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November 16, 2015

Tyler Boyd, Busier Than Ever

Filed under: Football,Numbers,Players — Chas @ 4:58 pm

One of the complaints about the Pitt passing game last year was throwing to Tyler Boyd to the seeming exclusion of all other receivers (especially the tight ends). Those complaints seem to have lessened this year as the tight ends have been much more involved and at least Dontez Ford sees a couple passes a game.

Funny thing, though…

Last year, Tyler Boyd accounted for 41.4% of all receptions (78 of 188). This year he is accounting for only 42.1% of all receptions (69 of 164). Wait. What?

Here are the numbers for Boyd and the leading receivers from last year.

Receiving2014

And this year.

Receiving2015

In 13 games last year, Boyd had an average of 6 receptions/game for 97 yards.

In 9 games for Boyd, his receptions/game is up to 7.84  but his yards/game is down to 77.78. He’s only had one 100+ yard receiving game.

Additionally, Boyd has 28 rushes for 197 yards. Last year: 12 rushes for 63 yards.

Boyd is more active in the offense than ever, but his yardage is way down. Here are the factors probably go into that.

The first, obviously, is the loss of James Conner. Losing a workhorse star back put more pressure on making up that offense anywhere possible. Boyd is the obvious answer.

The next is that Boyd is being used much differently. He is not used nearly as often as a deep threat. Instead, getting more short passes. Teams are so aware of how dangerous he is, they have been extremely willing to give him a huge cushion for relatively short yardage rather than risk getting burned deep. Boyd and the offense have taken advantage of it.

The final difference is last year, Pitt ran the ball nearly 66% of the time on offense (310 passing attempts and 608 rushing). This year, the split is closer to 60-40 (413 rushing [61.3%], 261 passing [38.7%]). That means more opportunities to get the ball to Boyd — and other receivers.

Last year, the team averaged 23.7 pass attempts/game and 46.9 rushing attempts. This year the pass attempts are up to 26.1 while rushes are down to 41.3 per game.

Again, the lower rushing attempts have a lot to do with Conner’s injury. But they also have to do with the change from Chad Voytik to Peterman. Peterman can run, but he does not do it as much as Voytik did.

This is just roughing it out. Anyone so inclined could probably try to put together the number of times Boyd has been targeted. His numbers might be even higher. Or even imagine what they would have been if he had played even a half against YSU.

This increase in workload for Boyd would also explain the perception that is held that Boyd is dropping more passes this year. It might be true in total, but only because he is seeing so many more.

 

 

 





Boyd is having a good year, just not a “Boyd” type year. He also didn’t get put the list today, he was left out.

Comment by bj 11.17.15 @ 2:42 pm

wbb… funny you pulled out those two examples. Bryant was a selfish, douche bag, ahole who probably was much more interested in the individual award. Fitz was, and still is, a phenomenal WR, great teammate and person. I would guess he was more interested in the team, but was happy to pick up the award along the way.

That was kinda my point. You hope every player is focused on team goals and doing what’s best for the team to win. If individual accolades come as a result, all the better.

Comment by Pitt89 11.17.15 @ 2:43 pm

TT, a year of experience usually means a lot in college football. One reason I thought Voytik would hold his job. Obviously the coaching change had a lot to do with it. Also, at least to me underperformed starting the season.

I don’t see a change next year without an injury.

I do see a lot of upside with better pass protection and run production, both to be expected with a maturing offensive line.

The real question to me is can Narduzzi find some more impact defenders to go along with Whitehead. Hendrix should be one. If Price gets another year and Edwards is good, we may have a real pressure D-line. Will also be interesting to see how fast our two freshman linebackers mature.

Comment by gc 11.17.15 @ 2:45 pm

Tyler is a tremendous and rare talent. But the NFL has lots of guys with extraordinary skill. Tyler will only be limited by how hard he works, how strong he gets, how he takes care of his body and how hard he studies. Take a page out of Antonio Brown’s off-season and in-season playbook and the sky is the limit for him.

Comment by htp123 11.17.15 @ 2:45 pm

gc – I agree it will most likely be NP but I don’t think that will detract Pitt from looking around at who is available. After seeing this year’s QB battle nothing will surprise me as I also thought it was very unlikely that Voytik would be unseated. Narduzzi is on record as saying he wants an explosive defense and offense. Nothing i’ve seen from NP indicates explosive in the near future.

He only has one more year so not playing him isn’t really a big deal especially when I think Pitt’s still not quite ready to take the next step. The talent gap between them and Clemson, Florida St and even UNC is pretty steep but closing.

So while NP has played okay he hasn’t made himself untouchable or knocked it out of the park. He should be better next year as you said, but how much better? I just don’t see a big leap.

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 11.17.15 @ 2:54 pm

wbb – Sure I get your point. In retrospect if the one win means nothing, i.e. Pinstripe Bowl or Belk Bowl vs. the difference between winning a division or not, then I can understand that sentiment. I would just hope that wasn’t on the player’s mind mid-season or mid-game.

Comment by Iron Duke 11.17.15 @ 2:57 pm

TT, I think there is just as much a chance of Peterman making a big leap. He seems to be seeing the field better and is making better decisions. All this comes with experience, and more importantly time to throw and guys that get open and make catches. Also a great running game makes play action much easier.

Ibrahim has two years of eligibility left, he has some skills that none of our current guys showed this year. Hopefully he will be healthy.

Comment by gc 11.17.15 @ 3:06 pm

Comment by Upittbaseball 11.17.15 @ 3:15 pm

gc – Ibrahim will be huge next year. Same with a Miles Sanders flip.

I just don’t see it with NP. He doesn’t pass the look test IMO. I think he’ll be in the same position that Voytik was this year. The incumbent so the de facto starter but not untouchable.

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 11.17.15 @ 3:16 pm

I got a nice gift in the mail yesterday from Reed and BigB(ernie)! H2P!

Comment by 2$Chuck 11.17.15 @ 3:16 pm

Tossing. Not sure what you are talking about. NP is one of the best QBs to play here in recent memory. His arm is plenty strong to throw deep square outs and 25 yard passes deep across the middle. You must be thinking Dan Marino is coming back to play at Pitt. I can assure you he is not.

Comment by Rayhpgh 11.17.15 @ 3:26 pm

Rayhpgh – I agree with you to a certain extent but I would put NP is behind Palko, Rutherford, Savage, Pistol Pete Gonzalez and Stull in modern era Pitt football.

My point with NP is more about not maintaining the status quo at Pitt. If Pitt wants to take a step forward and be mentioned with the Clemson’s and FSU’s, NP isn’t going to cut it. I just don’t see the explosive offense Narduzzi wants with him at the helm.

It’s not going to happen next year anyways so I don’t see any drawbacks to yet again starting a new QB.

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 11.17.15 @ 3:44 pm

@Upitt

Thanks for the pics. I can’t say that I find her(?) quite as attractive as you maybe do. But, she does seem to have a nice personality. 🙂

Glad that you (the new almost mellow Upitt) are with us I know that the hoops season is going to test you.

And, we never got to a UVA baseball game together last spring. Maybe in 2016. You promised to show me what Pitt needs to do to improve its ballpark.

H2P

Comment by pmdH2P 11.17.15 @ 3:54 pm

Ray – I’ll agree with that. Chaney handcuffed Peterman with his playcalling in the first five games and didn’t call any plays that had deep receivers as the primary targets. That left the deep choice only after he went through at least his 1st and 2nd progressions and the OL wasn’t affording him the time to wait that long to pass the ball.

The only poor play I’ve seen out of Peterman at all this season was the 1st half of the ND game and even then there were three drops on larger yardage plays – one of which would have been a TD for sure.

But he sure stunk the joint out then and his 3-18 passing in that half drags down his stats considerably. However, that is the only extended period of play where I can review at and say he played poorly.

I too think he’s going to do well, maybe much better, next season and I personally don’t feel there is a chance in hell of Voytik or DiNucci or Bertke taking his starting job away from him. I doubt we’ll be looking at a grad transfer in because when a team usually does that it is to bolster the QB depth at the position – but Pitt will have Peterman & Voytik and two other kids at the position. Narduzzi will stick with NP & CV and save that scholarship for someone else.

I also doubt Voytik is going to transfer anywhere. If he goes to a D1 school he has to sit out a season then compete with other D1 scholarship QBs already on that school’s roster. I’m not sure he’s good enough to do that. Remember he got the Pitt job by default as there was no other valid competition at the position – Trey Anderson was never going to be a starter here.

So then his choice would be to go down in Division and do what Mark Myers did – but Myers did that early enough that the staff at John Carroll, his new school, knew they would have him for three years… that won’t be the case with Voytik, he’ll have only one wherever he goes. I just don’t see him doing it.

Just as I think that Voytik would probably still have the job had he had a 8+ win season last year; Peterman will have the job next year with this winning season under his belt.

Comment by Reed 11.17.15 @ 3:54 pm

Reed…thank you for some Peterman love. Many on this board simply think he’s beenjust standing there and the rest of the team is responsible for the 7 wins.

While he’s been a terrific game manager ( no turnovers since Iowa), he made at least 3 NFL throws vs Duke.

A lot of his Notre Dame first half problems had to do with the entire O line being pushed back in his face….and dropped passes from receivers who found the moment too big for them.

I dare say we would not be 7-3 with any other Pitt QB.

Comment by Dan 72 11.17.15 @ 4:17 pm

I think CV moves on, whether it be sub-division or not. He just strikes me as someone who wants to play.

To be clear, I never said NP played poorly. I just said he’s a game manager and I don’t see much play making upside. I was clearly wrong in the QB battle and the best QB won.

That doesn’t mean Pitt should settle though. I haven’t heard much about Bertke so I don’t expect much from him. I would think on the currently roster DiNucci is his biggest competition.

I expect NP to start but I would no be surprised if it’s another Pitt player or a grad transfer at the helm either.

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 11.17.15 @ 5:16 pm

Dan – I can’t deny that a more aggressive defense helps. But here is a real difference key from Voytik’s ’14 season to Peterman’s ’15 season to date:

After 10 complete games our rushing offense produced this:

’14 – 2780 yards for a 5.4 ypc with 253.4 yards per game and 27 TDs

’15 – 1798 yards for a 4.4 ypc with 179.8 yards per game and 15 TDs

So – this year we are minus (-)982 rushing yards, (-)1.0 yards per carry, (-)73.6 yard per game and (-)12 TDs short of last season.

Anyone who wants to look at our offense’s total yardage and points production last season and say Voytik was responsible for that output is just wrong. Peterman is playing with a huge handicap in not having any sort of a solid running game behind him.

Hell, Peterman’s down 12 TDs because of that rushing drop off already. If we would have had that alone we’d be at least 9-1 at this point.

Comment by Reed 11.17.15 @ 5:31 pm

Reed, you’re right.

Conner is a DIFFERENCE Maker.

Comment by PittofDreams 11.17.15 @ 5:52 pm

But thank goodness for Jordan Whitehead… the PLAY-Maker!

Comment by PittofDreams 11.17.15 @ 5:55 pm

raypgh, don’t overestimate NP’s arm strength ….his long balls seems to hang. And I think that may be the reason has ‘handcuffed’ him o throwing long (per Reed). It was obvious if you were at the game the other day that the Duke QB threw the long ball much better than NP.

pitt89, the reason I used those 2 examples are that they are the 2 Biletnkoff winners that Pitt had. It’s funny that Bryant came here as an unknown and turned into a diva … while Fitz was a legit 4 star and maintained his humility.

However, it needs to be noted that Fitz was accused by his child’s mother of abuse about 7 years ago .. which as ultimately swept under the rug.

Comment by wbb 11.17.15 @ 5:56 pm

Would Voytik be able to transfer to D1 without sitting out if he graduates early? Not sure on that.

NP has an odd motion, almost a straight arm guide, if you will. If he had to throw, short under cut routes across the middle, I could see many passes being knocked down. Surprisingly we don’t run many short crossing routes. He has done a great job this year and we are a better team with him than without him.

What about Bertke? Does he transfer or does he have a shot. There were questions about Dinucci traveling with the team and I think he was being rewarded. The Werner videos of practice just show the three qb’s only, although it is a small sample size.

Comment by dhuffdaddy 11.17.15 @ 5:58 pm

NP transferred here without sitting because he graduated at UT. If CV graduates this spring, he can transfer anywhere he wants without sitting.

Comment by wbb 11.17.15 @ 6:09 pm

duff, I made the observation the other day that NP seems to guide his long throws

Comment by wbb 11.17.15 @ 6:12 pm

Bertke was my choice for the Starting job until Peterman came along.

Bottom line… little disagreement now (except for maybe Emel) as to just how OVER-RATED Voytik was. Came from a SMALL High School in Tennessee. Scouts actually TOUTED his arm which we now know is AVERAGE at Best. Couple in the fact that he NEVER LEAD his HS Team to a Championship. REALLY good HS QBs usually do that.

A lot of people on this Blog know that I was never a big Voytik fan. But I did a 180 and rooted for the Kid going into the Season based upon the improvement he showed late in the Season a year ago.

Unfortunately, Voytik made it very clear early on that he really wasn’t the Starter… and Chryst wasn’t around any longer to protect him.

Now, Bertke accomplished all the things in HS Lthat you expect of a REALLY good QB. Lead his HS Team to a Championship… NOT once… but THREE TIMES. And we’re talking about a HS not too much smaller than Voytik’s.

Granted, Bertke does have a bit of an ODD Sidearm Delivery. And there must some reason in Narduzzi’s mind why we haven’t seen him, not even for one play.

But a WINNER is a Winner. My support for Bertke was based MORE on that simple fact… than anything else including his being 6-6.

All of this withstanding… Peterman has clearly earned himself deserving of remaining the Starter. The Kid is showing himself to be someone with a more than a little ICE WATER in his veins and enough Athletic Ability to get the job done both on the Ground and in the Air… despite an apparently awkward throwing motion which frankly I don’t see.

Comment by PittofDreams 11.17.15 @ 6:36 pm

Reed: At your 10:48 post above where you showed us how much better a QB NP is than CV, but you forgot the other half of the story – the other half that CV didn’t enjoy last year. That being:
The D held Iowa to 6 2nd half points (we scored 21;
GT scored 7 second half points (we scored 10);
Da Cuse scored 2 (?) second half points (we scored 13;
Duke scored 3 second half points (we scored 21).

The D has been terrific in the 2nd half; the O has been OK.

I would contend that without this defense, we’re looking at last year’s record — if we are really lucky!! I really believe that the D (and the defensive coaching/halftime adjustments) is much more responsible for our record, than the play of anyone on the offense!

Comment by Savannah Panther 11.17.15 @ 7:23 pm

NP did not have a very good first half at Duke. I was there. He did much better the 2 nd half. When we had a big lead with 6 minutes or so left in the 4th quarter.. I felt CV should have been given some meaningful snaps. Hell he is only one play from being the starter. If you don’t believe me ask Joe Biden..

Comment by BigB 11.17.15 @ 8:17 pm

Just a random note about “games we’re supposed to win.” The only games in that category this year are YSU and Akron. A solid D1 power 5 team really should win those games. No one at Akron or YSU put those down as “supposed to win” games. Did Georgia Tech, Va Tech, and Duke fans think their team was “supposed to win” the Pitt game? Just as much as Pitt was supposed to beat them. I had as much confidence Pitt would beat Iowa and UNC as I did they would beat anyone else.

Yes, the Glorious Old Pitt (“GOP”) should beat everybody on the schedule. That’s coming.

Comment by CA-Yinzer 11.18.15 @ 2:12 am

PittofDreams I agree that a quarterback that wins championships shows a winning mentality, regardless of how strong his arm is.

Comment by OhHowIhateOhioState 11.18.15 @ 5:22 am

I think this staff has already acquired the bandaid of a graduate transfer to shore up an understaffed QB position with Peterman now here and starting. I see CV either sticking around for his fifth year here, if not asked to graduate by the coaching staff to make another scholly available, which I doubt will happen or more realistically CV if he has earned his diploma by the spring simply graduates on his on and decides to move on with his life.

Even when he was our entrenched starter few here felt that he was an excellent Div 1 QB. His best attributes were his leadership abilities, toughness, and loyalty to his team. Considering that loyalty aspect, I think he remains at Pitt next year and competes with the reserves for the backup spot again next year.

Now with both Bertke & DiNucci having a year in the Chaney system and MacVittie coming in next fall, why would Chaney undermine the perceived confidence that he should be showing towards those guys by bringing in yet again another grad transfer? Don’t see that at all.

Next year we’ll never know who actually has won the competition for the back up spot unless NP gets hurt. That’s because even if mop up duties go to a reserve QB next season I feel Chaney would give game time to an untested player like Beetke or DiNucci rather than the known entity of CV, even though Chad might get the nod if NP were to go down with an injury.

Comment by Dr. Tom 11.18.15 @ 6:32 am

Keeping with the articles title, I believe the Tyler Boyd show at Pitt is not over. He has two regular season games this year in front of HIS hometown crowd. Look for an electric finish carrying this team to W’s and thanking this city for supporting his career at Pitt.

Louisville will double team him when he is a WR, but not when he is a RB or QB. Many options to get the ball into our best player’s hands this Saturday.

Aaron Mathews and Lamont Wade from Clairton will be watching. We’re due for a Pat Signal.

HTP!

Comment by Erie Express 11.18.15 @ 6:42 am

I’m with Dr. Tom…I don’t think PITT brings in another grad transfer at QB for 2016. There are other positions that could use an upgrade more than QB.

Comment by PittPT 11.18.15 @ 7:32 am

Erie – with the season Boyd has had it would be hard pressed to assume he’ll be back for a fourth year – but that might happen.

As I said earlier in the season when Conner went down, the NCAA has a special insurance policy for ‘exceptional athletes’ that covers injury that stops a football (or any sport) career.

If he were to come back and have a monster season his draft status would be that much better… along with James Conner’s should he return.

I don’t know about Boyd but I think Conner has to return to set himself up for the draft and to show the nFL scouts he’s recovered from the injury. That is why I also think he’s shortsighted if he plays again at all this season.

Comment by Reed 11.18.15 @ 8:18 am

Here’s “FAST”… Jordan Whitehead being described by Andre Powell, a veteran Runningbacks Coach who’s been around more than a few future NFL Playmakers.

“He’s just a fast guy. We try to get him the ball and put him in space, try not to over coach him, just let him go,” Powell said.

“He made some plays where he probably did the wrong thing, but his speed was the eraser, negated the issue of not going into the right hole.”

********

Comment by PittofDreams 11.18.15 @ 8:21 am

So long SOP.
Hello SNP (Sensational New Pitt)

Comment by Panther Fan in Hoopieland 11.18.15 @ 8:21 am

I hate that two 9-1 teams are ahead of two 10-0 teams in the playoff poll. Especially ND who does not have to play in a conference championship game. At least Clemson, Alabama, and tOSU have to beat a strong rival to get there.

What if UNC beats Clemson, then they would have the same record as ND and ND lost to Clemson.

The conferences should stonewall ND, then they would be forced to join one.

Will we see an undefeated team not get in?

Comment by gc 11.18.15 @ 8:26 am

Savannah Panther – we can do this all day I think:

Iowa Loss – Offense scored 3 points in 2nd half

Akron Loss – offense scored 3 points in 2nd half

UVA Loss – Defense gave up zero points in 2nd half

The bottom line is that in those games our offense didn’t score enough points in the 2nd half of those games to win them. They were all close games at the half and even giving up some points on defense there were two games right there against Iowa and Akron that we should have won had our offense moved the ball downfield and scored TDs.

Maybe we could look at the first three games these guys played as starters (or games when when they took the majority of the snaps in Peterman’s case).

Voytik played against Delaware; BC & FIU – not exactly Murders Row. Voytik’s stats in those three games were:

29/60 436 yards; 43%, 5 TDs and 2 INTs = 130.2 QB Rating

Peterman played against Akron, Iowa and VT – much tougher opponents than CV’s first three. Peterman’s stats in those three games were:

41/62 477 yards; 66%, 4 TDs and 3 INTs = 142.3 QB Rating.

Both of those kids had just about the same playing experience before going into their respective seasons… with Peterman having a bit more with 20 pass attempts to Voytik’s 11.

But I’m posting this stuff about the two QBs not to show that CV was a poor QB, that isn’t my intent at all. I think he progressed very well during 2014 and I was really looking forward to seeing what he would do as a 2nd year starter in 2015. My point is to show that the decision to sit him down – however that decision was arrived at – was a good one for the team.

Peterman has pretty soundly outplayed Voytik at respective points in their first seasons whether it be the first three games or the first ten games.

Comment by Reed 11.18.15 @ 9:01 am

Reed – my point was not to say that CV should be playing – that is a coaching decision. He (they) have way more knowledge, practice sessions, etc than me and should make that judgement/decision. Heck, I’m the first to say that CV is not the best fit for Chaney’s system. (He was, after all, recruited to play an option offense. Certainly not “Basketball on Turf”!)I’m all for who they start/play.

My point is that we have seen – numerous times on this blog – that posters get critized for using stats to “prove” their point: i.e. “stats can be used to prove anything”.

Yet when someone wants to justify NP, they do exactly that – show one side of the stats, only. That really ticks me off, and I feel I must point that out whenever I can see an opposite side.

Truth be known, I like Chad a lot, and I think he brings a lot to the table that NP doesn’t. BUT, I think NP brings a lot to the table that Chad doesn’t (as has been cited on this blog ad infinitum!).

This is OCJC’s decision, as is the game plan, and play selection. I try not to critize OCJC for what takes place on the field, as he has these guys everyday, and knows what each is capable of. I try to remember that his (OCJC) job depends on 18-23 year olds’ performance – not a great position for job security. And I think he’s done a great job thus far with a team that was recruited for an entirely different offense.

Obviously there has been a whole lot of teaching going on since the first of the year, and I think we are seeing continual improvement week by week. I commend the coaching staff for installing their systems with these guys – at the same time, I’d like to critize them for trying to put square pegs in round holes! But I can’t have it both ways.

Hell, we are 7-3, and have a real shot at 8 or 9 wins. I guessed 8-4 in the summer, but thought I was way out of bounds! These guys know what the heck they are doing! and I am in their corner, all the way. I’m satisfied if we end up with 7 wins this year (no comment, TT!).

Just don’t use half the stats in order to prove a point!

Comment by Savannah Panther 11.18.15 @ 9:44 am

Yesterday I questioned whether the money being spent for the Steelers at the Southside facility (from UPMC) would benefit us. In case you missed it, this is from Sam Werner’s article in today’s PP-G

NOTE — Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes expressed approval for the Steelers’ plans for a $10 million renovation to their South Side practice facility, which is shared with Pitt. Barnes noted that the Panthers will specifically benefit from a renovated hydrotherapy area, a new lobby, as well as an overall facelift to the indoor practice field.

“Absolutely, as [Steelers president] Art [Rooney] was looking at those renovations, he and I sat down and he walked me through what he was doing, and we looked at somewhere where we might partner,” Barnes said. “That’s what this is.”

H2P

Comment by pmdH2P 11.18.15 @ 10:37 am

I’m with you on that, Savannah. The square pegs analogy is spot-on. Anytime I criticized NP was primarily due to the offense that he was asked to run. If we are going to dink-and-dunk out of the pistol, why did we rock the boat by replacing CV with a first-year starter? Is the offensive line that bad that we can’t go downfield?

Obviously NP is the better all-around QB — anyone who doubts that just needs to watch how he drove against Iowa. I just want the offense to open it up downfield more since we have a great talent at WR, good TE’s, and a QB that should be able to get them the ball.

Comment by 2$Chuck 11.18.15 @ 10:53 am

In the ACC 2015:
Pitt #11 Total Offense, Passing, Receiving
Pitt #7 Rushing
In the ACC 2014
Pitt #6 Total Offense Pitt #11 Passing
Pitt #3 Rushing Pitt#10 Receiving.

Perhaps Pitt’s record is due to a much better defense. CV and NP seem to be about the same without parsing within an inch of my life.
I liked CV because he was/is a Pitt man. he was recruited and chose to come to Pitt. NP is here because of McRib and that he could not make it at UT. I think CV will leave, if not he will be 3rd team Pitt needs to bring along a QB for the future. CV gets in the way.

Comment by pittlc 11.18.15 @ 10:56 am

I say give Notre Dame the same treatment that TCU got last year. Let them stay in the top 4 until the conference championship weekend, then let one of the conference champions push them out at the last second and give them some incentive to join a conference.

The Big 12 is foolish to not add a conference championship game after what happened to TCU last year. Until they do, I’m fine with the conference champions of the ACC, Big 10, SEC, and Pac-12 being the 4 teams in the playoff.

Comment by Hank the Tank 11.18.15 @ 10:57 am

So what are the chances Pitt plays State Penn in the Pinstripe Bowl? ESPN predicts Pitt will play in New York this December. Could we actually get the dream matchup a year early?

Comment by MidWestPanther 11.18.15 @ 12:36 pm

Hank,
Big 12 can’t add a championship game . With 10 members NCAA currently does not allow a conference championship game. Big 12 needs to add two new members, which waters down members share of Conference revenues or NCAA needs to waive its rule. Waiving of rule could impact Pitt in the ACC, eliminating the need for two divisions could open the doors for the ACC to select the two highest ranked teams for championship game.

Comment by Spindler's Spirit 11.18.15 @ 1:17 pm

Hank The Tank: I like it!! But I say, let Stanford beat nd, and remove ALL doubt!!

Comment by Savannah Panther 11.18.15 @ 1:25 pm

A longer story by Werner about the enhancements to the facility. link to post-gazette.com

H2P

Comment by pmdH2P 11.18.15 @ 1:27 pm

Spindler — thanks for the clarification. Just trying to put myself in the shoes of the fans of a team in the Big 12.

I would want to add the 2 teams asap and get that conference championship. Memphis and Houston seem to fit right into their region. It would take some time, but get it going so that your teams aren’t getting excluded from the playoff just because there isn’t a conference championship.

Comment by Hank the Tank 11.18.15 @ 1:27 pm

Savannah — I love the sounds of that…and it is a real possibility…maybe even likely. I’ll enjoy every second of it.

Comment by Hank the Tank 11.18.15 @ 1:29 pm

Tyler Boyd will be declaring for the NFL draft soon enough. Just enjoy his final three games in a Panther uniform before he goes out into the professional arena to prove how good a player he really is.

Now James Conner? Now that’s an intrequing subject. Does Conner show up again this year, if not does another season at Pitt make sense? Well, does Miles Sanders flip from psu? So many variables!

One important thing to consider however for those that continue to preach the issue of the finite life of a RB in the NFL. This guy James Conner has only played two seasons of football in college.

Comment by Dr. Tom 11.18.15 @ 6:31 pm

MidWest Panther,
Pitt PSU would be great…but as a SoCal resident, I’d love to see Pitt-USC. Based on what I’ve seen, Pitt could beat the Trojans, and El Paso is much healthier for those of us who have become hot house flowers in our absence from Pitt. Plus, it would be a chance to shake off another demon–0-3.

Comment by CA-Yinzer 11.18.15 @ 8:08 pm

There are only so many touches in an nfl running back. I can’t see him (although personally I would like to)returning for another year at Pitt. He will be a great ambassador for Pitt football for many years to come and will help in our recruiting as well.

DTom brings up a really good point. If Sanders is seriously contemplating a flip, it will be important for him to know that Conner will be leaving after this year. If I was the Pitt Administration, I would put in the contract with Sanders that we will not block him from any school if he decides to transfer. If I was Duzzi, I would also put in there that if I leave, you will be able to transfer to any school without blocking said transfer. These kids can get this into their aid deals, right? It would be a great recruiting advantage if we could do that. Most big time coaches, restrict player movement once the player becomes disgruntled. I would take the problem and turn it into a strength….within the rules of course, but I think control over transfers falls to the coach/administration.

Also, offer a 4 year grant in aid and not a series of one year renewables as is currently the practice of most schools. A skoach tired so this may be hogwash!

Comment by dhuffdaddy 11.18.15 @ 8:27 pm

@gc, this is late reply from a day or two ago, but, point taken (no pun intended) on points Duke scored with Sirk at qb.

Comment by Dan 11.19.15 @ 10:53 am

@gc again. As for your 1 loss playoff teams, couldn’t agree more.

I have no inside info, have not read anything, but when you put everything in the basket, all the reading, vibes etc. etc. and pull something out,

I say the 8 team playoff will be coming sooner than later.

I think the 4 team thing is contracted for 10 or 15 years (not sure, just a guess from something I remember seeing last year)

Maybe it’s 5 years??

but I would not be surprised if they don’t move it to 8 if not next year, the year after.

I have believed 8 is right number all along.

I know some may say, if you move it to 8, then
#9 and #10 will be bitching. My personal opinion, is football is a lot different than hoops. In college football, I think most of us know that the top team in the country is one of the top 5 or 6, teams that really set themselves apart from the others.

Not like hoops where, there are some dominant teams like Kentucky has put out, but really, over the years, there are about 20 or 25 teams that could win the tourney. (most years when Calipari doesn’t have his squad of NBA players.)

Anyhow, I really can’t see a #9 or #10 team with maybe even 2 losses bitching that much. They will, sure.

They certainly won’t have as much credibility as a #5 team being left out of the playoffs now.

So, I think 8 teams will be coming, and that is where it will settle for quite awhile.

Comment by Dan 11.19.15 @ 11:12 am

5 Conference Champinons
1 top ranked of the “group of 5” smaller confrncs
2 at large bids.

Comment by Dan 11.19.15 @ 11:13 am

No #9 team in the history of our polling system ever tried to lay claim to a national title. That said, BYU and Boise back in the day were ranked 6-8th and caused a lot of noise for being left out of the conversation. Been a proponent for 8 teams since the discussion started.

The powerhouses, Alabama, OSU, etc. want to keep it at 4 because it benefits them. By putting it at 8, it increases the difficulty of their cream puff scheduling. For the most part over the last 5 years, OSU only needed to show up twice per year. Michigan St and the big10 Championship game. Alabama only had Auburn and occasionally LSU.

Expand to 8 is coming in 2-3 years. They are just figuring out how to maximize the $$$ right now.

Dan, I disagree with you on your formula. To me, it is the best 8. Just because you are in a conference, doesn’t get you a spot. A 3 loss PAC12 team should never be in the final 8, yet this year it would be very possible for that to occur under the scenario. I think a conference champ gets you a bonus point, but that is it for tiebreakers. I think the antiquated BCS rankings with a Committee oversight/vote group would be a good way of running it.

I want the best teams to play, period. Regardless of conference affiliation. I would also like to keep on their current schedule. When teams don’t play for 4-5 weeks, you aren’t getting the best team at the end of the year. They are not as sharp when they push out the season.

Comment by dhuffdaddy 11.19.15 @ 12:48 pm

@dhuffdaddy, I can agree with that, I think I was just looking for the easy way out.

Agreed on the best 8.

If you went to 8, they would start at least a week earlier, just because of the numbers.

No, can’t be pushed back any further. Never understood how they let that get that way, the waiting 45 days to play a game.

Do you have any idea, or seen anything on how the people pick the top 4??

Is it they just each give a rankings and determine the combined rankings.

I would hope they wouldn’t be able to vote for anyone they had an affiliation with.

Also, I hope it’s not some bull session where people try to convince others.

I guess that would be good in some respects, to get some points across, or hidden stat or something no one has thought of.

But I hate to think there are cheerleaders in the group trying to push for their own agenda.

Comment by Dan 11.19.15 @ 7:20 pm

link to collegefootballplayoff.com

Answers to my own questions.

Comment by Dan 11.19.15 @ 7:23 pm

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