by Alan Robinson PITTSBURGH (AP)—Pitt’s season will play out with season-ending games against Notre Dame, West Virginia and Cincinnati, three ranked opponents in a month’s time for a team that hasn’t played a Top 25 team since last season’s Sun Bowl. The difficult stretch will tell coach Dave Wannstedt’s No. 16 Panthers if they are Big East championship-worthy and ready to play in a BCS bowl, or if their 7-1 start can be credited to a favorable schedule. The No. 25 Fighting Irish, No. 20 Mountaineers and No. 5 Bearcats represent as many ranked teams as Pitt has played in the last two seasons combined, and that includes the Sun Bowl against Oregon State. Pitt (4-0 in Big East) has never played better during Wannstedt’s five seasons, but they’ve never been tested like they soon will be.
Three of the Steelers next four games are critical. The Steelers, 5-2, will face the previous undefeated Denver Broncos, 6-1. Then comes the biggest game of the season, at home against the 5-2 Cincinnati Bengals. After what should be an easy game against the Kansas City Chiefs, 1-6, come the ramped up Baltimore Ravens, 4-3, who almost have to win all of their remaining games to stay in contention if the Steelers and Bengals continue to win. Which makes the head to head matchups critical.
When it comes to hoops, Slippery Rock University was very slippery when it came to competing in the first exhibition game against the Pitt Panthers as part of the University of Pittsburgh’s 2009-2010 men’s basketball schedule. Pitt won the game 75-64 but Slippery Rock came to play and gave the Panthers a lot more than they bargained for. AUBREY BRUCE
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)— After a week of criticism and second-guessing, Terrelle Pryor felt as if a cool, fresh breeze had blown out all the things that troubled him. Pryor passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, accounting for 343 yards of total offense in No. 18 Ohio State’s 38-7 victory over Minnesota Oct. 24. The numbers—and the result—were in stark contrast to what happened seven days earlier. In a shocking 26-18 loss at Purdue, Pryor had looked confused, petulant and unnerved. He threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball away two times. BACK ON TRACK—Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor (2) steps up and into the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown run against Minnesota during third quarter action Oct. 24, in Columbus, Ohio. Pryor passed for tw=o touchdowns and ran for another.
Oliver (6-1, 6-1) was not phased by the fact that they hadn’t beaten defending champs Brashear (6-2, 6-2) since the 2006-07 season. They only allowed one score from Brashear’s normally “high-powered” offense in a 20-7 victory Saturday afternoon at Cupples Stadium. Next week Allderdice and Westinghouse will take the field at Cupples for a Saturday matinee, with the kickoff scheduled for noon. These teams have a ton of youths on their rosters and each is looking to make a statement win as they look to improve in the future. UNSTOPPABLE— Schenley’s Jerome Mathews cuts into the end zone for the first of his four touchdowns against Allderdice. Mathews had 139 yards rushing in the Spartans 35-0 win. Oliver struck first with a 49-yard touchdown pass from Tyrek Morgan to Martise Smith in the second quarter. Later on in that quarter, Tyree Mathis would also score on a 73-yard touchdown run to put Oliver ahead, 12-0.
by Alan Robinson PITTSBURGH (AP)—Bill Stull rarely hears himself mentioned in the same sentence as Dan Marino. He is now. Stull is one of college football’s biggest surprises and, if Pitt Panthers keep playing this way, they might be, too. Stull threw for two touchdowns, Dion Lewis ran for two and No. 16 Pitt scored on all five possessions in the first half to rout South Florida 41-14 Saturday and extend its best start in 27 years. MILESTONE—Pittsburgh freshman running back Dion Lewis breaks 1,000 yards on the season with this run past South Florida cornerback Jerome Murphy during the second quarter at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Oct. 24.
PITTSBURGH—Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen has been named 2009 Major League Rookie of the Year by Baseball America. The current edition of the publication features McCutchen on the cover and is available now. ANDREW McCUTCHEON McCutchen, 23, hit .286 with 26 doubles, nine triples, 12 home runs, 54 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 108 games with Pittsburgh after joining the club June 4. He led all National League rookies with 47 extra-base hits and ranked second among N.L. rookies in multi-hit games (36), runs, walks and total bases (204). In addition, he ranked third in RBI, third in stolen bases, third in slugging percentage (.471), third in doubles, fifth in batting and fourth in on-base percentage among N.L. rookies.
The Steelers defense took matters into their own hands Sunday in the fourth quarter, not waiting for the sporadic offense. And even though the special teams tried to give it away they responded again with their second touchdown to remove the Minnesota Vikings from the ranks of the undefeated, while making a statement to the rest of the NFL that they are still the best in the game. OUT OF BOUNDS— The Vikings Benny Sapp applies a late hit to Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Sapp was penalized for the infraction. Behind the two fourth quarter touchdowns by the defensive unit, a 77-yard fumble recovery by LaMarr Woodley and an 82-yard interception touchdown by Keyaron Fox, to secure a 27-17 victory, the Steelers (5-2) were able to keep place with the surprising Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) who embarrassed the Chicago Bears 45-10.
The Minnesota Vikings, including their latest representative from Valhalla, quarterback Brett Favre, rowed into Pittsburgh with their “longships” and almost totally “looted” the Pittsburgh Steelers of their dignity. See folks, it is easy for any professional football team to look crisp against wet noodles, like the Detroit Lions (who by the way were just a play or two away from beating Pittsburgh at Ford Field) and the hapless, almost hopeless Cleveland Browns who more often than not, beat up on themselves. AUBREY BRUCE
Entering the 2009 season, Wilkinsburg needed just one win to become only the 14th WPIAL school to reach 500 wins. The Tigers are 0-7 this season and with only two victories over the last five seasons some Wilkinsburg fans fear that the team might reach 500 losses before they can celebrate another victory. The Tigers haven’t won a WPIAL championship since 1957 and haven’t won a playoff game since 1998, but you didn’t have to be Nostradamus to predict that the Tigers would struggle again in 2009. FIGHTING BACK—Wilkinsburg quarterback Jordan Wade gets off a pass as two Carlynton defenders close in.
