Well, it wasn’t pretty, but something I’m a big fan of is that this team has now won several games fans normally expect them to lose. I expected Duke to pull off the miracle comeback. I knew when Notre Dame’s TJ Jones went 80 yards to get a 21-14 lead, Pitt would collapse. Sure, we’ve seen a few moments only Pitt could pull off, but at the end of the day, we’ve seen this team come back and tie three games in a row after being down in the second half. Then they won two of those three. Six wins in the ACC is significantly better than six wins in the Big East.
While this season has been slightly disappointing, there’s a huge difference between 5-7 and 6-6. It’s gigantic. Even the eternal optimist in me thought the best realistic scenario was 8-4 and this team certainly could’ve achieved that with a bounce here or there. I won’t bother with “what if” scenarios though. Barring a crazy scenario, this team will go to a non-Birmingham destination in December. For such a young team, those few extra weeks of practice are huge. I know I’ll enjoy bowl projections a lot more now that I know I get to see Pitt play in one.
Savor the ugly win and enjoy the fact that even through all of the turmoil of coaching changes, arrests, transfers, and all of the other miscellaneous ugliness, this program has not missed a bowl game since 2007. You know who wishes they could say that right now? Florida. We still don’t know if Chryst can lead this team to something above mediocrity, but after Wannstedt missed a bowl game his first three seasons in a far better scenario, it’s safe to say Chryst’s first two steps have been a lot better.
Sorry for my lack of internet presence during the game today. My wife and I had our first baby shower hosted by some local friends and we picked her up a new car today (30 miles away and it required two trips) . We had a busy day. But, presents, new car, and a Pitt win? I’d call that a great day. For those wondering, my wife and Calvin are doing just fine. Calvin has been quite active lately, he was a big fan of the Penguins game last night.
Beat Miami and I contend that we will then be the BESTEST OF THE AVERAGE!
However, whether it be marketing the brand, recruiting wars etc. etc.,
you definitely want to be with the 70 that made it opposed to the 56 who didn’t.
“hell, they’re so bad, they didn’t even go to a bowl game”!!!
You don’t want that tossed around about your program.
Especially the black outs, where you can’t even see any accent colors.
Any team that wears a black out uniform, looks exactly the same as the other 20 teams that wear them.
What’s up with Baylor?? When did their colors become black and pale yellow???
Always thought they were green and gold??
Texas A&M looked like vomit, with some sort of grey thing, with a little maroon.
Hey, they may sell some jerseys to the teenager set, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it!!!
H2P!
Emel – why would you want our AD to purposefully keep the kids out of a bowl game if invited? That is what these bowl games are for – a reward to the players for putting the team in a spot to do just that.
Sorry, but that smacks of a self serving attitude. If you don’t think it is a good thing fine, but to want the kids punished just for your opinion is a bit loopy.
Dan 72 – It doesn’t matter if I watched the game or not – every single Game Thread consists of the negative things I mentioned.
Guys, if PITT can go 7-5 with the talent, or lack of it, on this roster it is a pretty damn good accomplishment. I don’t understand the views of some of the more negative PITT fans who insist that wins are all that matters… then when we do get wins all of a sudden aren’t good enough for those fans. No, they want every game to not only be a win but a dominating performance with near-perfect play.
Well, don’t hold your breath for that to happen at PITT any time soon. Not to beat a dead horse but PITT isn’t an Alabama or OSU type program. That isn’t to say we can’t break into the Top 25 or even the Top 10 maybe as some other ‘smaller’ programs have done but for our program to do that on a regular basis a lot of things have to fall in place.
The only real way to accomplish that is to consistently have a winning program and also get the blue chip recruits on a regular basis. Even with those two aspects satisfied we saw how tough it was be ranked when DW was recruiting well and we played in a lesser conference. One year out of his six we finished in the Top 25 – 15th in 2009 with a very well stocked roster.
I don’t doubt that we can replicate that type of singular season sometime soon. I’m pretty optimistic about the future with Chryst as the HC. But there is a real aspect of “Same Old PITT” at work over the last three decades and it will take a lot of work, and some luck, to break that.
Going 7-5 if we can this season will go a long way to putting us on that track IMO. My doubts are that we will be able to reach that plateau and sustain it for any length of time.
I content, we are the best mediocre team in the NCAA. 🙂 H2P! We could have easily been 8-3 or 9-2.