This public service announcement here couldn’t be more timely for those of you with little ghosts and goblins and/or those of you going out to get some candy for yourselves. To quote Hill Street Blues: “Hey, let’s be careful out there!”

The University of Pittsburgh has been taking some heat recently over it’s graduation rates for student athletes. In fact, according to the latest study, Pitt is LAST among the 117 Division 1-A football schools with 16 percent of it’s football players graduating. A big article in the Post-Gazette today detailed how those statistics are compiled, and how they aren’t really telling the whole story about our alma mater.

The best part of the article contained numerous quotes from one of PSB’s favorite Pitt Alumni, R.J. English.

“We had some trouble with drugs, guys smoking weed,” said R.J. English,
a receiver who arrived at Pitt in 1997. “Coach Harris wasn’t taking that stuff, and he
shouldn’t.”

English, a self-described slacker, said Harris came within a whisker of booting him off
the team because he underachieved in the classroom, was arrested for
misdemeanor disorderly conduct and showed up late for an off-season workout.

We all suspected it, but this all but confirms it. The photo of RJ that was flashed on the jumbo-tron whenever he made a catch certainly made him look like a total stoner. The knit hat down to his eyebrows, the half-closed eyelids, the devil-may-care grin – oh, yeah, this guy liked to toke up. At least that’s what we believed. Sure he doesn’t come right out and say it, but we can read between the lines, RJ.

Well, there is a happy ending – RJ straightened up and got his degree. The only sad thing is now that he’s out of football (he was cut from the Falcons), he wants to become a cop.

Oh, I forgot. Those statistics are mainly from players recruited by Johnny Majors. Pitt’s players defend Harris for keeping on them constantly about their school work.

Including my brilliant pick of Virginia Tech to cover a 13 point spread last Wednesday night at West Virginia (I reviewed the results of that game separately here), I went 1-4 on my picks for week 9 — dropping my season long record against the spread to 15-18. Let’s review Ohio State-Indiana, Penn State-Iowa, Notre Dame-Boston College (Pitt’s next opponent), and most importantly, Pitt surprising domination over Syracuse.

PITTSBURGH 34, SYRACUSE 14: I actually watched this game at home on TV (ESPN Plus) instead of from my usual seat at Heinz Field. Finally watching a Pitt home game on TV was a fascinating experience. If nothing else, I was delighted to hear how well the booing carried over the TV when Walt (“Offensive Genius”) Harris couldn’t get his plays into Quarterback Rod Rutherford on time. Booing Harris’s all-too-common fits of indecision is becoming something of a proud tradition at Heinz Field.

I had picked Syracuse (+7) for this game because I thought that (1) Syracuse had a defensive line advantage (they did), (2) Syracuse had a solid run defense (they did… we totaled only 42 yards on the ground), (3) Syracuse’s occasional containment and secondary issues wouldn’t be too much of a problem (that is where I really screwed up… we totaled 310 yards through the air), (4) Syracuse had a overpowering offensive line (this turned out to be mostly false), and (5) our coaching staff wouldn’t be able to improve either our offensive line or our run defense because they hadn’t improved much there all season (D’OH!).

Really, what impressed me most about Pitt’s performance during this game was the improvement in our offensive line. Sure, our run support still sucked, and we WILL NOT be able to beat the likes of Virginia Tech or Miami until our running game drastically improves. But our offensive line’s pass protection was much better than it had been. At times, Rutherford was given five or six seconds of peace in the pocket before he had to throw. Of course, part of the credit here goes to Rod himself — who got rid of the ball much quicker than he had previously. And, of course, pass protection is always easier to coach than run support too.

Rutherford was on fire in general on Saturday. He completed 21 passes on 32 attempts: including 8 passes to Larry Fitzgerald for 150 yards, 4 passes to Princell Brockenbrough for 63 yards, and most importantly (for those of us who have been begging for this guy to be used for more than just pass protection for months now), 3 passes to stud tight end Kris Wilson for 49 yards (including one terrific touchdown catch).

And, I have to admittedly give some credit (at long last) to Defensive Coordinator Paul Rhoads. Our run defense still needs a lot of work, but it was significantly better than it had been against Notre Dame. Orangemen RB Walter Reyes was and is the real deal, but he could only get 91 yards on the ground. Plus, Rhoads’s defense pressured Orangemen QB R.J. Anderson all day long, forcing him to make several bad decisions.

Finally, I have to give a little credit for Pitt’s unforeseen big win to Syracuse’s coaching staff, who made some particularly moronic play calls.

OHIO STATE 35, INDIANA 6: To my complete surprise, Ohio State suddenly (and finally) grew an offense in Bloomington. And yes, I know that it was only against Indiana. But still, the Buckeyes couldn’t move the ball for squat against such pitiful defenses as San Diego State’s, Bowling Green’s, or Northwestern’s.

Ohio State amassed 387 yards through the air and 216 yards on the ground (167 yards and 3 TDs of which came from suddenly re-energized tailback Lydell Ross) with a surprisingly balanced and two-dimensional offense. I never saw it coming. I give Head Coach Jim Tressel, Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Jim Bollman, and Running Backs Coach Tim Spencer plenty of credit for improving their squad. The Buckeye’s defense was, as always, lights out.

Up next for the Buckeyes, the Penn State Nittany Lions. Even though most Ohio State fans could care less about PSU, this is my biggest game of the year and has been since the last time Pitt played Penn State. But I’ll post more on that later this week.

IOWA 26, PENN STATE 14: I told you that I wasn’t going stop picking against Penn State until they actually beat a spread, and that rule still stands. I haven’t even seen the spread yet for this Saturday’s Penn State-Ohio State matchup, but I’ll pick the Buckeyes to cover it right now. Hey, it’s money in the bank.

Penn State’s offense, defense, and (especially) special teams (did you see that play where half of Iowa City got in the punter’s face before he even had the ball?) all took a few steps backwards, developmentally, in this game. Of course, part of that was due to Iowa’s stunning defense and much improved special teams (over the previous Saturday’s disaster in Columbus).

BOSTON COLLEGE 27, NOTRE DAME 25: I picked Pitt’s next opponent to cover a four point spread against Notre Dame because Boston College’s offensive line, running game, and passing attack had been more productive than the Irish’s over the season. And indeed, BC did outrush Notre Dame 151 yards to 57. However, Notre Dame outpassed BC 350 yards to 191 (where the hell did that come from?).

So on the plus side for Pitt, it sure looked like BC had problems on special teams and in the secondary against good wide receivers. But on the other hand, our run defense will have to stop the nation’s leading rusher (Derrick Knight) and a very strong (and deep) running game — supported by a solid offensive line. I look for a close one in Chestnut Hill next Saturday. The early lines favor Boston College by one.

So in addition to Pitt-BC, next Saturday we’ll have Miami-Virginia Tech (early lines favor the Hurricanes by 3.5), Michigan-Michigan State (early lines favor the Wolverines by 4), Oklahoma State-Oklahoma (early lines favor the Sooners by 17), and Washington State-USC (Trojans currently favored by 11.5). Of course, none of these will matter as much to me or my wife as Ohio State-Penn State (the Buckeyes are currently favored by 7). What a day for college football. I’m salivating already.

Hail to Being a Panthers-Buckeyes Fan in the Shadow of Penn State