FanPost

Why Michigan Isn't Pitt [Warning: Offseason Fodder]

We've done some talking around here lately about whether Michigan is becoming Pitt.

Well after posts and comments like this, I'd say the biggest difference is respect. Maybe Michigan hates us. Maybe they want to beat us more than anyone (save Ohio State and Notre Dame). But at the end of the day, the respect us. They respects Paterno. They respect our players. They don't say stuff like this.

After I made this rather neutral comment...

Diomination?

Ehhhh.

I think you'll see an Evan Royster like regression this season with his offensive line graduating like Royster's did in 2008. He might put up similiar numbers, but I'm not sure he'll be as good as he was this year. Just throwing it out there.


The place went nuts (NickDawg)

Adam dude you are delirious -

Royster is a good back but isnt half the back Dion Lewis is or Shady McCoy was. It must be nice to be in a parralel universe where you see things in only blue and white. Lewis will be a Heisman finalist whereas Royser wont even be mentioned.

Stay in school dont be a fool!

First, let's compare Shady to Royster in 2008, Shady's last year.

McCoy: 308 attempts, 1,488 yards, 21 Touchdowns, 4.8 yards per carry.

Royster: 191 attempts, 1,236 yards, 12 Touchdowns, 6.5 yards per carry.

Given Royster's average, his 2008 yardage total would have projected to 1,996 yards had he attempted Shady's 308 carries, and the touchdown total would have been similar, hanging in the low 20s. Shady went pro last year, and good for him. I'm not going to sit here and say he wasn't a good football player. But don't tell me he was some freak/god compared to Royster because he wasn't. His stats are what they were for being the only good player on a football team as much as anything else. If it weren't for the fact that Penn State was, you know, a good, deep, 11-2 football team in 2008, Royster could have run up the stats at an even better clip than Shady. But because the Lions had good football players in Stephon Green, etc., behind Royster, he didn't get the carries to do it. That doesn't mean Shady is better, it only means Royster was on a better football team and didn't need to take the carries Shady did.

Now let's compare Lewis and Royster this season, with the line Royster ran behind in 2008 having graduated and Lewis's remaining intact.

Lewis: 325 carries, 1,799 yards, 17 Touchdowns, 5.5 yards per carry.

Royster: 205 attempts, 1,169 yards, 6 touchdowns, 5.7 yards per carry.

Obviously Lewis far exceeds Royster in yardage, but again, if you give Royster the same amount of carries as the Pitt back, he beats him. Given 325 carries, Royster projects to run for 1,853 yards. Lewis still wins in touchdowns, but once again, the numbers prove that the Pitt running back gets the hype he does because he plays for an inferior team with inferior depth that relies on him much more than Penn State relies on its back.

The moral of this story is that Royster was a more productive back in his carries for Penn State than either Shady or Lewis were in their attempts with Pitt in 2008 and 2009. Am I suggesting that Royster should be a "Heisman finalist"? Hells no. Only that Lewis should not.

Now, the rest of the comments for your entertainment.

(Clint Pitts)

Pitt is losing 3 OL, TE and QB to graduation. If you don't think this will result in teams loading up against the run and Dion having fewer holes you're crazy. It's called a sophomore slump for a reason.

That said I hope they get him in the weight room and get him up to about 205. He could be a beast for a long time as long as he gets big enough to take the beating. With the success Jones-Drew and Michael Turner are having as short, big backs he would have a great shot in the NFL.

BurressWithButterflyWings

Pitt is losing 3 OL, and their TE. But they have some guys who will be coming in and starting on the OL that got a good deal of experience as backups last season and played well in the starter's stead. Not as much coming back as I would like, but who knows how much of a difference a year makes with a RB's mental development, too.

He also has the Polish Hammer in front of him to clear the way.

@Adam,

Of course you are going to come on here and start talking trash. All you do is whine about how people jump on Penn State's back. Well, on this blog at least, YOU give all of us who don't drink the Penn St. Kool-Aid reason to hate your beloved home of the defending NIT Champs.

I'm sorry, was that NIT comment supposed to be an insult? YOU CAN'T SPELL NITTANY WITHOUT NIT BABY!! LEARN IT, LIVE IT, LOVE IT.

(NickDawg)

clint pitts - change your name to Clint Penn st - it would be way more fitting....the guys coming in on the OL got some decent playing time last yr. I'm not saying they wont lose a beat but they are not losing too much. I dont see any sophmore slump just visions of the Heisman pose.

Hail [edit: to] Pitt!

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