Specifically, we lost. Everything else is secondary. Scoreboard. The final arbiter. Just ask the Red Sox (heh).
Having said that, there are good things to take away from this game. Some things the team can build on, and fans can have reason to hope. Some specific, some vague, and some plain old wishful thinking.
I haven’t looked at articles and columns yet. I will, and maybe I’ll post links to some, but I like to get my memory/alcohol hazed recollections out there first, only the box score, play-by-play and drive chart to help with specific facts. Still can’t believe how much scoring took place. Barely stayed under.
For me, the morning started with the roll out of bed a little after 5 am. Get dressed, kiss the sleeping wife and daughter good-bye as they sleep and hit the road. The drive from my door to Pat’s is about 138 miles. With no small level of pride, I can say that I broke the 2 hour barrier with a minute to spare — and that includes stopping for a triple espresso on the Ohio Turnpike.
Only saw one Nebraska license plate on the drive, the rest of the crew assumed that to mean most Cornhuskers arrived the night before — judging by the redshirts in the stands, that was probably the case.
On the drive to the stadium, saw a late model burgundy Ford Explorer with a PA license plate that said “CONF USA.” Not sure what that means.
Tailgating was excellent. There is nothing like having Maker’s Mark Bourbon before 9 am with an excellent fillet mignon and Krispy Kreme donuts. Way over the top on the tailgating this weekend. Beat the hell out of the usual frozen beef patties and dogs. Plus, I wasn’t tending grill. Not sure how Lee felt about it all. Seemed to catch up with him by the end of the game.
Took game photos — well atmosphere really (never actually took photos of the field of play) — but I have to clean them up and reduce the size of them first. They will be posted in the next couple of days.
As for the game.
The defense looks so much better than last year. They were making clean, crisp tackles. None of that hitting crap. They held the Cornhuskers to under 270 total yards (139 passing, 129 rushing). Yes, they gave up 24 points, but 3 of the 4 scores came from drives inside the 10, and there was no Nebraska scoring in the 2nd half. Yes, the Nebraska offense was in transition and not on a level of USC or Oklahoma; but this was still a team that piled up big yardage in their loss to Southern Miss. This was still a really good O-line the defense was facing, and they kept the running game in check and got some pressure on the QB (2 sacks). Pitt shut them down, and kept the game from getting out of hand. On the negative, Pitt only forced one turnover (INT) against a team that allowed 11 in their first 2 games.
Special teams played very well. Furman returned a kickoff, 96 yards for a touchdown — the only highlight of the first half. Josh Cummings easily nailed a 38-yard field goal in his only attempt. Adam Graessele boomed some punts that kept Nebraska from getting even more short field starting positions. Coverage by the punting unit was stellar.
Offense, though, was another story. If you work backwards you can see the positives. The first half, though was ugly. And let’s face it, it started with the O-line. I don’t want to say they played badly, because for them, it wasn’t so. The problem is, they didn’t play well. Palko was under pressure from the start. He was hurried, harried and hit. One of his 3 interceptions was just a bad throw, but the other 2 came while he was just trying to keep from being killed. The O-line’s performance was also exemplified by the lack of a running game, forcing Palko to throw in 2nd and long and 3rd down situations when the Cornhuskers could tee off on him. Kirkley had a total of 28 yards (13 rushes for 23 yards and 3 catches for 5).
Pitt committed 11 penalties in the game — 8 from the offense — where most were false starts or some 5 yarder variation (I’ll come back to this with the coaching). Dumb penalties that came from a jittery line.
The offense didn’t score a touchdown until the 4th quarter. And that was where you could suddenly see a change in the offense — especially Palko. The start of the 4th saw back-up Joe Flacco come in for a series. He gave up a sack and gave a poor version of the pooch punt (also called a quick kick). After that Palko came back in, and seemed much crisper. He almost seemed like he relaxed, and something had finally clicked for him. He was making the throws without trying to aim every pass. His receivers still dropped a couple (Greg Lee let one bounce off his numbers and on another didn’t realize he was a yard short of the 1st down marker before going down), and he had some ugly throws, but you cold see that it was if he finally “got it.” The counter argument, was that he got some more time to throw and Nebraska was starting to drop into more of a prevent defense; and it’s hard to totally disagree, but there was definitely something and a growing confidence from Palko, his receivers and even the line, that if they give him a chance he will make the throw.
To some degree, maybe you can compare this to the Texas A&M game for Rod Rutherford 2 years ago. Pitt’s offense looked pathetic most of the game, and then in the 2nd half, Rutherford seemed to find the switch. Pitt still lost, but things finally started falling into place for Rutherford. Wishful thinking? Rod had Fitzgerald. Perhaps. We won’t know for a few more weeks. I’m just saying there is something in my gut…
As for the coaching. As this season has gotten underway, I have found myself defending Walt Harris from columnists who seem to dislike him. Not because I think Harris is a great coach, but because their attacks are personal and not based on what he has done on the field or even with recruiting. Harris seems to have pissed them off on a personal level. And now that he is obviously on the hot seat, they are moving in for the kill. I find this dishonest, cheap, petty and not in the best interest of Pitt. If you want to go after Harris be legitimate about it, not a wussy. This is somewhat frustrating for me, because if there is an area that drives me nuts about Harris, it’s his actual X-O coaching and his absolute Achilles Heel: in-game adjustments.
This game, had its share. Things that drive you nuts as a fan of Pitt. Some of the play calling, the seemingly deliberate Brian Billick/Mike Shanahan “I’m an offensive genius and I’ll prove it right now, even if it costs me the game” plan of attack. Makes you crazy. There were 2. TWO! Illegal substitution penalties on Pitt in this game. Both came with the offense — which Walt calls. No one else he can blame. Again, go back to the Texas A&M game a couple years ago when the same dumb penalty cost Pitt an extra point (swinging gate) and then committed again when they had to go for 2 points to tie. Walt, doesn’t make it easy to be in his corner at times.
I’m going to cut this a little short, because I’ve gone on longer at points than I thought. Hopefully the others will add their thoughts.
The offense, especially the passing game, showed signs of life by the end. Palko is definitely improving, but needs to make better decisions. The O-line must somehow get better or this will definitely be a 5-6 win season. Defense is playing very well. Receivers are still too willing to give up on the play and not fight for the ball. I don’t know about the running game. The special teams are solid.
There’s a bourbon in the kitchen with my name on it.
