We Are; Not Going to Win a National Championship This Year

Despite the Steelers' loss on Sunday, the weekend wasn't a total bust as the University of Pittburgh and Ithaca College football teams both won. In addition, as a Pitt fan, watching the Penn State football team lose on Saturday to the University of Iowa makes me extremely happy. You see, Penn State coach Joe Paterno is to blame for ending one of the greatest rivalries in college football: Pitt vs. Penn State. After 96 meetings between 1893 and 2000, the rivalry ended because Joe Paterno decided that he wanted the schools to play two games at Penn State for every game in Pittsburgh. Rightfully so, Pitt refused. Instead, Penn State chose to play Coastal Carolina, Syracuse and Temple in its non-conference schedule. So the fact that Penn State lost and will not win a national championship during Joe Paterno’s 104th season at State College seems fair to me.

In honor of his team’s accomplishments on Saturday, I encourage you to vote for Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year. It’s not just because of the win or the fact that he grew up in Western Pennsylvania (Upper St. Clair). Actually, that is enough for me. However, if you’re looking for more reasons, the NCAA recently released the 2008 Graduation Success Rate (“GSR”) for student-athletes. The GSR for Iowa’s football team is 75%, 8 points better than the national average, and is third in the Big Ten Conference behind only Northwestern (92%) and Penn State (78%). Plus, Ferentz has served as the honorary chair of the University of Iowa’s United Way campaign and, along with his wife, recently gave a $400,000 gift to the University’s College of Liberal Arts and University Children’s Hospital.

Did I mention that Ferentz's Iowa team defeated Penn State?