It is only natural for extra storylines to develop when Pitt and Penn State meet on the football field. The two programs will get together on Saturday for the 100th time in a series that dates back to 1893. The schools are the only two power five football programs in the state of Pennsylvania and they are separated by a few hours.
Pitt struck first in the renewed rivalry back in 2016, while Penn State answered in a big way the past two seasons, including a 51-6 win last season. Tweets have been sent, comments have been made - the usual things when in-state football teams meet.
Putting all that stuff aside, however, Pitt’s biggest focus this week needs to be Penn State - the football team, not the extra stuff that comes with the game. The Nittany Lions will welcome the Panthers to Beaver Stadium on Saturday at noon with a 2-0 record and a No. 13 ranking in the AP poll.
Penn State is outscoring its opponents 124-20 through two games and have looked very impressive in doing so. The offense is guided by sophomore quarterback Sean Clifford. In his first two career starts, he has racked up 559 passing yards and six touchdowns. He also leads his team in rushing with 108 yards as well.
During Pat Narduzzi’s Monday press conference, he placed some praise on the young Nittany Lions' quarterback.
“Obviously Sean Clifford is a baller, just another quarterback that they've developed in their system and knows what he's doing,” Narduzzi said. “He's got a nice arm throwing the ball all over the place.”
The Nittany Lions boast some talented playmakers on the perimeter like wide receiver K.J. Hamler (7 catches, 177 yards, 2 touchdowns) and tight end Pat Freiermuth. Hamler in particular is a player the Panthers must be wary of, as he notched two touchdowns against Pitt last season. He is a Michigan native, and Narduzzi even recalls seeing him workout when he was still in high school.
"The Hamler kid, again, I remember sitting in the tower at Michigan State watching that guy run around as a sophomore (in high school) going, holy cow, that guy is a football player,” Narduzzi recounted. “He's impressive. We'll have to know where he is all the time. They move him around quite a bit.”
While the offense is clicking right now for Penn State, it is the defense that everyone expected to be elite this year. Through two games, the unit is showing out as expected. The Nittany Lions rank 10th nationally as a team with eight sacks on the year.
Yetur Gross-Matos is a 6’5” and 264-pound junior defensive end and he leads his team in sacks with three already. He is one of the top defensive ends in the country and will certainly hear his name called on draft day this spring.
Gross-Matos is the anchor for one of the best defensive lines in the country, something Narduzzi is well aware of heading into Saturday.
“Their front seven is as good as you're going to see in the country,” the Pitt coach said. “I have no doubt about that. They've managed to stay healthy. That's part of it. And they're good football players.”
Another factor Pitt must deal with on Saturday is the atmosphere. Even with a noon kick, Beaver Stadium will be loud and intimidating, only adding to the challenge at hand for the Panthers.
“Yeah, obviously when our offense is on the field, we'll be in silent count, using different signals to get the ball snapped,” Narduzzi described. “It's something that our offense has not prepared for this year yet, however Saturday, we'll have to deal with the noise.”
There will be countless storylines heading into Saturday’s game, some of which that will be recycled from the past three years, but at the end of the day the biggest challenge facing Pitt on Saturday is Penn State itself.
Locking out the media, deflecting questions, or making jokes are all well and good and part of the fun in a rivalry, but Pitt’s main concern will be when the ball gets kicked off on Saturday against a top-15 team.
