HiltonHeadVol
TokyoVol
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- Mar 12, 2016
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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.
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.