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

[moose141]

National News and Notes: Week 11
Report by Matt Schmidlin | November 11, 2019

-- Just one week prior to their gigantic showdown with #2 Ohio State, #3 Penn State was stunned in the Big House by Michigan. The Wolverines, who had incredibly lost 52-51 to lowly Rutgers earlier this year, may have saved Jim Harbaugh's job with the massive upset win.

-- USC has been an incredible turnaround story this season. After going 0-12 last season, the Trojans hired Robert Prunty from NC State as their new coach and signed QB Jason Pellerin from Ole Miss as a grad transfer. The Trojans are now back in the rankings at #20 after an 8-2 start that they just punctuated with a 41-35 OT thriller as they upset #10 Stanford.

-- Pitt fans feel snubbed, as none of their star defensive lineman pulled in National or ACC Defensive POTW honors. Amir Watts had an incredible 4 sacks, Patrick Jones II had 5 TFL and 3 sacks, and yet NC State's Nick McCloud won the honors with just an INT and forced fumble.

-- Wake Forest's Kendall Hinton continues his push for national recognition, now sitting fourth in the Heisman race projections after another 4 TD performance. The senior QB now has 33 total touchdowns on the season, while current favorite Joe Burrow of LSU has an incredible 40 total TDs.

[moose141]

Pitt Preview: G10 vs. Duke
Report by Matt Schmidlin | November 14, 2019

What: Duke (3-6, 0-5 ACC) vs. #12 Pitt (7-2, 4-1)
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA
When: Saturday, November 16, 2019, 12:00 PM EST

Game Line Pres. by FanDuel: Pitt (-16.5)

Last Meeting (2018): 52-24 Pitt
Last Meeting at Venue (2017): 37-19 Pitt
All Time Series: 14-9 Pitt

Three Things to Watch

1. Duke Hapless Without Danny Dimes

After a promising 3-1 start to their season, the Duke Blue Devils have been on a serious slide, losing 5 straight to sit their record at a lackluster 3-6, including winless in 5 ACC contests. A large factor is the loss of projected NFL Draft prospect Daniel Jones, who was injured in the Blue Devils' third game of the season. In his place, redshirt senior Quentin Harris has taken the reins full time, rather than in the more run first role that he typically filled in the team's heavy and red zone sets. Harris has been serviceable, but his lack of ability to connect on downfield passes has shortened the field for opposing defenses, and Duke has not been able to compensate with a consistent short passing attack to keep defenses honest. Expect the Panthers to try and force Harris to beat them with his arm on Saturday.

2. Pickett Continues to Lead the Charge

The Pitt Panthers offense goes as Kenny Pickett goes. After another subpar performance from the Pitt backfield against Georgia Tech, Pickett did everything he could to carry the Panthers offense to a serviceable performance that put up just enough points to come away with the victory. After a horrific stretch of games against Louisville and Wake Forest, Pickett has rebounded with 6 passing TDs and 2 rushing TDs against just 1 interception in his last 3 games, all Pitt victories. Pickett's play has offset a rushing attack that has been extremely inconsistent, and which will look to gain some momentum against a struggling Duke squad. If they can't get things going on the ground, expect Pickett to have to find a way to will Pitt to their fifth straight win, as he racked up 288 yards through the air and 6 total TDs against the Blue Devils last season.

3. Panther Cubs: Big Targets Still to Visit Pitt

With just three available scholarships after nine signings so far this season, the Panthers will have a few visitors in the stands at Heinz Field as Pitt hosts Duke. 5-star wideout Jordan Pugh (6'3", 192 lbs, #9 WR) is one of Pat Narduzzi's biggest remaining targets, with the recruiting battle with rivals Penn State expected to last into the offseason to try and secure the services of Pugh. He will also visit the Nittany Lions in Week 13. A pair of 3-star targets will also visit the Panthers, as Ohio OT Nick Harris (6'6", 324 lbs, #81 T) and New Jersey DT Adam Vaughn (6'6", 291 lbs, #29) will also be in attendance on Saturday. Vaughn has been offered by the Panthers already and has also received offers from Boston College, Virginia, and Maryland in a hotly contested recruiting battle. He is expected to be a big target for Narduzzi to help offset the upcoming losses of senior DTs Keyshon Camp and Amir Watts.

Extra Credit: Pitt to promote 'Gold Out' for contest

As a giveaway for all fans in attendance, the Panthers will be giving away gold shirts emblazoned with the logo of the Pitt football student section, known as the 'Panther Pitt'. The hope is that fans will don the shirts en masse and provide for a 'Gold Out' of Heinz Field, rather than the typical smattering of blue and gold apparel that is seen throughout the stands. Against the rather lackluster opposition that is this 3-6 Duke squad, the Panthers hope to rev up the home atmosphere in the penultimate home appearance for the current crop of Pitt seniors.

What to Expect on the Field on Saturday

[Careless Whisper]

Should be a good one to pad some stats and impress the recruits there!

[dfsJunkie]

I was surprised to see how bad Duke’s record is, despite losing Jones, they still have really high grades... and then I saw how dismal their offensive line is. Gotdamn!! Looks like it should be sack city for you guys.

[ThatBritishGuy]

Oh dear, Duke just cannot get anything going on offence can they? Just got to put these to bed early and keep heading towards the ACC Championship.

[moose141]

Quote: Originally Posted by dfsJunkie

I was surprised to see how bad Duke’s record is, despite losing Jones, they still have really high grades... and then I saw how dismal their offensive line is. Gotdamn!! Looks like it should be sack city for you guys.

Hopefully! The injury bug has hurt them on the offensive side of the football for sure. It would've been interesting to see them test our secondary if Jones could've played for sure.

Quote: Originally Posted by Careless Whisper

Should be a good one to pad some stats and impress the recruits there!

Quote: Originally Posted by ThatBritishGuy

Oh dear, Duke just cannot get anything going on offence can they? Just got to put these to bed early and keep heading towards the ACC Championship.

[moose141]

BUILT FORD TOUGH
Report by Matt Schmidlin | November 16, 2019

Gold Out a Rousing Success

While the on field performance was a bit lackluster offensively for the Panthers, the off field showing in the stands was spectacular. In a great promotion, Pitt gave away gold shirts to all fans in attendance, making for a great spectacle and atmosphere at Heinz Field. It allowed for Pitt fans to differentiate from the visiting Duke faithful, who also wear a mildly similar shade of blue.

"The atmosphere in the building was spectacular today," Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. "Our fans bring it every game, and I'm glad we could see so much solidarity today. It wasn't our most complete effort on the field, but the fans really helped give our defense that extra boost to help seal the deal at the end out there this afternoon."

Puzzling Decision by Cutcliffe Saves Panthers

With Duke trailing by three late in the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils drove into field goal range with under a minute to play in regulation. In a controversial decision, Duke coach David Cutcliffe elected to go for it on fourth and inches, which culminated in Pitt's Paris Ford leveling Duke's Kelvin Spencer as he tried to haul in a pass, jarring the ball loose and sealing victory for the Panthers.

"Look, we wanted to win the game," Cutcliffe said afterwards. "We were moving the ball well on that final drive, and we've had some inconsistency in the kicking game this year, so we came out with nothing to lose. Maybe we should've kicked it, but I thought we ran a great play to get Spencer in space. Ford just made an incredible play. He was really everywhere out there on the field today."

Photo Gallery

[ThatBritishGuy]

Oh man, I nearly jinxed it, but it wasn't me as the game was played well before my comment.

That Feamster defelction at the end of the 2nd quarter (what a play that was) probably changed the whole game with that pick 6 on the very next play. Won't go in the stats column for much but that was a massive points swing for them.

Mannnn, I was rooting for Acey Reese when he came on and look what he does, dammit!!

When you go for it on that sort of play and it works everyone loves you, if it fails people scream why didn't you take the easy field goal! Tough game to grind the win out!

And have to say, the Gold out looked awesome, apart from those who decided to wear blue. You always get some of "those" fans who wont participate. Awesome idea for the next NCAA game if we get one (along with upgrading stadiums) is the choice of stadium attire for a "white out" or stripe the stadium" effects.