Yes, time for another look at a preseason publication.

Today, it is The Gold Sheet 2005 College & Pro Football Annual.

Now, as I’ve said before, I don’t gamble. Mainly due to a lack of disposable income (the idea of explaining to the wife what happened to our daughter’s college savings is not a pleasant concept). Otherwise, I find it a happy little diversion, and I like to watch the lines. Additionally, if there is one thing to understand about book-making is that they are usually the most reliable source for expectations and match-ups.

If you like to lay some action, then this is probably the best pre-season publication to get. Their Web site is also a great data mine of past performance with point spreads of each team going back to 1993.

The Annual goes back to the past 4 years on each team for point spread and over-under.

In their rankings, they put Pitt at #24 (pg. 4), noting that the Wannstedt hire is Pitt’s hope that he is the next Pete Carroll.

For the Big East (pg. 92), Pitt is second behind Louisville (of course). The mild surprise is picking Rutgers to finish 3rd ahead of WVU.

Their comments about Pitt and Wannstedt are mostly positive. They like what he wants to do with the offense and defense. They do, however, question the offensive line. Not on the issue of depth (which should be a concern) but the players themselves. Their point is that they were recruited much more for pass protection schemes, not power run blockers.

From a gambling perspective, the bookmakers had to be sad to see Coach Harris leave. From 2001 to 2004, Pitt had a 24-24 Point Spread Record. That made Pitt something of a gambler’s nightmare, but the middle kept getting cuts. The over-under wasn’t as perfect, Pitt was 20-26.