Heinz Field Clash with Pitt First in 16 Years
Penn State renews an old, bitter rivalry on Saturday, as our Nittany Lions (1-0), travel to Pittsburgh to play the Pitt Panthers (1-0) on their adopted home turf at Heinz Field. Kickoff time is noon. Oy vey.
The last time the two teams played each other was back in 2000, when Pitt was playing at the late, 
non-lamented Three Rivers Stadium where they shut out the Lions 12-0. The first game they played was in 1893 and they’ve done this dance 95 more times since that year.
Last year, Pitt finished the regular season 8-4, and then went and lost to Navy in the Military Bowl. Penn State, to refresh your memory, wound up 7-5 with a loss to Georgia in the post-season.
Pittsburgh is coming off a 28-7 victory over FCS Villanova, who they were expected to handle easily but with whom they struggled a bit. Same deal with PSU. Let’s say that both teams were shaking off the summer rust.
The big deal for Pitt in the Villanova game was the comeback of running back James Conner, who was out for a year dealing with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which was diagnosed around Thanksgiving last year. A long course of chemotherapy depleted his immune system. He scored two touchdowns in the ‘Nova game to the cheers of fans on both sides. Conner had been ACC Player of the Year in 2014.
The Rivalry
Hey, look. Unless you’re getting up there in years, you can’t know how bitter and intense the hatred was between these two schools back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The title of this article was a slogan that was frequently found on placards and lapel buttons around Beaver Stadium: Shitt on Pitt. We also had a special derisive cheer just for the Panthers. It went like this:
Somebody yells: UNDER THE ARM!
Chorus responds: PITT!!!!!!
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Many years of hotly contested games gave us all something to get torqued up about. Pitt was always the final game of the regular season.
That meant that Pennsylvania’s late fall, better known as winter, would be in full swing. I recall going to the 1964 game, sitting in the north stands with the other freshmen in 20-degree weather with a 15-mph wind blowing through Beaver Stadium from the open end (where the South Stands are now). Fortunately, State won that game 28-0, because I paid the price — when I got back to the dorm they had to put me on a radiator to thaw me out.
That 1964 team was well worth watching. After starting the year 1-4, Rip Engle’s boys came back to clobber WVU, edge Maryland, and then completely discombobulate #2 Ohio State in Columbus, 27-0. After another road win over Houston, all of frigid Happy Valley was ready to see the guys destroy Pitt — and they did!
There were, however, several reported cases of frostbite, and by the end of the game, the stands were mostly empty. Sitting on metal benches with a wind-chill of -39°F just isn’t very comfortable.
You know the rest. Penn State joined the Big Ten, Pitt joined the Big Least, and later moved to the ACC while the BL was falling apart. St. Joseph Paterno didn’t want to play no steenking Peet no more. That pissed lots of us off, as did the unavenged loss in 2000.
Lots of Hatred to Go Around
Back in the day, we reviled both the Panthers’ star players and the coaches of the Mid-1960s through the 1980s. Some names to get your juices flowing: Hugh Green (hatred), Tony Dorsett (intense hatred), Dan Marino (unbridled super intense hatred), and Jackie Sherrill (completely off the hatred scale hatred). You Gen Xers and Millenials just have no idea of the depth of hatred we experienced and enjoyed. Pitt players and coaches of the time were regarded as the scum of the earth, and in Sherrill’s case, he actually was. (Perhaps you remember the episode in which he was coaching at Mississippi State where he had a young bull castrated in front of his players to show them what they had to do to the Texas Longhorns. That was back in 1992, and they did, in fact, beat Texas 28-10. Sherrill said the procedure was “educational and motivational.”)
The players of today were barely out of diapers when this game was last played. So, the only thing capable of imparting a sense of the history of which I’ve only scratched the surface here is their coaches. It seems as if Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi is trying to instill in his players the significance of the rivalry; however, James Franklin is minimizing that aspect of the game, wanting to keep it low-key to avoid “an emotional buildup” before the game, whatever that means.
But I digress.
What We’re Looking at Dis Year, Already
Pitt is a running team but the Wildcats found some success in shutting down the rushing game to force the Panthers to pass. That strategy might work for Penn State, which has a better secondary than defensive line, now being absent run stoppers like Austin Johnson.
The aforementioned James Conner had only 53 yards rushing on 17 carries in that game, and the totality of the Pitt running game was 86 yards, as opposed to 175 yards passing, of which Conner had 16. Not a great offensive effort by the Panthers, which is some cause for hope for Penn State.
We’ll have to see whether the Pitt defense is up to the task of smoking out the PSU running plays and stacking the box to dare Trace McSorley to pass. James Franklin says we’re going to run the ball, and furthermore, McSorley will call his own number for a good share of the carries. How we’re going to do that without an offensive line is completely beyond me.
The aggressive Penn State offense will try to score 30 points per game in order to make up for a defense that will yield more points than recent instances. But McSorley is going to have to hone his downfield passing skills for this to even have a chance of happening. Otherwise, opponents will see a pretty one-dimensional offense to shut down. Force it to pass and you’ll get second down gambling downfield throws that fall short of the mark and leave third and long. The jury is still out regarding whether the Nittany Lions can improve upon recent seasons’ third down conversion percentages.
Yeah, Saquon Barkley is exciting, but I hope we can unleash some additional dimensions, and I hope the offensive line is not too damn offensive as the season wears on! And that added dimension seems to be McSorley’s running, but that’s a dangerous thing with a fearless guy like Trace. He seems to want to give up his body and invite hard hits. Trace gotta remember that he’s the quarterback, and if he’s knocked out, the entire offense will suffer.
Special Teams Stuff
Pitt has a 5-8 sophomore speedster wide receiver return guy named Quadree Henderson who is nothing short of special. In the Villanova game, he combined four receptions for 35 yards with two kickoff returns and four punt returns. Of the kickoff returns, one went 96 yards to da house. His average punt return was 14.5 yards with a long of 31. Watch this guy!
So, I dunno. We’ve still got lots of question marks that will make this an interesting showcase for many aspects of the Nittany Lions’ game. I hope it doesn’t turn out to the sloppy bore that was the Kent State game. I further hope that it reveals some concrete progress.
I won’t do a Distinguished Alumnus thingie this short week due to enough space already having been expended for my other bullshit. Furthermore, I would hate to have to disparage Mister Rogers or Gene Kelly just because they went to Pitt!
Da Wedda
Looks like it will be a hot one in da Burgh, with a projected high of 88°F. In this case, the noon start might be a bit of a blessing, as it were. Look for the big boys to get a little fatigued in the second half. It would behoove both coaches to pay attention to rotating linemen.
The Bottom Line
What’s this? I haven’t told you much of anything but I’m wanting to issue a prediction? Yeah, like everyone else forecasting sports, I pull them straight out of my ass (better known as “my informed viewpoint”). And so it will go, but you know I’m right, especially when I waffle. Hell, I’ve been distracted by doing the laundry and reading message wars associated with a club in which I’m an officer, so this will be the best my scrambled brain has to offer.
Interestingly enough, the Penn State vs. Pitt game opened with the Panthers 4½ point favorites. The spread quickly widened to 6 points, with the over/under now at 48. This would ordinarily portend a Pitt victory on the order of 27-21. But Pitt scored only 28 on FCS Villanova while PSU was putting 30 on mighty MAC Kent State. Who said this would be easy?
I’m thinking that the fact that I have to do the annual Heart Walk in the morning before the noon kickoff will make them tired. What is it about noon starts? They dogged it in the first half last week and it wasn’t even a noon start. This one is. So they dog it until midway in the third quarter. That constraint notwithstanding, I’m going with Pitt 34, PSU 26. Pitt covers, and take the over.
Prediction aside, though, the Nittany Lions damn well better win!
I’ll be back after the game with my post-mortem analysis, which no self-respecting sports fan would ever miss.
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Big Al says
Before I saw both Franklin’s and Narduzzi’s press conferences, I figured that Pitt and Penn State are evenly matched. Pitt’s offense had an even worse performance against an FCS team than State did against a much stronger defense but Pitt’s allegedly weaker defense shut down their opponents. I would have predicted a game that isn’t decided until late in the 4th quarter or maybe even goes to overtime. Since Pitt’s offensive line is better than ours I had them winning by about 3 points – something like 27-24.
But then I read CJF’s press conference and the following two paragraphs (quoted verbatim) changed my mind:.
“Once again, none of our players have ever played against Pitt and none of our players have ever seen a Penn State-Pitt game in their lifetime. Again, I don’t think they’re watching many games at 2, 3, and 4 years old. So there are elements there from an historical perspective. There is no doubt about it. But, again, our players haven’t done that.
So for us, we approach this like every other game on our schedule. Keep our focus consistent. Focus on the process of being successful, not the results or not a specific type of game. And our guys are excited about it. But I think everybody understands the significance of it. We’ve been hearing about it all off-season. There is no doubt about it. But our approach is consistent week in and week out.”
So, preparing for this game is just business as usual for CJF (and the process is more important that the results), while Nards is treating the game as an important rivalry game. Nards’ approach might lead to Pitt being so hyped up that they make stupid mistakes and lose the game in the 1st quarter. But I’m betting that the opposite will happen. The Nittany Kitties will sleepwalk through the 1st quarter and find themselves down by 14+ points before the 2nd quarter even starts. And they won’t be able to catch up. Final score. Pitt 35 – Kitties 17.
On a side note, Franklin’s “new age” attitudes and platitudes are really starting to piss me off. I know he’s leading a bunch of overly sensitive millenials. But I really think he’s been watching too much Oprah or Deepak Chopra.
The Nittany Turkey says
Franklin’s approach with the players annoyed me, too. I began to think to myself that maybe I’m overplaying it in my mind because PSU-Pitt was a living, breathing rivalry from my teens to middle age, and I still feel the emotion. Maybe it’s not as important as I think it should be. On the other hand for Franklin to say that because his grandma lived on Bedford in the shadow of Pitt Stadium he must be fully cognizant of the nuances of the rivalry is bullshit. It was just something to say.
So, Narduzzi cranks his players up with it while Franklin plays the calming Maharishi and tells them to meditate before the game to avoid getting too emotional about it? Why not just pass around a joint at practice and sing Michael Row the Boat Ashore?
For Franklin to say that the players were 2, 3, or 4 years old at the time of the last game and therefore didn’t watch much football means what? Don’t college players feel a connection and loyalty to the traditions of their institution even if those traditions predated them? I’m not comprehending something here.
Maybe this is Franklin reflecting the administration’s desire that the rivalry with Pitt not be reestablished. Play it down, so the alumni stay off their asses.
As for me, I believe that the players who feel that it is a bigger deal than just another game will give it extra effort. Tell them that the 2000 loss needs to be avenged on behalf of all who walked on the sacred turf of St. Joe Memorial Stadium at Beaver Field before them. Don’t play it down — play it up!
—TNT
K. John says
My prediction comes down to one person; Tyler Boyd, and he ain’t there anymore. The Pitt offense wasn’t overly impressive with him, it’s what we saw against Nova without him. To further support the pick, Penn State has 14 games of film on Pitt’s offense. Pitt has precisely 3 years of Fordham film and what amounts to a Blue White game worth of film on State. And Penn State finally has an advantage in special teams.
Penn State 24
Pitt 6
The Nittany Turkey says
Welcome to the 2016 season, K. John and thank you for the prediction. Yeah, Boyd was a loss for Pitt, even if the Bengals aren’t overly impressed.
So, you’re thinking that Moorhead has some tricks in his bag he hasn’t yet shown? Wonder how he’ll do with the noon kickoff on the road stigma.
—TNT
K. John says
My take on the offense is that we haven’t seen much of it. It looks like they used the same game plan as the blue white game which was extremely limited. I think they primary focused on the pre-snap portion of the offense in good shape as far as getting the team lined up quickly, getting plays in, adjusting the plays while doing it against a live defense. We saw minimal confusion on the offense and a well organized system for getting plays in. They didn’t use much more than the base tempo package so there are three more to go minimum. Very few crossing routes and I didn’t really see many receiver options down field though it is hard to see them develop without being there in person.
I think we’ll see a bit more of the playbook as well an additional tempo package, maybe two. We haven’t seen more than the standard personal package with 3 receivers, 1 back and 1 tight end. They have worked on 2 back and 2 tight end groups as well as 4 receiver sets. I don’t know if we’ll see the entire offense before the White Out if then. We may not see it this year. If they are winning games I don’t see them making a switch at QB and I don’t think McSorley is going to be able to do everything they want/need him to. I am not impressed with his running ability or his arm.
The Nittany Turkey says
If that was well organized and efficient, I hope they can show an additional tempo package this week, because I think it was slow and cumbersome. I mean, yeah, it was a significant improvement over the Galen-Jay days when they couldn’t get plays in, but what is this looking over to the sidelines “ask me” crap on every play? How the hell do they catch a defense with its pants down if they can’t get quickly set and snap?
The timing between McSorley and Barkley needs to improve a lot, as does the decisiveness. To me, it appeared that McSorley was a bit uncomfortable and awkward with his hand-offs. He likes to keep it and JF wants him running, but I don’t like the idea of our QB getting his brains beaten in on every other play. This OL will allow sacks, and their run support will be deficient. So, he’s going to get beat up.
Pitt has a decent OL, so our defense will have its hands full in the heat of the day. I want to see more tackles by the front four, and better tackling in general. Back to offense, our receivers need to figure out how to get away from defenders. I guess it doesn’t much matter on deep throws, when McSorley’s arm can’t reach them.
Saturday should be interesting.
—TNT
Joe says
Well I’m going with a purely homer pick and saying PS 20-14 for no other reason than I want the Lions to win. And I really don’t believe that this generation of fans understands the pure vitriol that existed between these two schools in the 70’s & 80’s. Yeah they heard some stuff about this series, but until they start playing each year, it won’t be the same.
My two grandest memories; November 22, 1975, Penn State 7- Pitt 6, boy did I feel bad for Carson Long and November 29, 1981 knocking off No 1 Pitt 48-14, I did not feel bad for Dan Marino!!!
The Nittany Turkey says
Your homer pick is noted.
Guys like you and me who think the rivalry should be reinstated seem to be blatantly disregarded by Sandy “I Am Too A Woman” Barbour and company, but it sure as hell would get some juices flowing again. That contrived end-of-year Land Grant Trophy affair just can’t hold a candle to what the Pitt game used to mean to us.
This game should show us a lot. Should tell us a lot about the Moorhead bag o’ tricks. Think they’ll go for two on their first TD? Your score reflects it. One TD with a missed two-pointer followed by two TDs with kicked extra points.
—TNT
jd says
i would add Mark May to the list of despicable Pitt personnel
The Nittany Turkey says
Yeah, he was one of the dirtbags on those Sherrill teams, alright. I often wondered who he paid off to get that ESPN job, being the asshole that he was. Until you mentioned him, I had nearly forgotten, so I looked him up to hone my recollections, unearthing the following:
In January 1979, as a sophomore at Pitt, May was arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, criminal mischief, inciting a riot, and making terroristic threats. May reportedly was jumping on top of parked cars, threatening police officers and encouraging a crowd of onlookers to fight the officers. He was found guilty of criminal mischief and disorderly conduct, while the other charges were dismissed.
As a member of the Redskins, May was twice arrested for DUI. The second instance occurred in March 1990, and the first in 1985 in Arlington, Virginia.
Yep. A complete asshole.
—TNT