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Johnny McGonigal's Pitt football chat: 10.07.21
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Johnny McGonigal
11:00
Welcome to this week's chat, folks. Pitt is on its off week, but we still have plenty to talk about. Let's get it going.
Buzzard Bill
11:00
Hi Johnny, I'm really concerned about the emerging discussion of Pickett's Heisman chances.  Narduzzi should know better than to put that kind of pressure on a college player.  It strikes me as a self serving comment by Narduzzi to shed some favorable light on his program.  What say you?
Johnny McGonigal
11:06
I understand the sentiment, but I don’t think anyone needs to worry about the chatter getting to Kenny Pickett’s head. He’s a fourth-year starter, a captain and a leader. He’s never had this kind of success before obviously. And if his play comes back down to earth, it’ll have more to do with Pitt’s impending schedule than anything Pat Narduzzi said or says.
Chip Cache
11:06
Can a double digit win season happen?  Can they win the Coastal?  I realize that's two questions.
Johnny McGonigal
11:06
Totally fine, Chip. Fire away as many questions as you want.
11:08
Can a double-digit win season happen? It can. But in the regular season I don’t think it will. For as bad as some of these teams have looked, I still view Virginia Tech, Clemson, Miami, North Carolina and Virginia as land mines. And while Pickett and the offense are #builtdifferent, this is still Pitt, and the defense has holes. If they get to 9-3 in the regular season with a shot at a 10th win in a bowl game (or an ACC title game), that would be a massive success after the WMU loss.
11:11
And can they win the Coastal? A win in Blacksburg next weekend would put the Panthers in the driver’s seat. But even a loss down there wouldn’t kill their divisional hopes. Getting Miami, North Carolina and Virginia at home is huge. I said it on the Post-Gazette’s “Off Script” podcast with Craig Meyer, but I think, at this point, Pitt is going to win the Coastal. Sorry if that ends up being a kiss of death.
runthewildcat
11:14
Since Narduzzi has been head coach stopping the deep ball has been a huge issue as our corners and safeties are usually on an island.  Why is it so difficult to correct this issue and why wouldn't PN want to change up his defense once in a while to help this?
Johnny McGonigal
11:17
For better or worse (I can see it both ways), it’s not a problem Narduzzi seems concerned with addressing. It’s his system. It’s what got him the job in the first place. It might be outdated with how much teams use RPOs now. But if Narduzzi and Randy Bates don’t leave those corners/safeties on islands, they’re pulling resources from the run stuff / pass rush. And they don’t want to do that. They want to create havoc in the backfield. Trust me, I see the flaws in that. But there’s also something to be said about forcing a college quarterback to make the right read and throw under duress. Good quarterbacks have killed Pitt’s defense in the past. There’s a reason for that.
Ricky Seals-Jones
11:17
Who has a better chance of getting to, say, I don’t know, 36 passing touchdowns this year: Kenny Pickett or Sean Clifford?
Johnny McGonigal
11:21
It’s Pickett without question. He’s already at 19 to Clifford’s 11. Plus, Penn State’s schedule remaining ranks 4th-toughest in the country while Pitt has to navigate a chaotic but less than powerful ACC slate. The odds are in Pickett’s favor for this random race to 36.
Ironhead
11:21
Is Kenny Pitt’s best QB since Marino and what round do you see him drafted?
Johnny McGonigal
11:23
Can’t say I was alive for the Dan Marino days or those that followed closely after, but I’d say yes. He’s polished, accurate, mobile and confident. As far as a round, I still think it’s too early to say. A lot of it depends on the other quarterbacks around him and, more importantly, how he performs over the next month. Can say this for sure: he made the right choice in coming back.
Matt from LA
11:24
Are we going to see anymore of those UGLY alternative jerseys this year?
Johnny McGonigal
11:26
I’ll say this: I think the steel gray alternates would look great in a night game. So maybe the Thursday night game against North Carolina …
success from failure
11:28
Do you feel the loss to WMU helped?  Pitt has failed to play 4 quarters in the last few years and this loss may have taught them their vulnerabilities especially on defense.  Maybe even taught a stubborn PN to make better adjustments before and during the game to create better match-ups and not give up multiple big plays
Johnny McGonigal
11:31
Indulge me for a second while I lean on prior experience covering Penn State for the Centre Daily Times. There are a lot of people around that program that don’t believe Penn State goes on to win the 2016 Big Ten title without losing to Pitt. Not directly comparing that loss to Pitt’s WMU loss. Penn State was a slight underdog, while Pitt was a two-touchdown favorite. But in the sense that it was an emotional non-conference loss and one the team could grow from, I see similarities. I think it’s possible that Pitt’s players and coaches, after looking themselves in the mirror, have learned from the WMU defeat. We’ll see if that carries them in the coming weeks.
Distilled in 1787
11:31
Has there been any Buzz on the Go-Go offense to catch a team off guard.  Clemson game may be a good place to throw it in if Pitt beats VT.
Johnny McGonigal
11:34
Frankly, I’m surprised it hasn’t been used yet. I thought we’d see a bit at Tennessee after Narduzzi and Co. didn’t use it against UMass. But that hasn’t been the case yet. Maybe the off week will give them an opportunity to explore that further. But at the same time, Pitt’s averaging 52 points per game right now. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Roc the Panther
11:35
Johnny, Pitt tends to play well against VT but mostly when ranked below them.  Pitt plays up against better teams and down to teams beneath them.  I prefer them playing this game away to give them a sense of urgency.  Feeling a win this game will catapult the team and start a nice run with the game against UNC being a trap game.  with FPI ratings out and Pitt favored to win the rest of their games, what game(s) do you see as an issue left on the schedule
Johnny McGonigal
11:38
With how sporadic Pitt has been in recent years, I don’t think any of their games are “trap games.” But as far as games I see as issues, I’ve identified 3, which might be cheating a little bit: Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia. It’s hard to win at Lane Stadium, Sam Howell is still pretty good, and Virginia can score and score quickly.
Tina Fey
11:38
Rank the following shows: 30 Rock, Seinfeld, Veep, The Office, Parks and Rec, Big Bang Theory, Ordinary Joe
Johnny McGonigal
11:41
A few admissions here: 
- I’ve never seen 30 Rock 
- I’ve watched enough Seinfeld to know I like it, but not enough to quote any lines or anything 
- I loathe Big Bang Theory. Worst show on television. 

That in mind, I’ll say 1) Parks and Rec 2) The Office 3) Veep 4) Seinfeld 5) 30 Rock 6) Ordinary Joe 7) Big Bang Theory. The post-Michael Scott episodes just don’t do it for me. Veep is incredible, but slows down considerably. And while Ordinary Joe looks truly awful, it can’t be worse than the show that birthed the abomination that is Young Sheldon.
Rungame0
11:43
can you let me know who you consider to be Pitt’s number one rival ala Ohio State-Michigan in tbe ACC?
Johnny McGonigal
11:45
That’s a good question. Compared to Pitt’s time in the ACC, I’m relatively new to the Pitt beat, now in my 3rd season. If there’s bad blood that runs deeper, feel free to let me know. But my read on it would be Virginia Tech. Same division. Same talent pool on the recruiting trail. They’ve split 8 games down the middle since Pitt joined the ACC in 2013. Seems appropriate.
Earl P. Doppleganger
11:47
Rank the top 3 most evil Succession characters before Season 3
Johnny McGonigal
11:48
I know a lot of people are watching Succession for the first time ramping up for the new season, so no spoilers here. But evil rankings?

1. Logan
2. Shiv/Tom
3. Stewy
Matt from LA
11:50
Not to get too pessimistic, but is it safe to say that we better enjoy this year with Pickett since next year with a new quarterback could be "Same Old Pitt?"
Johnny McGonigal
11:50
I would say that’s safe to say, yes.
Ryan
11:50
Johnny what do you think about the play of petrishen so far this season nice interception return for a touchdown last week
Johnny McGonigal
11:53
I think Johnny Petrishen’s doing a solid job in the role he’s carved out at linebacker / nickel. He’s third on the team in tackles (23), had that pick-six and had 1.5 TFLs last week, too. Normally, Narduzzi plays a third safety in his defensive delta package. But he noted Petrishen’s blitzing ability as a primary reason why he’s getting snaps over Rashad Battle. It’s cool, too, to see a 7th-year senior who’s dealt with injuries and position changes finally secure a role.
Rungame0
11:53
Are the college field goal posts tbe same width as the nfl posts at Heinz?
Johnny McGonigal
11:53
From my understanding, college and NFL goalposts are the same dimensions.
Eddie the Snitch
11:53
Do you prefer Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune
Johnny McGonigal
11:53
Jeopardy! without question
Eddie Big Shoes
11:53
if marvel’s what if was a show that did real life scenarios instead of superhero stuff what sort of scenario would you want to see
Johnny McGonigal
11:55
I was actually thinking about this watching the season finale: wouldn’t it be cool to do something similar for sports? Let’s go back and revisit trades or free agency decisions that could’ve gone differently, coaching choices that dictated a game and those lingering effects. I’m sure there’s some version of this out there in some medium. But if not, I think that would be fun.
Matt from LA
11:55
Now that the SEC has Texas and Oklahoma and the Big 12 has filled their vacancies, do you think that the NCAA reshuffling is finally over? Do you see the ACC adding any other teams in the near future?
Johnny McGonigal
11:56
I think the ACC’s expansion discussion starts and ends with Notre Dame. If the Irish aren’t involved, I don’t see the conference jumping for anyone else, at least in the near future.
Ricky
11:57
Brennan Marion  for Broyles award
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