SBNation review of Pitt

[anon_is9z1n0h3zblb]

We already knew what he has the odds of upsetting us, so no news there. He has them going 5-7. Since they’ll probably go 1-3 OOC he’s projecting .500 in the ACC. Good luck with that.

https://www.sbnation.com/college-fo...38/pitt-football-2018-preview-schedule-roster

And before anyone make BS replies about being obsessed with Pitt I'm only posting this because we play them.

Enjoy

 

[Obliviax]

a pretty favorable review, really. for the most part, says they've improved despite having some personnel setbacks in terms of player development. But they have a really tough schedule.

Personally, our game with them isn't a walk over. This is their super bowl. And it is an away game (not that the crowd will be intimidating, but away games throw teams off in terms of preparation and routine; and this is the first away game of the year). Pitt, with a vastly undermanned team, played us fairly tough last year. And with a young MLB and inexperienced DTs, I see a steady diet of inside reverses, jet sweeps and shovel passes to attack our LBers.

taking them lightly, is a mistake, IMHO>

 

[NJPSU]

a pretty favorable review, really. for the most part, says they've improved despite having some personnel setbacks in terms of player development. But they have a really tough schedule.

Personally, our game with them isn't a walk over. This is their super bowl. And it is an away game (not that the crowd will be intimidating, but away games throw teams off in terms of preparation and routine; and this is the first away game of the year). Pitt, with a vastly undermanned team, played us fairly tough last year. And with a young MLB and inexperienced DTs, I see a steady diet of inside reverses, jet sweeps and shovel passes to attack our LBers.

taking them lightly, is a mistake, IMHO>

Kinda funny when 5-7 is a favorable review. That shows where they are at as program.

That said, I agree that I’m not expecting an easy game either. Just as Iowa St gives Iowa troubles in most years, these little brother teams always get up for these type of games.

 

[78SweetRevenge]

If nothing else I have to give them credit for that non-conference schedule other Albany. I mean UCF, Penn State and ND with two on the road is very respectable even though it likely means 1-3 in those games. They have 5 winnable ACC games on paper (not that they'll win them all but they could) and they have, recently anyway, managed a good upset in an otherwise average/subpar year. I think 4-6 is reasonable. Also, the more Pitt wins the better for us so if they go 8-4 or something with wins over teams like Miami, Va Tech and/or ND that's a great thing for us and our SOS

 

[michnittlion]

I can never figure that team out --- they do, as usual, have some talent.

We should win, but it won't be a cakewalk.

Pitt being Pitt --- I could see them beating Albany 24-20 in the opener, then losing to us by the same score.

 

[BobPSU92]

How is picksix on the SHOVEL. PASS. ?

 

[Obliviax]

I can never figure that team out --- they do, as usual, have some talent.

We should win, but it won't be a cakewalk.

Pitt being Pitt --- I could see them beating Albany 24-20 in the opener, then losing to us by the same score.

totally agree....and they have put several really good to HOF players in the NFL in the last 20 years. Its crazy, really.

 

[Woodpecker]

non-conference schedule other Albany. I mean UCF, Penn State and ND

ND is not a non-conference game. Despite what they say, ND is a member of the ACC

 

[anon_is9z1n0h3zblb]

If nothing else I have to give them credit for that non-conference schedule other Albany. I mean UCF, Penn State and ND with two on the road is very respectable even though it likely means 1-3 in those games. They have 5 winnable ACC games on paper (not that they'll win them all but they could) and they have, recently anyway, managed a good upset in an otherwise average/subpar year. I think 4-6 is reasonable. Also, the more Pitt wins the better for us so if they go 8-4 or something with wins over teams like Miami, Va Tech and/or ND that's a great thing for us and our SOS

Credit for two of those games since ND isn't under their control. UCF is normally a good team though, especially for a mid major. Although they tanked in 2015 O'Leary normally fielded a good team.

 

[78SweetRevenge]

ND is not a non-conference game. Despite what they say, ND is a member of the ACC

Still a non-conference game until it counts toward conference record

 

[bcspsu]

I can never figure that team out --- they do, as usual, have some talent.

We should win, but it won't be a cakewalk.

Pitt being Pitt --- I could see them beating Albany 24-20 in the opener, then losing to us by the same score.

I wouldn't be surprised if this game is like the Iowa game last year, in which PSU controls the play and stats for the vast majority of the game yet amazingly finds itself in a dogfight to the end.

There's no doubt in my mind that almost any other team with the caliber of PSU's talent, especially if the game were played in the afternoon, would beat this Pitt team rather handily at Heinz Field, especially early in the year with an inexperienced qb. However, it's a night game against PSU, so you know what to expect.

 

[denniskembala]

Pitt = Gooch.

 

[SUPERTODD]

I wouldn't be surprised if this game is like the Iowa game last year, in which PSU controls the play and stats for the vast majority of the game yet amazingly finds itself in a dogfight to the end.

There's no doubt in my mind that almost any other team with the caliber of PSU's talent, especially if the game were played in the afternoon, would beat this Pitt team rather handily at Heinz Field, especially early in the year with an inexperienced qb. However, it's a night game against PSU, so you know what to expect.

The game won’t be close.

 

[Judge Smails]

I got great seats for this one. Already starting to get excited. I feed off the hatred.

 

[brupsu]

Mountaineers,mountaineers,mountaineers,mountaineers,mountaineers ap state mountaineers.They knocked off the men of Michigan.

 

[michnittlion]

Mountaineers,mountaineers,mountaineers,mountaineers,mountaineers ap state mountaineers.They knocked off the men of Michigan.

That App State game will be on the exact 11 year-anniversary too. Mmm.

Let's just hope the Mountaineers aren't like cicadas, on some sort of 11-year cycle.

 

[BiochemPSU]

We are Pitt's super bowl and entire season rolled into one afternoon. The Pitt players and coaches want to win the game and they usually have a decent game plan (and sometimes the talent to pull it off shows up too). But, the Pitt "fans," on the other hand, just want to show up, get drunk, and make fun of Penn State people; a win is just a bonus that they get to hang onto for a year.

PSU is already the premier football program in the state and northeast at this point. Pitt had their chance to change that during the sanctions, but couldn't pull it off. Playing Pitt consistently does nothing for PSU.

 

[LemonEars]

a pretty favorable review, really. for the most part, says they've improved despite having some personnel setbacks in terms of player development. But they have a really tough schedule.

Personally, our game with them isn't a walk over. This is their super bowl. And it is an away game (not that the crowd will be intimidating, but away games throw teams off in terms of preparation and routine; and this is the first away game of the year). Pitt, with a vastly undermanned team, played us fairly tough last year. And with a young MLB and inexperienced DTs, I see a steady diet of inside reverses, jet sweeps and shovel passes to attack our LBers.

taking them lightly, is a mistake, IMHO>

This game is a horrible mismatch in Penn State's favor. Pitt's roster is MAC level at best. Who on Pitt's team would make Penn State's two deep? Take a look at their roster at this link.

Alex Bookser might get a small amount of PT on the second team OL. Maybe. Darrin Hall would get a sniff at PT as a backup back. Paris Ford might make our second team DB or even get some PT in the nickel. The heralded Kenny Picket would get no PT and would likely be redshirted. That is it. Nobody else on Pitt's roster would get a sniff at Penn State. They are an inferior team and will get quickly blown out on September 8. We will be playing backups early in the second quarter.

 

[Obliviax]

This game is a horrible mismatch in Penn State's favor. Pitt's roster is MAC level at best. Who on Pitt's team would make Penn State's two deep? Take a look at their roster at this link.

Alex Bookser might get a small amount of PT on the second team OL. Maybe. Darrin Hall would get a sniff at PT as a backup back. Paris Ford might make our second team DB or even get some PT in the nickel. The heralded Kenny Picket would get no PT and would likely be redshirted. That is it. Nobody else on Pitt's roster would get a sniff at Penn State. They are an inferior team and will get quickly blown out on September 8. We will be playing backups early in the second quarter.

Agree...but I said the same the last two years. we are 1-1, 0-1 on the road. And they played us tough last year with, arguably, less talent than they will have this fall.

 

[Pizzaboy1]

But Pitt has that defensive genius Narduzzi at the helm,watch out!

 

[pandaczar12]

totally agree....and they have put several really good to HOF players in the NFL in the last 20 years. Its crazy, really.

They take chances on players that other schools avoid, some of them turn out to be great pros. None of them accomplished anything at Pitt.

 

[78SweetRevenge]

They take chances on players that other schools avoid, some of them turn out to be great pros. None of them accomplish anything at Pitt.

Some of them accomplished a lot at Pitt if we're being honest. Larry Fitzgerald for starters had a legit claim at the Heisman. Very few schools avoid those kind of guys IMO

 

[Raffycorn]

This game is a horrible mismatch in Penn State's favor. Pitt's roster is MAC level at best. Who on Pitt's team would make Penn State's two deep? Take a look at their roster at this link.

Alex Bookser might get a small amount of PT on the second team OL. Maybe. Darrin Hall would get a sniff at PT as a backup back. Paris Ford might make our second team DB or even get some PT in the nickel. The heralded Kenny Picket would get no PT and would likely be redshirted. That is it. Nobody else on Pitt's roster would get a sniff at Penn State. They are an inferior team and will get quickly blown out on September 8. We will be playing backups early in the second quarter.

If we’re being honest, Bookser would likely start for us at RG, Ford would have a very good chance of starting at safety, and Wirginis would likely start at middle linebacker.

That’s about where the comparisons end, and there’s a distinct talent advantage on our end.

 

[Grass]

If we’re being honest, Bookser would likely start for us at RG, Ford would have a very good chance of starting at safety, and Wirginis would likely start at middle linebacker.

That’s about where the comparisons end, and there’s a distinct talent advantage on our end.

Ford hasn't played a down of college football yet, but he would likely start at PSU? What has Wirginis done to warrant him being a would be starter at PSU? Just curious as I haven't seen Ford play to make that kind of statement and I watched Pitt play a lot in 2016 and don't remember Wirginis standing out. I do agree on Bookser though.

 

[Raffycorn]

Ford hasn't played a down of college football yet, but he would likely start at PSU? What has Wirginis done to warrant him being a would be starter at PSU? Just curious as I haven't seen Ford play to make that kind of statement and I watched Pitt play a lot in 2016 and don't remember Wirginis standing out. I do agree on Bookser though.

I counted Wirginis primarily due to him being an upperclassman with starting experience at a position where we lack anyone proven. I don’t think Wirginis is a spectacular talent, but it’s more of a statement of a lack of depth and experience that we have at the position.

And I didn’t say Ford would “likely” start, I said he would have a very good chance of starting. I absolutely think he’s talented enough to be in the thick of the competition for the spot opposite Nick Scott.

 

[cyrizzle]

App St will be our toughest non-conference game this season. They have an outstanding running back and a very good offense. Their defense is no pushover either. We will smoke Pitt this year, even if it is a night game at Heinz.

 

[NJPSU]

Agree...but I said the same the last two years. we are 1-1, 0-1 on the road. And they played us tough last year with, arguably, less talent than they will have this fall.

Two years ago Pitt was favored so that’s not an apples to apples comparison.

 

[78SweetRevenge]

I counted Wirginis primarily due to him being an upperclassman with starting experience at a position where we lack anyone proven. I don’t think Wirginis is a spectacular talent, but it’s more of a statement of a lack of depth and experience that we have at the position.

And I didn’t say Ford would “likely” start, I said he would have a very good chance of starting. I absolutely think he’s talented enough to be in the thick of the competition for the spot opposite Nick Scott.

I think saying Ford would "likely" start would be acceptable. He would probably be the leader.
I don't know why people have problems giving credit to other teams...there's a lot of guys on bad teams that would "start" for us or would "likely start" or "would be in the mix to start". There's more than just Bookser on Pitt and that's not a knock on our guys

 

[JWB389]

Two years ago Pitt was favored so that’s not an apples to apples comparison.

We'll probably bring at least 2 or 3 linebackers this year, unlike 2016.

 

[anon_is9z1n0h3zblb]

Still a non-conference game until it counts toward conference record

That is true, but they should get the same credit for playing it as if it was a conference game, not an OOC game that they had a choice whether to schedule to not to schedule. It's like giving us credit for playing Ohio St every year or playing Wisky every 3 years. We don't have a choice in either of them.

 

[pandaczar12]

Some of them accomplished a lot at Pitt if we're being honest. Larry Fitzgerald for starters had a legit claim at the Heisman. Very few schools avoid those kind of guys IMO

Larry Fitzgerald played two seasons at PItt.
During which time he had about 3,000 receiving yards and 30-40 touchdowns.
(And then became a early NFL star)

I think he accomplished something.....
As have several other individuals at PItt.


They just haven’t had nearly enough of them to rise to the top as a Program.

As Don Nehlen used to say:
“We all (Coaches) know who the best players are, that’s the easy part. We just can’t get as many of them to come here (WVU), as there are who go to Penn State”

2002: Pitt went 9-4, with regular season wins over Ohio, UAB, Rutgers, Toledo, Syracuse, BC, VT, and Temple. A bunch of close wins, even some OT. Plus a meaningless bowl win against Oregon State.

2003: Pitt went 8-5, with regular season wins over Kent State, Ball State, Rutgers, aTm, Syracuse, BC, VT, and Temple. A few really close win. Don't let that aTm game fool you, they were terrible that year, beating only Arkansas State, Utah (barely), Kansas, and 3-9 Baylor.

No national titles, no conference titles, no signature wins for Pitt while he was there.

 

[anon_is9z1n0h3zblb]

Mountaineers,mountaineers,mountaineers,mountaineers,mountaineers ap state mountaineers.They knocked off the men of Michigan.

This should be in the Appalachian State preview that was linked a few months ago. We're talking about Pitt because the Pitt preview was released today.

 

[PSU2UNC]

Agree...but I said the same the last two years. we are 1-1, 0-1 on the road. And they played us tough last year with, arguably, less talent than they will have this fall.

They didn't really play us tough last year. PSU dominated that game.

At Heinz, PSU came out slowly and just ran out of time. They were a dropped ball away from winning the game. And that was a much, much better Pitt team and a possibly slightly worse PSU team.

 

[Gnat91]

We are Pitt's super bowl and entire season rolled into one afternoon. The Pitt players and coaches want to win the game and they usually have a decent game plan (and sometimes the talent to pull it off shows up too). But, the Pitt "fans," on the other hand, just want to show up, get drunk, and make fun of Penn State people; a win is just a bonus that they get to hang onto for a year.

PSU is already the premier football program in the state and northeast at this point. Pitt had their chance to change that during the sanctions, but couldn't pull it off. Playing Pitt consistently does nothing for PSU.

Pitt is kinda like how Michigan has been for the past however many years. They know they aren't winning a NC and what they're hoping for is to ruin someone else's chance. But at least Michigan has a shot at a NC, Pitt is lucky to make a bowl game.

 

[LemonEars]

They didn't really play us tough last year. PSU dominated that game.

At Heinz, PSU came out slowly and just ran out of time. They were a dropped ball away from winning the game. And that was a much, much better Pitt team and a possibly slightly worse PSU team.

At Heinz in 2017 Penn State played most of the game without linebackers. They all got hurt. We win easily if we have our linebackers. And that was a PSU team with much less talent and depth than we have this year. Pitt has much less talent than they had in 2017. We will beat them easily. The game will be a joke.

 

[78SweetRevenge]

That is true, but they should get the same credit for playing it as if it was a conference game, not an OOC game that they had a choice whether to schedule to not to schedule. It's like giving us credit for playing Ohio St every year or playing Wisky every 3 years. We don't have a choice in either of them.

No, they get credit for scheduling other legit opponents knowing they had that game added as a non-conference opponent. Trust me, if we had Notre Dame added to our schedule in that type of manner we wouldn't be playing anyone with a pulse in our other non-conf games

 

[78SweetRevenge]

2002: Pitt went 9-4, with regular season wins over Ohio, UAB, Rutgers, Toledo, Syracuse, BC, VT, and Temple. A bunch of close wins, even some OT. Plus a meaningless bowl win against Oregon State.

2003: Pitt went 8-5, with regular season wins over Kent State, Ball State, Rutgers, aTm, Syracuse, BC, VT, and Temple. A few really close win. Don't let that aTm game fool you, they were terrible that year, beating only Arkansas State, Utah (barely), Kansas, and 3-9 Baylor.

No national titles, no conference titles, no signature wins for Pitt while he was there.

What does team success have to do with anything? Fitzgerald absolutely was successful...one player doesn't make a team.

 

[78SweetRevenge]

At Heinz in 2017 Penn State played most of the game without linebackers. They all got hurt. We win easily if we have our linebackers. And that was a PSU team with much less talent and depth than we have this year. Pitt has much less talent than they had in 2017. We will beat them easily. The game will be a joke.

Just like Miami should have beat them easily last year and Clemson the year before? While I agree that's the most likely scenario there's no guarantees. Pitt has proven they can pull up legit upsets under Narduzzi

 

[marshall23]

I think saying Ford would "likely" start would be acceptable. He would probably be the leader.
I don't know why people have problems giving credit to other teams...there's a lot of guys on bad teams that would "start" for us or would "likely start" or "would be in the mix to start". There's more than just Bookser on Pitt and that's not a knock on our guys

Ford may win the Heisman one day. However, shouldn't he start one game for Pitt before we say he would be a "leader" at PSU? I know he comes highly touted etc., but it's pure folly to project anyone an impact player before they play one down when it counts. I don't know if he even has a starting position wrapped up with the Spitters.

 

[78SweetRevenge]

Ford may win the Heisman one day. However, shouldn't he start one game for Pitt before we say he would be a "leader" at PSU? I know he comes highly touted etc., but it's pure folly to project anyone an impact player before they play one down when it counts. I don't know if he even has a starting position wrapped up with the Spitters.

Pretty sure we have incoming freshman people believe will start here...why it is different?