For some reason, it won’t let me log onto the moderator account for Chas’ cbox, and I can’t figure out how to embed it in the post. So, if you could just click here, it should show up in another window.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
If you are truly playing to win, why not play action on 3rd and 1 and throw something down the field?
HTP!
Go Pitt!
You win or you lose. That’s all that matters.
That a boy PITT!!!!!!!!
It’s up to Tino and company now
That being said, Tino’s played really well. PC made some questionable play calls at the end of the game.
Hopefully we can pull off the OT win.
Good game my ass!!! You had your foot on the neck many times. Never cut the head off.
Horrible.
Some want to claim moral victory??
Sorry, don’t include me. Sick to my stomach!!!!
It was there for the taking so many times.
Sickening!!!!!!
HTP
That’s what coaching is. DETAILS!!
What about the OC?
EFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!
And I knew the outcome the whole time!!!!!!!!!!!
See ya fellas, I won’t be adding anything productive to the conversation, so I might as well go.
Have a good weekend.
I’m not interested in moral victories.
We get two lucky breaks, the interception, the fumble, we miss a field winning field goal.
I don’t blame Chryst other than trusting Tino at the end, but what choice does he have, the Q_B has to make the plays down the stretch, theirs did ours didn’t. Deja Vu all over again.
Still, I expected a blowout, I am very proud of those kids today.
That said, there are some great things to look at too. We made Notre Dame’s vaunted defense look awful ordinary for 3 quarters. The offense played extremely well. The Defense was gifted a few turnovers but for the most part played inspired ball, especially considering we were down to a 5th year senior making his first start at MLB.
I will not sulk about this game, Pitt played hard, played well and showed a lot of pride. We could’ve laid an egg on National TV and got steamrolled out of the stadium, but we didn’t. Lets hope the boys realize this and move on and play hard like this the rest of the year.
As Always,
Hail to Pitt!
i was at work during the game and surrounded by unc fans and they commented, “there is no way pitt loses this game.” my response was “you wanna bet”. someday i am hoping that a pitt team will be able to change that attitude for me and many of you fellow pitt fans.
Sunseri is who he is… Didn’t cost is the game but couldn’t win us one either. Thank God we only have to watch him 3 more games.
Shannon sealed his NFL fate today (not a chance)
R Graham did his job.
LB’s (especially # 54) was garbage!
Kicker ? No comment except to ask… Why didn’t the offense coordinator (Rudolph) run it to the middle of the field ?
That one hurt!
Now if you WANT to bitch, bitch about that bogus homer pass interference call that gave ND their TD. Otherwise shut up, IMO.
So lets be realistic about this. Pitt played a really good game. They played hard and they kept it up right into 3OTs. I agree, moral victories, you can shove those right up your a$$ for all I care. We should of, could of, won this game, but we have NOTHING to be ashamed of in losing it the way that we did.
This Pitt team, impressed me today. Trebitz played a fantastic game in his first start. No quit in this team. We lost, but this team is no longer a bunch of losers like the guys that lost to YSU over two months ago.
This team has grown an amazing amount during this season. This is a different team now. I would not be surprised to see us win out from here on in. They gave their best today amd that is all that I asked from them. Hail to Pitt.
I dare anyone who has been critcal of Chryst to come on here and challenge his ability as a coach.
This Pitt team just took the best Notre Dame team in years to the brink and would have won if they just had a field goal kicker who could be relied upon and if not for a bogus interference call by some homer referee.
My God. Be happy Pitt finally has a real football coach who is going to win a lot more games going foreward than you would have ever thought possible.
This one hurt but not as bad as Cinci a few years ago, but we sure owe Kelly a couple.
Frankcan, noone has suffered as much as Pitt Fans as we seem to always experience the ultimate collapse. We are a hard bunch we have to be to stay loyal after many disappointments.
But I must say you shouldn’t get too down when you know what is coming. So many chances for glory. ND tried very hard to give us this one, we just wouldn’t take it.
Exactly how long was the field goal missed by Harper?
Maybe when Chryst elected to forego Harper against Louisville he knew what he was doing?
PC has got it going on. He’s a great strategist who puts his players in a position to win, over and over again. Time for all of the pessimists to recognize that!!
Much better days ahead!!
Plain and simple, it came down to a MAKEABLE FIELDGOAL!
It was the BLUE PANTS! GOLD would have won!!
but the players played a good game they should get are respect.
is chryst another wanny maybe but give the players there due.
3 ot good effort bye by the players maybe you
give me less hell now when i say things abought chryst.
the coaching let us down we will see if he lurned any thing or is it to be the same year after year.
and will we have any thing left for the next game i think the players will be down for the next game
.
The players don’t have to hang their heads for this loss as they played better than anyone expected. Our coaches on the other hand need to work on their play calling. But it’s easy for me to critique From my easy chair. I’m proud of our Pitt team and hope they recover from this tough loss.
HTP forever !
Good notes:
Chryst will be fine in a year or two
Street has one more year
Pitts will be an all-American one day (great DB but even better return man)
WVU lost again
Bad
O Coordinator Rudolph could make the calls when needed
I line failed us in the end
Tino was Tino after all
LB corps are terrible
Kicker will be the #1 priority off season
ND remains over rated and undefeated
I say that because that’s exactly what happened.
It shows just how pessimistic everyone can be in not recognizing Pitt was absolutely the better team on the field today and would have won if not for a bogus interference call and simple missed field goal
HTP!
Did Kelly and his crew make any mistakes in playcalls? Uhhh Ya!!!!
Chryst was obviously the better coach today.
Notre Dame had the better field goal kicker and one referee who thinks batting a ball down against ND at a home constitutes interference!
You win some and you lose some. Yeah Pitt should have won this game but we didn’t. But it was a great frickin game! Thats what it is all about!
Pitt fans have to learn how to quit their fucking whining and realize that they need to just appreciate the game, for what it is and the effort put forth by those playing in it on both sides of the ball, no matter whether the outcome is to your liking or not.
This game has contributed to the Panther Pride that all Pitt fans possess, even while absorbing the blow of this close loss.
Pitt will win again.
We could have salted it away anyway but Tino, after a very smart, effective game, came up small again in the end — film at 11.
Wow! Pretty obvious who side their on.
Oh, that’s right. The broacast did carry the label “Notre Dame Football on NBC.”
Our guys played their hearts out against ND AND the refs.
HTP
I’m with you, man. But there was only one field goal that counted!
but there were times the coaching let the team down.
the team who played so hard and should have won were we screwed bye a bad call yes we were.
but the coaching was less then great when you are up 20 to 6 and lose. and the players are plaing there harts out laying it all on the line giveing every thing they have got.
and you lose it is the coaching and the ref
no one should blame the players they did all they could to win.
But there were more bad calls on the other side than Pitt.
Pitt played well enough to win minus the bogus interference call and the missed field goal that would have won the game in OT.
Seriously, what more can you ask from a team that lost to Youngstown State at the beginning of the season?
And, I’ll add to the list….we got screwed.
Hail to Pitt.
The pass interference call on K’Waun Williams was bogus and it hurt.
Some of Chryst’s play-calling was suspect at times and it hurt.
Apparently someone switched Mike Shanahan’s hands with Mike Wallace’s before the game and that hurt.
And if Ray Graham stays to the left on that 3rd down run in OT instead of instinctively trying to cut back right and make something out of nothing, who knows what happens when Harper attempts what would’ve been a slightly-longer-but-more-centered FG to win it.
None of the aforementioned can entirely be blamed for the loss. Pitt played their collective asses off and just came up short against a good team.
The progression and development of a team is seldom ever linear, and we’ve seen that this year. We’ve seen them fall flat on their faces out of the gate, make tremendous leaps forward and then take some steps back. They’ve won big. They’ve lost big. They’ve won ugly and lost ugly. And today they lost a game they probably didn’t entirely deserve to lose, at least not much more than the alleged 4th-best team in the country deserved to win it.
This is the most proud I’ve been as a Pitt fan this entire season. It hasn’t been an easy team to watch at times, especially at the very beginning of the season. But I have to admit that it’s been fun as a whole watching this team start to get better. And loss aside, this is the kind of game that you sell to kids like Foster, Boyd and Dorian Johnson by telling them that Pitt wins with their kind of talent in the lineup.
I can’t help but look at the future of this team and see good things on the horizon. To see Tino progress to his ceiling as a QB under this staff makes me encouraged when I see Savage, Voytik and Chapman in the pipeline. This team has seen huge contributions from two true freshmen in Shell and Holtz. The younger offensive linemen are gradually progressing. Our best defensive back is a redshirt freshman (Pitts) and two other DBs returning next year look to be solid (Williams, Hendricks). There’s a lot of hope for the future at LB with the likes of Thomas, Eric Williams, Ejuan Price, Deaysean Rippy, etc.
And I think Chryst will get better as a game coach.
This loss sucks, but I’m excited to see the way they close this season out. I’m rooting for three straight wins and a bowl game; the extra weeks of practice would really help heading into next season.
Hail to Pitt!
Tino Sunseri cost us this game tonight. Once ND scored and tied the game, Tino’s hands were actually shaking. He dropped or mishandled 4 of the next 6 snaps. His deer in the headlights look had ND ready to move in for the kill. His errant pass with 1:19 left on a middle screen was nearly intercepted twice. He needs a sports psychologist desperately because if he enters the business world and chokes under pressure, he will do a lot worse than losing a football game.
He let the team and it’s fans down mightily and we have all witnessed the same act for the last three long years. I will have a party when he graduates and am distressed he will hold a few QB record.
Last but not least, in the third OT with the game on the line,knowing his FG would determine the outcome of the game, I saw Harper, our place kicker on the sideline, unable to find his helmut searching both benches. Even if PC wanted to kick on third down, he couldn’t have. Harper should have been practicing kicks into the net during the entire series and he did not take a single one. Found his helmet, ran onto the field and missed the FG. Yes, the snap was high. He HAS to make that kick.
I take absolutely no solace from a close win against ND. ND tried to hand us the game numerous times…and yes the refs call sucked.
This team is going to be scary next year with Voytik, time to stop the “Tino’s so much improved” train. He hasn’t. The defense, facing a terrible time of possession disadvantage, played its heart out and got multiple stops in the 4Q despite giving up the 2 TDs. ND only tied the game because they had SO MANY possessions thanks to Tino.
But that all shouldn’t have mattered because the refs gave us some competition for the pro-ND nonsense call of the year. Step aside, Stanford. There’s a new screwed team in town.
There also isn’t any doubt that Pitt does not know “how” to win. It comes from setting expectations high, believing in your ability and playing under pressure instead of thinking.
This game reminded me of the first game under Johnny Majors. Tied UGA. coulda shoulda but did not win.
No OT then.
Screw moral victories. This goes down as a loss.
Win the next friggen game and win it with heart. Kick UCONNs ass because you expect to.
Do the same to the Scarlet Pinpernills.
Expect to win games! Demand it from yourselves.
That is what I need to see on Friday, or this loss will have proven nothing.
I expect Pitt to win convincingly next week, and for the rest of the season.
There is absolutely nothing that I can add that has not already been said, however, I keep thinking that our potential 4**** recruits should be able to see that Pitt can play with “The BIG boys”.
No excuses…we should win our remaining games!
A call puts the ball on the one with a first down.
We go up by three touchdowns.
For the people blaming the officials. Winners celebrate victories and losers blame the officials. Good teams are mentally tough and can overcome a bad call here and there. I can remember a pretty average team overcoming some suspect holding calls to win in Morgantown in 2007. Instead of blaming the officials, how about looking at 3rd down efficiency for starters? Pitt was 1-14 on 3rd downs! That is downright awful for a 3rd year starting QB. You execute less than 10% on 3rd downs and I don’t think you deserve to win. To beat good teams, you have to make a few winning plays in crunch time, and this team failed again in late game situations with the game on the line.
I haven’t located the quarter-by-quarter stats, but I cannot remember Pitt getting a first down in the 4th quarter or in the OTs. Maybe somebody with that information can confirm or refute. The banged up defense came up with a solid effort today considering the circumstances, but when it mattered, the offense couldn’t get a few first downs and keep them off the field.
You can change the coaches, the uniforms, the schemes, or the personnel, and it still yields the same frustrations for this fan base. Every year since 1982 I hear the same old cliches about “waiting until next year” or “this team will be great in a few years under this system.” I’m sorry to be negative but these words are hollow for some of us who have watched the misery and the mediocrity for most of our adult lives.
Couple first downs and we’re all celebrating.
I can’t think of it right now, but, two sweet interceptions and a gimme of a fumble at the goal line.
Did we get any points off of any of those on the next drives??
Like you said, maybe someone can confirm or refute, I can’t think of that for sure right now, I don’t think we did. Maybe we did. All mixing together.
20-6 going into the 4th quarter. 1-14 on 3rd downs???
Ridiculous. What did I expect with everything we were up against???
Frankly, I thought there was a good chance we may well just get blown out.
Yes, I’m sure many did.
So, that’s a reason to celebrate???
Yes, the kids gave a fantastic effort, only a fool would not recognize that.
With the situation presented however, how the game unfolded,and how Pitt kicked their ass up and down the field for 3 quarters plus……..
this was one of the biggest kick in the balls I’ve ever had as a Pitt fan!!!!!!!!!!
Someone mentioned earlier that they don’t think Tino is at all improved over last year. That is ludicrous. He is obviously a far better quarterback this year– still not as good as we would like, but much-improved, and I think Chryst and his staff deserve some credit for that.
We’re probably entitled to a communal self-pity session after the way we lost. However, the melodramatic “I’m done with this team” comments from the drama queens gets tiresome. I am proud of how we played. Given the state of our program, I don’t disparage moral victories. We are a program that entered the year in total disarray, probably moreso than any other in the country. This will take time to recover from. While I am never happy about a loss, it is good to see progress. We opened the year with a terrible loss to a mediocre 1-AA program, for goodness sake. We have gone from that to playing a very solid game against the national number-three on the road. I saw good things yesterday, and am optimistic for our team moving forward.
Have many ND people in my family. When I brought this up, they all agreed about the bad call. They then went on to tell me, on several of Graham’s big runs, there were holding calls missed, several late hits out of bounds not called, a pick not called on a pass play, and a timeout mysteriously taken away from ND.
They then went laughing into the other room to get another beer and a plate of shrimp and started talking about how they needed Alabama or Kansas State to lose in the next couple of weeks.
What’s that, 3 in a row now??
Not only did WVU lose their third in a row, there were a lot of empty seats in Morgantown.
Their is a myth out there that the hoopie fan base is impervious to losing.
Not really. WVU has been mostly good for the last 35 years, sometimes excellent but rarely, if ever, bad.
Last year Holgersen chided fans for not showing up.
The honeymoon is over in Morgantown (you cant spend all your life in Myrtle Beach) and they are getting worse as time
goes on.
I hate losing, but feel very good about our future. Chryst is a 1st year head coach with a sharp upside curve I think.
From what I see from Holgersen is he is the same in game 8 as 1, 2,…that is pretty easy to prepare for.
Pros:
– Thought the offensive game plan OVERALL was awesome: good balance of run and pass early, great use of screens all over the field, took Te’o completely out of game.
– Ray Graham ran his tail off
– Our corner play was outstanding: Williams and Pitts form a heck of a tandem, as good as we’ve had in recent memory.
– Holtz will be a monster at TE for several years.
– The entire team demonstrated guts and fight to be proud of.
Cons:
– Situational game plan by coaches: Graham has to see more of the ball in the 4th Q and OT. Of all times to rely on the passing game, haven’t they learned late-game, important moments are the worst?
– The QB is who we think is is, and that’s not changing. Can run things efficiently and competently, until things get tight. Then, there are no plays to be made. Can’t wait til next year.
– The defensive front 7 desperately needs explosive, impactful playmakers. Once Donald is neutralized, there is no edge rush, and other than Gordon’s huge goal-line stop, I can’t remember an LB making a big play. (Did Trebitz knock the ball out in OT maybe?)
Coulda…
Shoulda…
Pitt played better than I expected them to play.. but ND laid an egg also…
Yes… Pitt shoulda won….
Yes… Chryst blew it in the 4th qtr with his playcalling…
Yes… Chryst blew it in OT… why not give your kicker a better chance by putting the ball in the middle of the field…. should have had Graham run left and take a knee so the ball is in the middle of the field.
I’ll have to go back and re-watch the play again, but the 3rd down play to Graham looked like it was designed to go left. The whole ND defense likely knew it was going there as well.
I can’t recall if ND stacked that side, one of their linemen just made a great play or perhaps someone on the Pitt o-line missed a block. Either way, someone on their defense got penetration and Graham – rather than take a loss – almost instinctively cut back to the right to try to make something out of it.
How we Pitt fans choose to vent is okay as long as we remain Pitt fan’s, win or lose. Hail to Pitt!
I have to say, I see everyones point, there is no right or wrong analysis on this one, just a bunch of guys looking for answers, validation, or a fight. Whatever it takes to move on.
Another hard one to swallow. The plight of a Pitt Fan. No moral victory, but the best entertainment on TV yesterday.
How did this one affect recruiting?
1) ND isn’t as good as advertised. PITT proved that on the road yesterday so let’s keep this game in perspective even though ND was ranked #3
2) Game calling for 3 Quarters was good on both offense and defense so hats off to the coaches. Kelly (ND) was out coached for three Q’s and he nearly cost his team a game by pulling the starting QB whom PITT couldnt stop (from scrambling).
3) Ray Graham – Not his pre-injury self but clearly better. His football IQ often fails him as in when he is running east-west instead of just getting up field. When he does the latter he is effective. When he doesnt you get the ball on the right hash mark and a missed FG in OT
4) Tino Sunseri – Much maligned by all PITT fans and for good reason. Most fans expect the QB to lead the team (whether it is HS, College, or NFL). It is even more critical at the HS and College levels. After 3 years of being a starter for a BCS level program it is heart breaking to watch him decompensate when placed under pressure. His dropping of the ball on multiple occassions at the end the game and inability to keep his team organized coming out of the huddle says it all. Leaders can not be manufactured folks. Tino is a good QB at times but never a great QB and that is what we needed this year from a 5th year senior and 3 year starter. As my buddy said to me this AM “the best thing is that we only have three more games to see Tino”. Unfortunately Tino has maxed out on his talent ability.
4) LB’s are a really struggle for us. #54 struggled all day to plug the hole or cover the crossing route. Did any one spy the ND QB?
5) OC Rudolf’s play calling was absent the fourth Q. Did the pressure get to him? Coaches are going through a learning curve so they get a pass.
6) You have to feel bad for the kicker. He made so many other kick but misses the big one. Graham didnt make it easy for him by running to the right hash.
7) Got to love L Pitts. The great news is that he is a redshirt freshman so the future looks bright for PITT. His KO return ability is a huge plus.
8) O line did a solid job for most of the game but failed us in the end. They have improved a lot but there is much to be done.
Overall a very good showing for PITT on national TV and that should help. All of my SEC and ACC fans in the Atlanta area were texting me throughout the game so this game got a lot of coverage. I bet the rating were off of the chart and NBC probably loved it. This is the type of game that continue to make PITT relevant in the eyes of fans across the country. We are the team that other fans love to support.
I like what Chryst is doing. What is most notable is his attitude of “not quiting”. His players continue to play hard despite being out matched in many games (talent). That is a huge credit to Chryst and his staff. The future is bright folks. Let’s be patient.
JPHoltz was faceguarded in the end zone and actually should have caught that pass in the 3rd quarter, regardless of the faceguard. We settled for a field goal. That was big and he will learn to go get the ball instead of waiting for the ball to get to him. He is going to be great! There were many dropped passes across the board.
We can’t say Graham blew it by cutting right instead of going left. Had he gone left (as he started)and Harper missed it left, we would have complained he went too far left. We had snapper issues all game Saturday and for the past few weeks, since our normal long snapper was injured.
Pitt did not dominate this game. They played well and it is a team that is improving. The announcers heaped praise on the improvement under our new head coach. They hardly mentioned the coaching carousel that we have been known for, which is a positive. Consistency with our coach gives Pitt the biggest opportunity to improve in the coming years. We are seeing improvement in areas, but not consistent improvement. That comes with time. Whether we finish 5-7 or 6-6, the table is set for a big improvement next year.
Chryst will get rid of the non-contributors and those that don’t work during the off season.
I’m with Keyboard Kevin – a Bronx Brawl against WVU in Yankee Stadium would be quite all right with me. And I think the Panthers have a chance to win out. At least we should beat UConn and USF. And if we beat UConn I think the Rutgers game could be really interesting.
- I got to watch the first half and OT, but missed 2nd half while taking kids trick or treating.
- But from what I say, Pitt owned ND in first half. The only thing that made me think twice was going for it near mid-field before half. While not against it, I’m just not a fan of runs up the middle on 4th and 2.
- For what it’s worth, my father is a big ND fan and watched the entire game. He admitted the ref’s were favoring ND on the calls and he agreed that Pitt got jobbed on the pass interference call. But in the end, Pitt had chances to win and couldn’t get it done. It’s not one person’s fault, but the team’s failure from PC to the long snapper.
- As someone mentioned above, Pitt lost this one because they lack depth across the board and probably ran out of gas in the 4th and OT. Watching the DL in OT and it was pretty obvious to me they were shot. NBC showed a chart where ND had run over 100 offensive plays and without a solid rotation of players they’re going to wear down.
- I was upset they didn’t get the big win but it further confirmed to me that Pitt is must see TV because you never know who’s showing up to play. Going into the game, I had ND lining up and running it down their throats all game but Pitt held in there. Hated to see them lose but in the end that was a great college football game.
Navy Panther replied to your post containing the quote “winners celebrate victories and losers blame the officials” so well that I almost kept my mouth shut. But noooo, after thinking about it I’ve determined that I just don’t like your pussy whining attitude.
The PI call in question was a 4th down play that totally changed to momentuem of the game and put points on the board for ND that should be credited to the refs. PERIOD. Yeah I hear your argument, great teams overcome such incidents, but just in case you haven’t noticed, Pitt isn’t a great team this year! They just happened to be playing great yesterday and that HOMER PI call swung the momentuem back to the team that is actually great this year. That’s the point, and it was obvious that that shift occurred, right then!
So if that makes me a loser in your opinion. Well I’m going to give you my opinion on what the make uip of a true loser is. That is an individual that can’t take a the proverbial punch in the face without falling down and then spending unnecessary energy crying about it instead of getting back up and back into the fight again.
Your 35 years old, well I’ve been following Pitt football as an alumni longer than your sorry a$$ has even been alive.
During that period I’ve seen it all, but I’ve never thrown in the towel. I have no problems in Pitt fans pointing out with constructive criticism the deficits in the program if done to seek improvement. What I have a problem with is cry babies. Or worst yet, guys who have memory loss and can only recall Pitt’s failures when they’re sharing their opinions on why Pitt football sucks so bad this week. Yeah, I’m talking to you Luv Pittbulls, which is an apt name since most of your PITT analysis I find BULL. And just so you don’t feel left out, you suck too, Joe D.
As an encore, I think that I’ll post a few games that Pitt actually came through with a solid win just to shake some of the cobwebs out of your collective memories and demonstrate that “you win some and you lose some”. Look for the post LOSERS.
And as always HAIL TO PITT!
Of whose true-fix’d and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.”
– Pitt athletics, the most reliable thing in all of life, which will NEVER fail to let you down.
they played like they were all 5 star recruits i am so proud of all of them andwith all the hurt players you could not ask more from them.
but the coaching now thru 3 quaters it was good
but not in the 4th quater you must all read panther prey dokish is right chryst is not yet a game day coach.
this lose goes on coaching not on the players.
gave all you got in this game.
there is a good chance you lose the next game .
I will NEVER waver in my support of this team!
There are always things to complain about as a fan, but lets keep in mind that we have also been rewarded with some joyous memories as well. For example: (and feel free to add to my listing).
1. Watching Shady McCoy burst onto the scene as a freshman. Was there anything more electrifying than watching him leave defenders grasping at air? Maybe Dorsett and that is it.
2. Seeing Larry Fitzgerald come down with passes like it was his God given right to the ball.
3. Wins at South Bend led by Palko and Bostick.
4. Brandon Miree’s TD run to seal the win vs Virginia Tech.
5. Oh yeah…….13-9.
Point is, now is the time to be thankful that we have been blessed with many great players in recent times. Our time is coming and imagine how sweet it will be….
HAIL TO F@%KING PITT!
But this post is in rebuttal to those who believe that Pitt is a cursed loser program, and just to fulfill my previous promise to post a few of the “good times” in Pitt football history to jar the memories of the cry babies out there. I just picked it up in the last 5 years or so, as not to bore the younger crowd here that seem to be prone to ADD sometimes.
*12/1/07 13-9. Need I say more?
*9/20/08 Beat Iowa 21-20. Iowa went 9-4 that year and beat SC in the Outback Bowl.
*10/2/08 Beat a ranked #10 USF club in their own house 26-21.
*11/1/08 Beat ND in 4OTs 36-33 in the longest game ever at ND Stadium.
*11/28/08 Beat WVU 19-15. Jovanni Chappel intercepts Pat White with Pitt trailing 15-7 with 9 min left to play. Pitt puts up 2 TDs in the final minutes to win the game.
*10/10/09 Beat UCONN 24-21 after trailing 21-6 with 3:56 left in the 3rdQ. Pitt comes back scoring 15 unanswered points including a 2 point conversion while winning the game with a last second FG by Dan Hutchins.
*12/26/09 Beat NC in the Meineke Car Care Bowl with a FG in the whaning minutes of the game winning 19-17 giving Pitt their 1st 10 win season in years.
*12/4/10 Beat Cincinnati easily 28-10 on a snowy afternoon for some small redemption to the previous year’s heart braking loss to the Bearcats. Kelly was long gone to ND however, I hate that guy.
*1/8/11 Pitt beats Kentucky in the BBVA Compass Bowl 27-10 in spite of the turmoil of Coach Wannstedt’s firing days earlier.
*Pitt destroys #16 ranked USF 44-17 going away while Ray Graham rushes for 226 yds.
*10/26/11 The bad news is that Pitt loses Graham to a season ending knee injury, the good news is Pitt still wins against UCONN 35-20 while Sunseri passes for 419 yds.
* 12/3/11 Pitt returns a funble recovery by Antwuan Reed for a “seal the win” TD with less than 3 minutes remaining to beat Syracuse 33-20. This was after another tough Pitt loss the previous week at the hands of WVU with a come from behind win in “The Backyard Brawl” 20-21. Way to bounce back Panthers, no hanging your heads there!
*9/15/12 Pitt comes back from the dead after a 0-2 start to upset #16 ranked VaTech convincingly 35-17.
So don’t let the “Gloom and Doomers” BS get you down. Take heart, Pitt will win again.
HAIL TO PITT! BEAT UCONN!
Classless jerks.
To quote the line in Red Dawn….Avenge me…Avenge me!
We WILL win again. Stay strong!
Waking up to a new day hasn’t worked.
Cure? Waking up, it’s better than the alternative. Keep things in perspective, it’s only a game. We’ll always be Pitt Panthers win or lose. H2P
I was proud of the Pitt team and seeing the progress since week 1 feel confident that Chryst is going to take them in the right direction. But…
Folks we are paying for a coach who is learning on the job. I think he will be fine but Pitt is paying a high price for on the job training.
I realize, this blog spot is where people come to speak about Pitt football, in a sense of, Pitt football.
Pittofdreams, I understand your hyperbole!!!
I was certain that my coaching would come under fire. Why did I go for the jugular when I could have run out the clock and risk that pick six? The answer is the rules required us to pass.
But onto the Panthers. Man, there are a host of reasons why we lost, each as culpable as the next. Can’t do anything about the refs.
But I will say this.
ND wins alot if close “big games”, because they play a lot of big games.
They are accustomed to playing big time games. We are not.
We tend to shy away from big time non conference foes. I’m not talking about Gardner Webb: even Cyanide Steve can’t be blamed for that one. But we don’t challenge ourselves enough and because we don’t, we tend to not know how to act when we get there.
You don’t remedy that overnight, but you do have to recognize that when you don’t challenge yourselves, you tend to not improve.
Boise State did: Hell, WVU does. Ohio State usually plays one stud foe home and home. We have relied on ND as our big game. That isn’t going to be an option any longer.
Will we schedule lightly or will we challenge ourselves?
As Augustus McCray said in LONESOME DOVE,”it ain’t dying I’m talkin about. It’s livin!”
Time for the football program to adopt that POV. IMO.
let’s kick ass on Friday!
I am real comfortable with the progress of Chryst and Company. Well done boys, but you now need to beat the next team and play with the same vigor that got you to the apex.
Arthur Doakes, if he gets a little quicker this offseason, will be a beast. If he continues to improveand get a nasty streak, he will play on Sunday’s. It is his opportunity and he must commit to it. Go get em’ Pitt.
The reality is that Pitt has never won an outright BigEast championship, despite it being the worst BCS conference in football. The year Pitt went to a BCS game (due to a 4-way tie after the exits of Miami and VT) they lost 35-7 to Utah (a non-BCS school at the time). You cited recent history in your post. Pitt has won 4 bowl games since 2000 against the likes of Oregon St., NC State, North Carolina, and Kentucky. Storied basketball programs, but not historical football powers. I simply think that Pitt can do better. Maybe my expectations are misguided and too high, but that recent history has resulted in the coaching carousel that we have witnessed over the last 12 years. Like I said before, I want things to change in a positive manner following the move to the ACC, but I have 25 years of history that makes me skeptical.
Just so you can understand my perspective, I evaluate companies for a living – mostly in a litigation context. I am trained to do the best I can to be objective, take a critical perspective, and analyze numbers without emotion. Maybe that background makes me a terrible “fan” or contributer to this blog, but that is the lens from which I view things, right or wrong. We may disagree on how we view Pitt’s success, but I assure you, we have the same hopes for a brighter future.
I believe the problem that we all have at times is that we set unrealistic benchmarks (all fanbases do, really – but Pitt fans take the cake sometimes). You said that “I view trips to the Meineke Car Care and BBVA Compass Bowls as bad consolation prizes for once promising seasons.” Who made the season promising? Certainly not anyone who’s job it was to evaluate or predict our team’s strengths or potential in the preseason.
How many seasons in the past 12 were we pre season Top Anything? How many times were we virtual locks to go to a BCS Bowl? The Meineke Car Care/Belk bowl goes to the #3 team in the Big East. We had one or two seasons where we were “expected” to be win the conference. So if we are generally expected to be 2nd or 3rd or 4th, how is going to the bowl game for the 2nd, 3rd or 4th team a consolation?
If you perennially have top 20 and conference championship talent, then setting a benchmark of winning the conference and being in the top 20 is a legitimate benchmark. Setting that benchmark just because we want it to be that way does not make it a legitimate benchmark.
We had a 6-7 team last year, devoid of many play makers. And the only true play maker we had coming back (Ray G), we didn’t even know he was going to play AT ALL this season until after the kickoff of the first game. We were picked to finish 5th in the conference in the pre season this season. Was winning the Big East Conference really a legitimate benchmark for this season? Most people said 6-6. Guess what? We’re 6th in the conference and can MAYBE finish 3rd and have a decent chance of being 7-5. Is it great? Is it what we want? Obviously NO.
I’m sure it will happen again next year as well. People will expect Paul Chryst to deliver a big time bowl in his second season even though we will have lost our only play maker, we will have four complete unknowns at QB. One kid who couldn’t crack the starting lineup at the last two mediocre schools he transferred from and hasn’t seen a snap in a live game since November of 2010, one who’s been sitting on our bench the last two seasons, a RS Freshman and a true freshman. Is a big time bowl game a legitimate benchmark for next year? A conference title. Demanding/expecting a top 25 finish would be unrealistic, IMHO.
We fired Walt Harris and Wanny because the ever-higher bars that were set (which were reasonable) were not reached. I don’t think it’s fair for PC to have to reach the same bars in his first year as an HC and more importantly, after the disastrous 2 years we’ve endured.
Now, should we be demanding/expecting that the bar be set higher each year for PC and his coaches over the next 3 years? YOU BETTER BELIEVE WE SHOULD. Assuming we don’t run them out of town and have to start all over with a tarnished reputation and a truck load full of ammo for other schools’ recruiters, that is.
Sure would be nice to get lucky and be surprised once in a while though. That’s for sure.
#H2Pitt
what stings for me still is our 4th quarter offensive performance – 18 plays, 4 yards. Graham had a great day, no doubt. However, in the second half with a lead, I thought we should have started to mix Shell in and keep Ray fresh. Shell is also tough to brng down so if he broke some tackles, moved the pile,and ate up some clock, we would have worn ND defense down mentally.
On a positive note, I am excited for the future. if we can get any consistent QB play in this offense for 4 qtrs of a game, Chryst’s offense will be tough to stop.
Chryst is still showing the same problems with coaching. Going for it on 4th down at the end of the second quarter was horrible. This is literally the same exact mistake he made a couple weeks ago. Luckily the D bailed him out.
You can’t just assume he will become a good game day coach. There are tons and tons of coaches that never become a good game day coach. And he clearly didn’t learn from a mistake he made a couple weeks ago.
Also, I think this game proves my point that I’ve been trying to make that this team is talented and has no business being 4-5. The team went into ND and played at the same level as ND. They had absolutely no business losing to YSU and the Cuse.
from trib today:
Graham said he was surprised when Pitt started throwing from its 20-yard line while protecting an eight-point lead with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we were going to run the ball,” he said. “(But) we have great offensive coordinator (Joe Rudolph). He made the call. We stuck with it.”
In four of the five carries immediately preceding that series, Graham totaled zero yards.
i would’ve had no problem handing it to ray 3 times in a row b/c he’s our best player. but tino and the OL need to rise to the occasion in that situation and like so many times before, they didn’t do it. tino = anti-clutch.
Fumbled snaps, deer in headlights when rush approached, short arm nervous throws that missed the mark. He played well for three quarters but when the heat was on….pffffft.
Would love it!! NYC holiday time. Would be the first in line to buy 4 tickets.
Not doin’ Charlotte or Birmingham again.
Hopefully, this dilemma comes to fruition.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/ncaa/gameflash/2012/11/03/49675/index.html#ixzz2BMlr21Zn
In my opinion, it wasn’t the playcalling as much as the execution not being up to the level of the play being called.
On that last drive, all Chryst and Rudolph were doing was simply asking Tino and the rest of the offense to execute the same plays as if it were the first drive of the game.
If there’s a complaint to be made, it is Chryst’s reluctance to recognize Tino’s tendency to make mistakes at critical moments.
This is no different then the end of of the first half against Cincy and the end of the game at Syracuse when Chryst was calling on his quarterback to think on his feet and execute “A PLAY” like it was designed and undoubtedly exectuied successfully countless of times when the game was no so much on the line.
Then again if i was Kevin Harper, I release a public statement along the lines of “We missed read after read offensively, thats why we lost the game. It came down to offensive signal calling at the line of scrimmage, and being able to read a defense, and we have’t been able to do that in crucial situations. I give Notre Dame credit because their 19 year old RS Freshman was able to do that, while our 36 year old RS 18th YR Senior can’t.”
“Not a fan of Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri saying after his kicker, Kevin Harper, missed a 33-yard field goal in overtime, “We missed a field goal. That’s why we lost the game.” What a teammate Sunseri is. Pitt blew a 20-6 lead in the fourth quarter, and Harper made four of five field goals in the 29-26 loss. But he missed the one field goal that would have won it in the second overtime. Everyone who watched the game, and everyone in the Pitt locker room, understands a makeable field goal would have won the game. But to put the spotlight on one guy — that’s not what the quarterback on a team should do.”
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/11/05/Week-9/index.html#ixzz2BN0iu5PP
Enought said.
As bad or inconsistent as Harper has been all year (and I am one of his biggest critics), he didnt deserve to be called out like he was by the supposed team leader. A team leader who to my knowledge has never been called out by a teammate during his stellar career for ineptitude under center.
On to CT! Win.
HTP
Now as far as how I would respond to the rest of your most recent post, read CNorwoodAZ’s reply to you just below your post, and I respond with “what he said”.
Regarding your perspective on reality, let me use an analogy that you can relate to in your professional life since you, “are objective, take a critical perspective, and analyze numbers without emotion”. First, any objective observer viewing Saturday’s Pitt-ND game who saw the PI call in question and understands football, would agree that the ref made a horribly bad, game changing call on that play. End of discussion.
Second, any objective observer who had critically analyzed the teams in this game, before hand, would conclude “no contest” prior to the game. In essence this is what the Vegas line is all about and it was ND -17.
So just by crunching the numbers, Pitt beats the spread 2 TD’s, that’s a good thing right? And that was because Pitt looked good rather than ND looking awful. And considering Pitt takes the game into the fourth quarter up by 14, that makes Pitt’s effort even look better up to that point.
So what was the turning point in the game? Seemed pretty obvious to me, it was the PI call in question. So here is the business analogy.
If an “average” company showed great profit margins over the first 3 quarters of the year, under adverse market conditions against stiff competition, I would consider that very positive. If in the last quarter, outside factors that the company had no control over imposed harsh financial penalties against the company that adversely effected the profits in the last quarter and caused repercussions for the total years financial sheet, then how would you evaluate the company at year’s end?
I don’t think that you throw that company under the bus and discredit it’s previous accomplishments under such trying conditions, especially since the performance overall was way ahead of expectations in the first place.
However, that is just what you did IMO. Your quote “For the people blaming the officials. Winners celebrate victories and losers blame the officials. Good teams are mentally tough and can overcome a bad call here and there”.
Well, if you are lookig at this Pitt team “objectively” I would be hard pressed to classify them as “good”. And the PI call was not a “here or there” call, IT WAS “THE” CALL THAT TURNED THE GAME’S MOMENTUM TOTALLY AROUND.
You ended up even apoligizing for your negativity (whining). That’s what pissed me off. Expectations that were totally unrealistic!!!!! Just because Pitt cannot finish a game against the third ranked team in the country is no reason to be negative about their effort, which IMO was close to supernatural. This is a team that 7 weeks ago was being given up for dead for Christ’s sake. Then after they take a team like ND into triple OT in a losing effort they have to hear supposed fans still consider them losers, I don’t think so.
Don’t get me wrong, I share your desire to see Pitt a top 25 team annually again, but trashing a great effort, even though it was in a losing effort is not the way to get it done.
This team should really, really suck right now, considering what they have been through in the last couple years. And I know what bad Pitt football feels like living through a 1-10 season the year before Coach Majors showed up. But instead, these guys played out of their minds and almost pulled off a historic win that would have gone down in the books as one of the best Pitt victories in their long and storied history.
That didn’t happen, but it sure as hell doesn’t mean that these guys played like “the same old Pitt”. In fact it is a team that just does not yet have the ability to finish a game well and that got screwed by a critically important bad call.
You weren’t even born when Pitt won their last national championship, but let me tell you the air is pretty rarified up there way at the top. There is not a lot of room for error to get there either. Pitt may never get there again for as far as I know. So enjoy the process, is my recommendation. Celebrate the victories, no matter who they beat, mourn the losses no matter whom is victorious over us, but be realistic and rational in your expectations so as to keep the proper perspective on the process. And always Hail to Pitt!
“This is crazy. I did not blame the whole game on Harp! I even said it twice to make sure it was clear that I didn’t. This is stupid!”
“Taken out of context! Somany more plays in a game than just one kick. To think that is idiotic and dumb. Teams win and lose.”
I didn’t see the interview, but the words were definitely said. Out of context or not, they should not have been said.
Admittedly, I just glanced over the 200 or so posts, and really didn’t see anyone questioning the kids efforts.
Maybe there were, my eyes are about shot.
