Miami Gardens, Florida on Saturday, October 19, 2019. BY DANIEL A. VARELA
You can only imagine what the University of Miami’s next opponent, Pittsburgh, was thinking when its players, who manhandled Syracuse on Friday night, were watching on TV as 18-point underdog Georgia Tech defeated the Hurricanes 28-21 in overtime Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
Then again, maybe the Panthers will become lackadaisical and forget their basics (such as tackling) against what they likely consider (and might be right) is an overmatched Hurricanes squad.
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/college/acc/university-of-miami/article236367298.html#storylink=cpy
Where do they get shit like that, Pitt, "who manhandled Syracuse on Friday night"? Varela’s like one of those top twenty five voters who goes to bed at halftime and never learns the final score. “Boy, Pitt, they sure manhandled Syracuse. Boy, must be the dawn of a new era at Pitt.”
And then ooh, maybe those powerful Panthers will underestimate Miami. That sooo pisses me off you want to know why that pisses me off I'll tell you. Because Daniel A. Varela might be right. The Pitt players might think they have the game won already. Just ask Varela or Paul Zeise. I don't think so but why do I not think that if one of Pitt's own players saw too many smiles in the locker room at halftime. Let me tell you something, all ten of you who read this. In the last twenty years I have seen one Pitt game in person. Fucking uno. Know which one that was? Last year at Miami. Know what I saw I'll tell you what I saw and my son and daughter who I took with me to the game will vouch for the truthfulness of what I write here. We had tremendous seats, 50 yard line maybe a dozen rows up, on the Pitt side. When the players came out the Pitt sideline was *right there* I could see zits on the kids faces, alright that's not true, I could see their faces and more to the point their body builds. "Geez, the players look small," I said to my kids. "I forget these are just kids in college like you guys." I mean, I even thought maybe they scaled down the equipment for college players in the last twenty years. I remember one of Pitt's players, I think it was Kenny Pickett, didn't have his jersey on, just his underarmour or whatever and he, whoever it was, looked skinny to me. I mean, I can see the whole upper torso, okay. There wasn't a lot of BULK there you understand. "I forget these are just college kids," isn't that cute those skinny college kids right in front of us there. I could not see the Miami players at that time because they had not come out through the fucking fire extinguisher smoke yet and when they did they were all the way across the field. I didn't get to compare them avec equipment until the coin toss at midfield *right in front of me.* Um, the Miami players look bigger, to self. Then the game started.
The Pitt highlight of the game came on the first fucking play. That was it for Pitt highlights! Pickett handed the ball off to, I think it was Maurice Ffrench, on one of Matt Canada's holdover jet sweeps. We had only befuddled teams for two fucking years with that play, I don't know what the Miami players were so befuddled about but when the ball was snapped the Miami players, to this day as I see it in my mind's eye, and at the time, I thought Miami's players gave a half-hearted effort coming off the ball and they went straight ahead like it was a run up the middle. I mean, the entire Miami defensive line was completely fooled--for some reason--lack of proper preparation by the coaching staff or zoning out by the players while watching film is what I am implying and now stating explicitly. And off little Maurice or whomever went around end running right toward us. He gained like fifteen yards, I think. That was the one Pitt highlight.
I think we had to punt, maybe we missed a field goal I don't remember but the next time we had the ball it was deep in our own territory and Kenny Pickett dropped back to pass. I assume it was Kenny Pickett, I could not see that it was Kenny Pickett because Miami had a defensive end who looked like Too Tall Jones, he just blocked out Kenny Pickett from sight. It was like a wave of these big behemoths who pushed Pitt's offensive line back on Pickett who got the ball off but just ahead of the Johnstown Flood. Miami's players were clearly bigger than Pitt's. I said to my kids, "Miami's players are bigger." My son deferred. "Um, I haven't really noticed." A short time later there was a dead ball and a few of the players were side by side momentarily before heading to their sidelines. "Look at #97" or whatever, Too Tall, "standing next to the Pitt player!" "Yeah, you're right dad."
Pitt could not do shit in that game and Miami was not a great team! They were 6-5 coming into that game and Pitt was 7-4, ranked #24 and had just clinched their division title. Which is why we went to this game. Gooo Panthers. The Panthers didn't go. Physically, they didn't look like they belonged on the same field with Miami. It looked like a good college team (Miami) against a high school team. Miami ended up winning in a rout, 24-3 but the end was so clear that as halftime approached I told my kids, "I'm not having a good time. Do you want to leave at the half?" "It doesn't really look like Pitt can score," my son. And it didn't. That game was as good as done. Pitt just did not match up physically with Miami. It wasn't a matter of fumbles or interceptions or mistakes of any kind, Pitt just didn't look physically capable of, as my son said, even scoring.
Then as now! Pitt entered the Miami game on a four game win streak. Miami had lost four of five. This year Miami is 3-4, Pitt is 5-2. That is more of a difference than last year. Then as now Miami suffered from a lack of coaching nous. Mark Richt resigned after last season, Manny Diaz abruptly quit Temple and took over and has coached a shit season so far.
But are the players so much different? Did Kenny Pickett grow three inches and put on twenty pounds? Is #97 or whatever still with Miami or is he in the NFL or jail? The point is that the players are not that different from last year, physically or in talent, Pitt's are three star players, Miami has four star players. And Saturday before last this poorly coached, undisciplined Miami team beat #19 Virginia 17-9. Pitt played Virginia on August 31 and lost at home 30-14. :( The point is, or another point is, that, unseemly as it is, when you have four star talent occasionally the players will decide to play like four stars but when you have three star talent your ceiling is a star lower and so that article by Daniel A. Varela scares me because three star Pitt has no business thinking at halftime of the three star Syracuse game that they had that one won and has less business thinking that they are going to beat four star Miami. I don't know, maybe Paul Zeise wants to write something to the contrary.
You can only imagine what the University of Miami’s next opponent, Pittsburgh, was thinking when its players, who manhandled Syracuse on Friday night, were watching on TV as 18-point underdog Georgia Tech defeated the Hurricanes 28-21 in overtime Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
Then again, maybe the Panthers will become lackadaisical and forget their basics (such as tackling) against what they likely consider (and might be right) is an overmatched Hurricanes squad.
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/college/acc/university-of-miami/article236367298.html#storylink=cpy
Where do they get shit like that, Pitt, "who manhandled Syracuse on Friday night"? Varela’s like one of those top twenty five voters who goes to bed at halftime and never learns the final score. “Boy, Pitt, they sure manhandled Syracuse. Boy, must be the dawn of a new era at Pitt.”
And then ooh, maybe those powerful Panthers will underestimate Miami. That sooo pisses me off you want to know why that pisses me off I'll tell you. Because Daniel A. Varela might be right. The Pitt players might think they have the game won already. Just ask Varela or Paul Zeise. I don't think so but why do I not think that if one of Pitt's own players saw too many smiles in the locker room at halftime. Let me tell you something, all ten of you who read this. In the last twenty years I have seen one Pitt game in person. Fucking uno. Know which one that was? Last year at Miami. Know what I saw I'll tell you what I saw and my son and daughter who I took with me to the game will vouch for the truthfulness of what I write here. We had tremendous seats, 50 yard line maybe a dozen rows up, on the Pitt side. When the players came out the Pitt sideline was *right there* I could see zits on the kids faces, alright that's not true, I could see their faces and more to the point their body builds. "Geez, the players look small," I said to my kids. "I forget these are just kids in college like you guys." I mean, I even thought maybe they scaled down the equipment for college players in the last twenty years. I remember one of Pitt's players, I think it was Kenny Pickett, didn't have his jersey on, just his underarmour or whatever and he, whoever it was, looked skinny to me. I mean, I can see the whole upper torso, okay. There wasn't a lot of BULK there you understand. "I forget these are just college kids," isn't that cute those skinny college kids right in front of us there. I could not see the Miami players at that time because they had not come out through the fucking fire extinguisher smoke yet and when they did they were all the way across the field. I didn't get to compare them avec equipment until the coin toss at midfield *right in front of me.* Um, the Miami players look bigger, to self. Then the game started.
The Pitt highlight of the game came on the first fucking play. That was it for Pitt highlights! Pickett handed the ball off to, I think it was Maurice Ffrench, on one of Matt Canada's holdover jet sweeps. We had only befuddled teams for two fucking years with that play, I don't know what the Miami players were so befuddled about but when the ball was snapped the Miami players, to this day as I see it in my mind's eye, and at the time, I thought Miami's players gave a half-hearted effort coming off the ball and they went straight ahead like it was a run up the middle. I mean, the entire Miami defensive line was completely fooled--for some reason--lack of proper preparation by the coaching staff or zoning out by the players while watching film is what I am implying and now stating explicitly. And off little Maurice or whomever went around end running right toward us. He gained like fifteen yards, I think. That was the one Pitt highlight.
I think we had to punt, maybe we missed a field goal I don't remember but the next time we had the ball it was deep in our own territory and Kenny Pickett dropped back to pass. I assume it was Kenny Pickett, I could not see that it was Kenny Pickett because Miami had a defensive end who looked like Too Tall Jones, he just blocked out Kenny Pickett from sight. It was like a wave of these big behemoths who pushed Pitt's offensive line back on Pickett who got the ball off but just ahead of the Johnstown Flood. Miami's players were clearly bigger than Pitt's. I said to my kids, "Miami's players are bigger." My son deferred. "Um, I haven't really noticed." A short time later there was a dead ball and a few of the players were side by side momentarily before heading to their sidelines. "Look at #97" or whatever, Too Tall, "standing next to the Pitt player!" "Yeah, you're right dad."
Pitt could not do shit in that game and Miami was not a great team! They were 6-5 coming into that game and Pitt was 7-4, ranked #24 and had just clinched their division title. Which is why we went to this game. Gooo Panthers. The Panthers didn't go. Physically, they didn't look like they belonged on the same field with Miami. It looked like a good college team (Miami) against a high school team. Miami ended up winning in a rout, 24-3 but the end was so clear that as halftime approached I told my kids, "I'm not having a good time. Do you want to leave at the half?" "It doesn't really look like Pitt can score," my son. And it didn't. That game was as good as done. Pitt just did not match up physically with Miami. It wasn't a matter of fumbles or interceptions or mistakes of any kind, Pitt just didn't look physically capable of, as my son said, even scoring.
Then as now! Pitt entered the Miami game on a four game win streak. Miami had lost four of five. This year Miami is 3-4, Pitt is 5-2. That is more of a difference than last year. Then as now Miami suffered from a lack of coaching nous. Mark Richt resigned after last season, Manny Diaz abruptly quit Temple and took over and has coached a shit season so far.
But are the players so much different? Did Kenny Pickett grow three inches and put on twenty pounds? Is #97 or whatever still with Miami or is he in the NFL or jail? The point is that the players are not that different from last year, physically or in talent, Pitt's are three star players, Miami has four star players. And Saturday before last this poorly coached, undisciplined Miami team beat #19 Virginia 17-9. Pitt played Virginia on August 31 and lost at home 30-14. :( The point is, or another point is, that, unseemly as it is, when you have four star talent occasionally the players will decide to play like four stars but when you have three star talent your ceiling is a star lower and so that article by Daniel A. Varela scares me because three star Pitt has no business thinking at halftime of the three star Syracuse game that they had that one won and has less business thinking that they are going to beat four star Miami. I don't know, maybe Paul Zeise wants to write something to the contrary.
