Yes, Lee, I too got up early this morning to watch the College GameDay Final. The other thing Mark May, proud alum that he is, did was to keep his hand on the Panther helmet from the time he put the sticker on it. I’m sure some purists of sports highlights considers this little swelling of pride in his school to be wrong and biased. It’s boosterish, but it was harmless. The same way Rich Eisen used to preen a little when it came to Michigan highlights or Stuart Scott with UNC. As long as you aren’t denigrating anyone, it is mostly harmless.
This game was all about Palko. That’s who everyone was talking about. In a game where the defenses were more like props than actual units, Palko was outstanding.
But let’s also say that the whole offense was just so up for the game. The much (deservedly) maligned O-line gave Palko a lot of time, and when they did break down, it wasn’t blindside so Palko had more chances to avoid the rush, scramble or just throw the ball away. Left Tackle Rob Petitti played the kind of game in containing Justin Tuck and protecting Palko that was textbook and why he is a one of the few pro prospects from the O-line from Pitt. The O-line actually backed up what it was saying earlier in the week. Apparently it helped that ND showed Billy Gaines being tackled on the cover of the game program. A little something extra.
While the running game wasn’t great, there was just enough running to keep ND off guard. Murphy had some good bursts at times to keep ND honest, and Kirkley got a few good runs through the tackles.
The receivers and tight ends just stepped up. With the exception of the ball DelSardo let bounce off his chest during the drive at the end of the 1st quarter, they caught everything, and they were blocking for others downfield. The TE especially were huge in the game. Eric Gill seems to be coming into his own, and Steve Buches — his father played for ND — caught 2 TDs.
Initially, after the game (actually still, judging by the searches that lead people to this site), all people were focused on was Palko’s f-bomb on national TV. I know, as a parent, I’m supposed to be shocked and outraged when this happens. It just doesn’t bother me. I’ve always been amazed it doesn’t happen more often when they interview athletes right after a big, emotional game.
In one of the few downers, Josh Lay did twist his ankle after his second interception. He has a week and a half to get better. What a great turnaround for his year. From academic issues and deep in the coaches doghouse and not starting behind freshmen, to returning to the starters role and being one of the few bright spots on a defense and especially a secondary that was just lit up in the game. Lay’s coverage was solid for the game, leading ND to focus more on over the middle passes and exploit Mike Phillips and then Darrelle Revis. Both kids have a lot to learn with covering. As has been seen all season, they are no longer physically superior to the receivers they covered as they were in high school. I do find it annoying that the coaching has not improved their performance as the season progressed. I put that on the secondary coach. Who also happens to be the defensive coordinator, Paul Rhoads.
Even Bob Smizik was feeling love for Pitt. Well, at least for Palko. Coach Harris is only mentioned once, when he cites him for a quote about Palko. All credit and praise was directed to Palko. Even for adjustments.
For the dark side, well Ron Cook feels like bitching about how bad the Big East was this week. Like this topic hasn’t been beaten into the ground a few times just in Pittsburgh. Actually, I will have more to say about the Big East situation in a later post.
Then there is a Goose Goslin column that was, shall we say, poorly timed. Obviously written during the week and held for the Sunday edition. He was clearly anticipating a loss, so this piece doesn’t come off very well.
