I'm sitting around tonight watching ASU throttle Illinois in Todd Graham's second game in Tempe. Everything the Sun Devils do seems to work. As I watch this blowout and marvel at the high octane offense that Graham and Norvell have been able to put together, I can't help but wonder what went wrong for Pitt.

Truthfully, Graham's lack of success last year was not all his fault. He had to deal with a roster that fans probably felt was more talented than it really was, the shambles of a recruiting class lost due to other coaching changes beyond his control, and most notably, probably, a roster that fit the offense he wanted to run like square pegs in round holes.

Still, Graham is gone and seems to be having the type of success we could only dream about at Pitt after seeing his offense sputter time and time again last season and after two of the most disappointing losses in recent memory for the current Panthers to FCS school Youngstown State and Cincinnati.

So what's so wrong with Pitt? Why is it that time and time again we shoot ourselves in the foot as a football program? Is ASU really that much more talented than Pitt? Are we ever going to be able to turn this around?

After two very disappointing games, I'm far from ready to throw in the towel on Chryst. I think he's most definitely the right fit for this job and I believe that given time he will be a successful coach at Pitt. Still, I think that in the last few days I have realized that his tenure as a coach at Pitt is perhaps more important than any we have experienced in a long, long time.

At this point, Pitt still has some name recognition with recruits. McCoy, Fitzgerald, and Revis are all stars in the NFL and at least lend some credence to the notion that our program is capable of landing top talent and helping them advance to the NFL. Still, these players aren't going to be around forever. At some point, after enough losing, Pitt could easily become an after-thought to the very high school athletes necessary to turn this program around - that is if you don't already believe that's where the program is at.

We fired a relatively successful coach who brought in respectable recruiting classes and are on our third full-time coach since then. Even though we really only have one season post-Wannstedt, we have an abysmal record in this time period and it looks like it will only continue to get worse as the season progresses. How we do in the next three years is going to say a lot about where this program is headed. We really can't afford for Chryst to flop or for Pederson to get trigger happy again.

We're a long way from Marino and Dorsett and someday soon we'll be drifting away from Fitzgerald and McCoy as well. If we can't produce in the near future I feel it's going to be a lot more difficult to get that star bright again.

IMO the key thing is to ensure that the knee jerk folks are marginalized and stay the course with Chryst for a few years. His style of football is going to at the very least lead to more wins than losses...run the football and play defense. If he doesn't work out he's at least going to have a foundation built for the next staff.

Remember that essentially Chryst is trying to implement his system with only a handful of players that he recruited. He's also doing it with his first coaching staff, and there is always adjustment on a first time coach's coaching staff. Coaches that seem like great fits at first turn out to be not so great.

The fact that Sunseri is your starting QB should tell you about the actual talent level. Recruiting classes are only part of the battle. You have to develop that talent.

Y'all are going to take your lumps this year, and probably next year as well. The bright side is you don't have to look forward to Birmingham the next 2 years.

I have no idea if Chyrst is going to be Jock or Hackett. It's still way to early. I think I read somewhere on the lair that some good coaches have had rough 1st years to turn it around starting in the 2nd. Let's hope that's the situation here.

I do hope we see improvement on both sides of the ball going forward and wins. Chryst mentions that he doesn't do the talking himself but the results do. Therefore, the results need to start talking and soon.

That being said, he will be coach for the next three years, including this one, regardless of his record (unless some non-FB related scandal). Nordy is going to be retiring soon and you can bet the next Chancellor is going to have SP on a short leash because he is going to want 'his' guy,

I shudder to think what will happen to Pitt athletics if Chyrt is Hackett redux and the new Chancellor is not 'sports-friendly'.
BTW - IIRC I read joke a Pitt MB that said 'I heard Graham contacted Jeff Long. He told him he has family in Arkansas and it's his dream job. Couldn't help but repost

I'm a knee jerk reaction type of person during the games and immediately after the games. But give me an hour or so, I get back to the bigger picture. The biggest problem was developing the QB's that we recruited and signed. The QB's that we recruited and signed over the years was highly touted, so the development side of things lacked tremendously. Either that or these QB's was really overrated. Chad Voytik was a high 4 Star/Low 5 Star depending on which recruiting service you want to use. Again while us fans maybe clamoring for him, the reality is that he may not be ready to be the starter just yet. And the sad reality is that Tino gives us the best chance to win. This season is truly going to be long for sure.

But we gotta stick with the bigger picture of what Chryst wants to achieve. He wants a huge physical OL and DL that will control the LOS, and a tough Running Game to go a long with that. I always asked myself what good is Boyd & Foster if there isn't any pass protection for the QB to get the ball to those game breakers. Which is the very reason why I feel that Dorion Johnson is the must get recruit.

Well, we are only 2 games in, so chin up animus. We've seen this before since Walter arrived so we're not quite sure exactly how the season will end. Ya never know.

I was concerned about the defense all along and that's the most serious issue. Worse than I thought. They must get it together starting this week.

Yeah, guys like Chryst, Rudolph and Hueber came in here with great reputations. Every media outlet (outside of Ron Cook and Bob Smizhak) applauded the Chryst hire and those in college football circles like Kirk Herbstreit just two weeks ago said that "Paul Chryst" is one of the best offensive minds in football. I know it feels like it, but these guys didn't just walk into the South Side and become stupid. Obviously, there are talent issues especially at the most important position. Yes, this staff has not always looked the most prepared on game day but these are growing pains that come with a first time head coach, which we actually have had here at Pitt since 1996. I think these guys will get it together... this season is just gonna suck. On the bright side, Tino has NO more eligibility left!

:noisycricket: Tino's career!