The Big East this season, appears to be as tough as expected, with WVU being the early surprise. A bit of a round-up piece, including how the Big East has fared against other conferences and what might of been with Alex Galindo.

A column from Bob Smizik on breaking apart the Big East. Now, I agree with his basic point of splitting, and he is actually being consistent from the past. He is, however, completely insane as to the approach and understanding why things are the way they are for now.

No one has been a bigger proponent of splitting the BE up than me. Every delay upset me. When they decided to remain together I was pissed. The problems were obvious. So why? Why did they remain together?

The answer is the BE Commissioner, Mike Tranghese. In the post-ACC raid days, there was a lot of talk about splitting the BE. Tranghese came out and said that he would not be commissioner of either conference if there was a split. Tranghese was a b-ball college only guy (Providence). His core loyalties are there. Actually understandable, if frustrating, for those of us on the football side. The BE football schools needed Tranghese. They needed his personal connections to the rest of the BCS commissioners. Tranghese knew the other commissioners well and could lobby them easier and make it more difficult for them to rip away the BE’s automatic BCS bid.

Tranghese finishing up his 2-year term as the main flak of the BCS conference. In other words, he was the guy who had to go out in front of the cameras and defend the BCS when #3 Oklahoma played #2 LSU for the BCS championship while #1 USC was in the Rose Bowl, because the BCS rankings didn’t drop OK out of contention even though they lost their Big XII championship.

And it worked. The BE is still a BCS conference with an automatic bid. Yes, there is the probation period. But Tranghese even kept that from fully kicking in this year.

That’s why the BE is going to its behemoth format for the short term (about 5 years max, would be my guess). Give the both sides time to stabilize and then split and expand.

Of both the regular season Big East title and Pitt playing some much tougher defense. Whether it is man-to-man or even some zone.

Georgetown comes calling, running its own version of the “Princeton Offense.” It’s a slow methodical half-court game that depends on crisp passing, picks, screens and back-door lay-ups. While Pitt doesn’t run the same offense, it shouldn’t look too unfamiliar either. It appears the players are saying all the right things about playing better defense. They just have to back it up.

[The Big East basketball season is about to begin, and so I finally reprint my brief history of the Big East. This was originally posted on College Basketball Blog back in mid-December. I’ll post Part 2 later in the day.]

How did it come to this? The Big East will become a 16 team lumbering behemoth in basketball next year, and a 8 team weakling in football. Both seem ill-fitting. How did it get here? Where is it going? Arguably, the seeds for the present situation were sewn in the first 5 years of the Big East’s existence. This is, disturbingly enough, Part 1 of something I’ve been thinking about for a while. It covers the time period of 1979 to 1991.

The Big East was founded on 3 basic principles: self-preservation, money and basketball. Today you can still argue that the BE is maintaining the principles of self-preservation and money. Basketball is just along for the ride.

Dave Gavitt was the main force to founding the BE. He was Providence College’s head basketball coach and athletic director. Gavitt deserves credit for forward thinking. He recognized several items: the money to be made in a new basketball conference, not to mention keeping Providence College relevant in college basketball, and the growing dominance of football conferences and the money involved. With assistance from Boston College and Syracuse, an East Coast basketball league was formed along with Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall and UConn. Villanova was invited to join the following year to make it an 8 team league. With the exception of BC and Syracuse, these were all schools that did not play Division 1-A football. BC and Syracuse were football “independents” along with the majority of schools in the Northeast.

Shortly after the Big East was launched the landscape of college football changed with the lawsuit filed by the Universities of Oklahoma and Georgia against the NCAA in 1981. The NCAA had controlled all college football on TV for decades. The last attempt to avoid the control of the NCAA for airing games on TV by a school was Penn, yes the University of Pennsylvania, in the early ’50s. They were quickly put down for such rebelliousness. The NCAA rules limited teams to TV appearances (regional or national) to no more than 6 times in a 2 year period, and everyone received the same money. No matter whether it was Temple or Notre Dame being aired on TV.

In 1977, 62 college football programs formed the College Football Association (PDF).

The CFA included the universities who were members of the Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Western Athletic Conference, Big Eight Conference, and the Southwest Athletic Conference, as well as many independents. The group thus included Penn State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Miami, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A & M, Arkansas, Louisiana State, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State and Clemson. Because Big Ten and Pac Ten Conferences did not join, Ohio State, Michigan, Southern California, and UCLA were not in the CFA.

The CFA hoped to increase the demand for college football and to insure that the most popular programs received a larger share of the revenues. It developed an academic eligibility standard that was later adopted as the NCAA’s Proposition 48 concerning playing eligibility of freshmen athletes and it produced annual graduation rate surveys. Although the CFA enjoyed some small victories in terms of a modest relaxation in appearance limitations, the NCAA’s democratic voting rules frustrated the group’s efforts to divert more of the exploding football broadcast revenues to the major programs.

In 1979, the CFA had begun exploring its own TV package deals, but the NCAA maintained its control by threatening CFA members with sanctions — not just in football, but in all sports programs. This kept the CFA in line, until 1981.

By 1981, the CFA reached its own deal with NBC for a TV contract while the NCAA had a deal signed with ABC and CBS. The NBC deal did not have the same limitations and a different fee sharing schedule. The NCAA once again threatened the CFA teams with sanctions. This time a couple of the CFA schools (Oklahoma and Georgia) filed a lawsuit against the NCAA for antitrust violations.

The case made it to the Supreme Court and in a 7-2 verdict in 1984 found for the CFA schools. What this did was allow the conferences to cut their own deals with networks and, of course, cable stations — ESPN and what at the time were the various local sports channels that would later become Fox Sports Net. This drove prices down at first, so a contract negotiated by the CFA for all members was negotiated. The Big 10 and PAC 10, not members of the CFA, negotiated their own deals.

That’s getting ahead of things a few years. The Big East was at 8 teams and decided it needed a 9th member. After the case was brought, the CFA member schools in the Big East (Syracuse and BC) began to realize they would need ties to other CFA programs in the Big East. Joe Paterno at Penn State was starting to make noise once more about a football-centric Eastern Conference. A definite threat to the Big East which did not want to lose Syracuse and BC. So Pitt was invited to join, and accepted. Pitt left the Atlantic 8 and became a member in 1982, and suddenly had money coming from the basketball program. Something they never had before.

The Big East had taken off because Gavitt was one of the first Conference commissioners to recognize the money to be made from a Conference Tournament — both in terms of tickets and TV rights. It also allowed the league to showcase itself across the East and garner more attention and help its member institutions increase their profile and recruiting. Gavitt also recognized the potential of ESPN and made deals to get BE games on the new cable network early in its existence. The Big East quickly battled the ACC for b-ball supremacy on the East Coast.

After the Supreme Court decision, Joe Paterno really began pushing his idea for an Eastern conference where football was the focus. He wanted Pitt, Syracuse, BC, Rutgers, Temple Virginia Tech and WVU and I think Maryland and Miami in the conference. Maryland was in the ACC, of course, and really didn’t have any interest in leaving. Syracuse was a power in the Big East and was doing fine as a football independent. BC was doing well in the BE (though not a power) and also fine as a football independent. Neither saw a reason to join a conference that would clearly lower the profile of the basketball programs while merely formalizing the football relationships already in place. Especially when the Big East was proving to be a financial bonanza.

Even a Pitt fan must give appropriate credit. Joe Paterno clearly saw where things were heading with regards to football and conferences, in light of the lawsuit filed against the NCAA. He recognized that without the NCAA controlling the TV access, that conferences would fill the void as a negotiating partner. With multiple schools, they could offer a better product line than individual schools. Independent programs would either suffer or join a conference. His timing for pushing the plan, though, could not have been worse.

The year the Supreme Court decided in favor of the CFA schools, 1984, was the same year that Paterno formally tried to create an Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for him, the 1984-85 season was the most successful season for the Big East. You had Villanova, Georgetown and St. John’s in the Final Four. Boston College made the Sweet 16. Syracuse and Pitt both made the NCAA Tournament. For Pitt, it was their first trip in almost 20 years. Paterno and Penn State wanted Pitt, Syracuse and BC to leave the Big East? The timing could not have been worse.

That plan defeated, Paterno went to Plan B and began inquiring about joining the Big East. That plan met with defeat, as Syracuse actively campaigned against it. The Basketball schools weren’t that interested in bringing Penn St. into the fold since PSU didn’t bring anything to the sport they played. Pitt did nothing one way or another. Plan C, of course was finding another conference to join, which PSU did officially in 1991 by going into the Big 11.

By the time PSU announced its plans to join the Big 10 in 1990, independent football programs were sucking wind. All the money and interest was going to the conferences. At the same time, Florida State surprised people by announcing plans to join the ACC rather than the SEC. Clearly, the money from football was too great to ignore, even for the basketball-centric ACC.

This was Mike Tranghese’s baptism by fire. Tranghese was Gavitt’s right-hand man, and his chosen successor as Big East Commissioner when Gavitt stepped down in 1990. Hastily the Big East created their own football conference where Miami, Temple, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and WVU teamed with Pitt, Syracuse and BC. Temple chose to remain in what is now the Atlantic 10 for basketball. Miami became a full member right away. WVU and Rutgers came into the basketball portion in 1995. Virginia Tech, not until 2000. Notre Dame also joined the BE in 1995 in everything but football.

It was not a perfect solution, but it seemed to work and kept the Big East intact.

Both sides have their game notes available (in PDF). Here’s Pitt. This is Georgetown. In case anyone cares:

What is a Hoya? … Many years ago, when all Georgetown students were required to study Greek and Latin, the University’s teams were nicknamed “The Stonewalls.” It is suggested that a student, using Greek and Latin terms, started the cheer “Hoya Saxa!”, which translates into “What Rocks!” The name proved popular and the term “Hoyas” was eventually adopted for all Georgetown teams.

Pitt has won the last 5 meetings, the longest streak for either team. Georgetown hasn’t been in the top-25 rankings in over 3 years.

The game will be televised on Fox Sports Pittsburgh or via ESPN Full Court. There doesn’t appear to be a Georgetown internet broadcast.

A end of season/looking ahead piece from the Pittsburgh, AP Sportswriter, Alan Robinson. Fairly upbeat. Matt Hayes at the Sporting News gives quick grades on various coaching hires. He wasn’t impressed with Pitt’s hire giving it a “C”

Pittsburgh, Dave Wannstedt. Is the college game the salvation for an average NFL coach?

Well, the NFL is the destination for above average college coaches. I hope he gets into his reasons a bit more at some point.

Bo Pelini is considered the favorite to get the Syracuse job. Some rumors have him already with an offer and putting together a staff (which may help explain the Sooners’ performance this evening). Pitt of course interviewed Pelini but he didn’t even make the first cut. Well, Syracuse is also considering several NFL coordinators, including Tim Lewis. Lewis, of course, was a former Pitt star and was also interviewed (sort of) for the Pitt job.

Another former Pitt great, Russ Grimm looks to be interviewing for the Cleveland Browns Head Coaching job — before they actually hire a GM? That’s why they are the Browns.

One Pitt commit who changed his mind and instead committed to Minnesota after the coaching changes, might still be considering Pitt.

For a while, Bryan Williams’ mind was set. The Buchtel first-team Division III All-Ohio football player had orally committed to play next season at the University of Pittsburgh.
…
“It wasn’t that Bryan wanted to commit somewhere else because Walt Harris left,” Buchtel coach Claude Brown said. “Bryan originally committed to Pitt because he liked coach (Bob) Junko, the defensive line coach who recruits in this area, and coach (Paul) Rhodes, the defensive coordinator.”

Once Harris left, Williams decided to commit to Minnesota thinking that Junko and Rhodes would not return. It is believed that Wannstedt will retain both coaches. Brown said Pitt still will actively recruit Williams hoping he might change his mind and stick to his original commitment.

“It’s a confusing thing for a young man to go through, but it’s also a good thing,” Brown said. “It’s a lesson on how a young man has to make an adult decision. But the good things is that he’ll get a free education one way or another.”
…
Meanwhile, another Buchtel player who orally committed to Pitt, fullback/linebacker Marlon Terry, hasn’t changed his mind. Terry will play for the Panthers next season.

It would be nice to get the kid back in the fold, but this recruiting class is something of a lost year given everything. It’s looking like mid-40s. If Pitt can finish in the top-40 classes it should be considered a good thing. Top-30 and you toast a remarkable surge.

Our comments are getting some discussions (look under this post) regarding potential members of the Pitt coaching staff. I haven’t heard anything, and I don’t know whether they are legit candidates but some former Pitt players, now coaches are being mentioned.

Here’s what my gut says:

Matt Cavanaugh, OC — Just don’t see it. I can see him getting another OC job in the NFL given the turnover. It might be a bit awkward anyways, since he nearly had the HC job before Wannstedt basically snatched it away at the last minute. Additional negative, Wannstedt needs coordinators who are good, experienced recruiters. Cavanaugh has been an NFL coach the last 10+ years.
Alex Van Pelt, QB Coach(?) — Van Pelt threw his own name out there. If he’s serious about being a coach, he needs to start lower, almost like a graduate assistant. He was a career NFL back-up and then doing color for the Bills. Can he coach? Can he recruit? Too unknown, unless he is willing to start lower on the rungs, I don’t see it. Again, it comes down to experience and recruiting.
Sal Sunseri, DC — I suppose it’s possible. Unlike Cavanaugh, though, he isn’t looking for work. Another issue of how awkward it would be. How much of a move up would this really be? He had the job before (under Hackett), and would it really pay more than his present job as the D-Line coach with Carolina? He has had success as a recruiter so that wouldn’t be an issue. I’m just not sure.

Seth Davis at SI.com, a regular basher of Pitt’s non-con, has his annual “stock report” on some teams. Last year, he had Pitt as a “sell” but surprisingly, not this year.

Pittsburgh (BUY) The loss to Bucknell only made this a better Buy. That analysis might surprise the Pitt fans out there who have read my criticisms of the Panthers’ schedule, but I still say Pitt is the best team in the Big East. We all know this program emphasizes defense, but this is also Pitt’s best offensive team in years (Sunday’s loss notwithstanding). The Panthers are second in their conference in scoring (77.7 ppg) and first in three-point shooting (42.1 percent). And with all the love heaped deservedly on Carl Krauser and Chris Taft, let’s dump a big ladel full on Chevon Troutman, whose averages of 14.4 points (on 61.8 percent shooting) and 8.3 rebounds per game are both higher than Taft’s.

Meanwhile, Mike DeCourcy at the Sporting News (and a former reporter for the Pittsburgh Press in the 80s) is a bit down on Pitt.

1. When will Pittsburgh get really serious? Playing most of their nonleague schedule at home appears to have bored the Panthers. They lacked intensity and precision in two recent challenges, against Richmond and South Carolina. Star players Carl Krauser and Chevon Troutman carried their teammates in those games, but the other players can’t keep letting themselves be carried and expect a third straight Big East title.

And we know what happened on Sunday.

And a little shameless ego-boost for my comments regarding the Big East bubble teams (like I need it?). I said there were 3 teams on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Today, Greg Doyel at Sportsline checks off 10 NCAA bubble teams and lists 3 BE teams. The same 3 I noted: ND, Providence and ‘Nova.

That is the big question. Turnovers can be explained and rationalized by adjusting to zones and bad entry passes. The defense, though, that can’t be explained so easily. It especially can’t simply be explained by the fact that Page and Brown are no longer there.

It’s a bit harder to figure out why Pitt is having trouble defending its interior. Dixon returned two experienced players in Chevon Troutman and Chris Taft. Troutman has a reputation as one of the better post defenders in the country. Taft is big, athletic and strong. But each has had problems early against quality opponents.

Bucknell sophomore center Chris McNaughton took advantage of one-on-one coverage against Taft, was 8 for 12 from the field and scored 17 points.

South Carolina forward Carlos Powell scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, mostly against Troutman.

Coach Jamie Dixon, appears to have been aware of the problem for a while. You don’t go to a zone out of nowhere, and without having a lot of practices.

Still, things happen when you play smaller less talented teams. You get lazy or just not as sharp. You can get away with fundamental mistakes because sheer athletic ability allows you to overcome it. It’s a risk.

Pitt’s loss also illustrated the occasional dangers of playing a relatively soft schedule before conference play begins, as many Big East teams do. Sometimes, players get complacent and fall into bad habits because their competition usually isn’t good enough to take advantage of the breakdowns.

“We just had to get refocused. Even though we’ve played a lot of these non-conference games, I think we lost the sense of how to come out and take care of the game early,” Troutman said.

One of the issues on defense has been a lack of communication between the players. Not letting the other know when someone is moving, passing or if help is just plain needed. According to the players, they are now working more on that.

I’m not sure any fans are really panicking yet. Concerned, pissed and a bit frustrated. But not panicking. Of course, I’m not in Pittsburgh, so maybe they are. Ron Cook thinks so, and busts out with a rather standard “remain calm” type column.

Pitt Head Coach Dave Wannstedt (still not used to typing that phrase) has made his first official coaching hire.

Paul Dunn resigned Monday as offensive line coach/run-game coordinator at the University of Kentucky and will be named to Pitt’s staff sometime this week.
…
Dunn was a roommate of Dan Marino while playing at Pitt from 1980-82. Dunn has coached at Kentucky, Kansas State, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, Maine and Edinboro and was a graduate assistant at Penn State (1984-85) and Pitt (’83).

Under Dunn, Kansas State’s offenses were among the most productive in the nation. At Kentucky, he coached a first-team All-Southeastern Conference pick in Antonio Hall in 2003 and SEC All-freshman tackle Aaron Miller last fall.

Shocking for all, I’m sure to find out that Tom Freeman will not be returning as the offensive lines coach. Dunn also filled in as offensive coordinator in Kentucky’s final game, following the resignation of the OC. It turned out to be one of Kentucky’s best offensive days nearly upsetting Tennessee.

I’m guessing the money was probably better, though Dunn did go with the “going home” approach in his comment:

“It’s a chance for me to go back to my roots and go back to a place that’s very special to me,” Dunn said.

He said he has known Wannstedt since both were at Pitt, Dunn as a freshman offensive lineman and Wannstedt as a graduate-assistant coach. Wannstedt went to Oklahoma State with Jimmy Johnson, but he and Dunn never lost contact.

It will be interesting to see just how many former Pitt players turned coaches end up on staff.

According to the Trib. article, D-line coach Bob Junko and linebacker coach Curtis Bray are expected to be retained. Noticeably not included is the defensive coordinator.

Wednesday, the BE conference play begins. The conference propaganda show begins airing this morning on CSTV. It has already aired on some local sports networks, but this is its national airing, for what it is worth.

Pitt, of course, will be facing Georgetown. There are 4 other BE match-ups including BC-UConn (in Hartford) and WVU-Villanova (showing on ESPN Classic). The Pitt game is on ESPN’s Full Court or FoxSports Pittsburgh.

Hoyas in Pittsburgh are gathering at a bar in Station Square.

As the non-con play is about done, time to take a glance at my preseason BE predictions appear to look now.

I was off on WVU. I thought they’d be good (hence the slight hedge), but not as good as they’ve shown so far. Right about BC and Providence it appears. ND may be even lower, but is still up in the air because they haven’t beaten anyone worth a damn, and lost their only 2 reasonably difficult games. My bottom 4 look about right still (St. John’s, Georgetown, Rutgers and Seton Hall). UConn like Pitt has been a bit disappointing, though both still look to be among the top 5 in the conference. Syracuse is up where expected. Villanova is still a big question mark. Their game with WVU will be interesting. So far, then, I’d say it looks pretty good.

The BE, at this point looks to have 5 teams heading to the NCAA — WVU, BC, Syracuse, UConn and Pitt. Providence, ND and ‘Nova are on or near the bubble.

Pitt dropped 5 spots in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll to #12 and 6 spots to #16 in the AP Writers Poll. I’m amazed Pitt stayed as high as it did in the Coaches Poll.

Bucknell also beat St. Joe’s during the same week. Of course, think about this:

We’re not sure which is more astounding — that Saint Joseph’s latest home loss dropped the Hawks to 3-5, less than a year after they threatened to go undefeated … or that No. 10 Pittsburgh’s first non-conference home loss in 49 games came against a team from the Patriot League.

How about this: Both losses came to Bucknell.

How good is Bucknell? Forget that. How good is St. Francis (Pa.)? The Red Flash beat Bucknell in November.

[Emphasis added.]

Pitt also played and destroyed St. Francis. Just a reminder of how inexcusable this loss was. Even Dick Vitale was noticed.

Very late. Sorry, but the kid was up, active and demanding today. Try and get somewhat up to speed. You’ve probably read all the Sunday stories about the game from the Pittsburgh papers. If you haven’t you can find the recaps and notes here, here, here and here. Sunday columns from Smizik and Starkey.

The relevant stories out of Utah. One columnist just puts it down to Utah doing exactly what they were supposed to. In every sense. As they have done all season. They have won as expected all year. A piece with quotes from Pitt players and Walt Harris praising the Utes. Pitt did win won award at the Fiesta Bowl. Defensive Lineman Dan Stephens won the Sportsmanship award.

Most of the national media relied on wire stories. The notable exception was from CollegeFootballNews.com/Fox Sports (I have to give major props to Fox for being smart enough to hook up with these guys. They do a great job of covering college football.). A fantastic set of game notes/running commentary on the game (in my defense, I wasn’t alone and sober). Highly recommended to be read in full. From his 5 Thoughts on the game.

3. Palko to Lee
The Pittsburgh pitch-and-catch combination of Tyler Palko to Greg Lee missed a few times highlighted by a deep pass early that would’ve gone for a touchdown if it Lee hadn’t missed it, but the two also hooked up for one of the best pass plays of the bowl season on a brilliant 31-yard touchdown. Joe DelSardo led the Panthers with nine catches for 109 yards, but Lee once again proved to be the team’s most dangerous threat with seven grabs for 93 yards and a touchdown. This should be one of 2005’s most exciting combinations, even if they took a backseat to everything Utah did in the Fiesta Bowl.

4. So what’s next for Pittsburgh?
The Dave Wannstedt era should be interesting as many of his vices as a pro coach should become virtues as a college leader. He’s a fiery coach and a strong defensive mind who should do a great job with a decent returning defense. The top three tacklers, LB H.B. Blades, LB Clint Session and FS Tez Morris, are all back to form the nucleus, while LB Brian Bennett and ends Thomas Smith and Charles Sallet are good young playmakers. The offense will be all about the continuing emergence of QB Tyler Palko. The junior-to-be will be the team’s signature star and should be in for a big year with the return of top receiver Greg Lee, number two pass catcher Joe DelSardo, and huge TE Erik Gill. The top three running backs return to run behind a good line that has to overcome the loss of All-America tackle Rob Petitti.

Not so sure about the good O-line part. Amazing in a way how we (or at least I) managed to kid ourselves (myself) that the O-line had improved enough during the season. That somehow, despite no running game, perhaps the O-line was more like the Dolphins in the ’90s — built to protect the QB but not a running game. Reality was that the opponents Pitt faced were so average that the O-line could at least look better. Once they faced even a slightly above average D-line, though…

There was a lot of love for Palko. From another CFN writer, who analyzed the game:

Tyler Palko, quite frankly, played a brilliant game for Pitt. Considering that the plucky, gritty quarterback got absolutely no help (save for one Larry Fitzgerald-like touchdown catch by Greg Lee), he made a ton of impressive plays on his own. He evaded a lot of Utah defenders and made several difficult cross-body throws that average quarterbacks simply don’t make. But each and every time the Panthers even began to sniff the end zone, Utah‘s front four took over and got huge situational sacks that blunted Palko’s downfield marches. With a better line, Palko could have done more damage; but as it was, Utah gave the Pitt quarterback no chance to finish off drives: nine sacks will get in the way of a quarterback’s agenda.

Even Peter King threw some love his way:

2. I think these are my quick-hit thoughts of the football weekend:
…
c. Bowl Thought III: Tyler Palko, the Pitt quarterback, is going to be a good NFL player. What an arm. Nice delivery, good accuracy. Dave Wannstedt, you’re a very lucky man to have this kid for a year or two.

Joe Starkey is right, Pitt needs better lines. Fast. Not that every Pitt fan didn’t know that, but that should be painted on big bold letters on the wall of Coach Wannstedt’s office when he walks into it. Of course, the afor-praised Palko still will miss Coach Harris.

After this game, you didn’t see many of the Pittsburgh writers saying much about whether Paul Rhoads really will get to stay as defensive coordinator. Smizik sees the positives for Coach Wannstedt in the pounding as helping to lower expectations for Pitt. That’s seeing the glass with hemlock as being half-full.

The returning Pitt players are already looking towards next year with a fair amount of optimism. Oh, and the Insight Bowl may drop the Big East affiliation. And the hits just keep on coming. On the other hand, reading this sort of quote should be encouraging:

“Next season starts now,” Blades said. “It starts with the attitude we have when we get back (to Pittsburgh), with lifting and running. Our minds are going to be focused on winning the Big East championship again next year and getting back to a BCS bowl.”

With the non-con Pitt has next season — ND and Michigan St. at home, Nebraska and Ohio on the road — Pitt’s overall schedule will look a lot stronger.

Of course, in addition to the lines, there are still real questions about the running game. Kevin Gorman, who covers local recruiting for the Trib. is pimping Eugene Jarvis. I know nothing about the kid. And I know even less about the actual scouting and evaluating of players. Maybe he is a real diamond-in-the-rough. I don’t know. I do know that the fact that he has legitimate academic issues; had offers pulled from WVU, Bowling Green and Pitt; and his only remaining offers are Akron, Kent St. and Temple. Add in the fact that one of Pitt’s RB commits is in a similar mold to Jarvis, then I don’t see why Pitt should really want him.

There should be only one more Fiesta recap, from our man in Tempe, Pat. Whenever you are sufficiently recovered, Pat.

Upon further review, the Bucknell loss is still embarrassing and just should not have happened. Pitt gave Bucknell the “biggest upset in school history.” I don’t care if they win the Patriot League. It just should not have happened.

Really, this is the culmination of Pitt’s play in the whole non-con schedule. Pitt showed nothing. Pitt didn’t shoot free throws. No defensive intensity — letting the Bisons shoot better than 50% — and couldn’t take care of the ball.

“I can’t explain 15 turnovers against a team that didn’t press or trap,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

Worse than the ball-handling was the defense. The Panthers allowed a second consecutive opponent to shoot better than 50 percent from the field. The past three opponents have shot better than 45 percent.

Pitt’s man-to-man defense was so bad that Dixon was forced to go to a zone defense in the second half. Pitt hadn’t played zone but for one or two possessions in the previous 10 games.

“Our defense is not where it needs to be,” Dixon said. “I’ve felt even after some of our wins that our defense wasn’t where it needed to be.”

And to top it all off, the Panthers shot 45 percent (9 for 20) from the free-throw line.

“Wake-up calls” be damned. This was an inexcusable loss. It’s one thing for the fans to take the game and expected win for granted. Not the players.

Georgetown is the next game. Wednesday at 7pm. Pitt better be playing angry.

Oh, good grief. Pitt lost to Bucknell? At home? Just not a good weekend for Pitt sports.

Well, look at that. Pitt was 9-20 shooting free throws. Think that might be an issue now? Possibly something that needs work?

The question now, is how far down the top 25 does Pitt plummet?

I’m going to bed. Maybe things will look better in the morning.

Haven’t read a damn thing yet. Crashed last night at John’s in-laws. Went downstairs to the kitchen where John was getting some food for his kid. He had the P-G sports section out and I saw the headline to the Smizik column. I didn’t read any further. Just had to marvel at the hypocrisy. Does he even see it? One day to the next? So media recap will be a little belated.

We ended up watching the game at Fanatics in Squirrel Hill. Not too big a place, lots of TVs at all angles (though why one was tuned to ice dancing on ESPN I’ll never know), and they piped the broadcast throughout. We were able to get the last available table, so I tried to take notes and took abuse from John, Lee and Shawn for it. Let me tell you comments like, “blog it!” all night just don’t get old. No really, guys. It was special.

Pat checked in with a couple times from Tempe. Sounded like he had a good time tailgating, when we could understand him (I mean crowd noise, not anything else. Really.).

Note taking was inconsistent. Table got crowed as the nachos and wings came into the mix with the pitchers. That was on top of some rather spicy Thai food. An interesting drive back to Ohio today, to say the least.

During Utah’s first series, Gary Danielson started going on about the conversation he had with Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads. He related that Rhoads said that Pitt has faced a number of teams with spread offenses in the last couple years. Of course, there was no mention of the lack of success Pitt has had against them.

Palko was under pressure the entire game. They mentioned at the start that Petitti was battling “flu-like symptoms,” though I suspect it was a scorpion.

After stalling out on their first series, Utah just blows through Pitt’s line and secondary to score a TD. Early in the drive, Brent Musberger shrewdly notes that “the middle has been a little soft” regarding the Pitt D. That’s kind of like saying Lindsay Lohan has some family issues or Jenna Jameson is somewhat familiar with adult filmmaking.

After the score, they cut to Utah fans in the stands. Mormon and bigamy jokes ensue.

Another Pitt drive fizzles out, 5 minutes into the second quarter. A blocked field goal. Special teams have just gotten more special as the season worn on.

Damn, even the Utah cheerleaders do midrifs. What is wrong with the Pitt cheerleaders?

Utah takes it 69 yards mostly passing to score again. 14-0 Utah.

Pitt has a little more than 5 minutes to take the donut off the scoreboard before the half. Pitt starts to put together a decent drive, when Lee finally snaps at Brent Musberger. Brent starts hitting his storyline on Urban Meyer with, “You might recall Notre Dame came after Urban Meyer…”

Lee suddenly shouts, “Oh, shut the f–k up, Musberger!” This was about 10:03 PM with about 4 minutes left in the half. I’m amazed Lee made it that long before he snapped.

Pitt took a shot deep down the field to Greg Lee. The ball was perfectly thrown and would have been a TD, but Lee just muffed it. Replays showed it bounce off his facemask and forearms. Pitt couldn’t miss opportunities like that. There haven’t been that many, and there likely wouldn’t be many more. After that, Utah really upped the pressure up front. The O-line started collapsing. Palko gets tripped up as he tried to avoid a sack and loses 13 yards. Then Palko has to dump off the ball to Furman on 3d and 23 as Utah manages to get pressure with only a 3 man rush.

Utah ends up letting the clock run out to end the half. They go to halftime showing more Utah cheerleaders and some fans. Leading to a round of discussion as to how and why all Utah girls seem to have such bright shiny teeth. They seem otherworldly. I realize the Mormons don’t smoke or drink coffee, but that just doesn’t seem enough of an explanation. This bothered me for the rest of the night.

Man, that’s a long halftime. Somehow, Pitt is only down 14-0. Utah shows practically no signs of rust. They are as good as advertised, but Pitt is still in the game. I mean if Pitt makes some adjustments, tightens up the coverage and doesn’t miss as many tackles. And if the O-line can give Palko a little more time and allow the running game to get going. And while they are at it, they can come up with a good alternative energy source and a workable solution to funding Social Security.

Just as halftime was ending, and they showed the stat splits, Lee declared that, “We’re losing the chess match.” He was justifiably smacked in the head for uttering that phrase.

Utah gets the ball to start the second half and Alex Smith put on a little show. An 80 yard drive in less than 4 minutes. Smith passed for 66 yards and ran for 11 more in only 7 plays. Clearly the Pitt D made the halftime adjustments it needed to cope with the option/shovel passes.

Pitt answers with a stirring 3 and out.The ice dancing is starting to look interesting.

The Pitt D officially rolls over. Alex Smith runs through about 4 tackles on 3d and 7 to get a first down. It happens while Musberger and Danielson are having a phone chat with Dave Wannstedt. In fact, the Utes score too quickly that they have to ask Wanny to stay on the line so they can keep chatting after the commercial break.

Pitt finally scores. Beautiful pass to Greg Lee off the play action. Lee caught it in double coverage and with pass interference. Derisive cheers for avoiding the shutout in the bar.

Utah then put on a clinic. Bad moves on special teams had them starting on their own 6. They went 94 yards in 4 minutes. Near the end of the drive, Smith was running for the 1st, and was tackled from behind. Out of nowhere, I suddenly shouted, “Sweep the knee! Sweep the knee!” They didn’t. Utah scored to make it 35-7 and I stopped taking notes.

Plain and simple. Utah was as good as advertised. Pitt got destroyed and humiliated. Nothing else to say at this point.

Everything was closed in Oakland. Uncle Sam’s was closed. Pitt had some chances but didn’t take advantage of them.

I choose to blame Pat. The last time Pitt was spanked this bad in a bowl was the Liberty Bowl against Southern Miss. Not so coincidentally, that was the last time Pat went to a bowl game. I just wish I could have made the connection sooner to have stopped Pat from going.