Dave Wannstedt Wins the National Championship

[The Ancient Enemy]

This, ladies and women, is The Excuse Bell. You can like it or you can love it. DING DING DING DING DING DING DING!!!! Let's hear it, ladies. Let's hear alll the excuses as to why Pitt's defensive performance looked worse than Wanny's haircut. Attendance? Steelers are in the same town? Administration lost a game of checkers to Wanny in the pre-game? Tyler Palko's old man couldn't get Brady Quinn assassinated? You can like it or you can love it. Pitt sucks, and I told you 500 times that you should always lay money on SUPERIOR COACHING. LET'S HEAR IT, LITTLE ONES.



DING DING DING DING DING DING DING!!!!!

THE DOOR IS OPEN FOR CINCINNATI TO TAKE OVER THE BIG EAST!!! THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN YET AGAIN!!!! CAN WE SAY 8-4 WITH A BOWL LOSS????

[Heaven&Hoops]

No excuses, read my thread about Pitt/ND.

Question: Has it ever been established who TAE's team is?

[ham55]

PENN STATE

[The Ancient Enemy]

The problem with Pitt and the reason they will never get over that hump regardless of who the coach is, is because every time Pitt has a chance to make a strong showing on national TV, they pee the bed. People remember the Utah debacle, and then ANOTHER hyped-up Pitt team gets blown out on national television. None of us are stupid enough not to know that there's more going on here than just the game on the field. If you are an up and coming program, like Pitt supposedly is, you have got to win the games like the one last night, so that you can impress recruits. I'm telling you guys, don't be surprised if you already lost a verbal after last night's showing. Especially on defense.

You have one of the best QB's in the nation right now, and you have more than enough capable WR's. What a GOOD coach would have done, was seen what he had to work with and tailored HIS game to team strengths. Not walked into Oakland saying "we're gonna be a running team". That is so ridiculous.

Heard last night that Wanny hates to blitz and the D-Coor. likes to. Maybe that's why Wanny is no longer an NFL coach. He doesn't like to blitz? I guess it's better when an experienced QB picks you apart, or when you sit on your heels when ND pounds the ball down your throat with 20 plays for 80 yards.

There are severe problems on that Pitt coaching staff, and I really hate to say this, but Wannstedt is only going to make things worse.

H&H, you cannot sit and wait for recruits to show up to help your line. You have got to come into a new program and win games with what you have so that you can tailor that program with the recruits you bring in down the road. Winning 5 games this year sure as hell is not a step in the right direction.

[Heaven&Hoops]

Points taken, however, you don't blitz on 2nd and 2 or 3rd and 1. ND dominated on first down so much, that Pitt could never get into their blitz packages. You cannot blitz when you give up 6 and 7 yards on the ground on first down.

I was realistic going into this game. I knew we would be in trouble with our lineman on both sides of the ball. It is going to get better.

I have complete confidence in this staff. I know many high school coaches who have spent time with Pitt's staff over the summer. They are all overly impressed with this staff.

Wannstedt knows that he needs lineman to be successful, he was one himself. That is why he is emphasizing it during recruiting.

I disagree with TAE when he said that defensive players that verballed to Pitt may reconsider. I look at it the other way. If I were them, I know I could start at Pitt from the fist time I set foot on campus.

The skill players are in place, but you can't do squat without the horses.

[The Ancient Enemy]

So why not drop into more shotgun formations and utilize Palko? I really think this kid is being wasted. That is HIS team. Let that kid run that team like we all know he can. Put the game on HIS shoulders.

Let's be realistic about ND too. This is a team that on paper is not very good. Granted, their records are a little misleading because of who they play. But this depth chart is not that loaded. What kept ND afloat during Davie and Willingham was the fact that those kids won games based on a built-in pride in the program they were representing. Notre Dame won the games they did because the heart on that team overcame the gaps in talent where it existed. Notre Dame in 2005 is simply just an above average team with heart and pride. Now enter Charlie Weis, who can motivate them even more, and is a very, very, very good coach. Now enter David Cutcliffe, who was recently and unjustly fired by Ole Miss. That staff in South Bend is very good. You saw last night.

There is something wonderful about Notre Dame being back on top, if they do reach that point. I wouldn't overlook a UM flop next week. Not only does UM have a tendency to lose to ND, they also have a tendency to drop the ball every season. We know Michigan is good for a loss or two. I think it'll happen next week.

[El-Moldo]

So it would be acceptable in your book if Michigan, the #4 team in the nation, loses at home to Notre Dame?

[The Ancient Enemy]

No loss is acceptable. But given how UM plays against ND, it would not be surprising if ND pulled off another upset. I'm looking for it.

[Heaven&Hoops]

I disagree with your assesment that Notre Dame doesn't have much talent. They are still loaded with high school all-americans. Regardless of their record under Willingham, they still got great recruits. Weis is an outstanding coach and seems to be putting the kids in position to succeed.

I see this Notre Dame team going 8-3 only because their schedule is absolutely brutal. They have a very solid QB and outstanding RB and a talented and experienced offensive line.

[The Ancient Enemy]

Maybe they were still getting good recruits (certainly not as good as before) but maybe they were being under-developed previously. I can't really name you that many great ND players from the past 5-10 years. Quarterbacks out there were usually the strong point. Look at this: Jarious Jackson, Holliday, Battle, LoVecchio, that Godsey kid, and now Quinn, who is the best of that bunch. Those arent Tony Rice, Powlus, Mirer, etc.

Sure the kid for the Cowboys is doing well now, but don't forget how much he struggled at Notre Dame on and off the field. I consider that kid a diamond in the rough.