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Brian Batko's Pitt football chat: 11.14.18
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Brian Batko
2:00
Thanks for joining my chat, everyone. On my drive home from the practice facility today, I noticed a house at the end of my street flying a Pitt flag. So that's either a new sign of ACC Coastal fever sweeping the fan base, or I'm just not very observant. Fahr away.
Maximus
2:01
In the name of “pulling out all the stops”, how many trick plays does Duzz run Saturday? Over/under 2
Brian Batko
2:02
I'm not sure this really classifies as a "pulling out all the stops" situation. Pitt should be able to beat Wake Forest straight-up. We likely can revisit this question in two weeks...
SDWC
2:02
What is the NCAA protocol for player numbers?  How can Pitt change V’Lique from 19 to 83 after one game, and randomly slip 96 on Jeff George Jr. to make him a pretend punter?  I must think there’s some sort of guideline to prevent chaos.
Brian Batko
2:04
I asked Pat Narduzzi about this last week, like if you really want to throw off your opponent to whatever extent possible, why not just run out your entire offense in different numbers every week? Obviously, that's a bridge too far, so he laughed it off, but I think as long as you deliver your roster and numbers to the officials pregame, you're good to go.
JD
2:05
Wake's offense seemed very good last weekend, but Pitt's D has also seemed good the last couple weeks. Who is the first to budge?
Brian Batko
2:06
Part of that probably depends on whether Pitt comes out in its base defense or nickel. If it's the latter, I can see Wake  pushing the tempo, hammering Pitt on mismatches and RPOs and having little trouble scoring. Saturday could be high-scoring, by my estimation.
Chris
2:06
Assuming Pitt clinches the Coastal this week or next, is this season automatically deemed a "success" for Narduzzi? Or if they finish, say, 7-6 with a blowout loss to Clemson, are there still questions for the program moving ahead since you could make the argument they just took advantage of a 'meh' division?
Brian Batko
2:09
That's a good question. To me, winning the Coastal in any year, mediocre or not, is undoubtedly a success. if nothing else, it's a good measuring stick for where you are compared to the programs you compete most closely with, and to win it means you're obviously doing some things better than they are, for one year, at least. I'm a big 'get in the dance' kind of guy, and in any season, winning the Coastal gets you into the dance, which is the ACC championship. Once you're in the dance, you never know what might happen.
Ryan Sanders
2:10
What is the biggest challenge that Wake Forest presents to Pitt? Also, a prediction on the VA vs GA Tech game? Thanks H2P!
Brian Batko
2:12
Definitely they're spread offense, which has a lot of the same features as Duke's, Syracuse's, UNC's, UCF's: Tempo, dangerous slot guy, RPO-heavy. They'll find a way to scheme Greg Dortch open, and he's really good, probably better than the Duke receivers who had a field day at Heinz.

On paper I give the edge to Tech, but for some reason my gut tells me UVA pulls it out
Phil
2:13
If Pitt can win out the regular season, what else needs to fall into place in order to play WVU in the peach bowl?
Brian Batko
2:14
I like where your head is at, Phil. Fun bowl matchups are fun. In your scenario, the door is open, and I'll point you to this post written by our Adam Bittner from this morning to explain further http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/Pitt/2018/11/14/2018-ncaa-bowl-proj...
Shane
2:15
Why didn't more people go to the game!? 44K is all they get for the biggest home game in 9 years!?
Brian Batko
2:17
Yeah, this is tricky, because criticizing fans and attendance-shaming is often best left to other fans. It's apples to apples that way. That said, it's probably a better sign for Pitt football if a lot of fans stayed home to watch on TV in the warmth, because if that's the entirety of your most loyal fan base, that's obviously not a great look.

To your second point, you could argue  - and i'm sure folks would - that the home games against Penn State were still the "biggest" in a long time here.
Justin
2:19
How is this team not ranked!?
Brian Batko
2:21
Well, only two four-loss teams are ranked, Mississippi State and Northwestern. The former doesn't have any losses as bad as UNC. The latter did lose to Akron, but also has three Top 25 wins to Pitt's two. I'm just laying out the facts, here. Don't pay much attention to the polls, honestly.
Guest
2:22
Any indication in your viewing windows at practice if they still have the throwback helmets on?
Brian Batko
2:22
They do not. Dark blue.
Marco Rubio
2:23
Will Pitt/Wake come down to 3 pt kicks?
Brian Batko
2:23
Possibly!
Shemp
2:24
Has Narduzzi broken the top 10 yet at Pitt for wins?
Brian Batko
2:25
Yes, he's now 8th all time, by my count.
Patrick Narduzz
2:27
Lets talk Wake Forest! Only Wake Forest!  Who are the key players for Wake Forest we should be concerned with heading into this match up! Lets go 1-0!
Brian Batko
2:29
Greg Dortch is the slot receiver who could have one of those career days Pitt's defense sometimes allows. He's only 5-9 but is electric. Sage Surratt is a pretty good outside receiver, too. Jamie Newman is a redshirt freshman who will make his second start at QB after Wake lost its true freshman starter Sam Hartman to a season-ending injury.
Guest
2:29
So I noticed on Saturday that V'lique Carter was on special teams, and did not play an offensive snap. SO now that is 3 games he has played in. He only has 1 more game to play in before he has to either stop playing to preserve his redshirt or loose it by playing. Why would we waste those games on special teams play?
Brian Batko
2:32
V'Lique Carter certainly wasn't noticeable but he was on the field for Darrin Hall's first big run, which set up Qadree Ollison's 8-yard score for Pitt's first TD. I'm not entirely sure why they'd use him at all there if he wasn't involved in the game plan much, but my only interpretation of that is they must feel like they'll just use him the rest of the way, given that their season most likely will be extended by two games anyway. Might be worth asking Narduzzi tomorrow.
Johnny Michelosen
2:34
Snip out PSU, UCF, and UNC.  Is Pitt now ranked in the top 10?  15?
Brian Batko
2:34
I mean, sure? Snip out ND, too, and I guess Pitt is in the CFP picture. But people would probably be wondering why they've only played six games.
JR
2:35
Brian: any sense of how recruiting is going?
Brian Batko
2:36
Not much action during the season as usual. From what I've heard, Pitt could probably land Aliquippa wideout Will Gipson if they end up offering. He's a Ball State commit whose stock is rising and was offered by Rutgers. Has some incredible highlight reel catches this season.
Joeco
2:37
With 19 seniors, will pitt be able to continue any momentum for next year?
Brian Batko
2:39
That'll certainly be a question at the forefront of this offseason. A lot of really key guys to replace, but still plenty of important contributors slated to return. Rashad Weaver, Dane Jackson, Maurice Ffrench, Aaron Mathews, Taysir Mack, Jimmy Morrissey, Kenny Pickett. Defense will look a lot different.
Zach
2:41
This is the ultimate let down spot for Pitt. ACC coastal in reach, coming off the best offensive performance in school history, a beat down of VT, game on the road, against a backup QB. We should be scared right?
Brian Batko
2:41
Plus it's senior day for Wake, too. And they're fighting for bowl eligibility. So yeah, sure, be scared.
JD
2:42
Pitt's two backs can't POSSIBLY have another monster game... can they?
Brian Batko
2:43
They can, and they will, in my humble opinion
Shawn
2:43
Do you think Wilson-Frame has improved that drastically over the last year, or is it more a product of the competition?
Brian Batko
2:45
HEY, a basketball question! Always happy to cover that territory here despite the headline of this weekly chat. I think Jared WIlson-Frame has improved in some major ways: consistency on his jumper, his physique, and that one helps out his quickness to attack the basket. I'm not saying that he'll keep this up once the opponents improve, but I like what I see so far. His game didn't do a whole lot for me last year.
SDWC
2:46
More likely event, Pitt loses it's last 2 games on the road, or UVA wins it's last 2 games on the road?
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