Thank God I was wrong!

I said that I just don't see us winning the game. I was wrong. The team played great.

On offense Stull made great key throws. Baldwin was given a chance to show what he can do and he certainly came through. Kinder is Kinder. He is consistent game in and game out, we are very lucky to have a wide receiver like him around. Dorin had a nice end around and gave us a critical 3rd down conversion. Lastly I want to mention Oderick Turner. I have been one of his biggest critics and was very happy to hear that he was going to have limited playing time due to his poor play. He, like the rest of the team proved me wrong. He had great catches, fought for yards, and looked like a completely different player. I said that his freshman year showed what it took for him to play well. He is the type of guy that needs to feel pressured to play well. Last year and this year he had one of the starting spots just handed to him and he didn't produce. This game he had to fight with Porter, McGee, and Baldwin for time and he showed that he can be a good player when he wants to be.

Shady deserves a paragraph all to himself and I'm sure he'll get full columns about the way he played today. The fumble he had early on really killed our momentum at a critical time. Instead of dwelling on that and pulling out some "Poor-me" attitude, he went back out there more determined than ever and played the like the back we saw last year. He carried this team tonight. He fought for the hard yards and did what it took to convert third downs. Shady was the all star and he deserves major credit for this win.

The defense did a great job today as well. Minus that drive where USF ran all over us, they played a great game. The line looked like the guys we hyped up all season. The linebackers were in position all game long. McKillop had 14 tackles today and gave the Panthers something to brag about as our All-American linebacker played like an All-American.

Conor Lee should get Big East honors again. He is the most clutch kicker we have ever had since I've followed Pitt football. When we talk all time great Pitt special teams players, Conor Lee and Andy Lee will be the top two that always come to mind.

The main people though who deserve some praise is the coaching staff. This is the type of game that fans were calling for all season. A game plan like today's would have beaten Bowling Green, and would have allowed for 14 or more point victories against Iowa and Syracuse. I don't know if Cavanaugh called the plays he wanted or if Wannstedt wanted an open, unconventional, unpredictable offense. Whatever the case, it worked and we need to stick with it. Phil Bennett also showed the defense I thought we were getting when he was hired this off season. Our blitz packages were effective all game long. We can't play afraid anymore. We know that when we take chances we will be successful and we will win.

Overall it was the best play calling we have seen from this staff ever. They trusted the players, and the players came up big when they had to. Kudos to everyone.

Like I said before, I was wrong, I am glad I was wrong, and I hope you all let me know that I was wrong.

DPJ's Rant

Ok, let me say this. 2 years ago, when i heard that Wanny removed his name from consideration I was very very happy. I felt that he was a poor nfl coach and would not be a good fit for the team. After a while, I started to buy into his "wall around PA" and "winning a championship".....Well after this game, we have the talent to be a successful team. What we do not have is the coaching staff to win. I am going to say this right now. Cavanaugh and Rhodes need to be fired right now. It wouldn't make a difference to move someone up or let Mustache Jones coach both sides of the ball.

Matt Cavanaugh - your shitty NFL style offense won't work here. The only reason you won a superbowl with Baltimore was because you had the best defense in the league (special thanks to Jermaine Lewis). You have been incompetent at your job since you were hired here. You can be a great quarterbacks coach, but offensive coordinator is not your specialty. You either need to be fired or step down. You helped Tyler become an NFL qb, but you did not help our offense. You are by far the worst offensive coordinator in the big east. The coaches I know say that you want to go back to the NFL game, well sir.... I say, have a good rest of your career in the nfl. You are not fit for the offensive coordinator job. Thank you for the national championship and for your loyalty to Pitt, but this is not a fit that is working here. It is time to move on with your life's work.

Paul Rhodes - Today, Wanny put you in a tough spot making you stop the very short drives for touchdowns. The defense has been looking better this year than it has in the past, but you need to be fired. Wannstedt won't let himself go down in flames, so you and Matt will be gone following this season. Your inability to design blitz plays has cost this team many games and has prevented us from stopping our opponents on 3rd down plays. You could have had the easiest job in the world. All you had to do was knock on the door of Dick LeBeau and ask him how to get the most of the defense, yet you did not do that. You had an opportunity to leave in 2002 and guess what buddy, you should have taken it. I understand how hard it is to coach Hayes, Harriott, Moore, Spencer, and Torrie Cox but hey you stayed loyal to Pitt and we have since regretted it. You are wasting so much talent on the defensive side of the ball. On 3rd downs we are only rushing 3 guys and letting the opposing quarterback rush for 30 yards. We are probably the worst 3rd down team in the entire NCAA on defense. I hope you are fired and find a nice new job somewhere else. I hope your replacement understands that in order to be successful you have to BLITZ AT LEAST ONCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coach Wannstedt, you will have the best team on paper in 2008, and you will have to bring in a new offensive and defensive coordinator to save your ass. If you keep Cavanaugh I hope you are fired on spot. If you want my advice, steal the coach staff from TCU. They are able to do much with very little talent. Don't be so stubborn. The college game is very different from the nfl.

I still think we are a better team than how we are performing, but I know that it is only the coaching that is holding us back.

My last rant is that, LET BOSTICK THROW THE FUCKING BALL!!

I think we had about 3 attempts in the first half. All night they were mostly screens. The one time you did let him throw deep he hit Turner near the goal line. Bostick is the best quarterback you have ever had in your head coaching career Wannstedt, let him play the way he knows how.

I'm gonna sit here with Jason Jones and come up with ways to improve this team while watching some music on demand and call my hoopie girlfriend.

Fix your shit Wannstedt, I mean really, it's only your Million Dollar+ job that is on the line.

~ The One and Only ~