2015 Miami Hurricanes Opponent Preview - Week 13 (at Pitt 11/27 Friday)

Miami Hurricanes 2015 Opponent Preview

Week 13

At Pittsburgh (November 27^th – Friday)

The 2015 Miami Hurricanes Opponent Preview concludes with the preview of the Pittsburgh Panthers who hosts the U on November 27^th, the day after Thanksgiving up in Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.  

In the Steel city, out is Paul Chryst, who left to run the show in Madison, Wisconsin and coming in is former Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi. He’s the 4^th head coach there in the last ten seasons. If you include Mike Haywood, that’s five. There’s a new beginning up in the Steel City. When you look back on Chryst’s time there, if you speak to their fans up there, it’s like a few weeks they were world-beaters, and the next few weeks, they were terrible. Simply put there was a lack of consistency there.

Pat Narduzzi

Their opponents weren’t on their level, OK. Still, that team was very good and consistent early. They had the nation’s leading rusher for a while in RB James Conner. Everything was going pretty well, until the Iowa game. From that loss on, and for the next three weeks afterward, there were despair and another disappointing season was soon to come.

After gagging, and it was a gag job in Fort Worth vs Houston in the Armed Forces bowl, in which they blew a 25-point lead, they cleaned house. On the same day Chryst left for Madison,  AD Steve Pederson was shown the door, and soon after, all of Chryst’s staff were canned. They believe they have a winner in the making in Narduzzi, who won the 2013 Broyles Award for nation’s best assistant coach.

Even though he hasn’t coached a game yet, the fanbase up there is jacked for big things going forward. What he has done was have a strong presence on Social Media (i.e., Facebook and Twitter), a strong recruiting class, and bring back a defense that Pittsburgh is known for. He wants to bring the type of D that made Michigan State very successful and a National power.

Let’s talk about Pittsburgh’s Defense.

This is Narduzzi’s baby right here. With Narduzzi really running the show with the Defense, you won’t see the gag job again like you saw in Fort Worth vs Houston. They didn’t have many stars and whatever was there is gone. They lost to graduation, their two leading tacklers in Anthony Gonzalez (had a rookie tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers) and Todd Thomas (UFA to Jacksonville) as well as backs leader Ray Vinopal (UFA to Dallas). There are many questions in Narduzzi’s first season as the boss in Pittsburgh.

Yes, they have a New DC coming in with Josh Conklin, coming over from FIU. He’s going to learn from one of the best in the business there, make no mistake; Narduzzi calls the shots with the D. While Conklin might not have the experience, he’ll make up for it with talent and good coaching While in University Park (Miami), his defense there led the nation in fumble recoveries (19), as well as second in defensive touchdowns (6) and fourth in turnovers gained (33). Consider this, that defense at FIU was 36th in yards allowed, and 4th in red zone defense, and he got a Broyles Award nomination, which is the same title Narduzzi won in 2013, running the defense in East Lansing.

Its going to all depend on how quick Narduzzi and Conklin can maximize the effort from their personnel, because there’s not a lot of experience there and lack of stars there. In fact, the only experience coming back is seniors Lafayette Pitts and Darryl Render.

Where they lack in experience, they make up for it in talent from the 2015 recruiting class, This includes CB Jordan Whitehead, who was ranked 13th in the nation at that position according to the folks at 247 Sports. Add to the mix fellow enrollees CB Malik Henderson, S Jay Stocker, S Dane Jackson, and others, and Narduzzi will have a defense that will be a force to be dealt with not this year, but really from next year on. If you’re going to get to their defense, you better do it this year because come 2017, that defense is going to be very dangerous and good, once Narduzzi’s has his system in place there.

Let’s talk about Pittsburgh’s Offense

Yes, Narduzzi thinks defense first, the offense will be run by Jim Chaney, who comes over from Arkansas, and he’ll have plenty of weapons at his disposal. Their two biggest weapons coming back are RB James Conner and WR Tyler Boyd.

Conner, as stated earlier, led the nation in rushing for a while before tailing off, and was even talked about in the Heisman. He would up 7th in the nation in rushing yards (1765) and 3rd in rushing touchdowns (26). He was the ACC Player of the Year in 2014, and was a first team All-American. The question is with Conner, what could he do for a encore?  They believe that he could have another monster year.

On the receiving corp, their leader is clearly Boyd (provided he stays out of trouble off the field).  He reminds their fans of Larry Fitzgerald. Other than Fitzgerald, he’s the other Pitt WR to have  two 1,000 yard seasons in their careers. That’s amazing.

While Conner got the pub and well-deserved too, Boyd had a solid season, and more impressive when you consider that he played with QB Tom Savage, who was known for the big play pass. 

After all that, all he did was rank second in the ACC in receiving yards (1261), yards per game (97.0), and touchdowns (8). Oh, and being a first team All-ACC player. Outside of Boyd, there’s really nothing else there. Though they have back TE J.P. Holtz and WR Ronald Jones. While they are nice players who can fill roles (combining for 440 yards in 2014), they are nowhere near the talent that Boyd is. As for the 2015 recruiting class here, they have in Tre Tipton and Gentry Ivery. Simply put, the leader is Boyd, again, provided, he stays out of trouble off the field. He had a DUI arrest in June and was suspended briefly. This is the leader of the WRs here, and a overall team leader.

As good as Conner and Boyd are, the biggest question mark on O, is at QB. Chad Voytik had a nice season. He was 4th in the ACC in QBR and 3rd in passer efficiency rating (140.2). He’s a slow starter, but finishes strong late. With Conner and Boyd, they’re not going to ask him to do too much. He could get better, and they’ll want him to manage the game and not make the big mistake.

Voytik’s can get even better here and Chaney will work with him to see that he gets better. Cheney’s experience will really come into play here, when you consider the resume of this man. He’s coached big time football at major place and even a short stint in St Louis, coaching the offensive line and tight ends.

While at Purdue for nine years, he coached a certain Super Bowl QB by the name of Drew Brees. His experience will work wonders for that offense in the Steel City.

What to expect from Pittsburgh

Looking at them on tape, you can see why the excitement in the Steel City is high. Narduzzi is bringing the enthusiasm and a toughness that Pittsburgh is known for.  If you’re going to get Pitt, get them this year because no one is going to want to face them in the coming years having to game plan for that defense.  They have a tough schedule to be sure with GT, Notre Dame, Duke, and Louisville. They could surprise some people in Year 1 of the Narduzzi era.

From their Spring Game

The Gag job in Fort Worth by Pitt vs Houston

From last year at Sun Life when Conner had a big night vs The U

In this game, it’s the regular season finale on a short week (day after Thanksgiving). It’s likely to be very cold up there. It’s going to be a White Knuckle type of game, but I have to believe in the end, our experience, and making enough plays late will be the difference. The U, I predict will survive and leave Heinz Field with a very hard fought win. 

This is the final part of this series for this season. 

Preview of CANES 2014 Regular season finale vs Pitt

12th and Final Part of 2014 Miami Hurricanes Opponent Video Series: Pitt 11/29

2014 Pitt Panthers Football Preview

In the 12^th and final part of the 2014 opponent video series, I’m going to talk a little about the Pitt Panthers, our opponent on Nov 29^th in our regular season finale at Sun Life Stadium.   

Lets first look at their Talent:

Tom Savage is gone, but the offense gets eight other starters back in 2014. Some are very young here, with loads of potential. In 2013, Sophomore QB Chad Voytik (6-1, 210) was forced to play in the bowl game after Savage got hurt, and actually led the Panthers to victory. Now, he’s the man in the Steel City.

Head Coach Paul Chryst is excited about what Voytik’s potential here.

From Chryst: "I like how Chad has been approaching it a lot. Every day you're getting some stuff that you've got to clean up, but I've loved his approach to it. If he keeps doing that, then he'll maximize his opportunity."

Also back are  sophomore James Conner, who had a very good freshman campaign that saw the 6-2, 230-pounder rush for a team-best 799 yards and 8 TDs on 5.5 yards per carry, senior Isaac Bennett (5-11, 205) who had 797 yards on the ground and 7 TDs in 2013. When you add highly touted incoming freshman Chris James (5-11, 210) and you have a running game that can be very dangerous.

In the WR corp, they did lose Devin Street to the NFL, but they have someone just as good returning in 2014 in Tyler Boyd. This guy, who’s 6-2 was the team leader last year in with 85 receptions, for 1,174 yards and seven TDs. Oh, he only ended up as an All-American for a Freshman. .

Chryst can’t stop gushing about Boyd’s potential here.

"Tyler is one of many young guys that need to be able to step up into a leadership role, as well as -- the best way he can lead is continue to be productive. I love the way that he approaches the game and the type of teammate that he is."

As for the O-Line, they get back four of last year's five starters and that will put at ease for Chryst and Voytik that the Line will do their job with Pass protection and opening holes for those big backs.  

While the offense is going to be fine, the same cannot be said for the defense, You just don’t replace someone of Donald’s caliber with just anyone. It’s going to be very tough to replace someone that put the numbers up that Donald did (led the nation in TFL last year with 28.5, and had 11 sacks). They only have five starters back on D in 2014. .

Besides Donald, they have to fill the voids left by the two other starters from 2013 that have graduated. The ones to likely fill those voids are Junior Darryl Render (6-2, 285) and Senior Khaynin Mosely-Smith (6-0, 305) inside and have Sophomore Shakir Sota (6-3, 255) be on the outside.

The LB corp does have some experience returning in Seniors Anthony Gonzalez (79 tackles) and Todd Thomas (72 72 tackles), while in the secondary, they have back Senior safety Ray Vinopal (83 tackles, three interceptions) does the same for the secondary.

On Special Teams, Chris Blewitt had a solid rookie year last year handling the PK duties. converting 14-18 on FG attempts, with a long of 47 yards. They do have to replace last year’s Punter Matt Yoklic, who graduated. Look for RS freshman Ryan Winslow (6-5, 2-5) to get that job there.

Next, I want to talk about the Coaching:

This will be Chryst’s 3^rd year in the Steel City. He’s a .500 coach at 13-13. The offense is young this year and has a lot of potential. Everything is in place for Chryst to be the darkhorse and get to Charlotte. His Panthers schedule is very favorable, one of the most favorable in college football, the pressure for the Panthers to make noise this year is pretty high.  

Now, to their 2014 Schedule:

They went 7-6 last year, which included a win over Bowling Green in the Little Caesars Bowl. If things break right, it’s a 10 win team we’re looking at here. Here’s how I see the schedule play out in 2014:
In their opener, 8/30 vs. Delaware: W

Look for a big game out of Conner in this one. Delaware doesn’t have the Defense to stop him. Pitt wins BIG in this one.  

In Week 2, 9/5 at Boston College: L

With most games at Heinz Field this season, this will be a good road for the Panthers up in Chestnut Hill to open ACC play. While Voytik is still young and will make some mistakes, on the other side for BC, quarterback Tyler Murphy has plenty of experience (Florida transfer). Expect it to be close, but in the end, I think Voytik will make a key mistake and BC survives to drop the Panthers to a projected 1-1.
In week 3, 9/13 at Florida International: W

In the first of two trips to Miami this year, they visit FIU to take on the Golden Panthers. After the projected loss at BC, look for Voytik to be much more prepared for this game and look for a monster game out of Boyd. While it will be close for a half, Florida International doesn’t have the weapons to hang with Pitt for 4 quarters. Pitt wins this one.

In week 4, 9/20 vs. Iowa: W

They are not afraid of the big boys from out of conference. This is going to be a game where its very physical, and brutal. If you love smash mouth football, this is the game for you.  Pitt needs a big game out of Conner here. If they get it, Pitt wins. I think they get that big game from Conner and Pitt wins a close vs Iowa.

In week 5, 9/27 vs. Akron: W

The Zips nearly won in the Big House last year. After a projected big win over Iowa, there’s no way Chryst will allow a letdown from his team, especially after what Akron nearly did last year in Ann Arbor.  Pitt wins comfortably in this one.

In Week 6,  10/4 at Virginia: W

A road trip to Charlottesville for the Panthers and UVa is in disarray at this point, and their coach’s seat is very warm and Pitt will only make Mike London’s seat warmer after this one. Pitt gets on the board in ACC play.

In Week 7 BYE

In Week 8, 10/16 vs. Virginia Tech: L

This game will be tough. Both teams coming off BYE weeks, this should be a good one here.  Look for Conner and Boyd to have good games here. However, in big time games like this, never underestimate Beamer and Foster. So, look for the VT Defense to feast on Voytik and make some plays. Also, look for VT’s Special Teams to come up big and their O does just enough to win. The Panthers just lost too much on D, and in the end, I see VT getting a big win over Pitt on the road.

In Week 9, 10/25 vs. Georgia Tech: L

Against a team like GT, which loves the Triple option, with DT Aaron Donald now gone, the Panthers will have to come up big in this one. If GT is going to start getting off the mat and get back in the win column, this would be the game to do it here. The Panthers D-Line is weak depth wise. Look for Johnson’s triple option offense to have a field day against that weakened Pitt D up front. Look for a good game out of QB Justin Thomas, especially when he doesn’t have to throw the ball too much in this one. GT gets the win to drop the Panthers to a projected 5-3 and 1-3 in the ACC.

In Week 10, 11/1 vs. Duke: L

Up next for the Panthers: A home date with the Duke Blue Devils, in a rematch of a classic shootout the Panthers won 58-55 last year in Durham. Make no mistake, the Blue Devils are the real deal. With Tom Savage now in the NFL, Duke has the better quarterback in this matchup, not to mention, the more experienced one as well in Anthony Boone.  When you add David Cutcliffe’s leadership, and the Blue Devils wanting payback for last year’s loss to the Panthers in Durham, with Duke’s D a lot better this year, give this one to the Blue Devils and Pitt drops to a projected 5-4 and 1-4 in the ACC.

In Week 11 BYE Week

In Week 12, 11/15 at North Carolina: L

Coming off a BYE, and Carolina coming off a projected close game loss in Miami, look for the Tar Heels to be very upset and take it out on the Panthers. Look for Williams to make some big plays early and often in this one and Conner will be no factor here. The way Carolina played in the 2^nd half of the season last year, and QB Marquise Williams coming into his own, Pitt’s D will have a very long day. Heels in this one to drop the Panthers to a projected 5-5 and 1-5 in the ACC.

In Week 13, 11/22 vs. Syracuse: W

In their home finale, the Orange come calling. People will say, fast start, and bad finish. Yes, the Orange have a dual-threat quarterback in Terrel Hunt, which I’m sure Pitt will be tired of seeing at this point. The talent level is equal in this matchup, but I just think Pitt’s running game and Boyd at WR will do just enough to make plays to pull this one out.  I just have a feeling that the Panthers win this one to improve to a projected 6-5 and 2-5 in the ACC.

 In the season finale, 11/29 at Miami (Fla.): L

Miami had their way with the Panthers last year and with the Hurricanes having a lot to play for in this game and it being Senior Day and possibly star RB Duke Johnson’s final home game, and WR Stacy Coley having three touchdowns in the first half of this game last season last year in Heinz Field, look for the CANES to win big in this one and end the Panthers season at a projected 6-6 and 2-6 in the ACC.

My prediction on the Game vs. CANES:

We had our way with the Panthers last year. The only reason we didn’t win by a bigger margin was because of the Defense. Pitt has no chance to win this game against us. There’s a lot at stake for us here. We’re playing for bigger things down the line, and with a projected trip to Charlotte the following week in a rematch with FSU, the key is not to get anyone hurt. Its senior day, and possibly Duke’s final regular season game at home. We have too many weapons for the Panthers in this one and this is a game we win easily.
Its been great to do this series each year. I look forward to the season ahead. Thank you for watching and here’s to a great season

Report Card and Game Balls @Pittsburgh

Here's my report card and Game Balls to give out for yesterday's regular season finale win @Pittsburgh

Special Teams wise, we force a turnover on the opening kickoff, when Patty forces a fumble and we score 3 plays later. Of our 4 penalties yesterday, just one on this unit, (the block in the back on Walter in the 1st quarter on a Kick Return by Jamal). Matty had a solid game yesterday with 2 FGs (one from 29 in the 1st, and the other from 39 in the 4th). Another solid return game with 92 yards of total return, like last game, all on KR's. What a game from Patty overall. it was rock solid with 3 of his 4 punts being inside the 20 and zero touch-backs. On Kickoffs, he was good there. The Kick Return Defense in my opinion, regressed yesterday, allowing 176 yards of returns (all on KR's). Garrett Kidd had a very good game, recovering a fumble and making a tackle. We started drives on Average from our own 30 and Pitt started drives from their own 25, which is still ok, but we could still do better pushing the average back a little more.   Grade: B

Offensively, we were outstanding. we had 476 yards of total offense. 296 yards passing 180 yards rushing. The big games here on the ground came from Stacy and Gus the Bus with 73 and 64 yards respectively. We had contributions from Dallas and Eduardo. We had a big and historic game out of Hurns here having 173 yards on 9 catches and finished the regular season with 1,183 yards, the first since Andre Johnson in 2002 to go over the 1,000 yard mark for receiving in a season. Stacy had a big game as well with 73 yards receiving on 3 catches, and 2 TDs. Very solid game from Stephen here going 17-28 296 yards, 3 TD, but the big numbers are 0 INT and wasn't sacked at all. However, that said, we still need to be better and clean up those silly mistakes. Of the 4 penalties yesterday, 3 were on the offense (Two false starts (one on Ereck, and the other on Stacy), and the holding call on Danny). What a job by the OL, not allowing a sack in this game and giving Morris time in the pocket to throw and opening holes in the running game. Bottom line, ok, but this type of performance won't cut it in a bowl game vs a very good opponent, and especially not going 4-11 (36%) on 3rd Down conversions. Need to do a better job on 3rd down conversions. Grade: B+

Defensively, we forced a turnover (Pick). The pick was by Artie. However, we did allow 501 yards of total offense to a so-so Pitt team, and we allowed another 100 yard rushing game from an individual standpoint (Bennett with 141 yards on 21 carries and 1 TD). In the 1st half, we allowed 104 yards rushing, and 109 passing. At times we made Tom Savage look like a Heisman candidate. In the 2nd half, we allowed 116 yards rushing, and 174 yards passing (147 yards alone in the 4th Quarter). It did step up and make the plays that had to be made. I seem like a broken record here, but again, lack of a pass rush reared its ugly head as we only had 1 sack, their receivers had nice games as a team (Boyd had 98 yards on 9 receptions, and a TD). Pitt on 3rd downs were 6-14 (43%). We did better on 3rd down Defense, but we can do better there. However, we forced Pitt into 3 three and outs. The good part here was that of the 4 penalties we had in this game, none were on the D. We still allowed a little too many X-Plays yesterday (namely the 45 yarder by Bennett on Pitt's first TD). Again, against a good team that we'll face in a bowl game (likely either Louisville in Orlando, or an SEC team in Atlanta [Texas A & M or LSU], those types of errors come back to bite you. Still a work in progress here. Grade: C-

Now, to Game Balls. This week, I'm going to give out four game balls. 

1. Garrett Kidd - 2 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
2. Pat O'Donnell - 4 punts, 3 inside the 20, no touchbacks. 1 FF.  
3. Allen Hurns - 9 receptions, 173 yards (1,000 yard season, just the 4th in CANES history to do that)
4. Stacy Coley - 171 all-purpose yards, 3 TDs (73 rushing, 73 receiving, 25 KR yards).
5. Stephen Morris - 17-28 296 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, sacked 0 times. 

Overall, we got the big lead, but we again got sloppy. In the end, we again kept grinding and got it done. That being said, again there were still some ME's (Mental Errors), that still need to be fixed, namely the penalties, which are still issues that have to be fixed. We don't know when our next game is. That will depend on what happens today (Saturday 11/30) in both Chapel Hill and Charlottesville. Regardless, it'll be nice to have the 15 extra practices this year and not have our season end too soon. We'll see what happens and GO CANES!

Report Card and Game Balls vs UVa

Here's my report card and Game Balls to give out vs Virginia. 

We set the tone with the pick 6 by Tracy 6 seconds into the game. Virginia hung around because of two things:

• They were 11-20 (55%) on 3rd downs
• A balanced offense (243 rushing, 240 passing)

Offensively, we had 304 yards of total offense. 214 yards passing, but just 90 rushing. Dallas Crawford had a decent game with just 55 yards on 16 carries, but 2 big TDs. We had a big game out of Hurns here having 126 yards on 6 catches, with 1 TD. Stacy had a big game as well with 81 yards receiving on 5 catches, with a TD. Decent game from Stephen here going 13-26 214 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT. However, that said, we still need to be better and clean up those silly mistakes. Of the 7 penalties yesterday for 70 yards, 2 were on the offense (Both on Brandon, one for holding and the other was a false start). The OL did allow a sack in this game. Bottom line, ok, but this type of performance won't cut it in a bowl game vs a very good opponent, and especially not going 5-14 (36%) on 3rd Down conversions. This unit, especially Stephen, has to play better if we are to win. Grade: C

Defensively, we forced 4 turnovers (1 FF and 3 Picks). The FF was the TD by David. We allowed 483 yards of total offense to a very bad UVa team, and we allowed a 100 yard rushing game from an individual standpoint (Parks with 130 yards on 26 carries and 1 TD). In the 1st half, we allowed 208 yards rushing, but 32 passing and their QBs were gashing our defense. However, In the 2nd half, we allowed just 45 yards rushing, but 218 yards passing. It did step up and make the plays that had to be made. Something that's been disturbing all year, lack of a pass rush. We only had 1 sack, their receivers had nice games as a team. UVa on 3rd downs were 11-20 (55%). However, we forced UVa into 4 three and outs. Of the 7 penalties we had in this game, 3 were on the D (One on Rayshawn for the Targeting, PF on Luther, and a Roughing the Passer call on David). We did allowed a little too many X-Plays yesterday, and if it weren't for the fact that the Cavaliers committed 10 penalties yesterday and were -2 in TO Margin, they maybe win yesterday. Against a good team that we'll face in a bowl game, those types of errors come back to bite you. there were some ME's here as well that need to get fixed before the Pitt game on Friday in a short week. Grade: C

Special Teams wise, of our 7 penalties yesterday, just one on this unit, (the hold on Ronald Ragula in the 1st quarter on a return). Matty had a FG in the 3rd from 33. Another solid return game with 60 yards of total return, all on KR's. What a game from Patty overall. After the long return allowed, it was rock solid with 5 of his 7 punts being inside the 20 and zero touch-backs. On Kickoffs, he was rock solid with all 6 of the 8 KO's he had being Touchbacks. The Return Defense was a little off yesterday. UVa had just 80 yards of returns (41 on KR's, and 39 on PR's). We started drives on Average from our own 35 and UVa started drives from their own 26, which is ok, but we could do better pushing the average back a little more. We have one more game to get this improved. Overall, very good, but need to clean up the penalties here. Grade: B-

Now, to Game Balls. This week, I'm going to give out four game balls. 

1. Pat O'Donnell - 7 punts, 5 inside the 20, no touchbacks. 8 kickoffs, 6 touchbacks.  
2. Allen Hurns - 6 receptions, 126 yards, 1 TD.   
3. Stacy Coley - 5 receptions, 81 yards, TD, 2 KRs, 50 yards. 131 all-purpose yards.  
4. The 2013 Senior class - Thank you for staying around when the times were very bleak. You are the foundation for future classes to measure up against. 

Overall, I felt we were sloppy, however, we again kept grinding and got it done in the end. That being said, there were still some ME's (Mental Errors), that still need to be fixed, namely the penalties, which are still issues that have to be fixed. I'm glad we finally got the UVa monkey off our backs on Senior Day. The penalties are still a problem, and still a little bit too many of those for my liking. Nice to get back on the winning track here. Let's finish strong on a short week vs Pitt on Friday at 3:30 up at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and will be seen on ABC. GO CANES and Happy Thanksgiving to one and all! 

2013 Miami Hurricanes 12 part Opponent Series - Part 12 - @Pitt Nov 29th

Nov 29^th - @Pitt (Regular season finale)

In the 12^th and final part of the 2013 Miami Hurricanes opponent series, we’re going to preview one of the two newest members of the ACC and that’s the Pittsburgh Panthers (Syracuse being the other), our opponent in the regular season finale on November 29^th at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

Here’s what you need to know about the Panthers:

They are led by Paul Chryst (Wisconsin '88), who was 6-7 in his first season in the Steel city. He was tapped to be the new boss of the Pitt program in December 2011 to not only stabilize the program, but have some consistentcy and strong direction going forward. Also, he was brought in to implement more of a Pro-Style offense and away from the spread. The pro-style fits the personnel he has and for the future to give them an identity. He’s the right man for that job at this time in their program’s history, especially now with the move to the ACC from the Big East. 

He’s had a lot of success at Wisconsin, where he made his mark on the national stage. Where it really got started for him was in Corvallis under Mike Riley has his first OC there. He was there for  two years, from 1997-98, where he helped that program get its first five-win season since 1971; When Riley bolted Corvallis for San Diego, he went with him to become the Chargers TE Coach from 1998-2001. He came back to College Football in 2002. That year, he went to Wisconsin, to hold the same position he had in San Diego. In 2003, he would go back to Corvallis to rejoin Riley on his staff from 2003-2004. In 2005, he came back to Madison, this time, to be the Co-offensive coordinator and TE coach; and a year later, he would be the sole OC there, as well as being the QB coach under Bret Bielema (now Arkansas HC).

While in Madison, his offenses were just amazing. In a six-year stretch from 2006-2011, they won 10+ games four times, which includes a combined 32 wins in his final three seasons there. They went to the Rose Bowl in back to back years (2010 and 2011). In 2011, that offense he was in charge of, scored a program-record 618 points, which broke their own record of 539 points just the year before, and scored 40+ points nine times that season. Teams in the league took notice, as some of the teams there were looking for a top-notch coordinator in 2009 and 2010, but Chryst brought his time for the right opportunity and when Pittsburgh called, Chryst accepted the job in 2012, being the new HC there. He has a plan for Pitt and what they want to do there. They will be a tougher bunch once Chryst has his guys in place ready to roll.

Let’s break down the Pittsburgh Panthers:

Offensively: What can you say about Senior QB Tom Savage? Well, he’s been the second coming, a bust, a transfer (twice) and one that some people wrote off. He gets a chance for redemption in 2013 as he will be a starter for the 2^nd time in his career. When he was at Rutgers, he was supposed to be the savior for that program, but in 2010, his career and the Scarlet Knights could not handle the pressure of higher expectations. As a result, he went to the desert, where at Arizona, he sat out the 2011 season as a transfer at the time, because he had played right away for Rutgers, A not-so-funny thing happened along the way. 2011 was to be Savage's redshirt sophomore season. However, in that off-season, the Wildcats hired Rich Rodriguez. As a result, he decided to transfer to Pittsburgh, where he came as a walk-on transfer in 2012. He had to sit all of last season due to NCAA transfer rules. In the spring, he was going to compete for the starting job during spring drills.

This is the M.O. on Tom Savage:

·         This guy has a rifle arm that can succeed at the next level.

·         The down side: The accuracy isn’t there as much.

·         His footwork is pretty slow, and given the trouble with their O-Line, that will be an issue if he cannot be protected as much.

Although Savage gives  Chryst the option of the pure pocket-passer, they could go more the athletic route in either RS Freshman Chad Voytik or Freshman Tra'Von Chapman. With them in the mix, their future is very bright. With Savage behind Center, the other two QBs can get more used to the college game, and the offense flourishes. One thing that must be clear: Chryst and his staff have to accept the fact that turnovers, the occasional mental mistake, and the lack of Savage’s mobility in the pocket comes with the package Savage brings to the table.

The receiving core gets Senior Devin Street (73 receptions for 975 yards) back. There’s a chance he could have a 100 catch season, especially, when you’re an All-ACC receiver like he is and has a big-time quarterback to work with. This could be a very special season for him. He’s their go-to guy here, a la Larry Fitzgerald back in the day. After Street, there’s really no one else there of note. At TE, it’s going to be up to Sophomore TE J.P. Holtz (13 receptions for 173 yards) to step it up and be that secondary option to get the double/triple teams off of Street. Even though would-be junior Drew Carswell, got dismissed from the program over the spring, you might want to keep an eye on Manasseh Garner, who fills in for Carswell as the other TE. At WR, outside of Street, they need big time performances from Kevin Weatherspoon, Ed Tinker and Ronald Jones, otherwise, they’ll go to a youth movement with the main guy there being Freshman Tyler Boyd.

As for the running game, losing would-be Sophomore Rushel Shell via transfer doesn’t hurt them in the short-term, but longer term is another story. Their staff had big plans for him as he was expected to develop into one of the top backs in the conference over time. As for this season, they should be fine with Junior Isaac Bennett returning and his ability to be the man that’s the go-to back. He’s not an explosive back, but he’s a patient back and in Chryst’s system, that’s important. If he stays healthy, this could be a guy that makes a run at a 1,000 yard season. As with the WRs, depth is the big issue here as well. After Sophomore Malcolm Crockett, they don’t have anyone else of note here.

As for the Offensive Line, this group is going to have for the opener on Labor Day vs FSU, the following:

·         Two freshmen

·         A converted D-Lineman

They’ll have back in their regular positions: Senior Cory King and Junior Matt Rotheram, who will go back to the Guard spots (King on the left side and Rotheram on the right side). If Pitt wants to have a very good running game, and running between the tackles?, have your upper classmen go inside. With King and Rotheram going back to the Guard spots, they can insert RS Freshman Gabe Roberts into the starting lineup at the Center spot. Doing that, you get a question: What happen at the Tackle spots? They have RS Freshman Adam Bisnowaty as the likely starter at LT and former DL T.J. Clemmings at RT, but don’t expect that for too long though. They have very high hopes for the five-star prospect in Dorian Johnson to ultimately win a job there from day 1. likely at RT, where he’ll learn this season, but ultimately be the man at RT.  Bottom line, here’s what we have for the Pitt O-Line in 2013:

·         RS Freshman at LT (Bisnowaty)

·         Returning starter moving over to LG (King)

·         RS Freshman at Center (Roberts)

·         Returning starter at a moving over to RG (Rotheram)

·         Either a Converted DL (Clemmings), or true freshman (Johnson) at RT.

This will be very interesting to see how this plays out.

Defensively: This is a pretty good defense coming back. They will be up there with the likes of FSU and VT as one of the better defenses in the conference. This could be one of the surprises this year. However, there are two issues coming into the season and that would be at DE and FS. Nonetheless, they have the talent to be one of the better D’s in the ACC. The leader of that Defense is Senior DT Aaron Donald (64 tackles, 18.5 for loss). This guy is a All-American, and you’ll see him drafted very high in the next NFL Draft. He’s the kind of guy that can blow up opposing offenses. This guy is clearly the best lineman in the ACC. Along with Donald, they have back Senior NT Tyrone Ezell (39 tackles, 7.0 for loss). Having those two, gives them an interior that’s going to be a force to reckon with. Those two alone, as we saw in 2012 (Final season in the Big East), can carry their whole Front 7, but they need their DE’s to step up and produce off the edge. Simply put, returning starter Bryan Murphy must step up his game here. They also big production from the other DE’s returning such as former Ohio State transfer David Durham and junior Devin Cook. With all the focus of opposing OL’s, on trying to stop Donald and Ezell drawing attention, there's no reason why those DE’s can’t find open lanes to the QB off the edge. The lack of a pass rush off the edge really holds them back from being a Top 10 defense Nationally.

At LB, with Senior MLB Shane Gordon (48 tackles) being out this spring due to an injury, their staff got a chance to get a very good look at RS Freshman Mike Caprara, who will be Gordon’s backup this season. However, Caprara is going to have an impact in certain packages they use. At the outside positions, look for Todd Thomas (59 tackles) to be the starter on the weak side and former QB Anthony Gonzalez converting to Defense to start on the strong side. In the spring, they looked very good. The depth here is very good, albeit, very young. When you have the stud that Donald is on the DL, there will be plays to be made here..

In the secondary, the only question here is at FS. Here, they were to supposed to have converted LB Eric Williams be the guy there. However, after the spring, he was booted off the team. So now, the way they’ll likely go is with Senior Jason Hendricks (90 tackles, 6 interceptions) there returning to the FS spot and have former Michigan transfer Ray Vinopal move into a starting role. Their CB’s are pretty solid with CBs K'Wuan Williams (47 tackles, 4 interceptions) and Lafayette Pitts (35 tackles), back. If they get the safety positions worked out, this secondary is going to one few teams are going to want to throw on.

Special teams: Well, the thing that former kicker Kevin Harper will remember in his career in the Steel City was the one kick vs Notre Dame that he missed. Overall, though, he had a good career, but he’s gone now, and will have to be replaced. They’re going to look to either Drake Greer, a former walk-on, or incoming freshman Chris Blewitt, who Chryst recruited in the last class. That should one to watch there. At punter, they’re good with Senior Matt Yoklic back. This is one of the better punters in the ACC. The return game, needs a lot of work. Who will be the ones to step up at KR/PR?

In Closing, the D they have is very good and by themselves, can win them 8-9 games. The only thing that prevents the Panthers from being a 10-11 win team is their O. They have little to no depth of quality there. If their O-Line can’t open up holes for the backs to hit, it’ll be a long season in the Steel City because of the fact that they don’t have a QB that can win consistently.

My prediction for the Pittsburgh Panthers in 2013 is 6-6, and no bowl game.

The series is now over and I want to take this time to thank all of you for enduring with me throughout the series and here’s to a great College Football season ahead. 

2010 CANE opponent preview - @Pitt Sept 23rd (Thursday Night on ESPN)