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| Photo Courtesy of cityofchampionsports.com |
So the real question has begun to arise. Is Pitt for real or not?
In this article, we are going to go over that, look at all the clues and things we can find, and see if we cannot figure out whether Pitt is in the running for the national title or not.
First, we will look at their roster. QB Chad Voytik, a sophomore who threw for 116 yards while backing up Tom Savage last season, is now the promising young starter and leader to the team. Voytik is a double threat, more of a running QB then anything else, but he still throws good balls normally pretty accurately. Phil Steele ranked him as the #10 QB coming out of High School in 2012. He has a strong and accurate arm, and looks more then decent with running speed, which he runs in long strides.
Next, RB John Conner. The 230 pound sophomore has been unstoppable the past 3 games, running for 543 yards and 8 scores in these first 3 games. He's strong, fast enough to outrun a secondary, and can break tackles with his size and power.
Don't ever forget Tyler Boyd at the WR/Return Specialist spot. This guy can outrun anyone, with his incredible speed and soft hands. He is the leading player on this team in receiving, catching 11 passes for 140 yards, and 4 of Voytik's 5 TD passes. He, too, is a sophomore, and draws a lot of comparisons to the Seattle Seahawks and former Florida player, Percy Harvin.
The defense has been pretty good so far this season, allowing only 626 yards of total offense and 45 points. However, Delaware, and FIU are not top season champion contenders.
Now, the games this season.
Vs Delaware
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| Photo Courtesy of fansided.com |
We have to give a lot of credit to the Pittsburgh O-line because they can really block and create holes for these backs constantly.
Also, Chad Voytik beats the rush by throwing a pass over his line with his 6-1 frame. He throws balls downward and overhanded entirely, making it a difficult ball to catch. That'll be tough to move chains with when Pitt plays better secondaries like Virginia or North Carolina.
Overall, despite it being very unbalanced in the talent levels of the two teams, Pitt had a great game. The backups continued to fight and claw their way for more scores, and it was overall an impressive performance to open the season.
At Boston College
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| Photo Courtesy of vavel.com |
Next, Pitt carried that momentum gathered in the Delaware game into Boston College, putting together an overall impressive night, and beating Boston College in Boston 30-20, winning their first ACC game of the season. Conner ran for 214 yards and a score in this one, producing the second 200 yard rushing game of his young career.
First, John Conner showcased his power against the defense of Boston College. He was simply unstoppable, running over opponents, breaking tackles, simply being the sore thumb in the side of BC's run defense.
Next, Chad Voytik looked so calm and composed when under pressure. He was simply hard to sack (And that shows in the stats, Voytik wasn't sacked all night). They should have had him early, but instead he escaped it, and ran for a first down. Love this guy!
Tyler Boyd had two athletic TD catches in this game, showcasing his out jump ability, and his overall speed that makes him so hard to stop.
Overall, the defense had a good night, despite allowing Tyler Murphy to run early, and just overwhelmed Boston College with power running and quick throws turned into big gains.
At FIU
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| Photo Courtesy of cityofchampions.com |
FIU wasn't an easy win for the Pittsburgh Panthers. Actually, at halftime, they trailed 16-14, thanks to a Chad Voytik sack in the end zone for a safety, and then the mistakes made, a blown hand-off, and a fumble by James Conner gave FIU a lot of ammunition to win. However, they overcame those mistakes in the 2nd half, and both Voytik and Conner ran for over 100 yards and they moved on with a 42-25 win.
One, FIU exposed to the NCAA football world that John Conner still is young, and will make mistakes. His two fumbles account and show for that.
Two, Chad Voytik is still young, but he knows when to keep or throw the ball. He held on instead of throwing it away on that hopeless safety play, but ran twice for over 30 yards, including one being a 32 yard TD run.
Three, when you challenge that offensive line, they step up to the call. Voytik was sacked 3 times, but then that paved way for John Conner and his few long TD runs.
And four, that Pittsburgh Defense will deliver you some bone crushing tackles.
Getting to the point of this article, is Pittsburgh a national title contender? I'm going to end by saying that I believe they can win the division, I believe they are the best team in the Coastal division, however, I don't think they can escape one or two losses because of the youth in their squad. Next year, though, if Voytik improves incredibly, and Conner get's better, I believe they are in for a very good ride. Expect them to beat Iowa this week, and Akron the following, and crack into the top 25 before traveling to Virginia.
