Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Rivalry or not, stakes are high for No. 13 Penn State and Pitt
PITTSBURGH » It took Pat Narduzzi three years to finally embrace the obvious. No more hiding behind coachspeak. No more cliches about treating all 12 of Pittsburgh’s opponents the same.
It just doesn’t work that way when it comes to the Panthers and No. 13 Penn State.
“Anybody wants to argue and say this is no different than any other week, OK, it is. That’s a fact,” the Pitt coach said. “If you want to ignore that, you can ignore it. It’s a big game.”
The meeting at Heinz Field on Saturday will be the 99th in a series that dates back to 1893. It’s also the last in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future between the Panthers (1-0) and the Nittany Lions (1-0). There are no plans for the teams to play past next year’s centennial showdown at Beaver Stadium, a byproduct of the tricky scheduling of big-time college football.
Neither Narduzzi nor Penn State coach James Franklin want to get involved in the bigpicture implications. They’re too busy getting ready for this game. Pitt enjoyed a relatively boring opening weekend in throttling overmatched Albany while the Nittany Lions were pushed to overtime at home by Appalachian State.
The prime-time national television stage offers the Panthers a chance to prove they’re back after a disappointing 2017. It allows Penn State an opportunity to show its uneven performance in the opener was an aberration.
“We’ve got to make big improvements between week one and week two,” Franklin said. “A lot of people feel that’s when you make the biggest improvements, so we’re going to need it.”
They won’t lack for motivation. When Penn State visited Pittsburgh in 2016, the Nittany Lions walked away on the wrong end of a 42-39 loss, a setback that ultimately cost them a spot in the College Football Playoff. Falling to the Panthers again could have more far-reaching implications.
“We know we’re going into a hornet’s nest,” Penn State running back Miles Sanders said.
It’s a rivalry living on borrowed time.
There are a few candidates here, no clear-cut choice. Clemson’s trip to Texas A&M is fascinating because it will be the first measuring stick for Jimbo Fisher’s Aggies, and it comes against the team and coach that yanked control of the ACC away from Fisher’s Florida State teams. Penn State at Pittsburgh is a great old rivalry with a chance to be high-scoring. Both the ranked vs. ranked games could have the most long-term impact. But Spartans at Sun Devils is intriguing on a few levels. Michigan State struggled at home last week against Utah State. Should there be real concern? Arizona State looked great in its first game with Herm Edwards as coach, beating UTSA. How seriously should we take that performance? It’s a late kickoff on the East Coast at 10:45 p.m. so there is a chance for some quality (hash)Pac12afterDark action. HEISMAN WATCH Stanford running back Bryce Love was held to 29 yards and 18 carries last week against San Diego State. Love had 24 runs of at least 30 yards when he was Heisman Trophy runner-up last season. Love has a chance to get make up for the off game in a big way this week in prime time against the Trojans. In two losses to USC last season, Love ran for 285 yards. Last week against UNLV, the Trojans allowed 308 yards rushing and more than seven per carry. NUMBERS TO KNOW 9: Touchdown passes by Hawaii’s Cole McDonald in leading the Rainbow Warriors to a surprising 2-0 start. Rice visits Hawaii this week, a chance for McDonald to put up more big numbers. 29: Consecutive games with a touchdown pass for Penn State’s Trace McSorley. That’s the longest current streak in FBS. 31: No. 25 Florida has won 31 straight games against Kentucky, the longest current winning streak between two teams in the country. The Wildcats visit the Gators. 1959: The last time Clemson won a game in Texas. The Tigers beat TCU in the Bluebonnet Bowl. 900: Ohio State needs one more victory to become the second school to reach 900 recognized by the NCAA. Michigan is the other. The Buckeyes host Rutgers. OFF THE RADAR Georgia Tech at South Florida: ACC-AAC matchup, and one of several opportunities for Group of Five teams to make a statement this week by knocking off Power Five foes. In this one, it is also the first real test for USF’s Blake Barnett, the former blue-chip recruit who is playing quarterback for the Bulls. The Arizona State transfer, who started his career at Alabama, passed for 305 yards and three touchdowns last week against Elon of the FCS. The Yellow Jackets had an easy victory against Alcorn State last week, putting up 439 yards rushing with its triple-option. Other prime spots for a G5 over P5 victory include Arizona at Houston and Fresno State visiting Minnesota. HOT SEAT WATCH Kansas coach David Beaty is probably sitting on the hottest seat in the country with three victories in 37 games with the Jayhawks. Kansas began the season with yet another loss, this time to FCS Nicholls. Kansas hits the road this week, where it has lost an NCAA record 46 straight games that dates back to a 2009 trip to UTEP. The Jayhawks are at Central Michigan on Saturday in what represents their best chance to snap the road skid and one of the few spots on the schedule where Beaty has a chance to build a little momentum.