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October 17, 2015

There are two Coastal division opponents Pitt has yet to beat in the storied history of Pitt in the ACC. Last year was particularly humiliating as Pitt coughed the ball up in comically ridiculous fashion throughout the second half. Meanwhile the Yellow Jackets just ran over Pitt, prompting a panicked defensive coordinator to junk everything from the game plan at halftime — it didn’t help.

The game is a 12:30 start syndicated by the ACC. Hopefully you can find a station. If not, it’s ESPN3.com or — in my case as I’m visiting in-laws where naturally the middle of the state of Ohio is not carrying it — the WatchESPN app on your phone.

Did I bring a flask of Four Roses and a six-pack of Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Extra to get me through the game (and family)? It’s a possibility.





POD, you’re a solid poster and know your stuff, and you’re certainly not incorrect that the offense has been less consistent this year. But I’m dumbfounded how you fault the offense today.

When Conner went down, we all thought we were doomed. We have one legit receiver, 3 inexperienced RBs, a new QB, and a line that is just now getting healthy. We are 5-1 for the first time this decade. WTF do you want?

Comment by Iron Duke 10.17.15 @ 5:08 pm

wbb, the margin of victory was indeed raiser thin, but many are and we have certainly been on the other side of many of them.

Odd how the better coaches win the close ones.

Comment by gc 10.17.15 @ 5:09 pm

make that razor thin

Comment by gc 10.17.15 @ 5:10 pm

BtW, I went down to the South Side today to watch the game. Funny..in the first half the only people in the place openly watching and cheering for Pitt were me and the wife. By the 4th Qtr, every one in the place other than the sorry Pedo St. fans were actively cheering for Pitt. Winning cures a lot of ills.

Comment by Iron Duke 10.17.15 @ 5:11 pm

maybe karma is finally on our side … after all of these years

Comment by wbb 10.17.15 @ 5:12 pm

56 yard FG is the longest in school history. How legends are made.

Comment by Iron Duke 10.17.15 @ 5:13 pm

The team that was a favorite to win the Coastal has lost 5 in a row. That is how competitive the conference is. Nobody that great, but on any given Saturday…

Comment by gc 10.17.15 @ 5:15 pm

@goalie44

I would think he has an automated machine doing the back patting. Or someone on payroll to do it. His hands and arms couldn’t handle the workload…

Comment by Pap76 10.17.15 @ 5:16 pm

How many championship teams go through a season without one or more razor thin wins? Not many. Not saying Pitt is there, but good teams win close games. That’s the difference between good teams and what we’ve been living with for 30 years.

Comment by Iron Duke 10.17.15 @ 5:17 pm

I hope the bashing of Tyler Boyd is over. He made many great plays today, if not for him Blewitt’s kick never happens.

He now has the most catches of any Pitt receiver, and will break the yardage record soon.

He makes everyone better. We will miss him next year, he is a Pitt Legend.

Comment by gc 10.17.15 @ 5:19 pm

it also once again shows how futile pre-season picks are, since most are based on the previous season. You know teams like OSU and Bama will finish high, but the rest is a crapshoot for th most part

Comment by wbb 10.17.15 @ 5:21 pm

Made it to the game today for the 4th quarter. I was very impressed by the number of PITT fans. I was stuck on the GT side but had many PITT fans around. The PITT section of the stadium was very vocal during the fourth quarter and particularly in the last few minutes. This team is MUCH more fun to watch than any I can remember. The enthusiasm is visible and you can feel the energy especially with the defense. Blewitt’s field goal was a beauty! It just kept going! Great win in Atlanta. HTP

Comment by Jason 10.17.15 @ 5:22 pm

Very true, ND almost always rated higher at the beginning than the end of the season.

Comment by gc 10.17.15 @ 5:23 pm

gc, there was one only one or two bashing Tyler here, and the main one is someone who I have begged people here to ignore since I believe his main mission is to just piss people off

Comment by wbb 10.17.15 @ 5:24 pm

@jason,

better late than never i suppose!! you probably ot a hell of a good deal on the duckets…

Comment by goalie44 10.17.15 @ 5:28 pm

I said Boyd could benefit from another year in college, and I believe that even though it won’t happen. But he was clearly the best player on the field today. Like all stars, Boyd rises to the occasion. He is an all-timer.

Comment by Iron Duke 10.17.15 @ 5:31 pm

Suddenly I have bandwagon fans asking for tickets to the UNC and ND games. Winning changes everything.

Comment by Iron Duke 10.17.15 @ 5:33 pm

Great Win! Im on the bandwagon officially.

Wbb – Get a life. Tyler had a great game but deserved criticism earlier in the year and it was warranted. It was bever anout ability but me attitude.

Comment by Upittbaseball 10.17.15 @ 5:36 pm

what attitude problem? Dropping the ball a couple of times is an attitude problem?

Comment by wbb 10.17.15 @ 5:42 pm

Carryover from bowl game. Yelling publically at the coach and and other stuff. Im not focusing on that today. Today he was a pro. Carried himself as a professional and handed the ball to official. Looked completely different. Great day for
Him and Pitt. Bext week is a gimmee. No sop it appears. New days ahead.

Comment by Upittbaseball 10.17.15 @ 5:48 pm

when did he yell publicly at the coach? I don’t remember that.

Comment by wbb 10.17.15 @ 5:50 pm

Let’s hear it for a balanced offense. We can pass and we can run. Defense is light years ahead of last year, although they had us concerned in the first half of this one. They held them to 7 points in the second half. Outstanding!

Comment by gc 10.17.15 @ 5:53 pm

@ Iron Duke, you know what’s important.

Just win baby, WIN! Met many of the Pitt players as they filed through the Pitt fans as the boarded the buses to the airport. Everyone we met was thankful for our support, polite & respectful. The other thing that was pervasive throughout the team and coaching staff, a palpable quiet but confident attitude.

This team is going to be one to be reckoned with going forward in the conference.

Comment by Dr. Tom 10.17.15 @ 5:53 pm

We’ve turned Upittbaseball to the light side? Will wonders never cease. May the Panther Pride be with you, Upitt!

Comment by Dr. Tom 10.17.15 @ 5:56 pm

Sorry guys. I was off on the prediction at 10:04am today when I said we would win 31-27.

Overall it was an interesting game, but the result was fantastic. Evenly matched for the most part. We gave our opponent a 57 yard field goal and we got ourselves a 56 yarder!! Let’s light the lamp, enjoy the night and start prepping for the next one!

Comment by dhuffdaddy 10.17.15 @ 5:56 pm

What a topper it would be to get Jeter tonight.

Comment by gc 10.17.15 @ 5:57 pm

Michigan is the new Pitt!

Comment by wbb 10.17.15 @ 6:22 pm

Great win today for all of us long suffering Pitt alum and fans.—But I must say don’t look past Syracuse. Too many on this board are already focusing on the following NC game. Syracuse lost today at Virginia in the 3rd overtime. Another road game for Pitt next week and we didn’t exactly blow anyone out of the park in our conference wins.

Comment by jrnpitt 10.17.15 @ 6:23 pm

@wbb
Michigan is the old Pitt! Wow!!!!

Comment by Oklahomeboy 10.17.15 @ 6:27 pm

No game is a gimmee. Let’s not chalk up an automatic W next week. It’s a conference road game. Those are never easy. Got to keep the team level headed.

Comment by JJ 10.17.15 @ 6:32 pm

the ultimate trap game, going to Syracuse and then 5 days later playing NC.

In 08, the Great Steve Pedersen scheduled 3 straight road games which included Pitt playing AT Syracuse and then playing AT USF on Thursday … and Pitt won all 3.

Comment by wbb 10.17.15 @ 6:36 pm

Syracuse owes us one, we have owned them for quite a while. In the Coastal, anything is possible. Must stayed focused on the prize.

Comment by gc 10.17.15 @ 6:41 pm

A smart dog avoids traps. Only a hungry dog takes the bait. Pitt isnt hungry. 5 wins makes you well fed.

Comment by TX Panther 10.17.15 @ 6:42 pm

Coastal
Conference
Overall
STRK
vs Top 25

Pittsburgh
3-0
5-1
W3
0-0

Duke
2-0
5-1
W3
1-1

North Carolina
1-0
4-1
W4
0-0

Miami (FL)
1-1
4-2
W1
0-1

Virginia
1-1
2-4
W1
0-2

Virginia Tech
1-2
3-4
L1
0-1

Georgia Tech
0-4
2-5
L5
0-2

Looking good.

Comment by gc 10.17.15 @ 6:45 pm

I’m quite sure Narduzzi will not let this team look past anybody. When you look at how Pitt lost some of their games last year you should not be looking past anyone.—But today’s game gives me more confidence in both our offense and defense. They won’t be playing against the GT option offense at Syracuse. Time for both the Pitt offensive and defensive lines to take command next week. At least that’s what I’m hoping for.

Comment by jrnpitt 10.17.15 @ 6:46 pm

BTW, with all of the good things Ollison has done this year, nothing impressed me more than when he caught that swing pass and the next instance avoided the tackler homing in on him … in the 3rd quarter. Amazing agility for a big back.

When you consider Ollison, James and Hall … along with Conner and Ibrahim, there’s not even close to a dog among them

Comment by wbb 10.17.15 @ 6:54 pm

Tomorrow, I’d like to see a Steelers win, even though Fitz gets three touchdowns.

Comment by gc 10.17.15 @ 6:55 pm

wbb, great point and that was another of many big plays on the game.

Comment by gc 10.17.15 @ 6:56 pm

Great win today by the Panthers. Great game day coaching with noticeable results due to half time adjustments. Coach Narduzzi and staff are the real deal.

This blog was at one time called Panther Rants and with the negativity generated here should maybe consider going back to that moniker. Pitt is 5-1 with only an away loss to an undefeated Iowa team that won on a 57 yard field goal. We are also 3-0 in conference play yet reading the comments here one would think we are in a hopeless mess. Come on people, Pitt is only one win from being bowl eligible at the half way point of the season. If anyone had told you that at the beginning of the season, the more supple (and younger) of you would have been doing backflips. Lighten up and enjoy the ride. It is only going to get better in the coming seasons. Hail To Pitt!

Comment by JohnTheListener 10.17.15 @ 7:07 pm

Chris Dokish ?@ChrisDokish 1h
Love this big DT. He is a beast. Would be great with Narduzzi. Chris Dokish added,

Fred Hansard @Fred_Hansard56
Extremely exited and blessed to say I received my 16th offer from Pitt ! #H2P #SteelCity17

A lot of new folks on the board today….welcome to Blather…..

Comment by Jackagain 10.17.15 @ 7:12 pm

link to twitter.com

good for him

Comment by wbb 10.17.15 @ 7:12 pm

Emel–where are you? I was waiting for your comment that Chad should have been 1 for 1 for a 70 yard TD and a perfect QB rating.

Comment by bob 10.17.15 @ 7:15 pm

Congrats to the team and good riddance to the “Pitt fans” in sec 131 that got ejected for derogatory comments about our cheerleaders.
Comment by OhHowIhateOhioState 10.17.15 @ 4:24 pm
——–
I wondered why the guy, who had his arm in a sling and looked two sheets to the wind and his female friend, were escorted out of the stadium. And they were “Pitt” fans. Ouch! I thought Roc and the cheerleaders did a great job keeping our spirits up, especially at games end.

Unfortunately, I didn’t meet up with Dr. Tom, my fault. I was hijacked by some of my Techoid friends who saw me wearing a Pitt cap. This was one of my best experiences since attending GA Tech home games at Bobby Dodd. On to Syracuse. H2P!

Comment by MariettaMike 10.17.15 @ 7:25 pm

wbb – nice share. Blewitt is in the record books. Helluva an accomplishment. So happy for that kid.

Agree that Cuse is a potential trap game. It’s nice to be a good enough team to have a trap game. There are no bad teams on our schedule the rest of the way. Every game will be an adventure.

Comment by Iron Duke 10.17.15 @ 7:28 pm

Tip of the cap to Paul Chryst for stabilizing this program and recruiting well during his three years. But no way this team is 5-1 with last year’s staff.

Comment by Iron Duke 10.17.15 @ 7:35 pm

********
— The coaching staff (and players) have to be so freakin’ relieved that the GT game is behind them – what a pain in the butt to play that offense.

–I keeping hoping that Paul Johnson will move to a different conference, but at least we should be better prepared for them in future games…

–Our RBs are solid, but we still need a RB who can make people miss…

–The OL is really stifling the offense with their missed blocks – saw several today…

—Thought Coach Chaney was creative today with moving TB around – but where the heck are the passes to Orndoff?

–Very entertaining game.

–As a team we have some flaws, but you have to love the effort, attitude and persistence.

–I kind of took some comfort when Mike Caprara was in the game today – that’s a new development for me.

Go Pitt.

Comment by MajorMajors 10.17.15 @ 7:47 pm

Iron Duke @ 7:35, totally agree. the cupboard wasn’t bare and HCPN and staff are just better cooks

Comment by wbb 10.17.15 @ 8:13 pm

The offense is getting better as the players become more comfortable with the system … and our most talented players get healthy and stay on the field Dumb mistakes prevented Pitt from blowing out UVA last week. It had nothing to do with play calling. Needless to say, the last two weeks have been very promising.

It was very nice to see the offense and special teams carry the team when the defense couldn’t. The last two weeks Winslow is a different punter and I’ve never seen a new coach learn as quickly from his mistakes as PN.

What’s great is I don’t think this team is close to peaking yet. Syracuse could be the first team to see all three phases of Pitt football dominate. I’m starting to expect the Cuse game to be our first blowout of the season. Pedal to the metal thrashing and riding that high into the UNC game.

10-2

Comment by Tossing Thabeets 10.17.15 @ 8:16 pm

Plenty of seats remain. Anyone going up from eastern part of state.
link to stubhub.com

Comment by Scott in NEPA 10.17.15 @ 8:26 pm

Better than ‘cuse remember Duke is around the corner and they don’t sell out either. I think I have the wife talked into trekking 4 hours south.

Comment by Yeti 10.17.15 @ 9:13 pm

Tossing – if Syracuse was at home, might be a blowout. Up there, our 5th road game in 7, and a Thursday game looming vs. the team I consider to be the most dangerous remaining on the schedule, I’d be thrilled with a one point win.

I do agree that Pitt has not yet peaked.

Comment by Iron Duke 10.17.15 @ 9:43 pm

In ‘Duzzi we trust!

HTP

Comment by Pitt it Is 10.18.15 @ 7:53 am

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