Report Card and Game Balls @UNC

Here's my report card and Game Balls to give out @ Carolina. 

Wow, where do you begin on last night's game? Well, here's my take on it. I felt we were pretty sloppy and out of sync for most of the game and this is a big problem that almost cost us last night. We turned it over 4 more times in this game and was a -2 in turnover margin. We have got to get those ME's fixed. For the most part though, we found a way to win late. We did commit 4 penalties for 30 yards, which is an improvement from last game vs GT when we committed 7 for 54. However, we still have to clean that up some more. 

Offensively, we had 556 yards of total offense. 234 yards rushing and 322 passing. Duke gets knocked out of the game with a concussion in the 1st half, and Phillip also gets hurt in the 1st half as well. According to Al Golden, Duke should be back for next game. Before he was knocked out, he had 8 carries for 83 yards. What a big game out of Dallas. He had 33 carries, 137 yards, 2 TDs (including the GW with :16 left). Big night out of Hurns in the receiving game with 98 yards on 6 catches. Solid games all around from Herbie here having 54 yards on 3 catches. Phillip (before getting hurt) and Clive had some good games as well with 68 and 57 yards receiving respectively.  Poor decision making from Stephen with the 4 picks, but fortunately, they only converted a FG. On the last drive, he stepped up and was a leader with three big completions that led to Dallas' GW TD. However, that said, we still need to be better and clean up those silly mistakes. Of the 4 penalties last night, 2 were on the offense and both of those penalties were false starts. The OL did allow another sack in this game. Bottom line, we need to get the ME's fixed now before we go up to Tallahassee in two weeks. Overall, very sloppy performance but found a way to win late and that's what teams of destiny do, but we can still be better. Grade: C-

Defensively, we forced 2 more turnovers in this game, both being picks.  Although we allowed 500 yards of total offense last night, just 105 of those yards were rushing, we didn't allow a 100 yard rushing game from an individual standpoint. In the 1st half, we allowed 57 yards rushing, but 234 passing and Renner had his way with our defense most of the night. In the 2nd half, we allowed 48 yards rushing, but 161 yards passing. The rush defense did a good job, however, the tackling was awful at times. and the pass defense was sloppy in the 1st half, but in the 2nd half, we sacked Renner 3 times. Still, we need to have a complete game from the Defense. They stepped up when they had to in the 2nd half, allowing just 2 FGs. We held the Tar Heels to 5-15 on 3rd down conversions, and forced 7 three and outs, including twice in the 4th quarter. Of the 4 penalties we had in this game, 2 penalties were on the D (The PI call on Tracy, and offsides call on Curtis). We did allow an X-Play in the 2nd quarter on the TD. The D came up big again when it had to, but still, there were some ME's here as well that need to get fixed before the trip to Tallahassee in two weeks. Grade: C

Special Teams wise, this unit came up huge with the Blocked FG and LaDarius returning it for a TD. Matty did miss a long FG from 43, but overall, good game from him. Another solid return game with 103 yards of total return, all on KR's. OK game from Patty overall. The Punting game was very solid with one of his punts being inside the 20. However, on Kickoffs, he did have one go out of bounds, which gave up some field position there. We did not have a penalty called on our ST units last night. We need for that part to be consistent. The Return Defense was much better last night for the most part, though missing tackles was an issue here. Carolina had 71 yards of returns (68 on KR's, but just 3 on one PR). We started drives on Average from our own 25 and UNC started drives from their own 29. There are some areas that still need some fixing and they are very fixable here, specifically tackling. Those ME's are easily fixable and need to be fixed now before we go up to Tallahassee in two weeks. Overall, very good, but there is some room for improvement, and I felt we did that last night. Grade: C

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

1. Dallas Crawford - 33 carries, 137 yards, 2 TDs (including GW with :16 left)
2. Tracy Howard - 2 INTs
3. Allen Hurns - 6 receptions, 98 yards. Some big catches on the final drive. 

Overall, I felt we were sloppy, however, we kept grinding and found a way to win late. That being said, there were still some ME's (Mental Errors), that still need to be fixed, namely the penalties and ball security, which are still issues that have to be fixed. The penalties went down last night, there are still a little bit too many of those penalties for my liking. I'm glad we had a game like this, because it shows that if you go through the motions against a good team like FSU, you'll get beat and beat badly. Bottom line, we gotta clean up the mistakes before the trip to Tallahassee in two weeks. We have one more game to clean up the ME's and that's next Saturday vs Wake Forest at Noon on ESPNU. 6-0 is a good feeling right now, but we could still get better and cut the ME's out. Take care and GO CANES! 

Report Card and Game Balls vs GT

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

My take on Saturday's win vs GT in the ACC opener is this. I felt we did well for the most part, however, the sloppiness was still there in this game. We turned it over 4 more times in this game and was a -1 in turnover margin. For the most part though, we found a way to win late. We did commit 7 penalties for 54 yards. Gotta clean that up some more. 

Offensively, we had 551 yards of total offense. 224 yards rushing and 324 passing. Duke had a huge game with 184 yards on 22 carries. Solid game out of Dallas with another 31 yards on 5 carries and 2 more TDs. Big day for Hurns in the receiving game with 108 yards on 4 catches and 1 TD. Solid games all around from Stacy here having 74 yards on 3 catches. Phillip and Clive had some good games as well with 66 and 28 yards receiving respectively and a TD each.  Few things that concerned me after this game. Same deal as last game, ball security is still an issue here. Duke loses another fumble, this time in our own side of the field, and it cost us 7. He needs to be better at protecting the football in key situations. Stephen threw 2 picks in this one, the fortunate thing here is that it didn't lead to GT points. Need to be better and clean up those silly mistakes. Of the 7 penalties on Saturday, 4 were on the offense and 2 of those penalties were false starts. The other 2 were holding. The OL did allow a sack in this game. Bottom line, we need to get the ME's fixed now that we're in ACC play. Overall, good performance, but could be better. Grade: B-

Defensively, we forced 3 more turnovers in this game, 2 picks, one being a pick six by LaDarius to seal the win and the other a fumble forced and recovered. Although we allowed 354 yards rushing, we didn't allow a 100 yard rushing game from an individual standpoint. In the 1st half, we allowed 221 yards rushing. In the 2nd half, we allowed 113 yards rushing. The rush defense, considering, who we were facing, did an ok job. However, we need to get the rush defense better fortified going forward now that we're in ACC play. We held the Yellow Jackets to 6-16 on 3rd down conversions, but only 2 three and outs. Another issue we'll have to get fixed is our 4th down defense. GT in those situations was 4-5. That has to be fixed because later in the year, they're going to be some close games we need to shore that up. We sacked their QB's twice. Of the 7 penalties we had in this game, 2 penalties were on the D (offsides call on Justin and the unsportsmanlike call on after the Pick 6. We held GT, who doesn't throw the ball that often to just 66 yards passing on 6-19. We did allow 4 rushing TDs in the game. The D came up big when it had to, but still, there were some ME's here as well that need to get fixed before the trip to Chapel Hill on the Thursday Night after the BYE week. Grade: C+

Special Teams wise, better game out of Matty here. Another solid return game out of Duke with 114 yards of KR's, and 133 yards of total KR/PR in this one. Solid game from Patty in the Punting game and on Kickoffs. The downer here was that we had two big X-Plays here called back by really stupid penalties (one of which cost us 6), In games where field position is going to be vital, these are mistakes we can't have. The Return Defense regressed a little bit here. GT had 135 yards of returns (115 on KR's, but just 20 on one PR). We started drives on Saturday on Average from our own 26 and GT started drives from their own 35. However, the matter we really need to fix is the one penalty and that was the offsides on Antonio on the Kickoff after our first score.   Very fixable here. Gotta be better on the return Defense and not giving opponents short fields to work with here. Those ME's need to be fixed now that we're in ACC play because those mistakes come back to bite you, especially, if the game is in the balance here. Overall, good, but there is some room for improvement, and I felt we did that here. Grade: C+

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

1. Duke Johnson - 22 carries, 184 yards rushing, 4 KR's, 114 yards (298 all-purpose yards)
2. Shayon Green - 9 Tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL
3. Allen Hurns - 4 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD

Overall, I felt we played well, we kept grinding and found a way to win late. That being said, there were still some ME's (Mental Errors), that still need to be fixed, namely the penalties and ball security, which are still issues that have to be fixed. Still a little bit too many of those penalties on O (4 to be exact), and the other 3 on D and STs. The ones that bother me the most were the 4 on O, specifically the 2 holding penalties. Those are drive killers right there. In a close game against a good opponent, those type of penalties can come back to bite you. Gotta be sure we correct those going forward now that we're beginning ACC play next Thursday Night @Carolina at 7:30 on ESPN. 5-0 is a good feeling right now, but we could still get better and cut the ME's out. Take care and GO CANES! 

Report Card and Game Balls @USF

Sorry that I'm late with this. Here's my take on Saturday's win up in Tampa vs USF. I felt we did well for the most part, We did have some mistakes, and we were sloppy with the ball, turning it over 4 times and going into ACC play now, we have to cut those out. Stephen reinjured his ankle in this game, but other than that, all three phases of the game did pretty well. 

Offensively, we had 540 yards of total offense. 165 yards rushing and 375 passing. Duke had 84 yards and a TD on 14 carries. Solid game out of Gus the Bus (53 yards on 10 carries), and Dallas with another 34 yards on 13 carries and 2 TDs. Big day for Hurns in the receiving game with 81 yards on 5 catches. Big game for Stacy here having 96 yards on 4 catches, with two of those catches being for 6. Nice performances from Phillip and Herbie with the latter having a TD. Few things that concerned me a bit here. Ball security being one of them. Twice Duke loses fumbles in the red zone costing us points here. Need to clean that up there. Ryan and Gray each threw picks, Gray's was a Pick 6. Need to be better and clean up those mistakes. Of the 7 penalties on Saturday, 5 were on the offense and 3 of those penalties were false starts. The other 2 were: holding and Delay of Game. Gotta correct those ME's going forward now that we're going to start ACC play. Overall, good performance, but could be better. Grade: B-

Defensively, we forced 3 turnovers in this game, one being a pick and the other two were fumbles forced and recovered. WE did give up the TD near the end of that game. We did allow USF's back Marcus Shaw to get 127 yards on 20 carries with 1 TD, but other than that, we held the Bulls to 99 yards rushing and 288 yards total offense. The good part was after the 1st quarter, where Shaw had 64 of his yards, our D holds them to 63 yards the rest of the day. Still though, we need to get that run Defense shored up a little bit more before GT comes in on Saturday for the beginning of our ACC play. We held the Bulls to 2-14 on 3rd down conversions and 7 three and outs. We sacked their QB Bench 5 times. Of the 7 penalties we had in this game, not one penalty on the D. Tremendous work here overall. Grade: B+

Special Teams wise, Matty misses a chip shot to end the half. We had Duke returns the opening kick to the 5 where we score on the next play. We had 97 yards of returns (66 on KR's and 31 yards on PR's). The downer here was that we had two big X-Plays here called back by really stupid penalties (one of which cost us 6), In games where field position is going to be vital, these are mistakes we can't have. The good part was that our Return Defense did a very good job here, holding USF to 81 yards of returns (52 on KR's and 29 on PR's). We started drives on Saturday on Average from our own 40 and USF started drives from their own 19. However, the matter we really need to fix are the 2 penalties we committed here (again, one that cost us 6 on Duke's KR) last night in this area.  One was being the block in the back on Tracy and the other being the hold on Big Mo on Duke's TD that was called back. Those ME's need to be fixed before we start ACC play on Saturday vs GT because those mistakes come back to bite you, especially, if the game is in the balance here. Overall, good, but there is some room for improvement. Grade: C

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

1. Stephen Morris - 11-16, 222 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
2. Jimmy Gaines - 7 Tackles, 1 Fumble recovery for TD

Going forward, very good effort, but there were still some ME's (Mental Errors), that still need to be fixed, namely the penalties and ball security. Still a little bit too many of those penalties on O (5 to be exact), and the other 2 on STs. The ones that bother me the most were the 2 on STs because that's hidden yardage you can't afford to lose in those situations and it cost us 6 points. In a close game against a good opponent, those ST penalties can come back to bite you. Gotta be sure we correct those going forward now that we're beginning ACC play next week vs GT at home at 3:30 on ESPNU. 4-0 is a good feeling right now, but we could still get better and cut the ME's now. Take care and GO CANES! 

Report Card and Game Balls vs Savannah State

I felt we did very well last night, especially the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th units. The only downer from last night is the injury to Stephen in the 1st quarter, but overall, all three phases of the game were dominant as expected. 

Offensively, we had 639 yards of total offense and almost a balanced attack here. 324 yards rushing and 313 passing. Big night for Gus the Bus (113 yards and 3 TDs on 12 carries), and Eduardo with another 75 yards. Big night for Hurns in the receiving game with 100 yards on just 2 catches, with one of them being for 6. Nice performance from Sandland having 76 yards receiving on 6 catches, with one being for 6. The downers here were of the 10 penalties last night, 7 were on the offense and 3 of those penalties were false starts. The other 4 were: illegal motion, holding unsportsmanlike conduct, and delay of game. Also, their D hurried our QBs twice. Gotta correct those ME's going forward. Overall, excellent performance. Grade: A-

Defensively, we forced 4 turnovers in this game, all being picks. WE did give up the long TD late in the 3rd, but other than that, we held Savannah to 213 yards total offense, however, and this would be a concern of mine here (163 yards were rushing), we need to get that shored up a little bit more before ACC play starts in two weeks vs Georgia Tech. We held the Tigers to 2-13 on 3rd down conversions and 8 three and outs. We sack their QBs 4 times (2 by AQM). Of the 10 penalties we had last night, not one penalty on the D. Tremendous work here overall. Grade: A

Special Teams wise, we didn't punt or kick a FG last night, and we didn't need to. Duke returns the opening kick to the 5 where we score on the next play. We had 208 yards of return yards, however, just 25 yards on PR's, and we need to be a little better there. We started drives last night on Average from Savannah's 48 and Savannah started drives from their own 18. However, the matter we really need to fix is the 3 penalties we committed last night in this area.  One was being offside on a kickoff, we got called for two illegal blocks in the back here. (one on Raphael and the other on Jamal). Those ME's need to be fixed before we start ACC play in two weeks. Overall, very good, but there is some room for improvement. Grade: A-

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

1. Gus Edwards - 12 carries, 113 yards, 1 TD
2. AQM - 2 sacks
3. Allen Hurns - 2 receptions, 100 yards, 1 TD
4. Dallas Crawford - 5 carries, 48 yards, 2 TD

Going forward, excellent effort, but there were some ME's (Mental Errors), that still need to be fixed, namely the penalties. Too many of those on O (7 to be exact), and the other 3 on STs. The ones that bother me the most are the ones on STs because that's hidden yardage you can't afford to lose in those situations. In a close game against a good opponent, those ST penalties can come back to bite you. Gotta be sure we correct those going forward. Next week, @USF up in Raymond James Stadium at Noon on ESPNU. 3-0 is a good feeling today. Take care and GO CANES! 

Report Card and Game Balls vs Florida

Just back from South Florida (came back on Monday) where I did attend the game on Saturday. Still ecstatic about the biggest win at the U since 2000, when we beat FSU in the OB that day. Couple of thoughts about the big win vs Florida.

Tackling was very good. The Defense came up big when it had to in key spots. The 5 turnovers we forced was just amazing. Of the 5 penalties for 58 yards we had in this game, only one was on the defense, and that was the PF on Luther in the 1st quarter. I thought we did a very good job shutting down their running game. Being out there a bit long for my taste (38:20). Guys were swarming and gang tackling. We forced them to punt 10 times in the game. They were 6-15 on 3rd Downs (40%), so I felt we did well on that regard. We did allow 413 yards total offense and sacked Driskel twice, both times causing fumbles, which the D recovered both times. We did have an effective pass rush in this game. We won the turnover battle in this game being a +5 in that regard. In the 4th quarter, we allowed the Gators just 2 yards rushing on 7 carries. The D bent, but didn't break. Grade: A-

Offensively, we did have some big time issues, especially after the 2nd TD pass from Stephen. Ereck Flowers gets called for two holding penalties and Allen commits a PF in the red zone, fortunately, that penalty didn't hurt us as we would score a TD four plays later. We had 143 yards in the 1st quarter, however, just 69 yards after that (68 of those total yards in the 2nd half). Also, we were 1-11 on 3rd Down conversions. That will not cut it down the road vs teams like FSU. Grade: D

Special Teams, we allowed the Blocked Punt. We had 71 yards of total returns (56 on KR yards by Duke, and the other 15 on PR yards by Dorsett). Patty had two punt for TB's, and that's not good, because that's 40 hidden yards allowed here. However he did have one of his 9 punts inside the 20. However, on the Kickoff, he had one go out of bounds, which gave UF the ball on their 35, more hidden yards allowed here. We need to be much better here and get this area of our game fixed going forward. Grade: D

Now to Game Balls. This week, there's only one game ball to hand out and it goes to the entire Defense for forcing 5 turnovers (2 INTs and 3 fumbles recovered). 

Overall, solid effort, especially by the Defense, however, we can and must get better and correct some of the ME's (Mental Errors) going forward. 

See you on Sept 18th for the Savannah State Preview. 

Report Card and Game Balls vs FAU

First, I'm happy with the victory on Friday Night over FAU 34-6 at home. Couple of things I felt we did well on. Defensively, I thought we did a very good job shutting down their offense. Guys were swarming and gang tackling. We forced them to punt 10 times in the game. They were 6-19 on 3rd Downs, so I felt we did well on that regard. We held them to 250 yards total offense and had 5 sacks on the night. We did have an effective pass rush in this game. Of the 8 penalties total, 3 were on D and all were 15 yarders (The PI on Crawford, one on Denzel for a personal foul and another one early in the 2nd quarter) Overall, solid effort here, however, need to cut those penalties out and I would like to see us force more turnovers and win the turnover battle. 

Offensively, we had a delay of game penalty on our first play from scrimmage and a false start in the first quarter. In the 2nd quarter, the O didn't have a penalty called on them. In the 3rd Quarter, we had a false start called on Seantrel. No penalties in the 4th. The drops were still a problem, we dropped two sure TDs early in the game, but thank goodness for Duke having a huge game there, with 186 yards on 19 carries and a TD before coming out later due to the fact he was feeling a little woozy, but he'll be ready to go next week. Nice game for Stephen, going 15-27, 160 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (hopefully, by the next game, it'll be 0). We did lose Scotty late in the game to a collarbone injury. It didn't look good when he came out. We'll see what the report is on that shortly. 

Special Teams, 2 of the 8 penalties were here. We get called for an illegal block in the 1st quarter when D'Mauri gets called for a block in the back. Later on a kickoff after Duke scores the TD, Tyrone gets called for an offsides penalty. We had 62 yards on Punt and Kick Returns, while they had 73 yards (67 of those on Kick Returns). Our punt return Defense did a good job, though the 2 Touchbacks by Patty, is fixable. However, the TBs on Kickoffs were just outstanding. Kicking game was solid with 2 FGs by Matty. 

Overall, solid effort, however, we can and must get better and correct the ME's (Mental Errors) going into the next game and I feel we will do that. 

Report Card:

• Offense: B 
• Defense: B- 
• Special Teams: B

Game Ball this week goes to Duke Johnson. 19 carries, 186 yards 1 TD in 2 1/2 quarters of work. 

I will be back next Friday from Ft. Lauderdale with a preview of the game vs Florida in Armageddon. 

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.