WOE, WOE, WOE and yet another woe!!!!! Hey, that’s FOUR woes. And that’s just what the past weekend was… at least FOUR WOES!!! I’ll enumerate them for you.
1. Penn State lost to a very unrespected Northwestern.
2. Pitt lost to equally thought of Akron.
3. The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to what could be the worst team in the NFL – the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
4. The Cleveland Indians failed to nail down a playoff spot in the American League.
I could mention another couple of things that didn’t go the right (meaning “MY WAY”) way… but I think there’s already enough on my plate. Let’s take a look at those four woes… starting with Penn State’s 29-6 pounding at the hands of Northwestern.
The Wildcats came in with a 1-2 record, being blasted by a Northern Illinois (a Mid-American Conference team). The oddsmakers said they would get hammered by the undefeated Nittany Lions by at least 11 points. Someone forgot to tell Northwestern that. One published pre-seaon report stated… “the Wildcats may have stepped back somewhat but failure to take this team seriously in 2014 could be a real problem for opponents.” Boy, was that statement true as far as Penn State was concerned. The home-standing Lions, with 102,910 fans at Beaver Stadium looking on, quickly fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter and never did make a game of it. Penn State’s first-year coach James Franklin was quoted afterwards with “We weren’t ready to play. We’re having the same issues that have popped up all year long – consistently being able to run the ball (PSU had a mere 50 yards rushing) and protecting the quarterback (QB Christian Hackenberg was harassed throughout the game). “We will get it fixed. I promise and guarantee you that. We will get it fixed.” Harumph… I certainly hope so. If not, the final seven games on the schedule will prove to be more unnerving than was Saturday’s loss. I’m a deep Penn State rooter… and I turned the game off the television early in the fourth period. That’s how bad the Nittany Lions looked.

THE PITT PANTHERS LOOKED somewhat better than Penn State, but the results were the same – a horrendous 21-20 loss to unhearlded Akron, a 20-point underdog. The Panthers made a game of it statistically… getting outgained by only 382-to-349 yards. However, as far as the scoreboard was concerned – the Zips scored a pair of second half touchdowns while holding the Panthers to a weak field goal. Pitt, once a 3-0 team, is 3-2. Losing twice to teams it was expected to beat. McDowell’s James Conner, Pitt’s number one ball carrier, was held to 92 yards on 25 times with the ball. He was held down by an attacking (some called it “swarming”) defense… something future foes will attempt to simulate. A team such as Akron should NEVER be able to handle a team like Pitt… but the Zips did it with comparative ease on Saturday. The Panthers travel to Virginia next Saturday, the 3-2 Cavaliers whipping Kent State 45-13 last week. If Pitt doesn’t get its act together, there could be a third straight setback, which is no way to gain a post-season bowl spot.

NOW, WE COME TO the Pittsburgh Steelers. There is absolutely nothing good you can say about the Pittsburgh loss. Tampa Bay, supposedly reeling from a 56-14 pounding at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons, was to be nothing more than a slight workout for the Steelers. Instead, due mainly to missed catches, extreme penalties and even more weak coverage than was expected, the Black and Gold suffered the worst defeat of the young campaign by falling to the Bucs 27-24 on a touchdown pass with just seven ticks left on the clock. It was actually sickening to watch. The Steelers were flagged 13 times – which cost them 125 walk-off yards, plus additional ground which they had gained. This makes a total of 44 penalties for the year… and 387 penalized yards. That’s simply too many and too much. It appeared, for a while, that Pittsburgh had overcome an early 10-0 Tampa Bay lead when the home team rallied to take a 17-10 halftime lead. But, the Steelers didn’t have enough offense to put it away… and that defense (with its glut of penalties) couldn’t hold off the lightly-regarded Buccaneers. Oh, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did hit 30-of-41 aerials for 331 yards and a total of three touchdowns. And, Pittsburgh did outgain Tampa Bay 390 to 350 net yards. But, it all went for naught when the penalties – and the questionable Steeler defense – did the home team in. The Pittsburgh brass keeps talking about “fixing” the situation. I don’t have any idea of how they plan on doing that. The Steelers are now 2-22-2 with winless Jacksonville (0-4) next on the schedule. This one is no sure-shot win for Pittsburgh… not considering the way it played Sunday. I suppose I could have added Buffalo’s 23-17 loss to Houston as another woe, but the Bills weren’t expected to win. Buffalo’s 2-0 season start was nothing more than aberation.

AS FOR THE CLEVELAND INDIANS, well – they did make a fight of it before bowing out of the post-season action… missing the playoffs by just three games. Still, I did have hopes that they just might sneak in. As far as my “closet team” is concerned… the New York Yankees have more to be worried about than replacing the retiring Derek Jeter. Just what are they going to do with Mark Tiexeira? The highly over-paid first baseman ended the season with a woeful .216 batting average. His $23,125,000 yearly salary is way out of line. What the Yankee brass intends to do about it – that is, if there is anything they can do – is completely unknown. I do know that it is untenable.

OH, OH… THERE WAS one more woe I forgot. That took place in Scotland where the European Team whipped the American squad by a whopping (well, in golf it is) 16 ½ – 11 ½ to retain the Ryder Cup. It made the European Team post an 8-2 record over the last 10 meetings. Yech!

HOWEVER, THERE WERE TWO bright spots for the area this past weekend. One has to be the Erie Otters going 3-0 in their season-opening three-game road trip. The Otters open their home slate this Saturday when they face Sarnia at 7 p.m. At the Erie Insurance Arena. The other sparkler is Gannon University’s football team. The Goldon Knights blasted a tough Clarion squad 33-7 to move to 4-0 for the season. The Lancers just might be championship material. Meanwhile, both Edinboro and Mercyhurst are now 0-4 this year.

I SEE WHERE at least one major college football poll has Alabama taking over the top spot from Florida State. The Seminoles had to rally after North Carolina State (a 19-point underdog) opened with a 24-7 first quarter. Florida State came back strong in the second half to win it going away 56-41. Alabama, now 4-0, was idle Saturday – but the Crimson Tide still managed to take over the Sagarin Football Ratings – but only No. 3 in the AP Poll. Bama travels to No. 11 Ole Mississippi this coming Saturday while Florida State is expected to crush Wake Forest.

AND A FINAL NOTE… On a personal note – I’m still battling this virus after a solid month of coughing… with the doctors still mystified as to what it exactly is… Oh well….

-Jack Polancy