least locally) always managed to find some diamonds in the rough (Fitz, Barlow, Kris Wilson, Polite, Ramon Walker, HB Blades, Petiti, Shawntae Spencer, Antonio Bryant, Darelle Revis, Brian Knight, Hank Poteat) …to name a few.
You cant fairly compare the two, just as you cant compare the Chuck Knoll and the Bill Cowher eras. Different times, different circumstances.
Good prospective. I agree with your comments. The one thing that I found most frustrating about Harris teams was that they were built for shootouts and high scoring games, but even the 2002 season we have been talking about had some low scoring affairs as I remember I believe they put up 6 at Notre Dame, 12 at Texas A&M, and somewhere in the teens verse WVU that year. They were built for high scoring affairs, yet rarely did so.
Its ridiculous to make such comparisons, but I don’t think that the 2002 team would have destroyed this years team. That team seemed explosive with Fitz and Rutheford yes, but I think this team has more of the intangibles that the Harris teams didn’t.
I think that if you are really going to build (or rebuild) a program and take it to greatness Wannstedts formula is a better one (just my opinion here). I think winning the local recruiting battles and creating a pipeline is necessary, Wannstedt has been devoted to this. I also think that his pro-style offense and tough defense is a better long-term formula for success than the Harris philosophy.
Harris did a lot of good for the Pitt program and the university and I don’t want to take anything away from that, but I think we are on a track to accomplish more under Wannstedt. Only time will tell.
Much of what you say is true. But two things you said move you from reasonable to questionable: (1) Clearly the ACC is the worst BCS league this year; and, (2) This team and the program are a lot closer to “Elite” status (my definition is Top 10, not sure what yours is) than any team from the Walt Harris era. It’s simply a matter of talent and depth. We have 3 seniors on O and 3 on D. We have four and five star talent in the two deep for the next several years. We are beating Top 10 teams on the road! Lastly, I’m guessing you are one of the people who have ranted about how bad the BE is since we lost Mia, BC, and VT. I have stated before that I thought the league would be dead within a few years after that. The fact is that did not happen. I put the stats up before you can research if for yourself. The BE holds it’s own quite nicely against other BCS schools. It’s automatic BCS bid is not going anywhere. Just settle in and enjoy the ride.
I have some question…. Can Pitt be successful next year with Stull, Bostick or Tino at QB? What future QB recruiting options do we have available? The word that I am hearing is that Paul Jones is a VERY VERY Long shot. Actually, he may be closer to PSU (His Mom went there).
We need a legit QB. The offensive and Defensive line will be INCREDIBLE.
Is Max gruder the next zach thomas? How does the linebacker core look?
Do we have help coming in the secondary? I like Dom and Scooter at safeties but what about corners…. Is Walls still going back to ND?
Future Running backs.. Is burns another billy west with Henry blocking for him?
Great Great Yea. I hope win can keep the intensity and finish strong.
Hail to Pitt….
Looks like Pitt may be in on a QB from Texas. anyone know anything else about this?
(On another 2002 note: don’t confuse that year’s team with 2003. We had a very good running game with Miree, and that year’s line did a great job of pass protection, unlike the revolving door line in 2003.)
As for the team next year, if McCoy comes back, Pitt could be very good, but if he doesn’t then losing him and MCKillop would be huge.
I am not a huge supporter of Dave, as I don’t see anything on his resume YET to warrant the hype. However he does seem to have a more concrete long-term plan then Walt Harris. Whether it is the right one is yet to be seen.
You hear from pro scouts more and more how it is difficult to project college players into the NFL because of all of the spread formations/ packages more and more college teams are using (example – Tim Tebow). That could work to our advantage if we can translate our style to wins. That is what ultimately decides all – if you win.
Pitt has battled through alot this season, and the team really seems to be playing well together. Before I am going to say that its going to ever be an elite program, we need to stop losing to inferior teams, recruit some QBs with more pedigree, retail the BEST TALENT in the area (Pryor for example) and get more 4 and 5 star recruits from outside this area.
Once a program can do these things, then national title contention can be discussed….
The thing I also like about this years team is how the D didnt quit when things got bad as well. Loosing your two starting outside backers and having inexperienced corners is not easy to over come. Most teams would have loosing records if they had to deal with that.
Finaly we are relavent again. I dont remember Walt Harris teams winning nine regular season games, and playing this physical either. I also dont remember any Walt Harris teams come together like this team has. Way to not quit PITT and I think what we have been waiting for the last three years has arrived at PITT!