Penn State vs. Pitt could happen in Fiesta Bowl
CommentaryBy Cory Giger, cgiger@altoonamirror.com
Article Photos
It's such a juicy thought with Penn State and Pitt playing so well: Maybe, just maybe the rivalry could be renewed with the teams meeting in a BCS bowl game.
Let's play the what-if game.
The bad news: The odds aren't good that it will happen.
The good news: It's certainly possible, if everything falls perfectly into place, that the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona could host the game everyone in Pennsylvania wants to see.
Here's what needs to happen:
* Penn State wins out for an 11-1 record and finishes second behind Iowa in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes would go to the Rose Bowl and play USC.
* Penn State finishes in the top 14 in the BCS standings to be eligible for an at-large bid. The Lions are currently No. 12 and would go up by winning out.
* Pitt wins the Big East title, which means wins at West Virginia and at home against Cincinnati.
* Texas wins the Big 12 and goes to the BCS national championship game against the winner of the SEC, either Florida or Alabama.
* Lady Luck intervenes.
Conference champions are obligated to appear in certain BCS bowls, unless they are in the national title game. The breakdown this year: Rose (Pac-10 vs. Big Ten), Orange (ACC champ), Fiesta (Big 12 champ) and Sugar (SEC champ).
The bowl games then pick the opponents in order, and the order this season is Orange, Fiesta, then Sugar.
Now, the fun part begins when those bowls lose their conference tie-in to the BCS championship game. The Fiesta, for example, would lose Texas, while the Sugar would lose Florida or Alabama.
When a bowl loses its conference tie-in, it gets to select first before the other bowls. The Fiesta and Sugar, therefore, would need replacements.
So let's play this out, as it pertains to a potential Penn State vs. Pitt matchup.
The Sugar Bowl would lose Florida or Alabama and would have the first pick among BCS-eligible teams. It almost certainly would take the loser of the Gators-Crimson Tide game to keep the SEC connection.
The Fiesta Bowl would pick next because it would have lost Texas. With Oklahoma struggling and no other Big 12 team in the running, the Fiesta would take the team with the biggest name and traveling fan base.
It would be very difficult for the Fiesta to turn down Joe Paterno and Penn State.
The Orange Bowl would pick third and match up the ACC champ -- that race is still wide open -- against whatever team it feels would provide the best matchup.
The drawback in this whole scenario is that Pitt would appear to be a good fit for the Orange Bowl committee.
But, if the Orange Bowl would decide to bypass the Panthers, the Fiesta Bowl picks next and could take them with Penn State already locked in.
Whether the folks in Glendale, Ariz., would consider an all-Keystone matchup sexy remains to be seen. But the PR value it could generate out of renewing the rivalry would seem to be enormous, much more so than, say, a Penn State vs. TCU matchup.
There's still loads of football to be played, obviously, and all this is based on best-case scenarios.
But hey, there's no harm in wishful thinking, especially since this may be the only way we'll ever see the rivalry renewed.
By the way, an early prediction for a Penn State-Pitt game: Nittany Lions, 31-20.
Cory Giger can be reached at 949-7031 and cgsports12@aol.com.
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TheWizardOfOZ
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10-28-09 7:01 PM
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Weasedog....Amen, Amen I say unto you...finally someone speaks THE TRUTH!
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weasedog
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10-28-09 4:18 PM
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Those who do not want a Pitt/Penn State match up every year just do not understand what that game meant over the years. Joe Paterno tried to start an Eastern Conference and was angered that Pitt joined the Big East. In my opinion Penn State should have joined as well. They would have more natural rivals there and would respected alot more than in the Big Ten where the world revolves around Ohio State and Michigan. Everyone knows that Joe does not want to play Pitt so don't give us the AD does the scheduling crap!
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allmustbeheard
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10-28-09 3:19 PM
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Penn State fans are the most delusional fans out there. They think they are good when all others know they are not. They think they give out trophies for attendance when all others know they do not. They say they need the home games to support their other sports. What other sports? Do they not charge for attendance at those sporting events? Penn State is the perfect example of the greed that has hampered the US economy. Oh and by the way, Penn State would get pounded by PITT in Pittsburgh, State College or any other loaction this season. As for the Big Least comments. That is obviously somebody that does not know good football when they see it but then again they are probably used to watching the snooze fest which is the Big preTENd.
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TheWizardOfOZ
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10-28-09 8:39 AM
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Tell me...HOW do you sell more tickets when every game is already SOLD out??
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TheWizardOfOZ
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10-28-09 8:38 AM
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Those are PSU fans living in Pittsburgh because they can't all be fast food restaurant managers up in State College area. And...there's no accounting for taste! Maybe they need to get a few bags of corn on the cob for the Steelers games on Sunday.
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TheWizardOfOZ
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10-28-09 8:35 AM
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That argument that Penn State needs football to support all the other sports up there is getting SO old...get a new one. They need 7 home games, so they play 8 right? How many times do they get 100,000 for soccer or volleyball....that argument is a total joke. Pitt sells out bball all the time, and you never hear us argue that it supports all our other sports...what baloney!
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HGreen
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10-27-09 7:23 PM
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do you even believe what you are saying? yeah..last time psu was in pittsburgh they brough less than 8k. so a 1 for 1 long term would net about 4k fans every year. they realllly need psu so bad. its a city school. pitt draws better than other good city schools, like MIAMI, and GA. Tech. its just the way it is when there are other things to do. and if you think the AD does anything with the football team without joepa telling him exactly what to do you are more dilusional than the fans who think he actually coaches. bottom line is, i think its dumb for pitt to ever play psu. they don't need them, and psu doesn't need pitt. but its more to gain for psu, by a long shot. pitt has absolutly NOTHING to gain except bringing PSU back into the pittsburgh market, which they are slowly but surely FADING away in. 20 years ago you saw more psu gear than pitt gear around the city, now adays you see TONS of pitt gear and a couple 60 year olds in PSU sweatshirts. keep them out of pittsburgh.
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ibobland80
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10-27-09 6:26 PM
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PSU needs at least 7 home games because they the football program supports itself and all other PSU athletics by the money it brings in, not by taxpayer money and tuition money. Also I'm tired of hearing JoePa picks the schedule. THE AD DOES THAT MORONS. JoePa would love to play more prestigous opponents OOC. However the business side of college football prevents that. PSU can't afford to be locked in a 5/5 10 game series with Pitt. Maybe a 1/1 2 game, but Pitt doesn't want that because it needs PSU very badly to sell tickets. Tell me why is it that so many people from Pittsburgh go to Penn State on Saturdays to see them play when they can just drive down the road to see Pitt? Go to route 22 between Monroeville and Delmont and watch all the PSU fans heading to Happy Valley and NOT Heinz Field.
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TheWizardOfOZ
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10-27-09 3:01 PM
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2nd best scoring defense...what a joke...against WHO? You have one of the worst ranked schedules in the country....those stats mean Jack squat against who you played. Last game....12-0 Pitt...live with it.
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TheWizardOfOZ
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10-27-09 2:59 PM
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At least WE can beat Iowa....and nice move holding white out for your HOMECOMING when the other team wore WHITE....haha
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PantherJake
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10-27-09 1:51 PM
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UnderthearmPITT, Why the obsession with attendance? You make it seem like having 110,000 people dressed in white counts for an automatic win. Oh wait! Maybe Iowa has never heard about that rule. Instead of playing Eastern Ill., Temple, Syracuse, and Akron (and playing them all at home!), drop one of those scrub teams and play your only traditional rival! It's not like you play in a powerhouse conference that makes up for your lack of an OOC schedule. Play Pitt and let this thing get settled on the field!
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TheOneandOnly
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10-27-09 12:27 PM
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UnderthearmPITT--for a team that was/is clearly overrated, and the nation/press are completely aware, you ARE PSU. Now that your team is mediocre at best, with such an amazing defense that has performed well against horrible opponents. The Beav generates good crowds because there is NOTHING else to do there...except get arrested. Pitt seems to be a school that has clearly been focusing on basketball, and now getting their fball program up to speed. You are so sure to point out crowd volume, take a seat and tell me about closing the upper level of the BJC. I havent seen that at Heinz field through Pitt footballs worst years. PSU is "trying" to do the opposite with their respective programs. Both teams play in weak conferences, yet PSU still believes they are an elite program this year. Live in reality buddy, this game would be closer than you think.
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pr1960
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10-27-09 11:33 AM
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CONJECTURE! CONJECTURE! CONJECTURE! What's with this "Obsession" to have PSU & PITT play each other in football? Is it because they are in the same commonwealth? Geographically they are not that close. There is NO rivalry in the other collegiate sports between the two schools. Why not a PENN & PSU game, at least they are connected by name and in the same commonwealth. That game isn't going to happen either. It is not the fans of the respective schools pushing to have PSU & PITT play each other; as much as it is the media that wants them to play. GOD only knows why that is.
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UnderthearmPITT
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10-27-09 10:37 AM
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Wizard stop calling people out for not watching Pitt, NOBODY WATCHES THEM. They couldn't sell out a 65,000 seat Heinz Field for homecoming and the must anticipated (LOL) "Blue Out". They should have just gone for a gold out and let the seats of the stadium fill in for the 30,000 people who decided on doing yard work on a saturday afternoon than go to a Pitt football game. For Eastern Illinois, PSU still had 104,000 in attendance.
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UnderthearmPITT
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10-27-09 10:32 AM
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Fun fact, Iowa is the #1 team in the BCS computer rankings. Ahead of FLorida, Alabama, and Texas. Big Least only has 8 teams, drop the 3 worst teams from the Big 10 and the confrence raiting will go up. And PSU has a bad defense? PSU has the 2nd best scoring defense in the nation, behind Florida. WE are not South Florida, Rutgers or even NC State (LOL) WE ARE PENN STATE!
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TheWizardOfOZ
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10-27-09 8:42 AM
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No its the BIG 11...lowest rated major conf in the country.
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TheWizardOfOZ
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10-27-09 8:41 AM
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says it all...Toona Born and Raised....haha Guess your dwarf secondary is gonna stop Baldwin and Dickerson....
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TheWizardOfOZ
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10-27-09 8:40 AM
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Green...YOU obviously dont watch Pitt..their D line LEADS the nation in sacks (terrible?) Dickerson the TE has 9 touchdowns and leads for the Mackey Award for TEs...and Baldwin our receiver is not very short at 6'5"...better start tuning in our games and get familiar with the personnel before you speak with forked tongue.
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TheWizardOfOZ
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10-27-09 8:37 AM
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Reisman....I guess you think anybody but PSU fans tune into watch you play that pack of patsies you play every year huh. Typical Penn State fan....deluded. We don't care if YOU tune into watch Pitt. Just watch us pass you in the rankings....the only reason you are in them is that you started 4th and have gone backwards ever since. We on the other hand, earned our way into the top 25.
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HGreen
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10-27-09 1:34 AM
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As a big 10 fan, and diehard Iowa fan I would love to see this. they seem to be equal teams, being that both teams have beat my hawkeyes only once this decade. (ignore the fact that we only played pitt once, and psu 8 times). i think penn states weaknesses, offensive line and their secondary, match up well with that terrible d-line at pitt and their short and slow wide receivers/TE. and yes, this isn't the big Least i mean, sure every on-the-field and computer ranking has the big 10 as the worst BCS conference the past 5 years by a long shot but what do they know? nothing! herbstreit will tell you how much better the big TelEveN is!
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reisman
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10-26-09 8:51 PM
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This will never happen. pitt fans never go to their football games and they will lose 3 out of their next 4. Only pitt people want to see this match up. Penn State and the rest of the country won't tune in.
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TheWizardOfOZ
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10-26-09 8:25 PM
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Only sign of intelligence up in State College.....PITTSBURGH 129 Miles....
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FCBayern
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10-26-09 5:52 PM
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A "best case scenario" would allow Iowa and Boise State to play for the national championship in the likely event that they are the only two undefeated teams left. Texas is more likely to remain undefeated than either Florida or Alabama, neither of whom is as good as they were last year, and Texas has a history of losing late in the year to teams that shouldn't beat them (Texas A&M in particular). Utah was the best team in the country last year and the only team that finished undefeated after embarassing Alabama, yet everyone called Florida the champions. If Iowa and Boise State survive, I say let them play for the title.
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TomM73
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10-26-09 12:12 PM
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Looks like Cory Giger needed to write something to fill up space in today's paper.
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bueller
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10-26-09 10:29 AM
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Better to have a ****stache than to be a bitter and shriveled old man who is nothing but a figurehead! And I guess if all you want to learn is agriculture and animal husbandry then PSU is the place to do. They only teach those less important things like law and medicine at Pitt...
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