Pitt's explosive offense...
- Thread starter Frabjous
- Start date
Jokes aside, I expect Pitt to have a very good offense again this year. Browne, Ollison, Henderson, etc. could be explosive. Their only hurdle is replacing 2 top OL. Too bad Bookster is expected back for the PSU game.
Pitt's defense could struggle. Losing Whitehead doesn't help.
PSU should win this game ar home but they might have to score 30 points to do it. I wouldn't be surprised to see a score like 34-24.
Pitt's defense could struggle. Losing Whitehead doesn't help.
PSU should win this game ar home but they might have to score 30 points to do it. I wouldn't be surprised to see a score like 34-24.
I think the Pitt offense without Peterman and Conner is way overrated at this point. Those two will be on NFL rosters, as will be the offensive linemen they graduated. They are not replacing those guys with NFL prospects.
I fully expect Pitt to start fast against us and maybe even grab the early lead as they play on emotion but just like last season once PSU settles in and begins making adjustments and the crowd starts getting into it I think PSU will start to distance themselves for the win. BUT, any injuries to our stars OR a sloppy effort that allows Pitt to hang around might not turn out that well. Lets get past Akron with good health first.
Why not have the crowd settle in on the opening kickoff? Isn't that how it's done?
Well, guess we should stop criticizing Lair posters about being obsessed with Penn State when this board is getting just as bad or worse.
What made Pitt good last year was the fact they had the most underrated QB in America in Nate Peterman.
Max Browne is the exact opposite.
Max Browne is the exact opposite.
Quadree Ollison? He's a quality running back, although he is not at the level of James Connor. As someone else said, while Browne is a 5 star recruit, the tape on him is not at the elite level of someone like Russell Wilson or any of the current qb's at the elite level, nor is his talent level on par with Peterman. Pitt has replaced their star players, but has leveled down. While this does not guarantee anything, mind everyone, because Penn State will need to play it's A game on that day. Pitt will be missing 7 starters for various reasons and the team you see on the field may indeed play a good game, but it isn't the team that Pitt wanted on the field or will have on the field at mid season. PSU caught a few breaks with the suspensions. Bookser will start, but this will be his first game action of the season, that may or may not factor in also. Finally, the Penn State team that Pitt sees, will be, fingers crossed, the actual first team for PSU, rather than the injury ravaged team that Pitt saw last year in 90 degree heat.
Every year is different. Pitt will be different, Penn State will be different. Penn State, however, will be far less different than Pitt will, on September 9th.
Let me be more specific... The crowd will be settled in and jacked up at kickoff. I'm saying the team might not be. If Pitt grabs an early lead our fans go flat until somebody makes a play that gets the fans back into upon which the team feeds and they begin to take control of the game. Ideally we take the opening kickoff march down the field with ease, hold Pitt to a three and out in their first series force a punt and score again. I'm just saying I will not be surprised if the ideal scenario doesn't play out.
Don't forget Pitt also lost their offensive coordinator from last year.
New QB, new offensive coordinator, hostile environment, 2nd game of the season, not exactly a receipt for success.
New QB, new offensive coordinator, hostile environment, 2nd game of the season, not exactly a receipt for success.
Mr Glass Half Empty suddenly becomes Mr Glass Half Full when analyzing Pitt instead of Penn State.
If Penn State lost their Offensive Coordinator, Starting Quarterback, Starting Tailback, Starting Fullback, Starting Tight End, and Two Starting Offensive Linemen you would not be predicting a "very good, explosive" offense for the ole Blue and White.
To me, the matchups that PSU must win, are on the outside, rather than the inside. Weah, although not with the publicity of Henderson, is a receiver PSU needs to shadow, and maybe even at times bracket. Henderson has the ability to break plays himself, and if PSU needs to blitz, we'll need to get home, because those two will be hard to shadow on any extended play situation. The key will be, forcing Browne into obvious passing downs and making the Pitt offense play opposite-handed as to how they want to play. Having 7 out of 11 and sometimes 8 out of 11 seniors on that field defensively for us, will help greatly in that on many of these plays it will come down to trusting what we see, to defend that offense. Canada is on a level with Moorhead and maybe 3 others as playcaller, so they are downgrading as far as that aspect goes, but remember they're running that same offense and this defense will need to identify what they see and then make the right reactions. Tackling against Ollison will also be important, but again, he is no James Connor, so we catch a slight break there. Still, miss tackles like we did last year, and Pitt will give us more than we want. We want to be controlling the football on their defense and converting on our opportunities, we do not want Pitt converting first downs because of defensive gaffes.
Because people refuse to get to the gates early enough to get through security.
Quadree Henderson was named by the AP preseason 1st team All-America as an all-around offensive player. Dangerous on returns, running, and receiving. Pitt is no pushover, and may keep it close for a while. Final margin looks like PSU by 3 or 4 touchdowns IMO.
Get with the program NJ. The original post joked about Pitt's offense. I replied by saying their offense could be very good with Browne, Ollison, & Henderson. Here's a review from collegefootballnews.com:
Is it possible for the Pitt offense to be even more dangerous despite the loss of inspirational star RB James Conner and bombing QB Nathan Peterman? Probably not – after finishing tenth in the nation in scoring and averaging close to 450 yards per game – but it’s going to be really, really good.
USC transfer Max Browne is a talented veteran whose main problem is that he’s not Sam Darnold – he should be able to step in right away and get bombing. There are options if he’s not great, but in this offense, he’ll get plenty of time to work behind a good line.
It could be the biggest issue with the attack – who’ll replace Dorian Johnson and Adam Bisnowaty on the left side? The other three starters are back, but the stars to work behind have to emerge.
The receiving corps will help make the transition to Browne seamless. Jester Weah and Quadree Henderson – when he’s not cranking out massive runs out of the backfield – should be among the ACC’s deadliest receiving tandems, with plenty of young prospects looking ready to rise up.
The running back situation is going to be figured out on the fly. There’s not a tough guy like Conner, but Henderson will get a little work to go along with all the options, with Chawntez Moss and Darrin Hall looking solid this offseason.
If you were honest you would acknowledge that I also said Pitt's defense wouldn't be very good and I predicted that PSU would win by double digits.
Sorry bdgan, he nailed you. I don't care who would have written what that people could cite to you, if the roles were reversed and Penn State was having to replace what Pitt has to replace on offense, not only would you not be claiming that the Penn State offense was going to be very good but you'd likely have bloodied hands from wringing them so hard. Just own it and move along.
You could be right.
I think Pitt's offense could give the PSU LBs/DEs difficulty unless 5* USC transfer Brown is terrible or very slow to adjust to a new offense. But if PSU stops the big plays and limits turnovers they could easily add another 1 or 2 TDs to my 34 point prediction.
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anon_is9z1n0h3zblb
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I disagree with that. When was the last time they played in front of 107K? Most times it's 25K and under. Clemson, which is easily the largest crowd any of those kids have played in front of, is only around 80K and that's got to be 20K+ over the next largest crowd they've ever seen. They are going to be stunned by the size of the crowd and the noise. Since it's a 3:30 start the crowd should be decently lubricated by kick off. It's going to be ugly early if you're a Pitt fan.
Sort of. We scored 39 points. I'm hoping we keep Pitt under that total on the 9th.
Personally, I'm of the thought that if we cannot kickoff deep into the end zone, that we squib the kick or angle the kick, unless our coverage units have improved to where we say "kick it deep and we'll cover it".
Historically, opponents who have done James Franklin wrong, have lived to regret it the following year. History tends to repeat itself.
Yeah, I'm not sure why people don't see this as Michigan State revisited. Similar situation in terms of Pitt being down (like MSU), Pitt pissing Franklin off (like MSU) and Pitt is on the road (like MSU). Maybe Pitt hangs around for a while, but in the end Franklin doesn't take his foot off the gas and throws a TD or two at the end for good measure.
Pitt will not only be in awe of Penn State's beautiful home uniforms, they will be intimated by 100k+ fans that actually support their team, the defending B10 champions. The only trophy those Pitt players will ever win was a keyhain for their fluky win over PSU last year.
If that happens the Franklin - Narduzzi's post game handshake could be reminiscent of Paterno - Graber.
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