Let the trash-talking begin: Penn State-Pitt now looks like it could be a dandy



… Lions struggled with Appalachian State?

On paper, Saturday’s Pitt-Penn State game looked to be one that the Nittany Lions should dominate. After all, Jeff Sagarin had the Lions ranked tenth in the power rankings while Pitt was 45th.

But, that was then, and this is now. Penn State escaped from Beaver Stadium with an overtime victory over Appalachian State on Saturday, and escaped was meant literally. The Nittany Lions down by a touchdown a minute and change left Saturday before pulling off an overtime win over the AppalachianState Mountaineers, ranked 71st by Sagarin.

Pitt, meanwhile, coasted to an was win over Albany, a former Northeast Conference power that was ranked 174th by Sagarin.

So much for the rankings, which are actually meaningless and based on previous years.

Now, with Pitt having a superb QB in Kenny Pickett to counter PSU’s alleged Heisman candidate, Trace McSorley, and seeing how vulnerable Penn State was in its opener, what could have been a yawner is now a bona fide hot ticket at Heinz Field. 

The good news for Penn State Coach James Franklin, after calling his win "ugly," is that the Lions earned a win. The bad news is just how ugly they looked at times in many areas. It took a great kickoff return by a young return man who did not know hether or not to even come out of the end zone to bring back the Lions. 

The good news for the Panthers is that two years ago, they defeated the Lions at Heinz Field, one of only two losses for Penn State that year, and one that kept them out of the national playoff chase. Playing again at home is a boost for them. 

Penn State won at Beaver Stadium last year, and it has back-to-back 11-win seasons.

Pitt fans have been saying all along that the Nittany Lions are overrated in the preseason polls, ranked 10th by the AP — or at least they were.

However, the Panthers are coming off a losing season and some had predicted a repeat of that, so how good is this Pitt team?

We shall see what we shall see. Could be an exciting one.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dr. Chet Beres, M.D., the quarterback who gave of himself to so many people: Some Lilly Raiders who will not be with us on Saturday

Image
Chet Beres was a special human being … The 1968 championship QB is calling audibles from heaven On a few nights in late October 2010, I slept overnight at the Conemaugh Hospital palliative care unit. My brother, Father Jim, was clinging to life at the end of a long battle with cancer, and this unit was designed to make life easier for those in the final stages of disease — and for the families who wanted to spend their last days with their loved ones. It was at that time that while wandering through the hall, I noticed a plaque on the wall that warmed my heart, albeit in a sad way.  The palliative care unit was dedicated to Dr. Chet Beres, M.D., an advocate for those in hospice care. My mind flashed back to the Lilly Raider quarterback on the 1968 championship team, a young man who was bright, exuberant, and so popular with his teammates.  Chet went on to college at Pitt and to medical school after graduating from Penn Cambria. We knew that he was bright, but we also knew that he had c
Read more

Why did Tennessee-Chattanooga hire trainer Tim Bream despite his role in the alcohol-induced death of Tim Piazza at a Penn State frat?

Image
… was a live-in advisor at the fraternity On paper, Tim Bream has an impressive resume. Actually, very impressive — up to a point. That seems to be when Bream’s life appears to careen out of control. Bream, who resigned as Penn State trainer in Feb.,  was a graduate of Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, specializing in athletic training. He then attended West Virginia as a grad assistant trainer, where he received a master’s degree in Physical Education with an emphasis on Sports Science. All of this information is from his bio on the Penn State athletic site. He then worked his way up the ladder impressively, working at Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and finally at the University of Richmond, where he was the Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer. Then he received his big break, being name as Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Chicago Bears in 1993, and four years later, Head Athletic Trainer. He was with the Bears for 19 years when inexplicably, he
Read more

Remembering the toughest loss I ever experienced in approximately a quarter-century of coaching football. George Pasierb was a great coaching adversary.

Image
R.I.P. George Pasierb, 1946-2020 Shade-Central City High School football coach Photo: Tribune-Democrat No high school football fan could ask for anything better than this. On a beautiful sunny, warm afternoon on Saturday, October 30, 1982, in Nanty Glory, Pa., the battle featured a clash of two undefeated titans of the Appalachian Conference.  One was the preseason unanimous favorite to win the title, the other a veritable surprise that season, one that had built an 8-0 record entering that game.  This battle lived up to the pre-game hype, ending in a one-point decision that was not certain until the final play of the game.  I thought of this because the coach of the powerful Shade-Central City High School Panthers, George Pasierb, passed away earlier this week. He coached the Panthers for 20 years, but his best team was arguably that 1982 team that battled the Blacklick Valley Vikings on that Saturday afternoon before more than 3,000 ebullient fans.  And, the one-point loss was the to
Read more