With all the messed up, screwed up elements in today’s college football framework, the Odyssey believes it fitting that two former starting QBs for USC will be slinging the ball tomorrow evening in Pittsburgh.
John Denver is a country boy and, no doubt, he is delighted that West Virginia will be making a short trip to play the city boys at Pitt on September 1.
John, you have company, as College Football Odyssey is equally delighted!!
Among all the stupidities in scheduling the past decade, easily the worst has been the omission of these archrivals on each other’s schedule (although Texas not playing A&M and Missouri not playing Kansas get honorable mention).
If EVER two archrivals needed each other to spruce up their schedule, it is Pitt and West Virginia.
West Virginia found a lifeline in the Big 12 in the 2010 version of conference musical chairs. But when your nearest conference rival (Iowa State) is 900 miles distant, there can be no denying that a shotgun marriage was arraigned. West Virginia would have been thrilled to have received an invitation to the geographically sensible Atlantic Coast Conference but the ACC evidently did not want to be associated with victorious couch burnings and a so-so academic reputation.
In a sport where the trappings of tradition had unparalled import, West Virginia’s recent schedule has totally flunked aside from the occasional game against Virginia Tech. The Odyssey hoped that Mountaineer players got full credit for frequent flyer miles on their far-flung trips to the Heartland. This geographic mismatch could have been ameliorated by retaining their regional rivalry with Pitt. But, no!! Tragically, 2011 was their last rivalry game.
How regional is their rivalry? VERY! It is 75 short miles from Pittsburgh to Morgantown. Contrast this to the distance to an in-state program that West Virginia has shunned: Marshall. The distance between Huntington and Morgantown is 209 miles.
For as much as West Virginia needs this rivalry, Pitt’s need is equally acute. In the good ole days, Panther fans annually had two great rivalry games in West Virginia and Penn State. Panther fans were appalled that the Penn State grudge match took a 16-year hiatus, starting in 2001, and is currently dormant. Regional ACC games with Syracuse and Boston college have negligible oomph in comparison. From an attendance standpoint, Pitt’s need to have its regional rival back on their schedule is even more acute than for the Mountaineers. It is never easy for a college team to compete for fans where there is the looming presence of the NFL. Many empty seats are at Heinz Field when Pitt plays. Which makes the presence of the West Virginia game on their schedule that much more important.
Given how important tradition is in college football, some of the Pitt-West Virginia games still resonate generation(s) later. Consider:
1965
West Virginia’s 63-48 victory over Pitt was the highest scoring college game to date -ever. Some of the wire services kept asking for confirmation of the score, fearing a glitch
1970
Bobby Bowden is an institution. However, in his first year at West Virginia’s helm, his coaching career was careening toward the trash bin after an epic meltdown at Pitt. West Virginia sprinted to a 35-8 halftime lead. Bowden changed their ultra successful game plan in an ill-fated effort to milk the clock: “We’re going to run the ball in the 2nd half.” Pitt also changed its game plan, using their bigger size to stay in Power I sets. Pitt’s scintillating 36-35 comeback win was devastating for Mountaineer fans: How much so? Irate fans were literally pounding the visitor’s locker room door at game’s end, literally wanting a piece of Bowden’s hide!
1989
Some ties were epic! The Harvard-Yale 29-29 tie will live forever. West Virginia was sporting a 31-9 lead in Morgantown in the 4th quarter. What could go wrong? Turns out, plenty if you were a WV supporter. Ed Frazier’s 42-yard field goal at the gun tied the game at 31 and sent Pitt players into a frenzy.
1994
Is there any other rivalry where a team goes down by 3+ touchdowns so often and then storms back: Take a bow, Pitt!! The Panthers spotted West Virginia a 31-6 lead. No problema. Pitt stormed back to take a 41-40 lead. EXCEPT the Mountaineers’ Chad Johnston saved the day: His 60-yard TD pass with 15 seconds left gave WV a 48-41 triumph was equal parts ecstasy and relief.
2007
Never has had a Pitt-WV game turned out to have more national import. To play in the national championship game, all the 2nd-ranked Mountaineers needed to do was post a win against a lowly Pitt team that limped into Morgantown with a 4-7 record. Las Vegas installed WV as a 4-touchdown favorite.
West Virginia’s electric run offense was stifled, both before and after an injury to its star QB, Pat White. The Mountaineers never made Pitt pay with the pass for the Panthers’ 8-man and 9-man fronts. Pitt’s shocking 13-9 upset had reverberations far beyond Morgantown:
LSU backed into the title game with 2 losses! The Bayou Bengals and Les Miles took full advantage. Rich Rodriquez’s God-like status in West Virginia would go to hell. He bolted for Michigan in an ill-fated marriage that was sabotaged by none other than Lloyd Carr. With LSU in the title game, Miles’ purported plans to head to his alma mater in Ann Arbor were thwarted.
Take Me Home, Country Roads! The Odyssey hears John Denver even if modern-day college football has tragically become tone deaf.