Rants Review

I imagine you're hands have quit shaking from the adrenaline of Pitt-ND Game. So let's look at some random thoughts from the game.

The QB Carousel: First snap of the game, Pitt gets a false start. Then we do two run plays that get nothing. After that, the obvious screen pass is coming and it fails. Bostick is then replaced by Kevan Smith. At the time, choosing between these two is like choosing which gun to shoot yourself with. Neither looked good in the first half.

New Item to the Pitt drinking game: One drink after each Oderick Turner drop. Oderick is usually good for at least two drops per game. It got to the point where the announcer made a reference to Oderick holding a newborn baby. Ouch..........

Ugly Half: The first half was an ugly one. It looked to be another bad Pitt game. Pitt blocks a punt, then Pat Bostick trips over his linemen. End of the half was a nightmare. Clausen throws a deep pass that's batted then caught. That play was reminiscent as to what we see in Pitt-ND games. ND scored on that drive. The play itself brings back nightmares of the RJ English debacle of 2001.

On our next possession, Bostick throws an INT and ND scores another TD before halftime.

One Crazy Comeback: Pitt scores 14 unanswered points to tie the game. ND then scores on the next drive. Pitt scores again on the same play call. Each team would get the lead by a FG in overtime, then the other team would score. Pitt holds the Irish to a 48 yard FG and the kicker makes it.

This sequence from the 4th quarter on reminded me of the movie "One Crazy Summer". It was the part where the one guy sat in his bedroom all summer waiting for the one million dollar call. He then gets on the air for the winning call and he's so happy that he jerks the phone cord from the wall...ending his hopes. The radio station then gets blown up by a missile. Luckily, none of us had to resort to those measures.

Some other stuff:

Pat Bostick: Threw three picks, but helped set up the tying touchdown in the 4th quarter. Some of things he did weren't pretty, but it worked and Pitt got the win.

Shady McCoy: Just saw him running up I-376. The ND Defense is still chasing him.

Jonathan Baldwin: Gets better every game.

The Oline: Gets better every week.

The Defense: They their ups and downs today. Golden Tate was a thorn in their side. They kept ND out of the endzone for most of the second half and all of overtime. The secondary had their problems early in the game, but stepped up with the game on the line.

Connor Lee: He's money.

John Taglianetti: We didn't know he played for Pitt. Thanks NBC Announcers.

Pitt-Notre Dame: A Half Assed Preview

Well it's time to look forward to this Saturday as the Panthers head to South Bend to face the Fighting Fat Charlie's. If only the whole team was fat. Maybe not the receivers. They'd squash Aaron Berry and Jovanni Chappel. Let's look at the tale of the tape.

Pitt

Is 5-2 and no longer ranked. Bill Stull left last week's game in the 3rd quarter due to injury. Before he left, he was having one of the best games so far this season. Nothing has been official about his status for this Saturday. If he's not ready go, It's up to Pat Bostick.

Pitt's offensive line took a big hit when Rob Houser was lost for the season. This so reminds me of 2006 when Simonitis went down. CJ Davis will move to center and Dom Williams will take his place.

LeSean McCoy had a monster game and probably should have gotten the ball a lot more. Jonathan Baldwin and TJ Porter also put up some nice stats.

On defense, they had their worst game of the season. Enough said.

Notre Dame

They're 5-2 on the season, but 1-2 against teams .500 and over.

They're led by Jimmy Clausen who is putting up some big numbers in a few games this season. When he's on his game, he's dangerous to opposing defenses. When he's off his game, he's dangerous to his own team.

As for the running game, the carries seem to be split between Armando Allen, Robert Hughes, and James Aldridge. Their best rushing output was against Purdue when Armando Allen ran for 134 yards.

At receiver, they are led by Golden Tate. Michael Floyd is also a big targetat 6'2 and he's been getting some attention as well. They also have a big 6'6 Tight End in Kyle Rudolph.

Defensively, they've been up and down. Judging from the stats, they seem to have issues in stopping the running game.

Key Matchups

Pitt Passing Game vs. Notre Dame Defense: This all comes down to who takes the snaps for Pitt on Saturday. If it's Bill Stull, Pitt has a chance. If it's Pat Bostick, it's not going to look good. It depends if it's the Pat Bostick of last season. ND is big on defense. They play a 3-4 where they have a lot of height in the front seven. Pitt will need big plays from TJ Porter and Jonathan Baldwin. They may even consider getting Nate Byham and Dorin Dickerson involved.

ND Passing Game vs. Pitt Secondary: This matchup could make or break the game. If Pitt's secondary has a repeat performance from last week, it will be another long day. Jimmy Clausen is not the same player from last season. He's confident and will air the ball out. Aaron Berry will need to make up for last week's debacle and Pitt will need their safeties to attempt to cover somebody. If Jimmy is off his game, Pitt may be in luck. ND has receivers that can make plays. They'll have to keep that to a minimum.

Other Key Items

LeSean McCoy: Can he have another big game? He'll face a 3-4 defense with four linebackers coming after him. Pitt will need him the most.

ND Running Game: Mike Teel didn't have a breakout game until he met Pitt. Will ND break out against Pitt?

Pitt defense: Can they pressure Clausen? ND's big offensive line will be a challenge. If they can't touch Clausen, they're screwed.

Prediction: Last week, Pitt seemed focused on stopping the run. This game, they may be focused on stopping the pass. First off, can they recover from last week? It's no secret that Weis will attack Pitt's weaknesses like he did back in 2005. Look for ND to use screen passes again against Pitt. They'll most likely go after Pitt's safeties as well. Pitt's luck against ND has never been good.

Edited: Last week, I predicted a Pitt win..we lost. I predicted an Irish win today, we won. Hmmm....

Slap 10!

This past weekend in college football, we had a wealth of slaps make the list. There were so many, that we had to narrow the list down. Let's take a look at the list.....

10. Michigan

Michigan will make it's final appearance in the Slap 10. They're 2-6 and have no hope for a bowl game unless they pull off some sort of miracle. They''ll need to open the pocketbooks a lot more and get some more help from Big Ten officials. On defense, they need to run faster. On offense, Brandon Minor is their only saving grace. Congrats Michigan, this will be your final appearance in any top ten. Maybe Morgantown isn't so bad after all, Coach Rod.

9. Kansas

Great showing against Texas Tech. We had hopes of seeing a high scoring game, and it was. Texas Tech just scored all the points. No more hype for you guys. Mangino just ate another football player.

8. Kansas State

Bad weekend for Kansas teams in the Fat 12. 55 points allowed in one half. It's only against Oklahoma so giving up over 50 points could be worse if it was another team...hmm....

7. Kentucky

Five points against Florida. That's all your team scored.....just five lousy points. The Tim Tebow lovefest continues....

6. Auburn

Looks like the offense got "Rhoads Blocked" in the second half against WVU. The defense allowed all lanes of traffic to be opened. Pitt fans still can't figure who was responsible for the bad days the defense had...Wanny or Jumper? Noel Devine is "still running".

5. Terrelle Pryor

Not to pile up on a young true freshman, but......this isn't high school anymore. Navarro Bowman stole your lunch money....and any chance at a Big Ten title. At least, we won't get to see Ohio State choke in the BCS title game for the third year in a row.

4. Colorado

IT'S DIVISION ONE FOOTBALL!!! IT'S THE BIG 12!!!! THIS AIN'T INTERMURALS! You guys looked like an intermural team on Saturday against Missouri. Beating WVU, makes the Big East look bad as every week passes. How did you do it?

3. Ty Willingham

2002 was supposedly Notre Dame's "Return to Glory". That was after that 9-0 start where they would lose out the rest of the season. There was talk Notre Dame was "unfair" to fire you. Maybe Notre Dame knew something we all didn't know. The Washington program has been set back a couple more years. Good Job. Syracuse may be calling.

2. Aaron Berry

Yes, we hate to pile it on you as well. We just saw Kenny Britt running around on I-81 while you're on the Turnpike trying to hitchhike a ride to catch up with him. That fumbled punt was the icing on the cake to a bad Saturday at Heinz Field. Good Luck against Jimmy Clausen.

1. Pitt

Pitt is the Billy Hoyle of the Big East. Billy Hoyle was the white guy off "White Men Can't Jump" who couldn't help himself to bitch something up every time he had some sort of good luck come his way. When I think of the Rutgers game, I think of the part where Billy had three chances to prove his buddy Sidney that he could dunk. He failed on all three attempts.

As for the loss, I'm reminded when Billy when home at night to his woman and he just mutters "It Happened Again.......".

Gloria represents the Pitt fan base. Just when when Pitt fans think you've come around, you do something to turn them away again. It happened with Bowling Green. Now it's Rutgers. You made Mike Teel into a Heisman candidate in one afternoon. 54 points to a team who hasn't done much offensively this season. The rest of the season doesn't get any better. Just make the trip to Toronto and be done with it.

LINK!

LINK! provided to a great blog thrown up by Paul Zeise about the state of Pitt football.

Mike Teel Just Threw Another Touchdown Pass

We have received word at 11pm that Mike Teel has just thrown another touchdown pass. Teel torched the Panthers today for six touchdown passes and he hasn't stopped since the game ended around 7pm. He has just been ushered out of Heinz Field and has been escorted to the team bus before any more Panther defenders get torched. They stopped at Elijah Fields.

No word from UPMC-Presbyterian of the condition of the Panthers secondary. We received reports of third-degree burns and burnt toast smell at Heinz Field. Aaron Berry seems to be the one most affected from being burned. It was so bad that he had difficulty fielding punts. Eric Thatcher is still having nightmares of Kenny Britt eating his lunch.

On a side note.....

It's looking to be 2006 all over again. 5-1, nationally ranked, playing in front of a nice crowd. Yep, Pitt did it again. They played with our hearts, and they lost the game. Once Pitt went ahead 7-0 and Rutgers burned them on playaction, just about everyone knew what we were about to experience. Most were in denial. It didn't really sink in until it was 21-7. Not to mention the fake field goal and then Rutgers scoring again.

Pitt offense played well until Bill Stull went down. Stull was having a good game as well as McCoy. They put up 34 points..maybe more if Stull doesn't leave the game. To add insult to injury, we lose our center for the season. It seems bad luck can't escape the Pitt Football Program.

Does Pitt recover for this? If not, we know this much:

This is Pitt Football. This is who we are. This is what we do.

BEST DAMN WLAT SHOW PERIOD!

Walt Harris: Welcome back to the Best Damn WLAT Show! We took some time off from the last show as I was in Key Largo.....

Rod Rutherford: How was Key Largo?

Walt: It was great. I got to see Bertie Higgins perform live and got to hang out with him back stage.

Rod: Real cool, coach. Did you party at all while you were down there?

Walt: Of course I did. There's nothing slowing me down.

Rod: Like waiting for Steve Pederson to give you a call?

Walt: Here...see for yourself........


Rod: You didn't.....

Walt: Of course I did. I told you there's nothing slowing me down. I love being unemployed. I get more time to what I've always wanted in life....

Rod: What's that?

Walt: Hang out and screw hot chicks.

Tyler Palko: So you like older chicks because as you get older, they stay the same age?

Walt: Tyler, I didn't realize you were still here. I thought you were back in class learning something.

Tyler: Well that, and for Kansas City to call me. If Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard can have a roster spot, I think I should too.

Walt: After what you did in Tampa, you and Larry Johnson could be good drinking pals.

Tyler: Coach, Larry abuses women.....

Rod: So you abuse men?

Tyler: No, opposing defenders.....

Rod: I think you need to get out of 2004. It's 2008.....

Tyler: Ask my fans....it's 2004. We just beat Notre Dame. I threw five touchdown passes! Everyone loves me! The fans want me back as a coach!

Walt: They wanted me back as the coach. So where's Kevan at today? He called and told me he couldn't make it.

Rod: Erie called him. He's up there looking for a roster spot.

Walt: So how was the show with me gone? Who did you have as a guest?

Rod: No one.....

Tyler: You're so full of it. Coach they had......

Rod: ALL OUT BLITZ!

( Tyler runs off stage )

Walt: So what did you guys do when I was gone?

Rod: Ahh....you know...we hung out....talked football....

Walt: Sure....what did you talk about?

Rod: Pitt being 4-1.....looking ahead to the Navy Game. Stull is getting better. He's completing passes...got about three touchdown passes and four picks.

Walt: That sounds like a normal game for you like when we played WVU in 2003.

Rod: Yeah and we quit utilizing Larry Fitz because we had no one else to throw to. Wasn't Ray Kirkley our running back for that game?

Walt: That was too long ago.

Rod: Well you got some mail here. Dear Walt, when will you be coaching on Sundays?

Walt: I hardly believe that's a letter. I think you're playing a joke.

Rod: No, it's from Steve from Seneca.

Walt: Well Steve, I've been talking to Al Davis. That guy is so senile, he'll hire anyone. My other option is the Syracuse job since Greg Robinson will be having his own show soon.

Rod: Why Syracuse?

Walt: The Big East plays on Sundays too.....

Pitt vs. Rutgers: A Half Assed Preview

Pitt

They're 5-1 coming off a victory against the Midshipmen. Bill Stull is 5-1 as the starter which has really started to frighten most Pitt fans. He's showing improvement every week and he's even making use of the deep ball to Jonathan Baldwin.

LeSean McCoy and Larod Stephens have been tearing up opposing defenses as of late. Even Conredge Collins has joined the act. Derek Kinder is getting back to his old form and Oderick Turner is showing signs of life.

On defense, they getting pressure on the quarterback. They forced their share of turnovers against Navy last week.

Rutgers

Rutgers is 2-5 coming off an upset against Connecticut. Mike Teel has shown some improvement since the time he punched his teammate. Statistically, he's put up decent passing numbers the last three games. The only minus is the offense has issues getting into the endzone. Teel also hasn't thrown an interception the last three weeks.

Their running game is still a work in progress and Kenny Britt is starting to put up decent numbers receiving. How lucky Pitt will be to face them as this offense is improving.

On defense, they haven't allowed a lot points not counting the UNC debacle.

Key Matchups

Pitt defensive line vs. Rutgers offensive line: The reason why Mike Teel hasn't thrown an interception the last three games? He hasn't been sacked in any of those three games. When not being pressured, he's been able to move the ball. Rutgers is big up front, but Pitt will need to get to Teel and shut him down.

Pitt has also allowed a good bit of rushing yards. Ray Rice isn't there so they'll need to shut down Kordell Young and keep this offense off the field.

Last year, Teel did not have a good game against Pitt. Thanks to the one of many bad calls against Oderick Turner, Rutgers escaped with a win.

Pitt offensive line vs. Rutgers defensive line: Last year, Pitt didn't run the ball on the ground well. It may have been due to their issues at quarterback. Rutgers will most likely send the house on Bill Stull. It will be up to him not to make any mistakes. He made a huge one last game against Navy, but was able to recover. This defense is better than Navy's.

Pitt's line will need to establish the line of scrimmage. If Pitt can run the ball effectively, everything should take care of itself.

Other things to watch for:

Rutger's Receivers: Kenny Britt has been putting up decent numbers as of late. Pitt's secondary needs to shut him down.

Austin Ransom and Greg Williams: Pitt will need good performaces from both of these linebackers. Scott Mckillop can't do it alone.

LeSean McCoy: Can he continue on his hot streak?

Rutgers Linebackers: This group played in limiting Donald Brown's yardage. Can they do the same this weekend?

Overall: In 2006, Pitt was 6-1 with high hopes against Rutgers. Rutgers had one of their best seasons in a long time. Pitt was down 13-10 until Ray Rice torched them for big run pretty much ending Pitt's season. This time around is different. Rutgers has nothing to lose while Pitt has plenty to lose if they blow this game.