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November 24, 2018

3:30 pm

ESPN

Happy post-Thanksgiving. Family has been a bit overwhelming this week. Starting to unwind from it all. I hope. Well, sort of. Have to be out all day right up until gametime.

If this were the NFL, then this would be a meaningless game. Pitt would be locked into their opening round opponent. Everything is set. This would be the game where fans and media debate the value of resting starters and making sure everyone is healthy for next week’s game.

Thankfully, this isn’t the NFL.

Yes, Pitt still goes to Charlotte to face Clemson next week, no matter what the outcome. Yes, Pitt has won the Coastal Division outright (that feels really good to type). And yes, even if Pitt were to pull off the biggest upset next week it would not put Pitt in the College Football Playoffs.

This is college football in all its flawed glory. Pitt winning today keeps them in the national rankings — Playoffs, Coaches and Writers. It puts Pitt in better position to have the ACC leverage the relationships to ensure Pitt goes to a higher profile bowl. It means getting to 8 wins before games #13 and #14. It means more swagger for closing in the recruiting cycles.

And let’s not forget. It means beating Miami.

We aren’t rivals with Miami, but the game matters. The historical record against them is downright embarrassing. Pitt only has 11 wins in the series. The last time Pitt took two straight in this series was 1976. Pitt won in 1970 and didn’t play the Hurricanes again until 1976 for the next win. The only other time was 1960-61. Two times in the 37 games played between them.

This game is about not letting up for Pitt. It’s about getting past the myriad of flaws this team has. It’s about getting through another big injury.

Pitt took control of its own destiny over the past four games. Something that we never see with Pitt football. That meme is not buried and dead, but it has been shown that it can be beaten back. Now it’s a chance to keep moving forward.





Sigh. Maybe we can get ranked again sometime in the next five years.

Comment by 2$Chuck 11.24.18 @ 8:46 pm

Agree with the disappointment It never ceases to amaze me how Pitt teams can overlook any opponent let alone a quality one but it is obvious we did. “We’re number 40, we’re number 40” Big sigh.

Comment by RKB 11.25.18 @ 6:19 pm

So…. 7-6 realistically. i’d say that’s where most people probably pegged this team, and many pegged it lower. Of course, they still have to play the game, but something tells me Clemson won’t make the same mistake twice. Miami exposed Pitt for what it is – shut down the running game and force Pickett to make plays with his D-II arm. But we shall see…

This game to me was about bowl relevance. That NC game really smells right now. For some reason, 8-4 seems a lot sweeter than 7-5, even though it’s only one game. Loose to Clemson and you can still claim 8 wins – now 7-6 might be the record Pitt takes into the ‘post season”, and that’s not exactly a recipe for Florida sun.

So what’s it going to be? Belk, Sun, or Music City? But be honest: if you would have given any of them early in the season, most of us would have taken it.

Comment by 55 11.25.18 @ 6:41 pm

True 55. Pickett’s inexperience coming into the year was not taken seriously enough by many fans and the OL is not great at pass protection. I expect a better game Saturday, at least on offense. Cannot have that many 3 and outs two weeks in a row, I hope, The defense except for several long runs was not bad considering the offense and OL got spanked bad. We looked ahead and Miami wanted revenge for last year and they got it. Hamlin, free of nagging injuries, has really improved a whole lot. In fact he has become a force on defense. HAIL TO PITT!!

Comment by RKB 11.26.18 @ 10:33 am

Good points 55. Personally picked Pitt to go 6 Wins with a Bowl Appearance. Of course, never saw them playing for the ACC Championship. Who did except for maybe Narduzzi?

As for Pickett… yes, his arm does NOT fall into the Strong Category. But his willingness to COMPETE is Elite. And once he gets his EGO in check after this Season I would expect him to put into the work to improve his Strength and Accuracy.

When it’s all said and done, I see him finishing his Pitt Career by putting up decent numbers.

He also has enough of everything to ultimately eke out an NFL Career for himself… if nothing else than a Member of someone’s Practice Squad.

Comment by PittofDreams 11.27.18 @ 8:01 am

But Hamlin a “force?”

So he’s a pretty good Tackler. But that is ONLY when the Play is in front of him.

Regularly comes up short when CHALLENGED. An example was his lack of effort on the long Miami TD Run.

Seems Narduzzi and Bates might agree. Recently found himself sitting out as many Plays as he was in.

Now I am not knocking the Kid personally and not saying he’s not a good Player. Just keeping it REAL.

Despite the Four Stars and all of the HYPE coming in, “AVERAGE” is probably the right description when you factor everything in.

Comment by PittofDreams 11.27.18 @ 8:14 am

link to twitter.com

Another miss

Comment by xfmrman 11.27.18 @ 5:07 pm

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