Stop The Madness

This time of year is admittedly slow.  There's always the usual Heisman hype in the Summer and there's been some pushes to find the next Ndamukong Su.  CBSSports.com thinks Greg Romeus may be said person:

Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh: With the Panthers projected to be a force in the Big East, look for the senior to improve on his numbers from last season. Romeus racked up a team-high eight sacks and 11.5 tackles for a loss. The first-team All-Big East performer and Hendricks finalist just might be able to garner some votes if the Panthers are near the Top 15 most of the year. Keep an eye on how Romeus does in the team's biggest games -- at Utah (Sept. 6), Miami (Sept. 23), West Virginia (Nov. 26) and at Cincinnati (Dec. 4).

CBSSports.com isn't the only one out there looking for defensive players who can make a push for the award.  According to the Detroit Free Press, Sports Illustrated is also in search of some and apparently mentions Romeus:

The other seven defensive players SI mentioned for the Heisman were Adrian Clayborn (Iowa), Jared Crick (Nebraska), Von Miller (Texas A&M), Greg Romeus (Pittsburgh), Patrick Peterson (Louisiana State), Rahim Moore (UCLA) and Greg Reid (Florida State).

Not to be outdone, Bleacher Report lists Romeus as one of their defensive favorites to have a chance at the Heisman:

Now Romeus, a 2010 "Lott watch list" candidate, will attempt to cap off a stellar Panther career as he matriculates his way to the NFL.

And perhaps thrust himself into the Heisman conversation along the way.

Frankly, I don't see it. First, for any Pitt player to be in contention for the award, the team would need to have a pretty good year. If they do, the team is going to need an offensive star and it's much more likely a candidate like Dion Lewis or even Jonathan Baldwin would be pushed.  Su was a rare case on a team that didn't have an offensive star large enough to chase the Heisman.

Continuing with Su...It's true that he did finish fourth in the voting last year.  But fourth is a long way from first.  Further, he was a distant fourth, despite being one of the most impressive defensive players I've watched in recent memory.

If a defensive player does happen to make it to New York this season, I don't think it will be Romeus.

Football Notes

Sorry for the long delay in updates - this past week has just been flat-out hectic with a concert, power outage, vacation planning and a slew of other offline stuff.  Plus, not much has been going on with Pitt, so it was a good time for a respite.

Here are a few football things out there:

Stewart Mandel at SI.com talks about the Heisman race and some of the preseason favorites.  I think this is the first article I've seen where Dion Lewis is not mentioned as one of the top picks.  Mandel places him in a second group to watch for after his initial top ten.  With Pitt getting more play as a Big East favorite, I was a little surprised to see Noel Devine in that first group.  Pitt WR Jonathan Baldwin is also in that second group.

Lewis will be hard pressed to win the Heisman, but I do think he's right there in the discussion.  Along those lines, make sure to hop over to our SB Nation Pittsburgh site this week, where we'll have a breakdown of the area's top Heisman hopeful running backs (PSU's Evan Royster, Lewis - Wednesday, Devine - Friday).

Joe Butler of Metro Index says that Pitt could have five first-rounders in next year's NFL Draft.  We're a long way from that happening, but just the fact of it even being discussed is incredible. 

Dave Wannstedt, even with two straight very successful seasons under his belt, still takes a lot criticism about Pitt not getting to that next level.  Some of it is deserved and some is undeserved.  But one thing that cannot be denied is that he has Pitt on the right track.  His staff not only has an eye for talent, but they are regularly getting that talent to come to Pitt.  Programs are not rebuilt overnight and Pitt is still a ways off from being mentioned as a consistent national power.  The good news is that things have been looking up.

Brian Bennett over at ESPN.com had previously released a list of the Big East's top offensive triplets.  With Dion Lewis, Baldwin, and Tino Sunseri, Pitt was at the top of that list.  His defensive triplets are now out and Pitt (headlined by Greg Romeus, Dan Mason, and Dom Decicco) comes in at second behind WVU.

Keep in mind this isn't a team's three best players.  Rather, it's a team's best DL, LB, and DB.  If it were the three best, Jabaal Sheard would likely replace Decicco (in my opinion) and Pitt might be #1 on his list.

Tony Dorsett Casts A Vote For Reggie

Pitt Heisman winner may have shocked some with his recent comments about Reggie Bush keeping the Heisman trophy at a recent golf outing:

"I don't see any reason to take it back from him. Anybody that watched college football during his time will tell you Reggie Bush was the most exciting football player on earth at the college level," said Tony Dorsett, the former Pittsburgh Panthers and Dallas Cowboys great.

"I think he was a very justified winner. His numbers were right. He meant as much as anybody has ever meant to their team."

Dorsett, the 1976 Heisman winner, believes Southern Cal officials should share the blame.

"It's not Reggie Bush. I don't know what his economic background was at that time, but that's what a lot of these universities do. They get these great talents and they get them to go to their higher institutions of learning because they shell out a little cheese for them," Dorsett said.

"And sometimes these kids need that. They all know it's wrong. But in most cases, they don't ask (schools) for it. They offer it. Those people that are doing that need to be sanctioned."

Though the Heisman ballot states "recipients must be in compliance with the (NCAA) bylaws," Rogers, South Carolina's lone Heisman winner, and others said the most important criteria are Bush's football accomplishments.

Frankly, I would expect most Heisman winners to fall in line with those same sentiments.  I think that most athletes feel college players get the short end of the stick when it comes to being unpaid, so his comments don't surprise me.

 

But I think he's wrong on this one.  The rules state that winners have to be compliant with NCAA rules and if Bush has not been, then I think he should lose the trophy.  Those are the rules and regardless of his actual performance on the field, if he's found guilty of cheating, then he deserves to lose the trophy.  True, an argument can be made that it didn't affect his on-field performance.  I would be inclined to agree with that.  But let's create a different scenario.  Instead of attending USC, what if he had attended a school with less talented athletes?  If he didn't have the opportunity to play on an outstanding team loaded with weapons, would he have still put up the same numbers?

 

I don't know - I always hate saying an athlete or team should lose an award after the fact...especially YEARS after the fact.  Still, I'm not exactly on board with the idea of saying that the rules shouldn't count. 

Dion Vs. Jonathan

So Pitt has one of those 'good' problems on their hands - who to promote for the Heisman? Dion Lewis or Jonathan Baldwin? Personally, I expect them to start off promoting both. Lewis appears to be the clear true candidate, but Pitt won't want to have egg on its face by only promoting him if Lewis would go down with an injury or if Baldwin should step up and really become a viable contender.

Frankly, I don't believe Baldwin is really the candidate some may make him out to be. He had 57 catches, 1,111 receiving yards and eight TDs last year. Good, but not great. Heck, Fitz couldn't get the Heisman with numbers that dwarfed Baldwin's (92, 1,672, and 22 TDs).

Being a wideout puts him at a huge disadvantage. There have only been four wideouts that won the Heisman in the award's 75-year history. The biggest thing of note is that they've all played other positions as well. Charles Woodson was also a DB and Tim Brown, Desmond Howard, and Johnny Rodgers were also kickoff and punt return specialists. To win as strictly a wideout, you'd need to put up incredible numbers or at the very least, put up great numbers on an incredible team.

Let's break down the numbers of the two players a bit. Baldwin's 1,111 yards were only good for 19th in the country and because his numbers are dependent on the quarterback's ability to get him the ball, is prone to having games with low outputs. He had only 44 yards against Buffalo, 17 against Rutgers, and 5 yards against Syracuse. In most years, Heisman winners can't have large lapses in production like that.

Now look at the other player. Dion Lewis is a running back - a position which has won the Heisman more than 50% of the time in the award's history. He's coming off a year with 1,799 yards and was an All-American. He finished a close third in the nation in rushing yards and the two players ahead of him are now in the NFL. Perhaps even more important, he had huge games of 150+ yards in more than half of the games he played in. Plus, he's not dependent on the quarterback getting him the ball as a WR is. Finally, his 17 TDs beat Baldwin's last year and I'd expect him to top him again this year.

Dion Lewis is not only Pitt's best candidate, he's the school's only realistic candidate for the Heisman. I say promote him, and promote him alone.

Latest Test of the Year

That's the first thing I think of when I see the matchup this weekend Vs. South Florida. It seems like literally since the beginning of the season, each game has been more important. Not just because of the roll Pitt is on, but because the opponents have almost always been tougher.

Pitt started out with Youngstown State, a I-AA team before moving onto Buffalo. Week three represented another step up against an always tricky Navy team and the following week, Pitt played its first BCS conference opponent in NC State. Yes, you can argue that the next opponent, Louisville, may not be as good as NC State. But it was a conference road game on a Friday night, so you could argue that it was more important. Pitt then played a better team in UCONN and possibly a bettter team in Rutgers. This week, it gets tougher with a visit from South Florida. It's a good thing Pitt thinks more is left in the tank, because they'll need it.

Dave Wannstedt said it after Pitt's 24-17 win against Rutgers Friday night.

So did Mick Williams, Bill Stull, Dorin Dickerson, Dion Lewis and every other player who entered the media interview room at Rutgers Stadium after the game.

"We haven't played as well as we can play. We haven't played our best football yet."

Pitt has been somewhat fortunate in getting by with some crucial mistakes. Just when you think it's going to cost them, they stepped up and fought their way out of it. But I can't help but think that the mistakes are going to cost them in another game down the road.

Head-to-head, the teams are pretty even on paper.

Unknown to Dave Wannstedt at the weekly press conference, Pitt is trying to do something it hasn't in nearly 30 years.

Pitt faces another freshman QB, albeit a redshirt, in B.J. Daniels. Make no mistake, he's pretty good.

Paul Zeise at the PG says Pitt expects a good turnout. To be honest, I do, too. Pitt is 6-1, ranked in the top 20, playing a good team, and it's homecoming. Yes it may be a little rainy on Saturday, the temperature is supposed to be fairly warm in the neighborhood of 60 degrees. The game is televised, but Pitt should get a good draw for this one.

This comment by Bulls' coach Jim Leavitt seems a bit off to me:

"They do everything off the run game," Leavitt said. "I don't see any weaknesses in their offensive line. We're looking at film trying to figure out what to do."

Yes, the running game is strong. But Pitt has shown they can pass when needed. Bill Stull continues to play mostly error-free football this year and if Pitt doesn't turn the ball over, they're dangerous.

A few quick hitters:

ESPN.com's Brian Bennett's latest tidbits include Dion Lewis appearing on some Heisman ballots and picking Pitt to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Jared Holley has stepped up big time.

Cam Saddler may be back this week. If he is, Pitt will have two dangerous kick returners in he and Ray Graham.

Dorin Dickerson gets some love as a nationally-recognized TE.

The Petersen family steps up again.

Some quotes from Wanny.

Mark Cuban made a guest appearance at Pitt while in town for the Cavs/Mavs exhibition game.

This is old news, but Dion Lewis got some more accolades this week. Pat Forde also has some respect for Dion.

Wrapping Up Rutgers

With more top 25 losses this week, Pitt was able to get into both polls, moving to 19th and 20th in the USA Today and AP Polls respectively. They're also #5 in something called the ESPNU Fan rankings at the time of this post. I say that because five minutes ago, they were #10. Not sure exactly what that is, but if you look at the rankings, it's clear to see that it's not real indicative of the two main polls. Pitt is also #20 in the CBSSportsline.com (Non-blogger) 120 poll.

After the win, Brian Bennett at ESPN.com give Dion Lewis another weekly helmet sticker and says Pitt might be the one to spoil Cincinnati's season. As he points out, Pitt still has games AT WVU and home against South Florida. Um, let's worry about those two games first as neither will be easy games.

Pitt's win probably meant a little extra to Dion Lewis who was from New Jersey, but wasn't recruited by Rutgers. You can't beat up Rutgers for this - schools miss on kids all the time and it's hardly an exact science. And even though Rutgers' running game could surely use the help, as Jim Calhoun once said, you can't go after every kid. Would Schiano like to have Lewis? Sure he would, but no one recruits perfectly.

Anyway, Lewis and his 180 yards were clearly the story. And Rutgers players were quick to reconigze that he is a real talent.

Sticking with Lewis, Beano Cook doesn't think he's in the top five Heisman candidates yet. Many voters have already shown they're unwilling really to give an underclassman a chance at the Heisman, let alone a freshman. It would be tough for him to even crack the top five unless Pitt would have an unbelievable one or two loss season. And even then, he still might not get much consideration. But raise your hand if at the beginning of the year, you would have even thought this would be discussed this year?

And I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Pitt is capable of playing much better than they have so far. Paul Zeise in the PG blog also goes over Pitt's many miscues that kept a close win from potentially being a blowout, including the Jovanni Chappel missed interception near the end, which should have been a pick six. If Rutgers goes on to win that game, I think it would have been fair to place just as much blame on him as Dan Hutchins. In a close game like that, you've got to shut the door.

Here are some other links:

Rutgers, while acknowledging the conference crown has probably been lost, was pleased with their effort. A Bergen Record columnist thinks it might be time to change the goals for the season.

Dom DeCicco was able to get a small measure of revenge from his early miscue.

Gene Collier in the PG has a somewhat interesting stat:

When freshman Dion Lewis took one 58 yards around right end for a two-touchdown lead in the third quarter, it did a lot more than fulfill one quirky requirement of this still very promising Panthers autumn -- Pitt needs either a 100-yard game from Lewis or a 100-yard game from wideout Jonathan Baldwin to secure a victory; the only time it got neither it absorbed its only loss.

Will McCoy be Back?

The chatter started back in November when Shady answered questions about his NFL future seemingly ready to return to Pitt for another year. However, since then, no one really seems sure of his current status.

Several reports/rumors have come out stating that he's having second thoughts. Who really knows - not much has been said since his November interview. With the season officially over, Wannstedt is probably checking into his draft stock as much as he can to offer the most information he can, while trying to get publicity for his seniors.

If he's back, I believe the football team would probably be ranked somewhere between #10 and #20. If not, maybe around #20 - #25.

Reports I've seen seem to place him as one of the top handful of running backs available, suggesting he could be a 1st or 2nd round draft pick. If he seems to be a lock for a 1st round pick, it would be hard to see him back. But it looks as if he really enjoys college life and Pittsburgh in general. Plus, I think he would love to get Pitt to a BCS bowl and really cement his legacy here. If he's back, Pitt will in all likelihood do what it can to promote him early on for the Heisman.