#H2P... PITT IS IT! - A Pitt Panthers Dynasty (NCAA 14)

[Hellisan]

I've got a bit of catching up to do still but had an opportunity to listen to the Coastal Carolina game on the way home from work - and it's safe to say I got unreasonably excited with the locker room shout out. You hadn't commented on the nickname and I figured "yeah that kinda sucks admittedly" but it's so kind of you to let people get involved in the dynasty in some way whether it's letting them create players or shouting out a nickname, really enjoyed that lol. Too much.

The offense did themselves proud showing CC the ropes! I was glad to hear SOMEBODY is able to go over the top with some success lately. I remember how fun it was with all the speedsters I had at Idaho (and some questionable defenses, admittedly) going deep, it was a totally different world to the current team and I hope we can recruit some dudes that can run AND still catch soon.

[moose141]

Quote: Originally Posted by Hellisan

I've got a bit of catching up to do still but had an opportunity to listen to the Coastal Carolina game on the way home from work - and it's safe to say I got unreasonably excited with the locker room shout out. You hadn't commented on the nickname and I figured "yeah that kinda sucks admittedly" but it's so kind of you to let people get involved in the dynasty in some way whether it's letting them create players or shouting out a nickname, really enjoyed that lol. Too much. The offense did themselves proud showing CC the ropes! I was glad to hear SOMEBODY is able to go over the top with some success lately. I remember how fun it was with all the speedsters I had at Idaho (and some questionable defenses, admittedly) going deep, it was a totally different world to the current team and I hope we can recruit some dudes that can run AND still catch soon.

Glad you enjoyed it! Honestly I love when something comes together organically like that, which is exactly what happened with your comment. I loved it and that's definitely Ceno's nickname from here on out! It was a huge game overall, and had me feeling just as excited as I did in game 1 against WVU on Revamped because those were the two games when the deep passing game really came together, especially without having to use 4 verts! I love being able to see deep route patterns come together and create an opening for guys like Ceno, and this was the perfect game for it.

[moose141]

Captain's Quarters: Panthers’ Defensive Leaders Steady Ship After Finding Feet in New Roles
Report by Matt Schmidlin | November 4, 2022


LEFT: Malachi Bordeaux forces a fumble against Virginia Tech. RIGHT: A'Darrion Mitchell in pursuit in a game against Coastal Carolina.

After a regression to the mean with 'only' a 9-win season, Pitt needed some star presence to emerge following a solid but unspectacular 2021 defensive campaign.

Enter seniors Malachi Bordeaux and A'Darrion Mitchell.

The duo emerged as vocal leaders during camp, with a fire and ice style as Bordeaux provides a cool, steadying presence up front while Mitchell shines when displaying his explosive qualities and splash plays.

Both players needed time and development to reach their full potential as leaders of the Panther defense. Bordeaux came in as a 4-star (#2 DE in 2018) recruit, but the Bangor, Maine-native needed to grow from being a big fish in an extremely small football pond to a much larger water source.

"I think I had to really learn at Pitt and I thank all my coaches, both [head coach Pat] Narduzzi and [DL coach Charlie] Partridge, for developing me to my full potential," Bordeaux said. "I needed that time to become the player I am now."

What elevated Bordeaux's play was a move from end to tackle, where he uses his immense pass rushing abilities to feature almost as a new age Aaron Donald-lite. His speed in the interior has allowed him to heavily influence opposing offenses and let him make constant plays on the ball, with a combined 13 sacks the past two seasons and a team-leading 3 forced fumbles this year after having little impact his first two seasons.

Mitchell's ability was never in doubt, with the former 4-star (#4 OLB) recruit from Tifton, Georgia showcasing his ability as an athletic freak from day one. However, Mitchell struggled to harness his speed and power on a play to play basis, with his motor constantly questioned through his first few seasons on campus.

"A'Darrion is a tremendous athlete," Narduzzi said. "All we've ever needed to know from him is that we could rely on him from a play to play basis. Once he got that dialed in, we knew that he was that guy for our defense, that real X-factor getting after the backfield."

After a moderate improvement as a junior starter, Mitchell has burst onto the scene in his senior campaign, exploding for a team-leading 18 tackles for loss while adding a growing total of 5 sacks. He's been a ball hawk as well, sitting second on the defense with 48 tackles and constantly making big plays time and again.

Coupled with Sedric Granger's move to free safety paying huge dividends, Jalen Hills's steady pass-rush presence, and Pitt's star trio (now quartet) of corners locking down opposing receivers, Pitt ranks as the nation's 10th-best scoring defense.

For the Panthers to keep succeeding, it's all going to rely on their unit continuing to play 'follow the leader(s)'.

[Careless Whisper]

Loving the feature/analysis pieces - really good stuff on that latest Bordeaux/Mitchell article. The defense has been excellent this season, and those two are certainly a big reason why!

That glitch on the Georgia Tech touchdown has to be the weirdest I've ever seen! I'm curious if the revamped version of this game leads to more glitches - feel like I've seen weird stuff like that in other reports and videos.

[moose141]

Quote: Originally Posted by Careless Whisper

Loving the feature/analysis pieces - really good stuff on that latest Bordeaux/Mitchell article. The defense has been excellent this season, and those two are certainly a big reason why! That glitch on the Georgia Tech touchdown has to be the weirdest I've ever seen! I'm curious if the revamped version of this game leads to more glitches - feel like I've seen weird stuff like that in other reports and videos.

Thanks CW, I appreciate it! Those are some of my favorite things to incorporate, both to add depth for anyone following as well as really just give props to some of the players on the team who maybe don't get all the plaudits but have been massive parts of this season's success (so far). Got another one in the works as well that I really like, so that should be out soon!

Yeah, the glitch is crazy; I had never seen that one either, but it must be something with making an INT while going out of bounds in the endzone, because I was able to get it to happen again. I don't think I've ever seen it on a normal INT/Touchback, so it must be specific to the defender going out of bounds in the endzone with the ball. So strange! Guess it's bound to happen with any game; I remember a good one in the early days of this career mode was an opponent got a TD because they went to snap it and the center just kept the ball (never handed it back to the QB) and ran the like 7 yards into the endzone. That was a wild one.

[moose141]

Around the NCAA: Week 11
Report by Matt Schmidlin | November 7, 2022



Double Trouble Turnovers

In a game that looked straight out of D3 Carnegie Mellon's playbook, Miami and Virginia Tech traded a trio of defensive scores in Tech's 45-24 victory, with the Hokies snatching a pair of Travis Bolden passes and taking them to the house while Miami tallied a touchdown on a 73 yard fumble recovery. Offensively, VT HB Eddie Henderson paced the Hokie offense with a pair of touchdowns while Miami QB Travis Bolden, one of the nation's top rated passers, struggled mightily, throwing four interceptions in total in the loss.

There's a Cougar in the Car

New Big XII member Houston knocked a massive blow against division rival Baylor, knocking off the #17-ranked Bears, 42-30, behind a 4 TD performance from QB Jason Manning. Mannign threw for 427 yards in the victory, but may have even been outshone by star HB Donatien Lanoux. The former 5-star recruit racked up 131 yards and a score rushing, but excelled even more catching the ball, with 6 receptions for 141 yards and another score.

Shoeless Cinderella Heads Back to Lincoln

#22 Nebraska's bubble burst, as the Cornhuskers were obliterated in Ann Arbor by #18 Michigan, with the Wolverines romping, 45-10. Myles Bigsby and Mason Means ran wild for Michigan, each tallying over 100 yards (122 - Means, 104 - Bigsby) and a pair of scores.

Hilltoppers Become Jack and Jill

Another unbeaten was slain, as upstart #15 Western Kentucky lost to Florida Atlantic in overtime, 23-17. The loss gives unbeaten Ball State the inside track for the G5 berth in the NY6 bowl games, should the Cardinals win out.

LSU Goes for Alabama's 'Neck'

In the season's most anticipated matchup, #2 LSU went into Tuscaloosa and throttled top-ranked Alabama, with the Tigers knocking off the Crimson Tide, 38-17. LSU's offense was unstoppable, with QB Kauanoe Kelekolio tossing three TDs, all to star WR Jakobe Sutton, who finished with 9 catches for 92 yards. HB Bo Brown also added 149 yards and a pair of scores on the ground, supported by fantastic freshman Kai Brooks-Jennings, who racked up 91 yards as well. Alabama Heisman hopeful Dareion Williams Jr. got his yards, running for 111 yards, but was held out of the endzone while QB Matt Perry struggled while throwing 3 interceptions and just 116 yards.

Notable Matchups in Week Twelve

Louisville (6-3) @ #5 Clemson (8-1)
#19 Iowa State (6-3) @ #9 Oklahoma (8-1)
#12 Florida (7-2) @ #11 South Carolina (8-1) -- College Gameday Game of the Week
Georgia State (7-2) @ #21 Louisiana (8-1)
#14 Texas (7-2) @ #18 Oklahoma State (8-2)
North Carolina (7-3) @ #2 Pitt (9-0)

[moose141]

#PantherNation News and Notes
Report by Matt Schmidlin | November 8, 2022



Pitt Sits in Top Two in Latest CFP Playoff Rankings

With LSU besting top-ranked Alabama last weekend, there were certain to be some shakeups in the playoff picture. Pitt was a major beneficiary, as the Panthers leapt up to the #2 spot (trailing only LSU) in the latest rankings issued by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Pitt and LSU are the lone two P5 unbeatens remaining this season, while Cincinnati and Ball State are the only unbeaten G5 schools.

Cincinnati, on the back of a 20-1 record since the start of the 2021 season (only loss to Alabama in the Peach Bowl), holds the #3 spot currently, buoyed by their overwhelming resume of success, their snub from last season, and their constant blowouts of their largely overwhelmed opponents. While the Bearcats don't have a marquee win, their overall dominance in a crowded field seems to have elevated them over a plethora of one loss schools.

Penn State snagged what would be the final playoff position on the strength of their win over fellow top-10 school Ohio State and their only loss being a closely contested battle against Top-15 ranked Michigan. Ohio State, whose only loss is to the Nittany Lions, don't have a major victory on their resume yet, but the Buckeyes do still have Top-25 matchups to play against Michigan and Indiana and could yet get into the Big Ten championship picture.

Defending champion Oklahoma sits in wait at #6, but with a massive matchup coming against Top-15 Oklahoma State and a possible Big XII title game, the Sooners would likely jump #5 Alabama, who are likely to miss out on the SEC title game due to the LSU loss.

Clemson holds the #7 spot, but with an impending ACC title game and a final week showdown with #10 South Carolina, the Tigers are certainly still in the mix for the playoff. Heck, don't forget the Gamecocks, who have just one loss and with #12 Florida, #7 Clemson and #1 LSU (SEC championship) likely on the schedule, the Gamecocks could run the table and easily make the field.

#9 Washington is waiting out the rest of the field, as the Huskies own inside track on the Pac-12 championship but lack the marquee victories to move them higher up in the field without other schools faltering down the stretch.

Panthers Requesting 'Gold Out' for Saturday Home Game

For the fourth straight season, Pitt is asking fans to 'GOLD OUT' Heinz Field, wearing gold gear to create a unicolor look inside the stadium. For the first time, the Panthers will not being wearing gold uniforms to accompany the gold out (thanks CFB Revamped), but are expected to don their standard Gold-Blue-Gold look for Senior Day at Heinz Field.

13 Seniors Set for Final Heinz Field Appearance

Pitt will celebrate the careers of 13 seniors this Saturday against North Carolina, with those seniors currently compiling a stellar 42-9 record in their four active years on the Panthers' roster.

2022 - 9-0 (In Progress)
2021 - 9-4 - Lost to Georgia in Russell Athletic Bowl
2020 - 13-2 - Lost in CFP National Championship to Alabama
2019 - 11-3 - Lost in CFP Semifinal to Ohio State

The Panthers will recognize the following players in the senior day festivities before the start of the North Carolina game:

QB Noah Brooks
HB Kolin Wells
TE Jay Balmer
C Luke Davis (Capt.)
G Charles Rhodes
G John Browning
T Daniel Jenkins
DT Malachi Bordeaux (Capt.)
DT Xavier Gosselin
LB A'Darrion Mitchell (Capt.)
CB Marquise Walker
FS Sedric Granger
SS Matt Emery

[moose141]

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