When Pitt put the call out to Derek Kyler in late spring the former Dartmouth quarterback was viewed as an insurance policy of sorts. With coveted senior transfer Kedon Slovis and returning redshirt senior Nick Patti entrenched in front of him, it didn't seem likely Kyler would see the field.
That doesn't seem quite as unlikely now.
First Slovis suffered an apparent concussion while being sacked in Saturday's overtime loss to Tennessee. Then it was Patti suffering an apparent high ankle sprain while being sacked. With that, Kyler pulled off the red cap he had used signaling in plays and started warming up, per media reports.
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi is playing it coy about his quarterback situation heading into this week's game against Western Michigan, but clearly Kyler is in the mix. From a story out of Pittsburgh (LINK):
Narduzzi says the battle for the No. 3 quarterback spot is still in the air.
“I would say it's unsettled. Kyler's been good. Nate Yarnell has been good,” Narduzzi said.
Though Yarnell has been listed as the third-string quarterback on the depth chart this season, Kyler was the one seen warming up on the sideline following Patti’s injury on Saturday.
Narduzzi said that Kyler’s addition was to ensure the team had a No. 3 quarterback who had in-game experience after both Joey Yellen and Davis Beville transferred in the offseason. Yellen started two games in place of an injured Kenny Pickett in 2020, while Beville replaced Patti in the Peach Bowl in December after Patti suffered a broken collarbone early in the game.
“He's smart, No. 1. He can operate the offense. We've got to trust he can operate the offense, like Yarnell,” Narduzzi said when asked what he likes about Kyler. “We know he's had the experience in games. As you know, we lost two guys that have played in games before. We needed to get somebody just that had been in there, which it was needed.”
Pitt lists six quarterbacks on its roster. Find Kyler's Pitt bio HERE.
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2022 Ivy League Openers
— FCS Football (@FCS_STATS) September 12, 2022
(All Times ET; ESPN+ unless noted)
Friday
Merrimack at Harvard, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Bryant at Brown, 12:30 p.m.
Colgate at Penn, 1
Princeton at Stetson, 1
Valparaiso at Dartmouth, 1:30
Cornell at VMI, 1:30
Yale at Holy Cross, 2
Columbia at Marist, 6 (ESPN3) pic.twitter.com/ziuDT1VUpc
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|
|
Stats Perform Poll |
Rec |
Pts |
Previous |
|
1 |
North Dakota State (52) |
2-0 |
1,348 |
1 |
|
2 |
South Dakota State (2) |
1-1 |
1,263 |
2 |
|
3 |
Montana |
2-0 |
1,242 |
3 |
|
4 |
Montana State |
2-0 |
1,199 |
4 |
|
5 |
Missouri State |
2-0 |
1,097 |
5 |
|
6 |
UIW |
2-0 |
1,064 |
8 |
|
7 |
Villanova |
2-0 |
1,021 |
6 |
|
8 |
Sacramento State |
1-0 |
967 |
7 |
|
9 |
Delaware |
2-0 |
865 |
10 |
|
10 |
Chattanooga |
2-0 |
804 |
11 |
|
11 |
Jackson State |
2-0 |
758 |
13 |
|
12 |
Weber State |
2-0 |
748 |
16 |
|
13 |
Holy Cross |
2-0 |
713 |
15 |
|
14 |
Eastern Washington |
1-1 |
562 |
12 |
|
15 |
William & Mary |
2-0 |
542 |
20 |
|
16 |
UT Martin |
1-1 |
488 |
14 |
|
17 |
Rhode Island |
2-0 |
468 |
22 |
|
18 |
East Tennessee State |
1-1 |
388 |
9 |
|
19 |
Eastern Kentucky |
1-1 |
285 |
NR |
|
20 |
Mercer |
1-1 |
243 |
23 |
|
21 |
Stephen F. Austin |
1-2 |
180 |
18 |
|
22 |
North Dakota |
1-1 |
157 |
NR |
|
23 |
Kennesaw State |
0-2 |
141 |
19 |
|
24 |
Samford |
1-1 |
139 |
25 |
|
25 |
NEW HAMPSHIRE |
2-0 |
138 |
NR |
ARV: Richmond (1-1) 137; Southeastern Louisiana (0-2) 120; UC Davis (0-2) 97; Austin Peay (2-1) 53; Southern Illinois (0-2) 47; Southeast Missouri (1-1) 40; The Citadel (1-10 33; Northern Arizona (1-1) 29; Elon (1-10 28; DARTMOUTH (0-0) 27; North Carolina Central (2-0) 20; Furman (1-1) 19; Northern Iowa (0-2) 17; South Dakota (0-2) 15; Fordham (2-0) 13; Youngstown State (2-0) 10: Abilene Christian (2-0) 7; Idaho (0-2) 6; South Carolina State (1-1) 4
|
|
FCS Coaches Poll |
Rec |
Pts |
2021 |
|
1 |
North Dakota State (26) |
2-0 |
674 |
1 |
|
2 |
Montana (1) |
2-0 |
642 |
2 |
|
3 |
South Dakota State |
1-1 |
617 |
3 |
|
4 |
Montana State |
2-0 |
599 |
4 |
|
5 |
Villanova |
2-0 |
557 |
5 |
|
6 |
Missouri State |
2-0 |
528 |
7 |
|
7 |
Sacramento State |
1-0 |
489 |
6 |
|
8 |
UIW |
2-0 |
487 |
9 |
|
9 |
Chattanooga |
2-0 |
456 |
10 |
|
10 |
Delaware |
2-0 |
415 |
13 |
|
11 |
Jackson State |
2-0 |
367 |
15 |
|
12 |
Holy Cross |
2-0 |
363 |
16 |
|
13 |
Weber State |
2-0 |
355 |
17 |
|
14 |
Rhode Island |
2-0 |
272 |
20 |
|
15 |
Eastern Washington |
1-1 |
262 |
11 |
|
16 |
Stephen F. Austin |
1-2 |
233 |
12 |
|
17 |
William & Mary |
2-0 |
227 |
22 |
|
18 |
UT Martin |
1-1 |
218 |
14 |
|
19 |
East Tennessee State |
1-1 |
210 |
8 |
|
20 |
Mercer |
1-1 |
129 |
23 |
|
21 |
Fordham |
2-0 |
60 |
NR |
|
22 |
Kennesaw State |
0-2 |
57 |
18 |
|
23 |
Youngstown State |
2-0 |
56 |
NR |
|
24 |
Eastern Kentucky |
1-1 |
55 |
NR |
|
25 |
Samford |
1-1 |
46 |
NR |
Dropped Out: Southern Illinois (19), Southeastern Louisiana (20t), Northern Iowa (24), UC Davis (25)
Others Receiving Votes: UC Davis, 44; Southeastern Louisiana, 43; Austin Peay, 39; HARVARD, 34; Southern Illinois, 33; Richmond, 33; Furman, 29; North Carolina Central, 24; North Dakota, 23; Abilene Christian, 15; NEW HAMPSHIRE, 13; DARTMOUTH, 12; Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 10; PRINCETON, 10; Gardner-Webb, 8; Butler, 7; Towson, 6; Elon, 5; Stetson, 4; Florida A&M, 3; Idaho, 2; South Carolina St., 2; Illinois St., 1; Nicholls, 1.
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EXTRA POINT
On Sunday there was a car parked for quite some time on the dirt road alongside our field. Turns out the young lady in the car said she was "writing." Whether it was a letter, a short story or the great American novel we don't know, but she said it was a lovely, peaceful place to sit and gather her thoughts.
She's right.
Here's a picture Mrs. BGA took of the view we have from our field as she left for work this morning. That's Mount Moosilauke off in the distance.
