The battling Bucknell Bisons play Pitt on Sunday evening. No one is even bothering to televise what is expected to be a blowout. Pitt game notes (PDF) are mostly unremarkable. Pitt, with the expected win will be 11-0 and for the second straight year be undefeated in their non-con (as well they should given the opponents). The only thing remotely interesting about the game is that Chevy Troutman needs 16 points to reach 1,000 for his career. Not sure he will get it, because I would hope Coach Dixon limits the minutes of the starters. Play some of the kids who haven’t gotten much time, and need some game experience.

Bucknell’s game notes are here. It would appear that you can listen on the internet to the Bucknell broadcast of the game for free. The game starts at 7pm.

P-G Pitt basketball beat writer Ray Fittipaldo has his Q&A on Pitt for the week. He doesn’t seem to care about Pitt’s non-con, and generally it’s a kind of bland session. Fittipaldo’s Q&A have not been terribly enlightening.

Those who live in Pittsburgh probably have a better idea than most with the myriad of problems that surrounded the completion of the Petersen Event Center. Last April, the Post-Gazette did a 2-part in-depth story on the cost overruns and expenses of the Pete. In a follow-up article, they detail the state’s strange and unclear procedures for resolving disputes with contractors over monies owed.

Just to keep things messy, the state and Pitt filed a lawsuit yesterday:

The school and the Pennsylvania Department of General Services, which ran the construction project, filed two lawsuits yesterday seeking unspecified damages against the companies and their insurance companies for alleged problems at the $107 million Petersen Events Center, which opened in November 2002.

Neither the state nor the university estimated how much the alleged problems would cost to repair.

In the lawsuit, the university claims an architectural partnership between Pittsburgh-based Apostolou Associates and Atlanta-based Rosser International drew up shoddy plans and caused construction delays that cost the university $5.5 million to settle claims by contractors.

The university also claims the arena’s steel and aluminum roof, which was installed by Kansas City-based Havens Steel Co. and G&W Roofing & Construction of Eighty-Four, Pa., is deteriorating and has leaks from poor workmanship.

According to the article, there are more than 200 holes in the roof and the venilation, sprinkler and communication systems are all subpar. It apparently won’t interfere with the basketball games.

Larry Fitzgerald will be at the game as an honorary Pitt captain.

The QBs for both teams seem almost mirror images at times.

Pitt defense points to the goal line stands against Temple as plays that helped turn their season around. The team as a whole, seems to be relishing the underdog role. (I put the over/under on when Brent Musberger drives that issue into the ground and starts Lee cursing him at about 5 minutes into the second quarter.)

Questions about whether the offense will be rusty continue. Meanwhile the new Utah offensive coordinator, not surprisingly, doesn’t think any defense even remotely stopped or will stop the offense. Naturally, this spread-esque offense has me very nervous given Pitt’s history against it.

Utah also feels good about its special teams.

A little more than 33 hours…

Jumping ahead, a bit. While the so-called “Crimson Nation” rolls southwest, and those already in Arizona have a big rally for the team, the future for Utah is a big question.

Quarterback Alex Smith and the rest of the undefeated Utah Utes are barely a day away from the most important and exciting game in school history, and their fans are surely delirious amid the final buildup to a Fiesta Bowl that represents a dream accomplishment.

So enjoy it.

It might be the last big thrill for a while.

The final gun at Sun Devil Stadium is poised to have the same effect for this red-and-white Cinderella as the clock striking midnight, turning the Utes back into a nice little team that contends for the Mountain West Conference title but not much else – at least not right away.

Utah will graduate 18 seniors, QB Alex Smith and WR Steve Savoy might go pro, and their head coach is on the first plane out to Florida after the game. That’s a lot to rebuild. Still, they have done everything and reached a peak. Lots of credit must be given to any team that actually reaches and possibly exceeds its potential. A perfect record, no matter what your schedule is an impressive thing.

For Pitt fans the future looks very bright. This doesn’t feel like the peak of this team. Just an early surprise. I don’t necessarily agree with Smizik that Pitt is in a win-win situation regarding being in the Fiesta Bowl (never mind how he acts as if he wasn’t part of the group looking to get rid of Harris), but better things are expected. A good article on how Pitt seems to be seeking that elusive next level, and how Harris came to be seen as not being the guy to do it.

This season’s Panthers started 2-2, then finished 8-3 with a share of the Big East championship and a Fiesta Bowl berth, but the feeling of not-good-enough seemed to hover over the program, putting Harris on a perpetual hot seat that will soon be only a pile of ashes.

It was so obvious at times, said Rob Petitti, three-time All-Big East and second-team All-America offensive tackle, “that I think people wanted us to lose this year. I don’t know if he had a choice of leaving, but I don’t think he did. I think he got forced out.”
…
Administrators never seemed to make a push to keep Harris, whose record at Pitt stands at 52-43 entering Saturday’s game at Sun Devil Stadium, and first-team All-Big East defensive tackle Vince Crochunis can only shake his head at all the criticism.

“Many feel Coach Harris overstayed his welcome, but from a player’s standpoint, I think he could have stayed here as long as he wanted,” he said.

Harris doesn’t want to talk about the events that triggered his move, but he said winning the Fiesta Bowl would be a nice way to exit.

His mission statement for Pittsburgh was: “We will not cut corners, not sacrifice the success of the program in order to have a one-time successful football team.”

“I tried to put the program first and foremost,” Harris said. “All the decisions were made based on the program.”

Petitti said the Pitt football team “was in the doldrums, sliding” when Harris took over and began the turnaround. “I think Coach Harris did a great job. We’ve got a lot of good guys on the team, not just good athletes, but good people. There’s not a troublemaker on the team.”

Shelly Anderson has the must-read column for the day regarding the administration, fans and commitment to the team.

Pitt is nationally prominent in basketball and is headed for its fifth consecutive bowl appearance, and a Bowl Championship Series game at that. Yet it was the football coaching change that seemed to inject the Panthers’ faithful with large doses of adrenaline and New Year’s joy.

The administration has finally made a real commitment to the football program, brought in a big name — and a Pitt guy — who can lead the Panthers to great things. Or so the sentiment seems to be.

There’s no disputing it was a great hire, and there’s nothing wrong with that optimism. In fact, it’s refreshing after all the vitriol spewed toward Harris and the underappreciation of the job he did in his eight seasons.

Yet the scenario begs a question about commitment.

Just how does the commitment thing work in college athletics? What comes first — the administration making the right moves, the fans offering staunch and unwavering support, or the coaches and players going above and beyond?

Then there is Wannstedt coming home, and even in the Miami area they think it is a win for all:

Such a strange and wonderful force home can be.

Strong connection to Pitt

Maybe it’s too fairy-tale sappy to suggest Wannstedt is exactly where he’s supposed to be after mostly disappointing NFL tenures as head coach in Chicago (six years) and Miami.

But he sure did look proud and relaxed and, well, somehow more imposing than he ever did with the Dolphins that day he was introduced as Pitt’s new boss.

“I can promise you there hasn’t been a Saturday that I’ve been removed from the University of Pittsburgh,” Wannstedt said during the news conference earlier this month announcing his hiring. “There hasn’t been a Saturday when I haven’t checked the score or watched on TV or called a friend to find out who won the game.”

That’s good stuff. That’s real stuff. That’s good and real Wannstedt stuff.

And Wanny has helped solidify a recruit and has indicated a lot of the defensive coaches will be staying.

[Linebacker, Steve] Dell committed to Pitt the day before Harris accepted the Stanford job, then reopened his recruiting. Dell said he talked to Wannstedt several times and was assured that linebackers coach Curtis Bray and defensive line coach Bob Junko would remain on staff.

“He pretty much told me he was keeping the defensive staff, that coach Bray and coach Junko were definitely staying,” said Dell, who had 82 tackles and six sacks in seven games in a hurricane-shortened senior season. “He’s from Florida and he knows the talent coming out of South Florida. He told me I’m officially his first recruit.”

Craig Bokor, a defensive end from Hopewell who spent the fall at Valley Forge Military Academy, and tailback Rashad Jennings of Forest, Va., also will enroll next week.

The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Bokor signed with Pitt last February but did not qualify academically under NCAA freshman eligibility guidelines.

“I’ve talked to (Wannstedt) twice since he got the job,” said Bokor, who picked Pitt over offers from Miami, Michigan, Michigan State and Virginia. “I like him.”

Meanwhile the Trib. continues to push Duquesne head coach Greg Gattuso for an assistant coaching position at Pitt.

Multiple posts will be necessary again to cover all the articles of interest. Just a lot of stuff.

The Pitt players have enjoyed themselves in the week leading up to the Fiesta Bowl. Click on the photo of Del Sardo on media day, talking with the Fiesta Bowl queen and court, then click over to the one of H.B. Blades. I don’t know why these photos crack me up so much. DelSardo’s facial expression and body language is great.

Josh Cummings gives his first person account of the week. He had been to the Fiesta Bowl with Oregon a few years ago. He also drops that his girlfriend is on the Pitt Dance Team. Maybe that helps to explain why Sunshine would happen to drift down the sideline when the dance team was in front of the student section.

Of course, Utah has their own refuge from that Oregon team. Senior Wide Receiver, Paris Warren, was a redshirt freshman at the time. Warren also thinks Pitt should have a bit of a chip on their shoulder.

Sounds like Vince Crochunis was having some fun with the Utah media in talking about Utah’s offense.

Crochunis has offered his insight on any and all subjects this week. Today’s topic: the spread offense that has taken hold in college football, and is mastered by Utah.

“That’s really made it hard for defenses around the country to adjust,” Crochunis said. “I don’t think a good defense has been found yet to stop the spread offense, because it’s a relatively new thing. In a couple of years, probably nobody will use it. It takes time for defenses to evolve.”

Anyone outside of Hawaii still using the chuck and duck run and gun? I don’t think the spread is going to quite go that way, but it will eventually be solved as more teams try to run it. Crochunis also received a nice little puff piece in the Arizona Republic.

A column on Utah Running Back Marty Johnson, who has alcohol issues. I think Starkey is being a little unfair to Johnson, but at the same time the guy has only been sober for less than a year. He hasn’t completely earned the benefit of the doubt as to how firm his resolve is. Unasked, and very important, is the question of whether he has people around him that won’t enable him.

Interesting article regarding the budgets of bowl teams.

Of the 56 teams in postseason games, Utah is 40th in spending, at $5.8 million, according to 2003-04 financial records, the most recent available. When it comes to raising money, the Utes are 46th, with $4.7 million.

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is 15th highest in spending, at $11.7 million, and 21st in revenue, with $19.4 million.

The top spending team is Ohio State, at $16.1 million, while Troy State spends the least at $3.1 million. Texas is best when it comes to raising money, with $47.6 million, while Toledo raises the least, at $1.3 million.

A shame there aren’t more details. It might be interesting to see where the money is going and compare it to other programs.

No, not you John (inside joke).

At the start of the basketball season there were questions about which of the 3 new players on Pitt’s team would have the earliest impact, i.e., earn major minutes either off the bench or even as a starter. If you put a gun to my head back then, I would have gone with John DeGroat. I figured as a JUCO and playing Forward he would be the first option to sub for McCarroll and Troutman or even supplant McCarroll.

To quote a far better writer than myself, “The lesson, as always, I’m an idiot.”

Both papers do pieces on Ronald “Razor” Ramon. This one focuses on his play, especially how he helped keep Pitt in the first half of the South Carolina game. Ramon hitting outside shots in the first half was very important not just in keeping Pitt close, but because it eventually started stretching the Gamecock’s zone to allow passes inside to Troutman and Taft. The thing that was often missing from Pitt’s game last year.

The other is more of the puff-type dealing more with his relationship with his father Ricardo Ramon. His father was a star player in the Dominican Republic and played ball in parts of South America, before they came to the US. The story, though, also contains a key comment from Ramon, showing why he is playing so much:

“I just come in and try to play hard,” Ramon said. “My role is to play defense, try and stop somebody. The offense just comes. At that time it was tough. It was a tight game. I just wanted to play great defense. Defense wins games. If we get stops, the offense will come.”

He appears not only to have been the first to grasp that, but the first to play it. I think the others will get their chance, as they more fully understand how much they have to give on defense first.

Pitt released some more quotes that you can expect to show up in Friday’s articles. Comments from Greg Lee, H.B. Blades, Kellen Campbell and Josh Cummings. Nothing that spectacular.

One more prognostication via an ESPN.com chat with Todd McShay — another member of ScoutsInc.:

Todd McShay: Alright, before I take off here’s my breakdown of the USC/OSU national championship Orange Bowl. WIth both defenses ranking in the top-5 in the nation versus the run I think it comes down to QB play. I know White has more weapons at WR, but Leinart has more versatility with Bush, Smith, Jarrett, Holmes and Byrd to throw to. I also think that Chow and Carroll will out-coach Stoops & Co. just like Saban did in the Sugar Bowl last year.

Other BCS bowl game predictions:

Michigan in an upset over Texas

Pitt keeps it a lot closer than the “experts” think but lose to Utah in the Fiesta

Auburn in a “woodshed beating” over Va. Tech in the Sugar Bowl.

For what it’s worth.

So Neuheisel can’t even get a sniff for a job. Can’t say I’m surprised. The other “tarnished” coaches cited in the story — George O’Leary and Mike Price — committed sins of personal failings. Neuheisel’s sins impact a program. Here’s what I have said of Neuheisel:

Of course, when talking of compliance and NCAA violations, there is no one that knows it better than the man that leaves a trail of slime wherever he goes, a man who causes other attorneys (like myself) to say about him, “sure he went to law school, but he’s not really a lawyer. He’s not one of us.” I’m speaking of course of Rick Neuheisel.
…
It’s consistent with Neuheisel’s violations of recruiting and ethics at Colorado and Washington. Skate up to the razor’s edge of the line, and maybe fall over it just a little, but not so much that it can’t be argued that there was a gray area — thus precluding major penalties, only continual paper cut, minor ones.

I’ve always thought that was in part because of Neuheisel taking the wrong lessons from law school (the majority of it is because Neuheisel is a slimy, corrupt, and doesn’t think the rules apply to him kind of guy) — the line can be blurry and as long as you don’t go over a clear line, you can wriggle free.

Any school that would take a chance on him, even as a coordinator, would be inviting the NCAA to put the entire program under an ongoing microscope. Not many ADs prepared to take that chance.

I’m starting to wonder if that is Bo Pelini’s problem. He can recruit. He has the backing of Bob Stoops. It seems he has the backing of another big college coach.

The rumor mill worked overtime around USC’s hotel Wednesday. The subject: that offensive coordinator Norm Chow would become Syracuse’s next head coach. But a far more likely choice is Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Bo Pelini, according to sources.

Pelini is a close friend and protege of USC coach Pete Carroll, who in the past year has pushed Pelini for several jobs, including Nebraska and Pittsburgh. Carroll also has recommended Pelini for the Syracuse job, sources said.

Everyone thinks he will make a great head coach. Yet, he apparently tanked his Pitt interview so that he wasn’t a finalist even though the AD had him tabbed early in the season. Maybe a similar thing at Nebraska last year.

Won’t that be something if he gets the Syracuse job?

As I write this, I’m psyching myself up for the trip to the Fiesta Bowl by listening to some classic Public Enemy.

[It reminds me of the late ’80’s in the towers, when the guy in the pie-shaped room next door to me was a devotee of all things anti-whitey, includinig my favorite rap group, PE. He used to play recordings of Farakhan’s speeches, and almost never spoke to anyone on the floor – including the black guys. I suspect he was too black, AND too strong.]

I fly out to Phoenix (via Detroit and Milwaukee) on New Year’s Eve.

To prepare myself for next couple of nights in Tempe–Scottsdale–Phoenix, I’ve done some internet research about the area. I’m meeting up with an assistantMaricopa County Attorney (prosecutor – like the District Attorney in PA), which is good since I don’t want to end up in the tent-city jail system imposed by America’s toughest Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, if things get out of hand. It’s always good to party with law enforcement in a strange city. 911? A joke?

As an aside, I’m pleased to see such a growing county has several county-wide elected officials, or “row officers” as we call them in PA. In Maricopa, they elect the County Attorney, Sheriff, Assessor, Clerk of Courts, Recorder, Treasurer, as well as a county Superintendent of Schools, 23 Constables, and 5 members of the Board of Supervisors (elected by-district). And yet, with all these elected officials, their population grew by 50% between 1990 and 200. Mabye those who advocated row-office consolidation in Allegheny County should check that out!

It seems there is an active night-life in the area, as well as activities associated with the game itself. I will do my best to document our activites and report back, and I will Bring the Noise in Sun Devil Stadium. For those who will watch on TV, remember to Give It Up for the Panthers.

No, I Don’t Believe the Hype about Utah; I believe Pitt will Fight the Power, Shut Em Down; and refuse to lose!

Yes, I am BOLDLY predicting a Pitt victory on Saturday.

Signing off now. Going, going, GONE…

A few articles I found late or forgot to include where appropriate.

First person with H.B. Blades talking about being in Tempe. Click the article just for the photo. The cheap, and possibly crude comments that come to mind…

A bit more on Utah QB Alex Smith on his development and what how his departing coach is starting to hint that Smith shouldn’t go pro.

A piece from the Arizona Republic questioning the Big East in the BCS.

Both teams are expected to be rusty, but Utah has to be especially concerned. They haven’t played since November 20. That’s a 6 week layoff. Pitt had a month, break since walloping USF — yet another break from the postponement of the season opener. The players say they aren’t worried, but considering the precision with which their offense operates, it is hard to believe the coaches aren’t concerned. The players at least admit that they are tired of just practicing. They want to play.

Brent Musberger thinks Pitt will be tough, of course he is also trying to help get interest/ratings for ABC, so take that for what it is worth. Should be a lot of fun to watch the game with Lee with his favorite announcer calling the game.

After all the exuberance and borderline overconfidence from the paper, you are seeing the Salt Lake Tribune writers starting to hedge a bit on how the game will go. Some other writers are still a bit cocky about what they expect.

A “5 Keys to Victory” pair for Pitt and Utah. The first and last on the list for Pitt shows how little each side’s writers know about the other. Point 1, ignores the reality that Pitt will give up a ton of yards no matter what. It is just a given. The final point regarding turnovers seems clueless that outside of the early games, Pitt just doesn’t turn the ball over too much.

That huge turnout from Utah fans may not be as big as expected.

Though tickets to the New Year’s Day event are hot items, three days before kickoff they’re easier to obtain than get rid of in some cases — despite University of Utah faithful coming out in full force, gobbling up 27,000 of the 73,000 Sun Devil Stadium seats and making some ticket sales staff put in 142 hours in eight days to keep up.

Factors that caused the rush to return: Some fans simply got too many — or “freaked out” and bought a bundle without thinking who’d actually go, said Erica Monson of the U. of U. ticket office. A few hoped to cash in, then realized that idea was a “fantasy” because supply exceeded demand, admitted one fan who did that.

Others didn’t arrange their travel plans very wisely. Some realized the whole ordeal was out of their budget. And several have resorted to saying they have a note from their doctor in an effort to ditch their ducats, including a man who claimed he couldn’t go because his wife was suffering pregnancy complications.

“We’ve gotten a lot of medical excuses,” Monson said.

The most unfortunate one?

“A brain tumor,” she said. “I got that (excuse) yesterday.”

The woman, for the record, did receive a refund — “I wasn’t going to call them on that (and say), ‘You’re lying,’ ” Monson said — but that was the rare exception. The U. stopped doing returns/exchanges last week. It’ll stop selling today at noon.
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Ticket brokers from Macon, Ga., to North Chelmsford, Mass., might end up with the same memento (minus the trip memories). A Google search for Utah Fiesta Bowl tickets revealed 175,000 online sites and as of Wednesday, 37 sets of tickets were up for grabs on eBay but only three had actually received bids. The cheapest was one buck (the catch: $20 shipping and handling) — a steal compared to the $2,000 asking price in one newspaper ad. Prospective buyers needn’t hurry for another auction, which doesn’t end until 5:18 p.m. Wednesday — four days after kickoff.

Hey, you can always bid afterwards for the souvenir aspect.

Then there is the fact that road conditions might be a problem for a lot of fans heading to Arizona.

Storms in southern Utah and northern Arizona are expected to subside a bit Thursday before picking up again Friday when there is a 60 percent chance of rain and snow on southbound travel routes. Today would be the best day to travel, said Gene Vancor of the National Weather Service office in Salt Lake City.

Have fun in Tempe, Pat.

Utah is definitely making money from the Fiesta Bowl.

One of the media’s major storylines for this game, is definitely on the coaches, no matter how they try to say it’s about the players. They knew of each other before, but wouldn’t talk about offense until this game:

Meyer and Harris clearly agree on that point, but the two haven’t always worked in harmony. It was only a few years ago that Harris refused to assist Meyer after the latter was named quarterbacks coach at Notre Dame.
…
“I had great respect for Walt, and I had heard him speak at a couple of clinics over the years,” Meyer said. “His reputation around the coaching fraternity is that he’s the guy as far as technically coaching quarterbacks. I did what people typically do, and I went to the best. I called him and I said, ‘Do you mind if I spend a couple days with you.’ ”

Meyer didn’t get the answer he’d wanted.

“He said we play each other, so it’s probably in my best interests if we don’t do that,” Meyer said of Harris, who’s been instrumental in developing quarterbacks such as Tony Eason, Bobby Hoying, Rod Rutherford, Joe Germaine, Boomer Esiason and current Panthers starter Tyler Palko. “So, he declined it.”

Harris was asked to explain himself yesterday.

“It wasn’t quite like I said, ‘Go get lost,’ ” Harris said. “I just said that it would be very hard when we’re playing you — and he had better players than we did. I felt that was enough of an advantage for him. But I respect what he’s accomplished and he’s done it a lot faster than me as a head coach.”

Although Meyer has yet to pick Harris’ brain — five years after the fact — he still hopes to get a 10-minute sit down with the Stanford-bound coach to learn more about grooming quarterbacks. This time, Harris will oblige.

“I’ll give him 10,” Harris said. “I’ve always learned to give 10 and get 90. That’s the old Coach (Johnny) Majors-ism. When you talk to other coaches, give 10 percent and get 90 percent. I’d love to talk to him about what they’re doing.”

There are some really tasteless comments I could make here regarding Major-isms that I’m going to skip. A pretty good piece on Harris developing QBs. It practically came out of nowhere since he was a coach for defenses until hired to the Illinois staff in 1980 as the QB coach.

Then there is the fact that Utah’s Defensive Coordinator, Kyle Whittingham, is taking over the program from Meyer after he leaves for Florida. He turned down the job at his alma mater (BYU) to stay. Interesting to learn that he was actually the only holdover from the previous coaching regime, and was up for the head job before Meyer was hired (is Paul Rhoads paying attention?).

A surprisingly preachy column from Joe Starkey about student athletes and education. Part defending both programs which have been attacked for being deficient in graduating football players according the latest NCAA figures from 97-98. The problems with those numbers are well documented, so look at some more recent unofficial numbers

Under departing coach Urban Meyer, the Utes said they graduated 11 of 18 seniors last season (though their media guide says 14 of 15), and have 14 of their 18 seniors this season on track to graduate by the spring.

Pittsburgh? Same thing. Eighteen of 19 seniors graduated last season under coach Walt Harris – the lone holdout is playing in the NFL – and each of the current crop is on pace to earn a degree.

“I value our education so much, and graduating our football players,” Harris said. “I don’t think you have a football program if you’re not graduating players.”

Today’s repeated profile story focuses on Senior Utah guard Chris Kemoeatu, who has some anger issues.

With one swift and vicious kick, Utah guard Chris Kemoeatu damaged his college football career and nearly ruined someone else’s.

The incident occurred Oct. 18, 2003, at UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium, after UNLV nose guard Howie Fuimaono lost his helmet at the end of a play.

Before Fuimaono could get up, Kemoeatu kicked him flush in the face.

Fuimaono escaped with blurred vision and a brief visit to the hospital, only because Kemoeatu’s cleats landed just inside his left eye socket instead of on the eye itself or the bones surrounding it.

Kemoeatu was suspended for all of one game for that. He was also ordered to attend anger management classes that he said did nothing for him. To be fair, he hasn’t had an incident since. And lets face it, Kemoeatu is an All-American player and potential first round pick in the NFL draft. You hate to have him not playing for your team. Of course this comment in response to going to the NFL just has to make the Andy Katzenmoyer Academic Achievement list:

“I hope so,” Kemoeatu said. “Football is all I know.”

So much for progress in the academics at Utah.

Tons of stories today. Kind of expected as yesterday was media day. That allowed the sportswriters to collect quotes to sprinkle into articles they had been writing or already written. The result is that I’ll have to do about 3 posts to cover everything.

Let’s start with a Smizik column declaring when the turning point for the Pitt season came:

Many people, including some of the Pitt players, will tell you it was the Temple comeback, after which the Panthers won five of their final six. Other players say it was no one thing but rather the maturation of an inexperienced team.

Here’s my vote:

The Hit!

There have been more ferocious hits during Pitt’s season but few with the implications of this one.

The Hit took place a week after the win against Temple. It came when the Panthers were in the midst of a lethargic performance against Boston College, a game in which there was scant indication the team, particularly its offense, had turned anything around.

On a first-and-10, late in the third quarter with Pitt ahead by four, quarterback Tyler Palko — who threw for 16 yards in the first half — scrambled out of the pocket and down the sideline. He was in the sights of Boston College cornerback Pete Shean. Most quarterbacks would have stepped out of bounds. Not Palko. He steamrollered Shean, who ended up on his back minus his helmet.

And so a season was made. And so a quarterback was made. Neither Pitt nor Palko were the same again.

Well, this was a big play. No doubt. All the fans and I’m sure the players loved it. It will be on his Pitt highlight reel, forever. It’s part of why Palko is a team leader. By example. It did not change the season, though. Or even the game. In fact, though, that drive resulted in 1st and goal, Pitt had to settle for a fieldgoal. Reveiw what happened: Pitt’s defense then gave up a long drive that led to a goalline stand for nothing, but Pitt then went 3 and out. Despite a massive punt (79 yards), BC then marched right down the field to tie the game and send it to OT. Pitt won, but it was not a game or season changing moment.

The players were right, this was a team that slowly improved all season. There were missteps and setbacks, but it was a progression. There was no “leap” or point where things really changed.

The smarter view actually came from a Utah columnist in his puff piece on Palko:

His Pittsburgh teammates love to talk about the play when he ran over a Boston College defensive back, knocking off the opponent’s helmet. And even Palko’s use of a particularly bad word in a live television interview after the Panthers’ victory at Notre Dame – for which Palko quickly apologized – impressed Utah quarterback Alex Smith.
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Scrambling along the sideline during the third quarter of an eventual overtime victory, Palko plowed into cornerback Pete Shean.

“He just crushed him,” Pittsburgh offensive tackle Rob Petitti said this week. “The best thing was it was right on our sideline, so there were about 30 players surrounding this one kid. . . . [Palko] got everybody going. It was unbelievable.”

Tom Freeman, the Panthers’ offensive line coach, knows his players love blocking for Palko, because his passion for football makes him like a smaller version of a lineman at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds.

The collision with Shean “may live to be a signature play,” Freeman said. “That pretty well summarizes what Tyler means to the offense. He’s driving the bus, make no mistake about that. He’s an emotional kind of guy, and that’s the way he plays the game.”

It may have symbolized Palko and his drive, and maybe even something about this team. It was not about the entire Pitt season. It demeans the improvements and efforts of the entire team.

Coach Walt Harris actually put the turning point to the season at a week earlier. Their comeback against Temple in the 4th quarter.

“Despite all the adversity, we were able to concentrate and get better. Our kids were able to pull us through. We were 2-2 going into Temple. A lot of people might not respect Temple, but that’s our sister school. Winning that game in the fourth quarter gave our kids the confidence to start climbing the mountain.”

Check out the press release for other player quotes. Vince Crochunis seems to be having fun:

On preparing against Utah:

“There are so many responsibilities with this team. You can’t blitz and attack with a spread offense. If you miss, they gain 5 or 6 yards. You canÂ’t miss.”

On the bowl experience:

“It’s pretty amazing. I never thought I’d be in a national spotlight. I like being a media darling.”

Joe DelSardo got some love from some of the other papers.

Coach Harris talks about Greg Lee, and raves about how well he developed this year. Greg Lee thinks he is going to have a big game. Utah CB Ryan Smith, disagrees.

That’s what the second half came down to. Pitt getting the ball inside and low to Troutman and Taft. The first half, part of the reason for the turnovers was that Pitt had trouble with South Carolina’s zone defense, and could not pass the ball inside.

In the second half, Pitt scored 28 of its 47 points from inside and held South Carolina to 14 from the paint.

“All this other stuff is window dressing,” South Carolina coach Dave Odom said, holding up a stat sheet. “That’s the game.”

And when a team is effective at denying Pitt the ball inside, then they can win. USC was only able to do that for one half.

Chevon Troutman and Pitt’s inside game was the theme for all stories. It wasn’t just the points. USC was not able to get rebounds against Troutman and Taft. South Carolina’s frontcourt duo of Powell and Wallace combined for only 8 rebounds. Troutman had 12 on his own.

It was a frustrating outcome for USC who had lost on the road to Kansas by 4 a couple weeks ago.

“They are the No. 10 team in the nation,” Gonner said. “They are going to find a way to win. We’ve got to find a way to win at some point.”

USC did plenty of things to keep the game close. The Gamecocks shot 50 percent despite making just 2 of 11 3-pointers, and they used their trapping, full-court defense to force the Panthers into 17 turnovers.

Pittsburgh point guard Carl Krauser, after scoring 31 points in a 69-60 win over Richmond last week, made just 2 of 11 field goals to score 14 points.

Still, USC heads into Friday’s game with Wofford, its final nonconference game of the season, lacking a killer instinct against top competition.

“As a coach, the thing I’ve got to be very, very careful about is not allowing them to stick their chests out and say we came close again,” Odom said. “What we’ve got to do is push them where they are not quite ready to go themselves. We’ve got to push them to win on the court of a top-ranked program like Pitt. We’ve got to push them to that. They don’t understand that they are capable of that.”

Pitt made adjustments to what they were facing from the first half. There was not stubbornness of just trying to do things their way. Pitt always wants to get the ball inside — whether for the shot in the paint or just to kick it out. Passing along the perimeter is not what Pitt wants to do. Pitt did that by adjusting to the defense and finding the weak spots.

Ramon and Demetrius hitting open 3s was huge in creating the openings. As long as Pitt can make 35-40% of its 3 point shots, the inside game will be available. This doesn’t mean taking 20 3s in a game. It means taking the clean shot when given. Teams are going to sag inside on Pitt a lot this year. It is still the most effective defense against Pitt, until the team shows real consistency on the outside and mid-range shots.