Friday’s “First Call” takes a look at some reunions in Las Vegas on Sunday as the Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Raiders.
Luke Getsy will cross paths with Steelers quarterback Justin Fields again. Vegas linebacker Robert Spillane gets to play against his old Steelers teammates.
Duquesne renews acquaintances with an intrastate rival. And the Robert Morris hockey teams have a challenging weekend ahead.
Black and Gold to Silver and Black
Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane admits to having a little extra fuel added to his fire in advance of his team’s game against the Steelers this weekend.
Spillane spent four years in Pittsburgh, playing in 74 games, starting 38, registering 191 tackles, three sacks and an interception.
He told ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez on Wednesday that facing his former team on Sunday will “add to the chip on his shoulder.”
#Raiders LB Robert Spillane, a former member of the #Steelers: "Leaving them has only [added] to the chip on my shoulder...they had a chance to bring me back in free agency but I'm here now and I'm so thankful to be a Raider and I look forward to bringing it to them on Sunday."
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) October 10, 2024
So far this year, Spillane has a sack, an interception and 37 tackles in Las Vegas.
‘Fancy seeing you here!’
Speaking of familiar faces, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields will see one in Vegas as well. It’s Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.
Getsy had been the offensive coordinator in Chicago during Fields’ last two years there.
“Justin is an incredible guy. An incredible competitor, great teammate,” Getsy said during a press conference this week in Las Vegas. “He’s a competitor. He is gonna bring it every single play. He doesn’t have any ‘backdown.’ There’s no excuses with that guy. That guy goes and balls. So it’ll be great to see him. I know that our defense will have a big challenge going up against him.”
Fields accounted for 23 touchdowns and 20 interceptions under Getsy in Chicago. He also threw for more than 4,700 yards and ran for 1,800 and 12 scores.
Getsy is a Munhall native who attended Steel Valley. He spent his college football career at Pitt and Akron, before making the practice squad roster for the San Francisco 49ers in 2007.
On the college level, he was a graduate assistant at Pitt and also had jobs at IUP, Western Michigan and Mississippi State. He was also on the coaching staff with the Green Bay Packers before getting the OC job in Chicago.
Related:
• Tim Benz: A chance to celebrate Maz and Franco on the same day
• Football Footnotes: 3 keys for Steelers defense against Raiders
• Russell Wilson has mentality as Steelers starter even though Justin Fields continues to work with 1st team
Place your bets!
Pitt (5-0) takes the field at Acrisure Stadium against California (3-2) Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m.) ranked No. 22 in the country according to the AP Top 25 poll. Via BetRivers.com, the Bears have lost 10 in a row against ranked opponents. They’ve also seen their last six games against ranked foes hit the over-total in the game.
The Panthers head into this one as three point favorites and the over-under is set at 58.5.
Meanwhile, Penn State is in Los Angeles to play USC (3-2) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Nittany Lions (5-0) are favored by 3½ points. BetRivers data has Penn State winning each of its last 25 games against non-AP-ranked teams.
As for West Virginia, the Mountaineers (3-2) have won their first two Big 12 games. They are hosting No. 12 Iowa State (5-0) Saturday night (8 p.m.) as 3½ point underdogs. The Cyclones have covered the spread in each of their last six road games.
Wild rematch
Last year’s 38-35 Duquesne win over St. Francis was as wild of a college football game as you will see. Trailing 31-7 on the last play of the third quarter, St. Francis scored to make the score 31-14, only to see the Dukes take the first series of the fourth quarter and turn it into a touchdown.
From there, the Red Flash scored three times in the final 11 minutes and 48 seconds. The comeback included a blocked punt for a touchdown and an onside kick recovery before a 45-yard field goal missed on St. Francis’ last snap of the game with 10 seconds on the clock.
Now the two teams rematch in Loretto at noon Saturday. Duquesne won its NEC opener last weekend against Long Island University, 47-21, with quarterback Darius Perrantes accounting for six touchdowns. The Dukes are 3-2 on the season.
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Another one from Perrantes to Isabella.@dmperrantes ???? @joeyisabella1pic.twitter.com/YdEuuIHBxS
— Duquesne Football (@DuqFB) October 5, 2024
As for the Red Flash, they are 2-3 with one loss in conference play, a 27-20 defeat at the hands of Central Connecticut State.
Also, in local action on Saturday, Robert Morris has its homecoming game against Delaware State at 3 p.m. The Colonials are coming off a bye and are 2-3.
Action on the ice
Robert Morris’ men’s and women’s hockey teams are both skating this weekend.
The women are already onto their third weekend series of the season. Over their last two weekends, the Colonials have taken three of four against Union and Bemidji State. Now they are on the road for the first time in Potsdam, N.Y., to face Clarkson for two games. The third-ranked Golden Knights are 4-0-0, outscoring opponents 34-3 so far.
Meanwhile, the men’s team played its first of three exhibition games Thursday night, losing 7-2 to Bowling Green. The Colonials and Falcons are part of a four-team round-robin tournament in Michigan that also features the U.S. National Development Team and a Canadian university named Simon Fraser.
Thomas Haynes and Tanner Klimpke were the goal scorers for RMU. They open the regular season next Thursday at Miami (Ohio).