Hell, I don’t know where to begin. Here’s the Box Score, Recap, Drive Chart and Play-by-Play.

I took so many pages of notes, but most are incoherent because things were happening so quickly and I spent a good chunk of time talking with Lee on the phone while the game was happening (and of course, the Makers Mark didn’t help the coherence).

Some things that stood out, the NBC/ND play calling crew absolutely blew chunks. It wasn’t the fact that they were ND homers. Kind of expect that. It’s that they were so busy most of the game talking over the action with their pre-scripted story lines that they would forget to mention things like who caught or ran with the ball, where the ball was spotted, generally speaking — what was actually happening on the field of play.

Tim Murphy was actually running the ball well from the tailback position. They wasted him on a couple of dumb, predictable pushes at the goal line. Brandon Mason never made an appearance.

Notre Dame really hurt themselves by not running Freshman Darius Walker more. Their best RB, but they insisted on giving the Senior, Ryan Grant about half the carries. He wasn’t bad, but Walker was far superior. Really dumb.

Greg Lee may have fallen 5 yards short of 100 yards, but he was impressive. Not just with some deep catches, but the way he fought to take the ball from defenders. A big improvement from the first couple of games. He is now less than 80 yards from 1000 yards for the season.

Pitt really exploited the ND secondary. Mixing deep and medium passes along the sidelines with some great underneath passes to the RBs and TEs.

Palko’s flip to Furman on the last drive took about 7 years off of my life. It worked, but one of these times a defender is going to step in front and take it all the way back for a score.

The Walt Harris look with the leather jacket and stylish shades was something. You’re 58, isn’t it a little late for a mid-life crisis?

With WVU laying an egg against BC, Temple finally winning a game in the Big East against Syracuse, and Pitt’s win — Oh, god, I hate to type this, but Pitt is once more in control of it’s own (DON’T SAY IT!!!) destiny.

Well, I’ll angst over that in a couple days.

Right now, I’m just looking forward to seeing some highlights on College GameDay Final, and Palko better get a helmet sticker.

Guys, you have your own frickin’ national network. How you can even type with a straight face (check the comments) that NBC is anything but in your corner blows me away.

As for the refs. Cry me a river. Karma’s a bitch. I know, all calls went Pitt’s way, and you didn’t get a one. Right. The fix was in. Uh-huh. Had nothing to do with a porous pass defense, and good receivers. Sure.

Break it down just a bit. You committed a total of 9 penalties for 102 yards.

2 were on special teams — plowing over a receiver signaling for a fair catch and a block in the back on a return for 28 yards total
2 offensive holding penalties on the same drive in the first half for 20 more yards.
2 defensive holding/pass interference calls for 20 yards at the end of the 3rd/start of the 4th Quarter, which had to be bogus because ND was right there with the coverage all game.
2 more pass interference calls in the 4th quarter when Pitt retook the lead 38-35 for 24 more yards.
1 penalty was a personal foul that was offset, so no yardage.

So, you are claiming that your secondary, an admitted weakness, that got torched for 331 yards, surely couldn’t have committed the interference penalties. Those replays were a trick of the camera, and clearly NBC was in the pocket of Pitt not showing anything questionable like say a late hit call against Pitt to help the domers get within field goal range to tie the game at the end of the 4th. But then the refs clearly helped Pitt march right down the field in a minute to kick a game winning field goal by, by, help me out here. Oh, that’s right there were no whistles. ND let Pitt roll down the field all by themselves.

Live with it. Your team blew it. They didn’t get jobbed. They didn’t get the game ripped from them. It was an all offense game, you committed one more turnover than Pitt, and ultimately the last team with the ball won.

Looking to find out if what they heard was accurate. We had a couple searches land here. Yes he said it. For the record he apologized for it at his first chance to check himself. As an added bonus, he referred to himself in the 3rd person while doing so.

While meeting later with reporters, Palko apologized before taking any questions.

“Before I start, I lost my composure on the field and said something in the heat of the moment,” Palko said. “That’s not me. That’s not Tyler. It was just a heat of the moment kind of thing. I apologize to my teammates, my family and anybody that was watching.”

No apologies necessary, dude. Considering most of the country watching were saying something along the lines of “holy f**kin’ s**t,” it would be hard to find fault. Here in Panther Nation, you just gave us another reason to endear yourself to us.

As I recall, that’s exactly what Tyler Palko said to a sideline reporter on national television immediately after Pitt upset Notre Dame 41-38 this afternoon. Maybe someday, when I have kids and finally mature a little, I’ll object to such a public display of obscenity. But for now, I love it… especially after we beat Notre (holier than thou) Dame. And I can hardly blame Tyler. I’ve rarely seen a game where so many desperation plays were both required and completed to win.

As I said to Chas when I called him to make sure he heard that f-bomb too, I don’t even know where to begin. Erik Gill’s short catch that turned into a 36 yard gain when an Irish defender tried to strip the ball instead of simply tackling… Palko’s ridiculous little desperation flip to Marcus Furman (I think) on the last drive for a first down… Notre Dame’s committing six always-timely-and-usually-deserved penalties that resulted in Panther first downs, and several more penalties beyond that (9 for 102 yards in total)… Palko’s becoming the first quarterback EVER to complete five touchdown passes against the Irish… In the end, Pitt needed many little miracles to win today, and somehow, we came up with them all.

Does this suddenly mean that I’m happy with Walt Harris? Well, not quite. Not after that absolute debacle in Syracuse last Saturday (speaking of debacles, how did THOSE idiots manage to lose 34-24 to Temple!?). But if Walt somehow manages to pull one out of his ass against West Virginia (incidentally, way to step it up against Boston College, you moonshine-fed hicks), I think I’ll owe ol Walt a clear apology.

Either way, I’m suddenly more excited about giving up Thanksgiving dinner for the Backyard Brawl (heck, at least WE could beat Boston College… of course, as Chas pointed out, WVU did beat Syracuse).

Finally, hail to Wisconsin. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of guys. Now go dancing on Michigan State’s 50 yard line.

Not really any doing much that focus heavily on sports. But there are some things that somehow never made national news

So, more stories about an Irish QB who was involved in two different incidents this weekend…incidents that would have landed you or I in jail, but seem to keep said QB on the street. All thanks to Ty Willingham giving the boyus Sunday off .. another great decisdion Ty.
(1) Finnegan’s pub incident is legit. Apparently, as stated before, two lineman and one “glorified” QB were involved in a fight. What we’re having a hard time pinning down is whether or not he was actually put in cuffs, which is one story the Backer heard.
(2) Turtle Creek incident is now being confirmed as well. Another lineman jumped a couple of students on Saturday night, dumping beer on their heads, then pounding on them as well…what great guys.
(3) And to the clincher … a glorified, slightly intoxicated QB, who used St. Edward’s hall as a brake for his black Explorer. NDSP was there, BUT DIDN’T arrest him. And there are pictures of said QB in handcufss floating around campus.

— a shock when you think about the attention paid to the Irish, and even may be being covered up.

There’s another guy with interesting loyalties. I don’t know how he thinks the Googlefight is a good thing for his side.

I know. I’m setting myself up for even greater disappointment. Everything all but screams a Pitt loss. Hell, I picked them to lose yesterday. I know better. Still when it’s Saturday, and I’m trying to figure out a way to avoid clearing out the rain gutters, I start constructing scenarios in my head of a Pitt upset. What can I do? Pitt’s my team. So what if the line is ND -11 1/2.

Let’s start with some obvious game analysis for Pitt to have a chance.

To win today, the Panthers will have to do two things that they didn’t do in a loss to Syracuse last week — and they failed miserably at last year when they faced Notre Dame: Run the football and stop the Irish from running the football.

It sounds simple, but both tasks have been difficult in recent weeks.

The past two games, Pitt has averaged only 90 yards rushing and, perhaps more telling, just 2.3 yards per carry. The Panthers have not had a running back rush for more than 90 yards since the Furman game in the third week of the season when Ray Kirkley ran for 108 yards.

Running the football is important on two fronts — it helps the Panthers control the clock and keeps its defense fresh, and it also helps slow down the Irish’s formidable pass rush. Last year against Notre Dame, the Panthers ran for 8 yards on 27 carries, which enabled the Irish to rush quarterback Rod Rutherford mercilessly and sack him eight times.

The run game is only half the equation, however. The Panthers can win if they get their passing game going. In fact, if the Panthers can run enough to keep the Irish honest, quarterback Tyler Palko and his receivers could have a big game because, unlike last year when the Irish had one of the best secondaries around, the Irish are vulnerable against the pass.
…
Defensively the Panthers looked very ordinary last week in allowing the Orange to run 52 times for 239 yards. Players indicated that the problem wasn’t that the Panthers were getting physically dominated up front — as was the case last year against Notre Dame — but rather it was a number of breakdowns and missed assignments.

It may be true about the defense, but we heard that excuse a lot last year, so I’m skeptical.

One thing that could help Pitt, is if ND happens to be looking past them to the game with USC in two weeks. ND says that won’t happen. I have trouble believing that as well. They have a bye after Pitt, so it’s not like they would be looking that far forward. Especially in their home finale. Senior day. A win for ND would just about lock up the Gator Bowl for them. Even if BC were to pull the upset over WVU.

As for the Pitt defense, they know the pressure will be on them to be better than last year and last week.

Go ahead and laugh at the Pitt defense. Crack jokes about how Notre Dame made it look like a second-tier pee-wee outfit last year.

Sophomore linebacker H.B. Blades encourages it.

“What can we really say?” said Blades, who seeks redemption at 2:30 today when the Panthers (5-3) face the Irish (6-3) at Notre Dame Stadium on Senior Day. “The numbers don’t lie.”
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“I know people made fun of us for the way we played – we all heard it,” Blades said. “I’ll say it right now: That was horrible.”

And painful.

“We have a lot of pride, and it was taken away,” Blades said. “It’s payback time now. We have to get our respect back.”

Well, there’s the talk. It’s almost time for the walk. Of course, H.B. Blades had plenty to say about some of the critics.

Pitt sophomore linebacker H.B. Blades hopes the Panthers can pull off an upset at Notre Dame today for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to silence recent critic and Pitt alum Mark May of ESPN. “He’s clowning us all the time,” Blades said. “But he wants us to win and it just motivates us to do better.” May has seen the program stagnate in recent years and Blades wants to change all of that. “It hurts when an alumnus is dogging us like that. We have to go out and make those guys proud, prove them wrong.” Asked if he’ll phone May should the Panthers win today, Blades said no. “I’ll wait until after we beat Notre Dame, West Virginia and all those other guys.”

I do like the fact that Blades seems to care about what the alum and people are saying. I hate that, “we don’t care what others say about us,” line of crap.

The Q&A with Paul Zeise, this week is most interesting.

Q: You said Pitt should have a big year next year. How do you define that? Do you think they should be favored against Notre Dame in the opener?

ZEISE: How do I define a big year? Well, I think Pitt fans would not be delusional to believe the Panthers should win the Big East and perhaps even go undefeated. They do have to visit Nebraska, but who knows how good the Cornhuskers will be in year two of what is shaping up to be the colossal mistake known as Bill Callahan. And yes, Pitt should be favored to beat Notre Dame to open the season. The game is here, Pitt will have about 17 returning starters, including its entire offense (except for Rob Petitti and Justin Belarski). The Panthers other tough spots will be playing West Virginia in Morgantown and Louisville, regardless of where that game is. Still, given the talent returning at Pitt and the fact that there very well could be a lot of energy surrounding the program with a new coach – there is no reason to expect anything less than 9-2 or 10-1 and a trip to the BCS.
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Q: Paul what do you think about Pitt returning to its script Pitt to its helmets?

ZEISE: It is one of the best ideas I’ve heard. Those old helmets are a classic, one of the true symbols of greatness in college football. I don’t mind the Panthers logo on the helmet, although it reminds me of an Arena League team. That scripted Pitt, now, that is a thing of beauty. So it has my vote, but of course, my vote doesn’t count.

Q: Does the resignation of Dave Wannstedt impact his consideration for the Pitt job?

ZEISE: OK, I’ll bite because this is an easy one. His resignation affects his consideration for the Pitt job in that he is now available and Pitt doesn’t need to ask anyone’s permission if they want to talk to him. As far as whether that makes him more or less of a candidate, only time will tell. From what I understand, his desire for the job is not what it once was, so his candidacy may never materialize.

Interesting. My “source” for the Wannstedt to Pitt rumor was that it was all but a done deal, brokered by some of the boosters. Of course, this source also told be back when the Penguins were in bankruptcy that it was all but official that they were moving to Kansas City, so…

He also has some interesting things to say about AD Long. Not to mention another coaching rumor/possibility.