It’s a getaway Wednesday. Hours of driving from out here in Cleveland to my family in Lebanon, PA. Not at all looking forward to the trip with the kids in the car on a hideous travel day. Already sent my dad an e-mail alerting him to have a big dollop of his best single malt ready to give me when I get in town.
As such, I have to give a short shrift to all the stuff ahead of the Backyard Brawl.
Ah, the old standby for rivalry game stories. Interfaith marriage.
After his injury last year, and struggles in camp, Robb Houser has been solid at center. Another huge reason for the offensive success and the overall performance of the O-line. John Malecki being a stud hasn’t hurt either. Hey, better to be 20-somethings doing this than guys pushing 40.
Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt isn’t a fan of his players drawing attention to themselves with their outward appearance — especially before the Backyard Brawl — so he was a bit torn about his starting offensive linemen sporting bleached-blonde Mohawk haircuts this week.
“You better be ready to back it up — that’s what I told them,” said Wannstedt, a left tackle at Pitt in the early 1970s. “The great thing about playing the offensive line is nobody knows who you are except the people in that meeting room and that building. We know how important they are.
“They all did it, and (right guard) John Malecki’s mother (Angela) is a hairdresser, so I’m sure they did it for free. Those two things, that sounds like offensive linemen: they all did it together and they got it for free.”
Adam Gunn story on coming back from that broken neck.
How about Greg Romeus figuring out his future was in football not basketball? Heard it.
The Backyard Brawl is the headline act in the Big East games (duh, you think it is an 11 am Rutgers-Louisville game?).
1. The Backyard Brawl: It’s the oldest and best rivalry in the Big East, and it’s as fierce as ever now that Pitt has gotten back on its feet. The Panthers bring a two-game series winning streak into Morgantown and will try to come out of Friday night’s game with their Top 10 status alive. West Virginia wants to finish strong to help its bowl standing. It should be intense — and a lot of fun to watch.
2. Solving Pitt’s ‘D’: The Mountaineers have scored just 24 total points in the past two games against Pitt, as Dave Wannstedt has found the answer to stopping the West Virginia spread (hint: it helps to have really good players). Bill Stewart’s offense has sputtered to put many points on the board in the past month anyway and now faces a huge test against a very talented defensive line. Noel Devine may or may not be healthy. What wrinkles have Stewart and offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen devised for this game?
3. Welcome to the Brawl, kid: Pitt freshman running back Dion Lewis has nearly wrapped up the league’s offensive player of the year award with his outstanding season to this point. Can he keep it going in his first exposure to the West Virginia rivalry? Last time out, the Mountaineers allowed Cincinnati tailback Isaiah Pead to run for 175 yards on just 18 carries. How will they stop Lewis from carving them up behind the league’s best offensive line?
2007. 2007. 2007. Just might be a theme. As in the demarcation when Pitt started turning things around under Wannstedt. Pitt on a 2-game winning streak in the Brawl.
More “caveman football” oversimplification on Pitt’s offense. Keeping it simple. Go figure, the Hoopie defense wants to stop Dion Lewis.
Meanwhile the WVU offense is trying to solve Pitt’s defense. Jarrett Brown knows the WVU offense like no one else on the team. Yeah, but for those turnovers and injuries he’d be great.
Pitt is just going about its business.
“One thing we rely on ourselves for is internal energy,” Pitt senior quarterback Bill Stull said. “We strive off each other and build off each other and know no one in the stands is going to make a play, sack the quarterback, throw a touchdown, run for a touchdown. Those are obvious things, but we realize we have to rely on ourselves to hold the team up and make the plays you need to make in order to win.”
There’s the whole theme of the Mountaineers trying to spoil Pitt’s dreams the way Pitt did them in 2007. Except that it isn’t so.
