BleacherCoaches.com

Pitt enters this game with a 4-1 record, and believe it or not, some positive vibes heading into Saturday.  The Pitt defense is much better than anticipated, and while the offense is still trying to figure it out without James Conner, they have held their own.  Now heading into the 2015 season, many of us thought this game right here would be the toughest game on the schedule, and who is to say it still isn't? It's just the fact that Georgia Tech is probably the most disappointing team in the ACC, and arguably the most disappointing one in the country.   The Yellow Jackets went from a top 20 team to 4 losses at the halfway mark of the season. Still, it's a game that concerns me as a Pitt supporter. 

Obviously Georgia Tech came in and rolled over Pitt last season, Pitt did not help matters with the freakish 4 fumbles in four straight possessions in the first half, but Paul Johnson's offense just bullied Pitt's defense all afternoon long.  So we'll see if the Narduzzi effect has been real to this point, or will Pitt get exposed by a good, yet underachieving, football team. 

Georgia Tech ranks 9th in rushing offense, and 65th in total offense this season.  And those numbers are probably aided by their two easy wins to start the year, since the Notre Dame game, Tech has been rather unimpressive. 

Pitt employs the 6th best defense in the nation against the run, and they are 9th in the country in total defense. Pitt also leads the country in sacks, impressive, but might not come into play against a triple option team.  So when Georgia Tech has the ball, on paper at least, says Pitt has the advantage.  But again, we'll see what happens.  I'm skeptical because of what happened last season in this meeting. 

Pitt can really take a big step forward as a program with a win Saturday, but they can take a HUGE step forward in terms of this season in winning the ACC Coastal.   A win Saturday would give Pitt a 5-1 record and a 3-0 ACC record, and more specifically 3-0 against Division foes.   A loss?  Well that was expected to start the season anyway, but it would be wasting a good opportunity against a reeling team.

I guess injuries are noteworthy, and both of Pitt's outside linebackers went out with injuries last week. Nicholas Grigsby and Bam Bradley are both extremely athletic outside backers that are having big seasons, a loss of either would be a tough break against Georgia Tech. But it appears both guys should be playing Saturday, but Narduzzi has been vague with reporting injuries, so we'll find out Saturday.

This game is about as interesting as the Slippery Rock versus Mercyhurst battle this weekend. Grab your laptop and tune in!

I was gonna watch it on channel 4. 

Hey KirkHerbstreit
Welcome back to the Pitt Threads

DirecTV in the johnstown area does not have channel 4 (WTAE) as far as I know.  I would assume you need cable.   

Seemed like Pitt had zero clue what to do with the triple option flexbone last year. Hopefully the Panthers can repay them for that in their house this year. The time is right because GT is reeling as of late.

If they win, I'm more concerned with bouncing back the following week. I've been watching A Season with Notre Dame and they said teams are something like 2-8 in the week AFTER defending an option team. No clue if that stat is right or over what time frame, but it's worth noting you put a lot of resources into stopping a system that is pretty much used three places in the FBS. There might be a let down after that. Although for ND, they had UMass coming to town. For Pitt, they'll be back on the road, but with Syracuse.

KirkHerbstreit wrote:DirecTV in the johnstown area does not have channel 4 (WTAE) as far as I know.  I would assume you need cable.   

The game is also on the State College channel. WHVL or something like that, it used to be channel 97 and now it's on channel 2. 
Somewhat related, I'm guessing you have Direct TV. Do you get Root Sports?  I'm not sure if they had Direct or Dish, but a few weeks ago I went and had lunch at the Franklin Street Grill in Johnstown and they said they didn't get the Pirates games there, which is pretty weird for a sports bar in Johnstown to not get the Pirates or Penguins games. So I'm guessing it was either their package wasn't the best or Dish or Direct don't have Root sports.  Any help there?  

Crimson's Ghost wrote:

KirkHerbstreit wrote:DirecTV in the johnstown area does not have channel 4 (WTAE) as far as I know.  I would assume you need cable.   

The game is also on the State College channel. WHVL or something like that, it used to be channel 97 and now it's on channel 2. 
Somewhat related, I'm guessing you have Direct TV. Do you get Root Sports?  I'm not sure if they had Direct or Dish, but a few weeks ago I went and had lunch at the Franklin Street Grill in Johnstown and they said they didn't get the Pirates games there, which is pretty weird for a sports bar in Johnstown to not get the Pirates or Penguins games. So I'm guessing it was either their package wasn't the best or Dish or Direct don't have Root sports.  Any help there?  

That bar must have had basic cable without the upgrade to the next package.  DirecTV has root sports and pretty much everything, but you get 1 channel of NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox.  The NBC is WJAC, the CBS is WTAJ, FOX is local, and ABC is out of State College.  Therefore, the Pitt game was not on Saturday for people with DirectV unless it was on another channel?    

Crimson's Ghost wrote:

KirkHerbstreit wrote:DirecTV in the johnstown area does not have channel 4 (WTAE) as far as I know.  I would assume you need cable.   

The game is also on the State College channel. WHVL or something like that, it used to be channel 97 and now it's on channel 2. 
Somewhat related, I'm guessing you have Direct TV. Do you get Root Sports?  I'm not sure if they had Direct or Dish, but a few weeks ago I went and had lunch at the Franklin Street Grill in Johnstown and they said they didn't get the Pirates games there, which is pretty weird for a sports bar in Johnstown to not get the Pirates or Penguins games. So I'm guessing it was either their package wasn't the best or Dish or Direct don't have Root sports.  Any help there?  

That bar must have had basic cable without the upgrade to the next package.  DirecTV has root sports and pretty much everything, but you get 1 channel of NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox.  The NBC is WJAC, the CBS is WTAJ, FOX is local, and ABC is out of State College.  Therefore, the Pitt game was not on Saturday for people with DirectV unless it was on another channel?