When kickoff comes I know I will be extremely excited but looking at this game and trying to write columns has sucked all the anticipation out of me. Pitt should beat Iowa on a purely talent standpoint but I don't think any Panther fan will throw a bet down on this game. Iowa is a big name in college football but this year they aren't any great shakes despite being 3-0. Preseason I saw this game as the chance for Wannstedt to break out and prove he can win the game he always loses but now what would a win mean? 2-1 isn't terrible but nobody can look at the record and say that should have lost a game yet. If we lose and go 1-2 the season isn't over but any sort of national respect and a decent bowl could be out the window.
Many in the media and in the fanbase are saying this is the most important game of Wannstedt's time here at Pitt but I completely disagree. This game is the type of game Wannstedt always loses; home against a manageable opponent when we are the favorite and after a bye week. A narrow win would only mean that we are around the same level that we were coming off of the Buffalo win and a loss means we are back to square one. Iowa having some profile in college football is the built in excuse for the coaching staff if we lose this game.
Our only hope that this season is turned around is if we can manage a blowout. If in some crazy scenario we put a 25 point plus win on Iowa then I think people can start to get a little excited again but everybody knows this game is going to be close.
Sorry for the continued pessimism but I'm struggling to the see the positivity in a 1-1 season playing against a down Iowa team. On the plus side everybody there will be two podcasts this weekend, look for the first one tomorrow night.
3 comments:
I can see this one going down like the Nebraska game of 2005 and the Michigan State game from 2007. It will be close, ugly and boring. Unfortunately Pitt will lose. I really hope I am wrong.
Rob,
I think you are right about the style of ball and type of game that will be played. I am hoping that if it's close, Connor Lee can be the difference maker and can drill a couple of clutch 40 yarders to seal the deal.
pitt's winning against iowa would be almost as important as the 100th backyard brawl in terms of what we should get out of it (though wanny trashed the legacy of that game with BG). Iowa is 3-0 and tied for first in the big 10. Even though the big 10 is suffering this year, they still haven't lost.
Yes they have only played one potential challenge in iowa state and someone might have gotten stabbed at FIU, but you must respect a team that wins the games it is supposed to. their biggest weakness is QB. there is a lot of QB controversy over at iowa, and the coach only recently picked their starter.
this game is completely winnable if the coach makes the right decisions, because the players, with few exceptions, all do their jobs, and then some.
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