OT: D1

[TheBigCat2192]

Some coaching carousel stuff:

Jim Mora (formerly of UCLA) is leaving his head coaching position at UConn to take the same job at Colorado State and Eric Morris of North Texas is going to be Mike Gundy's successor at Oklahoma State. I saw some claims from various sports reporters on X/Twitter that Alex Golesh will be leaving USF to take the HC job at Arkansas but I'll wait 'til we see a more solid report before I link that. It could just be hot air from someone who think he or she got a scoop.

[IUP24]

I’m not a Pitt hater or a Pitt fan, but try to catch their games when I can. Talk about a bi-polar team. It’s fascinating really. Against Notre Dame they looked like an FCS opponent showing up to collect a check against one of the big dogs. Last night they looked they were the big dogs and GT was there to collect a check. When they’re playing well, they’re a fun team to watch on both sides of the ball. When they’re bad, they’re really bad and it seems like there’s never much in-between.

I’m not a big gambler but if I was, I’d put a bunch of money on Pitt to lose next weekend because it’s a must win game. That’s just kind of how they roll. Hopefully they get the job done and find a way to get into the conference championship game, but I don’t know if they’re consistent enough to do that.

I’d think Miami is a safe bet because they are a more talented team and because they have historically owned Pitt since the turn of the century. I think Pitt has only beaten them like 3-4 times since 2000. They just really, really struggle with them.

Miami’s DL is legit. And Pitt’s OL is not very good. That will look like what it did against ND in the trenches. Just a major mismatch up front.

I would argue about them not winning games that are must win with postseason implications though. People forget, they controlled their destiny in 2018 and won 4 of their last 5 to reach Charlotte. They controlled their destiny in 2021 and won all their games down the stretch to get to the ACC championship. They actually have been fairly good in big games within the ACC that are “must win” types.

[EyeoftheHawk]

I’m not a Pitt hater or a Pitt fan, but try to catch their games when I can. Talk about a bi-polar team. It’s fascinating really. Against Notre Dame they looked like an FCS opponent showing up to collect a check against one of the big dogs. Last night they looked they were the big dogs and GT was there to collect a check. When they’re playing well, they’re a fun team to watch on both sides of the ball. When they’re bad, they’re really bad and it seems like there’s never much in-between.

I’m not a big gambler but if I was, I’d put a bunch of money on Pitt to lose next weekend because it’s a must win game. That’s just kind of how they roll. Hopefully they get the job done and find a way to get into the conference championship game, but I don’t know if they’re consistent enough to do that.

[IUP24]

Yeah unfortunately Good Miami shows up against Pitt more often than not. And with the huge stakes in this one I don’t foresee Bad Miami taking the field at Acrisure on Saturday.

Miami has a ton to play for next week. I don’t expect an unmotivated Miami team coming to Pittsburgh. Couple things break their way, they could be an at-large for the CFP.

[Chuck Norris]

I think there’s a good chance a bad VT team beats UVA. The Cavaliers are just 2-22 in their last 24 against VT. But man, Pitt mostly struggles with Miami and I really don’t like them in this game next Saturday.

Yeah unfortunately Good Miami shows up against Pitt more often than not. And with the huge stakes in this one I don’t foresee Bad Miami taking the field at Acrisure on Saturday.

[IUP24]

Virginia and SMU control their ACC championship game destiny. Pitt needs to win and have one of them lose.

I think there’s a good chance a bad VT team beats UVA. The Cavaliers are just 2-22 in their last 24 against VT. But man, Pitt mostly struggles with Miami and I really don’t like them in this game next Saturday.

[IUP24]

Well, when the HC tells the media he doesn't care if they lose to ND by 100 points (and gets berated by the national media for it) ... and then goes out and gets demolished in front of a (rare) sold-out stadium with College Game Day in town ... what else can you say. But, today is one day closer to his retirement.

You clearly ignored that he said he didn’t care as long as they were ready to play and won their last two games.

They were spitting nails. Pitt’s D was “nasty” on Haynes King all night.

[Chuck Norris]

I'll give Pitt their flowers... they went down to Atlanta and dominated Georgia Tech to keep their ACC title game chances alive. The ACC title race seems to be down to Pitt, Virginia and SMU.

All Pitt has to do is beat Miami at home.

Virginia and SMU control their ACC championship game destiny. Pitt needs to win and have one of them lose.

[ctrabs74]

I'll give Pitt their flowers... they went down to Atlanta and dominated Georgia Tech to keep their ACC title game chances alive. The ACC title race seems to be down to Pitt, Virginia and SMU.

All Pitt has to do is beat Miami at home.

[ctrabs74]

Pitt 28, Georgia Tech 14 at the half... Pitt misses a field goal at the end of the first half

[TheBigCat2192]

Probably not a good "team building" exercise.

I assume one part of the altercation was a Trent Dilfer loyalist and the other were fans of the new HC /s

[Chuck Norris]

They were clearly overmatched. And I said leading up to the game that was likely going to be the outcome. Pitt's defense is pretty good and that offensive line just manhandled their front all day. If you look at ND's schedule, they have pretty much beaten every team on their schedule (aside from their 2 losses) like they beat Pitt.

I think people fail to realize just how elite Notre Dame is. They unfairly get a really bad rap. That's no worse than the 4th best team in the country. The days of teams at the level of Pitt (which is 80% of the country) routinely playing Notre Dame close are over. When Pitt was playing Notre Dame on a razor thin margin not all that long ago (recall they always played them tight until starting in 2020), Notre Dame was winning recruiting battles over schools like Pitt, Northwestern, Michigan State, Indiana, etc. They rolled back the academic restrictions for athletes to enroll at ND which allowed them to cast a wider net. And now they can pump tons of money into the program through revenue sharing. They are getting the same guys Bama, Ohio State, Georgia, etc., are bringing in. That team is really, really good. Dudes just everywhere at every position.

Speaking of Notre Dame, they were up 21-0 on Syracuse today before their first offensive snap. That’s the sort of thing I’m on the wrong side of when I play EA Sports College Football on Heisman difficulty.

Pitt is responding really nicely so far.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

UAB had a player arrested for stabbing two of his teammates pre-game.

Probably not a good "team building" exercise.

[TheBigCat2192]

UAB had a player arrested for stabbing two of his teammates pre-game.

[IUP24]

Yeah I get that the point was that everything was still there for them as far as the ACC is concerned regardless of the Notre Dame result. But there were a lot of better ways to say it than how he did. The Duzz better hope the team can dismiss that beating as easily as he supposedly will. This Saturday is an even bigger game on the field, minus all the hype and hoopla.

I'm not sure why people overall can't just accept who/what Narduzzi is at this stage. It's year 11. He says dumb things that are careless and probably not well thought out. He gets asked questions and he emotionally reacts and gives an answer while shooting from the hip. If he just gave no substance and coach speak, people would complain about that. When I heard that, I laughed, acknowledged it wasn't a great use of words (while I understood what he meant), and I moved on.

Pitt's not the first team Notre Dame's blown out this year. Pitt's also not the only team this year to be involved in a College Gameday game and get beaten pretty handily. There's a ton of blowouts in college football every week. Pitt earned the opportunity after a 2-2 start to have a big game that was nationally relevant. It was the most watched week 12 telecast of a College Gameday episode in history (that's really cool). They got boatraced. **** happens.

All things considered, I'd love for Pitt to go 1-1 to finish the year. To go 8-4 given the circumstances of this season - with how young they are, a terrible start to the year, a mountain of injuries, and an 18-year old true freshman QB - would be a nice season.