Sorry about the dearth of posting the last couple of days. My daughter’s birthday party was this weekend, and as 1 of the 2 members of the planning and decoration committee time was limited.
The short but big news over the weekend, Kicker Josh Cummings was charged with a DUI. It is reported that he blew a 0.131. Big shock, that he must have been drinking on the South Side. Actually, the surprise is that he was caught. I’m not saying anything regarding the way he was driving — since I don’t know. I’m just thinking that at 2:30 am on Friday night/Saturday morning, on Carson Street, that a cop could just pull people over at random with a 50-50 chance of getting someone for a DUI.

The Big East bowl tie-ins are tied to what the Big 11 does with the Capitol One Bowl.

That impacts the Big East because the Gator Bowl, the league’s heretofore non-BCS jewel, has been shopping around. If the Capital One Bowl cements that window, the Gator’s options will be limited.

The SEC would almost certainly be out of the Gator picture. The Capital One, Cotton, Outback and Peach bowls are strong enough to hold off the Gator. So Rick Catlett, director of the Gator Bowl, would have to go after the Big Ten’s No. 4 team (now in the Alamo) or the Big 12’s No. 3 (Holiday).

“Catlett, the Gator bowl, no one will do anything until [the Capital One situation] is resolved,” Tranghese said. “I think the Gator has interest in the SEC and Big Ten. Our primary focus, though, has been dead-on the Gator. We talk daily. I’m hopeful. It’s been a partnership that’s been very good and we’re working very hard.”

Tranghese has met with the Gator Bowl’s board. He’s met with Catlett “on three or four occasions” and phones the director almost daily. What Tranghese is fighting, however, is perception. In the case of the Big East, bad perception.

“When I went to visit the Gator folks, the perception is that we’ve been damaged [by defections],” Tranghese said. “I pointed out that we’re as strong as before. The Gator never took Boston College. Miami went once during its probationary period. The only loss that hurt was Virginia Tech.

“But West Virginia is very attractive. We added a school like Louisville that will fill a stadium. There are new coaches at Pitt and Syracuse. Connecticut is building. And Notre Dame continues to be a great partner.

“Rick Catlett has always understood. But, too, we’re dealing with a board.”

A board and its egos. Which might just get in the way of a smart deal.

That’s more than a bit of spin. Tranghese is doing his best to avoid admitting that the BE has a well-earned reputation for not traveling well to bowl games, not the perception of damaged goods. This is the chance for the Gator to explore other options with the contract open. Admittedly 2 of those schools BC and Miami (unless it was a BCS game) are gone, but the reputation will be hard to shake. Still with Louisville and (I would bet) USF things might be improving. I think UConn would travel decently and if Rutgers could ever get back to a bowl (25 years give or take), their fans would be deleriously happy to go.

Finally, another Q&A with Coach Dave Wannstedt.

Q. How’s life as the Pitt football coach thus far?

A. It’s been more exciting than what I anticipated. It’s been very energizing … what has really been refreshing and (something) that I’ve enjoyed, is in the NFL, you basically get on football from 7 in the morning until 7 at night.

Here, breaking it up a little bit is spring recruiting and dealing with alumni things and being on the main campus with academics. I guess it’s all about how you look at it – I’m sure the other side of that coin is there’s a lot of things college coaches don’t enjoy, and that’s what makes it different from the NFL. For me, it’s been a real breath of fresh air, and the people have been just super. And that has been the biggest factor for me – because of the response I’ve gotten from recruiting from high school coaches and principals, and knowing the people on campus and having a good rapport with people when dealing with issues that relate to our players.
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Q. What is the main difference you’ve noticed in the college game since you last left collegiate football went to the professional ranks?

A. Recruiting really hasn’t changed a whole lot as far as what you can and can’t do. The time restraints with recruiting (are) different. The time restraints with practice is different, with meetings is different. That’s the biggest change in college football in the last 15 years, in my opinion.

In the old days at the University of Miami, we had meetings in the afternoon, we would go out and practice, then we would come in and have a two-hour meeting after dinner. Now, you’re limited to four hours total. Same thing with recruiting. I can remember being on the road recruiting on Christmas Eve. And now, they have a two-week dead time (around Christmas).

These young coaches nowadays, they don’t realize how good they have it.

Q. How is the new Big East Conference alignment going to affect the Pitt football program? How will it affect the Big East in general?

A. I think it’s going to be good for the University of Pittsburgh, and I think it’s going to be good for the Big East. From a recruiting standpoint, it’s perfect for us. We can go into any home in the area and say to parents, ‘Hey, you can drive to see your kid play. The only place you need to get on an airplane to go is south Florida.’ And, since we recruit south Florida, it’s a nice fit for us to be able to get down there and recruit.

I think that Louisville is the team to beat, no question. They finished sixth in the country last year. That’s what we’re all chasing.

We still got our rivalries. If we would’ve gotten Penn State back on the schedule … Notre Dame will come back on the schedule, too, so we’ll be fine there. And, we’re still playing West Virginia and enough other teams here locally.

So, I think it’s a great opportunity for Pitt to get in there and do great, and my goal is to be the dominant team in the Big East.
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Q. You’re not going to become a Top-10 team overnight, are you?

A. Oh, no. … We’ve got to build depth. Right now, we’ve got a lot of work to do. I think everybody knows that. They saw the talent level in the Fiesta Bowl. Our guys played hard, but it was quite obvious that at a lot of positions, that we’ve got a ways to go.

They did a great job last year – coaching staff and players – of winning eight games. Anybody that knows football will tell you that they did a fantastic job.

Less than 80 days to the Domers.