I suppose for alumni of big schools like Michigan, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, North Carolina and such it is no big deal when ESPN Classic airs a college football or basketball game their team played. As a Pitt fan, though, it is a special treat to come across it.

So this afternoon at 3pm, I was pleasantly surprised to catch Pitt vs. Syracuse from January 4, 1989. Syracuse was the #2 team in the country with Sherman Douglas, Billy Owens and Derrick Coleman. They were hosting the underachieving Pitt Panthers. This would have been in my freshman year. Prior to the last few years, this was the one of the final Pitt teams to be competitive and massively underachieve under coach Paul Evans. This group ran until about 1991. Names from the past that only a Pitt fan can recall:

Brian Shorter, Darrelle Porter, Jason Matthews, Bobby Martin, and Sean Miller.

(Though, Miller is now considered a hot young coaching prospect, presently as an assistant at Xavier.)

Pitt upset ‘Cuse 81-76, in what was only the 6th time Pitt won at Syracuse (and the last time until 1997).

Very strange to hear Dick Vitale (with Tim Brando) seem almost muted. He was a relatively normal color guy then. It’s almost distracting.

Since my last update, there has been some movement in the latest 2004 recruiting class rankings of both the Official College Sports Network (by ESPN.com’s Bill Hodge) and Superprep.com (powered by TheInsiders.com Recruiting Network). However, the position of Pitt’s recruiting class hasn’t changed in either: #22 on Hodge’s list and unranked in Superprep’s.

OCSN/HODGE — SUPERPREP
No. 1 Southern California — 1. Southern California
No. 2 LSU — 2. LSU
No. 3 Michigan — 3. Michigan
No. 4 Oklahoma — 4. Oklahoma
No. 5 Texas — 5. Miami-Florida
No. 6 Ohio State — 6. Ohio State
No. 7 Miami-Florida — 7. Georgia
No. 8 Georgia — 8. Texas
No. 9 Maryland — 9. Penn State
No. 10 Florida — 10. Maryland
No. 11 Oregon — 11. UCLA
No. 12 Penn State — 12. Texas A&M
No. 13 Texas A&M — 13. Florida
No. 14 Alabama — 14. Tennessee
No. 15 Florida State — 15. Florida State
No. 16 UCLA — 16. North Carolina
No. 17 Kansas State — 17. Oregon
No. 18 Tennessee — 18. Wash. State
No. 19 Washington — 19. Washington
No. 20 Michigan State — 20. Alabama
No. 21 Missouri — 21. Texas Tech
No. 22 Pittsburgh — 22. Iowa
No. 23 Texas Tech — 23. Virginia Tech
No. 24 Purdue — 24. Virginia
No. 25 Arizona State — 25. Michigan State

…alright, you try to get columns to line up straight on Blogger — you know, Blogger can be a piece of $#!T at times…

Although Pitt didn’t move since Monday, Ohio State (now #6) got passed by Oklahoma and Texas while Penn State (now #12) got passed by Florida and Oregon on Hodge’s list.

National signing day is now only 12 days off (February 4). So watch out for the cr@p hitting the fan this weekend.

Although I’m a little surprised that enthusiastically shouting out a couple of state’s names is apparently enough to disqualify one from the Presidency, is anybody all that sorry to see Dean fall behind Kerry (and perhaps even Edwards)?

Hail to Pitt beating Syracuse.

I get the feeling no one really knows what is going to happen on Saturday in the game. The Post-Gazette’s only Pitt article focuses on the fact that Coach Dixon has cut the minutes for the bench players in favor of playing the starters more, now that the Big East portion of the schedule has begun. Shocking. The competition gets better and Pitt opts to play the guys who are the best players more.

The Tribune-Review looks back at the thriller in the Carrier Dome from last year — especially the bizarre events in the last second of the game. Pitt lost that game 67-65, and many ‘Cuse faithful saw that game as the turning point in the season.

It seems Syracuse point guard, Gerry McNamara, who injured his groin earlier in the week is feeling better (via Orange Juice). Whether he plays, plays limited or sits is still unknown.

When McNamara struggles offensively, so has Syracuse. In SU’s seven losses since the start of last season, the 6-foot-2 guard is averaging 13 points on 34.5 percent shooting from the field and 30.2-percent shooting from the 3-point line.

In SU’s 43 wins, he’s scoring 14.7 points on 41.8 percent shooting from the field and 38.6 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

Though McNamara has had no serious injuries in his first 50 games in Syracuse, he is a guard who is typically fighting through nagging injuries, many as a result from his hustle and dives to the floor.

I expect he will play.

Orangenation has an absolutely stellar analysis of the match-up. I’m not sure what I can add to this look at the 88th meeting between Pitt and Syracuse.

Judging by what I’m reading, though, if McNamara has a bad game, the fans don’t feel good about their chances. Given that McNamara, at best, will still be feeling a little tender Pitt should probably look to keep a body on him at all time, and maybe see about running him through a few screens at the other end. I’m feeling a little wishy-washy, though, and can’t help but think that Syracuse might have started preparing for the game with the assumption that McNamara wouldn’t play (or would be very limited). It’s not like he’s their only weapon. I have no clue how this game will turn out.

From Mel Kiper, Jr.’s observations on the Senior Bowl practices so far

Pittsburgh TE Kris Wilson catches the ball and is athletic, but he’s not very tall. Somebody will find a place for him on a roster. He will probably get drafted, but not until sometime during the second day.

I find this kind of surprising considering how good a player Wilson is. While wondering how much I overvalue Wilson because I saw him for the last few years, and I prefer for TE’s to have a big roll in the offense (especially for the underneath passes). Still, I suppose it makes some sense. Teams don’t exactly stockpile TE’s or place a huge value on them, unless they are totally dominant like Winslow, Heap or Shockey. So, even the 3rd or 4th best TE might not go until the 4th round.