One of college football’s most historic and fiercest rivalries returns after a 15-year hiatus when Penn State visits Pittsburgh on Saturday. In a return to the storied rivalry on Saturday, it was just the opposite. On the eve of the first gridiron clash between the Panthers and Nittany Lions in 16 years, Barnes sat down with 90.5 WESA’s Paul Guggenheimer to discuss Saturday’s sold out game at Heinz Field and what the future holds for a rivalry that dates back to 1893. It was also the most total points scored in the series. More importantly they make plays. As soon as I caught that ball, the crowd started erupting.
Advertisement
“I know there’s a huge tradition and it was something people say Pennsylvania looked forward to every year”, McSorley said.
ESPN’s “Team Efficiency” rankings after week one are out.
He credited the team for bending but ultimately not breaking, and felt Lewis’ interception was a key to the win. What resulted was a back-and-forth second half filled with clutch plays and momentum swings.
“Fortunately enough, we play them again next year”.
“When my players come off the field, I would rather they go right into the film room and watch that practice than have to spend three minutes (doing interviews)”, Narduzzi said. “He was another hero”. Conner ran for four times for 48 yards on the drive. As a team, Pitt had only 86 rushing yards on 34 carries.
Aston bulled his way over the goal line from a yard out to complete a 99-yard opening drive for the Panthers and it got easier for them on their next drive.
“What we have to do is eliminate turnovers”, Franklin said. “We want to be able to do both of those things”.
Redshirt junior tackle Andrew Nelson relayed some of offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead’s words after the game: “The only thing that’s going to stop our offense is ourselves”.
“I just get to the ball as much as I can”, Caprara said. “None of this would have been possible without the job by our offensive linemen”.
Rewinding the film on Penn State’s 42-39 loss to Pitt. Penn State was in it until the last minute of the game until McSorley lofted a ball into the end zone between two Nittany Lions receivers, but Ryan Lewis was there to haul in the interception and seal the victory for Pitt.
Penn State coach James Franklin said he expects a “colorful” welcome to Pittsburgh.
“After James put the ball on the ground … our guys went out and put up a a three and out”, Narduzzi said. However, he got hit by Mike Caprara and forced a fumble, which was recovered by the Panthers. These teams have met 96 times in their history, but they haven’t played each other since 2000. Nine of the 10 plays were rushes – the only throw was a 10-yard shovel pass from quarterback Nate Peterman to tight end Scott Orndoff. At this time Pitt is more put-together, but will have to keep Saquon Barkley from making big plays.
Advertisement
Penn State also averaged just 3.8 yards per carry even with Barkley topping the century mark, a number that wasn’t exactly encouraging for a rebuilt line consisting of most of the same players that struggled to protect the quarterback and open running lanes last season. Trying to convey decades of antagonism to players who were in preschool the last time the Nittany Lions and Panthers shared a football field is another matter. Barkley would finish with five total touchdowns, including four rushing, and was the only Penn State player to reach the end zone. But McSorley was sacked on third-and-9 and PSU had to settle for Tyler Davis’ 38-yard field goal attempt. A calm and steady senior quarterback Nathan Peterman for Pitt could give one significant edge over Penn State with sophomore Trace McSorley until proven otherwise.
