Blogger has been a real pain this weekend. Continually up and down. Every post I attempt is with trepidation and risk.

The football stories for the weekend are all about individual players. Puff pieces for everyone. Figure that after this, it really gets down to talking about the game and the history. WVU QB Rasheed Marshall’s final Backyard Brawl. Marshall’s from the Hill District in Pittsburgh and grew up making his way into Pitt games.

Marshall said he didn’t know how important this game was until he was in eighth grade.

“I always knew it was a big game because of the media hype,” Marshall said. “We never knew the reason behind it. It wasn’t until I got into high school that we understood it. After I came here after Valley Forge, that’s when it came into perspective.”

Marshall said he hasn’t started thinking about playing in his final game.

He said he has plenty of time to reflect. His fondest memory of the games he’s played against against Pitt was two years ago when he scored a touchdown, threw a touchdown pass to Phil Braxton and caught a pass.

“That was pretty special,” said the athletic coaching and education major. “Getting to finish my collegiate career at home is special.

“It’s like a dream come true. It’s happening how I talked about it five years ago. Winning would be a nice way to go out. I’ll be able to go home and live comfortably and try to convert some of the people on my street to West Virginia fans.

“I’m going out and try to win. If we win, I can celebrate on the town.”

Let’s hope he has to go out for a wake instead.

Of course Pitt senior Left Tackle, Rob Petitti has the right attitude for dealing with the Hoopies and how to view West Virginia.

If Pitt senior left tackle Rob Petitti were to drive from Pittsburgh to Charlotte, N.C., it would take him a lot longer than the average person. That’s because he wouldn’t follow the standard route of I-79 South to Route 19 to I-77.

“I’d find a way not to have to drive through West Virginia because I have no desire to be there, ever,” said Petitti, “I hate that state, I hate that school, I hate those fans — especially the fans. I hate everything about West Virginia.

“I can’t even watch those commercials for the school or telling you to come visit the state of West Virginia. They really bug me.

“That’s why I tell all my friends, if I ever have to drive anywhere in that direction, I’ll find a way around the state because I don’t ever want to go back there.”
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Even then, it wasn’t until the next year — his first active season and first trip to Morgantown to play in front of the Mountaineers’ notoriously belligerent crowd — that he began to realize just how bitter the rivalry could be. Pitt won, 23-17, but Petitti hasn’t experienced a victory against the Mountaineers since.

“Basically, just having to go down there my first year I played, I hated it, I hated it more than anything,” Petitti said.

“I mean, it is not even so much the players; we have respect for each other. It is their fans and their arrogance towards us. They don’t think too much of us, and we don’t think too much of them.”

Of course for Pitt to win, Petitti and the rest of the O-line will have to protect Palko and maybe, just maybe give the running game a hole or two to exploit. Palko isn’t talking off the field. He doesn’t want to give any bulletin board material.

Another piece on Palko, by Smizik. It would be a positive piece except for one thing… For a fun game, look for the times Coach Walt Harris is mentioned. Once in a quote by Palko’s father — praising Palko’s development under Harris — and then of course to take a shot at Harris:

National championship is not a phrase often uttered at Pitt. Coach Walt Harris mentioned it as a team goal before the start of the 2003 season, probably the first time it had been used by a Pitt man since the 1980s. When Pitt was stunned by Toledo in the third game, that goal looked like a joke.

But Palko, who’ll lead the Panthers against West Virginia in a crucial Big East Conference game Thursday night, isn’t ready to accept anything less. If you’re not playing for the national championship, he reasons, why are you playing?

Palko came to Pitt because Harris can develop pro QBs. Hard to imagine him choosing Pitt when he did without Harris as the head coach. Someday Smizik will acknowledge that — probably with a back hand slap at Harris being a QB coach not a head coach.

Then there is the talk of Palko and Steeler’s QB Ben Roethlisberger. Check out the photo of the two of them. Palko looks like he’s 12 in the picture. The thing is, there is only a year or so difference in their ages. Wow.

Eric Gill, the junior TE, has really started to become a big part of the offense. He has become a very reliable player. He won’t make me forget Kris Wilson right now, but he is starting to compare well.

[Editor Note: Blogger went down last night. Post originally intended for around midnight.]

Just short of being another exhibition. Pitt completely dominated. They had a halftime lead of 40-15. From there it was all about giving everyone some minutes, “Bears rule. Everybody plays.” In only 19 minutes, Chevy Troutman had a double-double: 18 points and 11 rebounds (2-2 on FT). Freshman, Ronald Ramon got the start and played 32 minutes. Significant, as he was the first freshman to start a season opener since Ricardo Greer in ’97.

I didn’t see the game — obviously — but the box score and play-by-play (PDF version here), are encouraging. The team shot better than 50% for the game, and 50% from 3-point range. Troubling to read that free throws were not good: 11-20 (Taft 4-7, Kendall 2-4, DeGroat 1-3).

The quote sheet (PDF) has Coach Dixon explaining why Ramon started — Antonio Graves has a sore ankle — and some concern over the number of Pitt turnovers (25) in the game.

John DeGroat admitted to having some butterflies at first. Chevon Troutman sounding like a crusty vet right now.

“We’re a lot younger. I feel like they really haven’t learned the system yet. There’s some things we still need to work on.”

The number of players used by Pitt wasn’t surprising. Coach Dixon said he was planning to get everyone into the game. Try and start figuring out how, where and who the pieces are.

Yesterday’s stories focused on Carl Krauser. He’s the vocal leader. He’s looking to give his teammates more opportunities to score this year.

The beat reporters have their stories on the game. Julius Page and Jaron Brown were in attendence and got a big ovation when shown on the video screen. The comments by DeGroat were interesting.

Page and Brown, who play for the Pit Bulls of the American Basketball Association, were in attendance last night and received a rousing ovation. The irony was not lost on Ramon and DeGroat, a duo that might one day fill their roles.

“We feel their presence,” said DeGroat, who replaced Demetris early in the first half and showed an ability to grind inside with seven rebounds (4 on offense; 3 on defense). “I know there’s pressure on me to step up right away because I was brought in from a junior college. It’s a little different for Ronald because he’s a freshman and was playing high school ball last year. I have to get in there and make plays.”

He is very aware of his status, but appears to be working hard to prove he belongs in the starting line-up — by playing the tough defense.