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Why The Iron Bowl Wasn’t As Important as Just Getting to a Bowl

I’ll be honest, I didn't watch Alabama-Auburn on Saturday night.

While the rest of the college football universe was focused on Tuscaloosa for another great installment in one of the game’s greatest rivalries I was biting my nails right down to the end of Pitt’s 35-23 victory over Miami, a win that evened the Panthers mark on the season at 6-6 and made them bowl eligible for a seventh consecutive year.

I can hear the bewilderment already: "You really missed one of the best games of the season just to see your team get to .500 and qualify for a no-name bowl?"

You bet I did.

Never mind that this was the Panthers’ first win in Miami since 1963, a feat impressive by itself. The fact that making the postseason helped salvage some modicum of respectability for Pitt in a season otherwise rife with underachievement? A mere triviality. The greatest takeaway from this contest for the Panthers was far simpler, one that encapsulates the very essence of competition.

They found a way to win a game when they absolutely needed to.

There’s something truly special about seeing a team rise to an occasion, however minor that occasion may be in the grand scheme of things. For Panther fans who dug in and made themselves a part of it this one had all the ingredients. An injured superstar, James Conner, gutting it out to once again carry the team on his back and in the process break three school records formerly held by Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett. A starting quarterback, Chad Voytik, battling flu-like symptoms that had him throwing up the night before the game and taking an IV bag prior to kickoff but that never came close to keeping him off the field. A crop of seniors who refused to go out without making the post season every year of their careers.

There will be those who laugh at me because I’ll be checking projections daily to see which pizza chain or tire center or dot com sponsored bowl game Pitt will land in. Wherever the Panthers settle it will undoubtedly be a lower-tier bowl, played long before the postseason match ups that "matter" begin.

When I take the long view of Pitt football there are absolutely questions to be answered, improvements to be made, better seasons to be had. Part of being a fan though is highlighting the positive in your team, however difficult that may be at times, and then celebrating it. If a Tuesday night mid-December bowl game is where your team finds itself, then that’s what you get pumped up for.

As for this Tuesday night, there aren't any college games on so I have plenty of time to watch the Iron Bowl on DVR.

Jason Zemcik is a lifelong Pitt fan and writes about sports and the experience of being a true fan at his site jasonzemcik.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @JasonZemcik

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