As Chas stated in the previous post, the University of Cincinnati Bearcat Band contained several supporting troupes of baton twirlers, cheerleaders, and flag waivers. [Our favorite was the Bearcat dance team, which sported red and black plaid mini-skirts in the Catholic shoolgirl tradition – very nice.]

However, what stood out the most during the band’s halftime perfomance was the flag waivers. The Big Flag crew, usually the province of broad shouldered women, contained two MALE flag waivers.

I can describe their performance with three words: FAB – U – LOUS!

Most of the big flag girls red and black long sleve tops with black leotard type leggings, but not the boys. They had very tight red t-shirts on, with black slacks.

At first, we were all taken aback – was this a joke? Did they lose a bet?

Then, as the performance continued, we could all tell that his was no joke – these boys wanted to be flag boys, and their enthusiasm proved it to all who could see. Their steps were crisp; their smiles were wide, but not painted on; their moves were timely and bouncy; their posture ram-rod straight – these boys loved their job, and they wanted everyone to know about it.

In an age when gender barriers are falling in every field, it seemed as if the monopoly that females had on Big Flag waiving would be one of the last to fall – not at UC.

These boys stood proud – trailblazers, if you would – for the principle that boys AND girls can support their Bearcat band in any way they see fit. It’s as if they were proclaiming “Here I am, world! Look at ME! I’m happy about who I am.” Here’s to you, boys – you just keep on keepin’ on…

Got back from Pittsburgh an hour or so ago. Had to get a shower, put some stuff away and throw the cigar-stenched clothing in the washer. I’ll probably get to a full recap later, but just some thoughts and impressions.

Drop the parallels to 2001. Maybe consider last year to some extent. Pitt off a bad stumble to start the season. Fan interest waning fast. Cold, wet day helping keep fans away. Not feeling terribly optimistic. Then Pitt beat BC. Obviously the Cinci team was very different from what was a decent BC team, but even after that there wasn’t belief — just a hint of possibility. It’s weak, I know, but I’m grasping a little.

We took the lazy comfortable way out and just drink, order a pizza, watch game-day and the first part of games on TV before heading to the game. Worked out well. Heinz Field was not filled. The student section was maybe half-filled at best. Probably 25-35,000 at the game.

Ray Kirkley is not a power-running back. So why did Cavanaugh/Wannstedt insist on continually running him straight ahead for minimal gain? After about the third time that happened, a fan near us shouted, “Hey Cavanaugh, ever hear of off-tackle?” Misusing players like that is annoying.

Rashad Jennings is a power-running back. He can go straight ahead and make something happen. The Cinci D-line wasn’t very good, but considering the general performance of Pitt’s O-line, Jennings should be back as starter.

The O-line still gave up sacks, though at least one was Palko’s fault.

Jennings nearly pulled a Leon Lett when he ran for a touchdown. For some reason he started holding the ball straight out with one hand as he got near the endzone. A defender was closing fast, and he nearly was able to swipe the ball out of his hand as he was getting there. I hope never to see that again.

Greg Lee does not have focus this year. He dropped at least 3 passes. Kept him from cracking 100 yards for the game. Lee responded well last year when Harris publicly called his work-ethic into question during training camp. Maybe he needs some public questioning from his coaches to snap him out of it.

Overall it seemed the receivers probably dropped about 5-7 passes. Not good.

The coaches need to look at the game tape of Palko’s feet and/or mechanics. There is a noticeable difference in the velocity and accuracy of his throws over the middle versus when he throws in the flat or towards a sideline. Maybe he isn’t setting his feet when he throws to his side, or its with the follow-through or he slots his arm differently. Whatever it is, it seems like mechanics of some sort.

Defense still had trouble with the run at times. The secondary had an easy day as Cinci’s receivers are hideous. They dropped balls all game long. Cinci is really bad.

Apparently when a Big East game isn’t televised, the conference sends the really bad officiating crew to call the game. They couldn’t seem to grasp what pass interference was when Cinci players were crawling up the backs of Pitt receivers, or tackling them before the ball got there. Really bad officiating. Inconsistent, late with the flags and you had calls coming from 30 yards away while the official standing in front of the play saw nothing.

The Cinci band may have been decent but we were too incredibly distracted by their, uh, flag-people. The girls were huge. I mean lineman-huge. But that wasn’t the freakiest part. They had 2 flag-boys. I kid you not. There were two guys on the flag squad. There was some speculation that maybe they lost a bet. But watching them, and you had trouble taking your eyes away from the spectacle, we realized they were enjoying it wayyyy too much. They were out there (literally, and not that there’s anything wrong with that) performing with big smiles and gusto.

More later.

I’m a few minutes from heading out the door. Comment away on the game and any other games you are watching today.

Pitt is a 12 point favorite. No Pitt fan can believe that. It just doesn’t add up. It’s frustrating to be this worried about a game that going into the season was a gimmee. It should still be a gimmee — and given the line some still think that way — but after everything seen this season it is anything but.

So the questions are what will the offense do?

The Panthers’ fate is in the hands of the offense. If the Panthers produce points and don’t turn the ball over, there is a good chance they will beat the Bearcats. The defense has been reasonably consistent since the opener, although there were some breakdowns last week.

Even in that positive half against Rutgers, Pitt’s offense still made too many mistakes. There was a fumble by quarterback Tyler Palko, at least two dropped passes by Greg Lee, a number of sacks allowed and a critical illegal procedure penalty.

The good things Pitt did in that half, however, far outweighed the bad.

Cinci does not get much respect as a football school.

And as a football school, Cincinnati is, well, a good basketball school, having won as many as eight games only twice since 1964. And ask most Pittsburgh football fans to name a Cincinnati football player, the answer will most likely be Carson Palmer or Chad Johnson of the Bengals.

They really don’t get much in their own city. The local papers are all over the basketball team in terms of coverage, but the football team is minimal. Even this weekend, the supposed big starting point. The debut of the Bearcats in the Big East, maybe one short article each day.

Senior wide receiver Derick Ross remembers that day in November, 2003 when he first heard about UC’s move to the Big East.

“When they said the Big East, I didn’t know if it was going to be the next season or two seasons,” Ross said. “When they said it was going to be two seasons later, you start looking at some of the teams you’re going to play and say, ‘Wow!’ This is my chance to play against the big guys. A lot of the guys are excited about that.”

Right now, Pitt should not be considered one of the “big guys.”

I guess, this is why you have to believe Pitt can win this game.

Another story that goes with the “just like in 2001 theme.” Well, only in the headline and first quarter of the story. Then it gets to some details

Wannstedt cautioned that the Panthers need to move ahead and get that first win in the Big East and against a Division I-A opponent. Cincinnati has some talent, but the Bearcats aren’t unbeatable by any means.

Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said Cincinnati rotates several runners in the backfield and spreads out its passing game with two quarterbacks to a handful of receivers with three tight ends in the mix.

Freshman Dustin Grutza started all four games at quarterback for the Bearcats, while junior Nick Davila has played in two games. Grutza has nearly completed nearly 56 percent of his passes for 749 yards and three touchdowns with eight interceptions, while Davila is 7-for-9 for 92 yards and two scores.

Sophomore Bradley Glatthaar leads Cincinnati with 221 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Brent Celek, Derek Ross and Antwuan Giddens each have 15 receptions. Ross and Giddens have one touchdown apiece.

Cincinnati’s defense was shredded in the two losses.

Then, there are the local connection storylines. Cornerbacks with the Aliquippa connection.

At least once a week, Antoine Horton will call his friends to talk football. They share game stories, compare statistics and complain about practice schedules and film sessions.

Horton didn’t call Darrelle Revis or Josh Lay this week. On Saturday, these childhood friends become enemies for a few hours when Horton’s Cincinnati Bearcats meet Pitt with Revis and Lay at 2 p.m. Saturday at Heinz Field.

“We haven’t talked much lately,” said Horton, Cincinnati’s starting cornerback. “It’s serious now.”

Fifteen years ago, Horton lived in Aliquippa and knew Lay especially well. He moved to Rochester after kindergarten, but often visited his grandmother’s home in Plan 11. Lay lived in Plan 12.

Horton remembers playing with and against the two current Pitt cornerbacks. He recalls that Revis was a star on the basketball court, and that Lay wasn’t bad, either.

Now, they are all standouts on the football field – and all playing the same position. Revis and Lay are possibly the best cornerback tandem in the Big East Conference. Lay’s an All-Big East pick, and Revis was one of the best freshmen defenders a year ago. Horton took over as Cincinnati’s starting cornerback in the fourth game last year and helped lead the Bearcats to a Fort Worth Bowl victory over Marshall. This year, he has 13 tackles and a pass breakup in four games.

Another Cinci player, 5th-year Senior OL Joel Yakovac, is from Mt. Lebanon.

“The opportunity to come back is one of the biggest things of the season for me,” he said.

“It’s funny, but I really didn’t appreciate Pittsburgh until I left. I love the Steelers and all that, but I didn’t really appreciate everything Pittsburgh has to offer, like Primanti’s (sandwiches), until I came here.”

The Bearcats’ offensive linemen gather regularly for dinners, and that is how Yakovac first experienced Skyline chili, a Cincinnati favorite.

Personally, for regional chili chains, I prefer the various chili options at Hard Times around the DC area, but Skyline isn’t bad.

Finally, at halftime Pitt will be honoring the 1955-56 football team. This team played Georgia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, losing 7-0. That team featured fullback/linebacker Bobby Grier.

“Bobby Grier’s story was national headlines, it was on the front page of every major newspaper in the country,” said Beano Cook, college football historian and former sports information director at Pitt. “This was a major, major story — this was the South in 1955 and this was the Sugar Bowl. Think about it. The governor of Georgia urged Georgia Tech not to play in the game because Pitt had a black player, and he said it because he figured it would help get him re-elected. That’s just where we were in this country.”

The governor was Marvin Griffin, who, on Dec. 2, 1955, began a speech to the Georgia State Board of Regents with “The South stands at Armageddon. The battle is joined. We cannot make the slightest concession to the enemy.”

The enemy Griffin spoke of in his speech was Grier and his motivation was to convince administrators at Georgia Tech to boycott the game unless Grier was forbidden to play. Reaction to his speech was mostly negative, and 2,000 Georgia Tech students marched to the governor’s mansion and hung Griffin in effigy.

Across the country, the reaction was similar to that of the students. Newspapers decried Griffin as being a bigot and out of touch, and the board of regents voted to allow the Yellow Jackets to play in the game. At the same time in Pittsburgh, the Panthers players were holding a vote of their own and, like the Georgia Tech students, were ready to take a stand.

“We all got together and voted not to go to the Sugar Bowl if Bobby Grier was not allowed to play,” said Bob Rosborough, who was a right end for Pitt and a teammate of Grier. “He was one of us and we would rather not play than leave one of ours behind.”

Read it all.

The Paul Zeise Q&A is back.

Lots of questions about the old unis, the O-line, comparisons to 2001 — where he mentions the spread offense crap — and other stuff.

Zeise missed last week because of the short week.

This piece is so fundamentally flawed it deserved its own post. You know the old axiom that numbers can prove anything. True, only insofar as no one looks closely. That was the plan behind this Bob Smizik column.

All is not well at the University of Pittsburgh where the football team has lost four of five games with two of those defeats coming against teams the Panthers were expected to beat, if not dominate. Pitt has been so disappointing it wouldn’t be shocking if it lost to Big East Conference lightweight Cincinnati (2-2), when the teams meet tomorrow at Heinz Field.

Not surprising, fingers are being pointed in every direction, with an abundance of them directed at first-year coach Dave Wannstedt.

This column is on record as considering Wannstedt an excellent hire and that opinion won’t change after five games.

Clearly, though, something is missing at Pitt, and Wannstedt and his staff must share at least some if not a majority of the blame.

Good start. I agree completely.

But in one area where Wannstedt is receiving much criticism, he is not to blame.

The notion persists that Wannstedt is attempting to run an offense that doesn’t fit his personnel.

The belief is he’s too married to the run, while his personnel, after years of playing for Walt Harris, isn’t geared to play that style. He’s asking linemen, the theory goes, used to doing nothing but pass protecting to open up holes for his runners.

That is nonsense.

At least he didn’t say “complete and utter nonsense.” So this is going to be one of his pieces where he challenges assumptions. What does he have?

Under Harris last season, Pitt ran the ball 52 percent of the time.

Under Wannstedt this season, Pitt is running the ball 50 percent of the time.

That’s right, Wannstedt is passing more than Harris.

Hmmm. Technically he is correct. According to the final 2004 stats, Pitt had 448 rushing plays out of 862. So far in 2005 in 5 games, Pitt has 176 rushing plays out of 348. Maybe we should look a little closer at the individual numbers for 2004:

RUSHING         GP  Att Gain Loss  Net   Avg  TD Long Avg/G

-----------------------------------------------------------

KIRKLEY,Raymond 10  154  595   35  560   3.6   6   36  56.0

MURPHY,Tim       8   88  349   15  334   3.8   1   37  41.8

PALKO,Tyler     12  129  469  330  139   1.1   3   43  11.6
FURMAN,Marcus   11   37  136   20  116   3.1   0   16  10.5

MASON,Brandon    5   17   52   12   40   2.4   0   12   8.0

GRAESSLE,Adam   12    1    7    0    7   7.0   0    7   0.6

CAMPBELL,Kellen  9    3    6    0    6   2.0   0    4   0.7

PHILLIPS,Mike   12    1    5    0    5   5.0   0    5   0.4

FLACCO,Joe       3    6   14   14    0   0.0   0    6   0.0

DELSARDO,Joe    12    1    0    0    0   0.0   0    0   0.0

ACIERNO,Justin  10    1    0    0    0   0.0   0    0   0.0

STRONG,Darrell  12    1    0    2   -2  -2.0   0    0  -0.2

McKILLOP,Chris  11    1    0    2   -2  -2.0   0    0  -0.2

McCRAY,Darren   11    2    0    5   -5  -2.5   0    0  -0.5

TEAM             9    6    0   25  -25  -4.2   0    0  -2.8

Total.......... 12  448 1633  460 1173   2.6  10   43  97.8

and 2005:

RUSHING              GP  Att Gain Loss  Net   Avg  TD Long Avg/G

----------------------------------------------------------------

KIRKLEY,Raymond       5   54  284   16  268   5.0   1   55  53.6

STEPHENS-HOWLING      4   30  163    5  158   5.3   0   30  39.5

MURPHY,Tim            5   20   96    4   92   4.6   1   43  18.4

JENNINGS,Rashad       2   20   73    3   70   3.5   0   10  35.0

PETTIFORD,John        1    7   51    0   51   7.3   0   26  51.0

FURMAN,Marcus         3    2    9    0    9   4.5   0    7   3.0

CAMPBELL,Kellen       5    2    8    0    8   4.0   0    5   1.6

TEAM-Pittsburgh       3    2    0    4   -4  -2.0   0    0  -1.3

PALKO,Tyler           5   39   84  161  -77  -2.0   1   10 -15.4
Total..........       5  176  768  193  575   3.3   3   55 115.0

As you can see, both also include Tyler Palko’s runs — which include sacks. Palko was sacked 40 times last year and 19 times so far in 2005, so let’s take those numbers out of the totals and add them to passing attempts. I’m going to make an assumption here based on the type of QB Palko is, that on about 2/3 of the remaining running plays from Palko in each season, he had dropped back to pass but was forced to scramble for zero or some positive yardage. I’m adding those to the passing attempts as well. The remaining numbers, I’ll keep in the rushing attempts. So, rather than go by passing attempts, I’ll go by what I’m calling passing plays versus running plays.

Passing plays (pp) = pass attempts + sacks + 2/3 of remaining QB rushes
Running plays (rp) = rush attempts – sacks – 2/3 of remaining QB rushes

Year —– total plays = passing plays + rushing plays
2004: 862 total plays = (414 + 40 + 59) + (448 – 40 – 59) [862 tp = 513 pp + 349 rp]
2005: 348 total plays = (172 + 19 + 13) + (176 – 19 – 13) [348 tp = 204 pp + 144 rp]

Interesting. Based on this in 2004 Pitt called pass plays 59.5% of the time and intentionally ran 40.5%. In 2005, Pitt is on pace to call for the pass 58.6% and run 41.4%. That is a very small difference between years. Admittedly, the sample size is very different for 2005. Maybe Smizik has a point?

Of course, statistics can be misleading, and Pitt’s passing numbers this season are a bit skewed because it got so far behind Rutgers last week and did almost nothing but pass in the second half.

Good point, maybe the numbers from Rutgers shouldn’t be counted. Here are the Rutgers numbers. Palko was credited with 10 rushes, 5 of which were sacks:

RU game: 84 tp = (59 + 5 + 3) + (25 – 5 – 3) [84 tp = 67 pp + 17 rp]

A whopping 79.8% of the plays were passing plays. How does that change things?

2005 (less RU game): 264 tp = 137 pp + 127 rp

Suddenly Pitt is a lot more balanced looking with only 51.3% of the tp being pp.

And I’m not saying, balance is a bad thing. I’m just saying that Smizik’s numbers don’t work — either deliberately or because of ignorance.

But that’s not the point.

“That’s not the point?” He throws out misleading numbers, implying that the offensive styles are the same, but that isn’t the point?

The point is this: Wannstedt has made no major offensive change at Pitt.

Harris ran a variation of the West Coast offense. Wannstedt runs a variation of the West Coast offense. The Harris offense and the Wannstedt offense might not be brothers, but they’re cousins.

Again, huh? Yes, the West Coast offense is a ball control offense — and Harris to be sure did not run the traditional version. But just because Coach Wannstedt runs a ball control offense, does not make it a WCO. Harris was pass first, he may have wanted to run more (and more effectively) but he was definitely of the tradition of pass to set up the run.

Coach Wannstedt is a run-first, power-running perspective. He may want balance, but the run is the more important thing to him. Don’t even pretend that they are similar offenses, philosophies or that the systems haven’t changed much.

In fact, Smizik offers no other proof of his assertion of “no major offensive changes.” In fact, he then goes into cataloging the problems Pitt has had on offense, and trying to allocate blame to players and coaches.

Or at least a nagging cold.

Pitt needs a win tomorrow. It’s personal. A loss and my wife, a Cinci alum, will have bragging rights in the house. Even worse, like most Cinci alum all she cares about is the b-ball team, so she would more likely feel bad for me. I just, I just can’t have that.

So, on the injury front, a couple good returns. Rashad Jennings will be back in the line-up.

“All he has to do is get the ball one time, and he’ll reintroduce himself to people with the way he runs,” Panthers running backs coach David Walker said.

“It’s good to see him back there. He adds something to the mix, and we need everything we can get right now. We don’t have much room for error Saturday and for the remainder of the season. We need a lot of guys to start of contribute a little bit more.”
…
During spring drills, Jennings was impressive with his size (6-foot-1, 240 pounds) and ability to slip between the tackles. He won the starting job in preseason camp, and had 20 carries for 70 yards in two games before going down with the injury.

“He’s a guy who’s going to wear down defenses,” Walker said. “How many people are going to be excited to tackle 240 (pounds) every time? He’s a smart kid, a good pass protector. And when he gets his shoulders squared, he’s a man when he has the ball in his hands.”

Kirkley is still expected to start the game. LaRod Stephens-Howling, while technically questionable, would appear closer to doubtful for the game based on the story

Josh Cummings is recovered from his surgery and will resume kicking duties this weekend on the field.

A day or two after Coach Wannstedt said he wouldn’t blow Freshman Conredge Collins’ redshirt, he is reversing fields.

After thinking about it and talking with Collins and his parents, Wannstedt said he will most likely get Collins ready for the Panthers home game Oct. 15 against South Florida and have him in the lineup the rest of the season.

“It is very doubtful that Kellen Campbell will be back this year,” Wannstedt said. “We’re looking at this as an opportunity to get a young guy in and get him some experience. He is a guy who is a possible starter next year and we’d like it not to be that the first time he is lining up, it is opening day vs. Virginia next year.”

There had been some question about whether Collins, who was one of the Panthers top recruits this year, would be a fullback or a halfback. Wannstedt said that Collins is a fullback but that doesn’t mean he won’t run the ball his fair share.

“He’s definitely a fullback and I think the guy has special talent to be really special at fullback,” Wannstedt said.

“He could be a four-year starter for us. And with his talent, we’ll get him the ball. This year, we have, [Starting fullback] Tim Murphy, and when we go to one-back sets, Murphy will carry the ball. So, as coaches we can and will make it work. He just wants to get his hands on the ball and we’ll make sure that happens.”

During preseason, Collins said he didn’t expect to redshirt. He probably won’t play tomorrow, since the decision to burn the redshirt was made so late in the week. Any chance of counting half of a redshirt?

I’m undecided about the “reading between the lines” meaning. Is it part of a conscious decision by the coaches to start playing the new kids more and get them ready for next year? Is it desperation to just get some wins? Were Collins and his parents getting loud about giving him a chance this year — threatening transfer or such? All? None?

Looking at the Big East stats, Pitt is ahead of Cinci in all but a handful of places. The only key stats where they are ahead of Pitt — Rushing Offense, Rushing Defense, Red-Zone Offense (perfect but only 9 times in the Red-Zone while Pitt is 12-17), Red-Zone Defense, and Time of Possession.

Cinci will also have issues at QB. The starter Dustin Grutza has been lousy in the last few games and Cinci Coach Dantonio has decided that if he stays lousy he will get yanked quickly.

“As we move through the game, we’ll make decisions,” UC head coach Mark Dantonio said following Thursday’s practice at Nippert Stadium.

Asked if that meant it would behoove the redshirt freshman to get off to a good start against the Panthers, Dantonio replied, “I guess it would. We’ll make that decision based not just on his performance, but there are other things that go into it.”

The back up is a JUCO Nick Davila would take over. Whether that would just further confuse a very young Cinci team or provide a spark probably depends on whether Pitt can make things difficult.

Cinci’s leader in all-purpose yards, Mike Daniels is doubtful with a sprained ankle. He handles punt returns, shares in kick return duties and sees limited action at RB (4-5 carries).

You know that dildo/beer tap trophy weighs nearly 90 pounds?

Pitt is once more in ESPN.com’s bottom 10. For those scoring at home that is the 3d time Pitt has been placed there. Is it too late to get a game with Buffalo or Temple just so I don’t have to read for the umpteenth time that Pitt has not beaten a Div 1-A teams this year?

Nice Q&A with Pitt recruit Jason Pinkston. I don’t think he’s at risk to bolt.

Q: What was it like when Pitt offered a scholarship?

A: It felt pretty good. Coach Harris wasn’t really recruiting me. When I went to the (Pitt-Syracuse basketball) game, coach (Dave) Wannstedt handed me an envelope. I opened it up and was really excited. My mom got it laminated and put it in a picture frame.

The obligatory “Wannstedt struggling in return to Pitt” story in a Cinci paper.

And I just have to pass this along. Bengal fans are so giddy about their team actually playing like an NFL team (even if their unis don’t) that they are making music about them.

I wish I was making this up. There are 4 different songs you can listen to here (mp3 formats).

A comment early in the week regarding the Rutgers game, and things in general, that I think merits a full post for a response or at least explanation. Hopefully I won’t come off as too defensive.

Frank wrote the following:

I think that everyone is focusing on the coaching far too much. Friday night,s game was a prime example. Did the coaches do any of the following: Fumble a kick (Pestano), Drop a wide open pass down the middle (Gill), Drop a sure TD pass or short arm an attempted catch deep in Rutgers territory (Lee), Run towards a Rutgers defender with the ball in one hand, trying to juke the defender a-la Deion Sanders, and then fumble the ball upon colling with the defender (Palko), Drop interceptions (Revis and one other), Stand up before the snap on second or third and one (various linemen), Tackle really poorly (Tez Morris et al). If Pete Carroll is our coach, does Pestano not fumble, Gill, Lee, and Revis catch those balls, Palkno not fumble, and Morris tackle? I’m not so sure. These playes are just plain not playing well and they need to fix it. They need to stop walking on the feild like they are the superior team and start walking off of it as the superior team. For the record, I was sick at the end of the first half Friday night, but proud of this team by the end of the game. They could have quit, they did not. I’m not one for moral victories, but they impressed me by not quitting. No Pitt fan should quit either…And while I am ranting, the coaches are right to force the run. The reason we lost most of the games we played against top teams in the last few years is that we could not then, and can not now, run the football. IF they don’t start now, then when? A one dimensional offense is very east to beat when you are up against a talented defense (SEE: PITT vs. UTAH last year).

I’ve been seeing others — George, Rex and Steve come to mind — echo and/or agree with this. This, though, was the best and most complete expression.

Frank makes a good point, I do focus on the coaching more. Part of it is simply bias on my part: the coaches are the ones who get paid and are supposed to take the responsibility; and I am not particularly wild about ripping on kids who don’t get paid. So I probably go easier on the players than I would if I was focusing on a pro team.

The other reason is systematic and not seeing any improvement. That either says the kids are already at their max potential or the coaching staff is not teaching, improving, helping them.

Certain things, like Tez Morris’ poor tackling applies to most of the defense. And here’s a disturbing piece of information, Morris is actually Pitt’s second leading tackler.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS        GP Solo  Ast Total
51 BLADES,H.B.            5   29   28    57

20 MORRIS,Tez             5   25   18    43

39 THOMAS,Derron          5   13   16    29

41 McKILLOP,Chris         5    7   18    25

25 REVIS,Darrelle         5   15    6    21

10 PHILLIPS,Mike          3   12    7    19

Disturbing to see isn’t it? 3 members of the secondary — including one who went down to season ending injury during the 3d game — are the leading tacklers. That isn’t because of receivers making catches, that’s because the opposing running game is getting past the line.

So on defense, it speaks to the entire line.

Teams have rushed the ball 207 times and only had 64 completions (out of 124 attempts). Yet, only 2 LB and 1 DE are in the top 6 of Pitt’s leading tacklers.

Look back over the 3 seasons this blog has covered. A consistent, drumbeat of a complaint has been that the defense hits but does not tackle — a fundamental. Runs through the line. The only consistency there is, is with the defensive coordinator. I sometimes forget there are a lot of people who haven’t been reading for even the last year, so I’ve probably not bothered to make it as clear that this strikes me as something that is directly attributable to Paul Rhoads.

On the offensive side, I can’t disagree that Lee seems to drop a fairly easy touchdown every game. Pitt was lucky to still score on that drive when he let the ball go right through his hands, but it took 6 more plays and more time off the clock that Pitt couldn’t afford.

Dropped passes are not excusable, same for Gill. At the same time, they are going to happen.

Then there is the offensive line, or lack there of. No question that Pitt lost some consistent and reliable O-linemen. But the blocking has been so far below par it defies description. And it has shown no signs of improving. So again, I have to ask about the coaching. Where is the improvement from week-to-week? Any? The only improvement, was in finally going to a shorter drop-back for Palko and shorter routes over the middle. Something that I have been agitating to see, but it took until the 2nd half of the 5th game to do.

Something else that is directly attributable to the coach and play-calling: the way this team has come out in the first quarter. With the exception of the opening drive against ND, Pitt has stumbled out of the gate. Even against YSU, it took a little bit of help to get going.

The way they came out against Rutgers was unbelievable. They looked like they had no idea what they were doing out there. They looked just as bad against Ohio and Nebraska. The difference in those games were they were facing even more inept offenses that kept things close.

So, the way a team comes out to play — especially in the first half — has a lot to do with the coaching staff in my mind. It has to do with preparation, motivation and game plan.

That the team finally made adjustments in the second half, and definitely was motivated was good. The problem is they were still so far down they couldn’t make a single mistake if they wanted to win.

Finally, on the subject of the running game. I’m not arguing against a running game. I’m arguing against a running game that doesn’t take into account the players abilities.

Does Pitt have the O-line for a power running game? No. Is Ray Kirkley a power runner? No. Should he be running straight ahead behind the linemen and fullback and expect to pick up more than a yard perhaps? No. Kirkley has shown his best running either off-tackle or getting outside where he has shown some surprising speed at turning the corner.

LaRod Stephens-Howling looks to be a great running back, but he is not a power RB. He is a creator, with a great first step. Given his size, however, there has to be some concern as to whether he will be able to carry a full load or is best as change-of-pace or sharing the position.

Rashad Jennings, right now, appears to be the closest thing to a power running back — and he’s missed the last 3 games with injury.

The O-line has not shown any ability to create seams or holes for the running backs. When it does happen, it almost seems like a surprise or accident. Until it can do that, the running game is going to need the pass to set it up. Not the other way.

Now there’s a rallying cry.

“My freshman year, we started slow,” linebacker J.J. Horne said. “But we pulled it together after a win over Temple. That’s all it takes is one win.”

Said senior running back Raymond Kirkley: “That season, it took a win where we put it all together and our entire team changed. We got confident and that bred more confidence and that led to more success. It was a great turnaround, something we believe we can still do this year.”

That special season would be 2001, Pitt’s first in Heinz Field. The Panthers opened the season with as much hype and optimism surrounding their program as they had in more than a decade.

Yes, Pitt started 1-5 that season and ripped off 6 straight wins. I do find the revisionism of that season’s turnaround amusing. The one piece of the story that always seems to be missing. The junking of a spread offense after the 1-5 start. That’s always left out of the retelling.

In 2001, the “spread” was all the rage in college, especially after success at Northwestern. Coach Walt Harris decided to implement it over the summer, thinking it would make the offense more explosive and dangerous. It was a disaster. Plays were not getting in to the QB, the line couldn’t stay still, they just were completely unfamiliar with it. (WVU also went to the spread that year, and it took them most of the season before grasping it.) The offense was trashed and the defense was always out on the field.

Still I suppose at this point, if the players can find inspiration in the season, go for it.

The offense is still planning to be balanced. But, it seems the kind of balance is shifting just a bit.

When people say ‘balanced,’ when we do run the football, we need to make positive yards on first and second downs,” said Palko, who was forced to throw 58 passes in Friday’s 37-29 loss at Rutgers.

“It’s not to say we have to be 50-50, but we need to be able to run the ball as well as we pass the ball. We need to be able to do what it takes against a particular defense each week.”
…
“It’s terrible,” Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh said of the offense’s lack of balance. “Obviously, we didn’t run the ball worth a darn. It’s very disappointing.”

The huge deficit facing the Panthers in the second half dictated their decision to abandon the run. They finished the game with minus-11 yards rushing.

“Give Rutgers some credit. They did a good job of scheming our running game,” Pitt running backs coach David Walker said. “It was not a good showing (for Pitt) to say the least.”

Yeah, Rutgers just blitzed, the line collapsed and the runners were as stuck as Palko back there.

Actually, that’s fine. Concentrate more on the number of quality runs rather than just the number of runs equal to passes. Hopefully with Rashad Jennings back, there will be some improvement as the load is shared a bit.

Apparently Coach Wannstedt has been having intense, physical practices this week.

Well, this has to be embarrassing to the Trib. in it’s Pitt coverage.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt dismissed sophomore receiver Allen Richardson from the team for what the coach termed as “disciplinary reasons” and announced the suspension of redshirt freshman defensive lineman Nick Williams for violating teams rules. Wannstedt, who said the disciplinary actions are not related, would not elaborate.

Yet, here are the reasons.

Richardson was dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons because of an on-campus incident Tuesday night which involved a BB gun and marijuana. It is at least the second time Richardson had to be disciplined this season. He was sent home from the Panthers game Sept. 9 at Ohio University because he was listening to his I-Pod during a team meeting.

Williams was suspended for violation of team rules Sept. 26 after he was involved in an altercation with another student at a party after the Panthers win against Youngstown State.

Williams was not allowed to travel with the team to Rutgers and will not be on the sidelines on Saturday.

As for Richardson, where does he think he is, Penn State? Richardson, must have a 5-cent brain. He was sloppy as a punt-returner last season and couldn’t even get on the field this year. Not exactly a great loss, despite his alleged speed and talent. Well, hopefully he’ll get it together, maybe go back to Ohio and latch on with a MAC team.

LaRod Stephens-Howling was also upgraded, but coming back this quickly from a high ankle sprain I’m not sure just how much action he gets or effective he will be.

Just a couple things.

Pitt alum and Xavier Head basketball coach Sean Miller was given an additional year on his contract. He is now contracted through 2010.

The Big East announced the entire national TV schedule for the 2005-06 season. These are games on CBS, ESPN and ESPN2.

CBS will air 5 Big East Conference games and 6 more games with a Big East team playing. Pitt will not be shown on CBS this season.

Mike DeCourcy at Sporting News has some thoughts on this TV schedule and the BE.

I don’t mean to be negative about the new, improved Big East, because this really is going to be fun while it lasts, but the inevitability that 16 members will prove to be too many struck me again when I received a press release from the conference regarding its abundance of national TV appearances.

According to the league, 31 of its regular-season games will be aired by either ESPN or ESPN2. Another five will be broadcast by CBS. That’s a total of 36 national televised league games. Add in the 11 Big East tournament games that will be shown on ESPN’s networks, and you discover that more than 33 percent of league contests will have a national TV outlet.

That’s outstanding.

But not everybody’s 100 percent excited.

Somebody at one member school confessed the other day to being a little disappointed at the number of national TV appearances apportioned to his school. Therein lies the problem the Big East will face as a league of its size: It’s impossible to keep everybody happy. And we haven’t even gotten to March to discover whether there’ll be room in the NCAA Tournament for all of the league’s successful teams.

In the aggregate, you can argue that the Big East is getting all of this exposure, but of the 11 CBS games being shown, only 5 teams from the BE are shown: UConn (5), Villanova (3), Louisville (3), WVU (3), Syracuse (1) and Georgetown (1). The number of appearances is in parenthesis.

It’s not surprising, regarding CBS, but with 16 teams vying for attention, that has to piss off some members.

Then there is the schedule on ESPN and ESPN2. There are 75 total appearances of BE teams:

Cinci, Syracuse, Louisville and ‘Nova – 9 appearances each.

UConn and ND – 7 appearances each.

WVU – 6 appearances.

DePaul – 5 appearances.
Pitt and G-town – 4 appearances.

St. John’s – 3 appearances.

Rutgers, USF and Marquette – 1 appearance each.

Providence and Seton Hall – 0 showings.

(DePaul will also be shown twice on ESPNU in games against Cinci and Louisville. More games might get added to the “U” but I’m damned if I know anyone who has that station.)

That means 6 teams will account for 2/3 of the Big East’s TV appearances on the WWLS. 5 teams account for 1/25 of the appearances.

That’s going to cause some frustration.

This is not as much fun as you would think. I feel pretty good about #1 through 15. I’m sure there’s a little off here and there, but nothing too egregious. After that, it feels like it is one step above throwing darts.

You can take a look at individual BlogPoll ballots here. The results should be up some time in the afternoon.

UPDATE: Full Poll results are now available.

Everyone seems to have real question markss. Or at least I have questions about them.

1. Southern California – Still winning
2. Texas – Mack Brown’s moment of truth this weekend
3. Virginia Tech – I still have a feeling about the traditional late October swoon
4. Ohio State – DNP
5. Tennessee – They have at least one more loss in them
6. Miami (Florida) – Can they run the ball?
7. Georgia – They’ve been dominating, but not getting that much buzz
8. Alabama – It’s an issue of health and depth right now
9. Notre Dame – They can score, but do they have enough defense?
10. Florida State – Good defense but can they score enough against the better teams?
11. Louisiana State – Bounce back win. I guess.
12. Florida – Maybe not as good as I thought.
13. Cal – They just keep winning
14. Michigan State – Gave that game away
15. Arizona State – No shame in losing to USC
16. Auburn – Quietly rising in the SEC
17. Texas Tech – Could only hang 30 on Kansas? They feel very shaky now that they actually have to play Div. 1-A teams
18. Georgia Tech – DNP
19. Louisville – Rising only because so many others lost
20. Wisconsin – Typical Badger team
21. Boston College – I guess
22. UCLA – 4 Pac 10 teams in my top 25? Strange days, indeed.
23. Michigan – As long as Hart is healthy they look to hang in and around
24. West Virginia – Lost to a top-5 team. I’ll keep them in a little longer.
25. Nebraska – Hey, they had some offense, finally

Out: UVA, Purdue, Toledo, Iowa St. and Vandy.

In: Wisconsin, Michigan, UCLA, BC and Nebraska

Standing by: Penn St. (and no, I’m not happy about that).

At least I can feel good about not ranking Minnesota last week, just for pulling off an overtime home win against a now completely exposed Purdue team. That’s part of why PSU doesn’t crack the rankings this week.

#16-25 I don’t like at all. I kind of want to group them more as #16a – e and #21 a-e. There doesn’t feel like much of a difference.

Games seen in whole or part: VT-WVU; Iowa-OSU; Mich.-MSU; Minn.-Neb.; ND-Pur; Fla-Ala; and Pitt-RU.

Ladies and gentlemen, the River City Rivalry Trophy:

I think we need a caption contest.

UPDATE: This thing needs to be ripped to the level for which it deserved. I e-mailed and received the equivalent of a fire bombing from the guys at Every Day Must Be Saturday.

You know the worst thing about jury-rigging a rivalry game like this River City Rivalry? It makes it damn hypocritical to make fun of the Land Grant Trophy game between Penn State and Michigan State.

There’s nothing to the RCR in past history.

The UC-Pitt rivalry, such as it is, is barely in the embryonic stage. The schools have met in football only four times, with Pitt winning all four games. Their most recent meeting was 24 years ago, in 1981.
…
“What has to happen is it has to get personal,” said UC coach Mark Dantonio. “The Miami game becomes very personal when you play in that game. The Louisville game, it becomes very personal. That’s what this game has to become. In this first year, we’ll see. We’ll see how we attack the situation and we’ll see how they attack it.”

Pitt’s biggest rivals are West Virginia and Syracuse. How UC fits into that mix remains to be seen.

“This is a nice start,” said Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt. “But I’m sure Mark would agree with me that rivalries come from there being three, four, five games back and forth and then all of a sudden the fans get into it and it means something.”

Just one of many new opponents Pitt will be facing.

And just when you thought mocking the Big East couldn’t be taken to a new low, it gets compared to the sitcom Joey.

The new-look Big East is a lot like NBC’s Joey — watching its cast struggle just makes you wish they’d get the old gang back together. But we know it’s not going to happen.

I am now going to take a bath with the toaster.

Last year, Pitt was very fortunate not to have many injuries. The receivers and running backs were about the hardest hit last year, but even that wasn’t too bad. A good thing considering Pitt’s lack of depth.

Well, there is still a lack of depth, but this year injuries are happening. So far Clint Session, Thomas Smith, Josh Cummings, Brian Bennett, Mike Phillips, Rashad Jennings, Marcus Furman, Terrell Allen, LaRod Stephens-Howling, Tim Murphy, Justin Acierno and Brandon Mason have gone down with injuries ranging from a game to the season. At least that’s who I can think of off the top of my head.

Now, it looks to be potentially even worse as H.B. Blades is going to at least be hobbling on the field.

Middle linebacker H.B. Blades was among the walking — limping, actually — wounded Tuesday afternoon at Pitt’s practice session.

Blades, wearing a boot on his right foot, did not work out for the second day in a row. Blades sustained an ankle injury during last Friday’s game against Rutgers.

Blades leads the Big East with 57 tackles (29 solo), and is arguably the best playmaker on the Panthers’ defense. His absence would further cripple the team’s injury-riddled linebacker corps.

Blades is day-to-day and given the player he is, he’ll most likely be in the starting line-up. How effective he is, will be the issue.

Fullback Kellen Campbell is out with a injury to his left ankle. There will be an MRI today to determine the extent. Campbell had assumed the starting FB role as Tim Murphy had been moved back to Tailback because of all the injuries to the RBs.

Both Brandon Mason and LaRod Stephens-Howling did not practice yesterday because of their injuries. It makes it very unlikely that either will play on Saturday. Rashad Jennings should be playing, though. Pitt is indeed redshirting FB/RB Conredge Collins.

One player who is not going to step in is Conredge Collins, a heralded freshman from Miami. Collins is redshirting and Wannstedt said he isn’t going to waste a year of Collins’ eligibility at this point.

“We talked about [using Collins] at length and I talked with Conredge about it,” Wannstedt said. “I just don’t think right now it would be fair to do that. We have two guys who are very capable.”

Jameel Brady, a redshirt sophomore, has been out with an injury but is actually returning to practice. He is second on the depth chart at Free Safety behind Tez Morris.

Kicker Josh Cummings has been practicing the last couple of days and may play in the Cinci game. Reserve offensive tackle Jerald Robinson is done with football permanently after it was discovered that he has a congenital spinal cord condition.