One thing struck me interesting this past week when it came to Pitt football. Here’s the latest Farrell Files Pitt edition.
First off, I was fascinated with the small drama surrounding James Franklin at Penn State not including Pitt in his final coaches Top 25. As we know, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi picked Penn State No. 9 in the final poll, and some felt it was petty of Franklin to leave Pitt off. But let’s be clear — the coaches don’t talk about this stuff. Obviously, Narduzzi would include a 11-2 Rose Bowl Penn State team but it’s not like what number he’d rank them is something they talk about. In fact, in my experience, coaches take about two minutes with this stuff as they just don’t care.
But there is something here. Narduzzi had Penn State ranked 9th which is the lowest of any coach who ranked the Nittany Lions as they finished No. 7 overall. Out of all the coaches it happens to be the Pitt coach who ranks PSU the lowest. I know coaches take two minutes with these but it clearly pains Narduzzi to put Penn State anywhere so he chose as low as he felt he could get away with. That’s a rivalry.
And Franklin? I’d say it’s not a huge deal but to have UCLA No. 21 and snub Pitt? Again, two minutes of effort but a clear exclusion with meaning. A depleted Pitt team shocked UCLA in the Sun Bowl en route to a 9-4 season. A case can be made for UCLA to be in the Top 25, and they did finish No. 21 overall ahead of No. 22 Pitt, but to leave Pitt off his list entirely following that head-to-head win seems odd.
So, take it for what you will. Coaches polls are kinda dumb until you see things like this. Franklin and Narduzzi renewed this rivalry in 2016 with Penn State winning three of the four from 2016-2019 and the teams continue to battle on the recruiting trail. Penn State is deemed the blue blood and many fans claim Pitt isn’t a rival. While Pitt fans may not admit it, but they feel disrespected as PSU wants so badly to be rivals with Ohio State and Michigan but have to settle for Maryland while Pitt has a great rivalry with West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl.
If these small coaching snubs in a dumb poll speak to anything it’s that we should push for this game every season. It’s hard now with conference expansion and teams scheduling easy wins, but two power programs in the same state play every year in places like Georgia, South Carolina and Florida every season so why not this one?
Polls are filled out by SIDs.
PSU culture is rotten to the core. They still live off JoPa’s corpse and think they are Alabama.
Their handling of their rape culture is disgusting as they turned a blind eye and tried to redirect their revolting behavior to sports.
I expect nothing less from Sandusky U.
shi*t coddles men who beat women as long as they work with the strength coach a bit longer during the week. I expect nothing less from woman beater U
Joe knew and Franklin knows about the football team gang banging and has done NOTHING about it.
duzz knew at MSU about Nassar and his atrocities (equal or worse than Sandusky)
Snow Cone U. is disturbing to people around the world, yet their fans still worship Jerry and Joe. How so very Sick!
Stupid reply .
No it isn’t
Yea it is…creep. Duzz wasn’t in a position of authority at MSU. The ones like Paterno & the other enablers…..WERE !
where did I say duzz was in power? duzz knew
Isn’t time for your root beer float?
no, but now I want one!
Nothing worse than Sandusky. The worst scandal in the history of college football.
PSU should have received the death penalty.
should Michigan get the death penalty for Dr. Anderson scandal? Michigan paid 490 million to settle that horror.
Mike Haywood, Hayes…woman beating at pitt is a long time tradition
Come on OCD, you act like a Pedo state troll
That’s because he is and he’s a twit.
oh my, words hurt
h2p!
The weirdos at Un Happy Valley will never recover from the atrocities and cover up’s. Yes, the reputation is set in stone, and nobody likes them. The cultists are sick and so is their new coach.
never recover? Thriving University and 11 win team/Rose Bowl champs. Do you know shi*t hasn’t won a NY6 bowl in 41 years. Such a mediocre program
I saw a USC fan a at the Rose Bowl (the one PSU lost) with a tee shirt that said “Joe Knew”. It’s everywhere.
no you didn’t
no way…
h2p!
#lockthegates
#pattsignal
James, Jerry, and Joe – The Three Creeps!
duzz and Nassar were great friends at MSU
That’s a stretch, besides; the news all around the world is all about the perverts at PSU.
That was a stupid comment .
nope
pitt wants so bad to have this rivalry, PSU is unrivaled and 107k at home games laugh at the jv team putting 20k in the Steelers stadium (Penn State triples that for their spring game)
NSYC sold millions of albums. Doesn’t make them a good band…
If you are referring to the Johnson issue, I think a lot of Pitt fans agree with you. He should be in jail. But the difference is that the PSU sickness went on for years and was not an isolated incident, that was covered up by the school.
H2P
who is this NSYC you speak of, I’ve heard of NSYNC but not your favorite band.
Are you a pitt fan? What is the Johnson issue? I’m referring to the Hayes issue where he beats women (I’m sure it’s not the first time) and just has to do a few extra heavy reps with the strength coach
PSU is a joke. They are always in the news for serious crimes and other atrocities. I talked to a Michigan fan who despises PSU more than Ohio State. Yes, let’s rename it to Penitentiary State University!
Always on the news? Last broadcast I saw was PSU THON raising millions while pitt promotes women beating
a real Michigan fan would never despise PSU over OSU. It’s like saying a shi*t fan despises UNC over WVU
Penn State enrollment nearly triples Pitt, so it’s not surprising that they have a larger alumni base and student section. With that being said, when you look at all sports as a whole, Pitt and Penn State are neck and neck.
https://nacda.com/services/download_file.ashx?file_location=https://s3.amazonaws.com/nacda.com/documents/2023/1/13/Jan_12ConferenceStandings_Update.pdf
Check to see which school has the larger endowment. Three times the enrollment should mean three times the endowment. It doesn’t.
Most of the endowments are for soda jerks and snow cone bozos.
There’s also not a damned other thing to do up on the tundra than attend a
cult gatheringfootball game.the only thing to do around the pitt campus is try and avoid crime and shootings/drugs
Won’t be clicking on that, if you want to post I will read. What other sports do you speak of (most don’t matter)? Wrestling? Hoops?
I’m sure you will say women’s volleyball (insert chuckle)
Does Franklin wax his cue ball in the locker room before he runs onto the field?
not sure, always looking sharp and perfectly dressed so he might
And yet here you are, commenting for the millionth time on it. Typical of a Penn Stater to look outward, but not inward. Enjoy the cult life.
and you respond, so easy here
Unrivaled ? Not when you can’t beat the Big 2.
Penn State is a cult and a diploma mill in the middle of an area populated by northern rednecks.
I’m from northern PA, Penn State is hardly redneck comparatively haha. In fact, they would probably take offense and do whatever it takes to prove you wrong.
Education will do that.
The description is: Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Alabama in the middle.
One thing though: Joe never beat the Bear at Alabama. 🤣
409
There redneck face the facts!!
I’m a hillbilly not a redneck. I know what I am and I’m not sure what facts you proclaim to be informing me about. State College is nothing compared to Northern PA and I loathe Penn State. Most everyone up there roots for PSU though, that line of thinking kind of goes hand in hand.
Penn State is a Hick School much like Eastern Kentucky. Ain’t that so!
When are you going to come out as a niter? If I go on a PS site I identify myself as a Pitt grad. Are you ashamed that you’re a niter?
I want nothing to do with WV or PS ever. 50- years will do that.
I understand why JoePa hated Pitt. We treated PS like dog poopy. In a hundred years, revisit a meeting but not before then.
No schooling… he from them hills!!!
I absolutely love everyone talking about me. I think 4-5 people follow me and reply to everything. Awesome!!
h2p!!!
I agree. You are good for business and I endorse it. Keep em’ coming!
You got it Denny, I always look out for my big fans like yourself!
You are a Pedo state troll, go back under the rock you crawled out from
Franklin is just like Sandusky
Because there is nothing else to do in cow town.
you can tip cows I think?
Penn State surpassed Miami as the most despised university in America. That says it all.
show the data and poll or it didn’t happen
Look,Pitt plays WVU every year even though it gains them nothing. Why? They recruit for the same players, just as Pitt and State Penn do every year. Why won’r milkdud scheduled Pitt? Because losing to them destroys their superiority complex, and they just can’t have that.
Does Pitt run a run playing the hoopies every year? Of course they do, but it’s an established rivalry and they honor that. Apparently State Penn’s superiority complex prevents them from doing so.
Kind of why Pitt stomps them when it comes to in state recruiting
We dropped WV when we left the Big East or more correctly the Big East dropped us. AD Scott Barnes renewed this series to fill seats and quickly quit. May he roast in hell. Playing WV cost us a shot at the ACC championship this year and likely every subsequent year because of injuries sustained during this game. Look at the non conference schedule for Georgia next year, it’s pathetic. But we play Cincinnati, WV and Notre Dame before conference next year. I’d be surprised if we lose less than a half dozen starters before our 1st ACC game. North… Read more »
shi*t stomps PSU in-state recruiting? Where is the top recruit in PA (5* OL J’Ven Williams going)? You can have your twin walk on 225 OL
Sure, there are a good many schools that are disgusting hick schools for morons, but even those have better reputations than Pervert State.
pitt campus is in a crime riddled, drug fueled cesspool of a city. they play in a rented stadium in front of 20k fans.
PSU own’s Pitt Rents. I am a Pitt fan, and they just don’t draw consistently even when they have successful seasons. They could build their own, but would still have problems filling it. Maybe build a small 40k capacity but would still have only 2 or 3 sellouts a season if thats counting opening day, even when they had their own stadium they HAD they had trouble filling that too. That goes back to Majors and Jackie Sherrill as well. I wish they would build their own, the only thing stopping it, is the SPACE on campus for one. I… Read more »
sign of a jv program when you rent. I’m sure the Steelers want that mediocrity out.
49k, right up there with UConn
The JV program has produced more high impact NFL players than Ped State could ever dream of. Clearly an underachieving place. For the Dairy College.
if you have all this high impact talent why don’t you stack championships? jv program
It’s too bad that the Joe Pa Statue wasn’t smashed to pieces. You would think that it has been put away due to shame but no, fans like you worship it.
409
Joe was also a pervert.
Best College Coach Ever
Succes With Honor
Unrivaled
409
107k
Peachy Paterno
Happy Valley
What’s your favorite Dennis? (Denny is a kids name so I’m now renaming you Dennis)
PSU is a damaged institution, much like any other ruin!
Just shows what a punk Franklin-stein truly is.
I wonder if Franklin was one of Jerry’s kids.
Never saw him on the telethon
The NCAA should have dropped Penn State from all sports, and let bull dozers smash the stadium midgets dressed as soda jerks desecrate the Joe Pa Statue.
But they didn’t
107k
unrivaled
You are fun, and this comment section benefits from your input!
Yes Denny! Now you are an official member of Team OCSP. Might be in line for VP?
I didn’t read this article nor do I really care to because all I’ve heard my entire life (23 years) from psu fans is “we’re not rivals” so why even bother with something like this? I know more people that root for both pitt and psu regardless of the college they went to. They aren’t playing for another 20+ years so why does it even matter? On a side note I don’t understand all this “unrivaled” talk then proceed to go out of your way to make it a rivalry lol
For a youngster you were making some very mature points until the end. I’ve said from the beginning there is no rivalry from the PSU fans. pitt desperately wants it to be so they can fill the Steelers stadium for a game (if PSU ever allows them the chance to step on the field again with football royalty)