Yet another recruit verbals to Pitt. Defensive Tackle Jared Martin from Davie, Florida gave his verbal to Pitt today. Martin appears to be something of a project and/or had his stock rising during the season based on his play. I say that because of the rankings given by Rivals.com and Scout.com. They list him as a 3- and 2-star prospect, resepectively. He chose Pitt over Arizona St., Minnesota and Colorado (like that was going to happen now). Martin visited Pitt back on opening weekend against ND. He had taken a visit to Minnesota this past weekend. Apparently cold weather wasn’t too much of a concern for him.

Pitt locked him up this week with a visit to his home according to the e-mail from Pittsburgh Sports Report:

Pitt coaches Dave Wannstedt and Charlie Partridge visited with Martin at his home this week, and that apparently sealed the deal for the talented lineman. Pitt had been recruiting Martin since the spring and first offered him a scholarship in July.

Martin has a solid frame and upper body strength that appears to be Division 1-ready. He bench presses 400 pounds and squats over 500. At 6’1″ he is a bit undersized on the defensive line, but he has explosiveness off the ball and has been described as a bull-rush defensive tackle. Colleges have also been impressed with his lateral movement and leverage. He fills a position of need for the Panthers and is expected to challenge for early playing time, as Pitt graduates both starting interior lineman from this past season. Martin is the fourth defensive tackle to commit to Pitt this year, joining Jason Pinkston, John Malecki and Shane Corson.

I’m continually amazed at the work being done by Coach Wannstedt with regards to recruiting.

Here’s a stone-cold lock prediction. At some point during the season, the title of this post will be used as the headline to some story about Pitt’s freshmen players. Trust me. No editor over the age of40 is capable of resisting using that cliched headline thinking of how sly they are to slip in some “Who” reference.

At SI.com, Grant Wahl includes Pitt as one of the schools with an intriguing freshman class so far this season. The Big East seems to have a lot of teams playing freshmen for significant minutes — Syracuse, Louisville and Marquette.

An article on how Pitt’s young players did well in their first “road” test. Kind of hard to take seriously. It does note, that Chevon Troutman has been in town. Not sure if there will be a sighting at the Saturday game.

In an article that can only be described as brutally mistreating numbers to make the theory work there is this piece declaring that moving Krauser to shooting guard and splitting the point guard duties between Ronald Ramon and Levance Fields to be a success. Now, I happen to think the move is a good one, but primarily as a way to get the best players on the court at the same time. The piece, though, tortures the numbers, makes bad comparisons and leaves some big gaps.

Pitt’s standing in two statistical categories tells the tale. Last season, Pitt was 11th of 12 teams in the Big East in turnover margin and tied for eighth in assist/turnover ratio. The Panthers committed 14.4 turnovers per game while their opponents committed just 12.9 per game (-1.55). They had 439 assists and 419 turnovers (+1.05).

So far this season, the Panthers are near the top of the league in both statistical categories. They are third in turnover margin (+5.00) and second in assist/turnover ratio with 90 assists and 64 turnovers (+1.41).

Where to start. First of all, the numbers are wrong the data sets used don’t even include the Duquesne game, so the numbers are only based on 5 games. Sheer laziness to not add those numbers in (not to mention failing to note that in the article). Not that comparing 6 games instead of 5 to 29 is a significant improvement, but it immediately lowered Pitt’s standing a notch or two in the conference rankings — a component used to base the argument.

Pitt’s turnover margin is now listed at +3.50, 5th in the conference — a 2 spot drop. The assist/turnover dropped to 4th in the conference with 107/80 (+1.34).

As for some actual comparisons, the 2004-05 numbers are correct for turnovers committed and allowed. Notice, however, that the actual numbers of turnovers/game this season aren’t mentioned. That’s because part of the premise: that Pitt is taking better care of the ball; is questionable to this point. Pitt is averaging 13.3 turnovers/game so far. Even with the bad skewing of the numbers, that is only 1.1 turnover less per game than last year. The big rise is more that the defense (and the overall quality of the opponents) is different. Pitt’s opponents have had 16.8 turnovers/game to this point. That is where the big swing in turnover margin is being generated.

Near the end of the article, he finally and briefly notes that the numbers through the first 6 games of last season also reflect improvements. Note that he used 6 games and in his early comparisons he was just using the 5 games played this season.

You know the really sad thing. The argument could have been made far more effectively just by comparing the first 6 games from last year to this year. Seriously

per game averages —- Assts. —- TO —— A/TO — TO Margin

2004-05, 6 games — 19 (114) — 15.5 (93) — +1.22 — +0.5 (96 TO for opp.)
2005-06, 6 games — 17.8 (107) — 13.3 (80) — +1.34 — +3.50 (101 TO for opp.)

Last year, Pitt had some sloppy, early play as the numbers show. This year, despite the youth and inexperience Pitt is taking much better care of the ball — better than 2 fewer TOs/game. A chunk of it also has to do with more 3 guard line-ups and a little lessening of the emphasis to go inside. Those comparisons, though, do a much better job of making the point.

I hate bad stats.

I’ve skipped a few due to time constraints, but I have some time. This one comes courtesy of the Texas A&M blog.

Q1. Why your school? Did you go to school there? Were you legacy, did you pick it for academics, for the football team, the party reputation?

Now this is a navel-gazer. Well, I’m an alum. Hardly a legacy — both my parents went to Penn State. I wanted to go to school either in or near a city. It came down to Pitt, Emory (Atlanta) or Boston U. I was probably leaning towards Emory because it was further away from home and warmer. Then Pitt offered a scholarship and things suddenly simplified. Add in actually having a Div 1 football and basketball team to support and that it would be the enemy school of my folks…

Q2. Name a player or two who had “THE GAME” against your school. I’m talking about a guy who simply dominated your team and all you could do was tip your cap and say, “Wow.”

I don’t know about tipping my cap. Cursing him, the parents that sired him and his team. Sure.

2003: Julius Jones, RB, ND. He absolutely shredded Pitt for an entire game. This was supposed to be a big chance for Pitt. A very green Brady Quinn under center in just his second or third start, just stack the line against the run. Instead, Jones piled up 200+ yards and average over 10 yards per carry. There was no hiding it. Pitt knew what was coming each time, and ND kept running Jones right through Pitt.

2005: Pat White, QB, WVU. Simply outran Pitt’s defense the entire game. It was completely humiliating to watch. Again, everyone knew what would happen and Pitt was simply powerless to stop it.

Q3. There are games that I have no interest in but I watch simply to see a certain guy play. What players from this season do you do the same for?

Vince Young, Texas and Elvis Dumervil, Louisville were the only two that I made an effort to catch when I could despite generally not caring about their games.

Q4. A few weeks ago we were asked who the best player to suit up for our school was. I’m curious who your favorite player to ever suit up for your school is? Certainly doesn’t have to be a superstar, or even a starter.

Hmmm. I was really a big fan of TE Kris Wilson a couple years back. I was regularly bitching about the failure to get the ball thrown his way more often. He’s a close second.

I have a jersey purchased back in ’95 — before the color change. Had to buy an actual jersey because no one was making replicas of Pitt jerseys in the 90s. Something about a program being in the gutter just not moving a lot of merchandise. There was only one decent player on the offense it seemed — #20, Running Back Billy West. Even today, when I break out that jersey at certain games, older fans will recognize it and shout out his name to me.

West followed Curtis Martin and as a Sophomore in 1994 ran for 1358 yards, the 5th best rushing season for a Pitt back (Dorsett has 3 of the 4 best seasons). Unfortunately, West battled injuries and missed all or parts of some seasons. Still, he ended up with 2803 total rushing yards for his career. The 4th best in Pitt history.

Thanks to everyone who are leaving their impressions of the game. I have to admit feeling frustrated talking about the team’s performance when I’ve yet to actually see them. Happily that changes this weekend. I’m coming to Pittsburgh to see the Penn State game. Extra bonus is that my dad’s meeting me in Pittsburgh to see the game. All through Thanksgiving I had to hear him talk about Penn State and the BCS. There was really nothing I could say or do. The Backyard Brawl just made things more painful. This game won’t erase the annoyance, but it should be something of a balm, though, like most Penn State alum he seems totally resigned to the fact that they have a pathetic men’s basketball program and that won’t be changing.

Here’s the full box score and play-by-play. One of the things that shows the tough spot Duquesne was in was just the depth. Pitt had 10 players play at least 11 minutes, but only 3 players exceeded 20 minutes of playing time. Duquesne had a total of 9 players just playing with 6 logging more than 20 minutes each. That is a huge advantage for simply wearing down a team and allowing Pitt to play a tight defense.

In the game, Pitt got off to something of a slow start with some misses and sloppy ball handling. Carl Krauser, though, took control for Pitt early. He accounted for I believe 13 of Pitt’s first 18 points. He also was draining his free throws, going 7-8. Considering he was below 60% going into the game at the stripe, he needed that. The team needed him.

“I just wanted to make a couple of plays to let the young guys know that it’s OK,” Krauser said. “We’re on the road, but, at the same time, you have a senior leader here that’s ready to take over the game and ready to provide whatever they need.”

It was the first road game for Pitt after two exhibition games and five regular-season contests at home to open the year.

“We were facing a big challenge on the road and the young guys didn’t know what to expect,” Krauser said. “I think they did well. I didn’t see anybody nervous. I saw everybody just anxious to play.”

Now, I wouldn’t go overboard with the “road” talk. Pitt was only a couple miles down the street and it sounded as if about half of Palumbo Center was comprised of Pitt fans.

Aaron Gray got off to a slow start but ended up with a pretty decent night.

Center Aaron Gray celebrated his 21st birthday in style, with 14 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. It was his fourth double-double in six games.
…
While Krauser dominated from the perimeter, Gray was just as forceful in the interior. He scored eight points in the first five minutes of the second half, when the Panthers rebuilt their double-digit lead.

“We wanted to get the ball inside to Aaron,” Krauser said. “He’s doing a great job. We just wanted that inside presence and to feed off him.”

Without starting center Kieron Achara, who learned this week that he is out for the season with a torn labrum, the Dukes had no answer for Gray inside. He was 5 for 9 from the field and had five offensive rebounds.

“Gray is much improved,” Nee said. “He’s very good. He is going to be a force. Everyone is going to have trouble with that size.”

Duquesne, though, is just not a very good team, not a lot of depth and did not shoot the ball well.

“We’ve got to shoot better if we’re going to be competitive or have a chance to win,” Duquesne coach Danny Nee said. “We had a lot of makeable shots and Pitt’s defense a lot of times got us to hurry and take some poor shots.”

Duquesne shot 8 of 29 from the field and 2 of 7 from the free-throw line in the first half, when it trailed 32-23 at the break.

Pitt senior guard Carl Krauser shot 7 of 14 from the field and scored 13 of his 23 points in the first half.

“We kept going on scoring droughts,” McAllister said. “We’d call the play out and somebody would forget the play. Our offense would break down and now we’ve got to scramble. It kind of forces us into a bad shot. A lot of it is that mentally we have to be tougher in running our sets and do it correctly so we get the shot that we want.”

Duquesne (1-4) led 10-7 early in the game but went on a drought in which it scored one field goal — shooting 1 of 18 from the field — in a 9:59 span. DeVario Hudson made a 3-pointer for a 10-7 lead with 14:27 to play in the first half. But by the time McAllister scored on a jumper with 4:28 to play, Pitt (6-0) held a 25-16 lead. Duquesne trailed by at least six points the rest of the way.

To be fair to the Dukes, they shot better from the field and were 13-15 on free throws in the second half.

In a column, Gene Collier blasts at the ineptitude of the Duquesne basketball program.

UPDATE: A comment on Gray not seeing the ball often in the game deserves a response.

The number of shots Gray took is a little deceiving. He got to the FT line for 9 attempts. They came because he was hacked trying to shoot. Gray’s shot attempts also have to do with how aggressive he plays.

He was missing his FTs, especially early, so it made going inside to him less productive. Gray also started 0-2 shooting. Pitt was sloppier in the 1st half, with 9 turnovers — meaning some missed opportunities on plays. Gray’s 1st half line: 4 points (2-4 FG, 0-3 FT), 1 TO and 8 Rebounds in 16 minutes.

In the second half, Gray played more aggressive and was hitting his shots. 2nd half split: 10 points (3-5 FT, 4-6 FT), 1 TO, 9 Rebounds in only 13 minutes.

Pitt has a lot of scoring options. Yes they should go inside more, but his presence also frees up other players for shots.

As posted yesterday, the Big East awards were handed out. A couple articles in the locals, and one from Syracuse as they placed 3 players on the 1st team (0 on the 2nd).

Regarding the verbal from Jeff Otah, there are a couple stories about it. There seems to be some confusion, though, as to how many years of eligibility Otah has. The stories yesterday indicated that Otah would be much like a JUCO because he spent 2 years at Valley Forge Military Academy (a prep school), giving him only 2 years of eligibility. The story in the P-G said he has 3 years of eligibility. Not sure which is correct, but I suspect he only has 2 years.

Hope anyone who laid money on the game took the points instead of the Panthers. Otherwise, in the final 2 minutes you were screaming bloody murder at the TV/radio/computer as Bowman and Small got scrub time. Sure enough, Pitt gave up 5 points in the final 25 seconds to win by only 11, 71-60. The spread was somewhere around 14. Ouch.

Pitt had something of a letdown in this game, and Duquesne was running after the ball. Too many turnovers and just some sloppiness at times.

Gray had another double-double, but had a down game at the FT line. He is an unknown at the line from game to game. Krauser had a very, very good game 23 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and only 3 turnovers. Once again, 10 Pitt players played double digit minutes.

A question for those either at the game or who were able to see it on TV. How was the officiating? Listening to Hillgrove and Groat, it seemed like Pitt was not getting a lot of calls. Hometeam playcalling or fairly accurate?

Pitt places 8 on the 1st and 2nd teams:

WR — Greg Lee — 1st Team
LB — H.B. Blades — 1st Team
CB — Josh Lay — 1st Team
CB — Darrelle Revis — 1st Team
QB — Tyler Palko — 2nd Team
OT — Charles Spencer — 2nd Team
PK — Josh Cummings — 2nd Team
S — Tez Morris — 2nd Team

Louisville placed 10 (7 on the 1st team) and WVU had 12 (6 on the 1st team).

As for individual honors, Pitt was blanked.

BIG EAST OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Brian Brohm, Louisville, QB, Sophomore

BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Elvis Dumervil, Louisville, DE, Senior

BIG EAST SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Willie Foster, Rutgers, WR, Junior

BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Steve Slaton, West Virginia, RB, Freshman

BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR
Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia

Nothing to create much in the way of disagreement.

Less than glowing 1st half from Pitt. Krauser was dominating, hitting 5 of his first 6 shots. He was 5-8 overall with 13 points. The biggest problems for Pitt was the lack of 2nd chance points — they had 2 offensive rebounds, both in the final 2 minutes of the half — and turnovers. Pitt had 9 turnovers. A lot of unforced errors. Generally sloppy.

Still Pitt is leading 32-23. Mainly because the defense is doing fine and Duquesne can’t hit much. Pitt is only letting them get one shot most of the time.

Okay, no sooner does Pittsburgh Sports Report send an update on Pitt recruiting with the following information:

The biggest area of need, and something the Panthers have yet to address, is the tackle position. Big (literally) help could come from JEFF OTAH, a massive 6’7″ 340-pounder from Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, PA. Otah will enter as a junior and could easily see time, or even start, right away. South Carolina is the biggest obstacle for the Panthers to overcome for Otah’s services. Local prospect ANDY MILLER of Trinity High School in Washington, PA was a tight end in high school but his frame (6’6″ 260) and quick feet has the Panthers thinking he could make a good offensive tackle. They must, however, battle Ohio State and West Virginia, who both think the same thing. The Panthers have also taken a liking recently to CHRIS DAINO from Neshaminy High School in Feasterville, PA. The 6’4 1/2″ 275-pound Daino is a sleeper that could develop in time, but Pitt has yet to offer, and may not should they land Otah and Miller before Daino’s January visit. The success of this offensive line class will come down to the Panthers holding on to [Joe] Thomas and securing Otah, because both should at least see time in the rotation next year, if not start.

So, of course, this afternoon Otah verbals to Pitt (hat tip to Neil). South Carolina was the only other school Otah visited. He also had offers from Maryland, West Virginia and Michigan State.

Sporting News college basketball writer, Mike DeCourcy is from and started covering sports in Pittsburgh. He actually remembers when the City Game was relevant. He posts a brief chronicle on how the inaptitude of how the Duquesne administration has driven the basketball program to irrelevance.

Now, they play because Pitt doesn’t want to deal with the public relations backlash of ending the series, so the Panthers take their annual victory and forfeit the money they would earn every other year on a home game against an opponent at the Dukes’ level. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, for instance.
…
You think an incompetent administration can’t destroy a successful program? Under Chick Davies, Dudey Moore and later Red Manning, the Dukes were a national power. They’ve languished since, missing several opportunities to regain at least part of their stature. In 1988, they let John Calipari go from red-hot assistant at Pittsburgh to Massachusetts, where he turned the Minutemen into a Final Four program. An administration with foresight might have kept him in town. A year later, they removed Jim Satalin but rejected the opportunity to replace him with either Bob Huggins or George Karl, who campaigned for the job. In 2001, they arrogantly passed over Sean Miller, who wanted to become a head coach and liked the idea of returning home. Miller now has the best job in the Atlantic-10, at Xavier.

Duquesne has a new athletic director, Greg Amodio, who came, coincidentally, from Xavier. He’s a bright, engaging guy who knows how to raise a buck. A lot of what once was possible for the Dukes has passed them by, but it’s certainly conceivable to rise above the level of consistent embarrassment. Maybe then the Panthers-Dukes rivalry again could live for reasons other than inertia.

Pitt fans know how an incompetent administration can destroy a successful program. Most of us still bitterly remember the 90s.

An interesting little tidbit from the December 7 “3-point stance” of Ivan Maisel:

1. A conference must have its champions average a final BCS standing of 12th over four years to secure its automatic bid. What I didn’t know is that the BCS leagues decided to throw out the standings before the ACC raided the Big East. The four-year average begins with the 2004 season. Nothing before that season counts.

2. Why bring that up? With Florida State finishing this season at No. 22, the ACC’s four year average from 2002-2005 is 12.75. The ACC has been saved from embarrassment by a technicality. With Virginia Tech at No. 8 in 2004, The next two champs’ final ranking can’t add up to more than 18.

I vaguely recall early in this season all the talk about how the ACC was the premier conference in college football this year. The Big East may not be what it was in football or what we want it to be, but the ACC is not what it thinks it is.

Not that I’m complaining. Last March I raved about the CBS/CSTV online March Madness deal. Only $10-15 to watch a load of the 1st and 2nd round action streamed in video for out of market game.

Well this year, they are giving it away (thanks to Keith for the e-mail).

This year it all just got a little bit easier, especially for diehard fans who inexplicably decide to spend the day at work with NCAA March Madness on Demand, a streaming webcast. CBS had been offering the games online as part of a subscription, but this year the NCAA Tournament will be available for free at NCAAsports.com.

“I think that was the evolution of this product,” said Mike Aresco, senior vice president for programming at CBS Sports. “We felt that ultimately the future of online streaming would be on an ad-supported basis.”

The webcasts will be free through the regional semifinals, and there will be web blackouts for games aired in local television markets. Press conferences and highlights are also part of the package.

Aresco doesn’t think this will take away from television ratings, or erode subscribers to the Direct TV package because viewers tend to watch something online if they are already in front of a computer – but they watch television if they are home. This applies not only to office workers, but college students as well.

Hence the boon for those who lament that the first Thursday and Friday of the tournament are not national holidays.
…
“What we are looking to do is figure out how many platforms are feasible to place content on,” Aresco said.

It is less a money-earner than a technology and marketing test, an opportunity to see if free content can attract enough viewers to pull in advertising revenue.

I’m not complaining. I guess it’s a worthwhile experiment. I’m a little surprised, though, because I thought the price-point they were offering was already a good deal.

Here’s the CSTV/CBS press release on it.

It hasn’t been very meaningful since both teams were in the Eastern Eight. It’s not yet to the point of playing Robert Morris, but it is getting there.

Currently, the inner-city basketball rivalry between Pitt and Duquesne has been quite one-sided. The Panthers have won 23 of the past 26 meetings, including the past four, all by 15 points or more. Last year’s 30-point beat-down of the Dukes at the Petersen Events Center was the most lopsided defeat in the series in 35 years.

No player on Pitt’s roster has ever experienced what it is like to lose to Duquesne. So just how do Pitt players maintain interest in a series that has been so noncompetitive?

“It’s basketball,” senior guard Carl Krauser said. “You get up for basketball games if you’re a competitor. You’re going to get up to play the game if you play anybody. It’s for bragging rights in the city. If we lose, we’re going to hear it all summer, all year. It will be a never-ending story.”

That has been something the players have been passing down: avoid the embarrassment.

Krauser related a story about the last time Pitt lost to Duquesne. It was December 2000, a year before Krauser arrived at school. Once he arrived on campus and the subject of the Dukes came up, Brandin Knight gave the young freshman some instructions.

“He said, ‘Promise me one thing,’ ” Krauser recalled. “He said: ‘Never lose to Duquesne while you’re here.’ I promise that. I don’t want those bragging rights hanging over my head.”

So how does Coach Jamie Dixon talk about this opponent?

“I know we’ve lost a lot of games to them in the past. They’ve got a great tradition of players and history, and it goes way back in years,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.
…
After opening the year with three losses, Duquesne got its first victory Saturday by beating Robert Morris, 73-58.

“They played very well against Robert Morris and beat them by double figures,” Dixon said. “They’ve got experience and good size, and they’re athletic. They’re going to be a team that gets better as the year goes on.”

He’s grasping, but that’s what he’s supposed to do.

The big problem for Duquesne is the loss of Achara in not just terms of points and rebounds that were expected from him, but also size and depth. The Dukes are not a particularly big or deep team (big surprise). Pitt should be looking to get it inside to Gray, Kendall, Young, Hudson (if his ankle is okay) and Biggs often.

Final note, Antonio Graves was back practicing. His ankle is apparently much better.

As can now be safely read from a free source, Pitt recruit Kevin Collier has reaffirmed that Pitt is his choice.

The highly recruited running back from Churchville-Chili opened the door for speculation after taking an official visit to Syracuse University on Nov. 12, but he said Tuesday night that he plans to honor his initial verbal commitment, made in August, to the University of Pittsburgh.

Collier reaffirmed his desire to play for coach Dave Wannstedt’s Panthers after his official visit last weekend.

“It’s a done deal. I’m going to Pitt,” said Collier, who has been offered scholarships by 14 schools. “But I know (colleges) are not going to stop calling until I sign the papers.”

He can’t sign a binding letter of intent until early February. Recruiters from South Florida, SU and Connecticut are expected to watch him play basketball this week, Collier said, then try to woo him. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior had 19 touchdowns and 1,942 yards rushing last fall and became Section V’s all-time leading ground gainer (5,402 yards).

“I told (Pitt) I (visited) Syracuse because I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision,” said Collier, who watched the Orange lose that day, or in his words, “get destroyed,” by South Florida, 27-0. “After going to Pitt, I know.”
…
“It would drive any coach crazy if a guy had committed and was visiting other places,” said Collier, who also has offers from programs such as Boston College, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Maryland and Georgia Tech. “It’s almost like cheating, being unfaithful.”

He said that he doesn’t plan to change his mind, but he isn’t ruling out other official visits (NCAA rules allow five). He’s in it for the experience, he said.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I might go just to go. I’ll call Wannstedt and tell him I’m going just to go,” Collier said, laughing. “But as far as where I’ll be playing, it’s Pitt.”

I don’t blame him for taking the visits. Just glad he’s still coming.

While on the subject of NY and Pitt players, Mark May was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame last night.

Not sure why there was no mention of this in the Pittsburgh papers. Unsurprisingly, the West Virginia papers had coverage of former WVU Coach Don Nehlan being inducted. They even had an article on May talking about playing Nehlan and the Mountaineers.

“We beat them four out of four times [three under Nehlen] and the difficulty was that they were always going to give their best effort from the first play to the last play.”

May recalled playing at the old Mountaineer Field in 1979, when the National Guard was called out for a chaotic situation that started with a soccer game, that the fans were in “a state of dementia” by the time the football game started.

Speaking of WVU. The coach of a school in one backwater state had to apologize to another for leaving the Hoopies off of his ballot.

Arkansas football coach Houston Nutt says he has apologized to West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez for leaving the Mountaineers off his ballot in the coaches’ Top 25 football poll.

Nutt said he had voted for West Virginia in previous weeks but that, while shuffling teams listed in the USA Today poll, he inadvertently left the Mountaineers off the ballot. He said he would have listed West Virginia No. 13.

Nutt said Rodriguez understood that a mistake happened and “was very gracious about it.”

“I’ve also gotten some e-mails from West Virginia fans. They’re upset about it, and I understand their feelings,” Nutt said.

West Virginia finished the regular season No. 11 in The Associated Press and the coaches’ polls. The 13 points West Virginia would have received from a properly cast Nutt ballot would not have been enough to move the team into the coaches’ top 10.

Oh, well.

Think the NCAA may want to ask a few questions?

Police said that an apartment belonging to Ohio State football players A.J. Hawk and Nick Mangold was burglarized in the days following the team’s win over Michigan.

According to a Columbus Division of Police report, the burglary occurred sometime between Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. and Nov. 23 at 8 p.m.

Hawk, Mangold, and a third roommate, Jonathan Thomas, told police that their apartment in the 100 block of West Norwich Avenue was broken into and about $3,000 in cash, $1,425 in movies, two laptop computers, a $500 Gucci watch, two Microsoft X-Box games valued at a total of $500, a Sony Playstation game valued at $250 were taken.

“I don’t have a lot, and now that little bit that I have is now gone,” Mangold said.

Mangold, the Buckeyes’ center, told NBC 4’s Duarte Geraldino that he received a phone call from Hawk, telling him that their apartment was burglarized.

Police were not told about the crime until Nov. 28, according to their report.

[Emphasis added.]

About the best non-booster payment explanation I can come up with to explain college kids having around $3K sitting in their apartment, is that one of them was in charge of the booze/party slush fund. Maybe they were planning on one hell of an end of the semester bash?