Pitt players, coach try to block out hype surrounding Clemson's visit to Heinz Field

With attendance at Heinz Field climbing above 63,000, snow in the air and temperatures falling into the 30s, 13-year-old John Petrishen sat inside Heinz Field one December day, watching Pitt try to claim the 2009 Big East championship.

“I remember having my heart broken,” he said, recalling the 45-44 loss to Cincinnati.

Two weeks earlier, he was among more than 65,000 who watched Dion Lewis rush for 152 yards to lead Pitt, the No. 8 team in the nation at the time, to a 27-22 victory against Notre Dame. It was, perhaps, Pitt’s greatest regular-season victory since the last of the Panthers’ 11-1 seasons 28 years earlier.

And now, 25-year-old Petrishen is preparing to re-enter Heinz Field on Saturday, this time without the need for his parents to buy him a ticket. He’ll line up at linebacker and join his teammates in a game against Clemson that could go down as the most significant Pitt football game in the past 12 years.

The Panthers are only ranked No. 23 this time, and six-time defending conference champion Clemson (4-2, 3-1 ACC) is unranked. But a victory would give Pitt (5-1, 2-0) a stronger grip on first place in the ACC Coastal with five games to play and some swag that only a victory against a collegiate blue blood can buy.

“There’s a lot on the line this game, as far as conference play,” Petrishen said, “and a lot for this program. We can’t deny it. This is a huge game for Pitt football.”

Meanwhile, consider Pitt associate head coach Charlie Partridge driving to work this week, thinking about upcoming staff meetings and practices while listening to country music on Sirius Highway 56 — presumably not too loud so it won’t affect his concentration. Kickoff will get here in time, but not before Partridge has a lot of work to do.

“I love you guys,” Partridge told reporters Tuesday. “I don’t listen to you guys. Don’t listen, don’t read. I’m doing everything I can to let it become white noise.”

To Partridge, the game is too important to let himself get distracted from the best way for his defensive linemen to bring down Clemson’s 6-foot-4, 249-pound quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei.

“At the end of the day,” Partridge said, “no one in this auditorium came here to be ranked after six games. That’s not what anyone signed up for.”

On a calendar in his meeting room, Partridge has every game blocked out, except Clemson. He does the same every week with the next opponent.

“I don’t want (Pitt players) to think about what was before, what’s after,” he said. “We look back when we need to learn something. Beyond that, we’re playing Clemson.”

As a student living on campus, Petrishen likely is closer to the hype than Partridge. Still, he tries to treat the game like any other.

“You try as hard as you can to keep an even keel from week to week,” he said. “To be 1-0 every week is the goal. To me, I try to focus on it being a nameless, faceless opponent no matter who you are playing.”

Then, he adds, “You can’t deny there is definitely more buzz around the program this week, compared to before, with (Pitt) being ranked and it being a nationally televised game (ESPN) and Clemson, a really respected program around the country.

“I’m sure when the game comes around Saturday, there might be a little more energy coming from our sideline.”

Wide receiver Jared Wayne, a soft-spoken junior from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, said life and practice don’t change just because the opponent has a big name.

“Just another week. We attack it the same,” he said. “The hype is there so it’s hard to avoid, but you can’t get too over our heads. Play our gameplan and let things take care of themselves.”

But he did add without apologizing, “Can’t wait for Saturday.”