No particular overarching theme for these stories. Some I’ve had for a day or so, thinking there might be more, but now I just want off my browser tabs.
An article about the shifts of various teams into new conferences. Mainly focused on BC and Louisville. Some quotes from Louisville Coach Bobby Petrino about expanding his recruiting.
Petrino also believes Louisville’s entrance into the Big East will help him stretch his recruiting territory because of increased exposure in the Northeast. He said Louisville already has lured two players each from New Jersey and Pennsylvania the last two years, including offensive tackle Brian Roche of powerful Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., ranked by several recruiting services among the nation’s top 25 prospects.
“We tried to use [identification with the Big East] a couple of years ago, when we knew we were going in or thought we were going in, and tried to get into a different pool of players,” Petrino said. “I think we’ve done that. We’re always going to go south and recruit Florida, Alabama and Georgia.
“I want us to be the fastest team in the Big East. To do that, we’ve got to go south. But we’ve started going into New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Now, we can tell a young man that we have a much better chance of being in a BCS game and winning a national championship.”
No kidding. Just ask Michigan about the joys of getting to recruit easier into Pennsylvania once Penn State joined the Big 11. Of course it cuts both ways. Pitt now has Paul Dunn on the staff. Dunn spent the last 2 seasons in Kentucky coaching. He should help Pitt do some recruiting there, even if it isn’t officially on Pitt’s pre-set recruiting areas. The key when there is a conference expansion or shake-up is to take advantage of the new areas.
CollegeFootballNews.com sets out landmine games. For Pitt, they say it is Rutgers. “Why? Pitt can’t be overconfident against sleeper team.”
Here, I’ll disagree. I don’t think they will be. Rutgers should be 2-1 or even 3-0 when Pitt comes to Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are expected to be at least middle of the pack. I don’t think Pitt can be that overconfident, especially in their Big East opener. If there is a true landmine game, I think it is in week 2 at Ohio. It will be coming off a very emotional and heavily publicized opening game against Notre Dame, and the week before another big game at Nebraska. The Bobcats may not have the talent, but they will be a better coached team. It will also be the debut home game for Frank Solich and OU’s first ESPN game — ever.
A lot of people have e-mailed me or left a comment with the link to the Coach Dave Wannstedt interview on Pittsburgh Sports Report. By all means read the whole thing, if you already haven’t. Here’s a snippet:
PSR: What parts of this team excite you the most?
DW: Our offensive line is going to be critical and I was really pleased with them coming out of the spring. I thought that they were better than what anybody gave them credit for. And we only have one guy from opening day a year ago lining up in the same spot.
I was very encouraged by our tight ends. I think we have a good group of tight ends. And our secondary – I think if we stay healthy we have a chance to have as good a secondary as anybody in the conference.
PSR: What parts of the team keep you awake at night?
DW: Our front seven. Right now, if we were to play a game tonight, we don’t have one defensive lineman or one linebacker who is lining up at the same spot that he did opening day a year ago. That’s a concern.
That is really going to be the focus in training camp. We need to make sure that, number one, we get the players lined up in the right spots where they can play at the highest level possible and give us the best chance to win. And we’ve got to get this thing back together quick.
Finally, a little peak at Walt Harris at PAC-10 media day.
Harris almost said “Big East” on Wednesday when making a reference to the Pac-10’s media day, held a day earlier in Los Angeles.
“Excuse me, I’m not in the Big East anymore,” he said, smiling.
Minor slip, but here’s a statement that even someone like myself, who is objectively pro-Walt, provoked a “are you f***ing kidding me?” moment.
The Cardinal went 4-7 last season, dropping five games by a total of 22 points, while Pittsburgh won five games in the fourth quarter or overtime.
“It’s an interesting contrast,” Harris said. “You say, ‘What’s the secret?’ That’s what they hired me for: To make the difference and get us over the hump. … Getting close isn’t good enough.”
Actually, uh, that was part of the reason the administration let you jump. The team was only “getting close” in the overall scheme of things. Pitt had to come back against Temple and Furman. Blew the lead against BC before pulling it out. I’ll give him the ND and WVU games, but those other ones were part of the problem.
