Now, I’m not saying I think he should be suspended. I never saw the play, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing for Pitt if he was suspended for the Saturday game. Miami seems to think so.

University of Miami coach Larry Coker says that a “malicious” hit by Virginia Tech center Jake Grove injured Hurricanes defensive tackle Santonio Thomas during Saturday’s game.
…
Thomas’ injury occurred with five minutes to play in the Hokies’ 31-7 victory. On a video provided by UM officials for reporters, Grove can be seen diving at Thomas’ knees moments after Virginia Tech tailback Kevin Jones was tackled nearly 10 yards away.

Grove’s hit drew an immediate reaction from UM safety Sean Taylor, who forearmed the Virginia Tech center in the head. Taylor drew a personal-foul penalty. Grove was not penalized.

Coker said he sent the tape of Grove’s hit to the Big East office and also telephoned two conference officials — Nick Carparelli Jr., associate commissioner for football, and John Soffey, director of football officiating — to complain.

Coker compared Grove’s actions to the attempted choke by Ohio State linebacker Robert Reynolds of Wisconsin quarterback Jim Sorgi during a pileup in their Big Ten game Oct. 11.

VT coach Frank Beamer seemed to concede that on tape the hit didn’t look good, but he felt better about it after talking the matter over with Grove. Glad that’s cleared up.

Some tidbits

One Half is Better Than None

VT’s best cornerback, and leading trash-talker, DeAngelo Hall, was suspended for the first half of the VT-Pitt game for getting into a fight with a Miami player on the sidelines near the end of the game. The Miami player was suspended for the entire game against Tennessee this weekend. VT coach Beamer didn’t think that Hall warranted a suspension, even though the ESPN crew calling the game immediately noted that ejections from a game for fighting almost always result in an automatic suspension.

Tech coach Frank Beamer said he was told by officials that the ejection was not for fighting and the players would not be suspended.

The Big East Conference said yesterday that was not correct. The ejection was for fighting. Hall must sit out a half. Rolle will miss all of Miami’s game against Tennessee because he was not involved in the play when the scuffle broke out on Miami’s sideline after an interception by Tech’s Vincent Fuller.

Beamer said yesterday he planned to ask the Big East “to determine whether that should be classified as a fight.” The league later said “the ruling will not change.”

If the same thing had happened on the field rather than on the sideline, Beamer said, he didn’t think it would be considered a fight.

“It’s regrettable on both sides I think,” Beamer said. “I think it’s a push, and a guy swung at air, really.”

Hall was not available for comment. He was named the Big East’s defensive player of the week yesterday. Hall had 11 tackles and a fumble return for a touchdown against Miami. Hall is also Tech’s punt returner and occasional participant at receiver.

Can’t they make the suspension for the second half? And where is that Big East favoritism to Pitt? Suspend him for the whole game. Show the bias early. Give VT fans more to grouse and complain regarding a conspiracy.

Resources for looking into VT

If you want to do your own look at VT and coverage then here are the best places to go

TechSideLine
HokieSports.com
Richmond Times Dispatch
Roanoke.com
Behind the Net

Oh S**t, What Have We Done?

At least one columnist in ACC country saw the VT-Miami game as a bit of cold water in the face.

Welcome to the present and future of big-time college sports, which may not always resemble the world ACC expansionists envisioned when they trashed 50 years of basketball traditions to accelerate the football arms race.
…
The gung-ho expansionists might have annexed more gung than they bargained for when Miami and Virginia Tech signed the corporate charter and started negotiating entry-fee payment schedules. (Incidentally, those negotiations mattered greatly to Tech, which postponed a scheduled 2004 trip to Louisiana State on the grounds that it desperately needs a $1 million home-game payday. The reason: Transient Tech is still paying Big East entry fees as it prepares to pay Big East exit fees and Big ACC entry fees, which is like financing three car loans at once. A three-car garage can put quite a strain on the budget as Tech attempts to feed its mushrooming football franchise and improve the overall athletics program, which ranks dead last among all competitors in the six major conferences.)

The gung-ho expansionists, who followed FSU’s twisted arrow, might feel more comfortable playing the most recent Big ACC acquisition, Boston College. The Eagles evidently were selected because university presidents wanted a few more library books in the basement before they resumed concentrating on budget books. Plus, BC won’t trample anyone, a middle-packer satisfied to fight for a bid to the Intergalactic Steel-Belted Radial Bowl.

BC offers the illusion of America’s sixth-largest TV market, but that’s about it. Boston viewers follow the Red Sox and Celtics and Bruins and Patriots and Fighting Irish. BC is a private Catholic afterthought, which makes it the perfect complement to Georgetown or St. John’s on a snowy New England night. A Clemson-BC basketball game is even less alluring than a Clemson-Harvard rowing match.

Besides reaching a 12-team inventory and staging a $7 million football championship, what was the Big ACC thinking? Besides cashing larger checks, what was BC thinking?

He’s also got some rather amusing things to say about the halftime show starring Virginia Gov. Mark Warner.

In Part 1, I looked back at the smack run by VT prior to last year’s game. Part 2, is devoted to dredging up the muck from this past spring and summer. It seems even more apt, as the Big East will formally announce the addition of teams from Conference USA today.

To recap: The whole thing started in the beginning of May/end of April. The ACC had been negotiating in (somewhat) secret to get Miami to bolt for the ACC. Miami was open to it, but wanted Boston College because of its strong alumni connections in the northeast. The ACC which wanted to get to 12 teams anyways for the conference championship game was willing, so they began discussions with BC as well as looking into Syracuse. The Big East commissioner found out about the secret discussions and well. Hell, the whole twists and turns would take forever. If you want to get my perspective on the whole thing as it unfolded. Go read my (many) old posts starting here (scroll around) and continuing here and here is a key moment where the other Big East schools agreed not to leave for the ACC if BC and Syracuse wouldn’t. The lawsuits were filed in the beginning of June by the Big East. Then the endgame go underway

ACC expansion nearly collapsed because of it and pressure from Virginia lawmakers on UVA to not let VaTech get killed in the raid on the Big East.

The Big East getting cocky and not being serious about doing what it needs to do to survive (jettison the b-ball only schools and expand to 12 football/b-ball schools) starts floating a stupid 16 team league with half being b-ball only.

To save its expansion, the ACC rescinded its offers to BC and Syracuse; and instead extended offers only to Miami and Virginia Tech.

The Hokies jumped.

Miami is hemming and hawing after receiving last-ditch offers spearheaded by former conspirators BC and ‘Cuse to stay. They will announce their decision tomorrow, or else they will owe even more money in exit fees to the Big East.
…
Adding Miami and VT is clearly a desperation move by the ACC to expand someway, somehow. It puts a lie to the earlier claim that they wouldn’t do anything rash or without careful consideration. This is exactly that. Expansion, just for its own sake. It really lends credence to the idea that the ACC really does want to destroy the Big East any way it can. Maybe it is out of recognition of its own potential instability, but the ACC is clearly in an all out push to expand. The ACC has ignored its own expansion procedures by inviting VT without even touring the campus yet.

The ACC had no choice but to call Miami’s bluff on the partners in expansion. Since this began it was heavily reported that Miami was all but insisting that BC be included in expansion. That it wouldn’t jump without BC to keep its strong alumni connections up East. And that one of the reasons to jump was to avoid the high costs of traveling to Blacksburg. Suddenly, they will lose that strong Northeast alumni connection and still go to Blacksburg if this happens. Add in the risk of now having another strong football program in the ACC, and this move isn’t so much an upgrade as it is a lateral move.

Being short a team for the conference is not too big a deal for the ACC and a championship game. They can petition the NCAA for a rule change or an exemption. Plus, the ACC can wait a couple years and pick off BC or even UConn when they are in the shitter, and would pay to join.

What the hell is the deal with Wake Forest supporting ACC expansion? Wake’s silence has been puzzling. The only explanation I heard before, was that they wanted BC and ‘Cuse because they are private schools so they could help with their specific and unique concerns. As it stands now, they look to become the Northwestern of the ACC. Miami may also be a private school, but they are nothing like Wake. The fact that Wake Forest has gone blithely along with this when it could have ended the whole thing by siding with Duke and UNC is the great mystery to me.
…
As for Virginia Tech’s betrayal of the Big East, and yes it is a betrayal…

The Big East Conference this week received commitments from its schools that none would leave for the Atlantic Coast Conference if Syracuse and Boston College stay.

That’s a considerable bargaining chip conference commissioner Mike Tranghese will use while trying to convince Syracuse and Boston College to remain in the Big East.

Both schools have entertained a leap to the ACC with Miami, believing if they declined to leave the Big East other conference members such as Virginia Tech, Connecticut, Pitt or West Virginia would jump into the breach with Miami instead.

But Tranghese has received assurances from the football schools in the Big East that that would not happen.

Josh and his Hokie brethren can rationalize it any way they want, about how this has been their destiny/destination for 50 years and they haven’t really betrayed the Big East since they always really wanted in the ACC. But they can not claim that “Virginia Tech handled itself honestly.” And no, the Big East didn’t get the commitments not to bolt in writing (as far as I know), so it was worthless as far as being a contract; but these are the actions that reduce a school’s reputation and integrity — not to mention more lawsuits.

My comments on the Hokies led to this exchange with Josh Crockett and further comments.

Josh sent me an e-mail defending his team betraying the Big East as not doing anything wrong.

Furthermore, the agreement to stay was only valid if Cuse and BC agreed to it.
Blame Cuse and BC for not agreeing, and thus giving VT the room to maneuver.

My answer:

You were very Clintonian in your response. You can split hairs and say that the agreement to stay was solely limited to only if BC and ‘Cuse chose to stay in the Big East — not if the ACC rescinded and extended it to VT — if you want, but it seems rather obvious that VT would have jumped no matter what the circumstances. There is always a difference between what is legal and what is moral.

As I said, you can say anything you want about how this is good for your school (and no one can disagree), but you can not claim that your school handled itself honestly.

I would also point out that BC and ‘Cuse while not rejecting the ACC offer, had not yet accepted it either.

I’ll let my friend Lee, give his thoughts:

Ah, the Hokies… the funny thing is that I never really cared one way or the other about that academically pathetic, isolated little hick school where farmers daughters go who can’t get into Penn State or UVA until all of this happened. And furthermore, they legitimately do belong in the ACC (although I would remind Chas’s buddy Josh that the only reason Virginia Tech wasn’t in the ACC to begin with is that they turned down an invitation to join 50 odd years ago). But now, I hate those hypocrites and pathetic wanna bees.

But two things console me about our castrated turkey friends. First, they will be reminded, in perpetuity, by their in-state rivals that they only reason VT still has an athletic program of any kind is because UVA intervened on their behalf. Imagine if Pitt was saved by Penn State’s intervention, and you can understand how tortuous this will be.

Second, Virginia Tech, or VPI, or whatever they want to be called this decade, has been absolutely lambasted in the national media for being the hypocrites that they are.

Final prior link was a beauty excerpted from an e-mail from the people in the VT administration regarding their pressuring the VA politicos to get into the ACC:

June 19, 2003, after rumors of a VT offer from the ACC

Email from Ralph Byers[, the VT Director of Government Relations,] to someone in the Virginia legislature, probably by the name of Phil Leone: “Obviously if we have a serious offer to join the ACC it would be tough not to do it, even with what’s happened. We all have demonstrated what this is about anyway, and it ain’t integrity.”

No. No it wasn’t.

Hokie fans have felt that their school has unfairly portrayed in the whole thing. They especially feel that Miami got a lot less flak than they did. I knid of would put it this way.

Miami is that asshole guy that hangs around your group. No one really likes him, but he’s got the money, the car, and he always seems to get the girls. So you tolerate him. You know one day he’ll probably screw you over on one thing or another, but you live with it and just try not to be too trusting.

VT was the guy who came along a little later. He’s been knocked about a bit by others, but he seeems like a really decent guy. Someone you can trust, and even believe to be your friend. Then he backstabs you the first chance he gets after decrying others who would do so. Simply put, he’s the backstabbing weasel that was using you to climb the ladder. The guy who shrugs off his actions with a “well it was either him or me.”

I’m feeling even more juiced for the game then before. And it’s only Tuesday.

Let’s go Pitt!

It’s always important to look back at some things before looking at the game that will take place. In part 1, looking back at the words from last year. Last year, Pitt went into Lane Stadium a distinct underdog against the #3 team in the country. VT was looking for payback after taking a humiliating beating from Pitt the year before — 38-7. VT players were cocky and not afraid to say that they intended to take revenge.

“They just beat us into mercy, really,” said Randall, recalling the Panthers’ stunning shellacking of a 12th-ranked Tech club. “We were like helpless, that’s how we looked out there. We were like helpless and we couldn’t do anything about it.

“To come out there and just take a whipping was embarrassing. That’s the worst feeling … to be embarrassed playing something that you love, especially thinking that you know you’re better than that.”

Three-hundred and 64 days later, the Hokies finally get the chance to rid themselves of the stench still lingering from their Steel City stinkeroo. In a Big East date long circled in red ink on its calendar, No.3-ranked Tech (8-0, 3-0) can’t wait to see Pittsburgh (6-2, 3-0) tonight at 7:30 in Lane Stadium.

“Oh, yeah,” crowed Hokies cornerback DeAngelo Hall. “It’s payback time.”

… “I think the biggest thing was nobody played to win that game,” Tech center Jake Grove said. “We all kind of just showed up and nobody made any big plays. Offensively, we were just dead the whole game.”

[Emphasis added.]

And it wasn’t just the players.

Last year, the Panthers handed Tech its first and most lopsided loss of the season, 38-7, and Saturday headlines all over Virginia blared “payback.”

Well, the game appeared to be going VT’s way — great special teams play. Leading 21-7. This game, though, exposed a weak VT run defense and Larry Fitzgerald had his first national showcase game.

VT players and fans shut up after that. Though some seemed shocked by what happened

“I never would have thought in a hundred years we would lose this game,” said Va. Tech tailback Lee Suggs, who gained 128 yards and scored twice.

Some VT boosters wanted to blame the officials for a penalty they didn’t like.

Trailing the Hokies 21-7 after a 56-yard scoring run by Suggs on the third play of the second half, Rutherford dropped back to throw on third and nine from his 25 but saw the pass sail through the arms of freshman wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. At the end of the play, however, Whitaker shoved wide receiver Lamar Slade out of bounds — directly in front of Beamer — and drew the 15-yard penalty that gave the Panthers an automatic first down.

“It was one of those cheap things at the end of a play,” Beamer said. “I’ve seen worse. I thought we had things under control and I thought we were getting ready to block another kick.”

Even Penn State boosters were disturbed at Pitt’s win (One of Lee’s first true blog contributions).

So, now VT comes off their biggest win. Will DeAngelo Hall (who apparently will start, despite the ejection) be talking trash like last year against Pitt, and before Miami.

DeAngelo Hall, who wasn’t afraid to say all week that this UM team wasn’t as strong as past editions, backed up his talk with a strip and 28-yard return of a fumble that put Tech ahead 7-0 early in the second quarter. Green’s 51-yard interception return made it 17-0 early in the third quarter.

So far this is the extent of the talk about Pittsburgh (it’s early) —

“Pittsburgh is a huge game for us, just as big as Miami,” Tech center Jake Grove said Sunday. “What happened to us after the Syracuse win [the WVU loss] is not going to happen again. This week is make or break. We win at Pittsburgh and we’re right back in the mix of everything.”

Essentially — we’re not going to suck like we did in Morgantown.

It does, appear that Bryan Randall will get the start, but we can expect Marcus Vick to be in the game for quite a bit.

The Saturday night VT-Pitt game will not only be on ESPN or ESPN2 (to be determined today), but ESPN College Gameday will be broadcasting from Heinz Field from the morning onward.

This is the first visit to Pittsburgh for College Gameday. The national stage presence for Pitt has just been turned to high.

This week, I took the Panthers, Buckeyes, Hurricanes, and Wolverines — all to cover. Only the Panthers and Wolverines did, moving my season long record against the spread to 17-20. But more importantly, how great were these four games? …ok, given that probably none of us was actually able to see the Pitt game, how great were the other three? Let’s review…

PITTSBURGH 24, BOSTON COLLEGE 13: While I was writing my thoughts on the other three games below (I tend to write backwards), Chas posted an excellent summary and analysis of the Pitt-BC game. So I’m just going to be lazy, save everybody a little reading time, and wave anyone who is looking for a good summary here (If I knew how to post out of chronological order, I would have placed this post below Chas’s).

That being said, I picked Pitt to cover a one-point spread here because I thought that Pitt’s receiving corps, offensive line, and defense (pass and run) would step up and overcome Boston College. They all did. Unfortunately, these three groups will have to be even better next week against Virginia Tech.

OHIO STATE 21, PENN STATE 20: Of course, my phone was ringing off the hook yesterday afternoon when my other alma mater was down 17-7 at halftime just up the road in Beaver Stadium. Many of my Nittany Lion friends, relatives, and neighbors had to get a few jabs in. Few were concerned with just letting me watch the game in peace. Apparently, none were concerned with a last minute Ohio State comeback. However, the phone stopped ringing during backup quarterback Scott McMullen’s last, masterful drive. It is now Sunday morning. My phone hasn’t rung once since.

Hopefully, my wife now understands why I hate Penn State so much.

I picked Ohio State to cover a seven point spread here because I thought that (1) the Buckeyes would be able to run against Penn State (we did, for 153 yards), (2) the Buckeyes would be able to pass against Penn State (we did, for 148 yards), (3) Penn State wouldn’t be able to run against us (they couldn’t… only 33 yards on the ground), (4) Penn State wouldn’t be able to pass against us (D’OH! PSU quarterback Zack Mills lit us up for 253 yards in the performance of his career), and (5) Penn State’s not covering a spread since the Nebraska game was a sustainable pattern (D’OH!). However, in the same post, I noted that “A good, nasty archrival could help motivate Penn State past its current cloud of underachievement.” In the end, I underestimated how much Ohio State’s being Penn State’s archrival (even if not the other way around) would motivate the Nittany Lions.

Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno, Offensive Coordinator Fran Ganter, and (especially) Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley did a masterful job of game preparation and playcalling. Zack Mills and Penn State’s receiving corps played their best game in years. All of this leads to one obvious question: why didn’t both PSU’s coaches and players try to win this hard earlier this season? If nothing else, this near-win against the defending national champion clarifies how much underachievement has been going on up there lately.

Meanwhile, I could find fault with Ohio State’s playcalling in that we didn’t try to run the ball (especially with our power trap) more often (they couldn’t stop it). But I am more concerned with our poor pass protection (Krenzel got hurt for a reason) and our even worse pass defense. We had better shore these items up before Jeff Smoker and the Michigan State Spartans roll into Columbus next Saturday.

On a side note, guess who was the guest of honor last night at Joe and Sue Paterno’s post-game party in their State College home? According to today’s Altoona Mirror, it was former Pitt Head Coach (and current Athletic Department goodwill ambassador) Johnny Majors. I wonder why Johnny was there? Hopefully, he was lobbying for help in getting us into the Big Ten Conference.

VIRGINIA TECH 31, MIAMI 7: Last night, Virginia Tech’s defense and ground attack were as dominant as I thought they would be when I was listing them as the second best team in the country. But then the Hokies got their asses completely kicked in Morgantown, and I — like most of the rest of the country — gave up on them. I picked Miami to cover a 3.5 point spread here because I thought that the Hurricanes’s speed receivers and tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. would be able to get behind Virginia Tech’s defense on a semi-frequent basis.

Frank Beamer’s defense played a masterful game, though — scoring two TDs on their own. They pressured Miami Quarterback Brock Berlin into looking like the flop he really was at the University of Florida. Those two “scoop and score” interceptions were about the prettiest I’ve seen all year. In general, the Hokies fooled Miami and its coaching staff into thinking that they couldn’t pass or pass protect anymore, and that their only alternative was to futilely run the ball over and over again (I say “futile” because Tech only wound up letting the ‘Canes get 69 yards on the ground). How Larry Coker let Frank Beamer get inside of his head like that is beyond me. The Hurricanes can pass, and furthermore, should have tried to do so far more often when they fell behind. But instead, Coker just resigned himself to his apparent fate before the howling Hokie faithful.

On the other side of the ball, Virginia Tech and tailback Kevin Jones showcased a classic ball-control offense — regardless of whether Randall or Vick was at quarterback. They racked up 175 yards on the ground (versus only 44 through the air).

Like I said last week, I was rooting hard for the Hokies to upset the Hurricanes here — just as I was rooting hard for the Mountaineers to upset the Hokies two weeks back. But now I’m scared. Pitt’s defense against the run and pass protection had better be ready for next Saturday, or it’s gonna get real ugly. Even more frightening, we still have to play the Mountaineer team that dominated these Hokies from the beginning of their game to the end. I’m not sure that both Virginia Tech and West Virginia aren’t for real now.

MICHIGAN 27, MICHIGAN STATE 20: I correctly picked Michigan to cover a four point spread here because of “Chris freakin’ Perry,” John Navarre, and the Wolverines’s defense. Perry and the offensive line that blocks for him are scary good. Why Michigan didn’t stay on the ground more against Oregon is beyond me. And the Wolverines defense was as good as you can be against such a quality quarterback as Jeff Smoker. As much as it may break my Buckeye heart, I think that the Wolverines are going to the Rose Bowl this year.

Allright, I gotta go rake some @#%*@#! leaves.

As much as I used to hate this cheer, hail to “PENN STATE SUCKS! PENN STATE SUCKS! P-E-N-N-S-T SUCKS!”

I can only go by press accounts and the play-by-play summary. Despite the free audio on the computer, I couldn’t do it. On dial-up, a streaming audio is jerky and with so many pauses, that it agitates and exacerbates what would have been a rather tense mood given the way the game went, until the 4th quarter.

So any of the other PSBers who listened, feel free to post your POV.

Statistically, I would consider this a more dominating win, than the previous win over Syracuse. Pitt completely dominated time of possession (36:13 to 23:47); first downs (29-18); total offense (488-335); and 3rd down conversion rates (7-16 to 2-13).

Pitt had only two 3-and-out possessions in the game. The offensive line seems to finally be performing closer to expectations, much to the chagrin of some who were expecting another Notre Dame-like performance.

Prior to yesterday’s game, Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka commented that he and his teammates would exploit the Pitt offensive line. It never happened.

The 6-foot-8 Kiwanuka, who entered leading the Big East with eight sacks, had zero sacks yesterday. He often found himself getting hammered by one of the Pitt running backs.

“I’m shorter, so I squared up and hit him low,” fullback Lousaka Polite said.

The Boston College defense was on the field for 83 plays and 36 minutes, 13 seconds. Pitt rolled up 488 yards against the Eagles. Kiwanuka had no comment about the Panthers afterward.

Of course going into the 4th quarter, Pitt was still losing 13-10. Pitt Kicker, David Abdul, after a solid performance last week, kicked pathetically. He went 1-3, missing 43 yards and 28 yards field goals. Pitt took control of the game on the scoreboard a couple minutes into the 4th quarter with a screen pass from Rutherford to RB, Jawan Walker, that ended up going 47 yards for the touchdown.

Pitt added another touchdown 5 minutes later on a 35 yard halfback pass from Walker to WR, Larry Fitzgerald. This gave Fitzgerald a TD reception in his 14th consecutive game, breaking the NCAA record. He also broke the NCAA record for most TD receptions by a WR in his first 2 years of college — yeah, it’s obscure, but what the hey — with 28. He had his 11th 100+ yard receiving game. He is now 2 behind former Pitt WR, Antonio Bryant for the Big East and Pitt record of 13.

Not that the BC players believe the scoreboard and the statistics relay the truth of the game. They believe they were flagged for a phantom hold in the 4th quarter that led to a TD run by Derrick Knight — who did rush for 119 yards on 19 carries — that would have returned the lead to BC. Quick hats off to Knight, who broke 1,000 yards for the season and 3,000 for his career.

BC linebacker/defensive captain Josh Ott said he played all but two of those plays. Later, when asked if this loss reminded him of last year’s overtime defeat to the same team, Ott said, “No, it wasn’t.

“This year, I thought in the first half we had the game won. Last year, I thought it was kind of an even battle.

“To be honest, I didn’t think they should have won at all. I don’t think they’re better than us, even a little bit.”

Bitter, bitter, bitter. They had a 3 point lead, thanks in part, to a missed field goal by Pitt near the end of the half, and he felt they had the game won by halftime? BC didn’t score a lick in the second half, and he feels they should have won? Whatever gets you through the night.

Quickie Analysis
Hard to do without seeing the game, but…

Pitt got Rutherford out of the pocket and running a little more. This is good and will help open things up given the running game. Using both Tim Murphy and Jawan Walker at RB seems to be helping. Yes, they combined to run for only 71 yards on 19 carries, but the different styles help. And sadly enough, that’s one of the best yards per carry average they’ve had combined all year.

Judging by the number of screens and underneath passes thrown and completed, Pitt took advantage of BC dropping the safeties off to help out on Fitzgerald (who still had 7 catches for 156 yards). Annoying, though, that TE Kris Wilson only had one catch the entire game. Still, the ball was spread around exceptionally well by Rutherford.

Defense really stepped up in this game. BC had 3 three-and-out series and 2 series that only went 4 plays. BC’s longest series was the first series of the game — 4 minutes. Otherwise, the Defense was able to stay off the field.

Final thought. I mentioned that it was hard to find anything on BC in the Boston media. The game coverage was even worse. The Boston Herald had one article, and the Boston Globe relied on an AP wire report. Pathetic. Especially the Globe. An AP story to report on the only local college that has any NCAA presence? Have fun in the ACC, BC.

Far be it from me to impugn the sanctity and accuracy of internet balloting, but after looking over the leaderboard for the Suzuki Heisman voting, I encourage people to go and vote as often as allowed for Larry Fitzgerald, WR from Pitt. Currently in 9th on the ballot.