OT: D1

[Ship69]

That's odd he called it an upset special. SMU was -7.5 entering the game.

I commented earlier that the teams were ranked No. 18 and No. 20, so I didn't think either winning would be an upset. I was directed to the spread, which to me is only meaningful if I have money on the game.

[Chuck Norris]

That ended Pitt’s season. They don’t have the luxury of getting multiple mulligans like other teams will in this expanded format. Teams in the Big 12 and ACC have zero margin for error, which is a shame.

Credit to SMU. They were ready to play and Pitt was not. That’s a really good football team. I don’t think the actual separation is what we saw on Saturday night, but Pitt laid a massive egg. Perception matters, and unfortunately all people will talk about is that they got their doors blown off in a big game.

Still think they have another loss on their schedule. But to potentially win 10 games after a 3-9 season is a heck of a turnaround. I just hope the team can flush this and rebound for next week.

With the regression of the offense, it’s hard for me to see them beating Clemson or Louisville. 9-3 would still be a very nice improvement from 3-9.

Hopefully Duzz can figure it out in the next six days. That was an acceptable spot to lose last night, but not in that way. SMU is good, but they’re not that good. Performances like that are why it can be hard to be a Pitt fan and why the naysayers always seem to get the last laugh.

[IUP24]

With the regression of the offense, it’s hard for me to see them beating Clemson or Louisville. 9-3 would still be a very nice improvement from 3-9.

Hopefully Duzz can figure it out in the next six days. That was an acceptable spot to lose last night, but not in that way. SMU is good, but they’re not that good. Performances like that are why it can be hard to be a Pitt fan and why the naysayers always seem to get the last laugh.

9-3 is a great year. I think it’s lost on many how young the entire team is. SMU has now won (I believe) 18 of 20 conference games. That’s an experienced team. They’re good. And should they avoid losing 2 games down the stretch, they’ll give Miami a run for the ACC championship.

I’m disappointed they laid an egg. But I don’t look at that game as the macro of anything. Pitt was 7-0 for the first time in 42 years. So I can’t point to last night as exhibit A of why it’s hard being a Pitt fan or why they’ll never take the next step. I give Pat Narduzzi for looking in the mirror and doing an about face on how he’s comfortable traditionally playing. It’s why they were 7-0 going into last night. Believe me, I’m disappointed. I was in Dallas.

A lot of teams lost yesterday who weren’t expected to lose. It’s hard to go undefeated. Consider that Pitt isn’t loaded with the elite recruits. You are going to lose a game. I wish they looked different last night, but flush it and move on.

Regarding the offense, I think the real answer is that Eli Holstein has hit a freshman wall. He’s 19 years old and seeing new challenges every week. Cal was the first team they played to play mostly a zone defense. He looked shaky. I throw out the Syracuse game given that they only had 8 or 9 total possessions (although they did still score 2 touchdowns in limited opportunities). Last night was horrific. SMU used a spy on him all night. They rushed four. And they dropped everybody back in a zone. Pitt also lost their best OL for the season last week, and the OL got cooked with a four man rush. It was a bad night all around.

A month ago people were talking about Kade Bell being a candidate for smaller bead coaching jobs. There were people discussing Holstein leaving Pitt for the highest bidder. I tend to think the market has cooled off on both fronts and that benefits Pitt in the long term.

[IUPNation]

The Centre County Community College’s loss was worse because if they had a better coach they’d have won.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

With the regression of the offense, it’s hard for me to see them beating Clemson or Louisville. 9-3 would still be a very nice improvement from 3-9.

Hopefully Duzz can figure it out in the next six days. That was an acceptable spot to lose last night, but not in that way. SMU is good, but they’re not that good. Performances like that are why it can be hard to be a Pitt fan and why the naysayers always seem to get the last laugh.

When the kicker is taunting you it's not your night

[Chuck Norris]

9-3 is a great year. I think it’s lost on many how young the entire team is. SMU has now won (I believe) 18 of 20 conference games. That’s an experienced team. They’re good. And should they avoid losing 2 games down the stretch, they’ll give Miami a run for the ACC championship.

I’m disappointed they laid an egg. But I don’t look at that game as the macro of anything. Pitt was 7-0 for the first time in 42 years. So I can’t point to last night as exhibit A of why it’s hard being a Pitt fan or why they’ll never take the next step. I give Pat Narduzzi for looking in the mirror and doing an about face on how he’s comfortable traditionally playing. It’s why they were 7-0 going into last night. Believe me, I’m disappointed. I was in Dallas.

A lot of teams lost yesterday who weren’t expected to lose. It’s hard to go undefeated. Consider that Pitt isn’t loaded with the elite recruits. You are going to lose a game. I wish they looked different last night, but flush it and move on.

Regarding the offense, I think the real answer is that Eli Holstein has hit a freshman wall. He’s 19 years old and seeing new challenges every week. Cal was the first team they played to play mostly a zone defense. He looked shaky. I throw out the Syracuse game given that they only had 8 or 9 total possessions (although they did still score 2 touchdowns in limited opportunities). Last night was horrific. SMU used a spy on him all night. They rushed four. And they dropped everybody back in a zone. Pitt also lost their best OL for the season last week, and the OL got cooked with a four man rush. It was a bad night all around.

A month ago people were talking about Kade Bell being a candidate for smaller bead coaching jobs. There were people discussing Holstein leaving Pitt for the highest bidder. I tend to think the market has cooled off on both fronts and that benefits Pitt in the long term.

Saying it’s hard to be a Pitt fan in these moments, for me, is not to degrade Narduzzi or the program’s current direction. It’s simply a general lament born of many moments like last night. It just seems like any time we allow ourselves to think something really good is possible it’s taken away, almost always in brutal fashion. I didn’t expect them to go undefeated. But it was like a cruel tease for them to start 7-0 in the first year of the expanded playoff. Just when you start to allow yourself to forget about “Same ‘ol Pitt” just for a minute, you get…Same ‘ol Pitt. That was the biggest regular season game probably since Mardy Gilliard. Those games don’t come by for Pitt very often. And for it to basically be over early in the 2nd quarter was a gut punch. I would’ve been ok with a loss. Just compete. Maybe cover and get me paid, lol.

The program is in a good place. They can still have a really good season. They seem to have a good plan to attack this NIL era. So we’ll see how it goes.

[IUP24]

Saying it’s hard to be a Pitt fan in these moments, for me, is not to degrade Narduzzi or the program’s current direction. It’s simply a general lament born of many moments like last night. It just seems like any time we allow ourselves to think something really good is possible it’s taken away, almost always in brutal fashion. I didn’t expect them to go undefeated. But it was like a cruel tease for them to start 7-0 in the first year of the expanded playoff. Just when you start to allow yourself to forget about “Same ‘ol Pitt” just for a minute, you get…Same ‘ol Pitt. That was the biggest regular season game probably since Mardy Gilliard. Those games don’t come by for Pitt very often. And for it to basically be over early in the 2nd quarter was a gut punch. I would’ve been ok with a loss. Just compete. Maybe cover and get me paid, lol.

The program is in a good place. They can still have a really good season. They seem to have a good plan to attack this NIL era. So we’ll see how it goes.

You may have been at the table of Pitt fans I was talking to last night at a bar after the game LOL (I guess it was during the game still - I didn’t subject myself to 4 quarters of that in person).

There was a “same old Pitt” comment last night. It’s just hard for me to go there. This year has really been anything but that. Amazing comebacks. Winning in Chapel Hill. Starting 7-0 for the first time in 42 years. They are doing things no Pitt team has ever done. I know it stings today given what everyone probably started to think about where they could go.

For me, I don’t care how they lost when reflecting on it. Pitt was going to need to likely go 12-0 in the regular season to reach the college football playoff. What’s disappointing is had they won, that conversation may look different today on that topic. They actually got help from every team you would want to lose. A win down there would have vaulted them into the top 10 and would have had them with a greater than 50% chance to make the CFP.

[ctrabs74]

Well it looks there’ll be some rain and wind in Dallas. I just hope any lightning stays away. Any long delays in a game of this magnitude would be such a bummer.

We lucked out. The inclement weather went well west of Fort Worth so it was pretty much dry the entire night... which was good for those of us working field security at SMU's stadium (which is about a 40 minute drive from my house), where we were not looking forward to a potential weather delay that would've likely kept us there until 1am.

[ctrabs74]

With the regression of the offense, it’s hard for me to see them beating Clemson or Louisville. 9-3 would still be a very nice improvement from 3-9.

Hopefully Duzz can figure it out in the next six days. That was an acceptable spot to lose last night, but not in that way. SMU is good, but they’re not that good. Performances like that are why it can be hard to be a Pitt fan and why the naysayers always seem to get the last laugh.

Trust me, a lot of us down here in Dallas didn't think SMU was going to beat Duke the previous week after six turnovers. SMU's lucky that Duke's kicker was putrid (missed PAT, missed FG and blocked FG at the end of regulation), otherwise, we're not having this discussion about SMU potentially reaching the ACC title game in their first season in the ACC.

Truthfully, I figured that Pitt would've made it closer, but holy crap, it was complete domination by SMU. And, SMU's only loss was a tough 18-15 loss at home to undefeated BYU (who might have the best defense SMU has faced all season). If SMU can win the ACC, then they're not going to be an easy out in the playoffs this year.

[ctrabs74]

9-3 is a great year. I think it’s lost on many how young the entire team is. SMU has now won (I believe) 18 of 20 conference games. That’s an experienced team. They’re good. And should they avoid losing 2 games down the stretch, they’ll give Miami a run for the ACC championship.

SMU's Kevin Jennings is developing into one of the better quarterbacks in the ACC ... and he's (1) a redshirt sophomore and (2) a local kid from Dallas South Oak Cliff (he was part of SOC's 2021 Texas 5A-1 state championship team, the first for a Dallas ISD high school in decades). He more than overcame a rough performance against Duke the week before where he threw three interceptions and fumbled twice with a solid effort against Pitt. Jennings led SMU to an American Athletic Conference title last season in his first career start (where he replaced an injured Preston Stone, who was supposed to be the starter this season, but Jennings played his way into that role).

I’m disappointed they laid an egg. But I don’t look at that game as the macro of anything. Pitt was 7-0 for the first time in 42 years. So I can’t point to last night as exhibit A of why it’s hard being a Pitt fan or why they’ll never take the next step. I give Pat Narduzzi for looking in the mirror and doing an about face on how he’s comfortable traditionally playing. It’s why they were 7-0 going into last night. Believe me, I’m disappointed. I was in Dallas.

A lot of teams lost yesterday who weren’t expected to lose. It’s hard to go undefeated. Consider that Pitt isn’t loaded with the elite recruits. You are going to lose a game. I wish they looked different last night, but flush it and move on.

The long-term issue with Pitt seems to be consistency. You go from winning the ACC in 2021 to a couple of down years to back in the discussion in 2024. If Pitt could at least mirror the run at State College (I know, it's blasphemous to make that comparison, but work with me here) with 10 wins year and and year out with the occasional trip to Charlotte, then I think you can take Pitt seriously as a perennial contender in the ACC. As it stands right now, the inconsistent track record draws more comparisons to the one-and-done run of TCU a couple of years ago, where now the Horned Frogs, two years removed from a national title game appearance, are struggling to become bowl eligible.

[IUP24]

Trust me, a lot of us down here in Dallas didn't think SMU was going to beat Duke the previous week after six turnovers. SMU's lucky that Duke's kicker was putrid (missed PAT, missed FG and blocked FG at the end of regulation), otherwise, we're not having this discussion about SMU potentially reaching the ACC title game in their first season in the ACC.

Truthfully, I figured that Pitt would've made it closer, but holy crap, it was complete domination by SMU. And, SMU's only loss was a tough 18-15 loss at home to undefeated BYU (who might have the best defense SMU has faced all season). If SMU can win the ACC, then they're not going to be an easy out in the playoffs this year.

SMU is a really good team. It's unfortunate that the ACC doesn't get any traction nationally from a respect or perception angle. It's a strong conference. I tend to look at Miami having close games as a sign that it's a competitive league, not that Miami is a weak team. Miami should have lost to VT and Cal, but survived. Louisville was right there with Miami until a missed holding call on a long TD pass swung the game in the 4th quarter. That same Louisville team went out and won on the road against a Clemson team that was humming along. SMU played a tight game against Duke, and for what it's worth, that same Duke team gave Miami everything it could handle for 3.5 quarters. Cal took both Pitt and Miami to the brink. There is a strong level of competition within the conference.

This is not at all making this a Pitt/Penn State comparison, rather to look at the perception angle regarding how the ACC is viewed versus, say, the Big Ten. Pitt's win over Syracuse would be Penn State's best win on their schedule. B1G fans can't point to the Illinois win anymore as a data point because they have 4 losses now. They can't point to USC either, as they are below .500. So find me a better win on their schedule. I think it's so unfair to blindly say that the ACC is such an inferior league compared to the others. I'll agree that the top 4 teams in the B1G and SEC are better programs, but the bottom and the middle tiers of those conferences are not - they are all on equal footing. And with these expanded conferences and watered down schedules, you don't have to play all the top teams anymore. Indiana is a fun story for many (especially here), but I'm not entirely sure they've played anybody challenging either. Is Nebraska or Michigan State a good team? I'm not really sure that either are. Neither of those wins are any better than somebody in the ACC beating Virginia Tech or Cal.

I say all that to say that its unfortunate that these schools in the ACC and Big 12 have zero margin for error, because I truly believe all of these conferences are closer than many will ever care to believe.

[IUP24]

SMU's Kevin Jennings is developing into one of the better quarterbacks in the ACC ... and he's (1) a redshirt sophomore and (2) a local kid from Dallas South Oak Cliff (he was part of SOC's 2021 Texas 5A-1 state championship team, the first for a Dallas ISD high school in decades). He more than overcame a rough performance against Duke the week before where he threw three interceptions and fumbled twice with a solid effort against Pitt. Jennings led SMU to an American Athletic Conference title last season in his first career start (where he replaced an injured Preston Stone, who was supposed to be the starter this season, but Jennings played his way into that role).



The long-term issue with Pitt seems to be consistency. You go from winning the ACC in 2021 to a couple of down years to back in the discussion in 2024. If Pitt could at least mirror the run at State College (I know, it's blasphemous to make that comparison, but work with me here) with 10 wins year and and year out with the occasional trip to Charlotte, then I think you can take Pitt seriously as a perennial contender in the ACC. As it stands right now, the inconsistent track record draws more comparisons to the one-and-done run of TCU a couple of years ago, where now the Horned Frogs, two years removed from a national title game appearance, are struggling to become bowl eligible.

I'm not really sure you are objectively looking at the Pat Narduzzi tenure or Pitt's time in the ACC. Since they've been in the conference, they have won the 3rd most games in the ACC behind only Clemson and Florida State. They are the only school not named Clemson or Florida State to win the conference since 2011, and they did that by beating Clemson in the regular season to get to Charlotte. Tougher now with Saturday's loss, but they are still in conversation to reach the ACC Championship game for the 3rd time in 6 years. I'm not sure what you are looking for pertaining to consistency.

2022 wasn't a down year. They had two horrendous losses in consecutive weeks (one in a monsoon to Georgia Tech and the other at Louisville). They won a bowl game over a good UCLA team and finished the season ranked. They could have done more had they not lost those two games in October, but oh well. They won 20 games in two years. They were one of only 4 programs to do that in that stretch. 2023 was a disaster because of a number of things, but start at the QB position.

It's really hard to be "consistent" in the way that you are talking about. 90-95% of college programs cannot just go out and win 10 games every year. It's extremely hard to do that. The 5-10% of schools that do are the ones who get top 10 recruiting classes every season and have the money to buy players off rosters to plug holes. Pitt is not that type of program - and they never will be.

Nobody on this board is more invested or interested in Pitt football than I am. I have had season tickets for years. I believe they should be winning 8 games every year as the floor and you have your build up season every couple of years to get to 10 wins. It is grossly unfair of me to expect them to win 10 games annually in this era of college football.

[Fightingscot82]

In other D1 news, the Ivy League is considering joining the FCS playoffs. They wouldn't have to award scholarships either, which is the common assumption.

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2...ll-postseason/

[Chuck Norris]

Trust me, a lot of us down here in Dallas didn't think SMU was going to beat Duke the previous week after six turnovers. SMU's lucky that Duke's kicker was putrid (missed PAT, missed FG and blocked FG at the end of regulation), otherwise, we're not having this discussion about SMU potentially reaching the ACC title game in their first season in the ACC.

Truthfully, I figured that Pitt would've made it closer, but holy crap, it was complete domination by SMU. And, SMU's only loss was a tough 18-15 loss at home to undefeated BYU (who might have the best defense SMU has faced all season). If SMU can win the ACC, then they're not going to be an easy out in the playoffs this year.

I am quite curious to see how SMU finishes up. They should be a solid favorite in their remaining games.

[ctrabs74]

I am quite curious to see how SMU finishes up. They should be a solid favorite in their remaining games.

Boston College has "trap game" written all over it, though SMU will have a week off ahead of their Nov. 16 rematch of last year's Fenway Bowl. SMU then travels to Virginia and closes out the season at home against Cal (Comma) Berkeley. On paper, SMU should win all three, but they don't play games on paper. Just ask Clemson...