In the days leading up to the game, the Pitt Athletic Department decreed requested that fans wear gold clothing to the game to support the team. Presumably it was trying to create it’s own version of the “white out” (an NHL tradition started by the Winnipeg Jets, brought to Phoenix when the team moved, and subsequently used by college basketball arenas everywhere), or “orange crush,” “green wave,” with, with a … “golden shower?”
Needless to say, it failed miserably. Since Pitt went to incorporating the worst aspects of Indiana athletic teams (Purdue Gold and ND Blue) almost all the apparel Pitt sells is blue with gold accents. Oh, some tried, but they tended more to yellow than gold. Dumb, dumb, dumb idea. Someone in marketing needs a beating.
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist, Joe Starkey has a great column on confusion and Walt Harris — with Harris supplying the material from his Monday press conference.
Walt Harris wanted to make something clear at his mind-boggling news conference Monday: His players are hesitant, not confused.
He was speaking in the aftermath of Pitt’s 20-14 loss to Notre Dame, in which the Panthers were pushed around like lawn furniture.
“I always say a confused football player is not an aggressive football player,” Harris said. “I think ‘confused’ is probably a little bigger word than I thought would happen. I just think we got a little hesitant and weren’t as physical as we needed to be, especially on offense.”
Huh?
If Harris was trying to convince us that he doesn’t confuse his players, he had a rather, um, confusing way of demonstrating it.
It’s no wonder his record after off weeks is 5-8, including a loss to Temple. More time off obviously means more time to confound everyone.
The whole column is like this. Great fun.
Meanwhile at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Ron Cook picks up my thoughts on Harris’ play-calling/time-out burning play calling problem in a column detailing some depressing figures about Harris and big games at home.
Harris’ startling admission about the confusion on the Pitt sideline, which resulted in the Panthers wasting their three timeouts early in the second half, was telling: “It is difficult to call plays when you are not sure what is going to work.”
A rough translation: “I froze when things got tight.”
Apparently, confusion is a team-wide problem at Pitt. Harris’ explanation for poor defensive performances against Texas A&M and Toledo? Alignment difficulties. How can a well-coached team not align properly? By all accounts, that wasn’t a problem Saturday night. Unfortunately, it didn’t keep Julius Jones from rushing for a Notre Dame record 262 yards or keep the Irish from killing the final 9:14 of the game.
Hard to imagine that after last season, Pitt fans were worried that Defensive Coordinator Paul Rhoads might leave for a head coaching job at a mid-major or take a similar position at a bigger school. I’d say the bloom is off his rose.
On Sunday morning I had some time before heading back to Cleveland. I stopped for a walk in Oakland (the part of Pittsburgh where the campus is located for those who are unaware). Decided to look around the Pitt Shop. In the discount bin were t-shirts puffing the Pitt-ND game (white t-shirts, btw) with the phrase “History will be made at Heinz Field.” These $18 t-shirts were only marked down 40%. Really, they should have been boxed up and sent overseas to the poor like they do with the superbowl attire they print up for the losing team. Take the loss and get them out of sight.
