RECAPPING BUFFALO

Some folks on twitter said it very well at the end of Saturday’s 20-6 Pitt victory when they compared the game to the Sun Bowl.  YES….THATSUN BOWL!  Thankfully the difference was that Pitt was able to come out on top.  While the game was never really in doubt, it is unsettling that Buffalo outgained the Panthers and gained more first downs than Pitt. 

Look, here are the negatives:

·         Chryst’s refusal to allow Tino Sunseri to go down field early.  I don’t care what the weather conditions were…the Bulls’ pass defense was not good.

·         ESPN3’s broadcast!  Where do I begin???!!!!  It started out with seeing the opening kickoff and then having technical difficulties for the first two possessions of the game.  From there, it looked like someone was filming with a 1987 camcorder in the rain!  Besides that, when Sunseri would drop back to pass, I would have to wait for the ball to come flying out of the screen downfield, because…well….you couldn’t see Tino once he took the snap.  EPIC FAIL ESPN3!

·         The constant refusal to play Devin Cook over Bryan Murphy.  I just don’t understand it.

·         Has anyone seen Tyrone Ezell?  Aaron Donald is all over the place and fighting through double teams.  What happened to the Ezell we heard about terrorizing the Pitt offense in pre-season?

·         Pitt needs some injured people back!

OK, enough with the negative…Pitt did win and they are now 3-4.  The last negative above is something I think that is being overlooked right now.  Jack Lippert, Hubie Graham, Shane Gordon, and Manny Williams are missed badly.  3 of those are on defense and I feel like they would make a big difference for this team.  That being said, Dan Mason played well and it is amazing what he is doing.  The last defensive play of the game was fun to watch.  Buffalo QB Alex Zordich, who is a good athlete, was running  towards the end zone and Mason tracked him down and made a strong tackle to keep him short and end any threat of a Bulls comeback.  It was a play that won’t be remembered much, but it was something to see him close on that play.  That being said, Gordon is the man in the middle that brings explosive plays.

Look….I’m just going to say it.  Pitt has a good amount of players coming back next year, but dear Lord….please…OH PLEASE (if a Pitt student is reading this, send this to Aaron Donald)….PLEASE let Aaron Donald come back!!  He’s a beast!

The game was not fun to watch, but as stated before, the Panthers did enough and a win is a win.  Some news today is good and bad for Pitt.  As expected Corey Clement de-committed from Pitt.  Did anyone really think he was going to stick with Pitt?  He was still visiting schools the entire time.  While he left, Pitt picked up a new tight end in Devon Edwards.  Edwards picked Pitt over some pretty decent offers and gives Pitt much needed numbers at the TE spot.