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Pitt fans say the darndest things

Future schedule confusion somewhat interesting -

On Sept. 17, 2022, the Panthers will play one of those curious road games, taking a football trip to Western Michigan for the second of two matchups with the Broncos of the Mid-American Conference. The first meeting will be Sept. 18, 2021, at Heinz Field, per a copy of the agreement that was provided by Western Michigan to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via a Freedom of Information Act request. Both parties signed the contract, first reported by FBSchedules.com, in October.

Pitt hasn’t played at a MAC school since 2015, a 24-7 win against Akron in Pat Narduzzi’s first season as coach, but it’s not an uncommon practice in the ACC. Just last year, Syracuse also visited Western Michigan as the first half of a two-game home-and-home series. Conference mates Georgia Tech (South Florida), North Carolina (East Carolina), Wake Forest (Tulane), Virginia Tech (Old Dominion) and Miami (Toledo) also visited opponents outside the major conferences, and the Panthers themselves played a “Group of Five” away game at Central Florida.

Still, you might wonder why programs from the ACC or any other power-five league occasionally play outside their established hierarchy on the road. The answer is that it’s sometimes the most logical solution for striking the tricky balance of college football scheduling.


Rutgers tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart is brought down by a host of Maryland players after making a catch during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, in Piscataway, N.J.
Brian Batko
Tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart to transfer to Pitt from Rutgers


Of course, it starts with the financial component. Pitt and Western Michigan each will pay the other $300,000 after the game it hosts, meaning Pitt won’t have to buy a home game like it does each year with a lower-level visitor. That’s major savings, considering Pitt will pay $1.1 million for another MAC outfit, Miami (Ohio), to visit Heinz Field in 2020 with no return date from the Panthers.

In Pitt’s case, its 2022 schedule already features two previously inked deals with Tennessee and West Virginia, both of which will play at Heinz Field that year. That leaves two non-conference slots to work with, one of which has been filled by a guarantee game against a Football Championship Subdivision foe (Youngstown State, Delaware, et al) each year since 2008.

So, assuming Pitt’s annual plan is to take that one FCS free space allowed per season, it had three home games with one open date left to plan for on its 2022 slate. It’s exceedingly rare for a team to play four home games in non-conference, giving Pitt little choice but to find a road or neutral-site partner. Insisting on a higher-profile matchup likely would’ve meant a more difficult one, so with what Pitt sacrifices in sexiness, it should make up for in the win-loss column.

Now, traveling to the likes of Akron, Buffalo, Kent State or Toledo in lieu of Western Michigan would make for shorter drives from Pittsburgh, so choice of MAC opponent might’ve been a discussion, but it’s likely the best combination of monetary value, away venue, strength-of-schedule and likelihood of a victory.

Still, former Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes effectively criticized series like these in February 2016, identifying one goal as “making sure we’re not on the road at non-Power Fives” in subsequent seasons. But shortly after Barnes left, Pitt announced home and road dates with Central Florida, and now it will be three years in between that rough day at UCF and the trek to Western Michigan’s Waldo Stadium. Pitt also set up a future home-and-home with former Big East rival Cincinnati in 2015.
 
That place must have been rocking yesterday. WMU coaches and QB probably had to use hand signals the whole game. Great job under such duress.

ddw5b2hcgfpabq72usdq
 
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I think it's his 6th year.
I think you might be right. I remember him making his “big debut” the year they beat that fraudulent Miami team at the end of the season. I was thinking he was a true freshman then, but he may have been a RS. We will go with 6th year. Haha
 
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Pitt fans are beside themselves.

The college football world spotlight was on PSU last weekend. College Gameday, prime time game, 109k in the stands to witness a quality win over a ranked SEC team.

On the other hand, Pitt lost to a MAC team in front of 15k at a noon game on god knows what network. It was their worst nightmare.
 
Pitt fans are beside themselves.

The college football world spotlight was on PSU last weekend. College Gameday, prime time game, 109k in the stands to witness a quality win over a ranked SEC team.

On the other hand, Pitt lost to a MAC team in front of 15k at a noon game on god knows what network. It was their worst nightmare.
It’s like a bad dream and it just keeps getting worse.
 
The Athletic dropped their ranking from 31 to 62 in ranking all teams. They put WMU as 61. They gave us at 6. I'd post a link but it's behind a pay wall.
 
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Pitt fans are beside themselves.

The college football world spotlight was on PSU last weekend. College Gameday, prime time game, 109k in the stands to witness a quality win over a ranked SEC team.

On the other hand, Pitt lost to a MAC team in front of 15k at a noon game on god knows what network. It was their worst nightmare.
They need to win just enough to keep them from firing Narduzzi. He's the gift that keeps on giving.
 
How about Pitt coaches saying the darndest things? A read a transcript of Narduzzi's presser after the WMU loss. His answers to well over half the questions included something like "I'll have to check the film." Apparently he wasn't paying attention to the live action which I guess helps explain the loss.
 
Pitt fans are beside themselves.

The college football world spotlight was on PSU last weekend. College Gameday, prime time game, 109k in the stands to witness a quality win over a ranked SEC team.

On the other hand, Pitt lost to a MAC team in front of 15k at a noon game on god knows what network. It was their worst nightmare.
Lot of bad dreams in Oakland.
 
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The ones that gave them their 18 Natty's?
Can't remember the dates exactly, but Notre Dame not all that long ago, and of course, knocking WVU out of a chance for a national championship. They do have that mercurial side to them.
 
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I just love when they go on to compare the Pitt program to Iowa or Wisconsin....and talk about them as purely a product of a weak division. ACC Coastal.....hello? Even if those programs were similar, try making a comparison of the game day atmosphere.
But we all must agree that they have a dominant, elite defense......that is producing premier NFL players.
 
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The Athletic dropped their ranking from 31 to 62 in ranking all teams. They put WMU as 61. They gave us at 6. I'd post a link but it's behind a pay wall.

Is this out of 65 P5 teams?

I'm not sure what would be more embarrassing, if they were 62/65 P5 teams, or if there were non-P5 teams that ranked higher than them!
 
I just love when they go on to compare the Pitt program to Iowa or Wisconsin....and talk about them as purely a product of a weak division. ACC Coastal.....hello? Even if those programs were similar, try making a comparison of the game day atmosphere.
But we all must agree that they have a dominant, elite defense......that is producing premier NFL players.
Both Iowa and Wisconsin would pound them into sand 6 days per week and twice on Sunday.
 
Pitt lost to a MAC team in front of 15k at a noon game on god knows what network.
I actually watched a few minutes of the game on i think NBC-SN, but with about 7 minutes left they switched coverage to the Nationals pregame show so I didnt see the end. Since coverage didn't stay until the end of the game NBC-SN will not receive a free beverage.
 
Is this out of 65 P5 teams?

I'm not sure what would be more embarrassing, if they were 62/65 P5 teams, or if there were non-P5 teams that ranked higher than them!
All FBS teams. Dumpster fires UMass and UConn came in as last two.
 
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Future schedule confusion somewhat interesting -

On Sept. 17, 2022, the Panthers will play one of those curious road games, taking a football trip to Western Michigan for the second of two matchups with the Broncos of the Mid-American Conference. The first meeting will be Sept. 18, 2021, at Heinz Field, per a copy of the agreement that was provided by Western Michigan to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via a Freedom of Information Act request. Both parties signed the contract, first reported by FBSchedules.com, in October.

Pitt hasn’t played at a MAC school since 2015, a 24-7 win against Akron in Pat Narduzzi’s first season as coach, but it’s not an uncommon practice in the ACC. Just last year, Syracuse also visited Western Michigan as the first half of a two-game home-and-home series. Conference mates Georgia Tech (South Florida), North Carolina (East Carolina), Wake Forest (Tulane), Virginia Tech (Old Dominion) and Miami (Toledo) also visited opponents outside the major conferences, and the Panthers themselves played a “Group of Five” away game at Central Florida.

Still, you might wonder why programs from the ACC or any other power-five league occasionally play outside their established hierarchy on the road. The answer is that it’s sometimes the most logical solution for striking the tricky balance of college football scheduling.

Rutgers tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart is brought down by a host of Maryland players after making a catch during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, in Piscataway, N.J.
Brian Batko
Tight end Nakia Griffin-Stewart to transfer to Pitt from Rutgers


Of course, it starts with the financial component. Pitt and Western Michigan each will pay the other $300,000 after the game it hosts, meaning Pitt won’t have to buy a home game like it does each year with a lower-level visitor. That’s major savings, considering Pitt will pay $1.1 million for another MAC outfit, Miami (Ohio), to visit Heinz Field in 2020 with no return date from the Panthers.

In Pitt’s case, its 2022 schedule already features two previously inked deals with Tennessee and West Virginia, both of which will play at Heinz Field that year. That leaves two non-conference slots to work with, one of which has been filled by a guarantee game against a Football Championship Subdivision foe (Youngstown State, Delaware, et al) each year since 2008.

So, assuming Pitt’s annual plan is to take that one FCS free space allowed per season, it had three home games with one open date left to plan for on its 2022 slate. It’s exceedingly rare for a team to play four home games in non-conference, giving Pitt little choice but to find a road or neutral-site partner. Insisting on a higher-profile matchup likely would’ve meant a more difficult one, so with what Pitt sacrifices in sexiness, it should make up for in the win-loss column.

Now, traveling to the likes of Akron, Buffalo, Kent State or Toledo in lieu of Western Michigan would make for shorter drives from Pittsburgh, so choice of MAC opponent might’ve been a discussion, but it’s likely the best combination of monetary value, away venue, strength-of-schedule and likelihood of a victory.

Still, former Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes effectively criticized series like these in February 2016, identifying one goal as “making sure we’re not on the road at non-Power Fives” in subsequent seasons. But shortly after Barnes left, Pitt announced home and road dates with Central Florida, and now it will be three years in between that rough day at UCF and the trek to Western Michigan’s Waldo Stadium. Pitt also set up a future home-and-home with former Big East rival Cincinnati in 2015.
So ASWP couldn't net more than $1.1mm from the additional home game it could schedule? Yeah, I could see that. Leads me to wonder what Heather Lyke was offering to Ms. Excellence to schedule a long(er)-term home-and-home series. Free beverages for the visiting fans?
 
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Wow this fan base is delusional. Went over there to see if there was any Steelers chatter or news to catch up on and saw this gem. Just so you know, they’d beat us handily this year. They should probably make some key chains saying as much.

 
Wow this fan base is delusional. Went over there to see if there was any Steelers chatter or news to catch up on and saw this gem. Just so you know, they’d beat us handily this year. They should probably make some key chains saying as much.

I wouldn’t say delusional so much as utterly, bat shit, crazy. They can’t beat Western Michigan at home but believe they would best us. Our WRs and TEs would destroy them.
 
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