Hello fellow disappointing ACC Coastal team. You seem so familiar.
In ranking the most disappointing teams in college football this year, arguably Pitt can’t even win in its own division. That honor goes to UNC followed by VT. Pitt only manages a 3d place finish in the Coastal Chaos Mess. Is there any doubt that Pitt is in the right conference?
Heck, in the weekly ACC power polls ESPN.com does, Pitt moved up two spots over the last two weeks — with an OT loss and a bye. If that isn’t a #goacc moment, than I don’t know what is.
I’m even more excited than before for the Pitt-UNC game on Saturday.
There’s a lot to see as a distorted reflection in UNC this season. As much as Pitt was a darkhorse pick to surprise in the ACC Coastal, UNC was the trendy pick (Phil Steele and the Sporting News picked them to win the Coastal). UNC, like Pitt, finished the year 7-6 with a win over an Ohio school in a minor bowl.
Unlike Pitt, though, UNC won 6 of their last 7. Looking like Larry Fedora had finally gotten the team to click and turned the proverbial corner. And then they started the season looking as bad if not worse than they did last year. Unlike last year, though, they haven’t improved as the season went on. They have been the same team — big offense, no defense coupled with lots of mistakes and penalties — all year.
There have been some low points for North Carolina this season, some moments — several of them, in fact — when the Tar Heels faced questions about where they were headed and which direction their season would take.
There were those questions after the first two games — a pair of uninspired victories against Liberty and San Diego State. Certainly, there were those questions after the 70-41 loss at East Carolina, and after the 50-35 loss at Clemson, which wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
And here we are again, now, after UNC’s 47-20 defeat at Miami. It wasn’t just that the Tar Heels lost on Saturday. No, it was the way they lost — in completely humiliating, humbling fashion — and that they offered that kind of performance after having seemed to turn the season around.
I’m not saying the exact same thing was written after Pitt followed up the VT win with the GT debacle, or the Duke loss. But the notes seem familiar.
Larry Fedora should be getting questions about his work in his 3d year at UNC. He came with a big contract based on the job he did at Southern Miss and a reasonably well-stocked cupboard of talent. Realistically, though, he is completely safe. UNC’s never-ending scandal of academic fraud in aid of the entire athletic department has added a perverse layer of protection to Fedora. He came in after the mess, and new sanctions are a real possibility.
And Pitt, of course has a coach that has questions growing but has the extra layer of protection from the tumultuous coaching changes over 2010-2012.
This should be an offensive shootout based on the teams. Just in different ways.
Pitt is a ground team and UNC has a defense that is exceptionally bad against the run. James Conner, Chris James and Chad Voytik as well should pile up the run yardage.
Meanwhile, UNC does everything through the air. 22d in passing yardage nationally, and they are going against Pitt’s secondary. Ugh.
In a way, this could be a lot like the Duke game. Where Pitt dominated time of possession. Piled up plenty of points and yardage… but Duke matched Pitt throughout because they could score so quickly off the pass.
It’s doubly hard to win when your playing against the other team AND the refs.
I’m not saying Meyers is or isn’t good, or would or wouldn’t be better than Voytik.
I’m saying it’s RIDICULOUS to cite D-III statistic as evidence to support ANYTHING.
D-III football is a joke….The level of competition is pathetic and 99.9% of D-III players wouldn’t make the scout team of any Power-5 program.
Pitt will play its first international regular-season basketball game under coach Jamie Dixon when it opens the 2015-16 season against Gonzaga in the Armed Forces Classic in Okinawa, Japan.
The game is scheduled for Nov. 13, 2015, and will be played at Camp Smedley D. Butler Marine Corps Base as part of ESPN’s “America’s Heroes: A Salute to Our Veterans.” The program honors men and women serving in the U.S. military.
It will be the first meeting between Pitt and Gonzaga in men’s basketball.
“It is truly an honor to have the opportunity to play in such a great event,” Dixon said in a statement. “Our goal is always to play in college basketball’s top events and the Armed Forces Classic certainly ranks among the best. The trip will also provide an opportunity for our players, coaches, administration and support staff to experience day-to-day life on an overseas military base.”
The Armed Forced Classic is entering its third year as part of a five-year rotation. Previous Armed Forces Classic games were held in 2012 at Ramstein Air Base in Germany (Connecticut vs. Michigan State) and 2013 at Camp Humphreys in Korea (Georgetown vs. Oregon). This year’s game will be played Friday night at CGAS Borinquen in Puerto Rico between Louisville and Minnesota on ESPN.
The 2016 event is scheduled for Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii.
That was pretty sad. Knowing all he had to do was beat out Voytik & Anderson.
What an ominous sign that was.
When can you !!!
It’s comical.
Happy Hour!
All we have is dead horses to beat over. 🙂
Citing D-III stats from a QB that left on his own accord and chose to continue his career at the lowest level of competition possible….is not one of them.
Should be an easy win.
Niagara hasn’t been any good since the great Calvin Murphy played for them eons ago.
What Pitt recruiting has been:
Joe Smith commits to Pitt: Other teams interested:
Bowling Green, Temple, Villanova, Buffalo
Rutgers and Kent State.
What Pitt recruiting needs to be:
Joe Smith commits to Pitt: Other teams interested:
Virginia, NC State, Penn State, WVU, Maryland
VA Tech and MICH ST.
typical….but remember, we’ll ‘coach em up’. haha
Comment by John 11.14.14 @ 6:07 am
Chuck Mangione did a song called ‘Land of Make Believe’.
The Pitt band should learn it and make it the theme song of Pitt, instead of that horrid Neal Diamond mess.
Enjoy it’s TGIF.
No one can afford to take a play off – or we won’t win again this year.
I’ve stumbled on to a conclusion, that I’ll let you guys in on.
After watching a lot of NCAA college football, and the NFL for the last 40 years, here it is, my gift to all of you……………..
I’ve noticed, the teams with the bigger, faster and stronger players usually win!!!!!!!!!!!
There it is!!! Pretty simple actually.
Then again, I don’t get paid millions to have them.
My workable solution???
1. The AD has got to go. End of story.
2. Chryst?? was a kool-aid drinker for the first two years, holding on to hope.
Now, I have my doubts about his coaching, his recruiting and his hiring.
I guess let the new A.D. look at Chryst for a year, then decide. He’ll have 4 years to look over, including one hands on and let him decide what the next move is.
As I believe a couple posters posted, wbb I believe was one……….
if the administration isn’t going to make a commitment or isn’t interested in a commitment to makeing Pitt a top 25 program again,
then this is all moot.
Just a place to vent over and over again.
If there’s no commitment, then why bother doing anything.
Keep the AD, keep the coach and just let us
know you’re opinion is “eff it”.
Just let us in the loop if we’re going status quo and are happy about status quo.
Ditto
Ditto @ 9:48
Comment by shawn 11.14.14 @ 11:32 am
I’m over here in Charlotte for the game. You’re more than welcome to join us for the comedy show.
Drinks on me !
Comment by shawn 11.14.14 @ 11:50 am
It would also work if you reversed defense with coaching.
Since it works hand in hand.
Comment by BostonsCommon 11.14.14 @ 12:02 pm
Try all 3. Ditto other comments.
come on..nobody was going to be ‘allowed’ to beat out the prodigal son of a Pitt All-American and college fraternity coach.
Comment by zach 11.14.14 @ 2:21 pm
Ditto
Coach Blunder and Wisky still managed to lose in the Rose Bowl WITH RUSSELL WILSON.
Think about that !
Comment by Wardapalooza 11.14.14 @ 2:26 pm
While I agree perceptions do become reality in a lot of cases.
Those perceptions haven’t worked for Paulie.
Not even with his own nephew.
Had to do something while the Cable TV guy was here installing a cable box that actually worked.
We need a similar effort from our beleaguered FB team today against UNC.
Note to the FB coaches: while you eat your bowl of Fruit Loops for breakfast this morning, talk about the scripted offensive plays you plan to use to start the game, the in game adjustments you might make, the personnel packages you want to use – focus & commitment. Please???
SOP – strengthening our players (hopefully they are conditioned too)
SOP – Syracuse over Pitt (hope that is the last loss we have with Syracuse in the next six months)
