Pitt - Sept. 11, 2021 - a likely gauge for Vols ability to adapt to new systems

#76
#76
I saw where Pitt is ranked way ahead of us in the poll I saw last night, but that poll also has Toldeo and Buffalo ahead of us, so I'm not sure how much stock I put in that poll.
 
#77
#77
HiltonHeadVol said:
So I hear folks regularly talk about going into Florida undefeated in the 2021 season. Ok, let's hold the bus on the 3-0 assumption for a minute. Pitt, only our second foe of the season has a well established Head Coach (Pat Narduzzi) and will be a serious test. Pitt has 5 players pre-season on All ACC team, their punter is on the Ray Guy list, and Pitt was just rated pre-season 8th best pass rush in the nation in Pro Football Focus. That same pub picked the 5 most under-rated conference teams around the country and Pitt was their ACC most under-rated.

None of that really matters until we see things on the field, but Pitt is a legit football team who will come into Knoxville and certainly present a challenge to say the least. The Panthers could come in and even win handily over a team with a new system on O and D. Hoping this doesn't happen of course, but people need to take them quite seriously. It is a huge game and depending on the rest of the season, it could be that losing a competitive game to Pitt might not be the disaster most on here would assume it to be. There are always teams on our schedule who perform well above preseason expectations, and those that do the opposite. Sadly we have been in the latter category much too often - usually from poor coaching/development. Heck, I don't believe we have even scored a touchdown against Pitt in the two games we've played. I was at the 1983 game in Knoxville as a young dude (Pitt won 13-3). We shall see how things go with the new regime, but I have some hope in that regard.

And as a case in point, Pitt was not super highly regarded that year - '83, Foge Fazio's 2nd year - but ended up being ranked after beating us and ended up 18th in the Top 20 post season polls (8-3-1). They beat Fla State (Bowden's 8th year), beat Notre Dame at S. Bend, tied Penn St, and lost a close game to Ohio St in bowl game. BTW, Tennessee was never ranked that year (surprisingly) and ended up 9-3 only losing to Pitt, Auburn, and Ole Miss. Just a little walk back in time.
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This will be an important game for both teams too set the tone for the rest of the year. Pitt will most likely play conservative against New Hampshire in the first game and won't fully open up the playbook until the Tennessee game. Lots of unknowns for both teams.

Im looking forward to coming down to historic Neyand Stadium. Its always been on my bucket list. Some shared history in this game with Tennessee's own Jonny Majors who rebuilt Pitt football and lead them to a national championship in 1976.
 
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#78
#78
GoPitt said:
This will be an important game for both teams too set the tone for the rest of the year. Pitt will most likely play conservative against New Hampshire in the first game and won't fully open up the playbook until the Tennessee game. Lots of unknowns for both teams.

Im looking forward to coming down to historic Neyand Stadium. Its always been on my bucket list. Some shared history in this game with Tennessee's own Jonny Majors who rebuilt Pitt football and lead them to a national championship in 1976.
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If the crowd is into it you’ll never forget it. I wish Majors was still alive he’s my all time favorite Volunteer
 
#79
#79
Longsufferingvol said:
I saw where Pitt is ranked way ahead of us in the poll I saw last night, but that poll also has Toldeo and Buffalo ahead of us, so I'm not sure how much stock I put in that poll.
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None. We have speed and talent that I’ll be surprised for them to be able to match. If we don’t show up mentally we could easily lose, but if we show up in a bad mood ready to fight we should win by a couple scores. It sounds cliche but it’s going to come down to effort, if our guys truly want to win then I don’t think Pitt has the horses to stop us
 
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#81
#81
GoPitt said:
This will be an important game for both teams too set the tone for the rest of the year. Pitt will most likely play conservative against New Hampshire in the first game and won't fully open up the playbook until the Tennessee game. Lots of unknowns for both teams.

Im looking forward to coming down to historic Neyand Stadium. Its always been on my bucket list. Some shared history in this game with Tennessee's own Jonny Majors who rebuilt Pitt football and lead them to a national championship in 1976.
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I hope y’all have a blast at the game (but leave with a Volunteer win. :) ) and enjoy the Neyland experience. I’m a little biased, but UT fans are the best in the country, and should make you feel welcome. Hopefully the stadium will be rocking. I think it should be an evenly matched game.
 
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#83
#83
GoPitt said:
This will be an important game for both teams too set the tone for the rest of the year. Pitt will most likely play conservative against New Hampshire in the first game and won't fully open up the playbook until the Tennessee game. Lots of unknowns for both teams.

Im looking forward to coming down to historic Neyand Stadium. Its always been on my bucket list. Some shared history in this game with Tennessee's own Jonny Majors who rebuilt Pitt football and lead them to a national championship in 1976.
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Welcome... and Go Big Orange!
 
#84
#84
A.J. said:
I hope y’all have a blast at the game (but leave with a Volunteer win. :) ) and enjoy the Neyland experience. I’m a little biased, but UT fans are the best in the country, and should make you feel welcome. Hopefully the stadium will be rocking. I think it should be an evenly matched game.
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I'm stay several miles away from the stadium. Will I be able to find parking or is my best bet to uber in? I think you will find the Pitt fans that come will be pretty classy as well
 
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#85
#85
GoPitt said:
I'm stay several miles away from the stadium. Will I be able to find parking or is my best bet to uber in? I think you will find the Pitt fans that come will be pretty classy as well
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You can find parking just off the strip (Cumberland Ave) for $20-$30. Getting an Uber after the game would likely be tough.
 
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#87
#87
Nationdom said:
If we don't beat Pittsburgh by 3tds I'd be shocked
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Pitt is generally physical and often gives instate rival Penn State fits. They cannot be overlooked. The line will be considerably closer than 3 TDs. And I wouldn't be shocked if UT isn't favored. So, a win of any score would be great!
 
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#90
#90
GoPitt said:
I'm stay several miles away from the stadium. Will I be able to find parking or is my best bet to uber in? I think you will find the Pitt fans that come will be pretty classy as well
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If you don’t mind walking ~10-15 minutes, you can always find street parking across Cumberland in “Fort Sanders”. Laurel, Highland, Forest, etc. you should be able to find a spot on the street for free. At least I always have. The area is primarily off campus student housing.
 
#91
#91
I just watched the UCF vs Pitt game in 2019 on YouTube. The score was 35-34 Pitt. I believe Coach Heupel will have the Team up for this one. That game was a tough loss on a trick play for UCF. Coach may have circled this one for some redemption.
 
#92
#92
solivols said:
If you don’t mind walking ~10-15 minutes, you can always find street parking across Cumberland in “Fort Sanders”. Laurel, Highland, Forest, etc. you should be able to find a spot on the street for free. At least I always have. The area is primarily off campus student housing.
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I'd like to find a lot with some tailgating going on
 
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#93
#93
volbound1700 said:
Pittsburgh and South Carolina are the two toss-up games we must win to make a bowl. I see us winning the other 3 OOC games and Vanderbilt.

Missouri and Kentucky will be slightly favored against us but we have a shot at them. If we can also get the monkey off our back, Florida is pretty vulnerable this year. From what I am reading, Florida may not be very good.
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I don’t care if Florida returns to the Collinsworth years of 0-11, NEVER & I mean NEVER take beating them for granted.
 
#94
#94
RDU VOL#14 said:
I don’t see them winning the Coastal either. All the talking heads at ACC media says kept saying they could see them having an outside chance winning the division. UNC should win it, I think that opening Friday night game in Blacksburg with UNC @ VPI is a huge game for the division. Would love to see Tech win that game. I mean I would absolutely love to see Virginia Tech just rip their heart out before Labor Day.
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Yeah, we need the Mack Brown experiment to turn sour for recruiting purposes.
 
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#96
#96
VOLnMiami said:
I laughed...We haven't scored 51 points since moby dick was a minnow.
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Brother, we've scored 50+ points in seven different games over the past six years. One of those, against Mizzou, we scored over 60.

Herman Melville wrote about Moby Dick in 1851. The whale was already fully grown then. Since that kind of whale can live 70 years, let's assume about half that, an age of 35. That would mean it was just a little tot of a baby whale (a "minnow," you said) in 1816. That was 202 years prior to us scoring 59 points on ETSU in September, 2018.

Your timeline is a little off, man. :)
 
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#97
#97
VOLnMiami said:
In 1980 Willie Gault returned a kickoff for a TD against them....And that's the only one we have ever scored on them....Yes they are going to be a serious test and those who think this will be a walk in the park have no clue...We are coming off a 3-8 season and lost a ton of talent to the transfer portal, We are young and have a lot to learn before we go puffing out our chests thinking we are going to blow anybody out.
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I was at that one, 30–6 Pitt if I recall. Really really cold too.
 
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#98
#98
LittleVol said:
Any of Heupel UCF teams would beat this Pitt team. And this Tennessee team is more talented than any of those UCF teams.

I don't give a damn about a spread predetermined from what we were last season.
Pitt doesnt have the offense to dominate the clock. Nor does their defense have the ability to slow down our offense.

51-17 UT
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What offense are you referring to? The one from last year that couldn’t find the end zone with a gps or the one we’ve yet to see?
 
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