This looks to be a busy week for Pitt sports. The Backyard Brawl with the Hoopies on Saturday night (7pm ESPN2) down in Morgantown. Before that, though, Pitt basketball kicks off the regular season with a game against Alabama in Madison Square Garden in the “Coaches Versus Cancer Classic” on Friday night (7pm ESPN2). Still, one quick look back at the big win over VT.

I didn’t even mention how cool the lunar eclipse was that night. That was just an extra bonus.

Late in the 4th quarter, with VT still leading, and just before the Panthers big drive, some dumb-ass Hokie fan in a luxury box behind the student section (and near us) started shouting and running smack at the students. The entire student section turned and started giving it back. The nearby sections started getting into it, and it helped further fire up one of the most raucous Pitt crowds I’ve seen in 15 years. As soon as Pitt started driving and scored, the guy disappeared from the front of the box, and was not seen again. Here’s a couple free tips: (1) if you are in a luxury box, shut the hell up and don’t shout at the regular fans — you are already disliked even if you are for Pitt; (2) don’t start the smack, if you aren’t prepared to stand there and take it being thrown back at you — pure wussiness to hide in the back of the box after taunting those on the outside.

Anyways, the news from Hokie-land is mixed. Some are trying to spin blowing a chance to get back in the BCS as at least meaning VT will probably get a bid from the Gator Bowl as a consolation.

Mostly, though, there was annoyance at blowing their big chance.

In the press box, reporters were asking about the upcoming opponents for Southern Cal and Ohio State. The Buckeyes could lose to Purdue and Michigan, and Southern Cal might have problems with Oregon State.

Less than three weeks after Tech had been dismissed as a national championship contender, could it be that the the Hokies were back in the picture?

Not now.

Most teams don’t get one chance to win a national championship. This year, Tech had two and let both of them get away.

The big surprise, and what gave me my only feeling of dread as the game went on, was that the Hokies’ special teams hadn’t done anything big. Beamer Ball always shows up against Pitt, win or lose. Every punt, every kick, I worried — by the way, DeAngelo Hall is a hell of a punt returner, and has great hands; the way he could field punts cleanly on a bounce at full stride was impressive and terrifying as the opposing team’s fan — yet they never blocked a punt or took one back to the house.

There is still talk about VT going for it on 4th down and Pitt’s subsequent drive to win the game.

Facing a fourth-and-four with 4:16 left, Tech called a timeout and decided to go for a first down rather than try a 47-yard field-goal attempt or punt.

“We talked about it … if you punt, and Vinnie [Burns, Tech punter] had been a little shaky, you’d hope to get it inside the 20, and if you punt it to the end zone you gain 10 yards,” Beamer said. “We thought the risk of picking up a first down was better, and if we’re going to win the game that’s what we needed to do.”

The call was for quarterback Marcus Vick to pass the ball to fullback Doug Easlick in the flat. When seeing a defender close to Easlick, Vick lofted a high floating pass that was inches long for diving wideout Justin Hamilton at the 5-yard line.
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It appeared that Pittsburgh defensive back William “Tutu” Ferguson may have gotten a piece of Hamilton’s left arm as the Tech receiver stretched out for the ball.

“Yeah, I saw it but the refs didn’t call it,” Vick said when asked if he thought Ferguson may have interfered on the play. “We don’t have instant replay in college football, so there’s nothing we could do about it.”

To be fair, most VT players and Coach Beamer didn’t seem to blame the refs for the non-call. As I said earlier, the refs hadn’t called anything all game, so it was consistent. My personal take, I think he may have grabbed at the arm, but the ball would have been just out of the VT receiver’s reach anyways.

Here’s another view on the final 4:16

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and defensive coordinator Bud Foster would probably love to burn the last 4 minutes, 16 seconds of game film from Saturday’s 31-28 loss to Pittsburgh. That part of the reel won’t make it into the annals of great decisions in Hokie coaching history.

There was Beamer’s failed resolution to have quarterback Marcus Vick pass on fourth-and-4 from Pittsburgh’s 30-yard line. Then, there was Foster’s defense providing huge cushions and open spaces for Pittsburgh receiver Larry Fitzgerald and quarterback Rod Rutherford to work. Finally, there was Beamer’s decision to hold on to two timeouts during Pittsburgh’s decisive drive.

It’s all there in that final 4:16, not to mention Vick’s interception at the start of Virginia Tech’s final drive. After watching it one more time in team meetings today, the Hokies will move on. Beamer and his staff can’t afford to misfire on the decisions and methods they used last week to help their team move on. If they do, losing could become habit-forming like it did last season.

Meanwhile on the Pitt side of the ball, the defense did give up 455 yards total, and 241 yards to Kevin Jones. This is worrisome going into the game against WVU. I’m not sure I feel as good as Pitt Defensive Coordinator Paul Rhoads appears. He seems to think they are simple things that will be fixed.

Rhoads said the problems Saturday were a combination of blown assignments, poor tackling and, at certain points, the fact that Pitt’s defensive line was manhandled by the Hokies offensive line.

But he said, unlike earlier in the season, he had “complete confidence” that the Panthers would respond to the adversity because they have a better understanding of what it takes to be successful. He said they are playing more as a team and are practicing better.

WHAT?! Those are the same problems that have been plaguing the defense all season. There is not much to see as encouraging from seeing them repeated once again, in the actual game.

Okay, I think that’s enough basking in the win. Time to get ready for the Hoopies and beat them, or this win is meaningless.

Having lived in Morgantown for only a few months and taught at WVU for a little more than a year, I’m fascinated by the hoopie perspective on Pitt, especially this week.

There’s still plenty of hatred. Pitt is to the Mountaineers what Penn State used to be to Pitt. A superior school in academics and athletics, a school we looked down on because we knew our reputation didn’t stand up to theirs. Thankfully, that Penn-State-Sucks attitude is changing at Pitt as we have more and more to be happy about (though I still like the PSS cheer). WVU’s attitude toward Pitt has not changed.

But as life in the Big East has gotten dicey these days, there’s a certain brothers-in-arms feeling here regarding the Panthers. I don’t expect quite the same emotional buildup to this game as happened with VT/WVU, because that game was fraught with a feeling of betrayal.

But … how long has it been since the Backyard Brawl actually meant anything? Pitt is #1 in the BE; WVU is tied for #2. The USA Today rankings have WVU at 35 and Pitt at 16. After four consecutive wins, Eers fans are expecting … hoping … for a good game. Utter lack of confidence but high hopes. A lot like Pitt, circa 1999 or 2000. The Mounties know they have the ability to win against major opponents, but they don’t really believe they will. I think that attitude has changed at Pitt.

The amazing thing is how Pittsburgh is regarded as a major program all of a sudden. It’s almost like Miami is coming to town. The papers are full of stories about Fitzgerald and Rutherford’s prowess, Walt’s genius.

Should couches be afraid? From what my students say, yes. According to them, local stores are selling out of pepper spray and gas masks. At WVU’s glorious new gym this morning, law students on the treadmills were saying that the ticket line at the student union was the longest they’d ever seen — a four-hour wait.

Hail to the Brawl!

What a game! Probably the best game I’ve ever seen at Heinz Field. I came within 1 point of calling the exact score. While I didn’t expect Pitt to win the game the way they did, I was certain this would not be a blowout either way. I meant to get this out yesterday, but just didn’t have time

The box score shows a very close game, with Pitt surprisingly holding a 5 minute edge in time of possession. Neither team had time consuming drives. Pitt had one drive that lasted 5+ minutes (but resulted in a punt) while the longest drive from VT was just over 4 minutes. Other wise the box score is very even. Tech dominated on running, while Pitt was huge with the pass.

The refs kept their whistles in their pockets. A total of 4 penalties for the entire game, and no pass interference calls. I mention this, in part, because the guys at TechSideLine seemed to hint at being jobbed that there was no call on a 4th down passing play in the 4th quarter; and because there could be a legitimate argument that Kris Wilson was interfered with by Mikal Baaqee at the end of the half, when he had a ball bounce off his chest in the endzone (that was one of the best interceptions I ever saw, though). Sorry, even the VT cover guys weren’t that good, and I know Pitt’s CB’s definitely weren’t. The refs decided to just let them play.

Pitt came out dressed in pure blue. Tops and pants. Lee, commented to me that Pitt looked like a high school team. He was right. Drop the single color scheme, guys. VT, though, wore their white jersey’s with maroon pants. The last time they wore that combo was at Pitt Stadium in 1997. Pitt won, 30-23. I don’t know when they will next break that scheme out, but I have to believe that if Pitt and VT meet in a bowl someday, it won’t be then.

Kevin Jones was amazing. Hopefully that will be the last RB named Jones that Pitt encounters for a quite a while.

Kris Wilson had a statistically great game, but if Pitt had lost, he stood to be the biggest goat. Not only did the one interception occur because it bounced off his chest in the endzone — which would have helped Pitt to a 10 point halftime lead, rather than the 3 point — he fumbled after making a great catch deep over the middle for 33 yards early in the 4th quarter. That killed a drive where Pitt appeared to be immediately responding to VT’s touchdown that gave the Hokies their first lead since midway through the 2nd quarter.

So, in an up and down season for Pitt, it is going up right now.

As of Sunday, there wasn’t much in the way of talking by either side about the game. The only backhand insult in print came from VT Center, Grove

“I said at the beginning of the week, the most physical team was going to win this game, and I don’t think that proved true,” Tech center Jake Grove said. “But that’s the way it works. They played better at the end than we did.”

Pitt scored at the end, leaving less than a minute in the game, when Marcus Vick — and by the way, I agree with Lee, we were amazed by how good a passer he looked; I don’t see how Randall starts again — airmailed one right into the Pitt defense. The coaching decision people will ask Beamer will be his use of timeouts at the end of the game. Pitt marched right down the field and it was clear that they were going to score with less than 2 minutes left and 1st and goal at the 4 yard line. Yet Beamer never used his time outs. Pitt scored and VT got the ball back with only 42 seconds left.

Beamer admitted he made a mistake, but didn’t explain it.

“Before the third-down play I should have called a timeout to save the clock,” said Tech coach Frank Beamer, who did not say why he didn’t call for the clock to be stopped.

After the interception, VT didn’t even try to stop the clock.

What made this game amazing, is that Pitt won this game despite not playing a perfect game. Pitt had some key turnovers and missed opportunities, as did VT. The point is, Pitt was still able to win the game. There was no second guessing. We saw the team do everything right in the final drive — including Rutherford running 12 yards for a first down, and lowering his shoulder to make sure. Lee and I turned to each other at the same time and said, “He lowered the shoulder to get it!”

I don’t say this often, but there was an excellent column in the Post-Gazette from Smizik that summed up and captured the feel of the game. It said virtually everything we were saying to each other back in the parking lot after the game.