And again, what else to I have to do at work? Actually, nothing.
I thought this week, keeping with the Pitt theme, the 1981 48-14 thrashing of the No. 1, Marino-led Panthers would be appropriate. It's about 10 minutes, so make sure you have enough time to watch it. If you don't, say "screw it" and watch anyway. Enjoy!
At his weekly press conference, Joe Paterno talked about everything, from TE Andrew Quarless to the Penn State kicking game, Buffalo to... Pitt? That's right, the old question came up, again. Will Penn State ever play Pittsburgh? According to Paterno, not in his coaching lifetime.
Look, I wasn't around the Penn State program long enough to enjoy the Nittany Lions' most hated rival. I've only come to love this school since Larry Johnson exploded for 2015 regular season yards. But I do know what the rivalry means to this institution, Pitt and the entire state of Pennsylvania.
College football needs Penn State versus Pitt. College football has descended into a 120-team (not including the many, many, many I-AA opponents still on schedules) clusterf*ck, where every one of those teams (at least those in the "in crowd," i.e. the BCS conferences) are constantly trying to impress the voters, while still avoiding the challenges of a quality schedule. What ever happened to playing teams regardless of whether or not it was a guaranteed win?
In an age when good, old rivalries like PSU/Pitt, Texas/Arkansas and Miami/Florida are few and far between, fans are constantly missing out on what college football should be. What separates college and professional football? No, not the money. Trust me, college football makes plenty of that. No, not the playoffs. Although, it's not a bad idea.
It's the tradition. That's all it's ever been. College football has been played since 1869, decades before professional teams hit the field. What's special about bowl games? Not everyone gets to go? No, because there are way too many freaking bowls now. But they are unique in that they have been played for far longer than the Super Bowl. In fact, I bet if you went up to people on the street, they wouldn't realize that the Super Bowl just means "really, really, amazingly, freaking awesome 'bowl' game."
Anyone in Penn State's athletic department, who tells you that there's no chance to play Pitt, is a liar. The most common excuse is that Penn State could not get enough home games if a home-home series with Pitt were played. In the words of Eric Cartman, that... is... bullcrap!
I leave you with this. The following is an outline of the next three seasons. I only know the Big Ten schedule until 2010, so I didn't go further. Regardless, I felt these three years proves my point well enough.
2008---------------------2009---------------------2010
Coastal Carolina-------Eastern Michigan------TBA (Home, Pitt – great opener)
Arkansas St.------------Syracuse----------------@Alabama
@ Syracuse-------------Temple------------------TBA (Home*)
TBA (Home, Pitt)----------Iowa--------------------@Iowa
Illinois------------------@Illinois---------------Illinois
@Purdue----------------TBA (@Pitt)-----------TBA (Home*)
@Wisconsin------------Minnesota--------------@Minnesota
Michigan----------------@Michigan-------------Michigan
@OSU ------------------@Northwestern-------Northwestern
@Iowa------------------OSU---------------------@OSU
Indiana------------------Indiana-----------------@Indiana
MSU--------------------@MSU-------------------MSU
The Penn State - Pitt rivalry should be resuscitated anytime now! Well, at least that's what former players and coaches said this week at a charity golf tournament. Everyone from Shane Conlan to Jackie Sherrill gave their two cents to support renewing one of the greatest college football slug-fests of all time.
Even Heisman Trophy-winner Tony Dorsett stressed the importance of the rivalry, saying in the article that if the powers that be want it "they can make it happen."
So true, Tony.
Next to the eight consecutive losses to Them, the sour taste of the 12-0 loss to Pitt in 2000 lingers in Happy Valley. And now that Penn State is competitive again, there is even more pressure to schedule BCS schools for the non-conference slate each year.
If Graham "Cracker" Spanier and Joe Paterno want to get the respect in the polls Penn State has been missing the last few years, they will have to accept the fact that only one quality BCS team won't get the job done in the minds of voters.
Imagine if Penn State landed Notre Dame on the schedule in 2005, a year earlier, instead of South Florida, Cincinnati or Central Michigan. Better yet, think of this. Alabama was originally on the schedule for a two-game series in 2004-2005. What if there was no chickening out by the Tide, who requested the games be rescheduled for 2013-2014? Depending on the outcome, that should-have-been 2005 match up would have had voters and fans looking back saying "Wow, that game helped shape the entire season."
And it would have. What if Penn State lost? No BCS, plain and simple. What if 'Bama lost? No SI cover shot a few weeks later after waxing Florida.
With the increase to 12 games, the BCS conferences have really no excuse for their paltry scheduling decisions. Back before the conglomeration of college football in the 90s, teams could schedule teams that would give them the best chance of winning over the hearts and minds of voters.
It was all about the polls. Not no more it ain't.
Now, the goal is to schedule maybe one tough non-conference game to get the early season TV time, and hopefully make it out with the league title and the automatic BCS bid.
The competition on a national scale is long gone. Penn State used to play Miami (Fla.), Alabama, Notre Dame, North Carolina State, Pitt, Syracuse, Maryland, Southern California, Army and Nebraska every or nearly every season. Those games brought in a national telecast almost every time and would have fans from, let's say, Nebraska talking about eastern football.
Actually, if it wasn't for those games Penn State used to play, the upcoming series with Alabama, Syracuse, and the past games against Nebraska and Notre Dame would hardly have such meaning.
Bottom Line: Don't wuss out when it comes to taking on a few big boys each year outside of the conference. Even better - oh no, I'll actually say it - go on the road to play in front of 80,000 roaring fans! Then you'll never have to use the "you don't respect us" line again.
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