I had intended to return during the day, but then I realized I had a rare opportunity to sit my ass on the couch with some beers and chips and watch the NFL all day without the wife and kid around — no interruptions.
There was no way to pass on that simple pleasure. Until you are denied it for a few years, you never realize what an oddly peaceful thing it is to watch big 200-350 pound men hit the crap out of each other for 3 hours at a time on TV
Sadly my Eagles got the snot beaten out of them by the Cowboys. Disconcerting as well to be happy to see Polite and Pettiti doing well with Dallas. Generally, a good day for former Pitt players. Martin scored a couple TDs to help the Jets win, as did Antonio Bryant for Cleveland. Barlow had nice stats, so did Fitzgerald.
Plus there was that absolute marathon 18 inning game between Houston and Atlanta. Then, of course, I had to watch the Yankees. Happily they pulled it out to force game 5 tonight.
The Cinci papers declared the Bearcat’s debut in the Big East a “flop.” Apparently they weren’t proud that the Bearcats were the first Div. 1-A team Pitt beat this year — they were just what Pitt needed. Cinci did learn that they just are not a good team. Specifically, their back-up QB wasn’t that good. Saturday just wasn’t a good day for coaches named Tressel. There was the obvious occurrence in State College, but Cinci special teams were pathetic. They are coached by Mike Tressel — the nephew of Jim Tressel.
As I was driving back from Pittsburgh yesterday morning, my dad called to cheerfully discuss his Penn State team being “back.” Well, that and he wanted another shot at corrupting his granddaughter’s fundamental belief structure of college football loyalties. He did politely inquire about how Pitt did since he was having trouble finding anything non-PSU related in the Harrisburg Patriot college football section. He finally found the story on page 14.
There were several things Pittsburgh should have learned during its 38-20 win against Cincinnati in the inaugural River City Rivalry game yesterday at Heinz Field.
First, freshman tailback Rashad Jennings is healthy again and appears to be the power runner Pitt (2-4, 1-1) envisioned when he was named a starter to open the season. Jennings ran 11 times for 102 yards with a 13-yard touchdown, his first.
Second, sophomore Darrelle Revis is quickly developing into an elite player. Already a shutdown cornerback and big-play defender, Revis has become an electrifying punt returner. He had two runbacks of 40-plus yards last week and torched the Bearcats for a 79-yard return for a touchdown.
And, third, not only did Cincinnati (2-3, 0-1) replace Temple in the Big East, but it took over for the Owls as the worst team in the conference. The Bearcats were inept on offense and have a porous defense, and Pitt should have beaten them by four touchdowns.
Pitt also got a lot of freshmen into the game. C.J. Davis started at Left Guard in place of Dale Williams. John Bachman got playing time on the O-line. Conredge Collins got some touches — and either was a little jittery or learned that the game is tougher in college than in high school. Backup-QB Bill Stull didn’t make it into the game. Coach Wannstedt wanted to, but when Pitt had a couple late turnovers to keep it closer than he was comfortable with, Palko stayed out there.
Darrelle Revis stood out on special teams and defense. Rashad Jennings was great running the ball.
Kicker Josh Cummings was back to consistent reliable kicking even if he doesn’t feel all the way back yet. 3 XP and 3 FG, including one of 45 yards.
Apparently the handle on the RCR trophy does move. After the game, H.B. Blades moved it to the Pitt side.
I do like what Wannstedt said after the game.
Wannstedt, however, was in no mood to celebrate. He was happy the Panthers got the win, but he sent a message after the game to his players that Pitt (2-4, 1-1 Big East) can and will play a much higher level of football.
“We’ve got a long way to go before we feel good about ourselves around here,” Wannstedt said. “We’re glad to get a win, don’t get me wrong, but now is not the time to get silly. We have a lot of work to do and we know where we have to get better and we have to get done. We should have won this game today, no disrespect to Cincinnati (2-3, 0-1) and its coaches.
“But we’re the University of Pittsburgh and we expect to win these games. And I expect to win these games. There have been a couple of games where we have gotten beat that we should win. That’s the attitude this football team has, that we should have and that we will have as long as I am here.”
Smizik agrees with Wannstedt’s assessment. I’m sure that will be on the Cinci bulletin board next year, but it is true.
Official attendance was 30,343. Witnesses, reality and just how quickly we were able to get to and leave the parking lot suggested otherwise.
