Okay, before I get to the main stuff, a couple more picks worth noting. Stewart Mandel at SI.com goes with Rutgers to my relief (he also picked Toledo to upset Pitt a few weeks ago). Of course that was spoiled by seeing Bruce Feldman pick Pitt (ESPN Insider).

Pitt 24, No. 19 Rutgers 20: It pains me to pick against the Scarlet Knights, but even though RU QB Mike Teel is coming off a career game, I think the Panthers speedy and talented back seven will give him a long day. Keep an eye on Knights RBs Ray Rice and Brian Leonard against Pitt LBs H.B. Blades and Clint Session.

Thing that has me sold: The Panthers hard-hitting duo is the best tandem Rutgers will face all season.

Damn. I’m getting all freaked and superstitious ahead of this one.

Interesting little tidbit about Pitt from Ivan Maisel’s blog.

Pittsburgh is tied for second in the Big East with nine interceptions. What’s odd is that those nine picks had been made by eight different Panthers, from defensive tackle Gus Mustakas back to left corner Darrelle Revis, the Panther with two interceptions.

Yeah, wow.

The Big East Notebook from Joe Starkey (Insider subs)doesn’t have much that hasn’t already been discussed or particularly interesting: Pitt hasn’t played anyone, attendance issues, good punters on both sides, Palko has 58 TD passes Rutherford 59, Van Pelt 66 and Marino 79. For Rutgers it’s QB Mike Teel needs to play well, so will DT Ramel Meekins.

Finally, and while I would love to excerpt the whole thing because it alternates between interesting and clueless it would definitely exceed the bounds of fair use, the ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. breakdown of the Rutgers-Pitt game. It was this passage when talking about the Rutgers offense versus Pitt defense that made me laugh bitterly.

MLB H.B. Blades plays with a mean streak and he takes the shortest path to the ball but DT’s Rashaad Duncan and Gus Mustakas lack ideal size. They won’t be able to hold their ground when the Scarlet Knights run right at them. That will allow one of the interior offensive linemen, whether it’s LOG Mike Fladell, OC Darnell Stapleton or ROG Cameron Stephenson, to release up to the second level. Even if Blades is able to shed the block quickly, he’ll be forced to wrap Leonard up three-to-four yards downfield rather than at the line of scrimmage. However, it’s important to note that SS Sam Bryant is a powerful open field tackler who is big enough to line up close to the line of scrimmage. Rhoads will likely move Bryant into the box regularly and that should help limit the production of Rutgers’ ground game.

[Emphasis added.]

Now check a little lower over what Zeise wrote in response to the Q&A about stuffing the box against the run. Yeah, Bryant would be the eighth man in the box. The odds of him being brought up regularly are…?

One other part that I found interesting since there has been some talk about Rutgers pass rush.

The good news for Rutgers is it recorded seven sacks last week with Meekins and DE William Beckford finishing with two each. The bad news is it recorded just 12 sacks over the first five games of the season and Pittsburgh’s pass protection has been sound for the most part. In addition, the front four must stay in their rushing lanes because Palko is mobile enough to make plays with his feet when he breaks contain or a seam opens up between the tackles.

Navy was playing with a back-up QB in a scheme meant to have the QB move around a lot, and take off fairly often. Palko should have time with the shorter drop that has been utilized all season.