The Pitt News weighs in with two articles. The first is regarding the rise in Pitt’s season ticket sales:
Pitt’s athletic department announced in a letter Tuesday morning that 93 percent of season ticket holders have renewed their subscription for the upcoming football season.
On top of that, Pitt has sold almost 10,000 new season tickets, putting the University on track to break the school record for season ticket sales — a goal Athletic Director Scott Barnes set in February.
This is an interesting fact – the excitement generated after the 2002 season when we went 9-4 under Walt Harris produce a record for sales.
Pitt’s all-time record for season ticket sales is 53,775, set in 2003. According to the letter — which both Barnes and head football coach Pat Narduzzi signed — the school expects to actually break the record in August, when the majority of undergraduate student ticket purchases occur.
I went back to look at what that might have been the reasons for that and wanted to see if there were other factors than the winning record. I think what goes into making fans excited is not just winning seasons. I have said on here many times that one of my favorite seasons was the 2007 one where everything that could be thrown in our path to stop progress was… and we still felt it was a great ending when we beat WVU 13-9.
I remember very clearly that after the dust settled on that year we fans were excited to see what 2008 was going to show us. Of course we wanted to see LeSean McCoy in action again. That is one of the main attractions when looking forward; to see how your favorite player’s career is going to turn out is a powerful motivating factor for fans to attend games… along, of course, with that all-important W/L record.
Here is the actual schedule and results for Pitt’s ’02 season that helped generate those big sales (you can click on the date to see the box scores):
AP Poll Summary
| Pre | 8/26 | 9/2 | 9/8 | 9/15 | 9/22 | 9/29 | 10/6 | 10/13 | 10/20 | 10/27 | 11/3 | 11/10 | 11/17 | 11/24 | 12/1 | 12/8 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 25 | 24 | 19 |
| G# | Date | Day | School | Opponent | Conf | Pts | Opp | W | L | Streak | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 31, 2002 | Sat | Pittsburgh | Ohio | MAC | W | 27 | 14 | 1 | 0 | W 1 | ||
| 2 | Sep 7, 2002 | Sat | Pittsburgh | (20) Texas A&M | Big 12 | L | 12 | 14 | 1 | 1 | L 1 | ||
| 3 | Sep 14, 2002 | Sat | Pittsburgh | @ | Alabama-Birmingham | CUSA | W | 26 | 20 | 2 | 1 | W 1 | |
| 4 | Sep 21, 2002 | Sat | Pittsburgh | Rutgers | Big East | W | 23 | 3 | 3 | 1 | W 2 | ||
| 5 | Sep 28, 2002 | Sat | Pittsburgh | Toledo | MAC | W | 37 | 19 | 4 | 1 | W 3 | ||
| 6 | Oct 5, 2002 | Sat | Pittsburgh | @ | Syracuse | Big East | W | 48 | 24 | 5 | 1 | W 4 | |
| 7 | Oct 12, 2002 | Sat | Pittsburgh | @ | (8) Notre Dame | Ind | L | 6 | 14 | 5 | 2 | L 1 | |
| 8 | Oct 26, 2002 | Sat | Pittsburgh | Boston College | Big East | W | 19 | 16 | 6 | 2 | W 1 | ||
| 9 | Nov 2, 2002 | Sat | Pittsburgh | @ | (3) Virginia Tech | Big East | W | 28 | 21 | 7 | 2 | W 2 | |
| 10 | Nov 9, 2002 | Sat | (22) Pittsburgh | Temple | Big East | W | 29 | 22 | 8 | 2 | W 3 | ||
| 11 | Nov 21, 2002 | Thu | (17) Pittsburgh | @ | (1) Miami (FL) | Big East | L | 21 | 28 | 8 | 3 | L 1 | |
| 12 | Nov 30, 2002 | Sat | (17) Pittsburgh | (24) West Virginia | Big East | L | 17 | 24 | 8 | 4 | L 2 | ||
| 13 | Dec 26, 2002 | Thu | (24) Pittsburgh | N | Oregon State | Pac-10 | W | 38 | 13 | 9 | 4 | W 1 | Insight Bowl (Phoenix, AZ) |
So there is one thing – momentum not only from the big 38-13 win over Oregon State in the Insight Bowl, but we also ended the season nationally ranked at 19th at season’s end. Boy – that schedule looks a lot like what we we’ll see this season when they played five Top 25 teams. Too bad they had a 1-4 record against them. Let’s hope we do better in ’16.
What about the returning players that may have gotten the fan’s saliva rolling? Who were the Panther players the fans wanted to see in action again?
In ’02 QB Rod Rutherford had a OK year for a first time starter. In the table below you see that it was pretty positive all across the board – about average QB play for a D1 (at the time) school.
| Year ? | G | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | QB Rating |
| *2002 | 13 | 192 | 367 | 52.3 | 2783 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 22 | 12 | 129.3 |
| *2003 | 13 | 247 | 413 | 59.8 | 3679 | 8.9 | 9.2 | 37 | 14 | 157.4 |
As you can also see Pitt fans were treated to a much better passing year in Rutherford’s SR season when he put up 37 TDs and a very good 157.4 QB rating. BTW – that 157.4 rating would have put him at 11th nationally had he done it last season.
It is also interesting to see that HC Walt Harris had Rutherford run a lot less in his SR year. After Rutherford getting 398 yards rushing in 2002 you’d think you’d see much the same but Harris reined him in and perfected that passing game.
Of course, having another year of Larry Fitzgerald at WR was also a main factor in the fans wanting to more Pitt football in person. As we know his FR was great but his SO year (last at Pitt) in ’03 was Heisman Trophy worthy. Spending money to watch someone like Fitz play is always money well spent.
| Player | Year | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Fitzgerald | *2002 | 69 | 1005 | 14.6 | 12 |
| Fitzgerald | *2003 | 92 | 1672 | 18.2 | 22 |
| Career | 161 | 2677 | 16.6 | 34 |
What are the comparisons between that 2002 year and what we did last season in 2015 to generate this level of excitement and subsequent ticket sales? Well – the W/L record for one. We were one win shy of 2002’s record in ’15 when they went 9-3 and we were 8-5.
As with that team having a returning starting QB, our guy Nate Peterman did a good job last season and was statistically better in some areas than Rutherford was in his JR year, so that has fan’s forward looking to ’16 also.
| Player | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | QB Rate |
| Nathan Peterman | 193 | 313 | 61.7 | 2287 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 20 | 8 | 139.0 |
We’ll play the same type of tough schedule in ’16 as we did in 2003 when that team faced Texas A&M, Notre Dame, (#5) VT and (#10) Miami. This season we have PSU, OK State, Clemson, and North Carolina. One difference I can see between the two teams is that this season’s Pitt team will have a much better running game (prospectively) than that 2003 squad going into their season.
In 202 Pitt had 1,861 yards on the ground – about average again, then followed that up with a real dip in production at 1,537 the next year. We now are coming off a season where we had 2,429 rushing and that is without our star RB in James Conner… but with Ollison’s 1,100+ yards So there is another real reason Pitt fans want tickets – to not only see Conner return to the field, but to see our overall rushing game in action again.
Fun times ahead – I hope we can follow up our 8-5 record with a winning season like the 20012 team (9-3, 23rd) did with that 8-4 (38th) 2003 year. I think we can…
The Pitt News also did a nice bio piece on our newly enrolled RB Chawntez Moss. It is a long one and well detailed. This is a good player who has his head on straight. here is what he says about his enrolling in Janrury:
The desire to get on the field this fall is a big reason why Moss finished high school early and enrolled at Pitt in January.
“I came early just to pretty much stay out of trouble, and to get a jump on … just getting to know the guys, know the playbook,” Moss said. “I know we added a new offensive coordinator [Matt Canada], so my best chance to play would be getting here early.”
Moss said he has already been told by coaches he will not be redshirting this year, meaning barring any unforeseen setbacks, he is expected to see playing time. (!!!) (emphasis mine).
PoD – one more reason to move FR George Hill over to DB. That almost-guarantee of playing time to Moss means they like this kid a lot at RB and that he’ll play this season. Here is a bit of his bravado:
In the running back meeting room, there’s a Wall of Greats celebrating the many legendary backs that make up Pitt’s historic legacy. One of the backs on the wall — Conner — is still on the team.
“I tell James all the time, ‘I’mma be up on the wall. One of these days, I’mma be up on the wall,’” Moss said.
He’s set the bar high for his time at Pitt, but Moss — driven by a competitive edge and determination — has a more specific focus for the coming season.
“To play,” Moss said. “To get on the field and play as a true freshman, that’s already saying a lot. After I’ve achieved that, then I can go to other stuff.”
Here is an awesome video of Moss stating his “10 things you don’t know about me“. One is that he gave himself a nickname…
I can remember sitting next to Pitt season ticket holders (as I was) who sold their ND game tickets .. and it funded their entire season ticket price. Of course, back then, we paid $155 for sideline season tickets (35 yard line)
I also know that there are some PSU’ers that got season tix just for the PSU game.
I don’t think the PSU tickets buyers will be the main cause of the season ticket rise though, simply because these days you can go on Stub Hub or a myriad of other sites to get tickets just for that one game.
You’ll pay a higher price, but it is so much easier.
I guess some people watching their pennies might go through the rigamarol (spelling? even a real word?) of ordering season tickets, but hypothetically, if Pitt was playing at Ohio St. and there were even some season tix available (hypothetical), I personally wouldn’t go through all that.
I have to watch my money too, but in the end, the higher price you’re gonna pay for that one game, will end up being about the same as a season ticket plus or minus a buck or two.
Maybe that’s just me.
Speaking of season ticket sales. How far we have fallen. Nice to see the offer to recent grads, since they are up to their eyeballs in college debt.
But 2003 showed the weaknesses in Walt’s system. He was great with QBs and receivers but deficient in the running game and defense.
I thought his best coaching effort was 2004.
Although school is out it looked like a lot of college age kids celebrating on the South Side last night.
One of the major advantages Pitt students have vs. the Penn States of the World are the Pro sports in this town, along with other cultural advantages.
Maybe one day Pitt will add a another trophy or two to the City of Champions hardware. It has been way to long.
Go Pens!
NHL playoffs are not for the faint of heart!!
The thing that will be a difference maker this season however is a factor that most see as a team weakness our DL play. Hendrix, Camp, Watts and Allen, all newcomers will be difference makers this year. I also think that Soto finds his nich moving from DE to the interior of the line. If some of these other recruits like Hamlin , Miller &/or Coleman are as good as their potential indicates we just might be a pretty good defensive team this year!
Hit the good scotch last night.
For those of you not around, that’s how it was every game for Pitt in 75-76. Edge of seat …especially Syracuse. Fortunate we had ref Bertha on the payroll as he made a great call for Pitt that won the game for us. Will always remember the announcement at Pitt Stadium that #1 Michagen lost allowing #2 Pitt to move into first place.
I hope this year’s team is as good as I think it is and you die hard Pitt youngsters get to experience that drama!
This is the best talent coached by the best coaching staff that Pitt has had in years. Sky is the limit for this team.
Pitt football coaches talking about Pitt’s campus life on Pitt LiveWire..
Coach Chryst left the cupboard well stocked on the offense, except at the TE position. Clarke fixes that for at least one year, come 2017, since he’ll be in the NFL quickly thereafter if he is in fact as good as advertised.
On the defense, major fail for Chryst! Enter Pat Narduzzi. However once he gets the players he requires to make his defensive system to click, watch out. Just one year of this staff and team working it all out together will make for a vast improvement in the D for 2016. Enter guys like Watts, Camp, Hamlin and Hendrix to reinforce the current thin spots in the defense and if they all prove worthy of immediate playing time I expect a much improved defensive unit overall.
We often forget that the Panthers tend to play up or down to their level of competition. Although we are still waiting see that first Narduzzi victory over a team that we have no business beating in the first place, I point to a few wins in 2015 that easily could have been loses for Pitt if SOP made an appearance in those contests.
Wins over VT & GT at their houses were good wins and if you think that those Ws over both the Ville & Duke were cake walks, well you’re wrong!
I’ve already predicted that 2017 gives us one of those unexpected victories that would elevate Narduzzi’s stock. A win over penn state would be welcomed for sure, but based on the current coaching turmoil in creepy valley we actually should expect to beat those pedophiles come 9/10. So that game won’t serve the function of getting that unexpected win.
The one I’d like to see is over the likes of UNC. Many have already penciled in the Clemson game as a loss in Death Valley, but Pitt often plays up to such competition, so who knows. A win there would equate to a 13-9 type occasion for the Panthers for sure, I’ll be there to witness whatever occurs. We’ll see.
This team is going to be good this season. The “Conner Factor” is a wild card ingredient that just might juice up the Panther MOJO enough to spring a miracle win or two, who knows? That Pitt vs. penn state game will be a momentum game for sure. It will either energize it with a win, or deflate the MOJO balloon in defeat, a pivotal game. Pitt is on the upswing, penn state, not so much. My prediction, Pitt wins. If that comes to pass, then this could be a season to remember.
Other options are needed. Since Boyd has stepped on campus we’ve been hoping for other WR’s to step up. Ford has to some degree. No one else has.
However, are any of them “that good”, that they could work themselves into the starting line up
by mid-season.
Or even make a move during August.
Or am I dreaming?
WR is the least of Pitt’s problems. They are all on the D side.
Worried that we will be weak against the run.
Flowers 4-star – tall with good hands, good speed, very productive junior and senior seasons; played in top level Ohio HS
Ffrench 3-star – really fast, good in open-field; may be returning kicks / punts, got handful of D1 offers after senior season even though already vebally committed
Matthews 3-star – tall, good potential; Clairton High
Recall how Coach Chryst transformed Pitt’s obvious weakness into a strength regarding our OL? Coach Duzz is in the process of doing the same with his defense. Moving Soto to the interior line will help his performance. Hendrix and Edwards will be productive DEs, Hamlin will be this season’s Jordan Whitehead. You’ll see. Once you see, then maybe you’ll believe? This defense is moving in the correct direction.
TX is their 1st game and they haven’t been the Texas with top 10 power.
MSU, Navy & Stanford will be breaking in new QB’s
USC – see TX above
ACC games are Cuse, NCST, Duke, Miami (Nov game) and VT
Most of their game times are already set at prime time spots – either 3:30pm or 7:30pm – ugh!
I’d rather focus on Pitt’s upcoming season and potential.
Fresh legs at the DE spot will be key to pressuring the QB and helping the DB’s in pass coverage.
Now the key will be finding the 2 deep talent at DB and LB. I think with the young guys this staff has recruited, that may fill out nicely – their development will be fun to watch.
HTP!
Oakland in 1970
