Longtime readers know, it will be years before I will ever get over what happened to Pitt in 2001 against USF. Actually losing to the Bulls at home. Giving a program in only its second year in 1-A its first major win, and first road win.

That game alone has forever colored my views and the approach to Pitt playing USF. I never take the Bulls lightly. With good reason. They have a very, very good coach in Jim Leavitt. Even as injuries, arrests and drug suspensions depleted their starters and 2-deep in the first half of the season, they kept winning. They adapted and adjusted.

So Pitt gets ready to go down to Tampa for the Saturday, noon game (Pitt game notes, PDF). It sucks that Pitt had to have the bye following a loss. The flip side, is they had an extra week to think about what they cannot do and yet another reminder not to believe the hype about themselves. As is typical for a coach, they bye week (especially after a loss) is about using practices to get “back to basics.”

“We need to get back to doing what we did earlier, why we won,” Wannstedt said. “But I’m not happy with where we’re at. Nobody is. You always see yourself as having an opportunity to get better, but we’ve got four games left, and we want to play our best football at the very end.

‘So, the key is to get back on track this week and pick up where we were when we started the season. … We’ve got a (third) of the season left, two games on the road and two at home, and there’s a lot that can happen in a positive way if we get back to the mindset that we had for Virginia.
…

“We just have to get back to the basics, to get back to what got us six wins and what got us to play successful football,” Palko said. “And that’s just being sound, playing mistake-free football. It might not be flashy, but that’s what we need to get back to this week.”

Junior wideout Derek Kinder, Pitt’s top pass-catcher with 33 for 596 yards and six touchdowns, agreed with his quarterback.

“This last week has helped us go back to the fundamentals, because these last four games are big,” Kinder said. “So, if we can go out and play the best games that we play, we can make a strong push down the stretch and go out this season with doing a good job.”

Coach Wannstedt talked about the best player on USF this season, Redshirt Freshman QB Matt Groethe.

Their young quarterback (Matt Grothe) is good. He’s going to be one of the top guys. Right now he’s in the top three in almost every category statistically in the Big East and he will continue to get better. He’s a redshirt freshman, he’s a very good passer, he’s a very good runner with the ball in his hands, he makes a lot of plays, he’s made pretty good decisions and I think that’s been a real spark for their offense. Their running backs were hurt early on, now they’re healthy, but I think their quarterback has really been the difference in the success that they’ve had on offense. When you look at the statistics in most of the categories they’re very close to where we’re at as far as total offense, total defense, scoring and so on. So this will be a game that they need to win as bad as we do. They’re coming off a tough loss against Cincinnati and a week off as we had – and that should make it for an important ball game and a very good football game.

Since USF runs a variation of the spread, it will also be good practice for what the team will have to prepare to face against West Virginia. If Pitt can’t contain and control Groethe and the USF offense, the WVU game will be another debacle.

There’s been more shifting on the lines. Freshman Jason Pinkston is now backing up Left Tackle Jeff Otah. He had been at back-up right tackle when Chase Clower was switched over from RT to play for Otah. Redshirt Freshman Craig Bokor continues to bounce on both sides of the line. He returns to the O-line this week as the back-up to LG C.J. Davis after being moved to the D-line to provide some depth while some players were banged up.

Redshirt Freshman DT Mick Williams had shoulder surgery and is out for the rest of the season.

Thanks to Lee coming back this week to give his top-25. I tweaked and will respond to what I changed below in Lee’s explanation. As always, there is until Wednesday to make changes so make the case in the comments.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	—
2	Michigan	—
3	West Virginia	1
4	Florida	4
5	Louisville	1
6	Texas	3
7	Auburn	—
8	Tennessee	3
9	California	1
10	Southern Cal	5
11	Notre Dame	2
12	Arkansas	—
13	Boise State	6
14	Rutgers	1
15	Boston College	1
16	LSU	2
17	Wisconsin	1
18	Oklahoma	3
19	Wake Forest	3
20	Clemson	11
21	Georgia Tech	4
22	Texas A&M	2
23	Washington State	3
24	Virginia Tech	2
25	Oklahoma State	1

1. Ohio State: The offensive line remains weak, and allowed too much penetration against Minnesota. Fortunately, Troy Smith easily outran most of the pressure (we’ll see if he can continue this against the best front seven in college football on November 18th). Beyond that, there are few glaring weaknesses on this team. Explosive offense, aggressive defense, clearly the best team in the country this week.
2. Michigan: Struggled a little against Northwestern, although the weather clearly played a major role in this (as it did for the Ohio State/Penn State outcome). Best defense in college football. The offense seems to be doing just enough to win, and that’s why I have them at #2 this week. But maybe they’re just saving the big offensive explosion up for November 18th.
3. West Virginia: On a bye week, I’ll just reiterate that it was reassuring to see Pat White throw so well against UConn last weekend. If WVU develops a reliable passing game for when defenses throw eight men in the box, look out world. All this being said, the Mountaineers are 2.5-to-1 point underdogs Thursday night. If they crush Louisville while Michigan struggles at home against Ball State, damn straight I’ll move the Mountaineers up to #2.
4. Florida: Looked a little less than overwhelming in edging out Georgia 21-14 in the World’s Largest Source of Jokes About Banning Alcohol. But who else could I put in front of Louisville? Everybody else in the SEC looked even more underwhelming.
5. Louisville: Bye week. The last time I saw them, they weren’t exactly dominating Syracuse. So, I’m picking them to lose at home Thursday night. WVU has too much on offense, especially if White throws well again. Tiny little Papa Johns Stadium won’t offer that much of a homefield advantage (half of it will be Mountaineer fans anyways), and Brian Brohm has been off since he came back. So, yeah, I think the Cardinals will be dropping next week. But, I still think that they’re better than…
6. Texas: Pulled one out of the fire in Lubbock. I know that Tech is tougher than they’re ranked, and I know that Tech always plays the Longhorns tough. But still, a one-loss team has to do better than that against an unranked opponent to stay in the top five.
7. Auburn: Underwhelming win in Oxford. I know that the SEC is allegedly the toughest conference in the country, but come on. This is freakin’ Ole Miss. War Eagle has to grow an offense before they can move ahead of Texas.
8. Tennessee: OK win, when you consider that it was against the Old Ballcoach. Yeah, California has been looking better than Tennessee lately, but I just can’t forget what the Vols did to them in Knoxville earlier this year.
9. California: On a bye week, what still sticks in my mind is the struggle against the admittedly-well-coached-but-still-unranked Huskies. Yeah, Cal has looked better than Tennessee, Auburn, or Texas at times this year. But, once again, I can’t put them ahead of a Vols team that humiliated them.
10. Notre Dame: Beating up Navy impresses nobody, especially after UCLA should have had your season last week. Plus, you’re not going to get any sympathy from me after “60 Minutes” drooled all over you last night (In the national championship race? Quinn is among the Heisman Trophy favorites? Did ANYBODY at CBS bother getting a perspective on ND from outside of South Bend!?). Incidentally, I’m the last guy that can complain about language. But being from New Jersey is no excuse for shouting that crap on the sidelines when you’re representing one of the most visible symbols of Catholicism in America. I can’t believe that I’m about to say this, but clean it up… now I’m going to Hypocrisy Hell for sure… [Get a grip, Lee.]
11. USC: You suck. You’ve sucked ever since that Arkansas game. Your demise has been imminent for weeks now. Thank God somebody finally put this lame horse out of its misery. I love that this screws Notre Dame’s strength-of-schedule too. [I’m willing to keep them above ND at this point.]
12. Arkansas: Yawner against Louisiana-Monroe (and somebody’s gonna have to explain the Louisiana state higher educational system to me sometime… are ULL and ULM just branch campuses of LSU?). Think that they’d lose to USC again?
13. Rutgers: Underwhelming against Connecticut, who just put eight men in the box and ran all over the Knights. WVU and Louisville are both way better than Rutgers. [Which is why I couldn’t put them this high.]
14. Boise State: Suddenly, that dominating win over Oregon State back on September 7th is starting to look impressive all of the sudden… The computers will LOVE the Broncos now. [Funny thing, Boise State winning out may really mess with the ACC thanks to one of several BCS “Big East” rules (I’ll have more about that later).]
15. Wisconsin: Go ahead and accuse me of having a Big Ten bias again, Chas (while everybody around here accuses me of having a Big East bias – which, hey, I won’t dispute). But the Badgers just keep on winning with a physical offensive line and power running game – the way they have ever since Barry Alverez left South Bend. Yeah, they didn’t exactly dominate Illinois on Saturday, and that’s why I can’t list them any higher than #15. But the Zooker is starting to build something at Illinois (look out Buckeyes), so this isn’t entirely a surprise. Watch Wisconsin line up against Penn State’s defense this Saturday. This will be the game where Wisconsin proves whether or not it belongs in the top 20. [Let me get this straight. At home, against Illinois — improving or not — and having to come back 24-7 to win 31-24 are grounds for this team to get this high? If it weren’t for the dearth of teams, I’d want to drop them. Big 11 Bias!!!]
16. Boston College: Best team in the ACC? For the moment, it sure looks so. Once again, its nice to see all those former Big East teams do so well in the ACC.
17. LSU: Bye week.
18. Oklahoma: Surviving without Peterson. Beating Missouri so soundly was impressive. [I’m debating putting them ahead of LSU. LSU has the talent, but I trust Oklahoma to actually win games.]
19. Wake Forest: The Deacons still haven’t really beaten anybody, but I can’t put a 7-1 team behind…
20. Virginia Tech: Second best team in the ACC? Well, after that Thursday night performance, I certainly can’t put them behind… [A nice recovery after two prior conference stinkers, but not worthiy of top-20.]
21. Clemson: CHOKE!!! And that, is why you’re Clemson. But at least you beat… [And ACC dreams of two BCS bids in one season go down the drain once more.]
22. Georgia Tech: Nice come-from-behind win. Too bad it was only against Miami.
23. Texas A&M: Sneaking back into my top 25 after beating a bowl-bound Baylor team (hey, that’s a big deal in Waco). [This one feels like a house of cards, but I will leave it alone.]
24. Washington State: The Cougars only losses are to USC, Cal, and Auburn. They beat Oregon and did a lot better against UCLA than Notre Dame did. A phoenix is rising from its ashes up on the Paloose.
25. Oregon: OK, but lost to Wazzou. So you can’t pass them in my rankings. [For beating Portland State? I said Oregon was dead to me last week and I meant it. So now Lee actually ranks them. OK State is more deserving this time. Or maybe Tulsa.]

Like I said, use the comments to let me know what should change and why.

Anyone else watch much of the UConn-Rutgers game last night? UConn, if not for it’s own ineptitude and RU’s defense, had a real shot. RU scored 2 of its 3 TDs off of special teams and defense. UConn, going into that game had the 2nd worst run defense in the Big East. They held Ray Rice to under 80 yards. Care to guess how?

”They packed the box,” Rice said. ”They did a great job. I’m just happy we came out with a win. That’s the biggest thing: we’re 8-0.”

Someone send a tape of that to DC Paul Rhoads.

The Huskies have the best pass defense in the BE, in part because their run defense is so porous it’s easier to run. The Huskies, understood that their best shot on defense was to sell-out against the run, trust in their secondary and the fact that Teel and his receivers suck (11-24, 0 TD, 1 INT). Doing that also limited the best receiving weapon on the Scarlet Knights, TE Clark Harris since he had to stay and block most of the time (only 2 catches).

Now I’m getting pissed about the Rutgers game again.

I feel completely behind on the basketball stuff at the moment.

It’s year 2 of the New Big East, but thankfully the final year of the TV pandering schedule.

I hope everyone has been clicking over to Big East Basketball Blog for much of the link goodiness. Among the stuff mentioned is bit more about the JUCO verbal Cassin Diggs. Plenty of links to stories about and after media day. As you would expect for the team picked to win the conference, plenty of talk of Pitt in the various stories.

This is a kind of fun bit, asking questions of the various players at media day and just listing them. Some may not matter much like “If you could invite three people, past or present, to dinner, who would they be?” invite aren’t that interesting (though, Aaron Gray showing a lot of comfort in the media glare put Maria Sharapova on his list).

What’s the toughest place to play in the Big East?

Juan Palacios, Louisville: “Carrier Dome. With that depth perception, you need at least a day or so of just shooting before you’re ready to play a game there.”

Dan Fitzgerald, Marquette: “The RAC at Rutgers. The locker room is real small and the fans are loud and non-stop.”

Aaron Gray, Pitt: “West Virginia. Before my first game there no one told us about their Mountaineer mascot shooting that musket. I’m standing ready to sing the national anthem. And the gun goes off. Shocked? That’s an understatement.”

Terrence Williams, Louisville: “UConn’s Gampel Pavilion. Usually on the road we have some of our fans. But at UConn everybody’s for UConn. When they’re screaming it seems the floor is moving and the rim is shaking.”

Terrence Roberts, Syracuse: “Pittsburgh. The fans, oh my goodness, they’re just on you. At every point in the game, I feel like they’re going to just rush the floor.”

Frank Young, West Virginia: “Villanova. The students are right on top of you and they chant, `Pittsburgh,’ which is our big rival.”

Wesley Matthews, Marquette: “Louisville. It was so hot. When I left the locker room, I was sweating. It was the hottest place I’ve played, indoors or outdoors.”

Anthony Mason Jr., St. John’s: “UConn is crazy. A big arena. It’s loud. The fans are crazy.”

Jeff Green, Georgetown: “Pittsburgh. I’ve never experienced anything like that. The stadium was actually rocking.”

Levon Kendall, Pittsburgh: “Syracuse. It’s half a football field. It’s a strange feel. And the fans are pretty ruthless. Last year a guy heckled us the entire warmup.”

Mike Nardi, Villanova: “Pittsburgh. Their students are all along the side of the court and they are loud. Plus, you have to play Pittsburgh.”

Pitt being at 5th (tied with UCLA) in the Coaches’ preseason poll seems about right. It isn’t just me, right? Despite the professed non-desire to coach against each other, doesn’t it seem that something is going to make a Pitt-UCLA game happen in the next few years?

As for the Fan Fest and Blue-Gold Scrimmage, big thanks to Omar and Yi for the first-hand reports of what they saw. Going into this season I was a little worried about how the team will feed Gray the ball. That still seems to be something of an issue. Considering I jumped on the Mike Cook bandwagon early, I’m very happy to read that he looked good. As they both agreed, there was a lot of intensity in the scrimmage. Not bad blood or being pissed, just both teams trying to take it to the other. I have to make one of these some time.

Watched and blogged college football yesterday until my eyes bled. It was that or because of the nasty cold I have. It’s interesting trying to watch all that football at once, not just as a fan of the game but trying to find something to write about particular moments in the game.

During all of the games I couldn’t help but compare some of the teams to Pitt. In terms of progress and how Pitt would do against them.

Michigan State to take a team that kicked Pitt’s rear, took a big humiliating hit from Indiana. Don’t get me wrong, Indiana’s an improving team and Coach Hoeppner is a very, very good coach (I had him on my personal short list to replace Harris back in 2004). Still there is no excuse for the absolute blowout of MSU that Indiana did to them.

There is something about certain schools that never seem to change. For Michigan State, it’s start off strong and then collapse. It’s why PSU dominates them in the Land Grant Trophy. If they pulled an ACC and matched them up in the first game, the record would be quite different. No question Pitt could beat them now. Regardless of who gets hired at MSU, Pitt should push very hard for the game to be sometime in late October or November.

It is fun seeing FSU and Miami no longer scaring teams. Georgia Tech committed so many early mistakes against Miami, but they never had any doubt about coming back and Miami couldn’t do anything to press their advantage. The Miami O-line is not good. FSU never led against Maryland — though Maryland may have one of the worst secondarys in the ACC.

Cinci is a much better team then when Pitt played them. They have figured out who starts at QB and have a RB. Their defense has really tightened up in all aspects.In back-to-back games against USF and Syracuse, their defense really controlled things until the offense got going. Syracuse still hasn’t won a Big East game since their 2004 upset of BC. The good news for the Orange is that they still have UConn to play.

UCLA was still hungover from blowing it against ND. No heart against WSU.

I can’t prove anything, but I think Pete Carroll threw the Oregon State game to make sure Mike Riley remains head coach. Carroll knows his team just can’t win it this year, so he took the loss to the kind of team and coach he knows he can regularly crush. Riley will be able to stay an extra year with the Beavers just on that kind of win.

After seeing a lot of teams, Rutgers is just about right at #16, but the one-dimensional aspect of its offense will cost it against the teams in the top-10 for sure. Unlike WVU, Rutgers rushing attack doesn’t include the QB as well to make things scarier. Also, Pat White is a more accurate passer with much more fundamentally sound receivers than Mike Teel.

Now back to Pitt.

Going into the season — based on what I had read about the opponents, their history, and “name” value — I had marked the schedule with 5 “sure” wins (Cinci, Cidatel, Syracuse, South Florida, UConn), 5 “toss-ups” (Virginia, MSU, Toledo, UCF and Rutgers) and 2 “probable” losses (WVU and Louisville). Obviously Virginia, Toledo and UCF were worse then expected, just as USF is better then expected.

Still, I have to admit to agreeing with Coach Dave Wannstedt that Pitt is improving and there has been noticeable progress from last year.

He said he is a little confused by criticism that Pitt’s six wins came against inferior competition — Virginia, Cincinnati, The Citadel, Toledo, Syracuse and Central Florida.

Wannstedt points out that the six Panthers victories were blowouts. Last year, the same caliber of teams gave Pitt trouble. Ohio University beat the Panthers. In 2004, when Pitt went to the Fiesta Bowl, a BCS bowl, the Panthers needed miracle comebacks to defeat Temple and Furman and lost to a Connecticut team that had been a I-A program for less than five years.

“When you get a taste of the good and you start playing well, it is human nature to want it all right now,” Wannstedt said, “It doesn’t happen that way, it takes a little bit of time. It can be frustrating if you don’t look at the big picture, and I have to continually remind myself that I’m less than 20 games into this thing and I’ve only had one full recruiting class and it will take a few more.

“There has been a drastic improvement from a year ago. We’ve gone out and won a bunch of games we should have won, and that’s a starting point and a lot of the credit goes to our seniors.”

Wannstedt, along with his players, know they are better than last year, but not just because of the wins. He said after both of their losses, they walked off the field feeling that had they made a few more plays, they could have changed the outcome.

Arguably, what happened last year shouldn’t have happened in at least two games. Still, even when Pitt won last year, they weren’t exactly satisfying wins. It usually was because the other team was more inept then Pitt.

I can’t help but also think that losing to Rutgers at home was especially painful because — it was Rutgers. It’s hard to shake the notion of the Scarlet Knights being anything other then the conference doormat. We look at the history of the games and the series and it seems inconceivable that Rutgers could be better and win games against Pitt. (Something that I think afflicts a large segment of Syracuse basketball fans when facing Pitt. Seriously, look at the history of Pitt vs. Syracuse. It’s pathetic. It has to be hard for fans to get past that kind of history to the reality.)

[Editior’s note: Lee’s been in conferences and lots of other things going on this week (or so he claims), so while he was able to pump out some picks, he only had time for a few.]
Screw all the zoning notices that I’m supposed to be working on right now. First things first…

* MINNESOTA (+27) AT OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes’ record against the spread over the past few years has been incredible. Nobody should call for OSU not to cover unless they’re pretty sure. But I think I am here. Twenty-seven is a lot to lay against a Minnesota team that can run the ball (remember OSU’s problems against the run?), and that gave Penn State everything it wanted and then some (pass interference?). I’ll (gulp) go against conventional wisdom here, taking the Gophers and the points.

* PENN STATE (-3) AT PURDUE: Purdue has no defense. Thus, this is a great place for the Nittany Lion offense to get healthy. Morelli still has plenty of fast receivers and, oh yeah, Tony Hunt. The Nits can definitely put up some points against this pitiful D. On the flip side, Purdue also has a hell of an offense. But, unlike the Boilermakers, the Lions have a hell of a defense. This oughta slow down Purdue’s offense long enough for Penn State to get ahead by more than a mere field goal.

And the “Stone Cold, Lead-Pipe Cinch, Guaranteed Pick of the Week”

* SYRACUSE (+6.5) AT CINCINNATI: You know, the Bearcats haven’t let me down all year long. Every time I’ve picked them, they’ve covered the spread. You gotta love former dormats that are rising from their ashes… but Vegas thinks are still doormats. Cincinnati’s tough schedule and physical play will carry them past a depleted Syracuse squad, especially in the friendly confines of Nippert Stadium. Heck, even Pitt could run on Syracuse. The Bearcats will win by at least seven.

Also, I’ll take Pitt’s defense to give up at least 150 rushing yards to the bye week.

Bye week jokes are always fresh.

This is one I wanted to get to for a week, but it has been hectic.

Fans for Script

is a place of interest for many, I suspect. I’ve added them to the links area under “School Links.”
It’s a student-based effort to bring back the script and the old colors for Pitt.

I miss the old colors. Have for some time. There’s no secret about that. I think the present colors are boring, common and the whole thing — as I know Lee and I have said on more then one occasion — reminds me of the San Diego Chargers situation. They have those boring dark colors, but when they break out the baby blues, people go nuts. They are one of the cooler pro football unis.

As for the script, well I’d like to say my view is a bit nuanced, but wishy-washy is probably a better way to put it.

I could take or leave the script. The colors are more important to me, and for logo designs I prefer simple. So, the block letter “Pitt” doesn’t really bother me. If getting the script meant junking the present panther head logo, I would probably get on board.

The big stumbling block, though, with the script is ownership. If I understand things correctly, the script Pitt logo is owned by the university itself, not the athletic department (hence, why you see Pitt Campus police with hats bearing the script Pitt). This is important for the funding of athletics if the merchandise sales are not going straight to the athletic department. In fact, this is the issue that probably does more to prevent any serious discussion of the return of the script logo.

The seeming hallmark of every news story is to find some local hook. I always viewed this as a sort of provinicialism until I moved around to a bunch of cities over the years. I realized it was completely common practice. I ascribed it to some inferiority complex until I started this blog. The more articles I read, the more I realized it was just something everyone does — find that local angle. No place at times is worse about it then NYC. They love pointing out talent that played at a city high school or some local connection. This one about the Big East preseason polls caught my attention.

“It’s not where you are now; it’s where you finish,” said Jamie Dixon, Pitt’s Bronx-bred coach. “These guys get the magazines, get on the Internet. You can’t hide from it. The day after the season they were ranking teams, so it’s not a surprise. It’s a challenge. Our guys love challenges, and what bigger challenge can you have than to be picked No. 1 in the Big East?”

Actually winning it, and coming up big in the Big Dance. The Panthers never have won more than two NCAA tourney games in a season, getting knocked out of the Sweet 16 three straight years – including Dixon’s first as head coach in 2004.

[Emphasis added.]

I love that. Coach Dixon was born in Burbank and his hometown is North Hollywood, California. His folks are from the Bronx and he did live there for a spell, but that just cracks me up. It’s like calling me a Baltimore native since I was born and lived there for the first 6 months of my life.

Additional note, the meme of can Pitt get past the Sweet 16 this year will be one that will dog Pitt.

Helmet stickers for Pitt. Yes or no? Personally, I’m not that big a fan of them (the downside of which is that it puts me in agreement with Joe Pa), but I could see Coach Wannstedt bringing them back sometime soon. I suppose I might not object as much if it was something simple — in fact that may have been the thing to do with that stupid Panther’s tooth they tried to push as alt logo a few years back. Then it might have worked. We all know, though, it would be that hideous Panther head that just looks like a blue and gold blob from any distance.

It seems for a team tabbed for the preseason top spot, they are reasonably loose before the media horde.

Reporters were swarming Jamie Dixon on Wednesday when Pitt senior center Aaron Gray held out an invisible microphone and posed a question to his coach.

“How does it feel to be talking to this many reporters?” Gray said.

Dixon looked at his 7-foot star and deadpanned, “I tried to get rid of one of them, but he came back.”

Considering how Coach Dixon has struggled generally to show a personality in media settings and the volume of media friendly and quotable coaches in the Big East, this is progress and says something about improving skills for Coach Dixon in being comfortable in his skin and his position.

This is the third time Pitt has earned Big East preseason No. 1 status. The other two times, in 1987-88 and 2002-03, the Panthers either won or tied for the regular-season title.

So Pitt has that going for it.

Not that Pitt players and coach don’t know it also makes Pitt a target for everyone’s best game and that preseason rankings are not that important.

“We have to accept the challenge and stay strong,” senior guard Antonio Graves added. “We’ll be faced with ups and downs. With this team, the key will be how we stay strong in the storm. With all the pressure and attention, how we handle adversity will be the key to this season.”

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon took the news in stride. He recognizes that being picked No. 1 is a tribute to his and his staff’s ability to coach and recruit, but he also knows the recognition means nothing if the Panthers don’t play to their lofty expectations.

“I think it’s a good thing for our program,” Dixon said. “I think it says a lot about where we’ve come from. I always said when this conference was getting changed around and everyone was wondering what was going to happen, I said we want to play against the best. If we’re picked at the top in the preseason in this conference, I think that says a lot.”

The one thing that can derail any season, though, are injuries. It seems there are some little injuries in the preseason worth keeping an eye on.

Pitt has been bitten by the injury bug this preseason. Freshman guard Gilbert Brown was diagnosed with mononucleosis 10 days ago and has yet to take part in a practice. Sophomore point guard Levance Fields is hampered by a groin injury and senior guard Antonio Graves (back) and sophomore forward Sam Young (knee) have minor injuries.

Graves said the practices have been extremely competitive.

“Guys are still competing and fighting for positions,” he said. “Practice is very competitive, very physical. We’ve had a couple of injuries. It’s been a battle. It will make us a better team.”

Brown, a consensus top-50 recruit, is to be reexamined today. He just started doing some light running on the treadmill earlier in the week and could be out for a while.

“It’ll change some things if he’s not ready to go,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

Gilbert Brown was about the only freshman expected to bust through the rotation this season. The issue will be his conditioning coming back from mono. Knee problems for Sam Young are nerve inducing. He needs to healthy knees for his explosiveness.

Well, Pitt’s QB  of the future is having a fine season.

Certainly, Bostick has been instrumental in Township reaching a point where it can take aim on a second straight section title. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior has earned First Team All-State honors and a Division I scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh, and is closing in on several of the passing records set by the QB he most admires, former Wilson star and current Michigan standout Chad Henne.

“I think he’s the best quarterback to ever play in this state,” said Bostick, who visited Henne in Michigan during the offseason prior to his commitment to Pitt.

“He’s more athletic than I am; I’m a little more gritty,” Bostick said of the QB he’s most often compared to. “He throws the tightest ball I’ve ever seen. It never wobbles. I’m a little more ‘just-get-it-done’ kind of guy. I’m a grinder, a nickel-and-dime kind of guy.”

Boy, I wish those kind of quotes about Henne had been made before the Michigan-PSU game.

Lots of stuff to go through over the next day or two. From the NY Times:

With the Villanova and Connecticut rosters having been decimated by defections to the N.B.A., it is the Panthers and the Hoyas who look like the class of the conference. Both are returning many of the players from 2005-6 teams that were not quite good enough to steal the spotlight.

“This conference has two great teams this year, and they are Pitt and Georgetown,” Louisville Coach Rick Pitino said.

In the league’s coaches’ poll, Pitt received the top ranking with 10 first-place votes; Georgetown was close behind with four first-place votes and 212 points. Syracuse and Marquette each received one first-place vote.

A big reason Pittsburgh is expected to go far this season is the 7-foot senior center Aaron Gray, who was named preseason player of the year. Gray, who played in only 15 games as a freshman, has developed into a dominating inside presence who is skilled offensively and defensively. Gray probably would have been a first-round N.B.A. draft pick had he elected to leave Pittsburgh after last season, but he said he did not want to miss the chance to accomplish something special.

“I sat down with every teammate individually, and I told them if I come back, these are my goals,” Gray said. “I wanted to make sure they were on the same page with me. I told them, coming sixth in the Big East isn’t good enough. Getting to the Big East championship game isn’t good enough. Losing in the second round of the N.C.A.A. tournament isn’t good enough. I wanted to know that everyone was willing to work hard to surpass those numbers. So far, everyone has shown me that they are.”

Then there’s this list of top sleepers expected to emerge this season.

3. Ronald Ramon, Jr., Pittsburgh, 6-1, 180
Carl Krauser, Pitt’s longtime leader, is gone. That means we are going to find out just how underrated Ramon has been. Unlike Krauser, Ramon does a good job setting up his teammates and uses good shot selection. In his first year as a starter last season, he led the team with a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio, shot 51 percent from 3-point range in league games and scored in double figures in seven of the last 10 games. Now placed in a more assertive role, Ramon’s high basketball I.Q. and versatile skills will be showcased more.

And stay healthy.

If I even believed this rumor/story for a minute I would become the biggest Paul Rhoads honk out there, just to help him on his way.

A guy whose name will be mentioned for upcoming job openings: Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads. He’s an astute coaching mind who’s ready for the next challenge. He almost got the Pitt gig that went to Dave Wannstedt. And Rhoads came close to getting the East Carolina job that went to John Thompson a few years ago.

I don’t want him mentioned. I want him hired. Hire Paul Rhoads away from Pitt. Please.

Hmm. Maybe that’s why he forgot to make any adjustments or preparations for the defense leading up to the Rutgers game. He’s so ready for the next challenge that he is neglecting his present duties because they bore him. Yeah. That’s the ticket.

Well, since this is still the old BE TV contract, it’s nice that Pitt gets to take advantage of the rules.

The Big East national TV schedule for this season is listed and meaningless comparisons.

I’m working from the assumption that the most desirable spots are on CBS, ESPN and ESPN2.
Pitt is the winner with 2 CBS games, 12 on ESPN and ESPN2, 1 on ESPN Regional, (thankfully only) 1 on ESPNU and 0 on ESPN360.com.

Villanova came closest to Pitt on the key three with 2 CBS, 11 on ESPN and ESPN2. What’s interesting is the love (or hatred depending on where you are and your system) ‘Nova got from the rest of the ESPN family: 2 ESPN Regional, 3 ESPNU and 1 ESPN360.

Georgetown did well with 2 CBS games, 10 ESPN/2, 2 ESPN Regional and 2 on ESPN360.

Louisville essentially matched with 2 on CBS, 10 ESPN/2, 2 ESPN Regional and 1 ESPNU.

UConn has a very interesting showing. They dominate on CBS with 4, but only have 6 on ESPN/2. In addition they have 2 ESPN Regional and 1 ESPNU.

Syracuse avoided the Regional, and the other ESPN junk. They have only 1 CBS game and 8 on ESPN/2.

Marquette was respectable with 1 CBS game and 6 ESPN/2 showings. They have a bunch on the hidden channels: 2 ESPNU and 3 ESPN360.

West Virginia gets some residual love, despite much lower expectations. 1 CBS game, 6 ESPN/2 showings and 1 ESPN Regional.

The Big East Basketbal Media Day has its flurry of press releases. You can download your copy of the 2006-07 BE Media Guide (why doesn’t Mike Tranghese ever send me a copy?).

Now for the Coaches polls. Aaron Gray took home the BE Preseason Player of the Year and was a unanimous choice for the bizarre 10-man All-Big East squad (and then, apparently for shits and giggles they add 3 more players for “honorable mention”).

Gray is the fourth Pitt player to earn BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year recognition. The others were Charles Smith in 1986-87, Jerome Lane in ’87-88 and Brandin Knight in ’02-03.

In addition to Gray, a 10-player Preseason All-BIG EAST Team was selected. A pair of Georgetown junior standouts, forward Jeff Green and center Roy Hibbert, were unanimous selections along with Marquette sophomore guard Dominic James.

No other Pitt players made the list.

The Big East beat writers may have surprised with G-town taking 1st place, but the Coaches were predictable in their pre-season ballot.

School	Pts.
1. Pittsburgh (10)	219
2. Georgetown (4)	212
3. Syracuse (1)	182
4. Marquette (1)	181
5. Connecticut	173
6. Louisville	149
7. Villanova	146
8. DePaul	134
9. St. John’s	105
10. Providence	102
11. Notre Dame	80
12. West Virginia	72
13. Cincinnati	52
14. Rutgers	49
15. Seton Hall	42
16. USF	22

First-place votes in parentheses

Pitt will be hard-pressed to play the “disrespect” card. Though, individual players might feel that.

Syracuse at #3 is something of a stunner, but I think it reflects on how good the coaches think Freshman Paul Harris will be. Providence up at #10 is a stunner to me. They are not nearly that talented and even if they want to keep Tim Welsh around as the easy mark, giving Providence fans a benchmark of expectations like that won’t help.

Cinci will be better then that. They have a lot of JUCO kids, so if they can get it together during the non-con, they could be more dangerous once the season starts. Seton Hall will be better then 15 if for no reason, Bobby Gonzalez will coach the kids up and steal a couple extra wins.