3:10 to go, down four, ball on their own 38 yard line.
3:44 to go, down seven, ball on their own 28 yard line.
1:04: to go, down 3, ball on their own 24 yard line.
That’s the situation opposing offenses have been in the last three games. The result? ZERO points and three wins for Pitt. After the defense held on against VT, Narduzzi said in his press conference that the team made mistakes against Iowa that led to the 57 yard FG. Since then, not only has the defense held on, they’ve thrived. What a change from last year. When the defense is on the field with the game on the line they’ve responded.
Second important set of numbers: 40/60 (66.7%) 494 yards (8.2 YPA) 6 TDs and 0 INTs. That’s Nate Peterman the past three games. He has been efficient, converted key third and fourth downs, and is showing progress every week. This week he threw the ball much quicker and made a few throws with pressure in his face. He’s feeling the rush appropriately and rushing when he needs to and giving the play time to develop when he needs to. Peterman added a few good plays with his feet today as well. We’re watching a QB grow in front of our eyes and there’s not much that’ll hold him back at the collegiate level if this continues.
Coaching was spectacular as well. GT’s offense had their way with Pitt in the first half (five drives, three touchdowns, one fumble, one missed FG at the end of the half). The second half adjustments clearly worked as GT ended up with only one touchdown on five drives to go with three punts and the game ending interception. It was the only time all season GT failed to score 10+ in the second half. That’s huge.
Chaney finally had a great game as a play-caller. He ran the ball a lot, but he mixed it up with inside runs, sweeps, power, weak side, etc. The result was 43 carries for 200 yards. The running game didn’t always work, but it did when it needed to. The Boyd runs were timed well as was the trick play where he threw to Challingsworth. When you score 31 points on the road, 21 of which were on 75 yard drives, you had a good day. The best thing is the offense still has room to grow. I can’t imagine what it would look like with Conner.
Of course, there’s Chris Blewitt. Let’s hope he wears his jersey around campus so everyone can give him a high five (leave the leg alone please) for breaking Pitt’s record for longest FG. For it to be a game-winner on the road like that is spectacular.
Make no mistake; GT is a good team. They’re better than any team not named Iowa that Pitt has played this season. You don’t go from Orange Bowl champions to 2-5 in one season without a lot of bad breaks. Their schedule has been tough (Notre Dame and Clemson are both legit top 15 teams) so far and with games against FSU and UGA remaining it’s still not easy. GT may end up the best team that isn’t bowl eligible in the country, which is a terrible consolation prize.
Overall, celebrate the win over a good team and be thankful that all the injuries (Whitehead and Webb notably) appear to be nothing to worry about. Pitt is on the road AGAIN next week against Syracuse. Cuse is on par with Virginia, but the ARCHRIVAL ORANGE can’t be taken lightly. One of the upsides to how mediocre Pitt has been is that they’ve lost to or barely beaten everyone left on the schedule except Louisville recently. There’s no one the players can take lightly.
We just might be in the midst of something special.
H2P!
Credit to Coach Narduzzi for believing in his team. This win was all about belief. Our kids believe and that makes all the difference.
On to Syracuse…HTP!!
Over rated coach !! Watch the game 412’s !
link to stubhub.com
Enjoy it tonight and start preparing for Syracuse and Syracuse only beginning in the morning.
Glad to see the dairy college lose tonight. Watched in person. Interesting comments from the press box regarding RB Barkley and QB Hackenberg. Barkley will be the starter for the next three years as he is a true freshman. I said this before the season that Sanders should really look closely at that situation. Secondly and this is something I picked up from the dairy writers. Franklin apparently got a qb to flip that was going to go to Vandy. That qb is Franklins guy and he is using hackenburg as a sacrificial lamb and hanging hackenburg out to dry. The writer’s were not happy about that at all.
Listen, I am ALL in with HCPN!, he has brought energy, toughness and a will to win, and I can’t get enough of it I am now proud to talk and tell ppl about our fball team..I can’t wait to see what’s next!!
H2P!!
after that my only postgame thought will be beat UNC because if they do that to go 7-1 on a thursday night then the (non-playoff) sky is the limit for this team.
Except for the BOB years … PSU remains one of the worse schools for QBs, especially pro-styles
The offense has an identity! Power run game. Passing game that includes tight ends. Best offensive player in the ACC may run, catch or throw.
How about going for it on two fourth downs before the kick? Now the offense has the confidence the D has to close.
Even more impressive win with your two starting safties out.
Peterman’s fade throw to Boyd and the throw to Holtz for TD’s were big time. Really showed his talent.
Winslow’s punting was excellent.
College football is so much better to watch than the pros.
Today here in Cleveland area, the Browns play at 1 and Carolina and Seattle at 4. It is cold ad windy (warming trend tomorrow), so I hope there are some good movies. Mets / Cubs a possibility
With the numbers being put up by MacVittie, 4-star WR Flowers and athlete Ffrench, the Pitt offense looks good in the near future … just hope they sign with Pitt
Spoke with Jordan Whitehead in person after the game and he looked fine and he assured me that he’d be playing next week against the Orange, no idea about Webb’s injury though.
Take care of business against Syracuse and the following Thursday night game against UNC takes on huge implications for Coastal Division dominance. Let’s go Pitt!
We spoke with Scott Barnes for a while after the game. He was almost as excited as were. We told him to start reading The Blather to get the true fans perspective! What a real guy he is!
H2PN! Think 6-1!!
BEAT THW ‘CUSE
Back to work today. Beat ‘Cuse!
HTP
I was thinking the same thing about that PSU running back in regards to Sanders decision. May be a Foster situation. Also that kis is going to be tough to stop next year. Worry about that later.
I guess there was no news about Jeter.
Wonder where Emel is, should be eating a little crow today, hope he is OK.
Not really any room in the top 25 for Pitt at this point. Going to be some reshuffling, but not many dropping out.
Seems like every week is a must win situation against a beatable but challenging foe. Syracuse has now lost 3 in a row, but is still tough and has a really good QB. We will need strong play on both sides of the ball, and now we know that is possible. No time for a let down. Must Win.
Really great seeing Pitt at the top of the Coastal Standings, hope we can stay there for a while.
Main competition of Duke and NC lay ahead. Nice how it is setting up, as long as we beat Syracuse.
Clemson definitely the class of the ACC right now with FSU not too far behind.
Awesome win by Michigan State. One for the history books.
Notre Dame looks pretty good, that game is going to be a big freakin deal, no matter what.
Heinz will be rockin.
I guess there was no word from Jeter?
IF, IF IF IF pitt gets past cuse with a win, the tough part of the schedule really begins and we will see how this team matches up with the big(ger) boys. After Cuse pitt has UNC and Notre Dame at home, followed by duke on the road. Those three teams only have one loss each and all three could be ranked when pitt plays them. Again, though, cuse is all that should be on this team’s collective mind.
Virginia needed OT to beat the Orange, we barely eeked out a win against the Hoos. Should make for an interesting game next week.
Loved the halftime adjustments and the end result.
Hail to Pitt
Nice to see some creativity on offense, finally. Getting Boyd some carries. It’s like Chaney finally said, ‘alright, my way isn’t working, so let’s go with what does..’
That’s a good football team, too. No coach speak, no gravy. Watching them, they’re good.
What Narduzzi and Conklin have done with this D especially, and the team overall, has surpassed all reasonable expectations. It’s incredible, really. From Swiss cheese, wet noodle, folding lawn chair embarrassment against Houston – to ending three straight wins standing strong – top ten D – turnovers – most sacks in the country… Wow. Incredible. What a transformation.
I know one thing – this team is a helluva lot more consistent week to week than we’ve seen in a long long time from Pitt. They may not win every game but they at least have a fighting chance. They don’t roll over at the first sign of trouble. They play 60 minutes. It’s amazing how much difference that makes.
6-1 sure feels like victory right now to me. It was a statement game for sure. The statement being this Narduzzi Pitt team is a bunch to be reckoned with in the ACC.
And all this done WITHOUT the services of James Conner! Still petitioning for his return in the Duke game. That would be one hellava storyline if we are both still at the top of the Coastal by then.
So far, like I predicted, this could be a very exciting season for Pitt fans. Anybody bored out there, I thought not.
Gotta think the bitchin we’ve done to OCJC has been more a product of the O settling in to his schemes, than he not knowing what the heck he’s doing. We were almost even yards passing vs yards running. Great play calling and execution made it hard for Tech D to get on a roll.
Regardless, we are 5-1, and #25 in the country! Whodathunk?? Gonna be a FUN 2nd half of the season!!!
–Be interesting to see how much the OL can improve. If Pitt is going to beat the better teams, this has to happen. Too many breakdowns have occurred so far this season – which has really hurt Pitt’s efforts on offense.
–Justin – nice info on NP’s stats for the last 3 games. (40/60 (66.7%) 494 yards (8.2 YPA) 6 TDs and 0 INTs). Tough to argue with those numbers. Now if we can just get Weah to catch some passes down the field. (You can do it Jester!)
Go Pitt.
– the odds of making a 56 yarder
– a missed FG would have given GT the ball on the 38 yard line with over a minute left and the game tied.
The best part is this program with its youth (players and staff) will only get better. the enthusiasm is great … yet I don’t notice any taunting, they seemed pretty disciplined