More Like No-Sa, Amirite??
If the Steelers were looking for any help at all in their opener against the San Francisco 49ers, they may be getting one big assist from Niners GM John Lynch.
The San Francisco defense is one of the best, if not the best in the league, so missing one piece shouldn’t create a catastrophic trickle-down effect.
But ask the Steelers about how well things go when your game-wrecking edge rusher is out.
When combined with the possibility that George Kittle is still not quite 100%, it’s harder and harder to understand the Steelers still sitting as 2.5-point underdogs.
Red Hot ACCtion
With the first full week of college football now in the rear view mirror, ACC fans have to be left wondering exactly how their conference is going to end up stacking up in it’s first season without divisions.
Florida State is a legitimate playoff contender. North Carolina may be CFP material, it remains to be seen, but they’re at the very least conference title contenders. Clemson will have to fight an uphill battle now as far as the CFP goes, and based on how they played against Duke, may never get back into even the ACC title conversation following a visit from the Seminoles on September 23.
And then there’s Pitt.
Not that the next three weeks are make-or-break by any means, especially with two of the games being non-conference, but Cincinnati and West Virginia will provide the kind of test Wofford did not. And then there’s a visit from UNC.
A bit early for an ACC Championship game elimination match-up, isn’t it?
But without divisions, it’s highly likely anything more than 1 conference loss is going to take teams out of the conference title game conversation. And Florida State still sits out on the horizon of early November as well.
The positive to Pitt’s schedule in this first year without the Atlantic/Coastal split? North Carolina and Florida State both have to visit Acrisure Stadium. And if Pitt can split those two, they’ve got a real shot at going 7-1 in the conference and ending up in Charlotte on December 2nd.
Killing the Cards
The Pirates have six out of their last seven, and sure that included back-to-back series wins against last place teams in Kansas City and St. Louis, but all the games count the same in the standings and you can only play who they put in front of you.
To that end, with the season series between the Bucs and Cards over, this will mark just the third time in the last 24 years the Pirates have won it, and the first time since 1997 they won it by at least three games.
Does that mean anything for 2024 and beyond? Hopefully. Even if it doesn’t though, it feels nice to see the Pirates fend off the bully, even if for just a year.
Déjà Vu All Over Again
For most of the month of June at least -and for many Pirates fans, much of the spring and early summer- the debate over Paul Skenes vs. Dylan Crews dominated the conversation. Which of the two LSU superstars should the Buccos take with the first overall pick in the MLB Draft?
And it’s a debate that will undoubtedly exist for the length of their Major League careers.
This week, for the first time as professionals, the two will face off against each other as the Washington Nationals’ AA affiliate, the Harrisburg Senators, visit the Altoona Curve Tuesday through Sunday.
The two have faced each other before, and it really wasn’t that long ago.
Regardless of the outcome on Thursday, I’m sure we’ll all have rash overreactions and rash generalizations as to what the two will do over the course of the next decade following a pair of plate appearances in Central Pennsylvania just over six weeks into their pro careers.
And I’m here for it. And for a friendly rivalry between the college teammates providing us some classic moments over the next few years and beyond.