in Pitt Football 309 Words

Submittal: What Does 13-9 Mean to You?

Here is a piece from MissingWlat…
13-9.  Ten years later it still warms my heart.
As a season ticket holder for over 20 years, and a Pitt fan since the early 70s, I’ve seen my share of great games. Ones that stick out include 42-39, and the final game at Pitt Stadium when we defeated Notre Dame. I was a little young in ’76 when we won the National Championship, so my memory of that is fuzzy.
Of course there are the disappointments too, not the least of which was the 45-44 loss to Cincinnati in 2009 that kept us from the Orange Bowl.. 48-14 sticks in the craw of any Pitt fan, of course.
But to me, 13-9 is the most memorable. Mostly because it was WVU, it knocked them out of the National Championship game, and we were nearly 30 point dogs. Maybe its just the vision of Wanny roaming the sidelines on crutches. Or maybe it’s the memory of hearing the Pitt players celebrating LOUDLY while poor RichRod was trying to conduct the post game presser. (OK, I’ll admit it  RichRod in tears after the game is my MOST vivid memory I still have of that game, especially when he refers to it as a “nightmare”).
So to keep the juices flowing into the offseason, and on the 10th anniversary of my favorite game in Pitt football history, please share your memories of that game with your fellow POVerts. And while you are at it, if there are any other games that burn in your memory, feel free to share stories about those as well.
Hail to Pitt!!!
Missing Wlat
Note: From now on if a submittal isn’t a Word attachment to an email… Properly proof read and formatted I’ll not publish it.  As I said I will not spend time on this blog unless it is very minimal…

92 thoughts on “Submittal: What Does 13-9 Mean to You?”

  1. I will ever forget the dread I felt when Mardy Gilyard returned that kickoff for a TD late in Q2 of the UCinn game. Awesome atmosphere though and a full crowd, depsit the fact is wasn’t ND or the Pedos.

    13-9 happened during a buddy’s 55th BD party. Seems like yesterday, although we are having his 65th tomorrow night. Time flies folks.

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    1. Pitt/Cincy 2009 still stands as the most engaging football game that I have ever attended. Gilyard and Janocko killed what might have been.

      The Miami game last week had a similar vibe in the stands, only 30-35K fewer people and nothing on the line for Pitt.

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  2. Eric you don’t look old enough to even know who Mike Gottfried was.. 🙂

    PITT has had their share of historical wins. The WVU game did have that rivalry stick it to them feel though. The psu win last year is right up there for me. You can’t pick a win that’s a loser… ike

    Thanks Wlat.

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  3. Thanks for filling in Wlat!
    Yes, 13-9 was a GREAT win, one that is burned into my memory forever! For me, the greatest win I witnessed was a game at Pitt Stadium (where I, like Lastrowsection4 had season tickets 3 rows down from Lastrow) when Tony “TD” Dorsett ran for 303 rushing yards in a BIG win over Notre Dame!!!! The tear away jerseys were flying off of Tony during that game defining performance!!!
    #H2P and Hail to the POV!!!!!

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    1. I also had season tickets that yr, but had to miss that game! So the Penn State game the next year at Three Rivers where we won 24-7 and capped off an undefeated regular season is my favorite.

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  5. 13-9 was awesome for me because I was working in Clarksburg, WV at the time. I took a lot of crap from my coworkers leading up to the game. I watched the game on TV not expecting much. Then at halftime something came over me and I realized that victory was possible and almost seemed probable. I remember how dominant the Pitt D was and how frustrated the WVU players and fans seemed. I was in anguish later in the second half as the referees found some bogus holding calls to make against Pitt. Then it happened.

    Shady’s and McKillop’s efforts particularly stand out for me.

    The following week at work was wonderful. I continued to hear from WVU fans about their frustrations with that game until I left WV in 2015. Beautiful.

    That game launched the next 3 successful years at Pitt. The best run of the last 30+ years.

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    1. Dave Wannstadt was on the Fan today, Eric and talked about Paul Rhodes primary focus that week leading up to game day was on improving tackling technique because he felt Pitt didn’t stand a chance if the couldn’t play single coverage and tackle pristinely…

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      1. I’ve heard that story about Rhoades working on tackling in the practices leading up to the game. Great stuff.

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  8. I also like that 4 OT win in WVU that allowed Walt to get to his first bowl game. I only remember so much of that game unfortunately.

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  9. JoeL: I view Mardy Gilyard in the same light as Francisco Cabrera/Sid Bream. If you are a Pirates fan, you know what I mean.

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  11. I don’t favor the Cincy game for the reason that Wannstedt took all the blame for losing it but no credit for a great season.. Plus it was heart breaking.

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  12. Oddly enough, I watched the game and had mixed feelings about it. Pitt was obviously going nowhere and it was going to knock out our conference from the NC game. I wasn’t much into Pitt football at the time and son was only 5 years old so he wasn’t really into any sports yet. The other thing was, a very good buddy/neighbor of mine was a WVU grad (and crazed Mountaineer fan) and he had kids about the same ages as my 3 but one was/is profound special needs. I just couldn’t totally enjoy his lost opportunity to get to the NC game.

    He and I would go back and forth about the rivalry but mostly with basketball as the programs were both very good and of course there were some great games between them.

    So for me, one of the best games ever was last year’s Syracuse game. LOL, I know THAT is crazy, but I was there with the family and my kids absolutely LOVED the game. At half-time I was feeling like everyone else about how bad our defense was, but I asked the kids if they were enjoying it and they couldn’t have been more into a game. I thought, OK, that is good enough for me. Kicked back and saw an equally great second half of scoring and just enjoyed the “quality” entertainment. Hey, it was the only record breaking game I believe I ever witnessed in person…so there’s THAT!!!

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  13. Syracuse game was entertaining yet maddening. I agree that it was a lot of fun being in attendance. I too was there with my kids.

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  14. I was so pissed off watching the refs try to win it for the hoopies I almost couldn’t enjoy it. Amazing..

    One, it proves even to the most jaded that games can be fixed. (remember the OT game against ND in 2012?) They wanted ND in the final against Alabama for the TV ratings.

    https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2012/11/3/3596466/pitt-vs-nd-pass-interference

    Two, it was like Lucy finally let Charlie kick that darn ball….

    Three, it shows that if you have a good plan and the coaches are into the game it permeates down to the players and you can get a big upset, like Miami (works the other way too if you’re over confident.)

    Four, it means that stuff like this can help recruiting.

    Five, even with all the pain of rooting for Pitt through the years, a gem like this can carry you through life and support your conviction that Pitt is it!

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  15. The 13 – 9 game is up there surely but there are others for me that are very close. I could compose a list of those I have attended and not. Attending a win in State College is a really wonderful experience.

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  16. The 4 OT win over WVU during the Walt Harris/Pete Gonzalez era was a favorite, as was 42-39 since I was there. I can’t believe I had to work and missed the Miami miracle this year.

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  17. I was on a weekend getaway with my wife, 2 year old daughter and out Curly Coated Retriever “Curly Jo” (what else) at Deep Creek Lake. My daughter referred to the area as “deep wa-wa”… Once the game was over I went out to the wooded area near our cabin and let out a blood curdling scream followed by Hail to Pitt. Then I quickly ran back in the cabin before anyone shot me. We still refer to that as “the Deep wa-wa game” and I will ALWAYS have a soft spot in my heart for Shady. (Hence my script Shady t-shirt)

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  18. I was rooting for WVU so the BigEast could hang on to a BCS bid.
    Then after the first quarter you knew the fix was in.
    I was back and full on Panthers.
    That team in that game overcame everything.

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    1. Kman: Rooting for the Hoopies is sacrilege. If I had the power, I’d banish you from the POV. Go burn a couch!!!

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  20. Lastrow… I was on a weekend retreat with my wife too( reminds me of the O’Reilly Irish twins joke) … we came back to the BnB after dining n drinking in historic Edenton NC ( a little Charleston) Jeanie B was on her own that night in the room when I turned on the TV and saw we were winning in the 4th quarter… after the victory I was useless to my bride( apologies to Annie) I was passed out from all the unexpected excitement and passed my yearly stress test that we Panther fans take annually ( not anally)

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  21. Pitt Stadium 1970 vs Bobby Bowden and the hoopies will always be my best … no TV timeouts and instant replays to mess up the flow of the Panther Crescendo…Booby never forgot that PITT game either

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  24. Was at a friends holiday party who just so happens to be a huge ND fan and was alone in his man cave watching the game while everyone else was socializing. When the clock ran out I jumped so high I broke the drop ceiling, the party hosts made me sign the tile and write Pitt 13 WVU 9 on it and it is a permanent part of their home still today.

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  25. Most memorable game I saw in person was the Pitt-WVU game when Tyler Palko gutted out a win to send Pitt to the Fiesta Bowl.
    Worst memory-Cincy game. Was so ready to spend NY Eve in New Orleans.
    Runners Up—PC losing to YSU and Akron—BARF!!!

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  27. Seems like yesterday…. I still have a “ cowbell” with PITT 1970 that the University gave out as you entered the stadium…. anyone else have one?

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  29. We were at the Notre Dame game in South Bend when Tyler P threw 5 TD passes and dropped the F bomb on national TV. Fun to walk to the car and listen to the Domers try to figure out what went wrong.

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  30. A vivid memory of 13-9 was of two young WVU fans holding signs over the edge of the stands. The first one said “Pitt Stop to…” and the second said “New Orleans” – the site of the National championship game.

    Late in the game, just as the camera came to a shot of these kids, the kid loses hold of the “New Orleans” sign and it slides down and disappears out of sight — just like the NC hopes of the Hoopies…

    It was like it was “scripted.”

    There’s a video somewhere of this…

    Go Pitt

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  33. The 13-9 game to me is always a reminder of just how good Pitt could have been that season with a quarterback, namely Joe Flacco. Even with the QB issues that season look how close Pitt came to winning more games.

    Lost 17-13 to MSU. The Spartans had a pick 6 and their other TD came off an INT returned inside the 5-yard line. The one beautiful deep pass thrown by Smith that day was dropped by Turner in the end zone.
    Navy. Cavanaugh should have been fired after that game. The ball is at the 1 and a half yard line, you have McCoy and Howling and an O-line much bigger than Navy’s front and you throw twice to the ever-unreliable, Darryl Strong?
    Louisville. The Cards were quickly back to being average under Kragthorpe. Pitt had the ball at the Louisville1-yard line and Shady fumbles. The play before that Turner caught a pass and scored but was ruled down before scoring. That game would have gone to OT, so nothing was guaranteed, but Pitt stormed back in that one and had momentum.

    *Rutgers. The one game that pisses me off to this day as Turner (his name keeps popping up, another unreliable player) caught a TD pass for the win with 18 seconds left and he was called for OPI. Similar to the K. Williams penalty versus ND in 2012, the ref was reaching for his flag before contact was initiated. In Turner’s case, there was barely any contact. It was a big call since it put Rutgers in a bowl at 7-5. If the prick ref lets the TD stand as it should have, Pitt finishes 6-6 and 4-3 in conference and Rutgers finishes 6-6 but 3-4 in conference. Pitt gets a bowl nod over the Knights but the Big East didn’t want its flagship school left out of the bowl scene.

    The UConn and Virginia losses were awful due to all the turnovers by Smith and Bostick. The USF game was a high-scoring affair with the Bulls returning two INTs for TDs and another returned to the 1-yard line.

    I still believe to this day if Flacco was under center Pitt goes 10-2 or even better. The O-line was strong with four good players, Shady, Howlings, Collins in the backfield. The WRs were missing Kinder with injury and Dickerson was wrongly moved over to linebacker that season and essentially had a season wasted.

    That was the only season where Wannstedt had a true eight-man rotation on the defensive line: McKillop, Clermond, Duncan, Williams, Sheard, Romeus, Malecki and No. 51. As always under Wannstedt, linebacker and the secondary were iffy. McKillop and Gunn were definitely solid though.

    Pitt had another satisfying win in 2007: beating Cincinnati and Kelly at home. McCoy and Howllings each had over 100 yards rushing. I also remember in that game the Panthers threw some 3-4 looks at the Bearcats offense and confused them.

    Even if Pitt just had redshirt freshman QB, Thaddeus Lewis, under center instead of losing him to Duke, I think Pitt goes 8-4 or better. That was an awful recruiting miss and Cutcliffe wasn’t even the coach there at the time.

    So, 13-9 was fantastic, but I was left thinking it could have been so much more.

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  34. I may have shared this already and if so, I apologize.

    At the time, I was working for Goldman Sachs and running a legal/risk department for an oil and gas company in WV. Surrounded by cult followers, I got crushed every day leading up to the contest. When I went back to work after the victory, I immediately called the IT department and told them I was having problems with my computer. They asked for permission to take over my computer and re-booted. They asked for password and I told them it was Pitt13WVU9. Silence ensued. They are smart folks and got really mad, fast. I called IT about 5 times that day. Repeated steps above. By mid afternoon, some of my documents started to disappear as I was working on em…..not funny! They hated it.

    Next, A few years later I was at a hotel where Dana Holgorsen was also a patron. We road an elevator to the same floor and we both got out. My wife and I walked down the hall with him and he went into a room. I took note. Later that night and after a few drinks…..okay, more than a few, my wife and I returned to our room. As we passed Holgorsens room, I noticed he had filled out a room service order and placed it on the door knob to be picked up and brought to him in the am. I grabbed it, checked off a bunch of items to be prepared and delivered. At the bottom, I wrote Pitt13WVU9. His bill had to be well over $200.00.

    The next morning as we are checking out, I was wearing my script Pitt hat and smiled the entire time. I don’t like them, but I hate the Dairy High School. Legislators should make us play them every year. I don’t want to play WV. They are iced out playing in the big12 year after year and finishing in the middle of the pack. That said, holgorsen understands the importance of getting high performing qb’s. Wish our HC prioritized qb’s the same way.

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  35. Huff.. you are quite the prankster… has the statute of limitation passed on the room service order…..makes me want to go to WV and push over some out-houses- as the say in Weat Virginia” These are the good old days” E-I-E-I-O

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  36. I though Holgy lived in a motel with only one floor? Are you sure that wasn’t one of the Steigerwald brothers?

    Good stories Huff… ike

    H2P!

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  37. Hey Richman… What sort of time line are we talking about for implementing any of the proposed changes? Will there be an announcement beforehand?

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  38. BTW, Congrats to Ryan Winslow on being selected as first-team All-ACC punter.

    Brian O’Neill was also a first-team selection…

    Go Pitt.

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  40. Florida State will be all over hiring Lane Kiffin. He has done wonders at FAU and he and Broiles Son would be a major get.

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  43. Neither will leave Oregon or VT after 1 & 2 years. Kiffen has done a service to FAU and will win the Conf. No where else to take that team.

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  44. Does anyone find it hard to believe Narduzzi is getting no calls from opening jobs out there? I’m guessing 5-7 killed any of that.

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  45. A good many of juco transfers have PITT on their final list… Right now no QB’s so that’s good. Here’s hoping Narduzzi can wrap up a couple. Will Honas is being touted as a stud linebacker, and looking at his highlights is a real good one.

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  46. Ike – He tore an ACL in High School. Not sure there is much there but Iowa is where he is going.

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  49. Thanks Mark. Yeah I have his bio, Butler Community CC in KS. imo, it’s not a complete position of need but depth is always good. He’s a long shot like some others but he does have PITT on his final list. Just saying there could be a surprise or two?

    IMO this recruiting class may be a little bigger than originally thought.

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    1. Need more Florida Speed. Problem is now more are staying home now that UCF, USF, FAU are a lot better.

      Kiffin will be gone by Monday Morning. FSU is my guess. He would be a awesome fit there.

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  50. If a kid can’t get into the big 3 in Florida, Pitt is a good choice. Playing time. NFL pipeline. Good conference. Chance to experience snow in an urban environment. It just won’t be white.

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    1. Yeah, and don’t forget HCPN, the best, most adaptable, innovative, creative, intelligent, media friendly coach in D1 football history who WILL motivate any team to BEAT a #2 team in the country in a stunning upset near the end of the season EVERY DAMN YEAR!!!!!!!!!! No one has got THAT!!!

      Why go anywhere else?

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  53. speaking of a game that gets in my crawl — how about the 1980 game at FSU? That was arguably a better team than ’76. And every time FSU needed a call, they seemed to get it. I remember Howard Cosell, who has no Pitt connection, remarking how Pitt was the victim of some home-cooking

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  58. Yes Annie. Just out powered.

    There are more people at a Women’s Volleyball Game at PSU than we get at Men’s Hoops.

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    1. You are right about that, upitt. Of course, there is nothing else to do at PSU since they are cracking down on frat parties there.

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  59. Heather should give Coach Fisher a nice raise/bonus for being ACC coach of the year, and for bringing this team so far. Extend his contract- keep him here for awhile. Russ Rose has been at PSU over 30 years!! Congrats on a nice season, ladies.

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  61. @ Big B I know Edenton NC well. My wife’s family is from there. Great place to eat is the chicken shack.

    As far as memorable games go 13-9 is classic. I will say last year’s PSU game is up there too if only because it had been so many years since we last played them. Though for me one of the best games is Pitt v PSU 2000. I know it was a boring 12-0 game, but Pitt won. Pitt won after going through the Johny Majors II era. Pitt won that game after a few close games in the series, and Walt bringing the team back from the brink of almost dropping D1 football. Pitt won with PSU and Pitt fans knowing it was going to be the last game in a long time because Paterno’s grudge. Plus the last time Paterno coached against Pitt he lost, and everyone knows the team Paterno truly had a grudge against was Pitt. so maybe it is hindsight that makes that the best game for me but so be it.

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  62. Hornibrook not great looking either or Rosier. Makes me appreciate KP even more, even BD for that matter…maybe we can trade him(Ben) for a high 4 star recruit. LOL!

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    2. Would you rather have more blah wins or keep adding to 500-plus losses Pitt has all time?

      Good job, Pitt Administration, for all those losses all time. Embarrassing.

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  64. I’m not just sure but certain I heard the announcers say early in the game that Clemson said they would deploy a similar defense PITT showcased to them last week or in other words. Missing Richards and Herndon didn’t help but Clemson looks really good. Miami’s defense looks really bad… How good is Clemson?

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  65. We will know about clemson soon enough. I do think their qb gets exposed if they play OSU and their DL.

    I think that I would put the top 4 as:

    Oklahoma
    Clemson
    Georgia
    OSU/Alabama – Tie. That would be a great play in game!

    If Alabama doesn’t get in, it will be a career waste for Robert Foster. That said, with his 4.3 speed, he will get
    a shot at a roster spot in the nfl. These kids that go away are so mis-guided by parents and handlers at times. I can see the same thing with Jurkovec at ND. Brian Kelly will not stop recruiting 4 and 5 star qb’s because Jurkovec goes there. That is what happened with Foster. It’s a numbers game and the numbers were not in his favor.

    I wonder if Jeter at Michigan will have the same issue since they recruited 4 or 5 other DL last year and some are already seeing the field.

    Congrats to womens VBall.

    Just had a thought about Chevy Troutman – he would have made a nice TE.

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    1. Foster got a championship ring in 2015 and is certain to get a good look by the NFL. I saw a tweet that USC has a better SOS and SOR than Alabama or tOSU, plus I do think they are the best team of the 3 right now … and that is supposed to be the job of the selectors.

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  67. A Big Thank You to our Eric (missing wlat) for his submittal and bringing back some really great memories and a few not so great!

    I don’t understand why more teams don’t make the playoffs? We get to watch a bunch of bowl games that are meaningless to me and many of us simply because PITT isn’t playing in one. I’ll root for the ACC to win some games but otherwise, a big who cares.

    Why I bring this up, one player has already decided to skip his team’s bowl game, can’t think of his name right now. This is going to become a trend that will trend upwards very quickly which imo isn’t such a bad thing as I would like to see the new RS rule implemented retro to this year. These bowl games are nothing more than exhibition games and what do coaches do for these games? Yeah, sit their star stars down.

    The main reason I question 4 teams is the wait the teams have to sit around until game-time. Jan 1st for the playoffs to begin. Why, I know there are finals and all but other teams play as early as the Dec 16th starting with the Celebration Bowl. I’m not a big fan of bye weeks for mythical rankings but you might have to, to keep it from the kids playing too many games.. I say at least 8 but I’m too lazy to figure out how the schedule would be work out……

    Anyone else missing the PITT Panthers playing football every week?? ike…

    H2P!

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  68. I think it is great that we won that game against the ‘ears. But, you know, that Clemson win was just as impressive. But the win I like best the one against Miami a week or so ago. Why? Because it points to the FUTURE!!! Let’s move forward!

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  69. I think it is great that we won that game against the ‘ears. But, you know, that Clemson win was just as impressive. But the win I like best is the one against Miami a week or so ago. Why? Because it points to the FUTURE!!! Let’s move forward!

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  70. Certain commenters that post all day that PITT sucks, their former players suck, that everything PITT sucks and expect to have a civil blog with civil discussion is a little much to ask? There’s nothing civil about what some comments preach.

    Bad mouthing all things University of Pittsburgh is NOT a PITT football blog or what was once known as the POV blog. It has become nothing more than a soapbox and sounding board for those that hold a grudge against The University of Pittsburgh and the PITT football team. Nothing more than trolling.. ike out!

    H2P!

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