Pitt Take 5: Teams haven't met since 2012, but Panthers still stoked for River City Rivalry

There is no reason to suspect that any couches were burned in Cincinnati when Pitt lost to the Bearcats in 2012 in the most recent installment of the River City Rivalry.

A crowd of 27,112 — 71% of capacity — showed up at Nippert Stadium on the second week of that season to see Cincinnati defeat coach Paul Chryst’s first Pitt team, 34-10.

Rivalry? In comparison, double that amount of people will show up Sept. 16 when West Virginia welcomes the Panthers to Morgantown for the 106th Backyard Brawl.

The Bearcats’ victory 11 years ago was only the 12th all-time meeting between the schools linked by the Ohio River. The Paddlewheel Trophy that went to the winner — Pitt holds an 8-4 edge — has been retired and is stored away somewhere on the University of Cincinnati campus. Sadly, it may never see the light of day again.

Nonetheless, Pitt’s players consider Saturday’s game against Cincinnati at Acrisure Stadium a rivalry. Hey, whatever stokes the flame.

“These are the rivalries you look forward to,” said Pitt right guard Blake Zubovic, a Belle Vernon graduate. “This is what college football is all about. This is why everyone comes out to watch.”

Said tight end Karter Johnson: “It will be pretty much a street fight.”

Rivalry or not, it’s an important game for both teams that opened the season with dominant victories against FCS teams.

• Cincinnati wants to continue to flaunt Power 5 status after reaching the College Football Playoff in 2021 and joining the Big 12 this year.

• Pitt has a chance to start 3-0 going into the North Carolina showdown Sept. 23, but Cincinnati and WVU stand in the way.

Here are five thoughts to ponder before the 6:30 p.m. kickoff:

1. Leave the officials be

Pitt allowed only one touchdown in its opener, a 75-yard pass from Bryce Corriston to Tyler Parker that took 14 seconds and accounted for 60% of Wofford’s total yardage.

Despite Pitt’s 45-0 lead with 1 minute, 13 seconds to play, Parker and Pitt cornerback Ryland Gandy were each desperately trying to claim ownership of the football as it sailed through the air. Gandy ended up on the ground.

Offensive pass interference? Sorry, no flag was thrown. Shutout gone.

Narduzzi was asked if he might have had a conversation with the officials if Pitt hadn’t led by 45 points at the time. Wisely, he avoided criticizing anyone, although it would have been nice to know his interpretation of the play.

“I’m done having conversations. Let’s get off the officials,” he said. “It’s not an easy job, at all. I thought they did a great job.”

2. ‘Clean game’

It’s difficult to find fault with Phil Jurkovec’s first game. He completed 17 of 23 passes, didn’t turn the ball over and was sacked just once. “He played clean,” Narduzzi said.

His aerial yardage (214) ended up only seventh among ACC quarterbacks last week, and perhaps some fans were expecting more big plays, given the talk during training camp. But the truth is this: Only five of Jurkovec’s completions gained single-digit yardage, and four were good for 22 or more. He didn’t complete every pass and missed a long one to Bub Means, who was clocked at 21.52 mph running through the Wofford secondary.

Freshman wide receiver Kenny Johnson, who was the star of training camp by all accounts, had only two receptions for 23 yards.

“(Wofford) just played so deep that we couldn’t get what we wanted there,” Narduzzi said. “But I guess we’ll find out later on. We’ll find out more this week and next week, I guess.”

In any case, the Jurkovec-Means connection has the potential to be special. Maybe not Pickett-Addison special, but more than good enough to keep opposing defenses honest.

3. Questions to be answered

Narduzzi’s thoughts are more evidence that it’s difficult to get a good read on a team when it plays an FCS opponent in its opener. Last year, Pitt was 1-1 against WVU and Tennessee to start the season, which gave a good indication that the team would win most of its games, but also lose a few. Hello, 9-4.

Questions about the Panthers will be answered on a weekly basis this season. Starting with Cincinnati, Pitt will play 11 consecutive Power 5 foes and be one of six teams in the country with such a schedule. The others are Colorado, Purdue, Louisville, West Virginia and Utah.

4. Streaks and streak-busters

Pitt is sitting with a six-game winning streak that started Nov. 5, 2022, against Syracuse. The most recent time the Panthers won six in a row was in 2009 when Pitt was in the Big East. That streak was ended by a loss to West Virginia, followed by Cincinnati’s 45-44 victory.

The Panthers haven’t won seven in a row since 2001-2002, part of a stretch in which coach Walt Harris’ team won 11 of 12 over those two seasons.

If you care to look even further ahead (hide your eyes, coach Narduzzi), Pitt’s most recent eight-game winning streak started with Pitt’s dramatic victory against Georgia on Jan. 1, 1982, in the Sugar Bowl — Dan Marino to John Brown — and continued when first-year coach Foge Fazio’s team started 7-0 in ‘82.

5. More than a football player

There was plenty of ACC football on TV before and after the Pitt game last week, but Thomas Jefferson graduate and sixth-year senior defensive tackle Devin Danielson had better things to do than just sit on his couch and watch someone else play football.

“I had to spend a little time with my wife and son,” the 23-year-old Danielson said.

Men who set proper priorities often turn into good players, and Danielson has been that throughout his time at Pitt.