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

[moose141]

KINGS OF THE JUNGLE?!
Report by Matt Schmidlin | December 10, 2022





Three Thoughts from the Peanut Gallery

1. Captain's Orders

If ever unsure of where the boat is headed, just follow the Captain's lead. CJ 'Captain' Kirk sailed the Panthers to the ACC promised land, with trusty first mate 'C-Note' Rodgers III coming up big for him when it mattered most. Rodgers tossed a pair of Clemson defenders aside and scooted down the sideline for a massive 50 yard grab just seconds after Clemson had evened the score and seemingly forced overtime. Rodgers finished with 177 yards just one game removed from a 200-yard performance against Miami, and Kirk led the way with 379 total yards and a trio of TDs as the Panthers again summitted the ACC mountaintop.

2. All Day

The Panthers' season constantly rests on the right leg of Johnny Midey, and the super sophomore never disappoints. With his third game winning kick of the season, Midey sealed the Panthers' fourth ACC championship and likely their fourth trip to the gauntlet that is the College Football playoff. The Panther kicker knocked through four field goals, with a pair from 40+ yards including the game winner. The output was Midey's second most in the season, trailing only a five field goal performance in Pitt's touchdown-less 15-13 triumph over Tennessee. Feeling the all too familiar sting in their memory bank of Jay Bump's missed attempt at the end of the 2020 title tilt, having Midey on their sideline may quell any future fears for Panther fans.

3. Wait and See

With the victory, the Panthers finish their scheduled slate unbeaten and sitting at 13-0. Up next will be a date with the College Football Playoffs, with their opponent still yet to be determined. Victories earlier in the day by Oklahoma and LSU likely will see them in the four team field, while the final slot is up for grabs with the results of the late games. Panthers fans will be left sitting on pins and needles for a day waiting to make their travel plans.

Photo Gallery

[Careless Whisper]

Another classic for the Pitt-Clemson archives! Really liked how your defense bounced back and kept Clemson out of the end zone on that desperation drive - that sack in particular was HUGE to squash momentum. Ceno is such a weapon, especially when paired up with Kirk, and it's crazy that his power (and not his speed) broke that big play to set up the winning field goal. Love the color-on-color matchup too - really gave the game some added pizazz and made it feel that much more important. Time to finish the job this time!

[studbucket]

Some running thoughts as I watch the highlights:

• Both of those first 2 INTs were pretty bad reads by the QB. The defender was right there the whole time, but kudos to the defense for taking advantage of it.
• LOL at Klumpp with 2 Ps
• The Kirk QB keeper for the TD to make it 14-12 was beautiful. Defense really bit on that fake to the RB.
• This has been an impressive defensive game from both teams. Though you can see the defenses get tired and the offenses start to figure things out as the game goes on.
• During the run at 20:45, Alford beat a guy then switched the ball to his inside arm unnecessarily. Fortunately for him he didn't fumble, but that was strange.
• It feels like Clemson was having the most success passing against man coverage and there were some really iffy throws against the zone throughout the game.
• Those final drives from both teams were fantastic.

What a fun game to watch! Congrats on the big win.

[ChaseB]

Have loved checking in on this over the years moose, gonna highlight this on the front page today since you're nearing the end of another exciting season.

[georgiafan]

Just now seeing this and will have to go back and catch up, but good job with this.

[moose141]

Quote: Originally Posted by Hellisan

I had the chance to catch up over the weekend and Pitt is on an impressive run. It hasn't been easy, and at times the team has dug itself a hole with slow starts and porous defense early, but inevitably, it seems like Malachi is able to kick start the defense sometime in the late 1st or 2nd quarter with a big sack, and that seems to calm the team down somewhat. Ceno Rogers is obviously going to have a hell of a career. Having that kind of speed as a redshirt freshman is one thing, but the catches he's been making in traffic when the team had to have it are just out of this world. I really can't remember him dropping a pass during the last few games although maybe it has happened. I have to really give praise to Kirk here, he might make a mistake early but he seems to keep the old composure pretty dang well. Against Clemson he seemed to be at or near the top of his game, he has some serious speed and overall talent at his disposal and when he's just effortlessly dropping it in the bucket like that, I don't think this Pitt team can be stopped. Take all that and then throw in a bit of just breaking tackles up the middle when he gets loose on the interior and that's a tough man to stop. Whoever you face in the playoffs (PLAYOFFTHS!!??) is going to have to find a way to disrupt him more consistently, and they have to almost get lucky and correlate pressure with when he's going deep because if they send that pressure when he's keeping on an option read or going to the flat with a quick throw they're seriously exposed. One thing Pitt do that is super deadly is layer the passing game to all depths and widths of the field, Kirk shows the ability to consistently put the right amount of touch on the pass especially in pressure situations. Where Pitt have shown some weakness is against the running game, can the Panthers tighten that up because if so, I don't think anyone can outlast them this year.

We loveeeee a slow start, haha. Malachi really has been a catalyst for us that is for sure. It's funny seeing a guy take over and really be the "leader" of the defense, cause it seems like every time we need a big play, he ends up being that guy. Whether it's forcing a fumble like he did earlier in the year against VT, or getting a big sack or TFL at the right time, the guy does it all. One of those awesome stories where it took him all the way to his 5th year to put it all together but now he's just a monster. Love seeing a DT make plays too when they always seem to get overlooked for DEs.

C-Note is insane. One thing NCAA 14 struggles with compared to newer football games is the contested catches just aren't really there, but Ceno is the one guy who just goes up and gets the ball I feel like, even when there is a crowd. With his route running rating and speed, he is just insane at getting open and makes so many plays. He could be the best 2-and-done we've had alongside Larry Fitz and Shady McCoy.

Kirk is definitely an all rounder. He is prone to some mistakes for sure, probably just because he does have so much talent that it feels like he can make any play. Just raw ability he is the best QB we have had and can really make any deficit seem like we can come back and win.

I do think like you said, the playbook has really opened up this year and with the motion and different routes we've added thanks to the new assistant OC that we brought at the beginning of the year, it has done wonders for the passing game this season. Appreciate you checking in, Helli!

Quote: Originally Posted by studbucket

Some running thoughts as I watch the highlights: Both of those first 2 INTs were pretty bad reads by the QB. The defender was right there the whole time, but kudos to the defense for taking advantage of it. LOL at Klumpp with 2 Ps The Kirk QB keeper for the TD to make it 14-12 was beautiful. Defense really bit on that fake to the RB. This has been an impressive defensive game from both teams. Though you can see the defenses get tired and the offenses start to figure things out as the game goes on. During the run at 20:45, Alford beat a guy then switched the ball to his inside arm unnecessarily. Fortunately for him he didn't fumble, but that was strange. It feels like Clemson was having the most success passing against man coverage and there were some really iffy throws against the zone throughout the game. Those final drives from both teams were fantastic. What a fun game to watch! Congrats on the big win.

Love the live feed, thanks for watching studbucket! Definitely been one of those things that I feel like we do force it a little bit too much with Kirk, just because we know he's got the arm and talent to make those plays. Just have to be a little better at picking and choosing the right read for the ball to go to. Like you said though he does have just so much ability, plus what he can add in the running game when we use it is huge.

I appreciate the congrats, it was an absolute nailbiter that had me incredibly worried on that final possession for Clemson. I was trying to figure out what to do about my timeouts if they went down and scored a touchdown, but thankfully the defense came up with a huge stop and forced the field goal and the rest was history.

Quote: Originally Posted by Careless Whisper

Another classic for the Pitt-Clemson archives! Really liked how your defense bounced back and kept Clemson out of the end zone on that desperation drive - that sack in particular was HUGE to squash momentum. Ceno is such a weapon, especially when paired up with Kirk, and it's crazy that his power (and not his speed) broke that big play to set up the winning field goal. Love the color-on-color matchup too - really gave the game some added pizazz and made it feel that much more important. Time to finish the job this time!

You're not kidding, like I said to SB on that final drive I was constantly second guessing what to do and how to handle the clock. Once we got that stop and had enough time left to manuever, it was massive. Ceno just made one of those plays that you can't even script, I didn't do any sort of truck stick move or anything, he just on his own abilities and ratings somehow managed to toss a couple defenders like ragdolls and Greg Jennings'd us into field goal range.

Agreed about the color matchup, it was a beauty on the field! There's some of the joy of using Revamped because in previous iterations of this matchup we always have worn blue (even years our division is home) and Clemson always white, so both teams getting to rock their primary colors was really a sight to see.

Can't wait to get the next game under way, we've been here before but never sealed the deal, so this will be intense!

Quote: Originally Posted by georgiafan

Just now seeing this and will have to go back and catch up, but good job with this.

Thanks, I appreciate it! Definitely been fun fleshing out this whole universe and seeing the storylines really create themselves.

Quote: Originally Posted by ChaseB

Have loved checking in on this over the years moose, gonna highlight this on the front page today since you're nearing the end of another exciting season.

Thanks Chase! I greatly appreciate the recognition and appreciate OS for giving such a great platform for us to create our own little universes and share them with everyone on here.

Thanks as always for all the feedback everyone! What a season so far that's been a couple years in the making now IRL, can't wait to see how the ending turns out.

[moose141]

Conference Championship Week Recap
Report by Matt Schmidlin | December 11, 2022


ACC Championship Game -- Charlotte, NC
#3 Clemson 11-1 (8-0) -- 31
#2 Pitt 12-0 (8-0) -- 34

Scroll up if you want a recap...


Big Ten Championship Game -- Indianapolis, IN
#21 Nebraska 9-3 (6-3) -- 41
#4 Penn State 11-1 (8-1) -- 38

In the 2nd-most dramatic contest of the weekend, Nebraska avenged an earlier loss to Penn State by stunning the Nittany Lions, 41-38, and putting a dent into their playoff hopes. The Huskers jumped out to an early 10-0 lead before Penn State stormed back and took a 17-13 advantage into halftime. Two more scores pushed Penn State ahead 31-20 heading into the final stanza but a 21 point explosion from the Huskers in the final frame culminated in a game winning field goal with 12 seconds left to give Nebraska the Big Ten title. Penn State QB Marques Gordon threw for four touchdowns in the loss and totalled 333 yards of offense, but his one interception came sandwiched between Nebraska's pair of fourth quarter field goals which allowed them to tie and then take the lead. Nebraska star Jordyn Adams led all receivers with 133 yards on 6 catches while PSU's Lawrence Lucas nabbed 7 grabs for 125 yards and 2 scores.


Big XII Championship Game -- Dallas, TX
Houston 8-4 (5-3) -- 28
#5 Oklahoma 11-1 (7-1) -- 49

Savage Hall might be the name of an on campus building someday in Norman. It's also the connection that fuelled Oklahoma's romp in the Big XII title game. Taylor Savage linked up with Austin Hall for a pair of scores as Oklahoma jumped out to a 28-14 lead en route to blasting overmatched Houston to claim the Big XII title with a 49-28 victory. Savage led the way with 5 TD passes and 367 yards through the air, and even added a rushing score for good measure to fuel his growing Heisman campaign. Last year's runner up now has 13 touchdowns in his last two games. Hall pulled in 7 receptions for 162 yards and two touchdowns while Eric Miller and Christian Williams each added 69+ yards and a score apiece for the defending national champions. Houston's Jason Manning threw for 306 yards and four scores in the losing effort while star HB Donatien Lanoux was held to just 77 yards and 3.3 yards per carry.


Conference USA Championship Game -- San Antonio, TX
Western Kentucky 10-2 (6-2) -- 32
UT-San Antonio 8-4 (7-1) -- 35

UTSA QB Nicholas Engel earned C-USA player of the year honors and showed it with 202 yards passing and 4 TDs as the Roadrunners knocked off Western Kentucky, 35-32, to claim the C-USA championship.


MAC Championship Game -- Detroit, MI
Buffalo 10-2 (8-0) -- 28
#6 Ball State 12-0 (8-0) -- 35

Ball State did all they could to state their case to the playoff committee, capping just the third unbeaten season of 2022 by besting Buffalo, 35-28, to earn the MAC title. Heisman hopeful Justin Martin was actually held largely in check for the Cardinals, rushing for just 92 yards, but did add a pair of late touchdowns to help seal the victory for Ball State. An early pick-6 by the Cardinals ended up being the scoring difference, as the teams traded touchdowns the rest of the way.


Mountain West Championship Game -- Boise, ID
Fresno State 6-6 (5-3) -- 21
Boise State 7-5 (6-2) -- 42

Former Cal QB Troy Butler threw for 251 yards and 3 scores as Boise State climbed to the peak of the Mountain West yet again, knocking off Fresno State, 42-21.


PAC-12 Championship Game -- Las Vegas, NV
UCLA 8-4 (6-3) -- 40
#7 Washington 11-1 (8-1) -- 24

From the opening series, UCLA ran roughshod over prohibitive favorite Washington, with the Bruins reeling off 21 straight points to open the contest to claim a lead they never relinquished as they won the Pac-12 championship, 40-24, over the Huskies. Washington battled back to within 7 points in the second quarter, but the Bruins just went on another 19 point run to put the game out of reach. Star HB Chris Sanders scored on the opening drive from 72 yards out and never looked back, rushing for 182 yards and 3 TDs on 22 carries while also adding 92 yards receiving for an incredible 274 yard MVP performance to help derail the Huskies' playoff prospects.


SEC Championship Game -- Atlanta, GA
#11 South Carolina 10-2 (8-0) -- 27
#1 LSU 12-0 (8-0) -- 34

LSU, who had never won a game by less than 2 touchdowns this season, struggled against a South Carolina squad who was missing starting QB Antonio Walker, but eventually held on to claim the SEC title, 34-27, and cap off an undefeated regular season. Heisman contender Kauanoe Kelekolio threw for 351 yards and 3 TDs in the victory for the Tigers, who will now await their likely selection and placement in the college football playoff.


Conference Championships Already Determined:
American - #10 Cincinnati (11-1, 7-1), Sun Belt - #12 Louisiana 11-1 (8-1)

PLAYOFF PICTURE UNCLEAR:
Check out this week's #PANTHERNATION recap show where we discuss the results of the conference championship games and discuss who is in the running for the College Football Playoff.

SOUND OFF: With LSU, Pitt, and Oklahoma likely claiming spots in the playoff, which of the remaining contenders should round out the field?

[moose141]

CFP Lineup Revealed: Fourth Seed Failing Upwards
Report by Matt Schmidlin | December 12, 2022



When it all came down to it, the College Football Playoff committee didn't end up needing to decide who deserved it more. It became more of a case of 'who deserved it less?'

Ultimately, the committee settled on Big Ten runner-up Penn State to fill out the four team field, edging out ACC runner-up Clemson and Pac-12 runner up Washington. The top three seeds, with much less debate and fanfare, are LSU, Pitt, and defending national champion Oklahoma.

Undefeated Ball State fans will likely feel hard done by, but the undefeated Cardinals strength of schedule was one of the worst in the nation, and with just a single victory over a team with a record above .500, the Cardinals had little to no business being upset with their exclusion from the playoff field.

The top three seeds in the semifinals were a fairly straightforward selection, with LSU, champions of what is usually considered the nation's toughest football conference, claiming the top spot after a run that has seen them win 12 of their 13 contests by double digit points. ACC champion Pitt, the nation's third and final undefeated school, had the premier win of the weekend beating Clemson but their overall resume left them just behind the Tigers due to a few nail-biting finishes and close calls. Defending champion Oklahoma solidified their grasp on the three seed after obliterating Houston in the Big XII championship, and the Sooners could be arguably the hottest team in the country currently.

For the final place, Penn State fell into the spot after losing to Nebraska in the Big Ten title game, but the Nittany Lions had already beaten the Huskers earlier in the season in much more convincing fashion. Clemson's blowout loss to Oklahoma State and Washington's drubbing against UCLA were big black marks on their resume, and only Clemson had even a ranked win in their tally. The Nittany Lions had the most ranked wins of the group and that likely helped solidify their selection.

The Peach Bowl ended up claiming the top seed, with LSU's proximity to Atlanta playing a factor, and the Tigers will face off with fourth-seeded Penn State. The Fiesta Bowl will play host to the second semifinal matchup, where undefeated Pitt will face off with the juggernaut that is last year's title winner Oklahoma, who has just one loss over the past two seasons (that being a one point loss to TCU this season).

This final four will feature what are likely three of the top five vote getters for the Heisman trophy at quarterback, with pocket passer LSU Kauanoe Kelekolio squaring off against Penn State's dual threat signal caller Marques Gordon. Oklahoma's Taylor Savage is one of the favorites for the trophy, while Pitt's CJ Kirk is no slouch, having been named a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien award (best QB in the nation).

The remaining New Year's Six slate has a variety of compelling matchups, namely with Ball State looking to shock the college football world in a matchup against Clemson in the Orange Bowl. A pair of traditional powers will face off in the Sugar Bowl, with at-larges Michigan and Alabama set to duke it out. Washington will face Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, with both teams likely feeling that their late season losses allowed them to let a playoff berth slip through their fingers. Finally, the Rose Bowl will see its Pac-12/Big Ten rivalry renewed with a pair of teams who pulled upsets to get to Pasadena in UCLA and Nebraska.

The full list of bowl matchups is expected to be announced shortly.

New Year's Six Bowls
Peach Bowl - CFP Semifinal: #1 LSU (13-0) vs. #4 Penn State (11-2)
Fiesta Bowl - CFP Semifinal: #2 Pitt (12-1) vs. #3 Oklahoma (12-1)
Orange Bowl: #5 Clemson (11-2) vs. #9 Ball State (13-0)
Sugar Bowl: #7 Michigan (10-2) vs. #8 Alabama (10-2)
Cotton Bowl: #6 Washington (11-2) vs. #10 Cincinnati (11-1)
Rose Bowl: #11 Nebraska (11-3) vs. #12 UCLA (9-4)