Sept. 9, 2016
It's been 16 years since Penn State and Pitt have squared off. For the first time since 2000, the Nittany Lions are set to travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers at noon on Saturday. The sold out contest will be televised on ESPN.
In the 97th all-time outing between the two teams, Penn State will hit the road for its first road trip of the 2016 season.
With all of the excitement surrounding the revival of the most-played all-time series in program history, Penn State Football has remained steadfast in its approach to the game.
In preparing the team for the most important game of the season, Pittsburgh native and Nittany Lion cornerbacks coach Terry Smith has stressed consistency all week.
"My message was simply to find consistency in our approach to the game and find consistency in how we play come Saturday," Smith said. "There's a lot of media hype around this game and I'm just trying to deliver the message that this is the most important game because it's the next game, and that we have to come out even. You can't have rollercoaster of emotions for this game, you have to come and play with some consistency."
With such a rich tradition in the all-time series between the two teams, Nittany Lion head coach James Franklin also took time in his weekly press conference to put the series history in perspective.
"You've got to remember, I think everybody's talking about this game and the excitement of it and interest for the state and all those types of things," Franklin said. "But you also have to remember that our players were either two, three or four years old the last time this game was played. So I think for fans and alumni, I get it. But as for our players, they don't remember this game being played."
The 2016 Nittany Lions will certainly remember this Saturday's game, as they prepare to enter a sold out Heinz Field fresh off of a 33-13 win at home against Kent State in the season opener last week.
Making his first collegiate start, quarterback Trace McSorley led Penn State to its 116th home-opening victory, tallying 209 yards and two touchdown passes, while also rushing for 47 yards.
Looking toward the Panthers, McSorley has already noted a few areas in which he plans to facilitate the offense against the Pitt defense.
"I think we'll be able to do some things with kind of letting our guys work one-one-one outside, having success that way and then using that success to help Saquon [Barkley] running the ball and helping our running backs get our run game going," McSorley said.
Barkley was a true highlight among the Nittany Lion offense in the win against Kent State, quietly rushing for 105 yards and one touchdown for his sixth career 100-yard rushing performance. He was voted the offensive player of the week by the Nittany Lion coaching staff.
McSorley also has several options among a deep group of wide receivers including junior Chris Godwin, who caught seven passes for a team-high 67 yards against the Golden Flashes.
It was Penn State's defense that stole the show in the second half of the opener, registering six sacks to bring the Nittany Lion total to seven on the day, which stands as the highest tally since 2011.
Among the upcoming challenges for the Nittany Lion defense, Pitt running back James Conner stands out. Conner helped the Panthers to a 28-7 season opening win against Villanova with a team-high 53 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
"He's a bigger guys and he seems pretty seasoned," said sophomore defensive tackle Antoine White. "He seems like a powerful back who trusts his offensive linemen and makes good reads. He makes good decisions in the backfield, he's very elusive and he's also a power back, which is a good combination. So he's definitely a guy within their offensive system that we're going to have to respect and take notice of."
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