Pitt begins a bit of a redemption tour this Saturday when Youngstown State comes to Heinz. This is the first of three games against opponents that embarrassed Pitt during the post-Wannstedt era of mediocrity. First up is the aforementioned YSU squad that defeated Chryst in his first ever game as a head coach. Next up is Akron, whose defeat of Pitt last year is far and away the most confusing loss since Bowling Green in 2008. Last but not least is Iowa, a team with two fourth quarter comebacks in their last two games against Pitt.
Sadly given Pitt’s recent history, these games are important to change the perception of the program. An Iowa loss is forgivable but anything less than a sound defeat of YSU and Akron will hinder Narduzzi’s ability to demonstrate progress. Pitt only has one home game (Virginia on October 10th) after this Saturday until the Thursday before Halloween. With tough road games against VT and GT in that time frame, starting off 3-0 will be vital to ensure Pitt doesn’t fall prey to another six win season. Anything less than 2-1 will make a bowl game a difficult goal.
Make no mistake; Pitt is not in position to give the new staff a transition year mulligan. Narduzzi doesn’t necessarily have to lead the team to the ACC championship game, but another six win season will be met with “same old Pitt” ovations. Narduzzi and his staff have made a lot of headway with recruiting and progress is key to continuing that.
The recent addition of Therran Coleman is a good sign of things to come due to who Pitt beat out for his services. Despite all of the connections, Pitt has not done well with City League players recently, including Coleman’s Brashear HS which has been more foe than friend. With top targets like Damar Hamlin, Aaron Mathews, Kazeon Pugh, and Khaleke Hudson, a successful 8 or 9 win season could be the catalyst towards adding a majority of the top local talent. Miss out on all of them and a quick jump to ACC contender becomes a lot more difficult. Win now and show local talent looking at PSU and WVU that you can stay home and compete on a big stage. No more “maybe next year” or “if they can just…” crap.
If the goal is to win ACC titles, start off by exorcising the demons of the past. That starts at 1pm on Saturday.
One other thing I will be ver interested in is HCPN’s in game, pressure coaching decisions….time-outs, down and distance, etc. Improvement there will be huge over what we dealt with the last two years where Paul seemed confused and indecisive at crucial moments……or, maybe it was just the look on his face.
Am I wrong about Iowa?
any hope for successful season is rooted in a 2-0 start.
In the YSU game we will have only one All-American and you can bet the Penguins will stack the box and shadow Mr. Conner. What OC Chaney does and how the team exicutes this plan will tell us a lot. Do new WR’s step up or TE have a role? What can Voytik do on the roll or with a read option to run? Is there another back ready to make a splash?
On the D side stopping their run will be the first challenge. I would like to see some turnovers and the aggressive play we have been teased about. And finally how will the secondary handle the one on one situations?
Thank goodness for ESPN 3 for those of us who can’t make the game. Go Pitt!
This is game scares the shit out of me.
Please PN help us erase the SOP with a decisive win that sadly will tell us nothing about this team (see Deleware game last year)
Iowa is a must win.
It’s easy to get up for the big games against elite competition, I mention our success over ND as example, but as mentioned above, playing down to your competition is a malady of a team that fails to enter games with that killer instinct determined to put a 100% effort out on the field irrespective of the opposition present on the other side of the LOS.
Nard Dawg strikes me as the type of individual that will yank slackers from the starting line up and give the two deep an opportunity to contribute if the back up is more motivated to give it his all. I hope that this results in a team spirit that creates a team attitude that produces going away wins against inferior foes.
Make no mistake about it, even the most prepared ready to play YSU team that Pelini can assemble on Saturday is overmatched by our Panther team, even with the absence of Boyd & Blair. Plus our depth will come into play as well especially if the weather is as hot as Saturday is predicted. Anything less than a Delaware type domination by the Panthers is a bad omen suggesting that Narduzzi has failed in his attempt to inject that warriors spirit into his squad.
Talk is cheap. We’ve all heard the hype from multiple sources how the goal for this year is grabbing the ACC C pastel crown, well talk time is about over and come Saturday it’s time to back it up with a decisive win. If you are going to beat teams like VT, GT and Miami, then you better come out strong, and as Narduzzi said, “play with a little anger” against YSU.
All these senior captains have to do is relate the humiliation to the younger guys of how YSU came in and embarrassed them 3 years ago to instill some real payback motivation for this game. No more excuses, no more SOP, no more wait till next year. Next year begins on Saturday. Bring it!
I agree w/ the above that the WAY we win, if we win, is the key. We don’t have to score 45+ points and I don’t think we will. But if we come out with a solid start to finish in-control game and win by 13+ points I’ll consider that a very good start given the circumstances I laid out in that ‘Predictions” article.
On defense, there is absolutely no reason why our massive DTs shouldn’t cause havoc to YSU’s run game, forcing YSU to try and beat a more aggressive secondary.
What I’m interested to see is how the defense stacks up against the short passes over the middle, where teams have been very comfortable the past couple years. Additionally, I want to see some of the younger guys at WR and the speed and skillset that group brings to the table.
I’m also interested in seeing the game management skills of the entire Pitt coaching staff. Hope NOT to see any deer in the headlights looks on the faces of any of our guys on Saturday. Or for that matter any WTF play calls that leave me smh.
H2P!!!
YSU will be stacking the line, so hopefully CV starts out sharp and our receivers and tight ends take advantage.
You all know this but…Pitt fans suffer from some type of afflication where we can’t allow ourselves to get too excited because of a series of massive disappointments. I’ve been greatly amused by the scoffing balk at Tossing’s 10-2 prediction (which I agree is our ceiling).
That said, we’re a Power 5 school with an above average offense. We’re going to do fine against YSU and we’re going to crush Akron. I predict a 60-20 combined score. Iowa is a legit program though and we’ve got to play good ball to beat them.
On offense without CV’s security blanket TB playing YSU will load up against the run and force Chad and the receivers to show their worth. I’m looking forward to seeing which of the receivers step up.
I see this being a close game early with Pitt’s depth coming through in the second half to win by 20+. But I’m hoping for a runaway blowout with our starters out by the third quarter. But it’s Pitt, so you never know.
HTP
But really, the roster, and the entire coaching staff has been completely turned over from the one that laid an egg a few years ago.
I look for this team to follow the script that Cowher used to deploy with a young Ben Roethlisberger…
Throw early to get ahead, and lean on a ground game powered by an All American to chew away time and shorten the games.
Hope the students are getting geeked up. Only home game for a while.
Plus RibFest!
Since 2010, Iowa is 34-30 overall and 19-21 in the Big Ten. We all know what can happen in rivalry games, but this team lost to a terrible Iowa State (2-10) team at home last year. Even though this game is at night, I still like the Panthers.
Pitt is going to be an above average ACC team. I look to go 3-0, and head into VTech with momentum and an extra week to prepare for the Hokies.
A new day is dawning fellas. Enjoy it.
Offensively, their line is big and they have played together for a year or two. Not many injuries. I would expect them to come out and throw a play action bomb if they get the ball first. That accomplishes a few things. It immediately tests Pitts. Will he be alright? They kept their OL coach and OC from the last time we played. Should be some film out there!
Blowout, probably not. We are down two starters. Not an excuse, just facts. Excited for the season to start
You think Narduzzi doesn’t know the signifigance of starting his career against the program his father built?
You think he doesn’t know who’s coaching the other team?
You think he dosen’t know what happened to Chryst in his first game?
The boys will be ready to play, man. And they will over match YSU and treat them like the turds that they are.
The motivation to win now is there, and our HC has the passion and drive. The big question is, can PN bring the rest of his staff and the Pitt players along for this tough, fun and bumpy ride.
I say yes. As a fan, I believe PN has what it takes to lead a winning program. Is this the year it all starts? PN inherited a very talented offense, not without some flaws. He is trusting his OC Chaney to steer that train to 40 points per game.
Can PN transform the defense so the close games end with W’s? Last year’s Out-House D was confusing for the players and frustrating for us fans. This year, we hear a lot about the simplicity of the new D – will the frustration go away for us fans? I think some of that already has disappeared when House left town and the new staff moved in. Now we’ll see if the players that were left behind can hold the opponent to under 35 points per game – nothing spectacular, just enough to win ball games at a higher rate than the last five years.
We need a good showing on Saturday by our players, coaches and fans. Pound the Penguins and we check off the first goal of this season.
Have fun at the opening game – I know I plan to – there is a different buzz around this team for me and I’ve been a die hard fan since Hugh Green dominated.
HTP!