The new AP college tackle football top 25 poll is out and the Beloveds are among "others receiving votes." Am not surprised. The performances of this team over the last five weeks have been eye-opening and the offensive line and those two backs, wow, just wow. It is a completely different team from the first five games and people are noticing.
I thought about the reasons for this mid-season paradigm shift yesterday. Head coach Pat Narduzzi saw something in this team in August, before the season had started. Duzz makes predictions and he is something of a Nostradamus in making them. He predicted--At half time on national TV!--that his "Panthers" would beat #2 Miami in 2017 (he was right), and this year before the season started he told the assembled ACC media “Next time we’ll see you is in Charlotte for the ACC championship game, because that’s where we’re going." Damn if he's not odds-on favorite to be right about that, too.
So Duzz, Wa-Ta-Fa happened between that August prediction and the Syracuse game October 6? You didn't predict 51-6, Debacle Hill, and 45-14, didja?
I believe that there was a Kuhnian paradigm shift. And I believe that the geniuses who threw "normal Pitt 2018" into "crisis" were the players themselves, not coach Narduzzi. I have written this previously, my memory of it is so strong (but I have not been able to cite to the report): it was before overtime in Syracuse that the offensive line went to Narduzzi and said, "Coach, we got this." That is an exact quote. And,"Let us do this," words to that effect. And Duzz went with his players.
Pitt went on to beat now #13 Syracuse, came painfully close to winning at now #2 Notre Dame the following week, then won three in a row, including at then #25 Virginia, and have looked more impressive with each week. I do not think Wake Forest or Miami can stop this O-line and these RB's. I don't know if Clemson can.
I thought about the reasons for this mid-season paradigm shift yesterday. Head coach Pat Narduzzi saw something in this team in August, before the season had started. Duzz makes predictions and he is something of a Nostradamus in making them. He predicted--At half time on national TV!--that his "Panthers" would beat #2 Miami in 2017 (he was right), and this year before the season started he told the assembled ACC media “Next time we’ll see you is in Charlotte for the ACC championship game, because that’s where we’re going." Damn if he's not odds-on favorite to be right about that, too.
So Duzz, Wa-Ta-Fa happened between that August prediction and the Syracuse game October 6? You didn't predict 51-6, Debacle Hill, and 45-14, didja?
I believe that there was a Kuhnian paradigm shift. And I believe that the geniuses who threw "normal Pitt 2018" into "crisis" were the players themselves, not coach Narduzzi. I have written this previously, my memory of it is so strong (but I have not been able to cite to the report): it was before overtime in Syracuse that the offensive line went to Narduzzi and said, "Coach, we got this." That is an exact quote. And,"Let us do this," words to that effect. And Duzz went with his players.
Pitt went on to beat now #13 Syracuse, came painfully close to winning at now #2 Notre Dame the following week, then won three in a row, including at then #25 Virginia, and have looked more impressive with each week. I do not think Wake Forest or Miami can stop this O-line and these RB's. I don't know if Clemson can.
