Neil Rudel is the Sports Editor of the Altoona Mirror. He is also one of the most read, respected, and published commentators on Penn State sports. He is frequently heard on the Penn State Football Radio Network during the season.

Mr. Rudel, like all good Penn State fans, completely hates Pitt and disrespects our current renaissance. I can’t begrudge him that. But I will make fun of him and his always-left-handed compliments from time to time. Here’s a snippet from his column in today’s Altoona Mirror, apparently inspired from Morelli’s commitment to Pitt.

Pitt’s apparent rise in stature, followed by better recruiting and signs of improved attendance, has to be viewed as bittersweet in that the Panthers, unless they can get into the Big Ten, will be playing in a second-tier league beginning in 2004 — abeit one they should be able to win every year.

Rudel seems to be once again suggesting that Pitt’s long term survival depends on its admittance to the Big Ten. I completely disagree. The Big East will remain in the BCS because the BCS needs the Big East and its members to maintain its slim majority over Division I-A schools. Thus, the Big East will not become a second-tier league after Miami and Virginia Tech leave — although it will admittedly become easier than the Big Ten (and how many times have your Lions won that conference?).

Penn State fans love to think that Pitt has no choice but to beg for Joe Paterno’s forgiveness and mercy, so that Pitt may save itself from a dying Big East and jump to the glorious Big Ten. But not only does Pitt not have to join the Big Ten, but Pitt shouldn’t want to. The road to a BCS bowl is much easier from where we are. Besides, I seriously doubt that the Big Ten is going to expand anyways. Nobody outside of Pennsylvania — not even the ADs — appears to want it.

But of course, I think that even if the Big Ten did expand, they’d take Syracuse first.

But anyways, knock off the paternalistic attitude, Neil. We’re ranked much higher than you in the polls, we’re beating you in the classroom, we’ve got the better coaches, and we’re out recruiting you. We’re no longer in Lion country, you’re now in Panther country.

Hail to Pitt.

This is why ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit continues to be my favorite college football analyst.

Best Quarterbacks [innovator’s category]
#4 Rod Rutherford

Best Running Backs
#1 Maurice Clarett

Best Wide Receivers
#1 Larry Fitzgerald

Best Clutch Performers
#1 Craig Krenzel
#4 Larry Fitzgerald

Hogmollies
#5 Rob Petitti

Offensive Geniuses
#2 Walt Harris

Defensive Wizards
#3 Paul Rhoades

Fear Factors (DE’s)
#3 Claude Harriot

Moving on Up Schools
#3 Pittsburgh

Herbie then picks Traitor Tech to win the Big East, thus proving that nobody’s perfect (Why do ESPN analysts always pick Virginia Tech? Does Disney own Blacksburg or something?).

Meanwhile, Trev Alberts continues his reign of idiocy and Big XII worship with this piece.

First and foremost, there will be the excitement generated by Kansas State and Oklahoma, two legitimate national championship contenders. Those are the two best teams in the nation in my mind, and it’s just too bad they will likely have to meet in the Big 12 championship game rather than the national championship game.

Sure, Oklahoma is for real. But Kansas State? Are you serious? Nothing — not Ford Mustangs, sloppy wet kisses, Bush’s pre-war intelligence on Iraq, the observation windows at the top of the Cathedral of Learning, or even Virginia Tech — is as perennially overrated as Kansas State. Every freakin’ year, they play nobody for the first half of the season, and then get promptly decapitated by either Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, or Texas A&M. Whose leg does K-State rub up against to keep getting in the top five?

No team in America is as overrated as Kansas State, no conference in America is as overrated as the Big XII, and no analyst in America has gotten so far on pretty-boy looks alone as Trev Alberts.

Hail to Mark May, The Most Intelligent, Brainiest, and Best Spoken Analyst on ESPN

Anthony Morelli’s verbal commitment to the University of Pittsburgh is indeed huge, especially since Penn State made such a significant run at him in the end with such an attractive package.

According to the Altoona Mirror, Penn State had been chasing Chad Henne for years, and had refrained from recruiting any other blue chip quarterbacks to practically insure Henne of a starting job in Happy Valley. After Henne — like all too many other Pennsylvanian prospects — turned down a Pennsylvanian university for Michigan, this package — guaranteed starting quarterback job and all — was thrown at Morelli.

Despite the fact that nobody would have been in front of Morelli on the depth charts at Penn State (Tyler Palko is still in his way at Pitt), despite the fact that the Big East and Pitt’s link to the BCS are both in turmoil, despite the fact that Penn State sells out a 105,000 seat stadium every Saturday, despite the fact that Penn State allegedly has the most legendary college football coach ever, Morelli chose Pitt.

Lion fan, that’s gotta hurt.

Incidentally, I just overheard on Sports Radio 1460, WBNS, Columbus that Rich Rodriguez will be using a constant hurry-up, two minute style offense this year. The consensus on Herbstreit and Fitzsimmons was that WVU was getting little desperate to distinguish itself from the other Big East schools — and especially Pitt.

Finally, has anybody seen any early rankings of recruiting classes yet? I’ll bet Pitt is in the top 15 now.

Hail to Pitt, and Mr. Morelli, beware of the ball tee retriever guy