As I commented yesterday Mr. Chris Peak, lead writer for the Rivals.com’s “Panther Lair” Pitt beat, has just published a new book about the circumstances leading up to, and Pitt’s winning of, the 13-9 win over West Virginia University back in 2007.

If you remember we went into that game in Morgantown 28 point underdogs to WVU who was a lock to play in the 2008 BCS National Championship bowl game for the national championship.  We stunned the football world and ended that WVU dream very abruptly – to the delight of the Pitt football nation.

Here is a lead-in to the book:

In 2007, the Pitt football team upset its hated rival, West Virginia, in the regular-season finale to prevent the Mountaineers from playing in the national championship game. That win – a 13-9 victory for the Panthers – is well-known among Pitt fans, but what often gets forgotten is what happened before that game. Because in the three months leading up to the West Virginia game, Pitt, under head coach Dave Wannstedt, encountered adversity, challenges, and sheer bad luck at every turn. The win over West Virginia was a triumph, not just of one team playing well on one night, but rather a triumph of a team persevering through a difficult season and finding redemption in the greatest way possible. This book is the story of that game, that season, and that team.

Chris Peak is, in my opinion, by far the best writer covering Pitt football around, bar none.  His articles on Rivals.com are well thought out, timely and very well written.  I have referenced him and his work hundreds of times in my past Pitt Blather and now my POV articles and have always said that if you want to have the latest and best in-depth info on Pitt football a subscription to Rivals.com to read his stuff is well worth it.

That Chris sat down and wrote this book is not surprising and I can’t wait to get my hands on it – I just ordered four copies for late Christmas presents.

Here is the link to the Amazon website. It looks as if the books are going fast but you can get it on Kindle for free if you subscribe or for a very low price of $2.99 if you don’t.  Hard copies coat only $6.99 each – what a great deal from a great writer.

Here is another bit to wet the whistle… This is a graphic snapshot (hence the bad formatting) of his lead-up to set the stage for the rest of the book. This part discusses the hiring of Dave Wannstedt.

I cannot wait to get this book in the post. I even bought extra shipping and handling to get it in my hands as soon as possible.

Congratulations to Chris for writing it and my thanks also for bring back those great memories of a season that was headed to the 4-8 dustbin but instead turned out to be the very best 5-7 season Pitt has ever had. Isn’t it funny that this last 5-7 2017 season turned out much like that 2007 year – but we Pitt fans don’t have anything like the drama of the Backyard Brawl we have with WVU when it comes to playing Miami – and so the grand exclamation point to the season is the subject of this book.