Penn State-Pitt outcome was expected
STATE COLLEGE 鈥� Penn State downed Pitt Saturday afternoon, 33-14, in what was an expected outcome.
Pitt used a solid plan in running clock to keep Penn State鈥檚 potent offense off the field, and it limited the Nittany Lions to 312 yards on 52 plays and 33 points, well below their expected numbers.
Pitt, on the other hand, ran the ball 45 times alone and held the ball for 38:20 compared to Penn State鈥檚 21:40 of possession.
Without question, Pitt was hurt by the play of quarterback Max Browne, and for the sake of the season, hopefully the Panthers make a move to sophomore Ben Dinucci (Pine-Richland).
Dinucci brings athleticism and versatility to Pitt鈥檚 offense whereas Browne seemed to only throw eight-yard out passes and swing passes.
With better play-calling by Pitt, the game would have been much closer.
For Penn State, Trace McSorley still hasn鈥檛 played well and it is scary to think that the team is averaging 42.5 points per game without him clicking.
Franklin鈥檚 鈥榗ontroversial鈥� comments?
Driving home from State College Saturday night, my buddies and I bounced around channels on SiriusXM to listen to games and also hear some post-game interviews.
One of the one鈥檚 that caught national attention and spread like wildfire on social media was a specific comment by James Franklin when asked about the win.
What did he say that was controversial?
Depends on how frequently you listen to his interviews.
In giving his opening remarks immediately after the game before taking questions, Franklin caught reporters who are not on the PSU beat a little off-guard.
鈥淢ost important is we鈥檙e 1-0 this week, and we were able to get a win,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what this was for us, guys鈥�
鈥淚 know last year, for (Pitt鈥檚) win, it was like the Super Bowl.
鈥淏ut for us, this was just like beating Akron.鈥�
ESPN did its best to hype up the comments, and after all, controversy sparks interest.
Let鈥檚 start with the Pitt perspective before looking at Franklin鈥檚 weekly tendencies.
A lot of Pitt fans, and some members of the Pittsburgh sports media, took Franklin鈥檚 words as an arrogant shot to downplay Pitt.
One Pitt fan reached out to me saying that Pitt鈥檚 win over Clemson last year was the team鈥檚 鈥淪uper Bowl鈥� win.
No, it wasn鈥檛.
Pitt鈥檚 season was made by the win over PSU a year ago and its complete off-season prior to that game was spent hyping up the game.
Yes, beating Clemson was huge for the team and an impressive bonus, but had the team gone 1-11 and beat Penn State, that one win would have meant something.
Had Pitt gone 1-11 last year, beat Clemson yet lost to Penn State, the Clemson would not have been as big of a deal.
With that said, every week Franklin talks about going 1-0 and how that week鈥檚 opponent is the only one that matters.
This week when Penn State beats Georgia State, Franklin will once again talk about being 1-0 for the week and how the win was important.
So when Franklin says a win is as important as the Akron win or the Pitt win, that is what he means.
As a Penn State season ticket holder who remains neutral when covering events, I do understand both sides of this topic.
But had the national media not blown it out of proportion, no one outside of the Pittsburgh area would have cared.
Regardless, both teams need to move on and Pitt faces another stiff test this week in Oklahoma State.
WVU back on track
West Virginia blew out East Carolina, 56-20, for its first win of the season behind Will Grier鈥檚 352 yards passing and five touchdowns, Justin Crawford鈥檚 118 yards rushing and two scores and David Sills 153 yards receiving and three touchdowns
The Mountaineers will put up huge numbers again this week against Delaware State.
Saint Vincent鈥檚 local flavor
The Saint Vincent men鈥檚 soccer team stands at 1-3-1 so far on the young season, but it has several local players on the team.
Zach D鈥橝mico and Zach Remaley are from Mount Pleasant, Colin Pastor hails from Elizabeth Forward, Josh Kucmeroski is from Monessen, and Davis Kost hails from Belle Vernon.
D鈥橝mico and Kucmeroski each have one goal with D鈥橝mico adding an assist.
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