KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The drive from my home town -- the Sharon, Pa. area -- to Kalamazoo is roughly five hours long. So, while blazing across I-94 East and back across the Ohio turnpike on my way back from our first Pitt football roadtrip of the season, I had a TON of time to think.
(And listen to music. I'm a MASSIVE BeatleManiac. I had the NFL Radio channel on SiriusXM going, as well, for my Sunday football fix.)
So, when it came time to think about my follow-up column from this roadtrip, I pondered several ideas.
I came to this conclusion: What better way to talk about this first Pitt football roadtrip, than by doing just that?
Consider this a brief chronicle of the first trip of the season. Don't worry, we'll get to football later in this.
I left at around 10 a.m. Friday and skipped onto I-80 West throughout Ohio. I passed through the Akron area, through the Southern parts of Cleveland -- including Richfield, where the NBA's Cavaliers used to play -- and all sorts of small towns in between.
On my route to Kalamazoo, I passed through Toledo, Ohio -- better known as my old stomping grounds.
Before my time here with DK Pittsburgh Sports, I was covering Mid-American Conference football and basketball for The Blade newspaper in Toledo.
I spent three years there, and over that time, I got used to a plethora of local flavors, I got to meet some amazing people that I'll consider my friends for life, and I carved out my own niche in covering college sports that I've been very, very fortunate to continue to build upon here in Pittsburgh.
So, while I passed through the 4-1-9, I figured I'd stop at one of its most iconic eateries.
The photo atop this story is of the front door to Tony Packo's Cafe in East Toledo. If you've never been to it, and you go to Toledo, this place of legendary status among locals is a must-have for tourists.
Packo's was established in 1932 when -- you guessed it -- Tony Packo, along with his wife, Rose, received a $100 loan to open a sandwich and ice cream shop during the height of the Great Depression. Tony's Hungarian-style Kolbasz hot dog became a hot commodity among the locals, and the Packos later were able to purchase a building which occupied the land on which the original shop stands today.
Now, Packo's is noted for not just its hot dogs and Hungarian-style dishes, but also for its unique display of signed hot dog buns preserved and displayed on the walls of each of its five locations -- yes, I've been to all five.
The first bun was signed in 1972 by the late and iconic actor Burt Reynolds, while he was in town filming for "The Rainmaker." As the tale goes, he was at Packo's eating and was asked for an autograph.
So, he grabbed a fresh hot dog bun and signed it, thus beginning a long-standing tradition of numerous celebrities donning their signatures on buns on the Packo's walls.
But, the go-to meal there is still the Original Packo Dog, which I, along with former Blade co-worker Sarah Elms, met to indulge for lunch.
There is only one way to order a dog at Packo's: With chili, mustard, onion, and their amazing, house-made, sweet-hot pickles on the side.
Corey Crisan / DKPS
Two Packo's Original Hot Dogs at Tony Packo's Cafe in Toledo, Ohio.
This place is also known in part because of the TV show M*A*S*H, as actor Jamie Farr -- better known as Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the show -- is a Toledo native. The Original Packo's location has a gift shop that contains plenty of show-inspired gear, which I think is neat.
Klinger also has his caricature on the facade of the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens' Fifth Third Field in downtown Toledo, alongside other figures whose numbers have been retired, which I also think is a nice nod.
After Sarah and I conversed and scarfed down our meals, I made my way North and West to Kalamazoo, where I began preparations for Saturday's game.
(I also trekked to a brewery called Latitude 42 in Kalamazoo, per the recommendation of reader psutoad. I highly recommend it, if you're ever back in the area.)
Let's get on to football.
While we can celebrate the accomplishments from running back Israel Abanikanda, safety Erick Hallett II, and the rest of the defensive line from Saturday's game, there is still something that kept surfacing to the top of my mind during my drive-time pondering.
Pitt is 2-1, and with FCS foe Rhode Island coming to Acrisure Stadium on Saturday, now-No. 24 Pitt in all likelihood will be 3-1 at the ending of nonconference play and leading into the ACC slate which begins with an easier-than-average game against Georgia Tech.
The Panthers got there in a large part to the play of redshirt freshman quarterback Nate "Beethoven" Yarnell.
Yarnell completed 9 of his 12 passes for 179 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and he was sacked just once.
This came in his first career start, and one week after operating the scout team and reading cards while moonlighting as Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker in preparing the Pitt defense for its matchup against the Volunteers.
In my kickoff feature, I asked a few questions for your own and personal musing regarding Pitt's QB situation:
1. Is starting Yarnell or Derek Kyler in place of an injured Kedon Slovis such a terrifying thing after all?
2. Or is there a legitimate cause for concern?
3. Does Pitt have nothing to worry about against a lesser Mid-American Conference opponent?
Let's review our answers:
1. Not in the slightest.
2. Nope.
3. Negative.
Three 'No' answers to negatively skewed questions equals three 'Yes' answers to positively skewed questions, right?
Anyway, Yarnell gets an 'A' for his performance.
Slovis could have played -- Pat Narduzzi said he was cleared to do so -- but Narduzzi held him out on Saturday.
"I can't say I knew all week (that Slovis wouldn't play) but I didn't want to play Kedon," Narduzzi said at his post-game press conference. "He was cleared to play. He was cleared to play, but I didn't want to play him. I just felt like we need to find a way to go on the road and find out what Yarnell did. (Slovis) could've played. He was out doing some warmups. He could've played, but I just wasn't going to do it. I didn't think it was fair, and he practiced during the week."
Fair to whom, I asked Narduzzi.
"Fair to him. I just didn't know if he was 100 percent right. If he takes one hit and then we lose him for the next two weeks, I just didn't think -- I want to be at 100 percent, and maybe he was at 98 percent, but I just didn't want to take any chances, and I wanted to go find out what our football team had on the road, against a team that -- we got a little revenge."
With the FCS opponent on the menu for next week, I wouldn't be shocked to see Yarnell under center again.
But, if Slovis is 100% and ready to go, should Narduzzi play him against Rhode Island?
There are pros and cons to both. Namely...
• Pro to playing Yarnell: You guarantee Slovis is 100% going into ACC play.
• Pro to playing Slovis: He gets some much-needed reps, after missing six of the team's first 12 quarters to open the season.
• Con to playing Yarnell: Slovis does not get those needed reps.
• Con to playing Slovis: Further injury risk.
Yarnell held his own against Western Michigan, and I'd expect him to do the same against Rhode Island. It was also nice to get a small glimpse into what the post-Slovis life is like at the position for Pitt, with verbal commit Kenny Minchey still in the future.
Who gets the call under center next week?
