A nooner on ESPNU with once and future conference foe, Virginia Tech. A game that was greeted with great anticipation before the season started is now viewed with dread as to the outcome.
Somehow VT is only favored by 10 points or so. Apparently the oddsmakers are confused that this is a game in 2012, not 2002.
Brian from THE KEY PLAY got in touch with me to do a little Q&A exchange. I sent him my questions on Tuesday night, right before the latest round of expansiopocolypse hit — rendering some of my questions a little dated even before the responses came. My answers to his questions can be found here.
When Pitt joins the Big East in some 290 days, The Key Play will definitely be a part of the ACC link selection. One of the finer blogs out there, and like Pitt Blather not part of the SBN borg collective. You can also find them on Twitter at, well, THE KEY PLAY.
1. Sooooo. Logan Thomas. Really, really good. After that, any other offensive weapons you trust?
Well…that’s really been the problem thus far. After Thomas, no one has been a completely proven commodity. Everyone else is young and unproven. Marcus Davis is a receiver that has really everything you want physically (size, speed, vertical), but his hands and…well…effort have been inconsistent. The running backs have shown flashes, but it’s really hard to gain consistent confidence when you don’t get carries.
I think there are a lot of solid weapons…just no one that has my full confidence yet. And if the offense keeps playing like this, it may take a while to find confidence in one.
2. Let’s say you are an opposing offensive coordinator. How do you attack the VT defense? What really gives them trouble?
Um…can I say Clemson? Seriously though, spreading them out and finding the bad matchup. If there is a weakness to the defense it’s the depth at secondary, and if that causes Foster to try and put an outside linebacker on a slot receiver, there could be trouble. If you just try to run into the line and find holes up the middle…well good luck with that. You can probably console yourself in a corner with Paul Johnson.
3. Any advice in how to cope with an inexplicable loss to a 1-AA team?
In the words of the great Bluto Blutarsky: “My advice to you is to start drinking heavily.” After the Hokies lost to JMU, I didn’t leave my room for days. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t want to go to parties. I just wanted to dwell on what was then an 0-2 start. Other than that…hope your team wins 10 games, the ACC and makes you forget that it happened? That’s really all I have about that.
4. Couldn’t help but notice over the summer with the expansiopocolypse rumors swirling, that it seems many VT fans have SEC dreams. Can you explain how this scenario unfolds that allows VT to get out of the ACC and specifically from UVa, after all the political wrangling, favors and debts incurred that took place to get VT into the ACC? (Not intended to be snarky or an asshole. I’m actually very curious about this, because in every VT scenario I’ve come across, this aspect tends to get glossed over despite the amount of political pressure that would be expected.)
You are completely right. It’s a fascinating scenario that is unfolding, and it just shows how expansiopocolypse makes for short memories. Personally, I don’t think that it will ever happen, especially while the current administration is in power (Beamer and AD Jim Weaver specifically). They were there when Mark Warner (then governor of Virginia) used everything he had to pressure Virginia into voting us in. They love the ACC, and can’t talk enough about it (at least publicly). Also, in a sneaky move by the ACC, with the addition of Notre Dame they also raised the exit fee to 50 million dollars (aka a huge middle finger to Florida State and Clemson’s Big 12 dreams). So unless there is a new administration and the SEC wants to foot the $100 million bill for 2 ACC teams (my guess would be Tech and NC State) there’s no way they go.
But alllsooooo (WARING: COMPLETELY UNSUBSTANTIATED EXPANSIOPOCOLYPSE TALK) if Florida State and Clemson leave, that will probably start the dominos of ACC mass exodus. Miami and Georgia Tech may want to go to the Big 12 as well, which means Tech and NC State would get the hell out of dodge. The “smart” schools (Virginia, Maryland, UNC and Duke) go to the Big 10, and everyone else is screwed.
Again, I don’t believe anything I just wrote.
5. Penn State scandal to the north. UNC slow-mo scandal to the south. Hell, even Duke’s getting into the act. How do you take this much schadenfreude? Regarding the UNC academic scandal, though, what is the VT and even the rest of the ACC’s feelings towards this? Waiting for an actual punishment from the NCAA and/or the ACC. Or is it that somehow UNC will continue to get away with the claim that it was an academic scandal only that has nothing to do with athletics?
Eh, no one really cares. No matter what they think, their football team isn’t one of the big fishes, and haven’t been particularly relevant in November since Mack Brown was there. They’ll definitely get theirs, punishment wise though. It’s just that no one cares, because they’ll still probably be 7-5.
6. One more expansiopocolypse. Lately the ND to the ACC in all sports but football — but playing ACC teams 5-6 times/year — rumor has been popping up. What do you think about this rumor?
It sounds pretty accurate…I’ve heard this once or twice today. (OR FOR SEVEN CONSECUTIVE HOURS ON ESPN)
7. Really, do you see any scenario that doesn’t end in a VT win on Saturday?
If the offense puts up a 0, Pitt could win 3-0. Seriously though, if the offense struggles and they don’t return a Tino pass for a score, it could happen. I shudder every time I think about Tech going into Heinz field…I just tell myself that Rod Rutherford, Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Bryant are gone. THEY ARE GONE RIGHT?!?!
8. Final score?
Tech 28-3
To read Werner repeat the gaseous belch that Tino ‘is the best option’ was nauseating enough, but to read his comment that all Pitt fans pretty much know Anderson isn’t the answer at this point and that Voytik can’t possibly be ready as a freshman is beyond pathetic and insulting. Anderson played about 10 minutes last season, as a true freshman, last minute walk-on with an injured hand, and somehow ‘we all agree’ that that was enough of an assessment for the kid’s entire career?!
If he thinks we’re that stupid to swallow that horsesh#t, he is beyond in contempt of us. Why can’t we get a smart writer like Collier to cover Pitt? What have we done to deserve this shameless amateurism?
If we can beat the spread, then this game should be considered a moral victory for the Panthers. I have absolutely no clue how this game’s spread is Pitt+10. Have none of the odds makers watched a Pitt football game this season yet???????
From the sounds of it, Coach Chryst is remaining solid on sticking with Tino Sunseri at QB. That is a sorry situation but I guess that’s the battle plan. I think we’re looking at a 4-12 season unless this team, and Tino in particular, go through some kind of miraculous metamorphosis by midseason.
It would be nice to get some of the injuried LB’s back into action like Todd Thomas and Eric Williams, we need all the help we can get there ASAP.
Hoping that VT comes in looking for an easy win and that we surprise them by actually playing hard WITHOUT being our own worst enemy.
I hope that I’m wrong but I’m expecting a train wreck for Pitt.
I agree with you regarding Werner…
totally clueless..
However, I do like what DiPaolo writes.
You should send emails regarding your dismay in their coverage and opinion… also .cc their bosses…
and that is this is the last year tino can play
after this year we will never hear tino give us the best chace to win.
and these gut less and blind coachs will have to find another QB even thou they would like to keep tino for 4 more years they cant .
Zeise was just as bad if not worse…
at least Werner writes regular articles, etc… Zeise was no where to be found or just cut/paste EJ’s press releases.
but, write to Werners boss’s boss.. in other words, skip Micco.
David Shribman
David Shribman will respond at times!!!
Sounds like the right who follow Limbaugh and Hannity … or the left who follow Oberman and Maher
I wouldn’t say that…
but this weeks articles from Werner were ridiculous…
– Defensive backs shine dispite dismal start.
– Pointless exercises vex Pitt
– Pitt line is taking a personal approach.
vs Trib/Dipaolo
– Solution for Pitt football is to simply recruit better.
– Plenty of blame to go around for the Pitt offense.
– Pitt problems start at the top…
Sam Werner should just put on a skirt and grab some pom poms and cheer on the sidelines!! Totally clueless about football.
say things like tino needs to try to get better at this or that.
or tino knows he must improve on this
or tino will get better at this or that
does he think tino is a freshmen he is a dam 5th
year sr a 3 year starter if he hasent got it bye now he never will.
Imean it the way he writes abought tino is the way you write abought a first year player.
not the way you should write abought a sr is
werner stupid or brain dead or what.
No important questions ever asked, such as “Hey Shane, was it possible that you or the other linebacker were out of position and that was the reason for the gaping hole up the middle that lead the way for the first big run by Cincinnati?”
Does the local press realize what a disservice they do to the team and its fans for going so soft?
Putting a little fear into someone by having them know they will be held accountable can be a good thing.
When he says that Tino is the best option, perhaps it is because Tino actually IS the best option.
I did find this nugget from Redshirt Diaries interesting:
– Former Pitt coach Walt Harris stopped by practice yesterday, and I spoke with him today for a story I’m working on for later this week. He commended the current Pitt players for their determination sticking through such trying times with all the coaching changes, and said he plans to be around practice and whatnot to support the team this year.
“I admire what the team has done, and I really have a lot of respect for Paul and his staff,” Harris said. “That’s really why I’m coming to practice, because I respect the staff and I’m a Panther. I come out, and I don’t think anybody knows who I am. I just want to be there.”
Note where the coaching change paided off…. AZ, ASU
and where it has not… Wisky, Pitt, PSU, etc.
I think what most of us might be hoping for is to see writing that matches what we actually see on the field, not on the propaganda talking points or personal agendas…that would be neat.
I will always give praise to Walt for turning around the pathetic Panther program and he did it while I was in school at Pitt. I still remember the Thursday night game in 1997 when we took down a ranked Miami team. It was really a major turning point for a program that only won 15 games total in the previous 5 seasons. It was also the first time Pitt beat Miami since 1976 and our first victory over a ranked opponent since 1989. All of that hope and promise 15 years ago and now we’re getting mopped up by Youngstown State, my how times have changed for the worse.
God Bless Pete Gonzalez.
I don’t think that I’ve ever seen more penalties in the first 10 minutes of a football game. Did anyone notice that the starting Line Judge Official had to be replaced by a back up official at the conclusion of the first quarter?
Injury report was that he had worn out his flag throwing arm for the evening.
Just bad, bad, football. Maybe it got better??
I am disappointed in the press conference guys.
I should say, not disappointed yet, I guess.
Couple more losses, time for them to stop throwing the snowballs.
I don’t want them going after Chryst so much, I like him, he deserves time.
But, need to let him, and Pitt admin. what the fans are thinkging, and you help do that, by asking some real questions.
Maybe we get a big win tmrw., and not necessary.
I get that, his personality, is his personality, but you can’t be saying thing like “this is what the fun is, teaching these kids”, after losing to Youngstown and blown out by Cincy.
Not jumping on him, he’s got some time, I just hope he knows, from the fans perspective, the name of the game is winning.