Boy oh boy, I thought I was too hard on Pitt last night. The write-ups on the Syracuse win in the Pitt-centric media included these:

Pitt defeats Syracuse in error-filled garbage, er game

The reality is, the coaches and the players cannot continue to put themselves into these positions and expect to be taken seriously. 5-2 is indeed 5-2. But Pitt has taken an entirely unnecessary path to get there and if the coaches and players are not embarrassed about how they closed this game out, they sure as heck should be. It was a flat out embarrassment and nothing even remotely resembling disciplined football.

(CardiacHill)

"and expect to be taken seriously": That is my "eye test", in different words. Yes, with 48-12 you get taken more seriously than at 27-20. BUT. Wall Street du Desert established the expectations line at four points. Pitt not only won the game but exceeded expectations with the margin.

"Embarrassment": Embarrassment is a heavy favorite losing. All meaning is drained when the term is applied to a tight favorite who wins, on the road, by more than the point spread! 

Pitt’s Recent Winning Is Not Sustainable

At some point, head coach Pat Narduzzi is going to need his guys to play a consistent, 60-minute game if this success is to continue.

(cityofchampionssports)

Yes, I wondered last night if Pitt's coaches were getting the players mentally prepared at halftime. However. But. "Sustainable" is a prediction of the future--a quite reasoned and justified prediction! but if it is sustained then ipso facto it was sustainable. Pitt has sustained it for four straight games. Yelling "Not Sustainable" week after week is like the boy who cried "Wolf!" over and over again. After awhile when there's no wolf crying wolf is not sustainable.

And here's one from an AP reporter for Yahoo that hammers home the second half complacency:

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- When the Pitt Panthers went into halftime against Syracuse with an 18-point lead, quarterback Kenny Pickett didn't like what he saw and let his teammates know it.

''Too many smiles,'' Pickett said, recounting his impassioned halftime speech. ''I play this game real seriously. The game was far from over, so when I came in I saw guys smiling and I didn't like it. I just wanted to make sure we came back down to earth and got the job done.''