They can cover their ears. They can hide their feelings. They can look the other way.
| |  |
| | Penn State's Justin Kurpekis: Central Catholic graduate. (John Beale, Post-Gazette) |
But they can't deny they've heard it.
It has reached Pitt Coach Walt Harris. It has reached the Panthers players and staff. It has caught up to them on campus, at their South Side practice facility and at home.
This year, goes the buzz, the Panthers could and probably should beat Penn State.
Pitt (2-0) will be host to the Nittany Lions (1-2) at 3:30 p.m. today at Three Rivers Stadium. The Panthers have lost seven in a row to Penn State, and their last win in the series was 12 years ago, when the players were in grade school.
There are circumstances, however, that might be interpreted as more than a ray of hope for Pitt.
Despite being a heavy underdog the past two years, Pitt gave the Nittany Lions a game. Penn State won, 20-13, in 1998. Last year, it took a big sack and a blocked field goal in the waning seconds for the Nittany Lions to hang on, 20-17. This year, Penn State is favored by less than a touchdown.
The Nittany Lions did not score a touchdown in their first two games, a 29-5 loss to Southern Cal in the Kickoff Classic and a 24-6 loss at home to Toledo in a huge upset. Penn State rebounded last week with a 67-7 victory over Louisiana Tech.
There are a couple of other angles to today's game. It's Pitt's homecoming in what probably will be a packed house.
And -- here's the biggie -- it is the final game scheduled between the intrastate rivals. They have met 95 times, but there is little or no chance they will play again before at least 2008. That's two "generations" or more of football players at each school who will have to live with today's result without being able to do anything about it.
It's all too much drama for Harris. He can't think about any coming-out parties for his program.
"I really don't want to comment on that because that's not where it's at for us right now," he said. "We're in the preparation mode, not in that mode. We'll have plenty of time for all that stuff if we're fortunate enough to make that happen."
The Pitt players don't have to be as politically correct.
Senior receiver Latef Grim likes and agrees with the notion that the Panthers will win, and it has nothing to do with any vulnerability on Penn State's part.
"Not because they've slipped, but because this team has matured," he said.
Grim is proof that the players don't have to come from Pennsylvania, or even the eastern half of the country, to get caught up in the Pitt-Penn State rivalry. He is from California.
"I'm fully aware," he said. "This is my third year. The first year, I wasn't really into it. Then last year I felt it, and now I'm really into it. I'm excited about what's about to happen, not only for my team but also for the city.
"I can't say it's the biggest game of the year. It's the hump game. Can you get over the hump? How will people react? This game will tell you what kind of direction the team is going."
Junior kicker Nick Lotz is from Findlay, Ohio, but he got sucked into the importance of the matchup last year. It was his 52-yard field-goal attempt that got swatted down by LaVar Arrington that preserved the Nittany Lions' win.
"Coming from Big Ten country, I always hated Penn State," Lotz said. "I was a Michigan fan. Coming to Pitt, I've learned the history of this school and I've learned that you want to beat Penn State.
"It's a real big game for the team," added Lotz, who now has a string of 23 successful placement kicks. "We want to win every game that we play, but Penn State's definitely a big one. I know everyone will be up for it."
Harris isn't worried about his players' emotions, as long as they don't get too carried away.
"I'm just going to try to coach them to be ready to play," he said. "I don't think we'll have to pump our guys up. We don't have to do any Herculean tasks. What happens if you try to do that is you don't do what you're coached to do."
Harris cautioned that Penn State will be a bigger challenge than the Panthers' first two opponents. Pitt opened with a 30-7 victory over Kent State and last week won at Bowling Green, 34-16. Both are Mid-American Conference schools.
"We are not deceiving ourselves with regards to who we've beaten, but we do have two wins under our belt," Harris said. "Let's not kid ourselves. We've played two MAC teams. And now we're playing Penn State, a nationally recognized football program."
Beating Penn State could only help Pitt's recruiting. It might put them into the Top 25 in the polls.
Harris won't listen to any of that.
"I don't like to do that to our football players or our football team or our football program," he said. "I don't think I have to. It's a big game. It's an exciting opportunity for our team. We're playing at home against a great football program with a great football coach. To me, that's enough right now. I don't need to look [ahead] to anything else."
