An aspect of the game tomorrow night that hasn’t necessarily been overlooked, but has from a one-on-one perspective is Pitt stud WR, Larry Fitzgerald matching up against the deservedly given pre-season All-American CB, Vontez Duff.
In the season-opener against Washington State, receiver Devard Darling was limited to just four catches for 68 yards. And Michigan’s 6-foot-3 receiver Braylon Edwards was held to 54 yards on four catches. No opposing receiver has broken through the 100-yard receiving barrier so far this season.
Much of that credit goes to Duff, who has 10 tackles, two pass deflections and a forced fumble in four games this season.
You can bet he’ll look to snap Fitzgerald’s touchdown streak. Apparently ND is planning to let Duff go one-on-one with Fitzgerald a fair amount of time, owing to some injuries in their secondary that effects their depth.
Fitzgerald will get his chances, and I believe he will prevail by the end. What this does suggest to me, though, is that Rutherford has to utilize TE, Kris Wilson and the other receivers to keep ND from dropping the safety to help cover Fitzgerald.
Of course Domer nation is still more concerned with the fact that their ex-coach will be doing the color for the game on ESPN.
He has some history with Pittsburgh too, growing up in the area and spending three years as the linebackers coach for the great Panther defenses of the early 1980s.
That relationship may be more distant, but the roots run deep, making his presence in the broadcast booth Saturday night an audience curiosity and a test of his objectivity.
As if all of that would not be uncomfortable enough, Davie knows his comments will be parsed for any hints of bias or bitterness.
Prediction time, since I won’t actually hear him commenting (thankfully), ND fans will consider him biased against them no matter how far he bends over backwards to not criticize them. Though, really, he should want ND to do well for a simple reason.
“From a personal standpoint, I’ve got a lot invested,” Davie said, “having recruited those players.”
It’s very odd to find myself actually feeling some sympathy for Bob Davie.
