I guess by the transitive property Miami partisans feel that they too lost to Akron.
It was a theme at halftime.
We're losing to a team that lost to Akron….AKRON Smfh
— Jonathan Vilma (@JonVilma51) November 30, 2014
It was a theme by blogs and beat writers.
This embarrassing 35-23 defeat to a 6-6 Pittsburgh team that had lost by 11 points to Akron –– Akron!!! — was a new low, but also a clear indication that change is needed.
Yes, it happened. Pitt lost to Akron. No one is proud of it. No one feels particularly good about it. But we are living with it. Just taking it day by day.
I would think that they would be more bothered that Pitt won a game on their home field for the first time in 51 years. Or the fact that Pitt finished in the Coastal with a 4-4 record — better than the Canes 3-5. Not losing to a team that lost to a MAC team. But sure.
Miami under Al Golden has hit the Randy Shannon level.
Saturday marked the first time since 2007 that the defensively challenged Hurricanes ended their regular season with three consecutive losses. The last time they did that, under Randy Shannon, they finished 5-7 and didn’t qualify for a bowl.
At .500 overall and 3-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Canes have already earned the right to play in the post season.
Al Golden’s 4-year mark is 28-21. Randy Shannon’s was 28-22 and led to his termination. Al Golden will probably get another year, at least. There’s the change of their college president coming. Too much change at the top for them to add to the turnover — this year. An assistant coach shake-up could be in the works.
Let me just finish this thought on Miami and Al Golden. It is clear that Golden learned well the lesson of sticking with a gameplan. No matter what.
Tyler Boyd had 190 kick return yards and 72 receiving yards. Yet, the Canes kept kicking it to him and left their cornerback without help the entire game. Not even bothering to kick it away from Pitt’s most dangerous playmaker. The guy they had to have gameplanned for.
It’s mindblowing. Oh, and the special teams coach for Miami. Head coach Al Golden.
But the key is, despite all of their talent, if you smack them in the mouth and don’t back down, they will retreat. I personally thught he key to the game was Boyd’s 52 yard return after they came out in the 2nd half and drove it right down the field for a TD. After his return, we did the very same to them … and regathered the momentum.
2 other keys:
– our run defense was very good
– our QB was much better than theirs (even with his ilness)
Their QB is HORRIBLE. Talent? What talent? Their secondary is HORRIBLE. And who coaches special teams?
Pitt has salvaged a debacle of a season with these last two season ending wins while Miami, in a death spiril, is just about ready to impact the ground in flames! Glad we could help.
Just like last season, this impending minor bowl game that Pitt has earned the right to play in by coming back from the dead, is going to be an extremely important game to rescue this program from future implosion. The difference is that this young team, by next year won’t be so young or inexperienced any more.Just consider some of the major players for the Panthers this season, James, Amara, Maddox, Blair, Wriggins, Jennings (did I miss any true freshmen) were all finishing up their HS studies at this time last year. Now they’re the seasoned Pitt guys who have valuable game time under their belts going into 2015. Same situation concerning game experience goes for a slew of underclassmen that saw their first significant playing time this year as well.
Now, even though we squandered what could have easily been a 8-4 regular season record by not showing up ready to play for EVERY GAME, hopefully these lessons will not be forgotten by these guys who experienced that heartbreak first hand.
Football is such a game of momentum and emotion. Saturday Pitt had both on their side and never relinguished them. That’s how you win football games. What ever bowl game that the Panthers get rewarded with, we need to win that game. This just might be the corner that we’ve all been waiting to turn during HCPC’s tenure.
Don’t forget how we let Iowa back into the game in the second half or how we got pounded by a lessor foe when Akron beat up on us. Remember how easy it was to let both Duke and UNC out of the bag to steal victory from us when we took our I off the ball at the end.
Those memories are invaluable and can serve as building blocks for next season’s campaign. There is hope for a good to great year in 2015 but first we have one more game to win this season. One game at a time.
Hail to Pitt!
That doesn’t speak well for BE vs ACC football.
Using Conner’s legs against Va Tech, probably saved the season and is when our O really started to play well.
The 5 fumble game set a new low point. Also started the woes on D. Had no answers for three games in a row. Lucky that Syracuse flat out is the worst and our guys just wanted it way more than Miami.
Interesting that we beat all old Big East teams, but I think the most telling is we lost to 6 teams with quality QB’s. Mostly due to no pass rush, but also to the ones that could run.
I hope that we use this win to recruit some guys that can get to the QB cause that is the greatest need.
The talent to beat the living crap out of UNC and Duke, two thing we couldn’t do.
Sorry… I don’t believe *their* hype. It’s all smoke and mirrors.
They’re divas .. when something don’t go their way, they quit. Remember last year when the immediately scored on us a few times? They looked like the one of the best around.
This has been their history for past 12 years or so.
FSU had to outscore Miami 13 to 3 in last quarter to win by 4
Spent some time researching it this morning.
ELEVEN of Miami’s 22 starters were listed by Scout as either 4-star or 5-star recruits.
Duke Johnson was rated the 5th-best back in his class. Chickillo was the 3rd-best DE nationally in his class. OL Flowers and Darling were 4-star guys. Kaaya, Dobard, Harris, Perryman, Kirby, Burns and Carter were also 4-stars at their respective positions.
The rest were almost entirely 3-stars with high-level SEC, ACC, Big Ten & Big XII offers.
Those are just the starters; I didn’t look at the rest of the guys who played.
Outside of Boyd, Conner, Clemmings, Holtz and maybe Rotheram and Todd Thomas, I’m not sure anyone in Pitt’s lineup would have cracked the 2-deep on Miami’s depth chart, let alone start there.
Based on pedigree and experience, Pitt probably had no business winning that game. How Miami chose to play is their fault, not Pitt’s.
Okie State (37-31)
Clemson (23-17)
Notre Dame (31-27)
Miami (30-26)
BC (20-17)
Florida (24-19)
None of these teams had a particularly good year.
Okie State has to beat Okla. this week to go 6-6.
Their only wins against rent-a-wins and the only 3 certain bowl-less teams of the Big 12 (Kansas, ISU & TT). Clemson while 9-3, got easily handled by any ranked teams they played, the latest 6-28 to Georgia Tech. ND, lost 5 of their last 6 to go 7-5 having most recently being routed by USC.
Miami, well, we beat them, nothing else be said. So did UVA, 30-13. BC, ditto. Florida played so poorly, they got their coach fired.
So John is right. Saturday’s game was strange in that Kaaya has the best QB rating in the entire ACC, had thrown 23 TD’s to only 11 picks.
But he was pretty terrible against us, when there really wasn’t much pressure even applied to him by our defensive front.
He actually made our secondary look competent. When we all know it isn’t.
Go figure.
You beat us all.
The Canes are like Pitt a Skelton of its
former self. Worst Miami team I rememeber
seeing. However their major supporter
is in prison. A coincidence?
Hoping for the best bowl possible not
in Motown and an opponent from one
of the major conferences.
Also a huge push in the recruiting
front.