Gave up just 223yds to Louisville, 107yds passing & 116yds rushing. Forced 3 turnovers.
Gave up 398yds vs NC St, 336yds passing, just 62yds rushing
Defense gave up 388yds to BC, 358yds passing but held them to just 30yds rushing
Defense:
Pitt's Defense overall is one of the best in the nation & their Defensive line is one of the top 5 in the Nation, anchored by Pat Jones II & Rashad Weaver (from Cooper City).
They are 6th in total Defense, 2nd in Run Defense only giving up 1.6 yards per attempt, 1st in Sacks with 24, 1st in TFL's with 52, 15th in 3rd down Defense, tied for 4th in turnovers (4th in INT's as well), 12th in scoring Defense & 24th in passing Defense. They average 4.18 yards per play, that's really good.
https://twitter.com/pitt_fb/status/1315702732267884544?s=21
- Pat Jones leads the nation in sacks with 20tcks 7TFL's & 7 sacks.
- Rashad Weaver has 15tcks 6.5TFL's & 4.5 sacks
- Calijah Kancey (My jit! #BullPride) has 12tcks 5TFL's & 1.5 sacks
- Devin Danielson has 11tcks 2TFL's & 1 sack.
Their DLine gets after it, they have a stout Run Defense & are hyperactive in collapsing the pocket. They use cross-rushing stunts frequently & run a shìt ton of Contain with their DE's to keep QB's in the pocket, Weaver & Jones are a very formidable duo on the Edge & make it really difficult to run on them.
Calijah Kancey is a MNW kid I was super high on (check the recruiting board) that has developed into a very disruptive interior rusher, he's on the smaller side but is a really good run defender on the inside, for a guy his size he really causes lots of havoc in the A gap, Coach Justice would be smart to sit Clark for this game because that is matchup he will not do well with.
https://twitter.com/pitt_fb/status/1315698911881945089?s=21
Their LB corps are active & fast in open space, they make their bread & butter in the run game & get sent on Blitzes quite a bit. True Sophomore Dennis is the best LB, he's got good speed & good IQ, they move him all over the field & his position is LB, he's listed as a "Money"/Weak side backer, but he can play all 3 spots, they use him at Mike & Strong side (think of how the Panthers used to use Thomas Davis or how the Rams used to use Mark Barron).
- Sirvocea Dennis has 29tcks 6TFL's & 2 sacks
- Phil Campbell has 19tcks 3.5TFL's & 1.5 sacks
- Cam Bright has 18tcks 2.5TFL's & 1.5 sacks
- Chase Pine has 15tcks 3TFL's & .5 sack
(Bright was hurt vs BC but Narduzzi said he should be ready to go vs us)
Their Secondary is strong at Safety & not as good at CB. Their best cover CB Damarri Mathis got injured in Fall camp & has been out for the season, so they've had to play some brand new CB's this season, one of which is Coco Creek's very own Marquis Williams. Narduzzi also said that he plans on playing Soph AJ Woods & TF Rashad Battle more this game because their starters Williams & Pinnock have played 167 snaps in the last 2 games.
But they have a really good Ballhawking Safety that most of the board should be familiar with in Paris Ford. He's a NFL caliber player, he's all over the field as a playmaker, has terrific 4.5 speed, can come up in run support, has a straight hit stick & can lay wood & is really good coverage on the backend, he's basically their Bubba Bolden (except he's much better in Man coverage).
- Paris Ford has 27tcks 3TFL's & 2INT's
- Damar Hamlin has 24tcks 2PBU's & 1INT
- Marquis Williams has 16tcks 3PBU's & 1INT
- Jason Pinnock has 9tcks 1PBU & 1INT
Overall, Pitt has a strong stout Defense that has shut down the Run against every team they've played except for Louisville who was able to bust a couple of long run plays, but otherwise they simply are a very hard to team the run ball on.
However, they have given up 697yds through the air in the last 2 games vs NC St & BC are susceptible to the Deep ball, but here's the problem, Miami doesn't have a Deep ball element in our passing game (
yet). So what should we do offensively? IMO, I would take a page out of UCF's book who gained 423yds (338yds passing) on them last year, obviously we'll go Tempo but I think we need more 4/5-wide sets & use a lot of quick routes, slants/hitches etc & Bubble screens to slow down their pass rush. As far as running the ball, I suggest we stretch zone & try to find cutback lanes & just chop block the fck outta them, if we plan on running any Inside Zones it will undoubtedly get stuffed at the line or for a loss in the backfield. Try to get Cam on some outside runs & get him in the open field to bust one.
If King wants to run (which of course he is) he better be decisive & make his mind up quick, hesitating will get him swallowed up in the backfield because Pitt does not allow QB's to run on them too crazy, they play as much contain as I've seen from DE's in a while & they throw all kinds of exotic looks with their LB's pre-snap coming on Blitzes, they send guys from all angles & do a very good job at causing confusion upfront. Our OL better be communicating because they are going to have their hands full.
You can throw the ball on this Defense, you just need enough time upfront to get rid of the ball.
OUR WR's MUST STEP UP & MAKE SOME PLAYS. These Corners can cover but they're not as good as Clemson or even FSU's for that matter, if Lash & Likens are sticking with Wiggins, Pope & Harley they need to create separation on the outside & actually catch the fckin ball down the field, if they go with the Youth movement, then Redding, Smith & Payton need to do the same. I would go with Keyshawn Smith & give him the opportunity to be the Deep threat, then if they start moving Ford back & playing Double High let Jordan (assuming he's healthy), Redding, Pope, Harley & Mallory try to eat on the underneath screens.
Offensively we can move the ball, we just need to play with some fire & generate explosive plays. This is the perfect game to get Cam, Chaney & Knighton going in the passing attack, wheel routes out of the backfield, screens & even have Knighton lineup as a WR. Also, we should try to move the pocket & get King throwing the run, keeping him stationary will be playing right into Pitt's hands.
Offense:
Pitts Offense on the other hand, is surprisingly not as bad as you might assume, they're not necessarily good but they're not terrible either. They're 21st in passing, but 59th in rushing & 33rd in scoring.
- Kenny Pickett has 1,389yds 8TD's 3INT's at 60%cmp, plus 119yds & 5TD's rushing (Leads the nation in passing yards)
- Jordan Addison has 30rec 297yds & 3TD's (True Freshman WR)
- DJ Turner has 18rec 331yds & 1TD
- Taysir Mack has 13rec 214yds & 2TD's
- Shocky Jacques-Louis has 12rec 193yds & 0TD's
- Vincent Davis has 242yds rushing & 3TD's on 3.2 ypc (From Cardinal Gibbons)
- Israel Abanikanda has 80yds & 1TD
- AJ Davis has 84yds at 4.2ypc
https://twitter.com/pff_college/status/1316013186051702784?s=21
There's some speculation that Pickett could be out for the game after sustaining an injury vs BC, I don't believe it, so I'm just going to assume he'll play until it becomes announced he's out. He's a QB we're familiar with, he's maintained as a 60% passed since his TF year, literally since 2017 he's remained between 58-61% passing, that's just who he is. However, he does utilize the Deep ball well & can run the ball a lot better than expected. But with him being injured (if he plays) I doubt he runs the ball much vs us, he's going to sit in the pocket & RPO his heart away. While Pitt typically throws the long ball a lot, this game expect screens, screens & more screens.
Their TE's are fairly nonexistent, but I'm certain they'll make an emergence vs us (lol smh), but their offense is all about getting one on ones on the outside & throwing the ball Deep with DJ Turner & Jordan Addison. True Freshman Addison in particular is their #1 target, he's their offensive catalyst, keep him contained & you'll slow them down. DJ Turner is their Slot he's a Senior & they like to use him to stretch the field, 10 of his catches have come between the 40's & 13 of his total catches have come on 1st & 2nd down, what does that mean? He's who they target to get 3rd down & short & when they get it to 3rd down, guess who they throw it too? Addison, 11 of his catches have come on 3rd downs.
Their Run offense is not very good, but they do stick with the run no matter what;
- vs Cuse they gained 342yds total offense & rushed for 127yds off 44 carries.
- vs LVille gained 376yds total offense & rushed for 156yds off 40 carries.
- vs NC St gained 503yds total 411yds passing & rushed for 92yds off 37 carries.
- vs BC gained 364yds total offense & rushed for 98yds off 40 carries.
Stopping the run will be an important key for us, again they only average 3.2 yards per carry on the season, but they will keep running the ball no matter what & they use a lot of stretch zones as well. Also, expect at least one Jet sweep or reverse with Addison, they're going to try to get our LB's committed to being undisciplined with their eyes early on & biting on the ball fake, as well as incorporate misdirection plays. This is where Phillips, Roche, Harvey & Cam Williams can step up & put a stop to it early. Also, our Corners have to fight off blocks much better to help out in the run game.
Their OL is not very good...
https://twitter.com/bradpowers7/status/1315072024578990080?s=21
We spent all last week talking about how we shouldn't Blitz Lawrence because of how good he was vs the Blitz, but this week, is the opposite! Whether or not Pickett plays, their OL is bad & Pickett if he does play will be on a bum ankle, if their backup gets the start then it will be the same thing IMO, overload Blitz & send the house. We can get pressure with 4, but I'm okay with Diaz/Baker bringing the heat this game with the backers & K Smith, dial up some Jailbreak Double A-Gap Blitzes early on & smack the QB (whoever it will be) in the mouth. We need to rattle their QB & disrupt their rhythm early on, we can force turnovers on this offense of we speed up their reads & make them throw off time.
Defensively we have the advantage, we need to TACKLE, be disruptive upfront & play disciplined penalty free football. Don't let Addison get loose, bring heavy pressure on the QB, keep their RB's contained at the LOS & force turnovers, we do that & we win.
IF we play smart, clean up the dumb penalties & win the turnover battle, I got Miami winning 37-20.
