SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Pennsylvania is a second home of sorts for the Irish, and not because it happens to be the birthplace of Irish legend Joe Montana.Nor is it because Pittsburgh's the home of Beano Cook, who once predicted those two Heismans for Berwick, Pa., native Ron Powlus (currently the team's quarterbacks coach).
"We have more subscribers in the state of Pennsylvania than any other state," says inveterate Blue and Gold Illustrated editor Lou Somogyi.
The Panthers, despite their 8-1 record and No. 8 AP ranking, have been averaging crowds in the mid-40,000 level this season at Heinz Field. Saturday night's game, however, despite being available free on television (ABC), is a sellout (65,000-plus) and the Panthers are selling an additional 1,000 standing-room-only ducats. The attendance could possibly break the modern-record for a sporting event in Pittsburgh (66,731 for a 2002 "Backyard Brawl" contest between West Virginia and Pitt).
Even if that record is set, better not to etch it in marble. On Sunday the NFL's Steelers host the suddenly imposing Bengals for the AFC Central lead. And, should Pitt and the University of Cincinnati continue their winning ways, a 10-1 Panther teams hosting an 11-0 Cincy team on Dec. 5 will be every bit as entertaining (actually, more) than the SEC championship game.
As for current Irish Quaker Staters, cornerback Darrin Walls is the most prominent. In his only other visit to his home state in September of '07, Walls picked off a pass at Penn State and returned it 73 yards for a touchdown. It was the only touchdown the Irish scored in their first three games that season.
Only Way to Score for ND
Speaking of which, Notre Dame has now played nine games without scoring a defensive or special teams TD. The Fighting Irish have scored 33 touchdowns, each and every one on a play from scrimmage. Adding variety to the means of six-point production would do much to mitigate those red-zone production issues, no?
Weis Cracks
On Wednesday night, a Chicago Comcast sports host said that Weis had "thrown several players under the bus" this week. I can only imagine that he was referring to Weis' response to a question about what the Irish would do differently in the red zone this week.
"We're going to try not to fumble on the 1," Weis answered. "And we're going to try not to throw an interception inside the 5. Then we're going to try to make field goals when we're on the 14-yard line. That takes care of a few of them."
Is that throwing players under the proverbial bus? Or is that just being honest and accurate? Reminds me of the classic quote from then Tampa Bay Buccaneer coach John McKay. When asked what he thought of his team's execution, McKay quipped, "I'm in favor of it."
This is not football-related, but I had to share. On Tuesday The Observer had an above-the-fold story with the headline "Journalists discuss state of media" (yours truly, unsurprisingly, was not invited to participate). Anyway, a photo accompanied the piece and the caption beneath read as follows: "Jill Abramson and David Shribman discuss the future of jour-"
Might be a good clip to exclude from the portfolio.
Polling Observations
The latest results of The Observer poll, "When should Charlie Weis be fired?" suggest a bermuda-grass roots level of support for the embattled coach is incrementally growing.
A) Never -- 12 percent (11, Wednesday)
B) Should have been fired yesterday -- 31 percent (32)
C) After our next loss -- 8 percent (7)
D) After the season -- 49 percent (50)
One dorm, and only one, is overtly expressing its support for the team this week. Hanging from the third-floor balcony window of Dillon Hall (remember, the self-proclaimed "Smartest, Toughest and Humblest") is a giant bed sheet banner that reads simply, "DON'T FLINCH, BEAT PITT!"
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Why did Weis just run the wildcat twice in a row on our second possession? I'm trying to convince myself that Weis isn't intentionally losing the game.