OT: D1

[IUP24]

While I’ll certainly criticize the Nard Dawg for his in game decision making and the games he will play with and through the media, the good he’s done for Pitt far outweighs any negative. And I have no doubt that he’s honest, often brutally so, with his players and assistants. This is a good article. He and the school are putting a real effort into adapting to this crazy new world of college athletics and you have to appreciate that, even though I’m sure there will be ups and downs from a results standpoint.

Agreed with the ups and downs comment. Pitt is far better off with Pat Narduzzi than without him. Many in the fanbase wanted him fired last year; most here did too.

I generally don't understand the fan or media disdain towards him. He's like every other coach. He has brutally honest soundbites that are grabbed in a vacuum. When you listen to the full context, he is a guy that really loves football and his players.

If anyone watched Kirby Smart after the Texas game, that was a Pat Narduzzi soundbite. "They counted us out." "They tried to take it away from us." More criticism of the officials. Praise for "his guys." Etc. It was a rant with passion and anger after his team just won a huge game. That's Narduzzi in a nutshell after a win. But Pat gets eviscerated by the media and Kirby gets celebrated for that on field interview.

[IUP24]

While I’ll certainly criticize the Nard Dawg for his in game decision making and the games he will play with and through the media, the good he’s done for Pitt far outweighs any negative. And I have no doubt that he’s honest, often brutally so, with his players and assistants. This is a good article. He and the school are putting a real effort into adapting to this crazy new world of college athletics and you have to appreciate that, even though I’m sure there will be ups and downs from a results standpoint.

Player movement has become such a big topic of late, but it actually started to become a thing in the couple years before NIL was adopted. The transfer portal was created in 2018 for football. Things have changed since 2018, but that was when player movement started increasing.

And while a ton of schools have massive roster turnover every year, Pitt's done an excellent job at player retention. Far better than most. Pat Narduzzi says the same thing every show he's on and every time he is asked about NIL opportunities.

Paraphrasing, but here are his consistent points since day one:

- The real money is in the NFL. And he will help to develop guys to get them there.
- He wants guys who love football, not money.
- Money doesn't mean you will play well or be happy.

Somebody will poke a hole in each of those bullet points or try to discredit it. That's okay. I know, I know... "Money talks." Overall, Narduzzi does a good job at recruiting players to his program that really want to be there.

[Chuck Norris]

Nice article on Pat Narduzzi and Pitt.


How'd Pat Narduzzi turn around Pitt? NIL cuts, tough conversations and an offensive overhaul. 'S*** I have to clean house' - Yahoo Sports

While I’ll certainly criticize the Nard Dawg for his in game decision making and the games he will play with and through the media, the good he’s done for Pitt far outweighs any negative. And I have no doubt that he’s honest, often brutally so, with his players and assistants. This is a good article. He and the school are putting a real effort into adapting to this crazy new world of college athletics and you have to appreciate that, even though I’m sure there will be ups and downs from a results standpoint.

[IUP24]

Nice article on Pat Narduzzi and Pitt.


How'd Pat Narduzzi turn around Pitt? NIL cuts, tough conversations and an offensive overhaul. 'S*** I have to clean house' - Yahoo Sports

[Ship69]

I think the noon start benefits The Nits. It’s doesn’t give James Tenandtwo more time to **** it up.

Night games are wonderful up there if you don't mind trying to get out of State College and driving a couple of hours home well after midnight. But I know they love their precious whiteout up there. Ohio State has a lot of shiny toys, but they seem to have some problems with their o-line. It could be a more interesting game than usual. If Franklin loses this one, I think it's more likely he's James Elevenandone this year.

[IUPNation]

Can they flex the PSU/OSU start? I'm sure they'd (network) love to get that off the dreaded noon slot.

Obviously that's the main attraction.

I think the noon start benefits The Nits. It’s doesn’t give James Tenandtwo more time to **** it up.

[Ship69]

Florida State had an extremely experienced group last year. They were also led by a bunch of impact transfers that Norvell had previously brought in and had been in the program for multiple years. Jordan Travis being one in particular.

They had seniors all over an elite 2-deep on defense. They were a really good team, but they were also extremely experienced. They graduated a ton, in addition to just some traditional attrition type losses every program now experiences.

Norvell tried to replace many of those guys with quick fix imports out of the portal. And he didn’t hit on hardly any of them, specifically at QB. Given the environment we’re now in, that’s going to happen. I certainly didn’t expect FSU to be this bad, but they were going to take a significant step back this year given what they lost after last season. The real problem was them being ranked Top 10 to start the season, which they never should have been. I get those polls are based on how you finished last year, but the voters should actually do research formulate intelligent rankings.

I suspect some of these big-money teams are going to be picking up more and more guys from the portal, which can be a hit-and-miss thing. If some of these guys were smart, they'd scout out the talented o-linemen in the country and throw money at them. Ohio State had to use their backup left tackle Saturday, and he was getting beat like a drum

[Chuck Norris]

Pitt-SMU at 8:00 on ACC Network. Assume that means no Fowler/Herbstreit and no College Gameday.

Oh well, keep it rolling and get all of that at home against Clemson on the 16th.

[IUP24]

I somewhat agree with your analysis. I was furious with the coaching staff at my grad alma mater, Northwestern, for pissing away an overtime loss to Duke earlier in the season. The NU running back, Cam Porter, was shredding the Duke defense over the last quarter and into OT. So with a third down and less than a yard to go in the overtime period, they hand it off to Porter, right? No, they call a designed east-west QB run that loses 9 yards and forces them to toss up a desperate throw on fourth down, which falls incomplete. A classic case of coaches trying to be cute and not sticking with what works. Northwestern is offensively challenged and not having a very good year. The Duke defense was pretty good, but overall I was not that impressed with them and am surprised they have the record they do. Florida State must really be awful this year.

Florida State had an extremely experienced group last year. They were also led by a bunch of impact transfers that Norvell had previously brought in and had been in the program for multiple years. Jordan Travis being one in particular.

They had seniors all over an elite 2-deep on defense. They were a really good team, but they were also extremely experienced. They graduated a ton, in addition to just some traditional attrition type losses every program now experiences.

Norvell tried to replace many of those guys with quick fix imports out of the portal. And he didn’t hit on hardly any of them, specifically at QB. Given the environment we’re now in, that’s going to happen. I certainly didn’t expect FSU to be this bad, but they were going to take a significant step back this year given what they lost after last season. The real problem was them being ranked Top 10 to start the season, which they never should have been. I get those polls are based on how you finished last year, but the voters should actually do research formulate intelligent rankings.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Fox, for whatever reason, decided to make noon their “prime time” time slot. Plus next Saturday night could potentially be game 7 of the World Series

Fox is going to put OSU/PSU head to head with IUP/Gannon.

Risky

[Chuck Norris]

Can they flex the PSU/OSU start? I'm sure they'd (network) love to get that off the dreaded noon slot.

Obviously that's the main attraction.

Fox, for whatever reason, decided to make noon their “prime time” time slot. Plus next Saturday night could potentially be game 7 of the World Series

[Ship69]

Duke is a fraud. Florida State is horrendous this year and Duke needed 5 turnovers to win a 1 score game against them. Their offense is one of the worst in the country, but they don't turn the ball over and try to win with defense/ST. As long as you don't turn the ball over, Duke is dead in the water.

I somewhat agree with your analysis. I was furious with the coaching staff at my grad alma mater, Northwestern, for pissing away an overtime loss to Duke earlier in the season. The NU running back, Cam Porter, was shredding the Duke defense over the last quarter and into OT. So with a third down and less than a yard to go in the overtime period, they hand it off to Porter, right? No, they call a designed east-west QB run that loses 9 yards and forces them to toss up a desperate throw on fourth down, which falls incomplete. A classic case of coaches trying to be cute and not sticking with what works. Northwestern is offensively challenged and not having a very good year. The Duke defense was pretty good, but overall I was not that impressed with them and am surprised they have the record they do. Florida State must really be awful this year.

[Ram040506]

It’s at Duke, so you can’t rule anything out. But I don’t think Duke is nearly as good as their record would suggest.

Duke is a fraud. Florida State is horrendous this year and Duke needed 5 turnovers to win a 1 score game against them. Their offense is one of the worst in the country, but they don't turn the ball over and try to win with defense/ST. As long as you don't turn the ball over, Duke is dead in the water.

[Fightingscot82]

CBS Sports makes it seem like Indiana is positioned for an extended run with Curt Cig.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-fo...around-vision/

[IUP24]

Can they flex the PSU/OSU start? I'm sure they'd (network) love to get that off the dreaded noon slot.

Obviously that's the main attraction.

No, they can’t. Fox gets the first pick out of Fox, NBC, and CBS out of the lineup of B1G games. And they always pick the best game for their Big Noon Kickoff.

That’s the deal all those schools signed up for.

To add…

I really don’t care what time they play though. And I don’t care if OSU/PSU is the main attraction. The reality is that if you look at next week’s schedule, there are only 2 games with national implications. Pitt is involved in one of them.

Win or lose, that’s cool.