I didn’t get to watch the Pitt-Louisville game until late Saturday. Since I was DVRing the game, and was late getting to it, I sat and watched the Nebraska-PSU game with my dad. That wasn’t at all uncomfortable. He had a pained look cross his face anytime they showed a crowd shot with any signs in support of Paterno.
We had talked a bit about the scandal before, and he was so disgusted by all of it. He’s not a delusional Penn State grad. His feeling is that the whole administration. The whole staff has to go. There is no way that this wasn’t some dirty secret that they knew and were trying to hush for at least the last 9 years. Probably longer. Still to see a man he had respected. Believed had integrity. Falling like this is a blow. Yet he still wanted to watch the game, and so we did. It was a very quiet room, though.
Now, about that Pitt win over Louisville. Were it not for three aspects of the offense, you could be forgiven if you thought this was a rerun of a Pitt game from last year. Pitt ran the ball almost 2-1 over passing. Pitt controlled time of possession (for only the second time this season, USF being the other). The total passing yardage was sub-200, but the completion percentage was over 70%. The yards on the ground were more than yards in the air. The offense didn’t try to go too fast and very clearly was trying to stay on the field.
So what was different? Well, the QB ran voluntarily — and effectively. Rather than one running back getting all the touches with only occasional changes of pace for the back-up. It was very much both backs splitting time as the carries/touches were split really evenly. Zach Brown had 15 carries and 2 catches — 75 total yards. Isaac Bennett had 13 carries and 2 catches — 89 total yards. Finally, despite, Pitt definitely playing slower than Coach Todd Graham tried to have to team operate for most of this season 73.67 through the first 9 games, Pitt still ran 68 plays on offense. Last year the team was below 64 plays in an average game.
Obviously necessity played a large, large role in this game plan. The injuries — primarily to the offensive line — have crippled the ability of the team to run the offense in any semblance of what was envisioned. With Lucas Nix still out — along with Jacobson and Rotheram for the season — Pitt had its seventh different starting 5 on the O-line this season. Pass protection is a weak spot on the O-line. Plus, the more times Sunseri is allowed to throw the more likely it becomes that he will drift into his bad habits: holding the ball too long and not setting his feet when he throws.
It was also a very windy day, which played into keeping the ball on the ground more. Pitt coaches put together a conservative game plan for the game, and it was effective. Injuries to Louisville this season have been to their D-line. Making them more vulnerable to the run, and Pitt exploited it, along with short passes in the middle of the field. Taking advantage of linebackers trying to play closer to the line for support to the D-line.
The receivers definitely looked good as an overall unit as they have all season. Devin Street had another very good game. Mike Shanahan was reliable. It helped that Sunseri was making good throws. Even a good deal of the incompletes came from drops rather than just a bad bass.
Grinding is the best way to describe the action. Pitt kept going at Louisville. Mistakes were kept to a minimum.
The defense played a very good game. Other than the TD in the final couple minutes when Pitt was up by 2 TDs, Louisville was very limited all game. They had one very good drive to start the game, but ended on a Carl Fleming (where did he come from?) interception. All game, you could see flashes of how good and scary Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater will be, but in this game Pitt made him look like a freshman QB.
This has been a rough, disappointing season. This win doesn’t mean Pitt finally found themselves. It will still be an issue to get bowl eligible. It just means for one game, Pitt didn’t let the game get away from them. They got the win. And for at least one week, Pitt fans don’t have to bemoan missed opportunities costing the game.
I believe our back-up RB got nearly a 1000 yards last year. I also remember the 2 previous years when the backup (LaRod in 08 and Graham in 09) playing every 3rd series except maybe crunch time in a close game.
Thereby limiting the Tino factor in the High Octane mix. Sounds like a plan to me ! haha
We occasionally get some WVU trolls and we don’t want to get them confused.
actually, the BE BCS participant has pretty much been a joke post-ACC raid except for post 05, 06 and 07 seasons. Even Cincy (post 08 and 09) looked bad in the BCS .. in 08 against a 4-loss Va Tech.
Not that this is our worry anymore .. but I’m not sure the BE can retain its automatic BCS qualfier without Boise.
The Second Mile, a State College-based nonprofit that works with troubled children, announced the resignation of its top official, Jack Raykovitz, this morning. He had headed the organization for 28 years.
Read more: link to postgazette.com
Didn’t this guy, just a few days ago, say something like;
I know nothing.
I saw nothing
And of course he SAID NOTHING !
Which would be two years in a row. Las Vegas Stripper Bowl or another inconsequential Who Cares Bowl. Much like my dear old alma mater.
Don’t know how much that helps the BigCountry Big Least.
Read more: link to postgazette.com
Nice to know this guy was on the ball, 2008 ….really. On the ball…whoops…my bad.
In another development in the case, the judge who freed Mr. Sandusky on bail has done volunteer work for The Second Mile.
District Judge Leslie Dutchcot set $100,000 unsecured bond for Mr. Sandusky at an arraignment on Nov. 5. The state attorney general’s office, which has charged Mr. Sandusky with 40 counts of sex abuse involving eight children, had sought bond of $500,000 and electronic monitoring.
Unsecured bond meant that Mr. Sandusky did not have to post any money for his release. He pays only if he fails to make required court appearances
Read more: link to postgazette.com
Considering they had to let Paterno make State Penn’s schedule this year.
Getting tired already of seeing the Penn State scandal topic seeping into every conversation on every Pitt message board and blog out there. Yes it is a relevant and current sports related topic. It has little to do with Pitt though, and I hate seeing it so prominent. I want to read about Pitt’s football game and the two basketball games over the weekend. And I have to wade thru innumerable Penn State related posts. It also makes Pitt fans look like they are taking some kind of glee in their situation, which is an absolutely shameful reaction.
Can’t agree more. Last week is over. Time to let it go. Can we talk Pitt now?
Lets talk about PITT ! How about the Rider game… holy smokes.. we need sure up the D.
I wonder what Coach Graham will have to say? If 419 yards passing is “average,” what is 196 yards passing? Below average? Not up to par? Not what “I’m used to?”
I am still disturbed by the fact that we cannot connnect on one single pass downfield.
Wow I can’t believe I’m taking heat for coming down on State Penn, from Pitt people. Are you Pitt people? Or are you related to the 2nd Mile somehow, ala the Judge? lol
The year before that was the last time (if memory serves) that our basketball team played the same time as our football team .. and most of us made the wrong choice.
Tino was 16-22 (73% completion percentage) for 196 yards and a td. NO INTERCEPTIONS. His longest completion was 59 yards.
What are you referring to when you say no completions down field?
On the subject of bowl games — I would have no problem with Pitt playing in a minor bowl game this season. I don’t care what it is called. If they go on to a bowl game and win it, that means their season ended on an upswing. It means they will have defeated Syracuse and/or WVU (or both), and gotten some needed extra practice time to boot. Plus, as a fan I get to watch them one more time. The bowl system is what it is. If Pitt has the opportunity, they should take advantage of it.
Dawdling in mediocrity is not for me, call me driven, call me crazy, just don’t call me average.
My fear is that we are not going to make the “linear” improvements (as suggested by Dokish ad nauseum) to build this thing into a winner. Seems like all of these BBD (Bigger, better, deal) coaches like DickRod and Kelly tend to top out eventually.
As mentioned before, Graham made the fatal error of overpromising and underdelivering. One look at Tino Sunseri and he should have realized that this was a 6 win team (at best)… and spoke accordingly. He is also learnding the he has 30 years of fan misery, mediocrity and apathy to overcome…which isn’t easy…
Frankly, no big east team deserves to play in a bcs game.
How very generous of you to think that PITT has done so well over the last 30 years they can turn thier nose up at this opportunity… or that you’d have your insecurities trump what those players have worked hard for.
Give me a break. No, we try to win out and let the chips fall where they may. We play the best opponent we can on the grandest stage because, after all, that is what the whole goal of the season is.
And lets further the embarrassment by not selling out our alloted tickets. YAY!
Really, can you imagine what any of the top 5 teams in the country would do to Pitt if we lined up tomorrow??? That would do more damage than good. Sorry but thats reality.
It looks like ACC vs Big-East this year according to all the pundits
So…since we are headed to the ACC anyways…why not hope for a head start..we have to play all these guys soon enough. Might as well see what its like.
If Pitt ends up playing a team like say Alabama in a bowl game, so be it regardless of the outcome. There is no embarrassment in playing up and the experience of playing in a major bowl will only help the 2012 team set goals of returning to a BCS game and winning it not just getting the invitation. Let’s hope playing in a BCS game becomes infectious for this and future Pitt football teams.
But, this Pitt football team has to become bowl eligible first. Let’s not get the wagon before the horse, so to speak. HTP!
This team is 5-5 and might not make a bowl at all.
That is a more likely scenario than going to a BCS bowl.
Even at 6-6 we will only get a bid to the Weedeater Blimpy All You Can Eat Tuna Bowl, if all the other BigEast bowl slots aren’t filled up.
You know we don’t travel well to these ESPN fill up the weekday programming bowls.
I stand by my prediction earlier this year, Tino with be the MVP of said Tier 3 or 4 bowl. Thereby blessing us with his senior season as starting QB. I can’t wait!
Just beat our rival next Saturday. That’s all I care about at this point (and care is a strong word). We are, at best, a 6 win team. We have no business playing with real teams that deserve these BCS slots. When we do, I will crow about it. Right now, we don’t.
What message does that send to a team that you can play like total garbage 75% of the year and get to a bcs game??? That doesnt motivate a team, if anything that makes them think its easy to get to the bcs so why work harder???
I really dont know why any pitt fan would really want to watch a total embarrassment on a grand national scale??? Its just not good for the team, the program, the fans, the sponsors, or anyone.
Is the Big East a joke, competitively speaking? Probably. Are there other teams out there that will deserve that spot more? Perhaps. But life isn’t fair, and the system is what it is. Even if the Big East BCS representative gets ripped, it helps expose a flawed system for what it is, and if nothing else, gives the kids some “combat experience” moving forward.
Hopefully, moving to the ACC will mean that playing like crap 75% of the time yields little/no reward. The BCS system really isn’t set up to reward “deserves”. IIRC, Pitt got jobbed out of at least a couple of Gator Bowls over the years because ND had a bigger draw. It cuts both ways and I’ll take the paycheck regardless.
We deserve what we get by playing out the season. If that is a BCS game then we deserve it. This isn’t a popularity contest out there, it is week to week competition toward a previously stated goal.
And if you don’t think that playing in a BCS bowl is better for the program in the long run I’ll say you are just mistaken.
The fact that you all think we’d be ’embarrassed’ to be there or of what the outcome might be is centered on how YOU as a fan would feel, not how the players and staff view things. And I’ll tell you right now that if any PITT Head Coach ever voiced the same thoughts you guys are you’d have mass strokes, this blog would melt down and we’d run that coach out of town after being tarred and feathered.
Spare me the “reality” crap also. The reality is that we could get our asses kicked in a lower bowl as well as in a BCS bowl so that argument doesn’t mean anything. The reality is that PITT has to try to do the best they possibly can and to get the BE championship and most prestigious bowl game available. The reality is that the players who have worked so hard over the years deserve the best reward they can have.
As stated above – ask anyone of those 2004 PITT players if they would have rather played in a lower bowl. You know what the answer would be. Playing in a BCS bowl, even in losing, is something they can point to for the rest of their lives and something which separates them from the vast majority of college football players.
I’ll agree that this scenario will not happen, it would take some strange W/L combinations to do so, but I’ll say right now I’m hoping like hell it does. That you guys feel otherwise is both surprising and somewhat disappointing.
Our “bowl” game comes a week from Friday in prime time on national TV. Just beat the Mountaineers and move along, move along.
How many more “Backyard Brawls” are there going to be anyhow???? Just kick WVU’s ass, please?
Talking bowls games at this juncture is a total joke, hahahahahahaha, thats LOL in longhand.
