Down 21-6 after a two yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, things didn’t look too bright for Pitt. Then, an eight play drive was capped off by a 26 yard touchdown throw and suddenly it was a one score game. That touchdown was the catalyst to a come from behind victory, one that was finalized with an 18 yard field goal as time expired. The win kept Pitt alive in the race for the conference title. Of course that wasn’t yesterdays Pitt-Notre Dame game. It was Pitt vs UConn on October 10th, 2009. Why is this relevant? It was the last time Pitt won a game they were trailing at half time.
Savor that for a second. It feels good, doesn’t it? It’s like a cold beer after a great day.
I’m not sure which is crazier: this was the first come from behind win in over four years or that Ray Vinopal was the hero. Don’t get me wrong, Vinopal got burned twice, but he’s a safety in man coverage, that’s not ideal for his skill set. I don’t blame him entirely for the TJ Jones touchdown because Vinopal should never be 1 on 1 with a WR as talented as Jones. Still, he made three game changing plays and was responsible for a 21 point turnaround in the game. He prevented two touchdowns and created another one. The offense was okay, but without Vinopal they’re never in a position to take the lead. My hats off to Ray because the fans have given him a lot of their angst the past two seasons and it’s great to see him come up huge.
The other real difference in the game was the return of the deep ball. Only one connected (63 yard touchdown to Street) but the threat of it forced Notre Dame to play defense differently, which opened up the middle of the field a lot more. On the drive that tied it up 14-14 in the 3rd quarter, it was all running and a pass interference call on a deep pass that led to the score. On that drive, RBs had 8 carries for 32 yards, two of which were for first downs. With the threat of the deep ball, the running game moved better and Savage got a lot better as the game went on at small ball.
Offensive play-calling was much better as the game went on as well. My big complaint is that the running game tends to vanish for long stretches of time but it came back in the second half and you can see the results. I said in my Know Your Enemy column “If the offense wants to score (without short fields caused by turnovers or special teams) they’ll have to be methodical, something they have not done all season.” Touchdown drives of 13 and 10 are just that. Add in a short field off of a turnover and an incredible play by Devin Street and you get a very respectable day on the scoreboard.
Overall, enjoy the win. I certainly didn’t see it coming, but I’m ecstatic to be wrong. The atmosphere was incredible; the crowd in the fourth quarter on key defensive plays was incredible. I know crowd noise caused a timeout and a false start and it certainly affected Notre Dame’s offense in other, more subtle ways. With close to 50 recruits there for the game, including key targets like Alex Bookser, Montae Nicholson, Rasaan Stewart, Sterling Jenkins (2015), Jordan Whitehead (2015), and Tyrone Wheatley (2015) it’s safe to say this win may go beyond the football field.
Oh, and one more thing…
Hail to Pitt!
HTP!!!
we would do it but glad we did.
the kids played hard we need one more can we go 6 and 6.
had to go to your ewitter site to get on.
I was at the 1970 WVU come-from-behind-in the-second-half victory.
And I was in the stands last night.
The energy, the passion, the student’s and crowd’s enthusiasm were beautiful, just beautiful.
I expect the next time Pitt plays Penn State will be a similar experience.
By the way, I was watching the ESPN College Football Review program. Lou Holtz, Mark May and some other guy were commenting on Saturday’s games.
Holtz was looking glum and when asked about it he said something like “when Notre Dame loses, it’s bad for college football.”
What an asinine thing to say!
HAIL TO PITT!
It’s so much easier to be a better play caller when you’re able to run the ball. To me, that was one of the 2 keys of the game … the other being the 2 interecptions by RP
Because we sure don’t wanna hafta beat ‘Cuse on the road in order to avoid having to beat Miami in Game 12 to become bowl eligible.
The students & fans really showed up in the 2’nd half.
So, someone tell me whether a bunch of students actually left after Sweet Caroline. The stands sure looked packed and the kids appeared to be making lots of noise at their end of the stadium.
H2P
Couldn’t agree more. Remember the last game played at Pitt Stadium? Pitt stunned ND in 1999 then, only needing one win to get a bowl bid, feel flat in Morgantown and got plastered by the Hoopies.
Can’t let NC get one over.
= Savage played a good game once he got going after the half and Conner was tough when it counted. Sunseri would not have made that pass to Street at the high point.
It’s taken nine games but Savage is playing good football now – even if, for some strange reason, his deep game has fallen off. I thought that would be his strength all year but for some reason he’s either overthrowing or underthrowing those plays.
Buy, his accuracy on the shorter passes has been getting better and I believe he’s finally getting the ball out quicker by not looking deep the whole play. That lack of hesitancy has allowed cut down on his INTs which is huge. One INT in the last five games is something I didn’t think I’d see from Savage at all this season. It isn’t that the OL playing that much better now than before for the passing success, it is more of Savage not holding the ball too long.
Noted above was his penchant for throwing to the wrong shoulder of the receivers and he has been doing that – but notice that the one time he hit Street in stride we got 40 YAC for that long TD. That was a normal intermediate crossing pattern that was perfectly executed by both the QB and the WR.
Boy, if we can start getting more YAC then before we’ll be in much better shape then having the WR have to stop and even go down to his knees for the ball as Boyd did that time he was open. That Street pass for the 63 yards is what Savage needs to do more of.
For whatever good reasons he’s sure playing well enough to win ballgames from the QB position and that is what we have needed all year (or for the last three truthfully!). It’s nice to finally have gotten it. If he keeps playing this mistake free ball, and incomplete passes are not really ‘mistakes’ in this sense IMO, then I think we can take at least two out of remaining three to close out the year.
= Vinopal played pretty well in pass defense even taking away those two INTs. His run support has suffered all year though.
= Looking at the box score and seeing we gave up 451 yards might not seem like we played defense very well but when a unit holds the other team to a 13 minute deficit in Time of Possession and only 21 points then they did a good job. Wow… 13 minutes is a very big margin for our offense to work with and it showed in the ability to comeback and make sustained drives.
The defense is playing well enough over the last six games for us to win on that strength. In that span we have given up an average of 17 ppg which is excellent. Tonight the offense caught up to that and thus the good result.
= I think both the OC and the DC called pretty good games last night. Fans complain about the ‘deep’ handoffs to our RBs when but you run a play action offense, which we do, then the QB & backfield motions have to be the same on every play. The ‘deep’ handoff is part of that and Savage did it well last night.
Combined with the fact that our OL is big and slow, and will be in the future, that handoff gives the play time to develop. Chryst had the same offensive approach at UW.
= It’s hard to look at the remaining three games and say ‘Our offense is good enough to take those teams’ because we have been really inconsistent on offense. But, when the passing game clicks I think we can play with anyone on the schedule. Last night out run game pretty much stunk again save Connor’s two TDs but Savage and the WRs pulled it out.
– Savage was excellent. Missed some throws, sure, but showed great guts, leadership and even escapability at some important times.
– Good playcalling. Quick throws, utilized the TEs more, not as many slow developing runs.
– AD was double, even triple teamed at times last night. He kept fighting. Dude is a beast.
– I thought Todd Thomas played well if pass coverage in the second half. Gonzo obviously with a great play to seal the game. I’m a little surprised the LBs couldn’t make more plays, especially with AD double/triple teamed. Just an observation but obviously I’m thrilled.
– It can’t be said enough, much credit to Vinopal! His limitations can be frustrating but the kid always plays hard and tonight he made huge plays. Very happy for him.
West Virginia loses heart-breaker to Texas and potentially their season in the toilet…
Pitt beats Notre Dame at home…Priceless!
WHAT A SATURDAY!!!
HAIL TO PITT
I’m wondering if Devon He eh is regretting going to the WVU vs TX game instead of sticking around home to enjoy the Pitt win. Hanging out with the Hoopies after another loss in OT in the Big 12 must have been fun for him though. Get your butt to Pitt my friend. Some more Pitt history is waiting to be made, come be part of it!! H2P!!!
Next week could be even more important to the year and the program. North Carolina started poorly, but is now playing very well. They could be our future rival in two sports. It would be our first big win against an ACC foe, would send us to a bowl and say we are on our way back.
We need a big crowd to show up on Saturday to show the team yesterday mattered. By the way, for a sell out, why did I see large sections of the stadium empty yesterday, endzone and upper deck?
Hendricks played a great game yesterday too. Where has he been all year? Nice to have him back. Thomas also had his usual very solid game. Render is coming on strong as well.
Savage played his best game as a Panther, maybe not perfect but damn close. Great to have the real Mr. Conner back, a real difference maker. Bennett had a good game as well, a draw play that worked.
I hope this game gives them the confidence to finish strong, especially Savage.
One more thing, the O-line played well, even though Mushmouth had to keep reminding us how depleted the poor Irish were. It was so sad that their best lineman was thrown out, he really didn’t mean to spear our QB.
No mention of our guys that were injured. Boyd played great even after he got dinged, hope he is OK for next week.
NC travels well, hope Pitt Fans show up.
Nevertheless, any win over Notre Dame is a great win – and, as a Catholic, I would rather my sons go to Pitt over Notre Dame any day.
FRs Boyd, Orndoff, Parrish, Conner, Ibrahim, Biz, Johnson, Gabe Roberts, Blewitt, Titus Howard, Galambos, Soto, Bradley, etc. are all getting good playing time and will be key contributors next season.
Throw in the current starters and two-deep players who are SOs: Holtz, Render, Rowell, Pitts, Grigsby, Cook and Price and we’ll have some good depth next year to complement our returning upperclassmen.
Render will be a good one on the DL. He’s played well in his spot duties so far and he’ll be a starter next year. We need to get some DEs to step up in 2014 though. That position hasn’t really contributed much. Soto will be there I’m sure and Ejuan Price.
For as much heat as Chryst has been taking for the fans, and last night’s win helps with that, we have played seven Top 25 ranked teams while he’s been HC and have gone 3-4. Last season’s ND triple OT loss could easily have gone the other way also so it isn’t as if he can’t play competitively with and beat some of the better teams on our schedules.
I think the future is pretty bright with all the above and given that there were a ton of high value recruiting targets at last night’s game we’ll probably end this 2014 recruiting season strong.
He deserves a game ball, very happy he got this win.
Great game to watch congrats to all the players and staff this one felt great and will be the first of many big ones to come!! H2P!!!!!!
Aaron Donald was a beast doubled teamed all night.
Happy for Vinopal….2 picks and created a fumble.
ND over rated but team stocked with 4 and 5 star recruits as
usaul.
Great crowd…..proving the atmosphere at Heinz Field can be
Exciting. It is all about the product on the field.
Let’s. Build on this with a W next Saturday!
Enjoy the High!
Hail to Pitt!
I have co-workers who are UF grads/fans and because they are struggling this year they bitch and moan and decide not to go to the games (just like Pittastic said re the Vandy game yesterday) so it happens everywhere.
Rain in Miami last night but that stadium was EMPTY. And the U was the #11 team in the country (obviously they will slide because they lost). Even while Miami was undefeated earlier this year they had about 25k against Wake. I don’t care what the announced attendance was (I didn’t look it ), I was there and it was worse than Pitt v. New Mexico.
Anyways, most struggling teams, and even a few very good teams, have issues with attendance when things aren’t going perfectly. Last night seemed to be a great atmosphere and something the players and fans can truly appreciate and enjoy.
We’ve never be OSU or Michigan with attendance but I hope to be the best that Pitt can be. And I’m okay with that.
UNC will be a very tough challenge this week. Let’s ride the momentum.
Hope some of last night’s energy carries over to next week. Pitt will have their hands full with a rejuvenated UNC team.
I wish Tom Savage had a sixth year. I think he has grown into a leadership role on this team. To be good, a team needs a QB who is a leader.
Kudos to the O line. ND was banged up, but that was the line’s best game of the year.
And all hail Ray Vinopal. Give him credit, he does not wilt. Tough kid.
Western PA produces great players and Pitt should look closely at the local prospects.
Mark May must have enjoyed listening to that domer’s belly aching
My daughter was one of the kids who carried the huge Pitt banner onto the field during pre-game. Proud Dad.
What an awesome, awesome awesome night.
So proud of the students for staying until the end.
GC – the empty upper deck seats above the band are student seating, which is sold out. Too bad for the no-shows… They missed a good one.
And three cheers for Ray Vinopal!
Can’t wait to watch it on replay when I get home.
ESPN was over-hyping the win with a headline on SportsCenter of “Pitt Shocks ND”. It was only a 4 point spread and the game was close throughout. Did Mark May respond to Holtz when he made his latest ridiculous comment about ND football losing?
4. Breakthrough win for Pitt. It was easy to doubt the Panthers heading into their game against Notre Dame. They entered the contest off back-to-back losses, and their run game was nearly nonexistent. But something about the Irish brings out the best in Pitt, which came oh-so-close to pulling the upset in each of the previous two seasons. Well, the Panthers finally broke through Saturday night, forcing three turnovers and getting inspired play from their offensive line and Tom Savage in a 28-21 win. It certainly helped Pitt’s cause that Notre Dame’s Stephon Tuitt was ejected on a questionable targeting call early in the game, further depleting an injury-riddled group. But Pitt earned this win. The Panthers moved one victory away from bowl eligibility and gave coach Paul Chryst victories over ranked teams in consecutive seasons.
Pitt safety Ray Vinopal. The Panthers may not have beaten No. 23 Notre Dame 28-21 without Vinopal, who had two critical interceptions in the fourth quarter to key the impressive win. On the first, Vinopal intercepted Tommy Rees in the end zone to end one drive. On the second, he returned his interception down to the 5, setting up the game-winning Panthers score. Vinopal also had a forced fumble early in the game, making him solely responsible for all three Irish turnovers.
Always great to beat the Irish and all but eliminate any chance that they get a BCS bowl and its excessive payout.
H2P
He can thank Cornhole for that. Wonder if he ever comes back around Pitt’s practice facility.
I agree with the call. The announcers kept talking about Savage lowering his head and Tuitt not see that, but that’s because Tuitt had lowered his head. If he had kept his head up he would have seen Savage’s lowered head. But all of that does not matter.
Tuitt looked like a bull lowering his head to charge. If that’s not using the helmet as a weapon then it never will be.
Watching the replay on the U. They are chopping the sh!t out of the game.
H2P
I forgot that it was also Vinopal who created that big fumble in the first half. When he transferred in and I watched him in practices before the 2011 season, which he had to sit out, I though he’d make an immediate impact for the DBs when he could play last season.
Didn’t happen that way but it seems as though he’s progressed a bit each season. He’s a rsJR so he’ll have one more season with us and maybe that will be his breakout year…
I’m getting more excited about Jaymar Parrish then just about any of the true FR except for maybe Boyd. Great move by Rudolph to keep him at FB instead of making him an “H-Back” in this offense. It isn’t easy for a true FR, who isn’t a “star” player like Boyd, to beat out an established upperclass starter but he did so and it is paying off big dividends. His lead blocking has been very good for a FR and at 6’2″ & 230 he can put on a few more pounds and muscle for that position. I think his future is bright.
Seven of out Top 8 receivers return next season. That will really help out an inexperienced QB no matter who is back there. If it is Voytik the fact that he’s been able to practice with those receivers for two years will help also.
It would be great if Savage could have another year but since it can’t happen lets hope that this coaching staff stays intact so they can help out Voytik as much as possible. I am impressed with what Bollinger and Rudolph have done so far with Sunseri last season and then Savage this year.
If we can keep Bollinger on staff, along with Bobby Engram for the WRs, then when 2014 QBs Freebeck and Bertke get here we’ll have a great chance for a solid passing game for more than one year at a time. I doubt Chryst will roll the dice on a true FR starter and lets hope he doesn’t have to, but both of those kids fit his idea of what he wants in a QB.
Great win and lets keep in going for NC on Saturday.
