I actually took around 7 pages of notes, but looking them over all I keep seeing are variations on things like this regarding Pitt on defense:

Moss had no problem, Pitt's line was pushed off with ease.

Miami is now moving with ease against Pitt.

Pitt's D looks as bad as ever. Still no clue, showing no heart.

Another missed tackle.

Everyone knows the run is coming, but it doesn't matter.

On offense, it looks like a lot of this

Rutherford is getting no time to set.

Pitt to punt... again.

Pitt is doing nothing on offense.

The O line looks like it has no answers. That's the problem when you practice against the Pitt D.

My game notes really ended sometime in the third quarter. I just ran out of ways to write that Pitt was missing tackles and the line play from Pitt was pathetic.

It was difficult to follow along when the clock went out sometime in the first half. No clue how much time was left.

Lee summed up most of the issues of the game. Most of it was stuff I was going to write. There are other aspects to this loss that I know will be written here in the next few days, but sticking to the game, and the coverage on ABC, I still have a few more things to add.

The ABC technical crew and producers are no where near as good as ESPN (I know, same company, but there is a difference). ESPN is on top of replays and getting the cameras into position to catch more than one angle. ABC skipped a lot of replays on some close plays and penalties. A lot of the time because Brent Musberger was too busy talking about something else, but it also seemed that they flat out missed getting a good shot.

About halfway through the second quarter, I nearly spit out my beer after a completion to Pitt TE, Kris Wilson, when Gary Danielson said, "No one really exploits the tight end position like Walt Harris." It's hard to believe an analyst even has a clue when he says something as idiotic as that.

At halftime, you could hear the boos from the crowd as Pitt ran off the field.

Jack Arute cornered Walt Harris for a quick interview before the break. Harris just looked confused and lost. That did not exactly inspire me as to what second half adjustments would be made.

After the half, Arute reported that the Pitt locker room was very, very quiet. More negative inspiration. When a football team is quiet at the half, that means they are down. Pitt needed to get mad, show some pride, get up and prove they could recover. The team's body English looked defeated from the start of the second half.

Early in the 4th quarter (it was 10:30 pm), the cameras showed a wider shot of Heinz Field. The place was already more than half empty. I can't blame anyone who left at that point.

I didn't want to hear or read anything today, so I didn't watch the ESPN College Gameday Scoreboard last night, and avoided SportsCenter all morning. I even avoided the sports sections. It has taken a while to even be willing to think about that debacle.

Pathetic.

I will actually do a write-up later, but right now I'm just pissed off, tired and disgusted.

Pitt's defense came out as flat as ever. Showed no heart, determination or ability.

It was like watching the Pitt-Notre Dame game from earlier this year, only Miami actually was competent on offense.

Bah.

I won't get another chance to post. Family things tonight, and on the road all day tomorrow. Then planted on the couch to watch the game. The good news, it has gotten cold in Western Pennsylvania and Northeast Ohio, meaning Pitt should have a slight edge with the weather and my Yuengling will stay cold all the way back to Cleveland.

This is the final game of the regular season. Time for reflection for seniors and teams.

This being the final game in the Big East for Miami, there is a look at their "legacy." There is no denying it has been an impressive run.

Final games for seniors. Kris Wilson, Corey Humphries, Lousaka Polite, but especially Rod Rutherford.

And he has established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in school history regardless of what happens in the Panthers' final regular-season game. He is not satisfied with that; not when a much bigger prize is well within his reach.

No. 20 Pitt (8-3, 5-1 Big East) plays host to No. 10 Miami (9-2, 5-1) at 8 p.m. tomorrow at Heinz Field. The winner gets at least a share of the Big East Conference championship and, more importantly, will earn the conference's automatic BCS berth.

If Rutherford leads the Panthers to a victory, he would go from being an just another excellent player to one of Pitt's all-time greats. He understands this, but said he and the other seniors already have accomplished far more than anyone thought possible.

This is also the game that could, ahem, ice Larry Fitzgerald's Heisman campaign. A big national game in 74% of the country over Thanksgiving weekend.

The Big East knew what it was doing when it made Miami-Pittsburgh the final game of the season.
...
ABC is doing its part by making UM-Pitt the lead national Saturday night telecast at 8 p.m. When the network TV schedule came out in August, Notre Dame-Stanford was the primary prime-time game. But the Irish are 4-6, the Cardinal just as bad, and ABC needed a better game.

UM-Pitt was projected as a day game but moved to night and given to most of the nation. Chicago, Indiana and the West Coast get Notre Dame-Stanford.

With Miami leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference next year, the game has even more intrigue, and the conspiracy people believe that ABC's night switch -- with the weather forecast calling for sub-freezing temperatures and a chance of snow -- was made to help Pittsburgh.

That's just the way the schedule broke. Last year, UM ended the season against Virginia Tech at the Orange Bowl.

Then there is just how much this game means to Pitt and why so many others want Pitt to win. Forty years ago, Pitt was the #4 team in the nation and did not play in a bowl game. It was supposed to play the in the Orange Bowl, but things just "happened." A win tomorrow, and the Orange Bowl would be the likely destination. It would be a nifty symmetry.

There is of course the rest of the Big East rooting for Pitt, not to mention the payout Pitt would receive for going to a BCS bowl.

So let's look at the game. Lee had a solid breakdown here.

Generally speaking line play is where all games are won and lost. Pitt's defensive line this year, to be polite, has sucked with occasional flashes of competence. Miami's offensive line is in disarray with their senior center out. Miami will be juggling their line and moving players to different positions. This match-up can't be predicted. Miami QB Brock Berlin has been wildly inconsistent, and even benched for a game. (Did anyone think at the beginning of the season that the best college QB in the State of Florida would be Leak at U of Florida over Rix (FSU) and Berlin?) Even with the Miami line intact, they have had a hard time scoring. Running behind the Miami line will be Tyrone Moss and Jarret Payton. Payton tends to be fumble prone, and in the cold might be more so. Moss is more talented, but his inexperience has led to more dancing behind the line. Miami's passing game starts and ends with TE Kellen Winslow, Jr. Look, I keep typing this stuff, trying to get a read on the situation, but I'm not reaching a conclusion. I feel like I'm babbling. I honestly don't know about Pitt's defense versus Miami's offense in all levels. I have no clue which players, which team will really show up in this game. I want to have some faith in the Pitt D showing up and making plays at home, in the cold; but they have fallen flat in the big games this year. The best I can hope for is that Miami helps to beat itself with turnovers. Something that I actually expect if Pitt can get an early lead.

Pitt's offense will have to make the difference from the beginning. Virginia Tech showed that Miami does not play well from behind. They rely on their defense to make the plays and keep them in the game while the offense sputters through. The Miami defense is not Oklahoma or Ohio State caliber, but it is one of the best in the country. It is especially good with it's secondary. This is also Pitt's strength. Again, the question is, will Rutherford snap out of his game and a half funk. He can't be errant like he was against Temple and in the second half of WVU. He has to throw early and often to Larry Fitzgerald. Force Miami to understand just how many bodies they will have to put on Fitzgerald. Hopefully this will open up things a little more for TE, Kris Wilson and WR, Greg Lee (I just don't trust Brockenbough).

Then there is Pitt's running game. Miree will be playing, but it won't be against Temple. Miami, though, has been victimized by strong running backs. Since no one saw the Temple game, we don't know whether Miree was moving north/south or did he dance much behind the line before moving. Against Miami, Miree will have to be pushing forward.

Special teams hasn't been much for either team, and the weather may make the kickers non-existent.

I'm terribly afraid to pick Pitt, since they actually control their own destiny -- and haven't been able to do anything when given the chance before -- but when it comes down to it. I have a hard time picturing Pitt not getting at least 20 points, and Miami having a real difficulty getting much more than 17.

So here it is, Pitt to win 28-21 in the reverse score of last year.

Let us pray.

You can't expect a lot of information filtering out on Thanksgiving day. There's a nice piece on 1976 Heisman winner, and Pitt legend, Tony Dorsett stumping for Larry Fitzgerald for the Heisman.

The monthly negative Pitt column from Bob Smizik is out. The topic, one of his annual chestnuts -- even if Pitt wins on Saturday, they could lose.

What happens if Pitt beats Miami and then goes on to a major bowl game and wins there, too? The Panthers will be 10-3 and in all likelihood ranked in the top 10.

There's a sizable market out there for top 10 coaches, particularly those who have raised programs from the dead and who can legitimately claim the unofficial but highly impressive title of quarterback guru.

Would Harris leave Pitt?

If a better opportunity were presented to him, it's hard to imagine him not at least considering it.

Yeah, yeah. Whatever. This is the same type of column Smizik writes every year because it's easy. It's completely speculative, and perfect filler material. Plus, if it actually happens he can claim he saw it coming first. If it doesn't happen, it can be conveniently ignored.

Other useless thoughts.

This will be Pitt's sixth night game this season.

Pitt is 2-3 this year at night. 2-1 at home. 0-2 on the road.

This will be Pitt's fifth game televised by ESPN/ABC.

Pitt is 2-2 in these games. 1-0 on ABC regional coverage. 1-2 on ESPN/ESPN2.

And finally, a quick revisit to some preseason predictions of Beano Cook:

Well, let's take ND, first -- they will finish 10-2. Penn State will finish 9-3 with a chance at 10-2.

Not quite. Try again, next year.

Mix in the Dolphins playing Sunday night and Thanksgiving day, coupled with extended Marlins coverage; and finally the fact that Miami won't be playing for the national championship -- you get very bland and not much Florida coverage of the Pitt - Miami game.

The lead stories are mainly about Pitt superstar WR, Larry Fitzgerald, and how to cover him. Miami hasn't allowed a WR to have a 100 yard game since playing Penn State in the beginning of the 2001 season. It would be nice symmetry to have the next one come at the end of this season against Pitt.

Right now the pieces are mainly individual player puff pieces or other matchups -- like Miami Butkus Award finalist, Jonathan Vilma, who was humiliated last year from a wicked lowered shoulder from Pitt QB, Rod Rutherford.

No one is sure what the Miami offensive line will look like with senior center Joel Rodriguez out with a broken fibula. Apparently there will be plenty of shuffling of positions.

Finally, one of the notebook pieces has the usual pap about how both coaches would like to see the "rivalry" continue. You can't call it a rivalry when Miami has dominated it so badly. Not that I wouldn't mind Pitt still playing Miami -- and lord knows Pitt will need to beef up its non-conference schedule -- but don't call it a rivalry.

I know that I oughtn't (clever, huh?) complain about our beloved Panthers' prime-time start on Saturday night (8 p.m.) but I do have one reservation: The start time means that I will be freezing my hindquarters off in a Pittsburgh parking lot at midnight.

I'm not just hoping for a victory, I'm also hoping for a swift conclusion to the game. It's not so much the cold as it is my desire to "hit the town" afterwards and this late start time's gonna nip that in the bud, I fear.

Of course, this desire is predicated on the hopes that many comely Hurricane alumni will be prowling the South Side and various other locales post-game, so I may be a bit blinded by a vain, vain hope. Of course, being a Pitt fan, this is nothing new for me.

I wrote this, Friday, August 8, 2003:

Anything less than winning the Big East will be a disappointment this year.

Let me now amend that to say:

Anything less than winning the Big East will be a bitter disappointment this year.

Pitt is the only "sleeper" BCS team left from the ESPN preseason predictions.

There is no understating the importance of this game for Pitt.

Strictly speaking, this Pitt-Miami game Saturday isn't all-or-nothing for the Panthers. It just seems that way.

A season that began with great expectations, ends with two of the Panthers' bigger goals still out there for the taking, those being getting a Big East championship and a Bowl Championship Series berth.

These are things that a torpedoing in Toledo, a Heinz humbling at the hands or Notre Dame, and even a Morgantown meltdown have failed to render unattainable.

Of course Coach Walt Harris is trying to downplay it.

But Pitt coach Walt Harris said he is not going to get caught up in the significance of the game.

"The focus is to win the Big East and whatever happens after that is great," Harris said yesterday at his weekly news conference. "And, in order to win the Big East, we have to beat Miami. They are a challenging team. When you watch their athletes and study them, you see they had a couple of games where turnovers got them [or they'd be undefeated].

If Pitt wins, the Orange, Fiesta or Rose Bowl.

A loss and Pitt could fall all the way to San Francisco.

Here are the Pitt Game Notes.

The corresponding Miami Game Notes (both in PDF).

Sweet Joy. Looks like the Pitt-Miami game will be shown in Cleveland (and 74% of the country).

The depth charts don't indicate that Miami Center, Joel Rodriguez, is out after breaking his leg against Rutgers.

Right now, I haven't completed any real analysis of the teams and the match-ups.

I feel cautiously optimistic about the game, and find myself absolutely terrified at the prospect of Pitt being in control of its own destiny. A completely unnatural situation for Pitt. To be honest, Pitt has yet to show that they can step up, and win in this kind of game.

There are only 2 things I can t glean from the Pitt win over Temple.

1) Rod Rutherford had a real hangover from the 2nd half of the WVU game the week before.

2) We still don't know about the running game.

Yes Miree came back and ran wild on the Owls, which I didn't expect. But, that was against the Temple Owls. It tells me nothing.

As for Rutherford, he needs to shake off his funk or Pitt is sunk.

A little late, but here are some quick, lazy thoughts on college football this past weekend.

Syracuse wore the complete orange uniforms against WVU and deservedly lost.

I think WVU sent Boston College many, many "thank you and good luck in your future endeavors" cards for beating Virginia Tech and keeping the Hoopies from being screwed out of the Gator Bowl 2 straight years.

The real shame about Virginia Tech leaving the Big East, they just reached the point where it was fair to call them the Miami Dolphins of the Big East.

Ohio State lost badly to Michigan, when the defense finally had a bad game. Still, when the Buckeyes made it 28-21, and then intercepted John Navarre; anyone watching (or listening to) the game had to start thinkng, "Oh s**t, OSU is going to do it again."

Jim Rome is a complete west coast homer. That wouldn't bother me, except that he still claims otherwise.

If Pitt actually beats Miami and gets the BCS bid, look for plenty of national stories questioning how much Pitt truly deserves it.

Pitt actually controls its own destiny. That truly terrifies me.

I was out of town over the weekend, and busy Monday. Posting for the rest of the week may be hit and miss. Hitting the highways today for Thanksgiving.

So Brandon Miree will play against Temple. This comes on the heels of Harris all but calling Miree "soft" by saying he's physically healed, but not mentally. I'm not sure Miree will do much against Temple. But then, I think this is a "shake off the rust" game that Pitt won't put him in much of a position to be the game breaker -- and hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

Of course, while the problem in all of Pitt's losses hasn't so much been the inability to run, it has been the inability to stop the run. With all the questions and a defense rated 87th against the run, some members of the defense are getting testy. Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads attributes it to a lack of "playmakers" on defense who can make up for screw-ups by other parts of the defense. Uh, yeah. This just isn't translating well. He may have a point somewhere in there, but comparing the defense to Oklahoma's will not work.

"A year ago, we had guys who I would refer to as erasers," said Rhoads, whose defense returned three fumbles for touchdowns last season and did not yield 450 yards in any of its 13 games. "If we left a gap open and somebody didn't get there, Gerald Hayes might have shown up. Or, Torrie Cox would have got over top of his own block, beat his guy, then showed up somewhere else to make the play.

"If you would put on (No. 1) Oklahoma's tape, there's going to be a fair amount of mistakes on that film, but erasers show up. Unfortunately, right now, we don't have too many of those guys on the field. And if one guy or two guys don't quite get it, then it's the potential to be a breakout play."
...
Because the defense is inexperienced -- Rhoads has used as many as five first-year starters -- the Pitt coordinator said it's been tough to implement blitz packages, limiting the opportunities to make big plays. He said every one of the long runs by Notre Dame's Julius Jones en route to 262 yards came off of failed assignments on blitzes.

Except that Oklahoma isn't making the same number of mistakes each play, which means the "erasers" don't have to be worn down to a nub. Stupid metaphor.

Okay, Lee has made his weekly picks. I've decided to go opposite him on each and every pick. Explanation to follow

Ohio State (+6.5)at Michigan. John Navarre is Michigan's answer to Alex Van Pelt. For those who are unfamiliar with the name, and history, he was the Pitt QB from 1989 to 1992. He ended up starting as a freshman and by the time he finished, passed Dan Marino for most of the career passing records at Pitt, by the shear number of games he played. Van Pelt could throw, but he was error-prone and completely unreliable in the big games. I think you see where I'm going with this.

I am rooting for and against Ohio State.

For: because it will help make more of a mockery of the BCS. Everyone knows that USC is better than OSU, but the BCS system now has OSU ahead. An Ohio State win cements that, and finally the BCS "fails" to get the consensus #1 versus #2 match-up. This is the kind of problem the BCS couldn't handle -- a bunch of one-loss teams where who's better/best is subjective. Of course anything that hurts the BCS helps Pitt and the Big East right now.

Against: I live in Ohio. Everyone roots for OSU and it gets on my nerves. Even my wife, a Cinci grad roots for Ohio State if she watches the game. It is like dealing with the Penn State thing in Pennsylvania.

That said, Ohio State and Jim Tressel are in the Wolverines' heads right now. Michigan knows they should win. They are expected to win. Even the most loyal Buckey fans are bracing for losing. Michigan looks like the better team. But they expected to win the last 2 years.

All of the pressure is on Michigan. I can see Michigan losing this game outright, but since I have points, let's just say Michigan wins by a field goal.

Pitt (-15) at Temple. Who is more down following the loss last week? Pitt after being humiliated in the second half by their rival team, facing a line-up shake-up, but still having the possibility of being Big East Champs with Miami a week later. Or is it Temple, who gamely came back to tie VT, only to lose in OT when their kicking game failed them -- again. I see a pissed off Pitt team, that will pound the crap out of Temple and be able to run against this bad team. For a day, at least Pitt will be able to kid itself about its running game.

Pitt and give the points.

Penn State at Michigan State (-5). I wonder if even people in East Lansing care about this game when the Ohio St.-Michigan game is going?

Lee knows better. He picked Penn State. Now as much as I'd like to see the Nittany Nation convince itself that things aren't so bad for a little longer, and not have to hear about the poor Penn Staters as I stare a roadie to the family for Thanksgiving in the face; I can't.

Michigan State has looked worse each week in their 3 game skid. But if there is ever a rebound game this is it. So, Penn State pasted Indiana. Uh-huh. After losing to Northwestern. Penn State peaked in their squeaker loss to Ohio St. If John Smith is half the coach he seemed before the skid, MSU will pound PSU.

West Virginia at Syracuse (+2). Um, let down for West Virginia after the Backyard Brawl? Okay, even I don't really buy that with Rich Rodriguez as their coach. All I can say about this bizarre line, is that 'Cuse gamblers have more money to spend than Hoopies. Analysis-wise, West Virginia further depleted its defense during its beatdown on Pitt. Surely Paul Pasqualoni will ride Reyes the entire game, and not try to throw so much like he did against Pitt. Right? Right?

Both Pittsburgh papers reported the same thing: the starters are changing at some position. The only difference is do you want the news straight or laced with sarcasm.

I'll take mine with sarcasm, please.

Walt Harris has reverted to the greatest motivational tactic known to football coaches: He is sending players to the bench.
...
It is the first time this season that the seventh-year Pitt coach has tinkered so heavily with his lineup from one week to the next. These things tend to happen when your defense sinks toward rock bottom -- 75th worst in the nation -- and when select offensive personnel fail to make plays.

Here are the changes:

Pre-season All-American Candidate, Claude Harriott, DE is now a co-starter. Harriott was bothered by injuries early, then subject to double teams, and lately has just sucked.

Weakside Linebacker, Malcolm Postell, the guy beaten at the end of the first half for the touchdown against WVU, is benched for J.J. Horne.

The #2 WR, Princell "Blockhands" Brockenbrough, has been benched in favor of freshman Greg Lee. Blockhands dropped an easy TD against WVU, and all season long has made it a habit of dropping easy passes because he is trying to look upfield without the ball.

Free Safety is now an open position. Tez Morris has had the job.

Strangely enough, Jawan "tap dance" Walker is the starting RB, rather than co-starter with Tim Murphy. I'd love to know what the Pitt coaches saw on game film to merit that decision.

Brandon Miree, the Pitt starting RB who has been out most of the season with a stress fracture, was listed on the depth chart for the Temple game, but isn't expected to play. He did practice a little last week. There have been unconfirmed and unreported rumors that Miree has been physically ready for some time, but has been mentally "soft" about feeling any pain. There might actually some truth to that, if you want to read between the lines:

Harris said that the stress fracture in Miree's leg has healed, but he is not mentally ready to return to action.

"We scrimmaged to try to get him confident that he can take a hit and make sure he can hold onto the football while getting hit," Harris said. "He's been away from it for a long, long time. But to me, it is still up in the air whether or not he feels he is ready to go. We know he is physically ready to go, that is why he is practicing and scrimmaging, but the mental healing has to take place.

"When you are a tailback, you are a marked man. He wants to play well and, hopefully, he feels more and more confident in his health."

Well, maybe not even bothering to read between the lines.

Then there is this warning from Harris to his team about playing Temple. I love this:

Harris said Temple has a distinct home-field advantage because the lack of a crowd lulls opponents to sleep. "You can see when you watch the tape, there is nobody in the seats up high," Harris said. "Fans don't play the game, we do and Temple uses that as an advantage, an edge. People are going in there thinking 'this is a scrimmage.' If you have that attitude, you will get yourself beat."

Beware the empty stadium. Beware.

Finally, Harris wants Rutherford to stop trying to do too much -- something that seems rather difficult when there is no running game -- because the interceptions were the result of Rutherford trying to force the ball.

When Pitt played Boston College at the start of the month, I mentioned how they were completely ignored by the Boston media. That's nothing compared to the way Temple football is ignored in Philly. The Philadelphia Daily News has them in a day old piece just rounding up local colleges (though Wednesday is the last day to pick up seats purchased from now abandoned Veterans stadium). The Philadelphia Inquirer has a "Temple" section, but most of it concerns the basketball team. And the PhillyBurbs.com coverage of Temple is downright pathetic.

There was a column recently in the Philadelphia Daily News, from Temple alum, and the ancient, perpetually cranky, and large sportswriter Bill Conlin. His message. Quit.

The Owls will go looking for a new conference lugging the leper's bell: Nobody cares. Nobody goes.
...
I have lost track of the times I have delivered this message, but here goes again: Drop your pretensions and the grandiose Division I dreams a fanatical cadre of alumni keeps gulping like methadone. Wallace is the latest of many good coaches holding his fingers inches apart to indicate how close the Owls are to being really big time. Just a good recruiting class here, a few breaks there, a little bit more of a commitment from alumni, students, the media and area high school coaches.

Nobody told the Temple people that urban college football began a rapid death when University of Chicago egghead Robert Maynard Hutchins dropped football and such powerhouses as NYU and Fordham dropped out or downsized. I get the argument that Southern California is proof an inner-city university can field consistently great football teams. The only difference between the Owls and the Trojans is that USC is among the wealthiest private universities in America, a depository for conservative, Republican money. Richard Nixon tapped USC for brain power the way John F. Kennedy tapped Harvard.

Temple has Bill Cosby...

So, don't give up football, Owls. Instead, give up the delusion you can ever be a successful, big-time program. Get back with Delaware and Villanova, William & Mary and Northeastern. Give a call to Georgia Southern. Keep scheduling the Daytons and Akrons. You'll need to be good to beat any of them.

Definitely going to be a light week.

Bad enough that I can't make the final home game of the season against Miami on November 29, because I'll be travelling home from Thanksgiving with the wife and kid. Now the Disney conglomerate has decided to make the night game an ABC regional telecast rather than the ESPN game. This absolutely sucks because I live in the Cleveland area. Regional telecasts mean that I will end up seeing the Notre Dame - Stanford match-up, because it will be of more "local" interest.

This wouldn't be a problem if John was still living in Pittsburgh.

In West Virginia there are some storylines coming off the big win, that Pitt fans understand. The predictable is like this piece on how the seniors led the Mountaineers to victory. The kind that Pitt fans may understand better is "great that WVU won, but what if they could have avoided the dumb early losses?" What if WVU hadn't blown the lead against Wisconsin? What if they had actually been awake when they gave the game to Cinci? Good questions that Pitt fans would have been asking regarding Toledo and ND if Pitt had won the Backyard Brawl.

In Pittsburgh, the blame is falling on the defense and its inability to stop the run.

Walter Washington is a relatively unknown player among college football fans across the country, but by this time next week he could be one of the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy.

That's because Washington is the starting quarterback for the Temple Owls, and he is also their leading rusher. And the Owls' next opponent, the Pitt Panthers, have excelled this year at making the Heisman dreams of opposing rushers -- and sometimes even passers -- come true.
...
And considering Washington ran for 151 yards against Virginia Tech this past weekend, he has to be thinking he's headed for a 300-yard game come Saturday.

Not that the offense's running game isn't taking some heat.

As bad as the Panthers' run defense was Saturday night, their run offense may have been worse -- and that, too, has been a consistent issue for them this year. Pitt ran 26 times for 10 yards (0.4 yards per carry) and its leading rusher was fullback Lousaka Polite, who ran five times for 9 yards.

Both problems -- the inability to stop the run and run the football -- are the main reasons the Panthers are 7-3 as opposed to 10-0. Pitt is ranked 86th in rush defense (183.7 yards per game) and 79th in total defense (394.9) and they average only 110 yards rushing per game, which is worst in the Big East Conference and 98th in the NCAA.

The root of both problems can be found up front, where the Panthers have been consistently manhandled on both sides of the ball.

Gee, line play was a key. What a shock. Can't believe that was the case.

Of course, credit must be given to WVU's defense in the second half making, you know, adjustments to deal with the passing game.

"The defensive staff did a great job making adjustments," WVU coach Rich Rodriguez said. "In the second half, we played some different coverages and used a couple blitzes. We didn't want to use three-man pressure. We wanted to try to mix in four- or five-man pressure.

"In the second half, we did a little better job of getting more in [Rutherford's] face. I don't think any quarterback likes pressure. It was a chance to disrupt his rhythm. He was in such a rhythm in the first half. We wanted to try to make Rutherford hold onto the ball a little longer.

"I thought in the second half we did a better job of getting off the blocks and we did a better job of breaking on the ball. In the first half, we were kind of standing around too much."

Shame Pitt couldn't make any.

Of course, Pitt could still win the Big East, but even Harris knows that problems on defense are not going away.

The only thing worse than Pitt's offensive inefficiency, particularly along the line, was a defense that might not look the same when the Panthers play a Temple team coming off a near-overtime upset of Virginia Tech on Saturday.

"We missed more tackles than I've ever seen us miss," coach Walt Harris said

"We have to go back and try to fix whatever we can fix."

The Panthers got little production from their front four Saturday, most notably senior defensive end Claude Harriott, who struggled so mightily that backup Azzie Beagnym replaced him on numerous occasions. Harriott, a preseason All-America candidate, has only two sacks. He had 9 1/2 in 2002.

The starting defensive front of Harriott and Thomas Smith at the ends, and Dan Stephens and Vince Crochunis on the inside, combined Saturday for only 10 tackles, none of which occurred behind the line of scrimmage.

WVU tailback Quincy Wilson (208 yards on 34 carries with four scores) became the third back to run for 200-plus yards against the Panthers.

As for the guys behind the line, linebackers Brian Bennett and Lewis Moore both finished with double-digits in tackles, but weakside backer Malcolm Postell (5 tackles) found himself out of position on a number of occasions and got beat on a number of passes, including a sensational 28-yard grab by WVU's John Pennington that tied it at 24-24 with 31 seconds left in the first half.

Of course, just to depress further, there is still the issue as to whether Larry Fitzgerald will be back next year. Some are already saying goodbye.

Pitt's next game is against Temple. Somehow, I don't think it will be on national TV.

The basketball team plays St. Francis (PA) on Saturday also. Could be a light week.

Just a brief listing. I'll give more tomorrow when a couple more West Virginia papers publish again (I'm not kidding, the Charleston Daily Mail and Charleston Gazette both lack Sunday news on their sites).

The Dominion Post has the story as a "mauling," and a Nyah-Nyah story of sure Fitzgerald is amazing, but WVU won.

Meanwhile in Pittsburgh. The focus was on the failure to run and stop the run. Rather than a mauling, it was a "rout" or a "pounding." A lot of credit was given to WVU's final drive in the 2nd quarter to tie the game. Specifically the 4th and 4 touchdown pass.

Finally the notebook reports. Pitt still leads the all-time series with WVU, but has lost 9 of the last 12. Fitzgerald continued to set records in the NCAA, Pitt, and Big East.

WVU is denying rumors that it is looking into joining the SEC.

I've stayed away from SportsCenter in the morning, the computer to this point, and the radio. I haven't read any other accounts of the game yet, aside from Lee's observations. For some reason, Lee felt like bragging that he picked the Hoopies to win, unlike me. In my defense, I also picked the final score, and was right, as far as the points Pitt put on the board. This was going to be the first time I had seen Pitt on TV all season. I was grateful for ESPN2, because I was just damn sick of Big 11 games all day -- I mean, talk about ridiculous, one of the local channels showed the thrilling Indiana-Penn St. thriller rather than old episodes of Quincy. Just sick.

Lee even called me up as he was driving back from Morgantown to bitch about the game. It was a spectacular second half collapse, and yet another example of Pitt taking two steps back after taking a step forward. I still feel bitter, and the game helped cost me a decent night's sleep. Woke up around 3 am, because the daughter was fussing, and it took over an hour to get back to sleep because my mind started thinking about the game and all the things Pitt did wrong or was incapable of doing. Just not right.

Back to the game. I took notes, and I am supplementing with the box score and the play-by-play info to keep the facts straight.

The game kicked off about 7:05 with Dave Barnett calling the game, Bill Curry with analysis, and Rob Stone on the sidelines. ON the first drive they flash the numbers on WVU QB Rasheed Marshall along with his major -- "Coaching Education." Uhhhh, yeah. That's just too easy. Skip it.

WVU marches right down the field. Running well, and screen passes are working well against the Pitt Defense. Looks like Pitt is still overpursuing. Especially on the screens and short passes that are going for big yards. The other thing though, the officials are calling a tight game. Pitt got called for pass interference, that was questionable since the replays looked like the ball was uncatchable. Of course on the very next play WVU was called for holding. WVU scored on the 9th play with a screen that went 18 yards for a TD -- untouched by the defense. The drive took 4:03. Looks like the WVU coaching staff was well prepared on offense.

Pitt takes the kick-off and Allen has a 53 yard return. Nearly longer, possibly to the endzone, but a foot stepped out of bounds. Pitt starts at the WVU 41. Pass to Fitzgerald for a first down. Jawan Walker carries the ball twice for 7 yards. Walker actually looks halfway decent, when he doesn't dance waiting for a bigger hole and just drives forward. 23 yard TD pass to Fitzgerald. Beauty. 7-7.

During the drive, Bill Curry mentioned that Pitt hasn't used TE Kris Wilson much because of Fitzgerald. Said that Wilson will be in the NFL next year. No doubt.

WVU and Pitt swap 3 and outs. Watch Walker run forward for 8 then dance backwards to lose 6 on the next play. Idiot. During this time, Stone on the sidelines says that they have doubled the number of state troopers at the game to over 80.

Rasheed Marshall is looking good as he runs for 19 yards on a fake, when Pitt overpursues. Then hits Chris Henry with a 42 yard pass to the Pitt 6 yard line. Shawntae Spencer was beat again. Marshall is now 6 for 6 passing. He looks very sharp. Ooops, first incomplete. WVU settles for a field goal. 10-7.

Pitt takes the ball and scores on a 45 yard TD pass from Rutherford to Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was interfered with, but he still made the catch -- though the interference wasn't much, and would not have been called in last week's game. The refs are definitely calling a tighter game -- though it may just be the camera angle, it seems that WVU defenders are lining up in the neutral zone, I mean it looks like their hands are on the other side of the ball at times. Also saw Jawan Walker get a screen pass, where if he fell forward immediately he could have picked up 5 yards. Instead, he stood his ground trying to juke and dance, and got 1 yard. Not good. He is regressing in the first quarter, again. 14-10.

On the next series Quincy Wilson proceeds to gash the Pitt Defense for a 36 yard gain amidst missed tackles. The only plus, was that he was slow getting up. Aside from the big run, there was no gain. Marshall threw 3 straight incompletions. The last one hung up, and allowed Tez Morris to recover (after he let himself be beat) to knock it down.

Pitt goes 3 and out, luckily. Adam "Pac-Man" Jones should have intercepted a pass.

WVU goes 3 and out, as the Mountaineers are trying to pass a lot more. This benefits Pitt, if they aren't running the ball.

Princell "Blockhands" Brockenbrough lets a perfectly thrown ball go through his hands on 1st and 10 from the Pitt 16, at 13:45 in the 2nd quarter. He was wide open some 15 yards down the field on the left and would have been able to run it all the way for a touchdown. As he often does, though, he looked upfield and let the ball fall through. About a minute later, he makes a 15 yard reception for a first down, and even play-by-play guy sounds vaguely contemptuous when he says, "He hangs on... this time." Pitt ends up punting, and Andy Lee doesn't kick a good one. WVU takes over in decent field position, and I get my first sinking feeling about a missed opportunity to take an 11 point lead.

Sure enough. Quincy Wilson rips off another big run for 37 yards where tackles were missed because the defense was trying to hit more than tackle. Wilson then runs in with ease on the left side for 5 yards and the TD. 17-14.

Just before WVU kicks the ball to Pitt, they show that Wilson has 12 carries and 101 yards. This is at the 9:21 mark in the 2nd quarter. He is just gashing the Pitt defense. I am now very worried.

Terrell Allen has another big kick-off return for 49 yards. Where has he been all season? or is WVU's kick coverage that bad?

Fitzgerald makes an outstanding catch in double coverage with what appeared to be pass interference (though they picked up the flag) for 34 yards. He now has 5 catches for 124 yards and 2 TDs. He is completely amazing. A TD pass to Kris Wilson. Pitt 21-17.

This game has moved quickly to this point, I haven't had much of chance to breakdown the game.

Pac-Man Jones of WVU takes the kick-off 50 yards and a 5 yard face mask penalty added. Replays showed, that both sides committed face masks.

Marshall hangs another pass while trying a fake reverse, and this time it is intercepted by William "Tutu" Ferguson.

Rutherford throws a perfect pass and great catch to Greg Lee with 3 defenders around him for 32 yards. Rutherford is just on his game right now. He is throwing with precision. Wow. On a 4th and 1 from the WVU 17 Rutherford throws to Fitzgerald for 6 yards. WVU didn't see that coming.

Oooh. Rutherford nearly gave it right back to the Mountaineers with what should have been an interception. Pitt settles for a field goal. 24-17. This worries me that Pitt didn't get the touchdown -- again missing a chance to go up by double digits.

A good WVU kick return comes back. They start at their own 18 with about 4 minutes left in the half. WVU proceeds to march down the field with great ease. Just using runs, screens and the short passes to shred the Pitt defense. Only thing I note that could be positive for Pitt is that when the defense actually manages to pressure Rasheed Marshall he tends to hang his passes.

4th and 4 from the Pitt 28, and WVU is going for it with 37 seconds left. Oh my god! How do you let a receiver get behind you in the endzone? It was a beautiful catch, on another hanging pass, but dammit. Piss poor coverage by the secondary. 24-24

Halftime comes and they talk to Walt Harris as he jogs off the field. He says that Pitt hasn't been able to stop the run and Pitt hasn't been able to run. Says that needs to change. No s**t.

I'm still thinking about Blockhands dropping a sure touchdown. Pitt didn't play a bad 1st half, but they missed some big opportunities. The game is tied and it will all come down to second half adjustments.

Second Half, and Pitt starts out with the ball. Hey, on the very first play, WVU whistled for being offside. Maybe Walt said something before the kick-off. Pitt quickly marches down the field via the pass. Another beautiful catch by Fitzgerald for 37 yards in double coverage to the WVU 5. Augh! Intercepted in the endzone. Rutherford was trying to throw to Brockenbrough who had 3 defenders around him. A bad decision by Rutherford. A big miss on the opening drive.

WVU goes 3 and out. Pitt moves backward 22 yards on penalties on 3 straight penalties. Still looks like WVU is lining up in the neutral zone. Another interception when Rutherford tried to throw to Wilson who was double covered. Looks like WVU's secondary has made some big adjustments. Not a good sign.

WVU has a short field and runs another screen for big yardage.

Hmm. Halfway through the 3rd quarter and they just showed a comparison of rushing yards WVU 160. Pitt 36. Ewww.

Marshall just ran 12 yards for a TD. It looked like there was a fair amount of holding on that run. Descent into pathetic homerism? Maybe. Instead, Pitt commits a personal foul. WVU 31-24.

Jeez. Pitt's losing its composure against WVU just like Virginia Tech did against WVU. Pitt penalized 10 times for 86 yards in this game.

Pitt does nothing with the ball. Instead, on the punt it is returned for 72 yards to the Pitt 3.

At this point, WVU has all the momentum and Pitt is imploding in all phases of its game. It is becoming abundantly clear who made second half adjustments, and who doesn't seem to have a clue.

It takes Quincy Wilson two tries to run 3 yards for the touchdown. WVU 38-24.

Still more than 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. This is the first time all year that Pitt has been behind by this many points. The previous time was against Notre Dame and that was only 6 points in losing 20-14. Given the way the defense has rapidly worn down this half and the way WVU's secondary has adjusted to play their zones properly, it doesn't look good for a Pitt comeback. Especially if Pitt can't answer.

Pitt's next possession is a mess. They go 3 and out. WVU returns the favor, but Pitt has another 3 and out. WVU gets the ball with a few seconds left in the third quarter. WVU after a complete pass to end the quarter, goes with Quincy Wilson for 8 consecutive carries for 45 yards. WVU takes a time out. (I think you can officially declare without a doubt that Wilson has helped kill Pitt at this point.) The back-up RB then runs for 9 yards. Surprisingly Pitt's defense stops the run 2 times in a row for no gain, then Quincy Wilson fumbles.

It could be the big break Pitt needed, as WVU was sure to score on that possession. Still, they ran 5:30 off the clock on that possession.

Nope. Rutherford is now totally off his game. Intercepted at midfield and returned to the 2.

Touchdown, Wilson. WVU 45-24.

The game is unofficially over. I stopped taking any notes on the actual game.

Final score, WVU 52, Pitt 31. It wasn't even that close.

The game came down to second half adjustments. Specifically, Pitt made none.

WVU stayed the course on offense, which made sense. Pitt's defense was being worn down by a superior offensive line and good running back. Quarterback Rasheed Marshall played a very smart game. He was a respectable 14-23, 216 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 rushing TD. He was only sacked once and ran for 40+ yards. Marshall didn't try to do too much in the second half. WVU wisely kept the ball on the ground and used short passes. Running Back Quincy Wilson ran for 208 yards and 4 touchdowns, along with an additional 22 yards receiving. WVU ran for a total of 307 yards.

WVU made adjustments on defense in the second half. They stopped worrying about the run and concentrated on getting pressure on Rutherford. At the same time, their secondary got more disciplined and stayed in their positions, rather than trying to show they could go one-on-one with Larry Fitzgerald. The pressure on Rutherford helped throw off the timing and led to throws being off, just enough that the secondary could make plays on the ball. Pitt had no answer because their inability to run the ball caught up with them once again.

On offense, Pitt could do nothing on the ground. They had to rely completely on passing. So Rutherford had 419 yards on 25-47 passing and 4 TDs, but also 3 INT -- all in the second half -- to kill any chance of staying with the Mountaineers. Arguably, Pitt was in no position to make offensive adjustments, but that's why Pitt couldn't afford to miss the opportunities it did have. Especially in the first half.

On defense, we've been worried all week about the defense and defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads public front that there were no real problems (look at the bottom of the post). Yes, Pitt once again failed to tackle and tried to hit. Once again, overpursued and got burned. The defense has been an Achilles heel. Especially against the run. This can't be emphasized enough. This was the 3rd game where Pitt allowed a single back to run for more than 200 yards in a game in the season. Pathetic.

WVU outplayed and outcoached Pitt.

I just had to throw in one more gratuitous security/riot preparation story, if only because it came out of the NY Times. I must say, though, that the story seems a little short on the truth (at the NY Times when covering something outside of NYC? Shocking.)

Police officers using pepper spray cut off an attempt by fans to tear down the goal posts. Some fans stormed into downtown Morgantown, W.Va., and set 100 fires, more than usual on a campus where it is a custom to set fire to couches after football games.

Emphasis added.

Now let's be fair. As far as I know it is hardly a tradition to set fire to couches in Morgantown after the Mountaineers win a football game. It has happened after the Virginia Tech games (and maybe last year after the Pitt game, but it was Thanksgiving break, so not as likely). Second, it was hardly a raging mob moving violently into Morgantown as the story implies.

Gratuitous shots not based on facts, just seem wrong. I'm sure the NY Times will get plenty of complaints once the Hoopies learn to read and write.

Since I couldn't make the roadie, I have time to prepare a final roundup. Don't worry, though, Pat, John and Lee will be there to represent in the Pitt cheering section -- somewhere in Section 121 of Mountaineer Stadium (aka, The Big Pile of Cement paid for with federal money via Senator Robert "I was a member of the KKK, but it was just a social club" Byrd).

Mark Madden says that Pitt closed practices to try and hide the return of RB Brandon Miree, but it hasn't fooled anyone (except, apparently all of the newspapers in Pittsburgh and West Virginia who haven't even reported a rumor of it).

Looks like all of the papers have waited until today to run their pieces on how much the game means to players and fans. Now there is some good stuff to get the blood flowing.

Pitt senior tight end Kris Wilson stood quietly in the middle of Heinz Field last fall, observing the dances and the celebrations, the high-fives and the hugs.

His stomach twisted in knots.

There he was, in his house -- on his turf -- watching the West Virginia football team frolic after a 24-17 victory in front of a record-setting pro-Panthers crowd.
...
"This is crazy for me, because I finally realized what it meant to play against -- and lose -- to West Virginia," said Wilson, a native of Lancaster. "It was just a rotten feeling. I'm not even from this area and I didn't grow up knowing about the Backyard Brawl, but for some reason, when I was leaving that field, I felt worse than I did after any loss in my career. I don't know why it came over me like that, but it did, and I can't forget it."

Yeah, that's what I want to read. Pitt seems to be drawing upon the sight of watching the Hoopies celebrate on Heinz Field last year. And the celebration rankled some sensibilities.

[Walt Harris] also had an intense disposition during interview sessions all week.

"I try not to have the bitterness that you're supposed to have about the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia -- that's one drawback, maybe, about not being a Pittsburgh guy," said Harris, whose team must avoid an emotional letdown after upsetting Virginia Tech last week at Heinz Field. "But I saw what happened on the field last year when we got beat. I saw the demonstration."

Both sides getting juiced.

West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez gathered his players before the end of Wednesday's practice, at Mountaineer Field, and asked them to take a knee.

He instructed them to close their eyes and picture what the sold-out stadium would look like before tonight's Backyard Brawl with the No. 16 Pitt Panthers.

He wanted the players to imagine what it would feel like to run through the inflated, smoking WVU helmet.

By the time this visualization exercise was over, Rodriguez could clearly see the smiles on his players' faces.

The fans are ready down in Morgantown.

"That the road to the Big East title goes through Morgantown ... down Don Nehlen Drive," Headley said. "And if Walt Harris and Pitt don't already know that, well, I think they'll notice on their way to Mountaineer Field."

Headley, a 23-year-old law student at West Virginia University, doesn't mix words concerning his feelings for Harris and Pitt: "I don't like him, and I hate them."
...
"There isn't any love lost," Headley said. "Anticipation for this game is higher than it was for Virginia Tech a few weeks back."

And that's saying something.

Prior to West Virginia's upset of then third-ranked Virginia Tech on Oct. 22, Headley and his three housemates entertained about 300 fellow Mountaineers in their front yard -- likely the only front yard in college football with its own nickname, Tailgate Central, and Web site, www.tailgatecentral.com.

That Headley and roomies, Andy Hill and Thomas Ryan, live at 954 Irwin Street, which faces Don Nehlen Dr., the road busses carrying Pitt must travel if the Panthers intend on showing up for kickoff, is no small coincidence.
...
The partiers at Tailgate Central -- mostly WVU students, identifiable by T-shirts that on the front read "Tailgate Central" and on the back display a map of West Virginia breaking up the words "Old School" and "Tailgating" -- have at least two fans with stroke in their back pockets: Rodriguez and school president David Hardesty.

"I guess so," Headley says. "Coach Rodriguez has shown up the Friday night before a game with pizzas, thanking us for the support. And, president Hardesty has stopped on his way to the game."

The link to the site, though, says it's under construction.

Of course the main storyline is still that a BCS bid for the either school is the major component of this game.

The very notion that the Panthers might still be on a high from last weekend’s win is laughable to Pitt coach Walt Harris, who succinctly summed up the importance of the rivalry.

"This is the Backyard Brawl. This is the all-time rivalry for this university," Harris said. "We got beat by them last year in front of the largest crowd ever in the history of Heinz Field. We know what it's like to not take care of business. Need I say any more?"

In a piece of actual game analysis, a WV writer figures it out: WVU needs to run the ball. Hmm. I think I've read something like that once or twice before.

Finally, some individual profile pieces. One on Walt Harris, and what people think about the job he's done and into the future (complete puff piece).

The others regard Pitt's stud WR, Larry Fitzgerald. One is a piece from a WV columnist designed to strike fear into the Hoopiefaithfull as to how good he is. The other concerns issues of what Larry's father said to the NY Times about Fitzgerald considering trying to get an exemption for the 2004 NFL draft.Shortt answer: he's not thinking about that right now.

Game time is less than 7 hours away.

Let's go Pitt!

No one, and I mean no one pretended that this was a "pretty" game. Pitt was playing a very young and inexperienced Alabama team, but Pitt looked more out of sorts in the early going.

It's hard to read much into the very first game of the season, but this will be their hardest game until conference play begins, so it deserves a little extra scrutiny. The storylines all focused on Jamie Dixon getting his first win as head coach and the game Karl Krauser had. I'm not trying to be overly harsh, but it was really the second half Krauser had. His first half was abysmal. He scored 21 points, but only 2 in the first half. Pitt as a team shot 0-11 from beyond the 3-point line in the first half, and a pathetic 4-18 for the game. The only reason they were tied at the half, was that Alabama missed a lot of easy baskets and Chevy Troutman went 5-7 with 12 points in the first half (more on him in a moment). The rest of the Pitt team shot 5-24 in the half.

Krauser did take over in the second half after a brief spell on the bench after picking up his 4th foul about halfway through the second half.

Troutman kept the Panthers in the game in the first half, but his defense was off. Last year he was a monster on both boards (offensive and defensive). This first game he was late on his defense, committing fouls after he was beat -- leading to fouling out. He was definitely looking to be more of an offensive presence. He can't forget the defense, though, or Pitt is in trouble. Senior Torree Morris is just a big body standing around on defense -- he provides nothing.

Julius Page was definitely tentative coming off his high ankle sprain, and ESPN2 play-by-play guy, Dan Shulman noted that it was keeping him from trying to drive to the basket.

The most impressive player from Pitt in this game, to me, was Freshman Guard, Chris Taft. He only played 18 minutes but had 12 rebounds and 7 points. He is going to be a great force inside, and will push Morris and Troutman for playing time -- in fact, I can see by mid-season Morris' minutes being very low.

Pitt is going to be a team, barring an upset to one of its cupcake opponents that will be in the top-15 by conference play, but no one will know whether this team is really that good.

Usually this would be the last day of reports before the game, but with a 7pm start time, I think I'll find time to churn out another round-up tomorrow.

In the "behave or else" category of security, there is this piece on the WVU players asking the fans to stay in the stands. There is also this attempt at what I'm guessing humor or to rip on Pitt in the student paper.

Collapsible goal posts? If West Virginia beats Pitt, is that really considered an upset?

That's giving Pitt too much credit.

I have two words: Notre Dame. Pitt got dropped, at home mind you, by Notre Dame. That's the same Notre Dame that needed a last-second field goal last weekend to beat Navy.
...
But really, all the talk of post-game debauchery is out of place because beating Pitt shouldn't warrant tearing down goal posts. West Virginia should beat Pitt.
...
If Pitt beats West Virginia, that's an upset.

So the goal post stuff can be put to rest. So can Grant Avenue turning into Andre Rison's old house. After beating Tech, I was all for destruction and burning stuff, but the prospect of beating Pitt doesn't excite me nearly as much.

This coming from a kid who watched his team go down to the Cincinnati Bearcats? Glass houses you idiot. Add in the fact that in his last line, he clearly doesn't get the Backyard Brawl.

You want examples of what the Backyard Brawl means to real WVU fans? How about straight from the official Hoopie website. Pitt Preview, Campus Connection and Pitt Week, all written by John Antonik, an alum of WVU and Director of Internet Services for the site. Personally, I think it's cool that the WVU site actually has some real opinions written for the site, rather than nothing but press releases. But read the pieces, especially "Campus Connection." A really solid, personal piece recollecting the games he'd seen. It really helps get the flavor for what it means to Hoopie fans, and gets you in the mood for the game.

Another retrospective on the Backyard Brawl from ex-coaches: Don Nehlen and Jim Carlen from WVU and Johnny Majors of Pitt.

A few player pieces. Two on Pitt QB, Rod Rutherford. Then one on WVU QB Rasheed Marshall coming back from a concussion.

Then there is the Dominion Post top 5 list of the day, on the 5 worst games.

Finally, some nauseatingly good natured camaraderie between the WVU and Pitt Chancellors. Screw that I want drinks in the face, threats made, and punches thrown. I want Cheney going after Calipari in a post-game interview. Blood! Blood! Blood!

Lee's solid analysis can be found here.

This will be the 4th straight Big East team Pitt has faced with a solid running game. In only the Syracuse game, did Pitt hold the leading rusher to under 100 yards -- because Syracuse coaches are idiots and didn't run Reyes for 20+ times. So here's the first thing. Pitt will not be able to keep WVU RB, Quincy Wilson, under 100 yards if he touches the ball for 22 or more carries (he averages about 4.7 yds/carry). He may still be a bit tender with a bruised lung, but I wouldn't count on it. WVU runs the spread, and runs it well. That means quick or no substitutions on defense at many points and with a speedy QB, Rasheed Marshall, that is a threat to take off, the defense can be worn down by the 4th quarter -- something that happened to Miami a month ago. Marshall, though is not a particularly accurate passer. He has a sub-.500 completion percentage and has rushed more times than he has completed passes (68-64). Adding to his speed, he has only been sacked 8 times all year (by comparison Rod Rutherford has been sacked 25 times), giving you a good idea about just how good WVU's O-line can be in providing protection. Wit Pitt's history of overpursuit, I wouldn't be surprised to see Marshall end up running for 60-80 yards in the game. Of course, if that happens, Pitt will likely lose the game.

Pitt will have to keep Marshall in the pocket and keep him from turning the corner. Forcing WVU to win with the passing game is a big key for Pitt's Defense. WVU has a good young receiver in Chris Henry, but not much of note behind him. This of course doesn't help Marshall's completion percentages.

On the Pitt offense, well there is still a lot of talk about WVU's 3-5-3 defense. The pressure, though will be on their secondary -- which is talking cocky. Pitt's O-line has shown a steady improvement since it's collapse against Notre Dame -- at least in protecting Rutherford. Considering you never know if WVU will be coming with 3 to 8 men, it will have to continue it's improved play. Pitt is obviously keyed by it's passing game. Rutherford has had only one bad game -- Notre Dame -- otherwise he has been very, very accurate. His completion percentage is near 62% and that is with 288 attempts in 9 games. He has also been showing flashes of his old speed when he decides to take off. This will be very important given Pitt's running game.

Obviously the receiving corp starts with Larry Fitzgerald. He will get his touches, and even with the 3-5-3 will pull extra coverage his way. The issue will be how TE Kris Wilson and #2 WR, Princell Brockenbrough play. One of the things about the 3-5-3 is it can clog the passing lanes, meaning the pass and the route have to be more precise. This could be a problem with Brockenbrough, who is not the most precise route runner (and has a propensity to run before he has possession). Wilson, though, is a very good route runner, so expect him to be the second leading receiver for Pitt in this game.

Pitt's running game actually looked pretty good against Virginia Tech. Jawan Walker and Tim Murphy seemed to provide a good mix of running styles that helped eat the clock and keep drives going. Add in fullback Lousaka Polite for short yardage pushes, and I am cautiously optimistic that the Pitt running game can go for more than 100 yards between the three of them.

Pitt has a rep for a quick strike offense because of its passing game and Fitzgerald's ability. This game, with the way the spread offense can wear out a defense, though, will require Pitt to chew the clock. Surprisingly, this is something Pitt has been doing the last 3 games. A lot of this has been because Pitt has taken early leads (except the BC game). If Pitt can get a quick lead and force WVU to throw more, the final score may not reflect how tough a game I believe this will be.

The game is a pick-em at this point, so I have to go with Pitt in a win that doesn't look as close due to a late interception returned for a score. Pitt 31 WVU 20.

Because the dislike for the other side never truly goes away.

Steelers running back Amos Zereoue is upset over comments made by 49ers running back Kevin Barlow, a former Pitt player, about Zereoue's diminished role in the Steelers' offense.

Yesterday, Zereoue, who played at West Virginia, fired back at Barlow, who has never been able to beat out Garrison Hearst as the 49ers' No. 1 back since being drafted on the third round in 2001.
...
Barlow, who played at Peabody High School, said he knows Zereoue from playing against him in college. He also said he ran into him a few times in the Strip District.

But Zereoue contends even that is not the case.

"I played against him when he was like a freshman, but I wasn't really ... he wasn't making any noise for me to be paying attention to him like that."

Barlow said he was going to call Zereoue and bet him $500 on the Pitt-West Virginia game. Zereoue said not to bother.

"We could have made a bet earlier, but what's the point," Zereoue said.

Barlow was drafted in 2001. Zereoue in 1999.

Before looking at the game, just an idle thought. I have no idea when I'll be able to think of the Crimson Tide without stifling a snicker about Mike Price and "Roll Tide!" OK, juvenile thought out of the way.

Alabama does not look to be a good team this year. They lost three 4-year starters from last year, and will be very young and inexperienced. The counterpoint, of course, is that they so underachieved the last 2 years that losing the seniors may not be such a bad thing. This is likely a rebuilding year for 'Bama, and they will play their first game of the year in Madison Square Garden. Between the SEC and a tough non-conference schedule, Alabama will struggle to get to .500 this year. They do, however, have several talented young freshmen who could see some significant playing time.

Pitt, while losing 3 starters from last year, is still a top-25 team. All of the starters have experience, and with the exception of point guard, there isn't a huge drop-off in talent or depth. Pitt regularly plays in MSG in conference against St. John's and in the Big East Tournament. Plus, several of their players are New York area natives. Pitt shouldn't be intimidated by the surroundings -- and so they shouldn't have any excuses.

The biggest deal for Pitt, is their new head coach, Jamie Dixon. Already the subject of this coach puffing piece. The players all love him, and wanted him to be elevated from assistant to head coach last year. Well, they got it. Now the hard part. Vindicating the decision that has many Pitt fans nervous.

While I don't think this game will be a "cakewalk" for Pitt, they should win the game. They are stronger on the inside boards and overall are a better team. The local Pittsburgh papers are trying to pump up Alabama by pointing to their previous two NCAA tournament appearances, and that this is the toughest opener Pitt has had in ages -- which is more an indictment of Pitt's piss-poor, Kansas State-like non-conference scheduling.

Still this is Pitt's only ESPN/ESPN2 game until late December, so it will be the only game I actually see for a while.

7 pm ESPN2.

Since ESPN has the Backyard Brawl as its ESPN2 prime time game; and it will play a huge part in determining the Big East champ -- and the accompanying BCS bid -- it only makes sense that ESPN.com start running some stories.

One is just part of the predicted trend of stories on security and safety. Nothing that hasn't already been reported. Skip this one.

There is of course the game preview with some basic statistical comparisons (I'll try and do some actual analysis tomorrow).

The ESPN lead story on the Backyard Brawl is more about WVU coming back from a 1-4 start and now in contention than about the game and history.

This one in SI.com is about the possible good for the Big East to have Pitt or WVU win the Big East rather than Miami or VT. This is news because?

Finally, a column from the Tribune-Review about Pitt actually looking like it could possibly become a strong, stable football program again.

Still haven't gotten around to talking about the future Big East composition. Really, there's no rush since it's a couple years away. Of course, I then read crap like this to bug me.

The Irish have made serious overtures about joining the ACC, two officials within the conference with knowledge of the moves told USA Today in Thursday's editions.

Notre Dame is a member of the Big East in most sports, including basketball -- but the football team has been independent for more than a century. A move to the ACC would certainly change all that.

One of the officials told the newspaper that Notre Dame also contacted the Big Ten.
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Meanwhile, the Big Ten has taken a different approach during the expansion issue during the past year. The Big Ten doesn't feel the same pressure that the ACC does to go to 12 schools and have a football championship game. But a Big Ten chancellor told ESPN.com last month that there is a standing offer for Notre Dame if the Irish want to join the conference. He said that the Big Ten wouldn't need to go through the process of visiting Notre Dame or putting it to a vote. But, as Heisler said, Notre Dame hasn't officially asked the Big Ten to join.

The fact there are no clear, flat out denials from the Irish make me a little more nervous. I still, stand by my early statements that Notre Dame is not joining a conference that would end its football independence -- except maybe the Big 11, but I doubt even that at this time -- Lee also agrees.

I assume Boston College can't be disinvited, but a venal, vindictive side of me would find some satisfaction in seeing BC finding itself out of both the ACC and Big East.

This may be paranoid ravings -- go figure -- but could ND be doing this to keep the Big 11 from formally considering expansion until after the new BCS agreement is made? This would leave ND with more options if it should find the next BCS arrangement not in ND's financial/national championship interests to stay independent. I believe the Big 11 is slowly moving towards making a decision in the next couple years, and ND may be trying to stay ahead of the wave.

I don't know. Probably should just ignore it.

At the end of August (barely 3 weeks into this blog's brief life) I published the following:

The 2003-2004 season could be a big year for Pitt sports. Not just as far as what they can accomplish on the field and the court. I'm thinking about their place in the local Pittsburgh sports scene. Locally, no one has given much ink or airwave time to Pitt outside of complaints of how they don't measure up to teams of yesteryear. It didn't matter because there was always a pro team to hold the interest at any time. But look at things right now.
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The Steelers. Ah, the Steelers. The lifeblood of all Pittburghers (Pittsburghians?). Aside from the fact that they are playing in a weak division, there is hope but a lot more questions about the team. The defense. The running game. Special teams. Lots of questions.

Meanwhile at Pitt. There are potential top 10 teams in football and basketball. Definitely top 20. There should be a lot of excitement and expectations for both teams. Everyone loves a winner, and bandwagon jumpers should be lining up around the 'Burgh.

If. If, Pitt can meet those expectations. Then this could help reshape the dynamic in the area.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Bob Smizik, today.

Now what we have is a case of history reversing itself. The Pitt program, in the middle of a crush of crucial games, is picking exactly the right time to reassert itself. The Steelers are not very good, are not likely going to the playoffs and are turning off some of their fans.

Pitt will never catch the Steelers in the hearts and minds of Pittsburgh-area football fans. But they're gaining a bit of ground.
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It's never easy for a college program to succeed in a town dominated by professional teams, particularly one so close to the hearts of the fans as the Steelers. But there's room for both to be successful.

Shrewd marketing and a winning team have put Pitt in position to find that success. Maintaining it won't be easy, but it can be done.

This is in the context of reasserting that Pitt was right to move off-campus for football games. Still, why does he get paid to re-write what I've written for free?

It's Thursday, and still no trash between the rivals. This is starting to get dull. In fact, the WVU team is saying it won't do any trash-talking during the game.

Adam "Pac Man" Jones swears he can do it. Rich Rodriguez isn't so sure.

The topic of conversation is, well, conversation. More specifically, it is the trash-talking version of conversation.

Rodriguez, West Virginia's football coach, doesn't want to hear it. And Jones, his sophomore cornerback and the reigning WVU master of the art, says that’s fine by him.

"I'm going to keep my mouth shut this game," Jones said, referring to Saturday night's sold-out Backyard Brawl against Pitt at Mountaineer Field. "I can contain myself."

It's not that Rodriguez doesn't believe that, but, just as a precaution, he gathered his team for its Monday meeting this week and, well, stressed it.

Is Rodriguez trying to suck the life out of this game? I'm starting to think so.

When Rich Rodriguez played football at West Virginia, he doesn't remember too much about the Pitt games. He recalls quarterback Jeff Hostetler scoring a touchdown to defeat Pitt.

"The game I remember the most was when we defeated Penn State, 17-14, during the 1984 season," Rodriguez said. "I still have that one on tape."

We are getting some game analysis, though. The piece also gets a little into the WVU defensive scheme. The 3-5-3:

So, what exactly is the 3-5-3? It's a rarely seen base defense that essentially uses three down linemen, five linebackers and three defensive backs. Most teams use such a scheme for their "prevent" defense, but the Mountaineers use it on a full-time basis.

"They make it tough on a quarterback because they take him out of his rhythm," Pitt coach Walt Harris said. "They have five guys underneath and three deep and it can really throw you out of whack. And, they have so many variations, and they can do so many things that they trick you a lot of times."

The 3-5-3 was effective enough to hold the Panthers to two touchdowns and a field goal in a 24-17 loss last season at Heinz Field. The Mountaineers forced four turnovers out of that alignment, including a pair of interceptions.

On the Pitt defensive side, there is a piece on Pitt and its dealings with the @#%^!* spread offense. The title of the article is "Panthers no longer spooked by spread." Well they may not, but the fans sure as hell are. The piece is short on details but long on player and coaches confidence that "this time for sure" that Pitt will contain it.

I'm not so sure. Rodriguez went through a year of hell installing the spread. WVU went something like 3-8 his first year, because it takes a year for players to learn and understand it -- something Walt Harris didn't grasp back in 2001. Now that it is installed, though, it is scary how effective it can be. Especially against a team like Pitt -- that tends to overpursue. Of course the main concern for Pitt will be stopping the WVU running game with Quincy Wilson.

The WVU players seem to be looking forward to the game, even if most of them (at least the ones quoted) were unfamiliar with the history.

There are a couple player puff pieces focusing on WVU WR, Chris Henry. Both the Pittsburgh and WV profiles mention his aspirations to rival Pitt's Larry Fitzgerald. Also one piece on the return from his concussion, and trying to get enough tickets for family -- WVU QB, Rasheed Marshall.

Finally, the Dominion Post continues its running top fives with the top 5 upsets. For good or ill, Pitt won 4 of the 5 listed.

Our resident uniform fashion expert should be all over this. ESPN Page 2's worst uniform bracket.

Coaches press conferences and player profiles dominated the Pittsburgh and West Virginia newspapers.

As I predicted yesterday, there is another piece on security for the game.

Player profile puff pieces. The West Virginia papers have a couple on Pitt WR, Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald admits that this is the game he most wants to win -- or at least tells the WV media that. Mostly there isn't anything new, except that none of the opposing secondaries he has faced this year have bothered with much trash talking.

"Honestly, guys don't really talk to me any more," he said. "Virginia Tech really talked to me a lot last year and some other teams did, too. This year they'll say, 'How you doing, Fitz?' and stuff like that, but no malicious comments or anything like that.

"I think my opponents respect my talent. But they also want to shut me down. It's a fun relationship. It's fun to go out there and compete and know that a guy's going to give you his best. There's nothing more you can ask for."

Of course, Pitt hasn't played Miami yet.

Other player pieces include speculation on Rod Rutherford as an NFL QB; a Pittsburgh area Guard playing for WVU because he got no offers from Pitt or Penn St.WVU RB, Quincy Wilson and his "bruising" style; and the leading WVU receiver Chris Henry. None of which are much more than standard player puff pieces.

Another list. This one listing the 10 greatest players who played in the backyard brawl. How can Marshall Goldberg not be on the list?

There's a speculative column on why the Big East will root for Pitt over WVU this weekend. Not exactly an earth shattering revelation.

Pitt's defense thinks it will be better against the run this week (hard to imagine it being much worse than allowing well over 250 yards and 4 touchdowns).

Finally, on the injury front, the Mountaineer underwent an emergency appendectomy this week. The Hoopies are trying to get an emergency Native Appalachian prepared to fulfill the duties.

When there are no pro teams in a state, there tends to be a lot of focus on the college teams, if they are any good. West Virginia media has plenty on their Hoopies.

First, from the student paper, a column that includes thanks for the night game.

That is why I am glad the University decided to move this game to a late start, because now the game means so much more, particularly to the students.

After all that happened in the aftermath of Virginia Tech, I think it is great to give the students another chance.

After all, we are all young adults, and we should act and be treated as such.

Um, apparently he didn't know who really pushed for the night game. Nor does he seem aware of how WVU really feels.

Regarding the decision last week by the network to move the game from noon to 7 p.m., Athletic Director Ed Pastilong said, "It is an honor and a privilege for our Mountaineer football team to be showcased on national television. They have worked hard to earn this prestigious opportunity. With that said, however, we did discuss with ESPN and the conference options for different start times for the game, but in the end, the network invoked its contractual right to televise the game in prime time."

Emphasis added.

The press release details the increased security precautions taken for the game and the alumni association paid to install hinged goal posts. Expect more stories about extra security taken in Mountaineer stadium and around Morgantown in general in the coming days.

On the injury front, starting senior defensive end Fred Blueford is done for the season with a knee injury.

That sign with the date 11-15-03? According to this AP report, it's been in Pitt's weight room all season long. The article echoes a point John made yesterday -- the game has always meant more to WVU than Pitt.

The Dominion Post lists its 5 greatest Hoopie victories over Pitt. Pat, you're our resident historic Pitt expert. Counterpoint?

"Paranoia in Hoopie Land" could be the alternate title to this column on how WVU could get jobbed out of the bowl picture this year. Apparently, there's some lingering bitterness over ending up at the Continental Tire Bowl. Of course, the writer of this piece shows no real intelligence since he couldn't even read a box score. In his "game analysis" he refers back to the VT-Pitt game scores

f nothing else, both coaches know the dangers involved in not facing up to the other's offensive strength. For West Virginia, that means trying to contain Fitzgerald, Pitt's Heisman Trophy candidate at wideout.

"There's two trains of thought. You can let him get his and control everybody else or you can say, 'We're not going to let one great player beat us. Let's make the other ones beat us,' " West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said. "The problem with Pitt is that they have a lot of other guys who can catch the ball and get open. And I think people are finding that out."

Those other guys, though, didn't necessarily hurt Virginia Tech last week. Yes, Princell Brockenbrough and tight end Kris Wilson caught some passes and the Pitt running game did some damage. But Tech still led 24-14 in the second half and 24-21 with under four minutes to play.

Emphasis added. Uh, no. Pitt led by those scores. VT took a 28-24 lead, which led to a 31-28 Pitt victory. I don't think his analysis should be relied upon by Mountaineer fans -- especially considering treceiverse two receiers from Pitt he refers to as catching "some passes" combined for 11 catches, 171 yards and a touchdown.

Meanwhile the coverage of Walt Harris' press conference was excerpted and shows that Harris is gung-ho for the game.

But Harris said, "Our focus is on what we have to do to get better for West Virginia. They're going to be a formidable challenge.

"That's all we're concerned about right now. We're not concerned about destiny or anything like that.

"If we struggle down there, it will be because of the quality of the opponent - not because we're still thinking about having beaten Virginia Tech or that West Virginia won't show up.

"This is the Backyard Brawl. It's an all-time rivalry for this university."

As far as game analysis goes, it's early but there is plenty of focus on Pitt WR, Larry Fitzgerald. Another cocky corner is ready.

Larry Fitzgerald vs. Adam "Pac-Man" Jones.

Pay-per-view worthy.

Or maybe Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh's sophomore wideout and leading Heisman Trophy candidate, and Jones, WVU's sophomore cornerback who fears no leading Heisman Trophy candidate, should be a separate bout placed in the 1920s. You know, the ones outside in Montana or Yankee Stadium. Dempsey, Tunney, Johnson, etc.
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"I'm emotional, but I know how to control myself," Jones said.

Like it or not, Jones is someone who has to be noticed. An exceptional talent, he sometimes is his worst enemy, on and off the field. He is serving probation for bar-brawl participation two summers ago.

On field, he takes more risks than a New River Gorge Bridge jumper. Any kick he handles could be a touchdown -- for either team. Yet he returned an interception and a kickoff for touchdowns Saturday at Boston College. As he crossed the goal line on the kickoff, he raised his arms wide. Six points and extra running this week.

Now he faces Fitzgerald, an anti-Winslow in that he usually flips the ball to an official and even helps opponents off their cans after plays. A sticks-and-stones guy.

"I love playing against great competition," Jones said. "I'd rather play against someone like Fitzgerald than a rinky-dink."

We'll see.

This piece considers that while Fitzgerald is major talent, he also allows for other parts of Pitt's offense to beat a team. It notes, that the area where WVU's defense has struggled has been against the Pass. Both teams offenses play to the defenses' weaknesses. It should be wild.

Meanwhile here is the official Hoopie sports site. Coach Rich Rodriguez also has his own site.

It even has a page with photos of their cheerleaders, and the Mountaineer cheer, which features the always popular line:

Come on you old grads, join with us young lads.

I guess the sheep get a night off.

No word yet as to whether the WVU Alumni Association is offering its ancient moonshine bottle up as a prize again.

These were Lee's thoughts on the "prize" last year:

I don't even know where to begin with this one...

-- A moonshine jug? Gee, that's great. So much for West Virginia trying to live down its unfortunate national image.

-- So is the "Backyard Brawl" now going to become known as the "Founders Jug Game?" And if so, what about a moonshine jug says anything about Pittsburgh?

-- Now that we're apparently playing for the "Founders Jug Trophy," have we stooped to the level of the "Land Grant Trophy?" Does this mean that I can't make fun of Penn State/Michigan State anymore?

If we won this game, I'd seriously give the jug back to WVU.

Just because the Big 11 has trophies for every game, doesn't mean we need one. The game has enough meaning and history without trying to bootstrap a stupid trophy.