This is AP write-up on the game for ESPN. Whoever this wtiter is has a vote:
Expect the Panthers to rise a bit next week when the new poll comes out Sunday.
Yeah, but.
"Hey, dja see Pitt pummeled Syracuse 41-13?"
"Yeah, but dude, did you see McCord? FIVE int's. 3 pick-sixes in the first half! Sack-selfed at the end! If it wasn't for those pick-six's the final would have been 20-13!"Never a break. Always fool's gold for Pitt's accomplishments. What exasperates me most is that I understand the thinking! Win over Kent State? Doesn't count. One if the worst Div 1 teams in the land. Win at Cincinnati? Yeah, it was 27-6! Miracle comeback. Discount. Win over arch-rival West Virginia? At home. And close. And another double-digit comeback. And WVU's no good. Discount. Win over Youngstown State? Doesn't count. Win at North Carolina for the first time ever? Yeah, but Mack Brown lost the team. Discount. Win over Cal? At home. Close. Didn't even cover the spread. Cal can't win for losing. Discount. Scalping of the Orangemen? See above. Pitt "will rise a bit next week". Not much. Mebbe pass two-loss Olé Miss--I don't know, we'll have to see!
That's what they're thinking. Now, the next Big Test. Ranked SMU on the road. And Holstein may be out. SMU will be favored. If we lose, think we'll get a pass if Holstein doesn't play? Not a chance. "Toldja Pitt wasn't any good!"
That's why I was unsettled during this game. McCord's
horror show should not discount a team that is 7-0 winning every which way it's possible to win, and playing in a major conference. But it will.