Blue White Illustrated

It sure sounded like shade. It sounded as though Franklin was jabbing the Panthers where it hurt most, bringing up the asym- metry of a rivalry that preoccupies Pitt's fan base but doesn't hold as much signifi- cance to a large portion of Penn State's. But while it was easy to dwell on the latter part of his comment, Franklin believes the emphasis should have been on the first part, the one-game-at-a-time part, in which he obliquely referenced the old coaching maxim that says the opponent shouldn't dictate your team's effort or commitment to game prep. That was the point he was trying to make, he said this week when asked about his earlier remark. "I think it's still being misinterpreted," Franklin said. "I hear people saying this is a big game, and anybody who says this isn't a big game is kidding themselves. This is the biggest game in the world. This is the Super Bowl for us. It's the most important game on our schedule. Why? Because it's the game we're playing this week. Last week was the Super Bowl for us. It was the most important game in the universe. This week is a huge game for us. I've never de- nied that, from the very beginning. This is the most important game on our schedule, and it's the Super Bowl. It's the most im- portant game in the universe. I don't know how much clearer I can be on that. "Last week, that was the most important game in the universe. That was the Super Bowl for us. That's how we approach it. So I'm not saying that this game isn't really important. I'm actually saying the oppo- site. And I still think it's being misinter- preted. It's one game at a time, and we Don't expect to do a lot of tailgating if you're planning to attend Penn State's game against Pitt on Saturday. The pre-sold parking lots outside Heinz Field will not be opened until three hours before kick- off. The North Shore schedule for the day includes a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins at 1:05 p.m. at PNC Park. Penn State's game against Pitt is set for 8 p.m. Fans are being encouraged to arrive at the football game after 5 p.m., as the pre-sold lots will not be opened until then. Fans who have pur- chased parking for the Pirates game earlier in the day will be allowed to remain in the lots if they have an accompanying pre-sold Pitt parking pass. For traffic and parking infor- mation, visit HeinzField.com. S E P T E M B E R   5 ,   2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 2 Parking restrictions in place for game Pitt has called Heinz Field home since the 2001 season. Known primarily as the home of the Steelers, it has a capacity of 68,400. Heinz Field sits next to PNC Park, which will play host to a Pirates game on the same day as the Penn State- Pitt game. Photo by Matthew Paul- son

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