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Johnny McGonigal's Pitt football chat: 09.02.21
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John McGonigal
11:00
Welcome back to the Pitt football chat. We’ll be doing these every Thursday at 11 a.m., so join me throughout the season. For now, let’s get to your questions ahead of the season.
Doug in Erie
11:03
Who is your pick for "surprise player of the year" ?
John McGonigal
11:05
With how much they’ve been hyped up, I feel like Izzy Abanikanda and Lucas Krull wouldn’t be surprises if they played well. Give me wide receiver Jaylon Barden. I don’t think he breaks out the way Jordan Addison did last year. But I think you’re going to see an offense more willing to push the ball downfield. If the line holds up in protection, Barden is a speedy guy who could benefit and add a spark to the offense.
Nat
11:08
With NIL do you believe Pitt may be able to attract higher level talent due to the city offering bigger endorsement deals?
John McGonigal
11:11
Craig Meyer and I actually did an in-depth story on this last year, about market size and how it could affect NIL (https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/Pitt/2020/08/09/NCAA-NIL-pitt-penn...). I think it’s a double-edged sword. If you’re Pitt, you’re selling the fact that you’re in a major city, and there are more opportunities to market with businesses. If you’re a Penn State or an Iowa, though, your argument is that NIL opportunities are better in an insulated college town because college football is all they have there. You don’t have to vie with professional athletes. If anything, Pitt might get a bump in keeping top WPIAL and City League players. There’s value in building on a hometown brand.
Gman
11:14
The O line has been a weakness -- having a large group of them returning isn't exactly a recipe for success. What are the real prospects for a decent running game to help Pickett?
John McGonigal
11:17
According to Football Outsiders, Pitt’s 2020 stuff rate (% of runs stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage) was 23.6%, ranking 117th nationally. So the line certainly has been a weakness. Will that turn around this fall? It’s not going to become a top unit in the ACC, that’s for sure. But there’s confidence within that group and from Pickett himself that the seniors on the line — Carter Warren, Gabe Houy, Owen Drexel — will open holes and alleviate the pressure on No. 8. I’m not going to ignore that. But for me, it’s a believe when I see it kind of deal.
Brad
11:19
Wii Pitt go to a top tier bowl this year
John McGonigal
11:23
The Orange Bowl is a College Football Playoff game this year, so the ACC doesn’t actually have a New Year’s Six tie-in. In the “first tier” of bowl games with an ACC tie are: Cheez-It, Duke’s Mayo, Fenway, Military, Pinstripe, Holiday, Gator and Sun. I think the Panthers land in one of those. Personally, I think playing in the first-ever Fenway Bowl in Boston would be pretty cool.
Tobey Maguire
11:25
Who would win in a fight: Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock or Kathryn Hahn’s Doc Ock?
John McGonigal
11:26
What a question. Totally irrelevant to Pitt football, but why not. I’m going with Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus for one main reason. Molina’s Doc Ock first appeared in Spider-Man 2 back in 2004. I was 10 years old, and he was legitimately creepy/terrifying. Now, if Molina’s Doc Ock squared off against Kathryn Hahn’s character in a recent MCU property …
Pete in New Jersey
11:29
How big of an impact does the alumni donation make in the short-term (1-2 years)?
John McGonigal
11:32
Looking at this morning’s press release, half of the $20 million gift is going to be “used immediately to enhance the training, nutrition and learning environment infrastructure.” That's pretty vague. Facility upgrades? Better snacks? We’ll have a better idea later this afternoon when Pat Narduzzi meets with reporters for his weekly chat.
Guest
11:33
I’m interested to hear your take on the competition this season John.  Pitt has played some very tough schedules recently (the 7-7 year they played UCF, PSU, ND, Clemson, Stanford, Miami, VT).  They aren’t losing to UNH or Umass.  Syracuse and Duke seem to be really down and Western Michigan at home should be a W.  VT and Tennessee seem to be similar to Pitt.  Is GT improved?  And what about UVA?
John McGonigal
11:37
I know it’s a dangerous game to play, but I’m counting UMass, Western Michigan, New Hampshire, Duke and Syracuse as wins. Virginia isn’t in a great spot, either, even though Brennan Armstrong at QB is fun. Tennessee went 3-7 last year and lost a lot of guys to the portal … but the game is in Knoxville, and Neyland Stadium will be packed. Even though Geoff Collins really hasn’t got that program humming, playing at Georgia Tech three years in a row will be tricky. For what it’s worth, Pitt is favored to win 8 of its 12 games, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. The four projected losses? Virginia Tech, Clemson, Miami and North Carolina.
Guest
11:38
When considering the state of the game, I think the burrito bowl has its place alongside a standard burrito.
John McGonigal
11:38
Sure.
Herb Kirkstreit
11:38
What is an achievable stretch record prediction for Pitt this year?
John McGonigal
11:40
I have Pitt marked down for an 8-4 record. But I think 9-3 is achievable. Open the season 5-0, beat one of VT/Clemson/Miami/UNC and you’re in business.
Iron Head
11:40
If the line actually gels with the early cake schedule, could Pitt actually have a shot at winning the division and competing with Clemson.  Seems the rest of the team is strong across the board
John McGonigal
11:44
Aside from the test Josh Heupel’s up-tempo offense will provide Pitt’s secondary at Tennessee, I think your point on the OL is well-taken. Getting that front five in a rhythm against UMass, WMU and UNH could be important in Pitt’s push for a Coastal title. Now, competing with Clemson up front will be a heck of a lot harder. That front-four Brent Venables has is nasty.
Johnboyage
11:44
What changes need to happen to improve CFB playoffs?
John McGonigal
11:48
I’m a fan of the way the 12-team playoff is proposed: 6 highest-ranked conference champs get in with 6 at-large bids. That ensures the Group of Five gets a seat (or two or three) at the table. I get the concern around extra games, and you need to keep the conference championships to determine the playoff spots. But getting rid of a regular season game would solve that.
Pick its Nose
11:49
How important is it for the ACC for Miami to compete in the game against Alabama.
John McGonigal
11:51
I’m not really a moral victory kind of person. So if Miami loses to Alabama by 17 or 40, I don’t think it matters all that much. The only way Miami is going to bolster the ACC is by actually winning these kinds of games.
Charmin
11:51
Mark Whipple’s offense has a history of not successfully running the ball.  Do you see any improvement in the offense that shows this team will have a good run game?
John McGonigal
11:54
For full transparency, we didn’t see any spring practice, and the spring game draft split up what would’ve been the starting o-line. And in fall camp, reporters weren’t allowed to sit in on scrimmages. In that sense, we’re going off what coaches and players say about the OL, which naturally is going to be positive. I do think Abanikanda is legit. It’ll just be a matter of if the OL opens holes for him. Re: Whipple, he’s definitely a pass-first guy. No question. But he also had no reason to trust the running game last year. Maybe it’ll give him more confidence this go-around.
Green Zone
11:54
Will Pitt opt out of kicking field goals in the hopes that it can force the offense to start attempting to actually get into the endzone for points. Relying on field goals has cost them many close games in recent years.
John McGonigal
11:56
The kicking situation could be a blessing in disguise for the offense and for Pat Narduzzi, for sure. He doesn’t have the Kessman 55-yarder in his back pocket. Maybe that just means he’ll punt in opposing territory …
ev
11:59
Hello, thank you for the chats:  Is there any chance that Pitt will get its own football home?  I know there is no room in Oakland; it doesn't necessarily have to be on campus.
John McGonigal
12:01
Of course. Look forward to doing these chats every week. And I get that sentiment. I don’t want to speculate on if it’ll ever happen. But personally, I think Pitt should have its own stadium. Growing up outside Philly, I thought it worked for Temple playing at Lincoln Financial Field, but that’s because Temple’s football fanbase is kind of non-existent. I see what Georgia Tech has and think Pitt should have that, too.
Go-Go Gadget
12:01
how much of the Go-Go offense will be put into the offense play calling this year?  Do you think PN will hold back on using it until the Tenn game?
John McGonigal
12:01
Think we'll be waiting until Week 2 to see any GoGo ...
Polish Hammer
12:01
Prediction for Saturday vs UMASS?
John McGonigal
12:02
I’m going to go 51-10 with Pitt being a 38-point favorite. The defense is breaking in a few new starters, so maybe there’s a first-half drive or two that produces points for UMass. But it’s hard to get over how bad the Minutemen were last year. They scored only 12 points in four games last year … and they played Georgia Southern, Marshall, FAU and Liberty. Woof.
12:03
Alright folks, that’s all the time we have today. It was fun to be back in the chat. We’ll be doing these every Thursday at 11 a.m., so if you didn’t get your question answered, there’s always next week. You could always DM me on Twitter, too: @jmcgonigal9. Enjoy Week 1.
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