Finally. I leave for Pittsburgh in less than 12 hours. Looking forward to it, even if the crew is a little sparse for the first game. (S**t, I just realized I forgot to pick up Colony Sauce this afternoon.) Adjusting to the new lot will take a little time. The advantage of where we park, as Pat pointed out to me this afternoon, is that we likely won’t be dealing with the crowds from PNC Park, since we are on the other side of Heinz Field. I mean, they had an official crowd of around 26,000 Friday night. I doubt it will be much higher.

So, here’ s the news. Hey, did you hear the defense is looking to redeem itself after last season? Once or twice? They may find some in this game, but I think most fans will hold off on their view of how they’ve turned it around after Nebraska and a couple more games.

The real storyline for the game of course, is the first starting game for QB Tyler Palko. His coming out party. The expectations for Palko have been huge for him since he signed with Pitt. After just watching a good deal of the FSU-Miami game with those stud QBs Berlin and Rix, I’m trying to keep my expectations a little more reasonable — just don’t suck as bad as those two.

An article from Gene Collier that wonders whether Coach Harris in his comparing Palko’s acumen for the game to Pete Gonzalez, is giving a bit of a short shrift to Rod Rutherford. It’s a different take, and something I hadn’t considered. Not sure I agree with it, but at least it is a bit more thought provoking then the stuff Cook and Smizik have been putting out.

Sarcasm aside, I am excited about the game today. It’s been a long wait to see Pitt play.

Let’s go Pitt!