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.
Phil Jurkovec when asked about the boos heard at Acrisure Stadium during the #Pitt game: "I think if you're a grown-ass man booing in that stadium, I think you have to go and look at yourself. I think that's pathetic."
— Christopher Carter (@CarterCritiques) September 10, 2023
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.
You know what's pathetic? Barely completing 30% of your passes and costing your team a winnable game https://t.co/3EbDT6v79l
— Dmitri (@DAcrisure) September 10, 2023
Phil Jurkovec is in his 6th year of college football and at his 3rd program in five years. Tonight, he went 10-32 at home in a loss to a Cincy team he was favored against. And now he's complaining that fans who paid to see him play aren't happy he sucked. I think THAT'S pathetic. https://t.co/c9lVhlQDGl
— Dom DiTommaso (@DomDiTommaso) September 10, 2023
So now fans can't boo? we aren't talking about hurling insults or anything offensive. @pjurkovec literally complaining about booing? https://t.co/trmzP47xXn
— Ⓙⓔⓕⓕ Ⓐⓑⓡⓐⓜⓞ 🍊 (@JeffAbramo) September 10, 2023
college QB who transfers twice and wants to be treated/paid like an “employee” – also wants to be treated like a normal youthful college student https://t.co/94ISwz9DDE
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 10, 2023
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.
[Cristopher Carter, Corey Crissan]
