Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 12:25AM |  15°
MENU
Advertisement
Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis drops back to pass during the team's Blue-Gold spring game, Saturday, April 9, 2022, at Heinz Field.
1
MORE

Ron Cook: In battle for state dominance, Pitt leads Penn State — for now

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Ron Cook: In battle for state dominance, Pitt leads Penn State — for now

Pitt was ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press preseason college football poll Monday, its first ranking in the top 25 of that poll since 2010. Penn State wasn’t ranked for the first time since 2016.

Two immediate thoughts:

Pitt is the better team, not just because of the poll, but because it clearly has passed Penn State since it went 1-3 against the school out east from 2016-19, including a 51-6 loss at Heinz Field in 2018. That delights Pitt fans, who still remember Penn State coach James Franklin saying, arrogantly, after the Penn State win in 2017, “This was just like beating Akron.”

Advertisement

Just as clearly, Penn State has the better program and always will be the better program as long as it is in the Big Ten. Pitt is in the second-rate ACC. I know, the truth hurts.

Pitt linebacker Shayne Simon (32), a grad transfer from Notre Dame, had an impressive interception at the Panthers' first scrimmage of preseason camp on Saturday, coach Pat Narduzzi said.
Steve Rotstein
'Clean' first scrimmage sets tone for Pitt as season opener draws near

Let’s begin with the short term.

As always, the 2022 season largely will come down to the quarterbacks for Pitt and Penn State.

Pitt is counting on USC transfer Kedon Slovis to keep the momentum going from its Kenny Pickett-led ACC championship last season. That is a lot to ask of any quarterback, considering Pickett finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting and was the Steelers’ No. 1 draft choice.

Advertisement

Penn State is hoping Sean Clifford can make Pickett-like improvement after coming back for a fifth season. There’s no doubt Penn State would have beaten Iowa in its sixth game last season, gone to 6-0 and been ranked in the top five if Clifford hadn’t been injured late in the second quarter. Inexplicably, Franklin didn’t have a backup quarterback ready who could even handle a snap from center. Penn State blew a 17-3 lead and never recovered, finishing with a 7-6 record. It is 11-11 in the past two seasons.

I like Pitt’s chances a little more because of the cast around Slovis — both offensively and defensively — even though Biletnikoff Award-winning wide receiver Jordan Addison has moved on to USC.

Pitt’s entire offensive line, led by left tackle Carter Warren, returns intact. That line play helped Pickett lead an offense that averaged 41.4 points and 486.6 yards per game. Pitt easily could have — perhaps should have — gone 13-0 in the regular season if not for bad home losses to Western Michigan, a 14½-point underdog, and Miami, a 9-point underdog. It’s long been a Pitt curse, losing games it should win.

Penn State’s offensive line has been a weakness during most of the Franklin era. That’s a big reason the team didn’t have a 100-yard rusher in any game last season for the first time since 1978. Is that hard to believe or what? It also is a big reason why Penn State averaged just 25 points and 376.4 yards per game.

Penn State cornerback Marquis Wilson (8) celebrates after recovering a fumble by Indiana wide receiver Whop Philyor (1) in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., on Saturday, Nov.16, 2019.
Andrew Destin
Marquis Wilson ‘glad to be back home’ at cornerback on Penn State’s defense

Pitt also has a better defensive line led by Calijah Kancey and Habakkuk Baldonado. Its pass rush was ferocious, getting five sacks in the ACC title game win against Wake Forest and finishing the season with 54, second-most in the country. Pitt’s 151 sacks in the past three seasons were the nation’s most.

You win games up front, right?

Pitt also has an easier schedule. The ACC isn’t nearly as strong as the Big Ten. Pitt doesn’t have to play Clemson and North Carolina State, the two favorites in the ACC. Its only opponent ranked in the AP poll is Miami at No. 16.

Penn State’s first three road games are at Purdue, Auburn and Michigan. It could be 3-3 at that point. It also must play Ohio State and Michigan State. Franklin is 1-7 against Ohio State and 3-5 against Michigan State and Michigan. I know he’s been a terrific recruiter, but he hasn’t been much of a game-day coach. I still can’t believe Penn State gave him a 10-year, $75 million extension through the 2031 season.

Now, the long term.

Penn State has a huge advantage over Pitt because it is in the stable and lucrative Big Ten. There is a good chance more conference realignment will lead to two super conferences — the Big Ten and SEC. If that happens, schools such as Pitt and West Virginia could be left playing second-tier football.

Again, sorry.

Did I mention the Big Ten is lucrative?

Reports have the conference closing in on a new $1 billion-a-year television deal with Fox, NBC and CBS. That would give each conference school a payout between $60 million and $70 million a year.

The ACC’s deal with ESPN is practically peanuts by comparison. It was signed in 2016 and runs through the 2036 season, paying each conference school about $17 million a season. The ACC schools also agreed to a grant-of-rights provision that gives the conference control of media rights and the money that goes with them of any school that leaves the ACC during the duration of the deal.

Don’t count on Pitt joining Penn State in the Big Ten.

Pitt should be so fortunate.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com and Twitter@RonCookPG. Ron Cook can be heard on the “Cook and Joe” show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.

First Published: August 16, 2022, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: August 16, 2022, 12:37 p.m.

RELATED
Steelers wide receiver Steven Sims pulls in a pass during OTAs, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
Joe Starkey
Joe Starkey’s mailbag: Let’s talk about Steven Sims, shall we?
Head coach, Pat Narduzzi, gives instruction and talks to his team and other coaches during Pitt football practice at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex earlier this month.
Adam Bittner
Pitt football earns No. 17 ranking in Associated Press preseason poll
Pitt wide receiver Konata Mumpfield pulls in a pass in front of defensive back Erick Hallett II during the team’s Blue-Gold spring game, Saturday, April 9, 2022, at Heinz Field. Mumpfield was a freshman All-American who transferred to Pitt after a stellar debut season at Akron. (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Steve Rotstein
'Wild and crazy' transfer portal could be more friend than foe for Pitt in quest to repeat as ACC champs
Pittsburgh Panthers tight end Gavin Barholomew during practice Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022 in Pittsburgh.
Kyle Leverone
Pitt football notebook: Panthers see first scrimmage as a chance to 'really get it going'
Pitt fans sit and stand on banisters outside of the Cathedral of Learning while celebrating PittÕs win in the ACC championship, after midnight, Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021, in Oakland.
Paul Zeise
Paul Zeise: Pitt-West Virginia ticket sales prove rivalry games are still important to fans
SHOW COMMENTS (91)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
Former detainee Marc Fogel stands with a U.S. flag around his neck as he is welcomed to the White House after he was freed from Russia in Washington, DC, on February 11, 2025. Fogel, a US teacher detained in Russia since 2021 on drugs charges, was released February 11 after an "exchange" with Moscow, the White House. Trump said he hoped Fogel's release could mark the start of fresh ties with Moscow to end the Ukraine war.
1
news
Marc Fogel returns to Pittsburgh after release from Russian custody and medical evaluation
Traffic passes by U.S. Steel in Braddock on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. An activist investor has accused U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt of potential insider trading as the group pressures investors to support its own plan for the iconic Pittsburgh steelmaker, which includes a new board and abandoning a planned merger with Japan’s Nippon Steel.
2
business
Ancora launches ‘Make U.S. Steel Great Again’ campaign, accuses CEO of insider trading
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (30) is sacked by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Brandon Stephens (21) at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland.
3
sports
Ray Fittipaldo's Steelers chat transcript: 02.18.25
President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)
4
news
McCormick on board with Trump, DOGE shakeup but says ‘you can’t do dumb things’
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., arrives to talk to reporters Feb. 11 after a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans to find agreement on a spending bill, at the Capitol in Washington.
5
news
Republicans consider cuts and work requirements for Medicaid, jeopardizing care for millions
Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis drops back to pass during the team's Blue-Gold spring game, Saturday, April 9, 2022, at Heinz Field.  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST sports
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story