That’s the first thing and most important. Pitt won the football game. It’s not like they stole it from USF. The Bulls did nothing to show they were the better team or really play the” but for X they would have won” card. It was ugly on both sides. Both teams gave a great effort to give the game away at points. So while the Big East was bathed in more stench and you can’t claim that things are rolling now, Pitt has the win and still sits atop the Big East.
Just to hit on a few things without looking at media or quotes after the game. Just the box score for accuracy. I know most of what follows will be negative, but I’m having a hard time finding that many positives without pointing out the problems that continue.
Wannstedt’s reaction after Pitt had won seemed a little crazy, I agree. Yet I kind of understand and don’t feel like giving him a hard time about that. This has been a horrid week for him. You know he’s hearing the complaints a bit. He knows that the blame is falling on him and that people aren’t buying the excuses. He needed that win. That struck me as pure relief. I have no doubt he will spin it that it was about the kids and especially Antwuan Reed making the interception to end the game after being abused and drawing 4 pass interference plays. Nah. That was about him and this team not having to answer more questions this week about blowing a game they should have won.
As for Reed, he’s regressed horribly in the last couple of weeks. He’s struggled for a good portion of the season, but now he is a mess. I realize that the cornerback spot is weak with Holley entrenched as a safety and such, but Saheed Imoru has to at least be no worse at this point.
Dan Hutchins is a decent punter and a reliable enough kicker from inside of 35 yards. But once it passes that point, he has nothing. I don’t care if the claim is that Kevin Harper is still not as accurate, he has the stronger leg and needs to be taking any and all FG attempts of 40 yards or more. Maybe it is hit or miss, but with Hutchins it is all miss from that distance.
Dion Lewis looks like he has his strength back. The Bulls tried arm tackles too much, but Lewis helped make them look back running the ball.
Startling to see that Sunseri threw the ball only 16 times the entire game. 3-7 in the first half, and looking horrid. The second half had him 8-9, and less shaky. They actually threw to Baldwin on shorter routes in the second half and connected. He stood in and took hits this time, and didn’t have happy feet afterwards. Like it or not, he’s the starting QB. There will be no switching without and injury, so Pitt needs Sunseri to be more like he was in the second half.
Bulls have a good defense, but lord their offense has little to offer. Where is all that Florida speed and athletes they are supposed to have?
10 games in the books and except for the Syracuse game, most of Pitt’s games have seen them play like crap/horribly inconsistent in the first half at a minimum. Several games saw them struggle well into the 3d quarter. I know we want to see a complete game from Pitt, but right now I’ll settle for 3 solid quarters. Especially for this Friday.
1 – you are holding this program back, your satisfaction with a lack of excellence hurts Pitt. You should expect excellence from every part of your alma mater, especially if you are contributing your hard earned dollars
2 – if you want to watch poorly coached wannstedt teams play tentatively and never play to their potential (13-9…ill give you 1 in 6 years):
link to nflfilms.com
there… you should find 11 frustrating years of Dolphins/Bears football. If you think Wanny is a good coach ask either of those fan bases if they want the yinzer back
3 – to anyone who is ignorant enough to say that we should be happy with beating 0 top 25 teams and going to the muffler bowl, I say look at these teams who did more with less recruiting, tradition, attendance, fan support, money, etc:
Boise State
Utah
TCU
Cincinnatti
Oregon
Oregon State
Arizona
Stanford
South Carolina
Thats all i can think of in a minute… teams who have done more, are further along, or are in a better place then Pitt during Wanny’s reign of ineptitude
Had to post that especially after reading DeVanzo’s point #2.
1. Excuses
2. Poor game-day coaching
3. Mediocre football
@Dan – you have some very good points, most of them I agree with. I disagree with toning down the marketing. But when you market heavily and things don’t come out as you would like, prepare for the criticism. Just ask the Pirates and “We Will.” They are not going to come out and say “support a 5-7 team,” you cannot successfully sell that way.
So many schools have been able to perceptively more with less in Wanny’s time, and that is a fact that NO apologist should be able to explain away. Pitt’s window for sustainable program improvement under Wanny ended when they choked away 2 conference title games against Cincy….
I cannot break it down any simpler, than, if we had a well coached team, it could and should be easy!!”
Dan, I believe that there are 120 BCS teams. How many of those teams currently meet your criteria? What would be your suggestion to the 110 +/- teams that would like to achieve your standards but are currently not meeting your standards? Fire the coach? I know some guys that have that mentality with their wives: divorce this one because the next one will be better.
how many BCS level teams have schedules so easy that they only play ONE top 25 team in the regular season, play only ONE BCS conference team in the non-con, have top 25 recruiting classes, are ranked in the preseason top 25 (15!), and have 4 losses
I COUNT ONE
Devanzo, I may be mistaken, but I believe a coach may have something to do with recruiting a top 25 class. It seems to me that out of 120 BCS schools, 95 head coaches were unable to recruit a top 25 class.
the point was he is recruiting talent AND STILL LOSING
okay one more time… HE HAS LOST 4 GAMES
so your favorite head coach is recruiting top 25 classes, AND STILL LOSING 4 GAMES
one more time… top 25 recruiting class… 4losses… BAD COACH
ugh
FLORIDA ST….NC ST…..MARYLAND…..BC……
CLEMSON….VA TECH….MIAMI…..GEORGIA TECH…
NEBRASKA…MISSOURI…OKL.ST……OKLAHOMA……
TEXAS A&M….TEXAS TECH….TEXAS…MICH ST….
OHIO ST…..WISCONSIN…IOWA……PSU……
MICHIGAN….NAVY…..TCU….UTAH…..BYU…….
AIR FORCE….FRESNO ST…..BOISE ST……..
S.CAROLINA…FLORIDA…GEORGIA…TENNESSEE……
AUBURN…LSU…..ALABAMA…..ARKANSAS……..
WASHINGTON….OREGON….OREGON ST…CAL…….
STANFORD……………………………….
There is 40 or so I’d like Pitt to be associated with. Again, just a general idea. You could pick anyone of them and say, ya, this year they stink, or two years ago. But, get any rabid college football fan, and I would bet a chocolate chip cookie 90% would agree. And, yes, a team here or there certainly can be debatable by anyone.
Now, here is the list Pitt would be on…………
WAKE FOREST….NORTH CAROLINA…DUKE……..
VIRGINIA….NORTHWESTERN…ILLINOIS…PURDUE….
MINNESOTA…INDIANA….KANSAS ST….IOWA ST…
COLORADO….KANSAS…MISSISSIPPI…MISS ST……
VANDERBILT…KENTUCKY….BAYLOR…ARIZONA….
ARIZONA ST….UCLA…..WAHINGTON ST…………..
PLUS,,THE OTHER SEVEN BIG EAST SCHOOLS. ALLTHOUGH, I WOULD PROBABLY PUT WVU IN THE ABOVE LIST. IS THAT REALLY TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR AS A PITT FAN???????
In 1963, John Michelosen went 9-1. The 1965 season, he went 3-7. We can do better. Let’s fire the coach.
His replacement, Dave Hart won 3 games total in 3 years. We can do better. Let’s fire the coach.
His successor, Carl DePasqua did not have a winning season in 4 years. We can do better. Let’s fire the coach.
From 1973 thru 1981, Pitt had outstanding teams. (Johnny Majors and Jackie Sherrill)
Foge Fazio then coached for 4 years. We can do better. Let’s fire the coach.
Mike Gottfried than coached for 4 years. We can do better. Let’s fire the coach.
Paul Hackett then coached for 3 years. We can do better. Let’s fire the coach.
Johnny Majors then coached for 4 years. We can do better. Let’s fire the coach.
Walt Harris then coached for 8 years. We can do better. Let’s fire the coach.
DW has now coached here for 6 years and many are saying: “Yonder, the grass is greener. We can do better. Let’s fire the coach.”
In the Big Least, WVU should easily be able to be 11-1, 10-2, 9-3 every year.
In the Big Least, Syracuse should easily be able to be 11-1, 10-2, 9-3 every year.
In the Big Least, UConn should easily be able to be 11-1, 10-2, 9-3 every year.
In the Big Least, USF should easily be able to be 11-1, 10-2, 9-3 every year.
In the Big Least, Louisville should easily be able to be 11-1, 10-2, 9-3 every year.
In the Big Least, Cinci should easily be able to be 11-1, 10-2, 9-3 every year.
In the Big Least, Rutgers should easily be able to be 11-1, 10-2, 9-3 every year.
However, that does not mean that we cannot criticize or recognize the upward limit of that choice. We should be the dominant team in the BE because of our facilities, success in player development to NFL, and opportunity to play in BCS bowls every year. No other BE school has what Pitt has; if not facilities then surely cash. The upward limit though is a BE championship. Unless they get extremely fortunate, they either dont have the coaching or the players to compete. I am of the opinion that the upward limit is just consistent 8-9 win seasons. Wanny, with the right assistants & increased delegation of control to them, is a good enough coach to deliver that. Don’t confuse this with being angry at him when we have a bad loss; it’s just recognition that the end result would not be immeasurably better with someone else.
That said – GO HOME MOUNTAINQ___RS!!!
Trending wise, Pitt has slightly improved over the past years; however, we are NOT improving as fast as our regional foes (PSU, Cincy, Rutgers). ND (even) and Michigan (regressing) should be even more pissed as us….
a few more 5 or 6 win seasons, and we will be a statistically regressing team…
@ HbgFrank. Totally agree, my Dad had me there in the 70’s even. Other than PSU,ND, and WVU, there were always some empty seats in the end zones. Those of us that can remember know this, even with Dan Marino. But, you have to admit HbgFrank, that, when we were playing well, in the top 10 or top 5, we would even get 47k to 55k for Army or Navy. So, no, I don’t envision 65k at Heinz Field, for other than ND WVU and if we ever played PSU again. I’m not delusional. (by the way, totally agree with your 25k die hards). But, if we were a perennial top 10, top 15, and say, for example, just for kicks, we were 8-1 and ranked #9, I believe we would get 45 to 50 to 55k against Syracuse or Louisville. You know, if we were part of the “Sportscenter” dialogue at the dinner hour. People were saying, “watch out for Pitt, they’re tough”, “wow, Pitt looks good, that should be a great Fiesta Bowl matchup against Nebraska!” And when I say 45-55k, I mean 45-55k warm bodies, not what Steve tells the pa announcer to say. Hey, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family also Frank. Hope everyone has a safe one, Hail to Pitt, beat the ‘eers!!
Dan, please don’t apologize. I am not thin-skinned. I love a good argument, especially when the disagreeing view has a rational basis. If this blog were made up of all cheerleaders with identical viewpoints, it would lose much of its interest.
ARE YOU ON CRACK??
he had Pitt ranked number 1! 33-3?! Dan Marino!!?? College and NFL hall of famers all over the field?!?!
AND YOU WANT A COACH WHO CANT BEAT UCONN?!?!
coaches come and go, who give a shit… id rather have one that wins for a few years then bolts then some yinzer buffoon who every time he opens his mouth he cheapens the world’s opinion of Pitt academics… oh yea, and he hes beaten how many end of season top 25 teams in 6 years? HE SUCKS… on to the next one
ill take NON PITT GUYS Sherrill and Majors1 over the Wanny era of mediocrity and head scratching losses any day of the week
ARE YOU ON CRACK??”
DeVanzo, at my age, character matters. In war, I believe in winning at all costs. When it comes to dealing with kids in college and representing my university, I have a different set of standards.
Pitt Football: Steve Pederson Now Has Ruined 2 Football Programs
By Dave DeBlasio (Pittsburgh Featured Columnist) on November 27, 2010 567
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This plea for help goes out to Nebraska fans: How did you get rid of clueless Steve Pederson and then dump his win-challenged coach?
We suffering Pitt fans need a little guidance. When it comes to football, Steve Pederson knows about as much as the cotillion committee at the Junior League.
You guys were so successful in cleaning house at Nebraska Pederson came running back into the arms of Mark Nordenberg, Pitt’s aloof chancellor who confuses being chancellor with being king.
Some readers who have made it this far are getting ready to tell me how out of line I am for picking on the man who is rebuilding athletic facilities at Pitt, increased football attendance, and administrates over a Top Five hoops program.
Re-read title, please. I’m writing about the football program here so save your equivocations for Shakespeare.
Some Pitt fans are so mad right now they can’t think straight. Two themes predominate their thinking: Wannstedt must be fired and the turf at Heinz Field sucks.
Guess what, fellow Panther fans? If Steve Pederson had gotten his way back in 1997, this dud of a coach would have been inflicted on us 13 years ago. Luckily for Pitt, Wannstedt was too busy screwing the Chicago Bears fans to bother with his alma mater.
I am a Walt Harris fan—at least a fan of Harris from 1997-2002. Harris seemed to forget that the running game and a strong defense are essential elements of a winning team. But I would take Harris back in a minute over this buffoon of a coach we have now.
Pederson sits silently through this disastrous 2010 season he is ultimately responsible for. Just like he did at Nebraska, Steve Pederson never blames himself when his decisions leave a big stink bomb right on top of the fans.
Pederson didn’t learn self-reflection from his Nebraska termination. He did, however, learn to be cautious and spread the blame around.
Pederson is quick to criticize anyone but himself. Pederson ignores fans emails and hides behind his buddy Nordenberg.
Remember, fans, he dumped Pitt to go “home” to Nebraska. He returned to Pitt when the Nebraska fans, who have a much lower tolerance level for the nonsense Pederson engages in than we do, ran his butt out of town.
Nordenberg welcomed him back and allowed him to extend Dave Wannstedt’s contract after two losing seasons and one 6-6, before Pitt’s win over West Virginia in 2007.
Pederson marked his territory by renewing loser Wannstedt before he set up his office on his return visit to Pitt.
That’s one big screw you to fans from your new athletic director.
Chancellor Nordenberg deserves his share of rebuke as do a number of Pitt chancellors who interfered in Pitt football while knowing nothing about the sport.
And please remember how Pitt left its on campus stadium to play home games in a pro venue.
The real culprit for the turf at Heinz Field is not Mr. Rooney. Pitt AD Pederson campaigned to destroy Pitt Stadium. Pitt had complete control over Pitt Stadium. Pitt owned it and could have installed natural grass.
When you give up ownership, you give up control. That’s the American way.
Like he is prone to do, Pederson made a mess because he didn’t talk to anyone about his stadium plans who weren’t fat cats. As a group, former Pitt players were opposed to Pederson’s plans and were vocal about it.
I raise the stadium issue now because turf complaints come with the territory when you use someone else’s facility. Furthermore, the college football game should be played in a college stadium, not a pro stadium.
You want to have an inspiring game day experience? Go to a game at Navy’s home stadium, or Beaver Stadium, or even Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston.
Or go to Nebraska’s stadium in Lincoln where they have exorcised all traces of Steve Pederson.
Another week will go by, Pederson will stay ensconced behind his office walls, Wannstedt will play circus master to a down-trodden, out-of-control program, and many Pitt fans will be rebudgeting for 2011 adding the money they’ll save from canceling Pitt football season tickets.
Never fear, Pitt fans, Pederson’s moment of accountability is coming. Keeping Wannstedt around for next season will guarantee a loss of season ticket sales and a shrinking fan base in 2011.
Increasing home football attendance is the one task we know for certain Nordenberg charged Pederson to accomplish.
Hey Husker fans: We have an A.D. we can give you—real cheap, too.