I’m not sure which of the following events from this weekend sucked worse…
1. …that Pitt not only got upset by Notre Dame, but that the Irish absolutely dominated us. Throughout the entire second half, we knew that they were going to run the ball, yet we could do nothing to stop it on play after play. Our offensive line was dominated worse than I’ve ever seen any offensive line dominated outside of high school ball (and keep in mind that I am an Ohio State fan who lives in the shadow of Penn State). In one key 4th quarter incident that everybody in Heinz Field saw, Rod Rutherford clearly gave up on running for a first down because he didn’t want to get hit. Our receivers had hands of stone. Defensive Coordinator Paul Rhoades was outcoached yet again, and now should be fired. Heck, Walt Harris’s entire staff was outcoached by Ty Willingham’s staff. But Rhoades has failed us one too many times.
This was supposed to be Pitt’s special year, where we proved that we belonged in a BCS conference after all. Now, we, West Virginia, and Syracuse have proved that the loyal Big East Football Conference is actually weaker than both the Mountain West and the MAC. We should be outside of the BCS. We will not beat either Virginia Tech or Miami in November. Not with Paul Rhoades’s defense. Not with that offensive line. We were truly the most overrated team of 2003.
2. …that I had to watch Notre Dame upset us two seats away from the loudest, most arrogant Notre Dame fan in all of Heinz Field. That I didn’t hit the a-hole is more of a tribute to my wife (she was there attending her first Pitt game ever) than to any maturity that I might have. I mean, I expected Irish subway alumni and other nerds who bandwagon on teams like Notre Dame, the New York Yankees, and the Dallas Cowboys because they have basic inferiority complexes or their penises are simply too small to permeate Heinz Field. But that they were there, that they were that loud, and that they were that right about Pitt…
3. …that my other alma mater got upset too. OK, so we all knew that Ohio State was not going to make it through this season undefeated. Maurice Clarett was just too important to this team, and sooner-or-later those close calls were going to catch up. Furthermore, everybody from the Sporting News to ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit had picked Wisconsin to upset the Buckeyes. I myself said that the loss of Clarett was going to get us against either N.C. State, Wisconsin, or Michigan. So I was hardly surprised when I heard about the loss on Cresson Mountain on the way home from Pittsburgh. Still, it hurt. I was hoping against hope for OSU to pull it out yet again.
Incidentally, Robert Reynolds should be expelled from Ohio State and should face criminal charges in Wisconsin. To me, he embarrassed Ohio State and its honest, proud alumni more with one move than Maurice Clarett did all summer long. Get out, asshole.
4. …that my picks for this week went 2-3, taking my season record to a dismal 11-12. I never saw Pitt losing to Notre Dame, because I never realized how terribly overrated we, our offensive line, and Paul Rhoades’s defense were. I also completely overestimated Florida State’s defense and Wisconsin’s passing game.
5. …that Boston College was invited to join the ACC, and accepted the invitation. I can hardly blame BC for leaving. Still, this sucks beyond belief. Now we have clearly fallen behind both the Mountain West Conference and the MAC in the line for BCS status.
Incidentally, ESPN columnist Ivan Maisel makes some solid points here about why Boston College made a mistake by joining the ACC (he thinks that BC could combine Baylor’s athletic problems with Miami’s Big East travel woes). Really, BC will likely become but a doormat in the new ACC. So I don’t envy their fate. However, I fear for Pitt’s future.
Hail to Sleep: I Worry Less About College Football There
