Quick Recap: WVU falls short vs. Pitt

The #4 Pittsburgh Panthers defeat the West Virginia Mountaineers tonight 71-66 in a game that turned on the tide of some non calls down the stretch.

The Mountaineers encountered major offense issues throughout this one, one of the only positives was the Deniz Kilicli who scored a season high 19 points on the night on 9-13 shooting.

Pittsburgh was playing without their leading scorer Ashton Gibbs who was injured in their victory over Cincinnati on Saturday. 

A controversial non call down the stretch occurred against Kilicli which could have resulted in a change in momentum for the Mountaineers, but after that point Kilicli has held scoreless and the Panthers took control.

WVU loses their second game in a row inside the Big East and is now 6-5 in the conference and is looking to bounce back this Saturday against DePaul at the Coliseum.

Photo Courtesy Dale Sparks Photography

A Super Recap: Big Ben's Stock

Here's my other take on the other big story to come out of the Super Bowl, Big Ben's loss.

There was a lot of talk last week about placing Ben among the best QB's in history, that he would be one of the greatest winners at the position, if he won on Sunday.

Well, he didn't and I don't want that to look as if now is the best opportunity to criticize him, but rather this is an opportunity to realistically evaluate Big Ben's career and determine whether or not he belongs with the elite quarterback's of today and if he should go down as one of the best winners in Super Bowl history.

Roethlisberger had a shaky game last night, there's no if, and or buts about it and the part of last night that hurt the most was the inability for Ben to make the tough throws that he was able to make against the New York Jets.

Howie Long made an excellent point right before kickoff last night and that was the Steelers would not be able to win the Super Bowl by playing a fast paced style like Green Bay because it didn't suit them, and it was true. Pittsburgh couldn't keep up with the Packers and in the second half, the Packers looked like the more comfortable team.

But Ben should have been able to put the team on his shoulders and carry them to victory like winners do in those situations. That's not to say that if given the opportunity is given to him again he would play the same type of game, but the facts right now is that Ben couldn't finish last night the way winners do.

Ben is 10-3 in the playoffs and has two rings, which is mighty impressive, but as I've written before when you look at the situations behind those victories and the picture gets a little clearer.

Last night, he had a great opportunity to make a defining statement in the last two minutes. He was playing a top-notch defense, not the Arizona Cardinals who couldn't get out their own way on the final drive of the Super Bowl a couple years ago, Ben had a chance to prove all the people that doubted his wins wrong, but in the end, he couldn't do it.

Not winning last night doesn't make Big Ben terrible, but on the flip side it doesn't make him elite either. He's a good quarterback who plays with a great organization, nothing more and nothing less.

Photos Courtesy of the Associated Press

A Super Recap: Titletown Shines Again

It was quite a game last night and so many things were learned in the run up to the culmination of the Green Bay Packers as Super Bowl champions.

Something not mentioned by many is the hot streak the Super Bowl has been on lately, five of the last seven Super Bowl's have been really close and entertaining games and last night was no different for a game that at one time was only must see TV because of the commercials.

I wrote in my post before the Super Bowl how I thought Aaron Rodgers would get the most shine from last night's game, not the most surprising pick, but the smart one.

Rodgers didn't play perfect, but he had many perfect passes that sliced up the vaunted Pittsburgh secondary which looked nothing like it's league's best ranking.

What was most impressive about Rodger's performance was that the drops and some of the miscues during the game didn't take him out of his comfort zone and also to coach Mike McCarthy's credit, there was no doubt who he thought was going to win this game for Green Bay.

It was Rodger's game from the jump and even though 21-3 ended up being a mirage, at that point many people realized just how complete this Packer team is.

People talk about this team being a six seed and not being the better team in the end, but remember that the Packers were a Super Bowl favorite from the start and I think people were blindsided with what happened with the injuries and the mid-season stumble and the Packers were largely forgotten.

Everyone is pointing to the Patriots loss and that was definitely a turning point for the offense, but the Giants win along with the Eagles victory over New York really spring boarded the Packers onto their championship track.

The youth of this team and the stability of the front office makes this team basically the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFC and now they have the recent hardware to match. The question is now about just how high a ceiling can Aaron Rodgers and this team reach, but it seems like we ask that question every year and I'm sure Drew Brees will have something to say about Green Bay trying to repeat.

Photos Courtesy Getty Images