PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pitt typically has a 24-hour rule when it comes to previous games, win or lose. There is an issue though that is lingering from Saturday. It's the non-safety call.
It's not that Pitt coaches or players are just bringing it up, they are being asked about it and they are not shy from stating their opinions.
Head coach Pat Narduzzi said Monday the sideline official told him he couldn't see the ball, yet called the tailback out of the end zone. Today, Panthers linebacker Phil Campbell, who made the tackle on Miami's Jaylan Knighton, asked if Knighton made it out of the end zone on that play Saturday.
"No sir, he did not," Campbell said firmly. "I hit him in the end zone and I drove him back. I was really shocked that it wasn't called."
"It definitely would have changed a lot of things and probably the outcome of the game. I really believe that."
It happened with four minutes left in the fourth quarter with Miami up four points. Hurricanes would covert a pair of first downs and run out the clock on an upset win.
"I have pictures," Campbell added. "I have videos. I had all the evidence coming in. The whole ball did not get over the white plane. It's just unfortunate."
"That whole night, I really didn't get any sleep that night. I was up thinking about the game. The next morning, you hear everybody talking specifically about that play and how it could have changed things. It's kind of hard to let that go."
Not the first time a controversial call involved Campbell. Second quarter last year at Boston College, Campbell stripped running back Pat Garwo. The officials ruled that Garwo was down although video appeared to show the ball popped out before his knee touched. It continued a drive ending in an Eagles touchdown as BC won the game by one point.
"It is what it is," Campbell said. "We still have all of our goals ahead of us. That's the good thing about it."
Sometimes those are just words and hard to put into action. Campbell saw that when the team gathered on Sunday.
"Some of the younger guys were down a little bit," Campbell said. "As an older guy, we all got together and we are headed in the right direction. The morale was down after the game. You could feel that going into the meetings the next day. We let everyone know we have all of our goals ahead of us. We are still fighting for a championship. This loss, it hurts, but it really doesn't affect much."
"There is a lot more urgency now. We were urgent after the Western Michigan loss. This is it. That was our last chance."
"Every game from now on is a playoff game. I think it's good pressure. It's what we really need to go out and win this whole thing."
