“The Glass is Half Full”
Well, yesterday we saw some things in a PITT football game that I’ve never seen in my lifetime, including one lightning delay of 50 minutes, two 1st quarter fumbles inside the opponents red zone by the same PITT star RB and three combined team safeties resulting in six points.
Two of those things help PITT to dig a hole against FIU that they had to scramble around to get out of. But they did and came out with a 42-19 win which, on the face of it, isn’t that impressive given the opponent’s perceived lack of talent.
But then if you look closer as the game unfolded you see that it was a game that, after that rocky start, PITT had a good handle on. I’ll also disagree that the kids weren’t up for the game or were ‘sleepwalking’ as some say.
Let’s look at what transpired in the 1st quarter.
On PITT’s second series of the game, after the teams swapped punts, we started our own 20 yard line and moved the ball via the air and the ground 74 yards in eight plays, which is 9.3 ypp. Each play gained positive yardage and it was only the Conner fumble at the FIU 6 yard line that stopped us from scoring. Is that a crappy start to the game? I don’t think so, the offense clicked very well.
FIU’s first TD at the 3:20 mark was pretty fluky all around. FIU started at good field position because of a muffed Free Kick then had 33 yards on a tipped pass from one received to another that ended on our 3 yard line. That isn’t a fault of our defense at all; it was one of those weird plays that happen every so often.
Then when the 2nd quarter began we went on another good 10 play 58 yard drive, which was also set back 10 yards by PITT OL penalties, from our 33 to the FIU 9 where again Conner fumbled. Those are two solid offense series bracketing a FIU TD that our defense really wasn’t accountable for.
After that we finished the first half with two solid offensive series resulting in TDs to get us down only two points going into the half. Those two series were ‘quick strike’ offense as we scored 14 points in eight plays. Again – very good offensive play.
Now we know nobody wants to be down at halftime, especially against a lower conference team, but to say that we blew the first half isn’t necessarily true at all. The only thing we ‘blew’ was the defense giving up that 55 yard pass play for a TD that FIU had at the end of the first quarter. So one fluke TD and one well played TD on FIU’s part and they have a two point lead.
So I’ll disagree a bit that PITT ‘wasn’t ready’ to play FIU yesterday as the offense played very well in the 1st half and it was only two unfortunate fumbles at the end of long drives that kept us from a substantial halftime lead.
As we saw our defense tightened up from the beginning of the 2nd quarter and didn’t allow a TD until there were three minutes left in the game. That’s 42 straight minutes allowing only a FG as a score then a final FIU TD that didn’t really impact the outcome of the game.
You know what? I’ll take a win played like that any week of any year of any decade of any century of PITT football. I think what the PITT fans wanted to see was a total blowout a la’ Delaware but that sort of huge win isn’t really how PITT has played football in the past. Two straight wins and all of a sudden we are expecting almost perfect play and huge score differences? Where does that come from, and when did PITT get so uppity that we can’t savor a 17 point win to make it a third straight successful game to start the season?
Some other notes:
Voytik wasn’t hurt or winded when Chryst put Anderson in for that series. He did it to let Voytik ‘see the game as a game’ which I think is an excellent bit of coaching. But also, he’s letting Voytik know that there is another QB who can play if needed. This staff isn’t happy at all with the way Voytik’s passing hasn’t progressed at all. Interesting that Chryst felt that he had to state that Voytik will be starting against Iowa; “he added that Voytik will start next Saturday against Iowa“.
There was a feeling after the less than sterling fall camp Voytik had that ‘perhaps he’s a gamer rather than a practice guy’ but that hasn’t been the case with his passing game. It isn’t because he has been handcuffed by the staff or that he hasn’t had opportunities for success in the passing game. It is because he’s playing poorly in that aspect his quarterbacking.
In essence one of the best receivers in college football is being wasted because the QB can’t get the ball to him on a regular basis. Boyd currently has only 11 receptions for 140 yards which is what a 2nd or 3rd WR would normally have, not your best proven offensive weapon. We aren’t seeing a sophomore slump, we’re seeing a WR who is getting free downfield on a regular basis and the QB can’t get him the football. He is being limited, not held – limited to 46.6 receiving yards per game.
Guys, teams aren’t double teaming Boyd like we thought they would because it hasn’t been necessary to do so. One commenter in the game open thread said that the staff has to get Boyd more that the four touches he had yesterday and in theory that’s true. But the fact is that Voytik has been keep Boyd’s touches so low, not the staff.
Sooner or later Voytik has to realize that his passing must improve for him to be a solid, never lose the job, QB. That really isn’t the case yet and I think PITT fans don’t understand that Anderson truly gave Voytik a run for his money in camp. It wasn’t etched in stone that Voytik would start although we all figured it would unfold that way. Voytik is only three games into his starting career and that is a small sample but this trend we are seeing isn’t news to those who watched him struggle with his passing in camp.
Great runner, has pretty good command of the offense over all, well respected by his peers and has three wins, all that is great and necessary for success, but PITT can’t go through a whole season and expect to win against quality opponents with half of an offense. His 5.5 yards per attempt and 95 total yards passing per game aren’t going to cut it no matter how well he runs the ball.
We had one starting DE out with Durham’s shoulder injury and the other three step up very well to play good defense. That is a really positive sign for our defensive line. Blair has begun proving that he’s as good as we saw him play in the preseason and has really established himself as a presence at that position. He’ll be hard to keep off the field even when Durham gets back. What a great situation it is for House and Palermo to have the ability to rotate DEs at will especially when that position was a real question mark going into the opener.
As it stands now PITT’s defense is:
4th in Total Defense (211 ypg);
9th nationally in Rushing Defense (77.3 ypg)
10th in Passing Yardage Allowed (135 ypg)
10th in Passing Efficiency Defense (88.8)
16th in Scoring Defense (15 ppg)
Not perfect but it looks pretty good for House’s second year as DC. keep this up and we’ll be in good shape down the ACC stretch.
Here is the NCAA’s team rankings after three weeks.
Here is the NCAA Game Page which I think is better than any other media site for post-game info.
Here is the NCAA PITT Sports page and remember the NCAA listed stats are the official ones, not PITT’s or ESPN, etc.
Here is a cool game video from the PITT Live Wire blog.
(Monday Morning QB is being drafted)
Don’t know if he played but Robert Foster did not catch a pass in Bama’s route of So Miss.
Before yesterdays game PITT was 12 for 12 in the REDZONE and after yesterday’s game we are 16 scores in 18 attempts. (connor’s 2 fumbles in RZ).
So Chad appears to be making the plays in the most important part of the field. Not in between the 30’s.
As steve h noted at 7:55, they are not calling a lot of short stuff ala tiny for Chad to complete. A lot of the passes being called are down & outs on the sideline which is the hardest pass for a QB to complete, imo.
If they want to make it easier for Boyd to get the ball, there are many ways to do it. Playing him as a static WR is about the least imaginative way. And then throwing him run down & outs are the toughest throws. Play to your QB’s strengths, not his current weaknesses.
Still hoping they have some tricks/formations in the bag we’re going to see for Iowa.
1) Chad can actually move around, buy some time and then take off for positive yardage if nobody open.
2) He’s willing to throw it away rather than take a sack, as he’s not worried about his completion %.
3) PITT is currently 4rth in the nation in Rushing Yardage, avg’g 344 ypg.
PITT is 15th in the nation in Scoring offense at 44.7 ppg.
No love lost here for SP but Wanny really showed a lack of class with the comment and it reflects poorly on the Pitt community. He needs and we need to move on.
I cannot wait to go home to the Burgh this weekend for Iowa!
I’ve been to the last 2 Iowa games and they may have the nicest fans I’ve ever met ! Would love Pitt -4
Nice to see someone tracking the ‘big’ recruits we lost.. and you have to wonder about them.
The biggest one that hurt was the CB Henry, and that was a product of some made decisions on the D side of the ball… losing him in fact probably was a big part in spurring all the changes there for the better.
@all, the discussion on the QB is good, yet I would be curious from Reed and others their thoughts on how this Offensive line focused strategy is paying off and is in fact the main reason we avoided disaster. Dominate O-line does so much for a team in those situations unless you do truly have a great Qb.
With the kind of O-lines we had prior to Chyrst’s (which still is not where it will be 2 yrs from now)…. I say we risk losing that game.
They have 1 win and 10 losses vs. the Power 5.
And 3 losses against the MAC. Who they should stick to scheduling against, since it gives them more of a chance to win.
2. We were having a very difficult time with our footing, evening during warmups. The field was a very interesting and extremely thin field turf. Pitt players were loosing their footing from the minute they stepped on the field.
Usually the pre-game warmups are partly for determining the footing. You run some cuts and things to see how loose the turf is and if your footgear is appropriate.
Could be the reason why their receiver were so wide open in the 1rst Q, as receivers know where they’re going while the DB’s don’t and have to react. You can’t react very quickly if your slip sliding away.
More than a little strange that no coach picked up on the wrong footgear/spikes in the pre-game. 🙂
A small crowd at FIU is nothing new.
Only an ‘announced’ attendance of 41,000 at the U’s home field of Sun Life Stadium with a capacity of 76,000. So think Pitt vs. Delaware but even a more scattered crowd among the hugeness of Sun Life, seating more than 10,000 more than Heinz.
Some of these coaches have been coaching their entire lifetimes. PC since 1990(he only graduated college in 1988 so it’s his lifetime). Palermo since 1979. Hueber since 1975.
That’s a stretch(still learning) isn’t it.
Wanny was fine in my opinion. He wasn’t making a sales pitch to get his job back or anything. He didn’t hurt the Pitt brand. He went after someone he personally thought was incompetent. So what! We all do that. Until one of Pederson’s teams wins something, he should be on the hot seat. We must admit that our overall sports teams have been terrible under his leadership….except mens basketball. I also know that if you don’t support him, you get no access! Well played.
The Upper St. Clair Ferrences head back to town this weekend. Another game where it is critical to play strong early and take their will away. They are down. Any word on their LT Schnerff? Heard he is going to be a number 1 pick so I wonder if they risk an early return or give him an extra week. I hope for the latter so Rori can have a big game!
Let’s go Pitt and let’s get a new recruit this week!
I also remember the Nebraska fans being extrordinarily nice.
Of course, I could have run into only good ones, maybe someone had a brawl with some and they would think differently.
But, as I remember, just a general feeling of “these are good people”.
Coach Henry “Hank” Kuzma, coach of many teams including the Midland State Champs, passed away on September 13, in Steubenville.
Here is a link to his obit.
A class act from head to toe!
Re Voytik, he obviously needs to improve his throwing, but in my opinion there are 2 bigger problems with our passing game right now than CV’s throwing: (1) Our OL’s pass blocking is terrible (which I don’t understand given the strong run blocking), and (2) Chad leaves the pocket way too early at times.
Chad deserves more time to improve- as others have stated, he makes plays, and we’re winning with him. However, he also needs to show better decision making to remain starter.
Why is nobody commenting on our pass blocking?
On a different note, thank goodness we have a DE stepping up this year in Rori Blair. Great to see.
Voytik simply isn’t pulling the trigger. He isn’t trusting what is open and is afraid to throw a pick. It isn’t his arm, it is his brain. He has to have the confidence to go for it.
The D is a big concern.
This is still an 8 win team unless Voytik grows a pair to sling the freaking ball. He certainly has confidence to run like a wild man.
H2P
Which bring me to an angle that may be discussed this week. Secondary Coach Douglas, who was under Rhoads at Iowa State for the past so many years, may have some angles on how to defend the Hawkeyes, etc
2. If you’re paying attention at all, then you know that Pittsburgh sophomore tailback James Conner is a special talent. But Pitt is now trotting out the name of the most dynamic player in Panther history. Conner has rushed for 544 yards, the most ever in the first three games of the season, breaking by 57 yards the record set by — wait for it — Tony Dorsett in 1973. Dorsett, of course, is merely the only Pitt player ever to win the Heisman, which he did in 1976, when the Panthers finished No. 1. Conner just may be that good.
I was wondering the same thing. Our guys had so much trouble and planting your foot for a punt is critical. But, when I watched the TV coverage as he came off the field, I did not see Ryan W making any motions as if he had slipped. So, I don’t know. What I do know is that I think he is very good and is going to be a huge asset to our team this year and beyond.
H2P
It didn’t appear that Winslow lost his footing during that punt. He came off the field upset at himself and didn’t make any reference to his footing, etc. while on the sideline.
Winslow has done a really nice job this year and will be a big asset for years to come.
You’re right, the footing issues were a bit puzzling. I’ve seen a few different types of turf but FIU’s was incredibly thin. If you recall, even Jones and Boyd slipped a few times on their returns. Boyd also slipped on one of his receptions where, from my angle, looked like he could have had some big time YAC.
I don’t think he’s taken more than two or three deep tries so far on the season. We may not have many more games, maybe Akron, where we can build up a big 2nd half lead and let the QB loose to do what he needs to do – and that is get used to being a D1 passing QB.
Todd Graham found that out the hard way and took off.”
Please tell me specifically what corrections SP tried to force upon TG.
It is funny whether it be an AD or a chancellor, in this case, just how tolerant they are of their own hire but not so much of someone who may have been hired by their predecessor.
Having said all of that, while I agree there was truth to what Wanny said yesterday, I do not think it was the proper forum for it to be said.