Pitt TV - Bringing You Quality Broadcasts Of Games Vs. Division II Foes

Seriously, despite the sarcastic title, this is good news for Pitt. I've long been a kicker and screamer when it came to not being able to see every Pitt game. And now with the 'Pitt Network', it looks like that problem is solved.

Well, at least if you have Comcast. If you have FIOS like me, you're out of luck.

Other Big East schools have apparently done this as well:

Pederson said other schools in the Big East Conference such as Connecticut and Syracuse have announced similar initiatives, and that it is seemingly the way many athletic departments are headed.

To start, this isn't a full-blown network. From what I understand, it won't be 24/7 coverage like an actual television station. But it will have regular coverage of basketball games and other Pitt stuff.

And by the way, this is really an extension of something Pitt has done in the past.  They've used the channel 188/210 before to televise games that otherwise couldn't be seen. It just wasn't on a regular basis.  It looks like this will cover any non-televised basketball game as well as things like pre- and post-game shows, press conferences, etc.

The ultimate goal of a Big East conference, sounds as if it's a longer-term dream:

“What we’re trying to do is look at where we are right now,” Pederson said. “Things like that, like a (Big East) network, are a number of years away. “We have a great partner in Comcast. We have fans who love content. We’re going to go ahead and push forward as an institution, everything that we can find to put on the air for our fans. This is additive program that we haven’t been able to bring our fans before, and we’re very excited about that."

Stuff like this Pitt network are great for fans, but as far as putting actual dollars into Pitt's pockets, I think it probably does very little. A Big East network, something I've pushed for a great deal, is really what needs to be done if the Big East wants to have a more secure future. And soon.

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

So Penn State and Temple have again renewed their series. No big surprise here - they've been playing for a while and since Penn State can sucker Temple into a 2-for-1, it's easy money. I don't begrudge for Penn State at snubbing Pitt, I just wish they would admit it's about not getting a 2-for-1.

Penn State AD, Tim Curley, a while back said that not renewing the Pitt series was partially about needing to appease alumni from all over. In case you don't remember, here were his nonsensical quotes:

"That is one of the challenges I am struggling with as we contemplate going to nine conference games," Curley said. "That reduces your ability to move around the country to make these games happen."

Games that are scheduled include visits to Temple next year and Virginia in 2012. Penn State also recently announced a game against Syracuse in 2013 in the New Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., and a home-and-home series in 2020 and 2021.

"There are 500,000 Penn State alumni, and, depending on where I am, whatever part of the country, I am catching it everywhere," Curley said. "Our alums on the West Coast, which we have a lot of, want us to come out and play out there. We have a great base in Florida, and they want us to play there.

"We had a really great series with Pitt and, certainly, with all our alumni in (Western Pennsylvania), we do hear it."

As I pointed out before, if this were really about spreading the wealth, than why is Penn State playing the same opponents year after year? Sure there are some new opponents, but Temple and Syracuse, long-time doormats have repeatedly been able to get onto the Nittany Lions' schedule, while Pitt is constantly left off.

Again, I don't mind that they don't want to play...just wish they'd come clean about it.

Jonathan Baldwin Is No Larry Fitzgerald

Jonathan Baldwin's gotten a lot of hype during the offseason.  While he's one of the best receivers in college football, I'm not necessarily ready to compare him to Fitz:

"I was at that game scouting Stull and [tight end Dorin] Dickerson," said one scout in attendance. "I knew who Baldwin was, but I had never seen him play in person. That drive was impressive, and it really showed how dominant he could be on the big stage. But, that catch he made in the end zone, against a pretty good defender, brought back memories of Larry Fitzgerald."

Fitz was too special of a player. I'll have to see a lot more out of Baldwin before I annoint him to anywhere near that level.  As great as JB has been, let's keep in mind his career high for yards came last season - 'only' 57 catches for 1,111 yards.  That, of course, is a pretty good year.  But it's not Heisman-worthy as Fitz' best season was - 92 for 1,672.

And as I've pointed out before, Baldwin had several games where he disappeared last year:

- 1 catch for 17 yards vs. Rutgers

- 1 catch for 5 yards vs. Syracuse

- 4 catches for 44 yards vs. Buffalo

That won't get it done if you're trying to slide next to the greatest wideout in school history.

Sticking with Baldwin but moving onto...fantasy college football?  My thoughts on that are another issue for another time, but here's one guy who isn't sold on Baldwin putting up big numbers:

Let someone else reach for...

Jonathan Baldwin. Sure he's one of the more physically gifted wide receivers in the country, but I'm not sold on the Panther offense in 2010. Only two offensive linemen return, Tino Sunseri has some big shoes to fill, and this will remain a run-first and run-second offense. I'm not telling you to avoid Baldwin, just that there are reasons to doubt that he'll match his 57-1111-8 from 2009.

I think the new line and QB will hurt Baldwin, but I think the running game will be enough of a threat to warrant a lot of looks his way.  So with that said, I expect him to improve upon his numbers from last season.

And So It Continues

Penn State's renewal of their series with Syracuse means that they likely won't be playing Pitt anytime soon. By now, we all know the reasons for Penn State scheduling Syracuse.  Joe Pa's bitterness is probably at the top followed closely by a cupcake opponent.  A new stadium also supposedly has a hand in it:

"We are thrilled about the opportunity to play Syracuse at the New Meadowlands Stadium to open the 2013 season," Penn State director of athletics Tim Curley said. "I was very impressed when I visited the complex earlier this year and it will quickly be recognized as one of the nation's premier sports facilities. We have had a long relationship with Syracuse and the Meadowlands and are excited about playing the Orange and returning to the site of many memorable Penn State games."

Sorry, Timmy - not buying it.  When Penn State canceled the Pitt series after the 12-0 shutout, Pitt was moving into Heinz Field, a new stadium in 2001.  No, Pittsburgh is not New York.  But you'd think the chance to play in a brand new pro stadium would mean something - at least if Penn State claims that playing in the new Meadowlands is a factor.

Look, I've long since gotten over Penn State's refusal to man up and play a one-for-one series with Pitt.  It's alomst like the old WCW Hulk Hogan / Sting rivalry where Hogan had beaten down Sting so many times he said he was moving on.  It's like beating a dead horse.  Penn State clearly doesn't want to play Pitt and while it would be nice, it really isn't all that big of a deal.  Pitt needs to focus on winning the Big East conference on at least a semi-regular basis and getting to BCS games.  A game against Penn State is secondary at this point.  The truth is, Penn State is a fine football team that would rather have the security of games against Syracuse and Temple.  If they would rather not play Pitt, that's okay.

And if Pitt really wanted to force Penn State's hand, they'd drop the thoughts of selling tickets to customers only willing to buy full season tickets.  Season tickets don't sell out now, so what's a better option - not selling out and not playing Penn State or not selling out and playing Penn State?

One thing I find consistently annoying is Joe Pa's insistence that there just isn't room on Penn State's schedule for Pitt.  Right.  After all, there's no way they can give up those games against Youngstown State and Akron.  Don't hold your breath, kiddos - likely not happening anytime soon.

Jamie Dixon Loses Out

Pitt missed on another award as Jim Boeheim took home Big East Coach of the Year, besting Jamie Dixon, keeping him from winning his second such award.

As I said in a recent Q&A with another Big East blogger, I've got no beef with this. If I had a vote, I would have given it to Boeheim as well. His team is led by Wes Johnson, who's a very good, but not great player. Pitt and Syracuse both match up pretty well numbers-wise and neither has a drop-dead complete star. Ashton Gibbs even averages slightly more ppg than Johnson. Gibbs is a deep threat while Johnson is a very good rebounder. Johnson may be a better player, but I don't think it's by all that much.

Pitt has four players average 10+ ppg, while Syracuse has five. Syracuse scores about 13 more ppg, but both teams rebound about the same. What I'm trying to say is, I think the two teams are pretty comparable. Both teams lost arguably their top three players from last season. So that aside, as great a job as Dixon has done this year, Boeheim's team has four fewer losses and has been unbelievable. I'd have given the nod to him as well. Ray Fittipaldo of the PG makes a good point in that Dixon did a great job with Pitt when both Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown were out. That's true, but I'd still go with Boeheim by a hair.

In related news, Wes Johnson took home conference Player of the Year. He had a very good year, but I would have gone with Luke Harangody - sorry, but nearly 25 and 10 on a team likely to make the NCAA tournament is too hard for me to ignore.

Orange Crushed

I know - not an original title. But this win felt good. Real good.

For one, Pitt proved that hanging with Texas for 3/4 of the game was no fluke. They not only hung with the Cuse, they defeated them fairly handily, going crazy in the 2nd half with 52 points.

A bunch of things stand out:

- Pitt could have easily folded when down 20-10 early and having not scored for about five minutes. They were having a problem hitting shots, and in a hostile environment, it looked like the rout could be on. But one thing stuck out to me - Pitt was shooting an abysmal 3-15 from the field up to that point and had they made even a few more shots, they'd be right there. Apparently they got the memo as they went on to shoot 20-37 (54%) the rest of the way.

- Ashton Gibbs is a star. Despite what some boneheads might think, he's more than just a jumpshooter. Ronald Ramon, who some want to hold as the 'gold standard' for shooting, was a fine player. He was a deep threat, but little more. Gibbs can shoot mid-range all the way out to NBA three-point range, and even drive to the basket a bit. His defense is reasonable and his free throw shooting is unbelievable. And by the way, he has 15 rebounds in his past two games. This isn't to bring down Ramon, who was as I said, a fine player. But Gibbs brings much more to the table and should be a star for Pitt. Also, congrats to Gibbs who was able to break the school record for consecutive free throws, extending his new record to 37.

- The biggest differences in the game were three-point shooting and free throw shooting. On three-pointers, Pitt was 10-24 while Syracuse was only 1-13. Pitt also bested the Cuse at the line going 26-36 to their 15-23.

- Pitt should have won this game by more than ten points, but their late turnovers and missed free throws didn't help their cause. If you remember games past against Louisville, you know this isn't Pitt's first foray into the land of the press. But Pitt will really need to find guys to step up and handle the ball. The good news is that they seemed to get better at it later in the 2nd half. The bad news is that Pitt will likely have more of that thrown at them and without a great ballhandler, it will only make the turnover situation worse.

- Dante Taylor played maybe as good has he has all year. In only 21 minutes of action, 3-4 from the field, 10 points, 8 rebounds, and only 1 foul. Contrast that with McGhee's 2 point/1 rebound effort in 15 minutes, and I wonder if this may be the tipping point in the season where Taylor starts seeing more minutes. He might not start right away, but I think it will take a lot to give McGhee more playing time at this point. Taylor looked comfortable and composed in a tough road game playing against some pretty good big men.

- Jermaine Dixon had maybe his best game at Pitt with a career-high 21 points. He also filled the stat sheet with 5 steals, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Pitt finally got the third scoring option behind Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker. That will be needed if they want to keep winning games.

- I guess I've learned to live with the turnovers and am kind of numb to them now. But it's still incredibly frustrating to see the TYPE of turnovers Pitt is making. So many of them seem to be rushing to make a play or just being downright sloppy, throwing lazy passes. I can live with turnovers. Even more than previous Pitt teams. But the bad turnovers just make you want to pluck your eyeballs out.

I wasn't all that surprised to see Pitt win as I thought they could keep it close. I'm not even all that surprised that they got down early and fought back. But I was a little surprised to see them take it to the Orange in the 2nd half the way they did. They came out and played really well to close the deal. For all the naysayers who were predicting doom and gloom for Pitt, you've got to feel a lot better after this win as they've now shown in two games against top five opponents that they can play with virtually anyone.

Pitt should get a number of votes in the polls on Monday, but still might not be ranked as they only had one combined vote in both polls last week.

Tough Challenges Abound

Happy New Year to one and all. With family obligations taken care of and some down time, I did a little digging for preview stuff on the Pitt/Syracuse game tomorrow.

Undefeated Syracuse will try to get to 14-0 and both teams have been tested about the same playing some decent out of conference competition early on (Pitt with Texas, Wichita State in KS, Indiana - Texas with North Carolina, Cal, and Florida). Syracuse, like Pitt, was expected to be a middle-of-the-pack Big East team after losing a slew of players.

The Orange have a balanced scoring attack with five guys in double figures in scoring. Forward Wesley Johnson averages 17/9 and could be a problem for Pitt's frontcourt.

And of course this game kicks off what should be Pitt's toughest stretch of the season. While it would be nice for Pitt's young team to settle in a bit first, I'm of the mindset that it might not be so bad to get some tough games out of the way. After these games, things get considerably easier the rest of the way. Lose 4 out of 5 and you still have a good chunk of your season left, with only a handful of tough games. If Pitt can find a way to win two of these games and things look even better as you've just gone nearly .500 in your toughest stretch.

After these next five games, Pitt still plays St. John's (twice), Seton Hall (twice), South Florida, Robert Morris, Rutgers, and Providence. You've got to figure, there are a good number of wins there. You hope Pitt can get at least six wins there and then grab three from their tougher games to get to at least 20 wins.

But we've got a long way to go. I don't think Pitt will have a problem getting to seven conference wins as Ray Fittipaldo of the PG does. I don't think they'll lose to every tough team they face.

One last point, Ashton Gibbs should have a shot at breaking the school's consecutive free-throw record. And no, I know what you're thinking - it's not two in a row.

I think Pitt will have some trouble in a tough road environment, but I don't see a blowout here. Pitt typically plays better against tougher competition as evidenced in the Texas game (which was close before Texas pulled away late). It will be difficult for Pitt to win, but by no means do I think they've got no shot. Either way, a road game like this early in the season is exactly what Pitt needs in my opinion.

Now the Fun Begins

After escaping a sluggish start, Pitt was able to pull away from the Orange. Trap games are over now and here's where it gets serious for Pitt. Games vs. Notre Dame, West Virginia, and Cincinnati are all certainly losable, but also all winable. At this point, for me, Pitt needs to finish at least 10-2 before this season can be considered a success. Sure, 9-3 at the beginning of the season would have looked pretty good, but since they've started 8-1, that would be a disappointment.

Onto a very quick recap of what I recall from the game:

- Dion Lewis solved the Orange defense with 114 yards and a TD averaging 6 yards a carry. His numbers are starting to look pedestrian and that's a scary thought. Ray Graham looked pretty mediocre today and I'm starting to fall into the group that would be fine to see him only enter in for a few plays per game. There's no reason to pull Lewis at this point and even the announcers seemed confused when Graham came in for one series, thinking Lewis had an injury.

- And speaking of the announcers, I'm not the type to bash these guys. Most see different teams each week and there's no way they could be on top of everything. But they left a lot to be desired. A lot of botches today from them. The one that got me was the guy who announced the score as 21-3, then upon saying the score wrong (it was actually 20-3), promptly excused himself saying he meant to say the score was 21-3. Really - how hard can it be to at least get the score right. And if another announcer calls Henry Hynoski's hometown Elysburg (pronouncing it like it looks - Elies Burg when it's actually pronounced Eee-Lees Burg), I'm going to scream. Maybe I'm having a bad day.

- Syracuse was able to capitalize and keep the score close in the first half until disaster struck. You could literally FEEL the entire game get away from them after that Paulus interception that was a pick 6. That made it a ten-point lead and even though Syrcause had some success running the ball, it didn't seem like they were going to be able to overcome that. The sideline looked dejected, almost like they expected it to happen. The very next play on the kickoff return, the return man ran right into his own blocker. Talk about bad signs.

- Kick return game was disastrous and the bad news is that I don't think there's any easy fix. A couple of bobbles/drops and Aaron Smith calling for a fair catch when there's no one within 20 yards of him is inexcusable. Oh, and Cam Saddler catching the ball on the five as he's going out of bounds? That was my 'scream at the TV and hope they hear me' moment. Seriously though, I don't know who else they really have left to field kicks, so kick returns might be kind of a 'hold your breath' exercise for Pitt fans.

- It's hard to nitpick in a 27-point win, but I was really puzzled by some of the coaching calls today. I thought not going for it on their first drive of the game when it was literally 4th and inches was a mistake. They went for the short field goal to tie it up and while it wasn't a terrible call, you've got to trust Hynoski or even a QB sneak can get the first down. I was almost wondering if Wannstedt knew that he could get another first down and didn't need to get a touchdown there. The call for Ray Graham to run on 3rd and 9? I don't even know how to address this. And kicking the FG with 9 seconds left was a bad call. At that point it was only 3rd down and I there was plenty of time to throw a sideline route to get a little closer. There were others I questioned, but those are just the ones that stand out.

- I said it before, but I was unsure why Chris Burns came in again for mop-up duty. I guess to keep both Lewis and Graham healthy, but 1. I thought he was switching positions to either safety or corner, and 2., it would be nice to have preserved his redshirt if they think he is really going to be a good player in the secondary.

- So many players made good plays including Lewis, Bill Stull, Jonathan Baldwin, Cedric McGee - but Dorin Dickerson had an unbelievable game with 7 catches, 118 yards, and a TD. I've stopped being mad at the coaches for not using him properly before this and just have really been watching and appreciating his play. Pitt should have a good team next year with the return of a lot of guys, but Dickerson may be missed the most.

Looking forward to these next three games.

Syracuse Game Preview

One final look before the Syracuse game tomorrow. To be honest, for the first time in a while, I'm not overly concerned about this game. I think Pitt will come out strong and believe them when they say they're not looking past the Orange. Paul Zeise seems to believe it, too, answering this question in his weekly chat:

Frankie_CigsPack: I know the players have to say they are not looking ahead to Notre Dame, but what is the attitude of the team really like this week? They have to be looking ahead ... right?

Paul Zeise: No, they seem to be pretty focused to be honest. I think they sense they have a chance to do something special this year and they are really going to go after it one week at a time. If they are looking past Syracuse they are crazy because it isn't like they've been able to blow the Orange out the past few years. This will be a tough game.

Bill Stull sums it up pretty well:

"We lose this game," he said, "and our dreams are gone. All the hard work, it's almost like it was worth nothing."

Coach Wannstedt has been saying all the right things this week:

"Pitt had a long streak when they didn't beat Syracuse," Wannstedt said. "Syracuse is one of those programs with great tradition, great academics. They can go around the country and recruit. Last year we were down by 11 in the fourth quarter. The year before it was 10-10 halfway through the fourth quarter.

"It's a conference game and it's Pitt-Syracuse. And we better be ready to play better than we have."

But unlike a certain coach from central Pennsylvania, Wannstedt actually has good reason to show concern. In five of the past six seasons, Pitt has won by ten points or fewer each time. For some reason, the games with Syracuse for the most part are always uber competitive. Throw in the fact that Syracuse has been markedly better this year and you have, perhaps, a recipe for disaster.

One thing that continues to baffle me is the WWE-like turn on Greg Paulus by the Syracuse fans last week in the Cincinnati game. I understand that he didn't play well, but with the exception of a five-interception disaster against South Florida, he's played reasonably well, completing 65% of his passes this year. And let's not forget that last I checked, Cincinnati was a pretty good team. For Syracuse to have a chance this week, Paulus will need to limit the interceptions and let the defense try to keep it close.

And speaking of baffling, how did Syracuse end up with 8 of its 12 games at home (including 7 of their first 8)? I'm sure there's a reason for it, but frankly, I don't care to find out.

This week, the key matchup to look for in this game may be the Dion Lewis vs. the Orange run defense, which ranks 7th in the country and 1st in the Big East. They've got a pretty impressive resume:

• The Orange limited Penn State's Evan Royster to a season-low 41 yards on 12 carries and held the Nittany Lions to only 78 rushing yards, their worst showing of the season.

• They held Northwestern to a season-low 52 yards on 28 carries.

• They stopped Akron for zero yards on 24 carries, the best effort by a Syracuse defense in 18 years.

First-year coach Doug Marrone's team has not allowed a 100-yard rusher this year, and they are one of only two teams to hold West Virginia star Noel Devine under 100 yards.

Starting safeties Max Suter, a Greensburg Central Catholic graduate, and Mike Holmes are aggressive run-stoppers, and the Orange excel at taking away long runs. Opponents have 258 rushing attempts against Syracuse this year, and only five of those rushes gained 20-plus yards. The longest run all year against the Orange is 33 yards.

33 yards? That's kind of scary. But the good news for Pitt is that the passing defense has struggled, coming in close to last at 117th out of 120 teams. Ouch.

Quick Hitters -

Dave Wannstedt and Dion Lewis are up for Maxwell Awards. Lewis probably has no real shot to win, but I think Wannstedt could if Pitt runs the table.

Mike Shanahan has given Pitt another option at WR.

One of the focal points during the bye week seems to be ensuring the passing game doesn't miss a beat.

All season, it's started with the offensive line.

As I mentioned in my Q&A with the Syrcause blog Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician, I think the players realize that this could be a very special season. The NC State game was a good example of what happens when focus is lost. While I think they can't help but to look ahead to the Notre Dame game and rest of the season, I don't think it will affect the outcome of this one. The games against Syracuse have been close for the most part, but this looks like Pitt's best team in recent years. I do have some concern about Pitt getting an early lead and then turning complacent, but overall, expect a good win.

Prediction: Pitt 31 / Syracuse 13

Q&A With Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician

First, if you have never visited the Syracuse blog NunesMagician.com before, do it...now. This guy has a great blog and once you check out his Mike Williams timeline, you'll see that plenty led up to Williams' abrupt departure.

Sean at the Nunes Magician blog was gracious enough to participate in a brief Q&A for the upcoming game. See my questions with his answers below. Check out his site soon for my answers to his questions.

EYEOFAPANTHER: Obviously, I've got to ask about the Mike Williams saga. I was aware of some of his past issues, but has leaving the team in the middle of his senior season been something that fans thought was a possibility at any point during his career? What kind of personality does Williams have and how do you see this affecting his NFL draft stock assuming he still wants to play professionally?

NUNESMAGICIAN: The Mike Williams saga has been eye-opening to say the least. It's completely redefined the way we see Mike and his legacy at Syracuse. Remember, this is a guy who already had two strikes against him for the cheating issue last season and whatever it was he did to get suspended two weeks ago before the Akron game. So when he goes on his Facebook page and cries about not feeling wanted...it rings a little hollow and makes you wonder if Mike really gets it. I mean, the fact that his teammates allegedly almost didn't vote him back onto the squad after his latest transgression speaks volumes considering how good of a player he is.

As for his draft stock, we've seen players with worse transgressions get drafted high so I'm not sure just how much he hurt himself. He might have gone from a 1st-rounder to a 2nd-rounder. Possibly even worse. And he's probably cost himself a million or two. But, assuming he keeps in shape, he'll still get drafted. He's too talented not to take a risk on, though his attitude will be questioned every single day until the draft.

In other words, expect the Oakland Raiders to take Williams with their 2nd-round pick in 2010.


EYEOFAPANTHER: From what I've seen a couple of times on message boards and websites, it looks like Doug Marrone is already feeling some pressure from fans. Personally, from an outsider's point of view, it looks like Syracuse has really looked respectable this year. At 3-5 with still some arguably winnable games still on their schedule (although with the loss of Williams, additional wins may be a little tougher to come by), are the fans really that upset with how the season has played out so far considering the team has only averaged 2.5 wins over the past four years? If Syracuse can manage to get to five wins, would the season be considered a success in your eyes?

NUNESMAGICIAN: Considering the talent level and the schedule we played, if Syracuse gets to five wins this is a HA-YUGELY successful season. The problem is that Syracuse came out of the gates guns blazing this season. We almost beat Minnesota. We beat Northestern. We looked like we could hold our own with most teams on the schedule ahead. Then we got blown out by West Virginia and South Florida and all of sudden SU fans were disappointed. But not just normal-disappointed...they were disappointed as if Syracuse had previously been en route to the Orange Bowl. Our expectations had been raised and all of a sudden we were expecting 6 wins and a bowl berth. So...fans are frustrated again.

I admit, I get frustrated too. The thing about sports is that very few of us have patience. We want to win right now and if that's not happening then we're pissed off. Syracuse is on the right track and Doug Marrone has proven enough to show that he's got the staff and the plan to lead us back. This year is a write-off and it always has been. Doesn't mean we don't think we can win some games.


EYEOFAPANTHER: A lot of Pitt fans may be surprised to know that Syracuse ranks 7th in the nation (1st in the Big East) in rushing defense and haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher all season. Conversely, they are 117th in pass defense. Is Syracuse really that good against the run or are their low rushing totals due to teams passing the ball a lot more against them?

NUNESMAGICIAN: Can't it be a little of both? The strongest unit on the entire team is the defensive line, anchored by future pro Arthur Jones. Plus, linebacker Derrell Smith has emerged as a devestating hitter. So unto itself, that unit has been fantastic at shutting down opposing rushers all year. That said, our defensive backfield is argualy the weakest unit on the team. They've been carved up like Thanksgiving turkeys all year. It also doesn't help that we've gone up against some extremely talented receivers (Eric Decker, Marty Gilyard). That's still no excuse for the numbers though. Opposing teams would be crazy not to attack our secondary and so that's inflated the numbers on both sides. But that doesn' mean our run D isn't very good.


EYEOFAPANTHER: With Williams seemingly out of the picture for this Saturday, who are some offensive players that you expect to be featured this weekend?

NUNESMAGICIAN: First and foremost the Orange will be relying on RB Delone Carter. Carter is coming off his best game of the year, 170 yards and 3 TDs against Akron. All year Delone has been running hard but the offensive line hasn't helped him out too much. With back-up RB Antwon Bailey suspended this weekend as part of the car accident that Williams was involved in, the pressure is on Carter even more to keep those numbers up and keep the SU offense on the field.

Obviously you'll see Greg Paulus but also expect to see Ryan Nassib. Paulus is the start and Doug Marrone would never say that we have a two-QB system. Rather, Nassib comes in for certain packages, like our version of the Wildcat. Whereas Paulus bring leadership, Nassib brings a shoulder cannon that Greg can't match.

The wide recievers are going to be expected to step up in a major way and SU fans will be looking to Marcus Sales, Donte Davis and Alec Lemon namely to fill Mike Williams' shoes. Without Williams it's a young unit but they all have enough experience to be able to handle themselves.


EYEOFAPANTHER: How have fans reacted to Greg Paulus this year overall? For someone playing quarterback for a D-I football team in a BCS conference for the first time, I think he's played reasonably well. He's had some success, but games like this past weekend at Cincinnati and his five interception performance vs. South Florida have been costly. Are fans axiously anticipating the Ryan Nassib era next year where I would presume he'd be the full-time starter?

NUNESMAGICIAN: It's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for fans with Greg Paulus. The opening game against Minnesota is a perfect metaphor for the entire season. For the most part, Paulus played well. He looked shaky at times, forced some throws at others but seemed to be able to find a way to keep the ball moving and control the offense. So much so that the Orange took the Gophers into overtime...where Paulus throw an inexcusable interception in the endzone that led to Minnesota's victory. That's been the thing with Paulus all year. He's a leader and a great binding force for the team the way a senior should be, but he's making a lot of freshman mistakes. That his back-up, redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib, seems to look more comfortable in the pocket makes us concerned. While Doug Marrone is sticking by Paulus, I'm pretty sure that if you took a vote right now, the fans would rather see Nassib in as the starter.

Make no mistake, the Paulus Experiment has still been a success. SU is better than we were last year and Paulus has done a lot for the university and the program. But that alone doesn't win football games.


EYEOFAPANTHER: I planned to end this after five questions, but I heard about the recent promotion this weekend where students were admitted for free and couldn't resist. The announced crowd was about 33,000, but we all know those numbers are usually deceptive and I figure that less were in attendance. At Pitt, we've had our fair share of games with lower than expected turnouts, so I can relate a bit to this. Playing a top five team in the country, with weather not a factor as Syracuse plays in a dome, how surprised were you that the stadium was realistically probably only a little more than half full?

NUNESMAGICIAN: I was shocked. Absolutely shocked. In all seriousness, I was convinced the student section would be packed or at the very least 2/3 full. When I saw that maybe 30 students showed up in spite of the free offer...I was just floored. I ended up penning an article where I basically said we have the worst student fanbase in the nation. A week later, I won't back down from that statement. Like a wrote on my site, why did you bother coming to Syracuse is you're not going to go to the football games? You might as well have gome to LeMoyne College (better basketball program, anyway).

They are an apathetic bunch thanks to the Greg Robinson Era. Luckily, some of them will be gone soon and we hope the incoming freshman start up a new trend of, you know, caring.

Nice to Have an Off Week

BSo it's been a slow week in terms of football...but in a good way. It's nice not to have to worry about a game for once. Pitt is starting to get some national attention now and as I mentioned before, with a bye week this week and hopefully a win next week Vs. Syracuse, Pitt should be knocking on the door of the top 10 in the polls. One team in front of Pitt already lost earlier this week.

Now, the Notre Dame game isn't perfectly meaningless. It's just not as important as even the Syracuse game because it's a non-conference matchup. I am with Paul Zeise in his assessment that Pitt needs to get to 10 regular season wins this year to be called a success:

ZEISE: If Pitt finishes 8-4 then really what will we be talking about? It would be a huge disappointment at this point given how well this team has played. It would also mean they finish the season without a truly quality win, other than perhaps South Florida, and if that is the case then how much progress has really been made in the past five years? Pitt needs to finish this off and get to at least 10 wins which means win two of those last three over the top teams on their schedule. Pitt has an opportunity to really take a step forward as a program and as that saying goes it is time to seize the moment. Anything less than a 10-2 record will be disappointing at this point.

This is a perfect example of expectations changing. At the beginning of the year, I would have said nine wins would have fine. But with the way they've looked and the start they've gotten off to, a 2-2 record to finish the year would be disappointing.

Earlier this week, the Pitt Vs. Penn State movement got some steam with some looking ahead to a potential BCS matchup. Gene Collier explains it would take the perfect storm to happen. Now, Pitt fans have a horrible reputation for traveling to bowl games, but I think if this matchup happened, there might be quite a few (including probably myself) that would make the trip. But this isn't even worth discussing at this point. *Cough* 12-0 *Cough*

Quick mental note to myself - drop Iowa in the blogger poll even if they go on to win this game. Okay, all done now.

Pitt's pass defense has gotten better while the O-line has looked strong all year:

"It's just awesome," Stull said of the way he is being protected. "For the season to come together like this is very encouraging. We always say it starts up front and ends up front. If they keep playing the way they're playing ... keeping my jersey clean, Dion's jersey clean, Ray [Graham's] jersey clean, it's going to be pretty exciting."

You can say this about any football team, but for this one especially, I think the offensive line play has been the #1 strength of this team. Stull makes mistakes when he doesn't have time to pass. No passing game, and there's no way the running game is as successful as it has been. The defense has been good, but has shown lapses at times.

Meanwhile, BCS and conspiracy theories abound:

Andrew from California writes: Since you keep getting questions about the Gator Bowl, here is an interesting predicament for Pitt. If they beat Notre Dame and then split WVU and Cincinnati they would have a better record than Notre Dame, would have beaten Notre Dame and would most likely still get rejected by the Gator Bowl. If they lose to Notre Dame and split WVU and Cincinnati, Notre Dame could likely make a BCS Game and Pitt would get the Gator Bowl. Since the Gator Bowl pays about $3 million and the next bowl pays about $700,000, Pitt has a $2.3 million incentive to throw the Notre Dame game.

Brian Bennett: You're not really suggesting that Pitt lose on purpose, are you Andrew? We know that will never happen. If I'm a Pitt fan, I root for the Panthers to beat the Irish and to go on and win the Big East, and I wouldn't worry about anything else at this point.

I don't even know how to address this.

Some quick hitters:

Pitt announced its 2009 (yes, 2009...not 2010) senior captains. If someone can explain to me why this just now happened, please feel free to enlighten me.

A look at Mike Shanahan and the wideouts.

Myles Caragein is the focus of this piece on the D-Line.

And I don't know which has been beaten to death more - the stories about Bill Stull struggling or his resurgence. Here's another one.

After setting a personal best with 144 yards, Jonathan Baldwin gets a look in the Beaver County Times.