Wednesday football. It’s a rarity, folks. You’d have to go all the way back to Week 1, 2012, to find the last Wednesday NFL game — Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants was rescheduled to accommodate the Democratic National Convention.
When Ben Roethlisberger takes the field at 3:40 this afternoon, it won’t be his first Wednesday showdown.
On Nov. 12, 2003, on the arm of future Pittsburgh Steeler Ben Roethlisberger, Miami of Ohio annihilated MAC-East rival Marshall, 45-6.
The winds were whipping, and so were Roethlisberger’s spirals. Completing 18 of 29 passes on 282 yards and two scores amid bitter 50 mph winds, No. 7 led his RedHawks to their ninth-straight win. Miami’s win clinched the MAC East title and a berth in the conference’s championship game.
“I was trying not to get blown away a few times,” Roethlisberger told ESPN in a post-game interview. “I told the receivers it’s not going to be pretty, but I’ll get it there. If you can’t throw a spiral in this wind, you’re in trouble.”
2003 was Ben’s final season in a RedHawks uniform.
“They’ve got a great quarterback,” Marshall coach Bob Pruett said after the defeat. “He definitely should go in the first round (of the NFL draft) and come out — get him out of this league.”
And Pruett was right.
With the 11th pick in the 2004 NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback, Miami of Ohio.
