The selected transcript of the Walt Harris Press Conference is up (but not the video yet). The first part of his opening statement is well worth reading
“Thanks to all of you people who came today. I appreciate all of you coming. We’re excited about playing more four-quarter type football than what we’ve played so far this year. I think there were some areas of our team that really stepped up and I think you have to give a tremendous amount of credit to the players’ preparation. In order to play against Boston College you have to be physical. I think we measured up extremely well in that part of the game. I thought our defense played the run the best we have in a long time. To give up 56 yards and 26 of them in the first drive on one carry and only 30 yards the rest of the day against Boston College is a really significant accomplishment and the couple of jobs they did on the goal-line to keep them out were instrumental in the victory.
“I thought for the first time this season to have an offensive line finally intact that we thought was going to start for us was great. We had 177 yards rushing which is really a good performance by everybody. I thought our backs ran hard. I thought Marcus Furman played real good as well as Ray Kirkley. Our specialists came through. We missed a field goal but Josh (Cummings) hit everything else. Adam (Graessle) did an unbelievable job on holds. Thank God he’s 6-3 or however tall he is; he’s got long arms and boy he made a tremendous punt.
“The overtime period became significant. There were a couple of big, great plays by Mike Phillips. That punt block he picked up and got the first down…the only time I’ve seen that before was when it happened to us.
“The last part that I thought was very significant was the enthusiasm of the crowd. I think our crowd and our fans were ready. I think as the game unfolded and some of the physicalness of the game came out, I believe they really got into it and were a factor in the game, which is tremendous for us. I can’t tell you enough how important that part of the game is in helping our football players play better. When Tyler Palko had his sideline hit against their cornerback that helped ignite our fans and everybody on the sideline. It was truly a statement by him that he was going to do whatever it took to win the football game. It was tight game that we were fortunate to win but our guys really fought and showed the same kind of spirit with better play — not yet quite good enough but better play and we were able to find a way to win.”
No talk of how the plan worked or that the players executed the plan. This was all credit to the players, the crowd and the team. It may have taken him until he’s halfway out the door, but he seems to have finally started to “get” that.
But even the national media knows this is it for Harris
It’s probably a case of too little, too late, but Pittsburgh’s 20-17 overtime win against Boston College couldn’t have come at a better time for embattled coach Walt Harris. In the most intense week of speculation yet surrounding the eighth-year coach’s job status, Harris’ agent, Bob LaMonte, criticized the school for leaving his client “hanging out to dry” by not defending him publicly. More damning, Pitt legend Tony Dorsett went public with his displeasure about the program. “It’s sad. It’s god awful,” said Dorsett, whose statement “I didn’t even know that Connecticut [which beat the Panthers] had a football team” lessens his credibility just a tad. While the Panthers have certainly looked bad much of the season — even against BC they got outgained 423-308 — but the reality is, by handing the Eagles their first conference loss, Pittsburgh (4-2, 2-1) now has as much a shot at the Big East title as anyone.
Pitt has the Rutgers “Game Day” press release with links to info on the teams available.
The Pitt-Syracuse game on November 6 has been picked up by ESPN Regional and will be played at noon.
