As reader, B.B., pointed out Greg Doyel at Sportsline actually put Pitt #10 in his rankings.

No. 10 Pittsburgh

Ranked too high if: We’re underestimating the losses of offensively challenged wings Jaron Brown and Julius Page.

Ranked too low if: Two newcomers on the wing, John DeGroat and Keith Benjamin, can make an occasional jumper and defend at the Big East level.

He had UConn at #5, Syracuse at #8 and ND at #20. Doyel also took note of Aaron Gray’s performance at the Blue-Gold Scrimmage, and is cautiously positive.

Unlikely superstars emerge in scrimmages!

We want to believe that, but every year we get suckered.

This year we’ve seen breakout practice performances from centers Aaron Gray of Pittsburgh, Marcus Campbell of Mississippi State and Chris Manker of San Diego State. Louisville point guard Brandon Jenkins also has posted some eye-popping numbers.

Gray, who scored 26 points in all of 2003-04, had 23 points and eight rebounds in the Panthers’ Blue-Gold Scrimmage this past weekend. We have reason to respect those numbers for several reasons: One, he’s only a sophomore with plenty of time to get better. Two, he’s a 7-footer. Three, he lost 33 pounds in the offseason, so maybe his body will lead to new results. We’ll see.

Part of it will depend on him seeing minutes this year.

Final piece concerns graduation rates and the NCAA finally changing the rules. Now the system will take into account JUCOs and transfers. The system is not straightforward, in fact it seemed a bit obtuse and confusing (or maybe that’s because of the cold) but it seems to be something of an improvement.

I’m here for the escapism. Besides, the cold I have makes witticisms unlikely.

Resolving some punting problems appears to be a big issue today. Pitt had one blocked against BC and Rutgers blocked 2. According to Harris, the problem was communication issues along the lines. He’s happy with the long snapper and punter. The line communication problems he feels led to missed blocks and the blocked punts. Pat, during the Rutgers game, commented to me that he things Punter Adam Graessle holds the ball too long before he gets off his punt. At the very least, he thinks it contributes to the problem. Something that bears watching on Saturday.

People can’t help looking ahead and speculating about a Pitt-WVU BCS showdown. Well, here’s some cold-water on the equation.

If Pitt is going to have any chance to win the BCS berth, it also will have to win its two remaining non-conference games — at Notre Dame and at South Florida.

That’s because the Big East breaks ties for first place, not by head-to-head competition, but by BCS standings. Pitt would have to pull to within five spots of the Mountaineers to win the BCS berth, and that’s not going to be easy.

Pitt is receiving some votes in the AP and coaches polls and would likely get into the Top 20 by winning out, but the computer polls — which are a part of the BCS formula — do not like the Panthers, mostly because of their weak schedule (ranked as low as 94th by some computer polls).

That number doesn’t figure to climb too much higher because Syracuse, Notre Dame and South Florida all could finish with a losing record.

West Virginia, 16th in the latest BCS rankings (while Pitt is unranked and projected by some experts on the formula to be somewhere in between 40 and 50), might be high enough that it could lose to Pitt and still remain more than five spots ahead of the Panthers.

One game at a time.

Now, I’m confused about why Marcus Furman missed the Rutgers game. I thought he had a concussion. Now we’re told he had a hyperextended knee. He will be back for Syracuse.

From Joe Bendel’s Big East Insider on ESPN.com:

Syracuse quarterback Perry Patterson isn’t much of a passing threat, but he’d be wise to attack the young Pitt secondary, which features two freshmen cornerbacks. The Panthers have yielded 300-plus passing yards the past two games and rank 109th in pass defense at 270.1 yards allowed. Patterson has completed 58 percent of his attempts for 1,134 yards with five TDs and five interceptions. He threw for 249 in a loss to WVU in Week 7 and is gaining confidence now that he’s secured the starting position. “He’s a multiple threat,” Harris said. “He can run the option and hurt you, or drop back and throw. We better be ready for him.”

Harris spent the off-week trying to lure Pittsburgh-area recruits to the program, but he continues to struggle with negative media coverage and the fact the university has not extended his contract past the 2006 season. Local players remain in a holding pattern, which is why just one western Pennsylvania kid — the son of former Pitt tight end John Brown — has committed. Many Pittsburgh-area players believe Harris will be fired after the season, prompting a delay in their decisions It will be interesting to see what happens if the Panthers end up with a BCS berth. Will the administration let Harris go? And, will he want to stay? Stay tuned.

BCS berth? It kind of becomes a no-brainer since he ran the table. What if Pitt goes 8-3 and wins their bowl game? Then it becomes difficult.

As for young Perry Patterson. He’s a Central Pennsylvania kid — Lancaster. Pitt was on his list, but then Palko committed and he looked elsewhere.

A puff piece on the Syracuse Punter who is also doing a fair amount of place kicking these days. Surprise, another goofy kicker.