Things didn’t go according to plan for Pittsburgh’s football team in Saturday’s game against Cincinnati. The Bearcats had a commanding 27-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. And while Phil Jurkovec threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to get the Panthers back into the game, their comeback bid ultimately fell short.
The loss frustrated Pittsburgh’s home fans, some of whom booed the Panthers. That upset Jurkovec, who did not attempt to hide his feelings after the game.
“I think if you’re a grown-*** man booing in that stadium, I think you have to go and look at yourself. I think that’s pathetic,” he said, per Christopher Carter of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Corey Crissan of DK Pittsburgh Sports also quoted the quarterback saying “But we didn’t play well enough. We’re going to be better.” The first part of the message, though, is what caught the attention of the college football world.
Despite the two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and three overall, Jurkovec did not have a good game. He finished 10-for-32, passing for only 179 yards. So, people were not all that fond of hearing him scold the fans.
The timing of these comments couldn’t have been much worse. Next week, Jurkovec and the Panthers will go on the road to take on their rivals, West Virginia. If Jurkovec thought he heard a lot of booing on Saturday in Pittsburgh, he’s going to hear even more next Saturday in Morgantown — especially now that he’s made it clear how much it bothers him.
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