RECAP OF CINCINNATI

Last night the Pitt Panthers let one slip away.  They had this game in their hands and let Cincinnati come away from Heinz Field with a 26-23 victory.  Pitt is now in the position of needing to beat at least 2 of the remaining 3 teams on their schedule to get to a bowl game.  Why is that important??  Who cares you are asking?  Well, if you are a Pitt fan, you absolutely want to get to a bowl game.  This team does continue to improve and seems to be learning the system and playing faster every week.  If you get into a bowl game, you get these young kids an extra 3 weeks or so of practice, which is HUGE!  This is especially when you take into consideration that the Pitt players will not have classes hanging over them and could probably really dig into the new offensive and defensive systems.

This week, I will do something new….and just do a few notes, as I don’t want to get into too many negatives or questions, as I believe Todd Graham and his staff ARE the answer for Pitt and I feel there are more positives then negatives to take from this game.  Here are some notes (and yes, I do include some negatives – I won’t just ignore them):

-          Ray Graham must have been sick to his stomach watching last night on crutches.

-          At what point does Lucas Nix step up and be a leader?  It is clear that the last 2 games, not one, but 2 games, it has been Nix’s decision whether to play or not.  The line struggled again and Nix would have absolutely made a difference last night.

-          The key play (to me) was the fumble by Tino Sunseri with Pitt leading by 7.  Sunseri had a first down and moving the Pitt offense still and it all went kaput.  It could have been avoided.

-          Tino did not have a strong second half…BUT….let’s not forget that he had 218 yards passing and 64 yards rushing.  Overall, he was up and down, with a little more up.  He also led a nice drive at the end of the game.  Is he the answer?  No.  However, to paint him as the main reason Pitt lost last night is wrong.

-          The defense stepped up last night.  Make no mistake, Cincinnati is a VERY good offense and Pitt kept them under wraps and stepped up HUGE in the fourth quarter to give the team a chance. 

-          Speaking of the defense…Todd Thomas and LaQuentin Smith looked very good last night among others.  Max Gruder made 11 tackles  with a broken hand!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-          Zach Collaros is good….214 yards and 2 rushing TDs, and Pitt’s defense forced his two INTs. 

-          Isaiah Pead is also good and Pitt locked him down in the second half.  He finished with 118 yards, but 53 came early in the game, and Pead had almost 100 yards  at the half.

-          Pitt’s coaching staff must do something about Buddy Jackson returning kicks!

-          Devin Street had his second good game in a row, with 8 snags for 118 yards.

-          A nice crowd last night of 49,362.  However, according to twitter, the student section is no longer known as die-hard or passionate (with apologies to those that always do go and stayed last night).  Several reports stated that a lot of students left at the end of Sweet Caroline of a tight ball game with the BE title on the line….simply embarrassing.  JUST EMBARRASSING.  The students must earn their respect back and I don’t give a shit what the zoo looks like during hoop season…don’t want to hear it.  All that proves is that you can stick with a winner.  Disgusting.

The remaining schedule is Louisville, WVU and Syarcuse.  Early in the year, it would seem like this would be an easy 2-1 portion.  However, WVU is tough and the other two BEAT WVU.  Louisville is making a move and if the Big 12 wants to take another team from the Big East, Louisville would be a very good selection, as Charlie Strong has the Cards playing very well and they are young!