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Final: Pitt 42, Florida International 25 141
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS Getting ready for kickoff … Game: Pitt (2-0, 1-0 ACC) vs. Florida International (1-1, 0-0 C-USA), 12:02 p.m., FIU Stadium, Miami TV, radio: Fox Sports 1 (national), 93.7 The Fan Online: Game Tracker / Multimedia / Official media notes
Very happy I get to see this game thanks to the good people at Fox. A second straight road win, and the Panthers would return home undefeated to play the Hawkeyes next week. A win and they may get consideration for the top 25.
I hope James Conner continues to put up gaudy numbers (in on 1 half of work) to keep us in the spotlight a little bit. Also want to see the passing game take another step forward.
Just keep giving him the ball today…. Run it down their throats…
Go Panthers!
Go Pitt!!
H2P!!!!
Pound this team this series, Pitt. Wear them down.
They did, then fumbled.
Not a good start.
Yeah & the defense is not responding here. They are much like the Steelers in that the defense has huge question marks, plan.
Safety.
Like I said, not a good start.
Now a shanked punt.
Maybe I should rake leaves?
voytik looked winded after the 40-yd rd- timing was off with exchange to Conner on the fumble
So far, they look bad and Lafayette Pitts has not improved.
Just so Conner doesn’t do 36 rushes again… that is ok.
25 max.
Pitt has a pretty good stable of RB’s.
What’s going on with Pitt Oline this week?
Conner tackle behind line of scrimmage which cause fumble.
Voytik sacked for safety
This might be the week to insert Conner on a few snaps at D-end on 3rd down…the pass rush early is not getting outside penetration…time will tell
Nice punt–so typical of Pitt, can’t beat up on a lousy opponent.
Going from bad to worse to comedically awful…what the heck were these guys doing last night? A few missed curfews I think
Defense needed to step up there and didn’t.
Stadium looks almost empty. What’s up with that?
Has someone possessed Pitt’s coaching staff? Seriously, what are they thinking with all this passing?
exactly what I was thinking, stop trying to force the ball. Run with JC!
Agreed.
until he makes me eat my words with a second red zone fumble.
Well, now we’ll see how they respond to adversity.
No way this is the same team/coaches from the first two weeks.
LMAO…. 16-0 against a terrible team.
Looks like Pitt players and coaches were reading all those news clippings.
LMAO. 35-19
Call timeout – reset the mental clock with the whole team. It’s mentally now 0-0 and we restart the damn game playing Pitt football – RUN the ball / Pressure the apposing QB
Off to rake leaves.
Pitt’s coaches horrible play calling has me doing manual labor.
.
Hope the boys can come back.
Come down here in a month, Planetoid. Jim won’t help me rake. I know you would.
Offensive line is not blocking the linebackers. FIU’s defensive coach filling gaps is out coaching offensive coordinator at Pitt.
I guess one team started believing their newspaper clippings instead of preparing to play a game.
Starting to put a drive together need 7 here
These penalties…my gosh.
Where the hell was the whistle for stop of forward motion?
His legs were still driving.
Yea that was a fumble but seemed like they could have blown that one down
We are looking for excuses–Conner put the ball on the ground twice and that is fact. Not a bad handoff on first fumble.
Time to bench Conner.
2 fumbles in the red zone is unacceptable.
Nothing wrong with Bennett–give him a shot.
All of a sudden he’s a bum?
Smh
Arriba Wilver,
I saw no one on here call him a bum. Sometimes kids need a wake up call.
“Time to bench Conner.
2 fumbles in the red zone is unacceptable.”
.
Sounds close to he’s a bum to me, at least today.
.
He needs a “wake up call?” You don’t think he knows he fumbled twice?
That’s just silly & unfair, Critic. He’s a 19 or 20 yr old kid. The first fumble was a bad exchange & not necessarily his fault. The 2nd one was all from extra effort. Any coach can live with that. The kid is a stud whether you think so or not.
How much does Connor play the rest of the way?
Heat may be part of issue – playing like they are catching a sauna at the PAA…
We’ll they are back in it, now defense needs another 3 and out.
Can run that outside sweep keeper all day – FIU has no answers for it. Blocking was awesome both times..
Get to see what Voytik can do today looks like.
Not to state the obvious, but Boyd’s amazing, and Voytik knows it.
Pretty nice play by Boud on that one down 2 now.
Some solid offensive talent on this Pitt club.
Momentum swing
Ouch on the Holtz drop.
Does FIU have any fans? No one’s there. More people should go just to see the cheerleaders.
I get that nobody watches Fox Sports 1, but how does Dave Wannstedt as a paid analyst get to take a freebie shot at Steve Pederson with no disclaimer? Anybody else catch that?
Sure did. “Let the coach return the program to when it was good 4 or 5 years ago”. Really? What a jerk.
Actually he said to when it was “competing for conference championships”, but definitely he was talking about his tenure. To be fair, though, he was saying it in the context of really supporting Chryst as the right person for the job today. I thought it was a minor shot.
I am horrible at recalling quotes AW so I stand corrected. But a minor shot? No way. He was chomping at the bit to get that out. And I can tell you with certainty that the Pitt athletic department will not view it that way.
I don’t really care how the Pitt Athletic department views it. He was saying support the coach. Don’t see the problem there, but I understand DK’s view about the disclaimer. Full disclosure.
It was my sole point.
I knew that. I was responding to Lad’s comment that he was a jerk because of it in the context. (No offense, Lad)
No offense taken. I stand by my observation, which pre dates Wannstedt’s inappropriate comments of today. And I also know a classmate of yours, who wholeheartedly agrees with your assessment of his cleverness.
Lad—he hasn’t dealt with his termination with a lot of class. I just didn’t see the thing today as a big deal. Even if the Pitt admin didn’t like it. BTW, there are few people that I know that I have more respect for than Mark Nordenberg.
I don’t think Dave is clever enough to know he was taking a shot.
I didn’t know him well, but I went to high school with him. He’s not.
I know you didn’t know me, Dave, but quit giving me the downvotes.
I did. Talk about sour grapes. Wanny did not have control of players let alone the program. Pederson did the right thing in letting him go.
They don’t have fans, AW. They lost to Bethune-Cookman to open the season. At least my Buckeyes lost to a good VT program, which is getting trounced at home by East Carolina today.
But they have the skimpiest college cheerleader uniforms I have seen. I know, it’s Florida and it’s hot.
Their butts are not exactly putting butts in the seats, AW. But, I applaud the effort all the same.
Shame that game isn’t on down here.
It’s on the Fox Sports Channel, Lucky, if you get that.
Pitt secondary is not very good.
Old News Florida Steeler.
Oopsie
Awesome 30 minute delay
Couldn’t they let them kick the PAT 1st
So, I guess Conner can keep playing now?
Lots of Bennett in that series.
I’m surprised they had Conner in there in the red zone.
Perhaps they gave him a wakeup call at halftime.
The kid is really good. Everybody fumbles. The first one was a bad exchange. The 2nd one was on a play where he fought for extra yardage, plain and simple. He makes far more good things happen than bad by doing that.
Nope. Two fumbles in the red zone are unacceptable. Kid needs a wake up call.
Yep. Kick in the a$$ actually.
Exactly, AW.
Bench him.
I don’t know that this break is very good for Pitt. Looked like they had taken total control of the game. But, they’ll have to come back out and reassert control.
Jim S.,
Was not a bad exchange, ball was delivered appropriately. Bennett is a quality running back with better hands and Chryst put him in the game. Awake up calls are necessary if you have ever coached–even with the best.
Bad exchange for sure. The handoff was high, the timing of the play was off from the start, and I even thought the fullback was in motion before the snap. Bennett is a quality back though, and using him for a while was smart.
FL Steeler: They use multiple backs because they have a lot of good ones. You don’t pull a guy whose been great because of an effort fumble and a bad exchange, which I contend it was. But, we obviously saw it differently.
http://youtu.be/g6KlToYBMIQ Wanny comes across as a bitter old coach – it’s gutless to float that accusatory turd in the PITT punch bowl on national TVwithout providing any context on why he felt that way. And the studio host couldn’t change the topic fast enough…
Well said Newsboy. Much better than I said it.
I didn’t see that on the original broadcast, but on the YouTube they did have the box that mentioned that he was the former Pitt coach, and the years. That kind of covers the disclaimer aspect. Not like they could rehash the whole deal.
Whattzattt? What the Heck and where is Fox sports 2? They go back in action already?
im in Georgia…on Comcast..it doesn’t carry foxsports2…unbelievable now I cant watch the game?
Voytik is pretty much all they have at QB right now. He needs to be careful with the running plays.
Did Chad get hit on last series? Anderson in at QB -missed the series due to Fox Sports 2 switcheroo…
I have been in and out but I did not see Voytik get hurt.
Come back in from leaf patrol, and Pitt is up 10!
Maybe I need to do this more often?
Looks like they went back to the running game?
.
Oh, and reverend, you buy my gas money, I will rake anything you want. Your neck of the woods is beautiful in October.
Plan! Good job on the leaf patrol. Now let’s got a stop and then put this thing away, or we will have to go have you work on the grass!
Your yard work is done for the weekend my friend.
I think teams are going to blitz the heck out of Pitt until they prove they can handle it. Right now, they can’t. That’s definitely something they need to work on.
Did they say whether Voytik is hurt? Or, is Chryst just willingly putting the game on the hands of the tiniest QB in major college football?
As the program improves under Chryst, which it will–a priority is recruiting a top flight qb; which they do not have.
With his offensive credentials (see Russell Wilson) I think he’ll be able to do OK there.
Voytik is all of 3 games into his starting career also. I’m not going to give up on him. He looks ok already, with the potential to be a very solid college QB.
Braves lose again to the Rangers & slip to 3.5 (I think) games behind the Bucs.
Three safeties in a single D1 college game – not something I can say I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. Send the stats boy into the archives to research this one…
They just forced a safety Pitt is up 9.
Voytik is back in this series
Connor took it to the house on 4th and 1
Glad they kept him in….
That’s all O-line right there – just bullied FIU front 9
Conner has the all-time Pitt record for yardage after 3 games now. I would like to see more from the sub-RBs rest of the way now, though. Save the legs & get good reps for others.
Agree. You have four good backs. Use them when you can.
Good win, not pretty, but a game they may have lost in the past.
True. They fought through several early mistakes and a few bad breaks, such as the tipped pass that set up a short TD.
That was a truly awful defensive possession there. If FIU gets 2, this isn’t over.
Good run stop on the 2-pt conversion.
Piss poor D by Pitt, let them drive right down for a TD. 3:18 to go Pitt is up 10 they missed the 2 pt. conversion
Thanks for the update, since I don’t get fox sports 2 I am unable to watch it.
thanks for the update…
I guess they’re running Conner until his wheels come off
I figured as much just helping “yunz” out
Connor just scored again 2:35 to go
Or, just leave Conner in and have him run people over for another TD.
hey Jim,
here is that 17 point lead I was talking about ……………….
I was about to mention that, plan. Good call!
I am living proof that even a blind squirrel gets an occasional acorn ……….
Kneel down time turnover on downs 1:11 to go
I sure hope that’s just a cramp for Maddox. They’re already dangerously thin at CB.
Game over 42-25
Alright boys I’m gonna go enjoy some Jacksonville sunshine until the Bucco game comes on.
Not an ideal victory margin. But, after an early 16-0 deficit, they played a solid rest of the game & won going away vs a team w some athletic ability but many weaknesses. I think Pitt will struggle defensively this year, & the passing game is a ?. But, they can run the ball.
I think it was good for then to struggle a bit against these guys to learn the are no easy games and you can never look past an opponent. Plus plenty of teaching moments for Chyrst.
3 Stars of Pitt Game 3) The Fox Sports 1 studio host for giving Wanny the hook during his rant 2) Offensive line – recovered nicely from safety in Q1 and imposed their will in 2nd half 3) who else – James Conner…
2nd week in a row…
Just plain stupid to run Conner 30 times against an inferior opponent. He won’t make it to the end of the season.
Pitt has great depth at RB!! No need to run the horse into the ground this early in the season.
I forgot to say, last week, Conner carried 36 times.
Does Pitt’s win over BC last week look any better now?
It certainly does Jim since BC just beat USC. Not sure why they came out so slow but take away the 16-0 start and Pitt dominated.