I have been rather harsh about the way Pitt screwed around hiring a new AD. I hate that the new AD, Jeff Long, has thrown total support behind the moronic Big East Megaconference (that may come apart before it even starts if the ACC does reinvite BC). Still, he seems to be getting some of the other things right (warning: Puff piece, that may contain actual information).

He reinstated a weekly radio show for football coach Walt Harris and will do the same with first-year men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon. Starting next week, there will be a weekly half-hour Pitt television show on Fox Sports Net, at 7 p.m. Tuesday. It will feature Harris in the fall, Dixon in the winter, plus features on other sports and athletes.

Finally. This has been galling for many of us. Living in Ohio, the entire state is subjected to radio shows: The Buckeye Roundtable, The Jim Tressel Call-in show, and a host of other OSU football radio and TV propaganda. There is a reason there is only one dominant program in all of football rich Ohio (and a bunch of creative/scrambling mid-majors to collect the scraps and missed diamonds in the rough). The point I’m trying to make is that Pitt has never played the media game well or at all. From it’s ill-advised press announcement in the 90s of wanting to be called “Pittsburgh” rather than the negative connotating “Pitt” to only recently getting around to truly embrace the long, rich and actual football tradition at Pitt. They just don’t seem to get it.

Another aspect Long seems to be understanding.

In merchandising, Long likes the panther-head logo but hopes to come up with a second, softened version that will reproduce better in small sizes. He understands the nostalgia for the old script “Pitt” and said it will continue to be marketed in a line of throwback merchandise.

The block Pitt with the “Iron Bar” isn’t the worst alternative logo.

And I can definitely support a secondary better than the flopped “Panther Tooth” from a couple years ago.

My feelings though, is to scrap the main logo altogether. (not to mention reverting to the original colors) I guess I could live without the old script logo returning…

But I have to admit, that after catching the 1987 ND-Pitt game the other day on ESPN Classic (Pitt upset the then #4 ranked Irish 30-22 behind the legendary Craig “Ironhead” Haywood), I sure would like it all back.

The merchandising is an area he definitely needs to work on. Now, I’m not saying I would buy a pair of slippers looking looking like sneakers, or a Hawaiian style shirt with my school, and especially not a $149 alma mater rug (included in the list are such name schools like Delaware, Youngstown State, Tennessee Chattanooga (?), Wayland Baptist (??) and Pacific Lutheran (???)). But, I would be interested in the keychain with the strong minilight, the golf head covers and maybe even the putter.

I just find it frustrating that I stop by one of those cap stores in the mall (in Cleveland) and see 3 different Penn St. caps, Va Tech., West Virginia (WTF?), and Marshall, but no Pitt hats. Okay, that really is more of name and demand — but still, Marshall and WVU? In Cleveland, but not Pitt?

An aspect of the game tomorrow night that hasn’t necessarily been overlooked, but has from a one-on-one perspective is Pitt stud WR, Larry Fitzgerald matching up against the deservedly given pre-season All-American CB, Vontez Duff.

In the season-opener against Washington State, receiver Devard Darling was limited to just four catches for 68 yards. And Michigan’s 6-foot-3 receiver Braylon Edwards was held to 54 yards on four catches. No opposing receiver has broken through the 100-yard receiving barrier so far this season.

Much of that credit goes to Duff, who has 10 tackles, two pass deflections and a forced fumble in four games this season.

You can bet he’ll look to snap Fitzgerald’s touchdown streak. Apparently ND is planning to let Duff go one-on-one with Fitzgerald a fair amount of time, owing to some injuries in their secondary that effects their depth.

Fitzgerald will get his chances, and I believe he will prevail by the end. What this does suggest to me, though, is that Rutherford has to utilize TE, Kris Wilson and the other receivers to keep ND from dropping the safety to help cover Fitzgerald.

Of course Domer nation is still more concerned with the fact that their ex-coach will be doing the color for the game on ESPN.

He has some history with Pittsburgh too, growing up in the area and spending three years as the linebackers coach for the great Panther defenses of the early 1980s.

That relationship may be more distant, but the roots run deep, making his presence in the broadcast booth Saturday night an audience curiosity and a test of his objectivity.

As if all of that would not be uncomfortable enough, Davie knows his comments will be parsed for any hints of bias or bitterness.

Prediction time, since I won’t actually hear him commenting (thankfully), ND fans will consider him biased against them no matter how far he bends over backwards to not criticize them. Though, really, he should want ND to do well for a simple reason.

“From a personal standpoint, I’ve got a lot invested,” Davie said, “having recruited those players.”

It’s very odd to find myself actually feeling some sympathy for Bob Davie.

Sporting News columnist Matt Hayes has long been one of this group’s favorite writers. Monday, he posted a typically well-written and well-thought-through piece on the current situation at Penn State. In four sentences, Hayes cuts through all the crap and nails what I feel bears 90% of the blame for the Nittany Lions’s downfall.

As for Paterno, forget that theory that the game has passed him by. That’s ridiculous. His biggest liability is his greatest strength: He is loyal to a fault. Loyal to longtime assistants who have lost key recruiting battles since the late 1990s; loyal to upperclassmen who shouldn’t be playing over more talented underclassmen.

Exactly. Football teams, like businesses, are all about what can you do to help me win now (preferably, but not necessarily, with some semblance of class). It sucks and it may even be immoral, but that’s the way it is. Loyalty is for private relationships.

Incidentally, I would put the remaining 10% of the blame for PSU’s downfall on Paterno’s letting former Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky go. Sandusky was a real defensive genius, a master motivator, a classy guy, and one of the best recruiters in Penn State history (especially in Western Pennsylvania). I honestly never understood why Paterno promoted Fran Ganter as Assistant Head Coach over Sandusky.

All that I can find to disagree with in Matt Hayes’s piece is this…

Instead, Penn State has struggled of late in the key Pennsylvania-Ohio recruiting ground, losing out on impact players and watching little brother Pittsburgh re-emerge on the college football map with sparkling facilities and a young, energetic staff that relates to the me-first high school player.

…who said that we were Penn State’s little brother? These days, we’re PSU’s daddy.

Hail to The Dream Series: Cubs vs. Red Sox

Both teams have had two weeks to prepare. Both teams had difficult road games. That’s about where the similarities end. Pitt is 3-1 coming off a bye week after beating Texas A&M. ND is 1-3 after a bye and an ugly loss to Purdue.

It will be interesting to see what Walt Harris has planned to do against ND on both sides of the ball. Defensively, Pitt has to worry more about the pass than the run, because ND has shown no ability to generate yardage on the ground. This may be a bit trickier than I would like because Pitt only has game tapes of the Domers’ new QB from his debut against Purdue. He’s now had two weeks to work more on his timing and running the 1st team offense for ND. It just makes me a little nervous because the Pitt secondary has been suspect, in part because the Defensive line hasn’t generated much pressure on the QB this season. (Will this be the game where Herriot comes out of his funk?)

I’m actually a little concerned about the offense for Pitt against ND. The way people bandy about the term “offensive genius” with Walt Harris, the title “defensive genius is applied to ND head coach, Tyrone Willingham. How he schemes against Pitt’s offense might be an unpleasant surprise.

Strangely enough, the thing that has most Irish fans talking is what will be happening off the field. This game will be on ESPN at 6pm on Saturday. In the booth, providing color will be their deposed head coach Bob Davie. Though, all sides claim there is no problem, you can bet the Domers will be scrutinizing his every utterance — a difficult and painful experience considering how bad a color commentator he is, I had to suffer through it while watching the Wisconsin-Penn State game last weekend (but I digress) — for the dreaded bias.

After watching the Purdue-ND game a couple weeks ago, I think the Irish will give Pitt more of a battle than the oddsmakers are giving. Twelve points is a lot considering how desperate the Irish are for a win; and Pitt’s last two games against ND where the offense just imploded. Notre Dame’s defense didn’t look that bad against Purdue. It was solid against the run, and seems like an athletic secondary. Purdue actually exploited the Irish underneath by using their Tight End a lot. Something I have been begging Pitt to do considering the talent at the position for Pitt.

I like Pitt to win, but I’m not sure about covering. A surprisingly low scoring affair for Pitt — Pitt 27 ND 19.

1st… A Blogwide congratulations to Lee.
2nd… Sorry I was out so long.
3rd… What Pitt looks like from the southeastern United States is nothing but good. It certainly would nice to have a high speed connection at home to add to the Blog while watching a game, but that is a Blog for another time. Right now to the SEC Pitt is a friend. To LSU, Arkansas, and Georgia, Pitt is the ticket to the National Championship. Don’t think that when Pitt plays both Miami and Virginia Tech that we won’t have a lot friends here cheering us on. It’s no longer what have you done for me lately, but what can you do for me now. So, living among alum of each of the three SEC schools mentioned, people cannot wait for the Pitt/VaTech or the Pitt/Miami game. They know that Pitt can play spoiler, and help their team get to the title event. What I continue to explain to them is that while that is true, they must get through the SEC unscathed as well. The SEC champion will get a berth into a BCS game, but it may not be for the national title. I ask what happens if their (and my) desires that Pitt play spoiler is realized, and then Pitt leap frogs those SEC teams. I am going to be like that lone fan cheering on his team in another teams bar- you know the commercial that I writing about. For now though, things are friendly with the folks from the SEC- they are on my side!

What about the folks from the ACC? Remember, there is GaTech right here in Atlanta. There are an abundance of fans from Clemson, Florida State, NC State here as well. With the additions of VaTech and Miami, they now see their conference as the premier power conference in the nation in both football and basketball. I am scoffed at and I am sure sneered about behind my back for ‘my’ conference losing its two premier football members. I explain that I of course had no control over the decision. All I can say is that we have to wait and see how the whole thing shakes out. Oh, and Wolfpack fans, don’t forget about the 2001 Tangerine Bowl.

That’s it from Atlanta.

Hail to Pitt living up to SEC fans desires!

I’m back with my stunning 9-9 record against the spread and ready to talk about this weekend’s games. And what a weekend it is — #2 Miami at #5 Florida State, #1 Oklahoma vs. #11 Texas. And most exciting of all — #16 Pitt vs. Notre Dame.

Not unlike most Americans, I hate Notre Dame. It’s not that I’m anti-Catholic or anti-Irish (although I do enjoy getting into it with Pat). It’s just that I’m jealous of Notre Dame’s exclusive television contract with NBC, and since when is jealousy a bad reason for hating someone? Besides, the Irish get far more money than at least a dozen programs who regularly put a better product on the field. And this leads to the second reason why I hate Notre Dame: they’re the biggest underachievers in sports (even bigger than Penn State or the Braves). With the money, television exposure, and recruits that they get, Notre Dame should either win or strongly contend for the national championship every year. Yet they rarely, rarely do. There’s no excuse for that.

So let’s get down to business. Here’s what I’ll be watching this Saturday…

NOTRE DAME (+12) AT #16 PITTSBURGH (see how that works, Chas?): So what happens when Notre Dame’s pathetic offense comes up against Pitt’s equally pathetic defense? Will the world end in a matter/antimatter-like explosion? Possibly. I’m guessing that at the very least, the Irish will run the ball against us better than they ran it against Purdue (49 yards on 25 carries). Irish Quarterbacks Quinn and Holliday (whichever it is this week) will probably pass a whole lot better too.

According to an AP story on page B3 of today’s Altoona Mirror, Pitt’s Head Coach Walt Harris and Defensive Coordinator Paul Rhoades have spent most of the past two weeks re-tooling our pass defense. Will their efforts bear fruit? For some reason, I’m going to guess yes. I’ll guess that our pass defense will slightly improve, and that we will be able to get slightly more pressure on the opposing quarterback than we have been getting. The end result? Notre Dame will score two or three touchdowns on us.

Larry Fitzgerald will score at least that many touchdowns by himself. Pitt’s newly discovered home field advantage will be worth a touchdown, and our resurgent running game will be worth yet another. So I’ll take the Panthers to barely cover this 12 point spread.

#2 MIAMI (+6) AT #5 FLORIDA STATE: Of course, regardless of who I pick here, I’ll be rooting for a terrible natural disaster or an act of a vengeful God to wipe both of these programs off of the face of the Earth and plunge them all into eternal torment.

OK, maybe I got a little carried away there (hey, I’m Protestant, I’m allowed)… Still, I’ll take the more fundamentally sound team with the significantly better defense over the flashier team with the suddenly depleted running back corps (if I have to hear who Jarrett Peyton’s dad is one more time…) anyday, especially when the former has home field advantage. Moreover, I think that Michael Bouleware will limit Kellen Winslow Jr.’s effectiveness to the point that Florida State will beat Miami by more than six. Bobby Bowden knows that needs to make a statement here, and I think he will. Give me the Noles, and I’ll give you the points.

#3 OHIO STATE (-3) AT #22 WISCONSIN: When Ohio State first lost Maurice Clarett, I said that they wouldn’t really miss him except for three games: N.C. State (which the Buckeyes barely won), the season-ending battle with Michigan (of course), and Wisconsin. So will the magical, luck-laden winning streak finally come to an end for Ohio State this Saturday in Madison?

I’m guessing no, mostly because the anchor of OSU’s offensive line — Center Alex Stepanovich — will finally be back from his injury. OSU’s offensive line has been the team’s achilles heel without Stepanovich, but was one of the strong suits with him in there. Plus, Coach Tressel has had two weeks to re-tool the offensive line in general. Finally, Quarterback Craig Krenzel (easily the Buckeyes’s greatest weapon) will be back, healthy, and rested after the bye week.

On the other side of the field, the Wisconsin team that had to hold on to eek one out over pitiful Penn State is dinged up. Both tailback Anthony Davis and receiver Lee Evans allegedly have ankle problems.

A three point spread is usually a pick ’em in the Big Ten (not all that many games are decided by field goals). So I’ll take the Buckeyes to cover here.

#1 OKLAHOMA (-6) VS. (neutral site) #11 TEXAS: Oklahoma has the better coach, the better defense, and the better quarterback. I hope Mack Brown enjoyed his one-week reprieve from the hot seat after beating perennially-overrated Kansas State in Austin. Welcome back to the coals, boys. Gimme the Sooners to cover a measly six point spread.

PENN STATE (+12) AT #20 PURDUE: Do I really have to explain why I’ll take the Boilermakers to cover here? Does anybody remember the last time Penn State actually beat a spread? Besides, the Boilermakers really are all that.

So I got the Panthers, the Noles, the Buckeyes, the Sooners and the Boilermakers. I guess I’m just not much for the underdogs this week.

Hail to a Loud House Saturday Night

Jen and I are back from our Royal Caribbean cruise of Atlantic Maritime Canada (very Caribbean, eh?) on board the beautiful Serenade of the Seas (apparently Royal Caribbean forbids any crew member from saying the ship’s name without adding the word “beautiful” as a prefix… you know, kind of like the way you’re supposed to add “presented by Bank One” as a suffix to “the Chicago Bears”). Incidentally, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick look like Ohio with more rocks, and the locals (as well as the wife) get really pissed when you tell them as much. However, the locals get even more pissed when you ask them how they live through such cold winters (I refrained from asking them what state they lived in, which is easily the most classic Canadian-baiting question). You know, maybe it isn’t all George W. Bush’s fault that the entire world hates Americans. But I digress…

I was very pleased to come home and see that Chas had taken over my game picking duties while I was gone. However, I was somewhat sorry that I hadn’t set aside a little time earlier to show Chas how to properly write about betting lines (remember that I used to run the books for Theta Chi fraternity before Pitt justifiably kicked our sorry asses off campus). So let me give everybody a quick little primer. When Chas says…

West Virginia (-26.5) at Miami

…he means that you would have to subtract 26.5 points from West Virginia’s final score in order to make this game a fair and even bet. Or in other words, Chas is saying that the Mountaineers were 26.5 point favorites in this game. Now either this is a substantial typo, or I want to find Chas’s bookie fast, dammit.

But in any case, Chas picked Miami to cover the spread (I’m assuming that Chas meant to write “West Virginia (+26.5) at Miami”). I would have picked the Hurricanes to cover too, for pretty much the exact same reasons. We were both wrong, because we both forgot that Miami would be looking past the Mountaineers to Florida State. Nevertheless, give Rich Rodriguez and his Mountaineers a lot of credit. They had one heck of a game plan, executed it to near perfection, and deserved to win. Plus, they converted the entire “Racers Sports Bar” on board the beautiful Serenade of the Seas (in the Bay of Fundy at the time) into temporary Mountaineer fans.

When Chas writes…

Wisconsin (+1) at Penn St.

…he means that you would have to add one point to Wisconsin’s final score in order to make this game a fair and even bet. Or in other words, Chas is saying that Wisconsin was a one point underdog in Beaver Stadium. Although I never saw a line for this game (and now they’re all gone), I sincerely doubt that this was true. So I’m just going to assume that this was another typo, and that the Nittany Lions were the real underdogs here.

Chas wisely picked Wisconsin to cover this miniscule spread, and I would have too. However, the Wisconsin Badgers aren’t the only Big Ten team that is getting stronger. Penn State had a legitimate chance to win this one, but blundered it away with a series of ball-handling errors. Incidentally, as Jen and I were driving home from Harrisburg to State College last night, we tuned in the Nittany Lion Post Game 2003 show with Jeff Byers and Phil Grosz (editor of Blue White Illustrated) on WRSC, State College. And it was heartwrenching. I mean, these guys and their callers (and my wife, for that matter) were depressed, despondent, desperate, and genuinely suffering. It was all so pathetic that I… once again… began to… (gulp)… actually experience feelings of pity for the Nittany Lion Nation…

…I’m weak, guys… I may need some emotional support again this Saturday (generally, Shawn just reminds me how arrogant the Lion fans were when they we’re regularly kicking our asses in the 1990s, and I feel better).

Chas writes…

Michigan (+3) at Iowa.

…but I suspect he meant to write “Michigan (-3) at Iowa” (i.e., I believe that the Hawkeyes were the underdogs here). Chas took the Wolverines to cover, as I would have. But we both forgot that nobody consistently underachieves like the University of Michigan (except for possibly Ohio State).

Chas writes…

Washington (+1.5) at UCLA

…by which he means God knows what, since I have no idea who should have been favored in this game and Chas has consistently screwed up his spreads. However, Chas did pick Washington to win (I wouldn’t have picked this game either way, since I’m relatively unfamiliar with the PAC-10), and UCLA stomped the Huskies 46-16 (which pretty much makes the matter of interpreting Chas’s spread irrelevant).

Chas writes…

Illinois (-14) at Purdue

This means that Purdue was a 14 point underdog at home against a pitiful Illinois team. Once again, I think Chas wrote this up backwards. But I think he understood what he was talking about anyways when when he took Illinois and the points (I mean, he at least knew that Illinois was the real underdog… even if he didn’t write it that way). Nevertheless, Purdue steamrolled Illinois 43-10 — easily covering the spread. Chalk up another loss for team PSB.

Chas writes…

USC (+12) at Arizona St.

…but I’m pretty sure that he meant to write “USC (-12) at Arizona State” (the Trojans were favored here, right?). Chas picked USC to cover, which they did.

Chas writes…

Oregon St. (+1) at California.

…by which — once again — he means God knows what, since I have no idea who should have been favored in this game and Chas has consistently screwed up his spreads. However, Chas picked the other OSU to win, and they easily did.

Alas, Chas went 3-4 for the week. It’s not easy, is it? In any case, I’ll put my substantially better 9-9 record (like I have a lot of room to run smack here) back on the line next week again. Chas (or Pat, John, Harlan, or Shawn… feel free to kick in any time guys) is more than welcome to join me.

But for any newcomers, USA Today provides an excellent guide to reading (and writing) betting lines here under “Odds primer.” Example: “The favorite is always indicated by a minus sign (e.g. -5.5) and the underdog by a plus sign (e.g.+5.5).”

Incidentally, Chas’s post on why a megaconference would suck should be required reading for any Pitt fan.

Hail to Being Home Again… for some reason, I’m always more relaxed here

Lee’s away on his honeymoon, and apparently can’t be bothered with the blog, so I’ve taken it upon myself to fill in for him (sans the team logos). Most of the Big East is off this week, so there isn’t a lot to pick that I feel real emotional one way or another.

West Virginia (-26.5) at Miami
Miami showed against Boston College a few weeks ago that they have far too much talent to be concerned about most of the jilted Big East schools. West Virginia, after blowing a close game against Wisconsin in the beginning of the season, has struggled. Interestingly enough, the Miami offense appears to be struggling a bit. In its first 4 games, Miami has only scored 20 touchdowns, but 7 were scored by the defense and special teams. Last year, Miami’s offense produced 23 touchdowns through 4 games. Remove the defense and special teams touchdowns and Miami’s average point total drops from 39.2 to 26.5 per game. Hmmm. That being said, WVU’s spread offense is a high risk/reward deal. I have to go with Miami and give the boatload of points.

Wisconsin (+1) at Penn St.
After every loss, the “Joe should go” whispers get louder. Paterno blames the media for this. On the plus side, he isn’t blaming the refs. Wisconsin looks to be getting stronger, yet they are only a one point favorite. No brainer. Wisconsin to roll.

Michigan (+3) at Iowa.
Only a 3 point favorite after a humiliating loss to the worst dressed team in college football and a lackluster home game against consistent Big 11 bottom-feeder Indiana; Michigan is going to Iowa (motto: It beats being in Idaho.). Last year, Iowa humiliated Michigan in the “Big House” 34-9. Michigan was/is expected to contend for the national championship/Big 11 title, before the bloom came off. Iowa was a surprise team that was exceding expectations for a team believed to be rebuilding — until a beating from Michigan St. Michigan had to be looking past Indiana for the revenge game. With only a field goal to give. You have to take Michigan.

Washington (+1.5) at UCLA
Sure Rick Neuheisal is shady scum, who got what he deserved by being axed before the start of the season; but the guy can recruit. Washington with ease.

Illinois (-14) at Purdue
So let me see if I have this straight: Illinois plays an absolute stinker of a first half against Winsconsin and loses by 18. Purdue, at home, with all the incentive to beat a bad Notre Dame team that had beaten them 3 straight times, only wins by 13. ESPN thinks that Purdue might win the Big 11, a la Ohio St. from last year. Well then, Purdue might win the game but I’ll take the points with Illinois.

USC (+12) at Arizona St.
I see a lot of pent up anger after a futile comeback against Cal. USC to rout ASU.

Oregon St. (+1) at California.
See, also: Washington St. decimating Oregon following the Duck’s big win over Michigan. The Pac-10 is nothing, if not inconsistent. Oregon St. over the Birkenstock crowd.

It’s official. The Big East is going to do the stupidest thing possible.

The Big East will not split into two conferences, remaining instead a mixture of Division I-A football programs and so-called basketball-only schools.
…
A subcommittee of Big East officials and member school representatives met yesterday in Newark, N.J., and finalized the decision to stay together. The conference can now begin to focus on how many and which schools it will invite, a configuration for its basketball conference (one division or two) and stabilizing or renegotiating its television contracts.

There also is the matter of the conference’s Bowl Championship Series berth, which officials are confident is not in jeopardy.

That makes one of us. The BCS berth won’t be immediate jeopardy, but it is in future jeopardy.

But according to Pitt athletic director Jeff Long, the object has always been to find a way to stay together.

“I’ve always been consistent in any discussions that the goal was to make the strongest conference possible,” Long said. “We believe [staying together] is the best thing for us to become stronger as conference and it benefits everyone involved. Now that we’re past this hurdle, we can focus on what is the best way to go about getting it done.”
…
Although no formal announcement has been made, the two football schools likely to be invited are Louisville and Cincinnati. Marquette and DePaul likely will be the basketball-only schools.

That would give the Big East 16 members and eight Division I-A football schools, provided the ACC doesn’t pluck Boston College or Notre Dame out from underneath them. The ACC has 11 schools but needs one more to have a football conference championship game. Both schools have been on the wish list.

“Boston College has been with us and has been a party at all the meetings,” Long said. “We certainly believe they are in this with us for the long haul, and Notre Dame has been a part of our discussions as well. We have made a commitment to stay together and, as part of that, a higher [conference] exit fee is something we have also discussed as part of this.”

As a great philosopher once said, “It’s deja vu all over again.”

As for that other conference to the south, well they still have plans.

According to sources in the ACC and the Big East, the ACC presidents have made BC their No. 1 choice to be the league’s 12th team, joining for the 2005 athletic season, or perhaps as early as next season.

An invitation is contingent on the pending litigation filed against the ACC and the University of Miami by several Big East schools, which contend that the ACC and Miami were involved in a conspiracy to weaken if not destroy the Big East.

Connecticut Superior Court Judge Samuel J. Sferrazza listened to arguments yesterday in Hartford on whether to dismiss the case or allow it to go to trial. He is expected to make a decision in 7-10 days.

If Sferrazza dismisses the case, the consensus in the ACC and Big East is that the ACC would focus on BC sooner rather than later. And while no one at BC was saying anything officially yesterday, the feeling among many in the Big East is that the Eagles — who seemed on the verge of receiving an invitation to join the ACC over the summer but were blindsided when the conference instead invited Miami and Virginia Tech — would accept.

Suddenly the Big East reconfiguration looks to be built on a swamp.

The ACC’s sense of urgency is based in part on financial realities. In negotiations with ESPN on a new football contract, the ACC learned that the package being offered for an 11-team league is several million dollars short of the $24 million for the last deal, with nine teams.

In addition, the television money for a new basketball contract will be down significantly, because the consensus is that adding Miami and Virginia Tech dilutes the package rather than enhancing it. So the $8 million-$10 million the league can generate with a conference championship game in football becomes more of a necessity than a luxury. To hold such a game, the league needs a minimum of 12 teams.

I shudder to think what that means for the next Big East TV contract.

Why would BC want to leave a league losing its best teams — Virginia Tech, Miami — and join one with not only those BCS powers but also Florida State and Maryland?

The reason is that this is more than an athletic issue. BC has maintained that it wants to expand its potential student population (and alumni base) beyond the Northeast, into the Mid-Atlantic states.

And it wants to develop an academic consortium with schools such as Duke, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Virginia.

Whatever happens, the Eagles’ future is likely to be determined in a matter of weeks, not months.

The article also noted that the exit fees will be raised. Further incentive for BC to bolt sooner, rather than later.

It also appears that the Big East will hold off on any “official” announcements of expansion until BC tells them its plans, when it hears from the ACC.

he Big East can’t move forward with expansion until it knows whether Boston College is staying or going to the ACC, multiple sources told ESPN.com Wednesday. And BC is waiting to hear from the ACC if it’s going to be the 12th team or if the issue is dead for the foreseeable future.

Sinking ship. At this rate, the best the Big East can hope to be is a “Conference USA bock” — bigger and a little stronger than C-USA, but still in that range.