What's the consensus regarding our match-up with Pitt this coming season? Based on what I saw from both PSU and Pittsburgh last season, I'm guessing at this point, most experts are predicting a relatively even match-up, at least on paper. Obviously, as the season nears, predictions will change, becoming more fine tuned, but right now, what do the experts on here think? Admittedly, I only watched a handful of Pitt games last year and I really do not know what kind of experience that they have coming back and what kind of youth they have coming in. I tried to find a preseason depth chart for Pitt but I'm not sure that anything that I found was all that reliable. Most of the information that I found appeared to reflect last season's depth chart. I'm guessing from their incoming freshman class, Hamlin may be an early contributor, but that is strictly based on what I've read on this site.
The last recent news that I've seen relative to Pitt was that Conner was "planning" to be back by their opener against Villanova. However, I really have no idea if this is an overly optimistic projection, or if it's realistic. Considering what the kid is dealing with, it'd be an absolutely remarkable recovery if he were to return by the beginning of the season, and it would certainly make things additionally challenging for PSU's inexperienced defensive line and thin linebacking corps. On the other hand, I have no idea if Pitt will have a bad o-line, great o-line or somewhere in between. But as long as their o-line is at least close to average, Conner, if healthy, will presumably be a significant concern, regardless of who they've got at QB. Other than Conner, Whitehead and Hamlin, I'm unfamiliar with their projected roster/depth chart and what the early expectations are.
Given the importance of this game in terms confidence and momentum, characterizing this game as a big contest is probably a bit of an understatement. I wish that we were still as dominant as we once were, but we're not right now for a host of different reasons. But if we start winning some big games next year, perhaps we can start turning the corner of returning to prominence. In my opinion, our game with Pitt next year could be a good indicator of how slowly, or quickly, that turn can occur.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts and I apologize if this was discussed here recently and I happened to miss it.
The last recent news that I've seen relative to Pitt was that Conner was "planning" to be back by their opener against Villanova. However, I really have no idea if this is an overly optimistic projection, or if it's realistic. Considering what the kid is dealing with, it'd be an absolutely remarkable recovery if he were to return by the beginning of the season, and it would certainly make things additionally challenging for PSU's inexperienced defensive line and thin linebacking corps. On the other hand, I have no idea if Pitt will have a bad o-line, great o-line or somewhere in between. But as long as their o-line is at least close to average, Conner, if healthy, will presumably be a significant concern, regardless of who they've got at QB. Other than Conner, Whitehead and Hamlin, I'm unfamiliar with their projected roster/depth chart and what the early expectations are.
Given the importance of this game in terms confidence and momentum, characterizing this game as a big contest is probably a bit of an understatement. I wish that we were still as dominant as we once were, but we're not right now for a host of different reasons. But if we start winning some big games next year, perhaps we can start turning the corner of returning to prominence. In my opinion, our game with Pitt next year could be a good indicator of how slowly, or quickly, that turn can occur.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts and I apologize if this was discussed here recently and I happened to miss it.
