The Pitt basketball non-con has gotten plenty of love for finally being tougher.

All those easily beatable teams Pitt played in November and December often caught up to the Panthers in March. Their NCAA tournament seeding didn’t always seem comparable to the record they achieved.

Last season, the Panthers won their first 15 games and played in the Big East tournament championship game for the fifth time in six years, yet were only fifth-seeded in their region. Some players suggested they might have had the same seeding even if they hadn’t won three Big East tournament games in three days.

If the Panthers are seeded lower than expected in the 2007 tournament, and they certainly expect to appear in it, their schedule probably won’t be the culprit.

I’ve been an advocate of a tougher non-con schedule for years. My reasons were concerned with the NCAA seeding but had as much to do with this:

• More TV exposure early in the year, which only happens when you play good teams (or you are Duke) since this allows those of us not living in Pittsburgh to actually see the games plus it helps for recruiting to point to the number of TV games.
• It gets so tiresome after a while to hear the talking heads on ESPN screaming about how Pitt hasn’t played anyone yet (admittedly not a great reason, but anything to shut up Gottlieb is a good thing).
• I follow the RPI way too closely, and seeing triple digit non-con SOS just depresses the hell out of me.

So now, Pitt has a solid non-con. It isn’t an insane gauntlet. It’s got the “gimmee” with games against Western Michigan, Delaware St., Northeastern, Duquesne, Robert Morris, Florida A&M, Buffalo and Oakland. Respectable to challenging games with Florida State (which could be seen as an even tougher game by the end of the season), at Auburn, UMass and Dayton. Then it has the good to excellent match-ups at Wisconsin, Washington, and at Oklahoma St.

So Mike DeCourcy (who I consider one of the best national b-ball writers and like to read) at The Sporting News gives a bit of the contrarian view.

The Panthers have significantly increased the difficulty of their pre-conference schedule — it’s gone from Putt-Putt to Pebble Beach in just one year — and so comes the inevitable reaction. Which is? It’ll help the Panthers come March.

Oh, yes, we’ve heard that one before.

When Michigan State took on Duke, UCLA, Kentucky and Kansas in 2003-04, it was going to make the Spartans tougher in March. How’d that work out? The Spartans were beaten frequently, earned only a No. 7 seed and were upset by Nevada in the tournament’s first round.

Under John Chaney, Temple played absurdly difficult schedules annually, averaging six non-league road games the past three years. The Owls haven’t even seen March since 2001.

The team that won last year’s NCAA championship, Florida, played St. Peter’s, Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M, among others. The Gators’ non-league schedule was rated No. 253 by the RPI duplication published at Collegerpi.com. That team still earned a No. 3 seed and played pretty fair ball in March.

It’s a lost aspect to Florida winning the National Championship last year, but for those advocating teams play tougher non-con schedules, Florida just took away the “it toughens them up for the NCAA” and/or helps with seeding arguments.

DeCourcy, though, is fair in the piece. He does offer a good reason for Pitt to do this. Especially this year.

What a challenging non-league schedule does for a team — a veteran team like these Panthers — is prevent the players from getting bored. Not that this outfit is so complete that boredom is the only obstacle. Coach Jamie Dixon still is figuring out who’ll be his starting small forward, how to best use versatile forward Sam Young and whether there’ll be sufficient outside shooting threats. He’s got two experienced point guards, but Ronald Ramon and Levance Fields will have slightly different roles than a year ago.

Figuring out roles for everyone and the rotation will be the big challenge early in the season. I’d rather have that problem, though.

I’m sure it’s just the nature of the byes and an eight team conference that there are only 2 BE Football games this weekend. The same week that the Big East has its media day. Coincidence. There are only 2 BE football games the following weekend as well.

The beat writers in the Big East have their annual media poll for picking the conference.  A bit of a surprise.

… the tandem of Green and Hibbert makes Georgetown the Big East’s preseason favorite in the eyes of the writers.The Hoyas picked up 10 first-place votes, four second-place votes and two third-place votes to out-distance Pittsburgh at the top of the predicted standings. Georgetown and Pittsburgh accounted for all 16 first-place votes.

Connecticut came in third in the writers’ poll, while Marquette was fourth and Syracuse fifth.

However, not every writer was sold on the Hoyas.

“It’s surprising how many people are jacked up about Georgetown,” Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal said. “The Hoyas have the best 1-2 post pair in the country in Hibbert and Green, but do Jonathan Wallace and Jesse Sapp at guard make your heart skip a beat? Not me.”

While Georgetown and Pittsburgh were solidly atop most writers’ polls, the rest of the standings were fluid. Syracuse received two second-place votes and two eighth-place votes. DePaul was picked to finish as high as seventh and as low as 15th. The Blue Demons finally settled at No. 8 in the poll behind No. 6 Villanova and No. 7 Louisville.

The bottom half of the standings were like this: No. 9 St. John’s, No. 10 Providence, No. 11 Cincinnati, No. 12 Notre Dame, No. 13 Seton Hall, No. 14 West Virginia, No. 15 Rutgers and No. 16 South Florida. Coming off its 1-15 inaugural Big East campaign, South Florida was picked to finish last this season on 15 of the 16 ballots.

Notre Dame received the lone remaining last-place vote.

I’m not shocked to see G-town getting picked for first by the writers. Surprised, but not shocked.

Aaron Gray and Dominic James of Marquette were co-Players of the Year in the preseason survey. They were both the only unanimous picks for the All-Big East 1st team.

Lee, had business that kept him from contributing this week. So, I was on my own.

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

Oregon is dead to me at this point. They will need to beat USC to get back in the BlogPoll.

I’m trying to decide if teams are really starting to figure out WVU — UConn made it look rough for the Mountaineers in the first half, but they had no offense to do anything. The other possibility, and this would also apply to Louisville, is that the coaches are holding things back. Trying not to show too much before the big game next Thursday. Otherwise, I am really starting to wonder about both.

A lot of teams did not exactly impress me this weekend, but no other teams did much to justify moving into the polls or moving much higher.

I have until Wednesday morning to revise my ballot. Make the case for some changes.

It’s tomorrow for basketball. Last year, the Big East and CSTV showed Media Day activities live on TV and streamed. Apparently that was too much fun and too much content.

Fans can access video from 4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. ET on both days. It will also be available in an archived version shortly thereafter.

BIG EAST Media Day Central has full BIG EAST men’s and women’s basketball media day coverage, including previews, rosters and schedules for each team. The preseason coaches’ poll, news releases and media guides will be also be unveiled at 9:30 a.m. ET on each respective media day – along with additional quotes and features taken from the players and coaches on site.

On the Media Day Central site, you can read a capsulized preview of Pitt along with the other 15 teams. Pitt is expected to be the pre-season top team in the Big East. Georgetown would be the darkhorse surprise.

It may be hard to accept that Rutgers is better than Pitt this year, but is it so hard to accept that the Rutgers lines were definitely better than Pitts’? I don’t think so.

What made this game so frustrating. So annoying and familiar. There were coaching adjustments that could have been made to at least partially compensate for this. I’m not saying Pitt would have won, but it would have put Pitt in a better position consider Rutgers managed to miss a bunch of opportunities in the first half.

On the defense, as discussed ad nauseum, you bring the linebackers closer to the line, bring up at least one safety. Maybe even mix in a blitz, though, not totally necessary when a team is running the ball 71% of the time. Just do something to accept the reality that the run was coming. If you want to make a QB throw, you have to make it attractive to take the chance. It’s not going to happen if the run is there, the entire game.

For the offense, keep the tight ends in to block more frequently. If there is a need to pass go with max protection. In other words, if the lines couldn’t do the job straight-up, give them some help.

These adjustments weren’t made. Again.

The defeat cost the Panthers a chance to move into the Top 25 and, once again, exposed their run-defense deficiencies — a troubling revelation with the No. 1 rushing team in the nation, West Virginia, and Louisville, ranked seventh, looming on the Big East horizon.

“Physically,” coach Dave Wannstedt said, “we didn’t hold up like we need to.”

Rutgers sophomore Ray Rice rushed for 225 yards on 39 carries, both career highs, and the Scarlet Knights offensive line mauled Pitt’s undersized defensive front.

The only hope I am taking from this is that it forces Coach Wannstedt to make the change at defensive coordinator. These “run defense deficiencies” have been there for the last 4 years or so. A run-only offensive team that everyone knows will be running, just imposes their will. The defense doesn’t prepare or adjust to it.

I know I’m not unbiased to Paul Rhoads. I’ve wanted the DC gone since the 2003 season. I’ve made no secret of that. It isn’t the lack of blitzing, or even the actual “bend-but-don’t-break” defensive philosophy. Or even seeing the team regularly make a good back look like Tony Dorsett. No. It’s the soft coverage even with talent in the secondary. It’s poor recruiting work on the D-line. It’s poor gameplanning. It’s the complete lack of adjustments after halftime. It’s not playing to the defense’s strengths and exploiting the opposing offenses weaknesses. It comes down to not putting the defense in a position to succeed.

Rhoads follows more of a “read-and-react” approach on defense, which is why he won’t make adjustments. He concedes to the offense what will be dictated. It doesn’t allow the defense to play to its strengths and mask or help at the weak spots.

On the offensive lines, I admit to being willing to cut a bit of slack. Not just because there is a new offensive system and OC, but because I honestly wasn’t even expecting this much from them this season. Talented players like Joe Thomas give hope for the future. The loss of Simonitis and injuries to back-ups also provides something of an excuse.

Rutgers has a very good and fast D-line. They used their strengths to attack Pitt. They didn’t blitz Pitt repeatedly because they always do. They did it, because they could exploit the weaknesses of Pitt (the O-line) and cover their own weak area (secondary).

Dave Wannstedt is responsibe for all of this as the head coach. I would say this is the last year he can even mention that he is still learning things about the college game and differences from the pros.

It’s a bye week and while players hate to have that week off following a loss, it may be a good thing for the fans. The frustration level is still rather high, and a week off may be good for the old psyche.

For me, it means that my first attempt to change gears and look at basketball a bit is looming. I’m still trying to catch up on some other things, with regards to football, so definitely an opportunity for that.

So, let’s see. Ron Cook warned everyone and sure enough goes with it.

Bad, bad, bad.

Two big dropped passes. A lost fumble. Five sacks. Eight penalties. One bad coaching decision. A defense that broke down at the worst time. A bunch of missed tackles. A whopping 268 rushing yards for Rutgers, including 225 by superb tailback Ray Rice.

Horrible, horrible, horrible.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt didn’t even try to find the silver lining, probably because there was none.

“If we do those things against The Citadel,” he said of the many blunders, “we’re going to be scrambling around to win.”

The game showed that the 6-1 record Pitt lugged in was an illusion, built against weak competition, an opening-night win against Virginia aside. It also showed how far Pitt has to go to become an elite program. There’s no question it’s better than it was last season in Wannstedt’s first season. But it’s just as evident that it has been surpassed by Rutgers and isn’t on West Virginia’s or Louisville’s level in the Big East Conference. It won’t catch up until it starts taking care of business at Heinz Field.

It’s very hard to write about this game without getting negative. Mainly because so much of it was so familiar.

Rice joins a growing list of recent-era 200-yard rushers against Pitt that includes West Virginia’s Pat White, Virginia Tech’s Kevin Jones and Notre Dame’s Julius Jones. Rice finished seven yards short of Terrell Willis’ school-record 232 yards against Temple in 1994.

It’s also frustrating because there is a gameplan to beat Rutgers. Everyone knows it, but Pitt couldn’t do it.

The Panthers entered the game with the idea that if they could get a lead, they could force the Scarlet Knights out of their comfort zone and make quarterback Mike Teel, not the running backs, win the game.

But Pitt couldn’t get any momentum on offense early, and as a result, Rutgers didn’t have to take many chances. The Scarlet Knights were content to wage a field-position battle the entire first half and it led to a 20-10 win.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said the Panthers’ lack of execution on offense early in the game was frustrating.

No pressure on the QB. No stopping the running game.

Teal only threw 18 times, a stat Wannstedt felt was one of the telltale stats of the game.

“We played right into Rutgers’ hands because the way to beat them is to jump on them early and make them throw, but they had the luxury of only needing to throw when they wanted to,” Wannstedt said. “We have a bye coming up and we’ll need it to regroup and get ready to play at South Florida in two weeks.”

The first half saw both offenses make plenty of mistakes which is why it was only 6-0 Rutgers at halftime. Rutgers, though, was moving the ball. They couldn’t score, but they kept the defense out there and was able to put Pitt deep.

The Panthers had horrendous field position in the first half, while giving Rutgers excellent starting drives, but held the Scarlet Knights to Jeremy Ito field goals from 32 and 21 yards. Ito also missed wide right from 38 yards and led 6-0 at halftime. Pitt had several chances to make plays in the first half, but dropped two passes, saw two other plays wiped out by penalties and had quarterback Tyler Palko harassed throughout.

“They were able to do some things that we just weren’t able to stop,” Pitt center Joe Villani said. “I don’t think it was as much physical as it was mental, but we have to be able to keep them off our quarterback.”

Ah, yes, the lack of protection for Palko. Five sacks allowed, and Palko had to escape several others.

The Scarlet Knights rushed for 271 yards and limited the Panthers to 67 yards rushing. Both totals were indicative of the way the Scarlet Knights physically manhandled the Panthers on both sides of the ball. As another measure of Rutgers’ physical superiority, the Scarlet Knights had five sacks while Pitt had none.

That doubles the amount of sacks the O-line allowed through the prior 7.

Still, despite that. Despite a defense that had coaches paying lip service to stopping the run, while refusing to stuff the box, bring the linebackers closer and bring up a safety. Despite all of that, Pitt was never out of the game because Rutgers struggled to finish drives.

And Pitt finally put together a drive that could go without penalties, overcome no running game and dropped passes. Going no-huddle and moving, Pitt even overcame the lack of pass protection with Tyler Palko providing a highlight reel scramble and evade before throwing a perfect strike to Oderick Turner in the back of the endzone.

That put Pitt only down 13-10 with nearly an entire quarter left to play. The crowd was fired up and ready for the roaring comeback. Pitt may have been outplayed for 3 quarters, but the game wasn’t out of reach.

On the ensuing kickoff, Rutgers’ Willie Foster fielded the ball in the upper corner of the end zone but was drilled by linebacker Clint Session at the 10. The crowd came alive, cheering wildly and giving Pitt an opportunity to take over.

Then, Rice took the handoff from Teel and bolted through the middle, slipping through the grasp of free safety Mike Phillips until cornerback Darrelle Revis chased Rice down at Pitt’s 27.

The Panthers, Wannstedt said, were “in shock.”

“That hit us in the heart,” Turner said. “We had them pinned down there and thought the momentum had changed.”

Added linebacker H.B. Blades: “It’s frustrating, because we had all the momentum at that point, and that just switched everything.”

And with that run, Ray Rice joined those tailbacks that have absolutely killed Pitt. Credit, though, also has to go to the Rutgers O-line. They opened up a gaping hole right up the middle for Rice to get through and build up a head of steam to blow through the stunned secondary.

“Everything just fitted right,” Rice said of the long run. “It just parted and I just burst through it. That was the turning point in the game. That did it.”It was a regular base call. We knew they were having problems with it. If the linebacker doesn’t take a direct angle, it parts. I was hitting it all game, but this one was a big one. I was just running out there.”

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano told his star back to prepare for a heavy workload in the second half, as the Scarlet Knights held on to the lead.

“About four minutes into the second half, I said, ‘Hey, you got it in you. We’re going to ride you,’ Schiano said. “He looked at me and said, ‘I got it in me.’ “

Rutgers ran 66 plays. Rice had 39 carries and the other backs had 9. That means Rutgers ran the ball 71% of the time. And yet, Pitt wasn’t consistently stuffing the box against the run when it was a hell of a good chance it would be a running play.

Morning everyone. I’m nursing a bit hangover this morning, and I still have to drive back. I haven’t had time to read all the comments yet, but I’m looking forward to it. I assume it was as frustrating to watch on TV as it was live.

A couple questions. Was that really a late hit by Blades on the sidelines in the second half? It sure didn’t look like one to us. Did Kinder fumble? As soon as they announced it was under review, the jumbotron shut-down any replays for the fans to see. An annoying thing at Heinz Field to not show any replays of reviewed plays. There was a general sense in the stands that the officials sucked for this game. Either that, or they were instructed by the Big East offices to make sure Rutges won.

No, I’m not feeling bitter this morning.

Rutgers didn’t need the help. They were the better team then Pitt last night. Their lines far outplayed Pitt. DC Paul Rhoads is now reaching Hackett-levels of my disgust for the way he calls  defenses. Isn’t it about time for one of the papers to run a soft feature on him, that paints him in a human, favorable light?
Direct comments that I wrote down in my notepad at halftime:

“Pitt hasn’t played particularly well. Bad O-line and no running game. D has been out a lot. Continually unable to stop Rutgers on 3d and short. Noting going Pitt’s way right now.

“That Pitt is only down 6-0 is because RU’s receivers can’t hold onto the ball.

“The band is now playing some Phantom of the Opera. I hate Andrew Lloyd Weber.

“Neither team should be happy with their play in the first half. Problem for Pitt is that RU is running real well, and will probably continue to do so and wear down the D further. Help needed on the line.”

These were some other comments from the second half.

“No pressure and soft coverage in a Paul Rhoads defense? What are the odds?”

The box score just disgusts me. Rutgers had 14 more plays on offense (and it seemed like more). Teel only attempted 18 passes because Pitt made no effort to adjust to stopping the run.

I’ll have more later. I need some more time and I have to leave soon.

It’s active in Oakland. The Pitt stores are busy. I’m just getting this out at Panera to relax for a few minutes. Maybe walk around and soak things in for a bit. I love this campus.

There’s a defiinite buzz right now. People are trying to get things done. Clear the decks as it were, to free up the day for football.
It’s an absolutely gorgeous day. Almost makes me wish the game was at noon. Ah, it should still be a nice evening. Perfect day for football. Any and all talk about the game can go here.

Just about ready to go. But the need to post was still there (plus I need to kill some time before the coffee shop down the street opens and I can get my espresso fix).

Maybe I’m just blocking, but I can’t remember Pitt ever stooping to playing the Baha Men at a game to “>enliven the crowd.

Guns N’ Roses wail over the stadium loud speakers before giving way to the Baha Men.

Who let the dogs out?

Greg Schiano just did.

“Playing on the road, everything about it is tough,” Rutgers University football coach said. “You’re not in a familiar area. It’s a hostile environment. The noise level is incredible.”

That’s why Schiano routinely puts his players in adverse situations in practice, blasting Heavy Metal, chants of “Defense,” and — what else? — barking dogs to simulate raucous crowd noise.

No. I don’t think Pitt fans (there are too many concurrent Steeler fans) would start woofing like Browns fans.
Rutgers special teams have been very good in addition to the defense.

“Their special teams have blocked four punts,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “They’ve blocked more kicks as one team than the entire seven teams that we have played up to this point. … They lead the country in scoring defense, and they’re second in the nation in total defense.”

Rutgers has allowed just 8.3 points per game with two shutouts against less than stellar competition. Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko and the nation’s most efficient passing game will make for an interesting matchup.

On the special teams, the player to watch at blocking is Manny Collins.

Collins, a 5-10, 190-pound senior, has blocked five punts in his career, including two this season (the other came against Illinois). As a team, Rutgers has four punt blocks in six games, for which Lee gives special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi most of the credit.

“He’s kind of like a guru, the way he can just come up with these schemes on the run,” said Lee, a sophomore. “Anytime we come off a punt block, he’s always asking, ‘Who blocked you? What happened?’ It seems like he always has all these ways going through his head of how he could design a way to get somebody through (to the punter). When he comes up with these schemes, it’s just amazing.”

According to Collins, Rizzi constantly stresses technique in blocking punts — reminding players never to close their eyes when they get through the line and showing them how to hold their hands when they get to the block point and dive at the foot of the punter.

But Rizzi isn’t busy only diagramming punt block schemes; he’s more big picture than that, presiding over a special teams unit that is having a big year for the 6-0 Scarlet Knights. When the punt return team (Lee and Collins call it the punt block team) doesn’t block the punt, the returners are averaging 10.6 yards per return. And both kickers are having exceptional seasons.

The Rutgers Punter is tops in the conference and 3d in the country in punt average. Definitely part of the game to keep an eye on.
The NY Post glances at senior leaders for both teams: Brian Leonard and Tyler Palko.

A story in the NY Times on Pitt and Rutgers. Lots of attention on Tyler Palko.

“We’re trying to find out who we are,” Palko said at a news conference this week. “We’ve been fortunate enough to play pretty well in the last couple of games and put up some points on these last couple of opponents. But let’s not kid ourselves, Rutgers is a different animal. They’re a top 25 team, and they’re undefeated. They’re a heck of a football team. We’re going to have to play our best football game to be in this game.”

…

“They’re confident and they’re physical,” Palko said. “Every time you turn the tape on, you see someone else making a big play. The speed of their defense is going to be tough to match up against. The complexity of it makes it hard to get a feel for what they do because they do so much. Any time you face a team like that, you’re going up against a different animal. They know that, as well. They know they’re pretty good.”

Yet Rutgers has not had success stopping Palko so far. He has thrown for 689 yards and 7 touchdowns against the Scarlet Knights over the past two seasons. In 2004, he led Pitt to a 41-17 win. Rutgers did enough last year to pull out a 37-29 victory over Palko and the Panthers.

I made the point earlier in the week about Palko’s numbers against Rutgers.

Blades also has to have a big game. If he wants to make it to be a Butkus Award finalist, this is the kind of game he has to come up big. Right now, I don’t think he would make the final 3 (my AOL boss quizzed me in the comments with who I think will be named a finalist at this point).

I’m heading in to Pittsburgh reasonably early tomorrow. I want some time on campus before going tailgating. Not to mention some final blogging. Mainly, I just want to go and get there and stop thinking about going. I’ll probably just go to the Panera for the free wireless sometime around noon. Look for a red-haired guy with a beard. It’s not me, but my buddy John stands out more than one other undistinguished short geek with glasses, goatee and a laptop. Otherwise we ‘gate in Lot 23.

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.

The “holy s**t, this game is actually meaningful” meme continues its national run with this AP article.

Rutgers and Pittsburgh are two of the East’s oldest college football programs. Rutgers played in the very first game against Princeton in 1869, and Pittsburgh has regularly fielded nationally ranked teams since taking up the sport in 1890.

Despite their long histories, Rutgers and Pitt have never played a game against each other as important as their contest on Saturday. Or one that’s been remotely close to this one.

The article says the game could be bigger for Rutgers, because with a win they could move into the top 15. It would also be the first time in Rutgers history to be ranked for more than 4 weeks in a season.

Pitt gets a nice story in USA Today about the turnaround from last year,

“We have a great senior class of guys,” Wannstedt says, “It’s not a big class. We have 12 seniors, but from Jan. 1 until today, those kids have been committed. They’ve done whatever has been asked of them.”

Two in leadership positions are quarterback Tyler Palko and linebacker H.B. Blades.

Palko leads the nation in passing efficiency, having completed 70.8% of his throws for 1,661 yards and 17 touchdowns with three interceptions. Blades leads the team in tackles with 78, pacing a defense that is tied for first nationally with 20 turnovers forced.

“Everybody asks the question (as to what’s responsible for the turnaround), but it really comes down to hard work and guys putting in the effort and believing in the system,” Palko says.

“We’re not trying to do too much; we’re just trying not to beat ourselves and do what we can. Probably one of the main reasons for the losing last year is we were turning the ball over and putting ourselves in bad position.”

One of the more galling setbacks came at Rutgers, where the Scarlet Knights used a 37-29 victory to help propel themselves to their first bowl game since 1978.

“They whipped our tails last year in the first half,” remembers Palko, whose team trailed 27-0 at halftime. “It’s not like we took anything for granted. We just didn’t play well, and they played extremely well. They embarrassed us on national TV, and we hope that doesn’t happen again. But they’re better this year, and we need to stay in the game.”

I am getting more nervous, the more I see Pitt being picked against Rutgers. It reminds me too much of what was leading up to the Michigan State game.

Another story talking up the relationship between Wannstedt and Schiano. It’s worth pointing this one out because they do a nice job on pointing out the similarites of the two in many ways.

Schiano and Wannstedt have remained close friends since, so it is no surprise their coaching philosophies are similar.

So are their personalities.

Wannstedt grew up eight miles from the Pitt campus, where he went on to block for All-America running back Tony Dorsett. He was drafted into the NFL by Green Bay but an injury ended his career in 1974.

Thirty years later when introduced at a press conference, Wannstedt said, “Pittsburgh never really left me. It’s always been a special place in my heart.”

Schiano, a Jersey guy, reached All-East Coast Conference status at Bucknell. Thirteen years later at his initial Rutgers press conference he was saying, “This is where I started; this is where I was striving to get back to.”

Of course, the question for Schiano is will he be staying after this season. Rutgers fans may be expressing confidence, but there will be a lot of sniffing after him.

His Q&A is up with questions about filling the stadium, how good is Rutgers, and from the department of “because that would make too much sense.”

Q: I don’t think Rutgers is very deep at receiver. Can Pitt cover man-to-man and then load the box and bring the house to stop the run?

ZEISE: That’s not been Wannstedt’s style. He doesn’t like to commit too many guys to any one area and he doesn’t like to blitz a lot because it leaves a defense vulnerable. I’d expect they’ll play a lot of their normal cover two and cover three stuff as well and let their corners play up in bump and run. I’d be shocked if they commit more than eight guys up inside to stop the run on a consistent basis. The defense is built on the concept of your defensive line getting the job done by winning one-on-one match-ups and thus allowing the linebackers to clean up all the rest. The line has played fairly well and it has worked so we shall see what happens now.

Aaiigh!

Rutgers hasn’t played from behind all year. They have yet to be put in a position where they are forced to throw. They are weak at receivers and Mike Teel has been inconsistent at best. This is not about blitzing. Like committing to the run, it’s committing to stopping the run. You have to at least bring the safeties up and force TE Clark Harris to stay in and block — taking away their best receiver in the process.

From his chat yesterday.

FearTheStache: Hi Paul, If Rutgers double teams Kinder then Turner will kill them deep and vice versa. how do you see Rutgers defending the pass?

Paul Zeise: They like to play a lot of man coverage, which Pitt has eaten alive any time any team has tried to do it. They will certainly need some safety help to stop Pitt’s passing game, but their real strength comes in the fact that they can put lots of heat on passers without having to bring the kitchen sink since their front seven is so good. If Pitt’s O-line can block well, which they have all year, I think Palko could have a big day.

I expect a couple early deep balls. To test their corners and also see how the pass protection looks against Rutgers.

I’ve got a bunch of open tabs I need to clear out, and not enough time to do it.

Welcome to our world Mr. Mandel.

By this point in the season, you’d like to think you have a pretty good grasp on how good a team is, particularly when that team is 6-1. But I have to admit, I still have no idea how good this year’s Pittsburgh Panthers are — and I’m not sure they do, either. “Maybe we’re just getting lucky,” joked quarterback Tyler Palko when I spoke with him last Sunday.

We watch them every weekend and don’t have a consistent opinion.

It is blatantly obvious to the most average sportswriter that this is the game of the week in the Big East.

Context, please.

It’s easy to show Pitt QB Tyler Palko‘s rejuvenation with this obvious number: His pass efficiency rating has jumped from 126.7 last year to a nation-leading 188.6 this season. The underlying reason is that coordinator Matt Cavanaugh tweaked his West Coast approach to stretch the field and accommodate a quarterback who throws a nice deep ball. That leads us to a more revealing number going into this week’s key Big East game against Rutgers: Palko is second in the nation with 10.3 yards per attempt–way up from last year’s 7.0. Any offensive coordinator will tell you that number is the most important statistic for a quarterback.

It’s a good number. An interesting number, but I’m not quite sure as to why it is “the most important statistic for a quarterback.” Anyone care to supply the answer?

I like that SI.com considers Palko about the 5th best QB in college football. Now, here’s what I’m wondering. Does anyone actually know what kind of offense Pitt is running versus what it had run under Walt Harris? Look at the comment “…In this, his second year in coach Dave Wannstedt’s pro-style system…”

Excuse me? I thought the passing game for Pitt was now more of a true West Coast from OC Matt Cavanaugh and that Harris ran more of the pro style. Of course, I’ve read it the other way in the past. Honestly, and maybe it’s just because it’s late, but I don’t know anymore. I’m not sure anyone really knows anymore.

While on the subject of Walt Harris, there was this in Stewart Mandel’s mailbag (I saw it Frank, but was going to let it go).

Stewart, Stanford managed just 52 yards of total offense in its Homecoming game, a loss to Arizona. The Wildcats entered the game ranked 118th in the nation in rushing yards and ran for 223 yards against the overmatched Cardinal. Stanford is now 0-7, the fans and players have quit on Walt Harris, and it’s clear that the program has been in complete disarray since Ty Willingham left in 2002. Have you ever seen a case where one coaching change has so drastically crippled a college football program?
— Tony Barber, Mountain View, Calif.

No, I have not. The program has gone from being a regular Pac-10 title contender under Willingham to the absolute worst team in the conference by a country mile. The Cardinal was bad under Buddy Teevens, too, but not nearly this bad. And what makes it all the more puzzling is that Stanford showed promise last year in Harris’ first season. As you may recall, they came dangerously close to knocking off Notre Dame in their regular-season finale, which, if they had, would have sent them to a bowl game. Even stranger: This is not a young team. They returned 16 starters, including 10 on offense (though several have been injured).

That said, I knew something was fishy when seven of Harris’ assistants left after one season. Though Harris did an admirable job of turning around Pittsburgh’s long-suffering program, he was generally despised there by the end of his tenure. And now he’s not exactly inspiring confidence in Palo Alto. In addition, the athletic director who hired him, Ted Leland, left the school last year and was replaced by former Iowa AD Bob Bowlsby, who you know is looking forward to the opportunity to make his mark on the program. Cutting ties with a coach after two seasons certainly doesn’t help a program’s stability, but at the same time, I don’t know if it’s possible for the Cardinal to become any less stable than they already are.

This will be a bit of a rant.

Anyone remember Harris’ first year at Pitt? Remember how the team turned around in one season and in one of the greatest Backyard Brawls ever (and the best game I ever saw in-person) beat the Hoopies in Morgantown? Remember the next year when Pitt went 2-9. Losing to Rutgers and Temple? I do. It was my first year as a season ticket holder since graduating. I sat through a bunch of those humiliations. When the team regressed badly. Players were not that good and being shaken out of the program.

I had bounced around for a bit in Chicago, law school — in Ohio when Pitt played and was crushed in the home-and-home with OSU — and generally just not connected to the school and the team. This was pre-net so there was no way to stay aware of what Pitt was doing outside of little box scores in papers and very little info in general. Hackett and then Majors with the assistance of an uncaring administration had nearly destroyed Pitt football.

Walt Harris brought Pitt back to respectability (that and a job in Youngstown that made trips to the ‘Burgh an easy thing). Slowly. Surely. There were steps back. There was also progress. There were times when it was thought he might leave. Alabama. Ohio State. They sniffed. Whether he or they were serious, nothing came of it other then some extensions, raises and some nervousness by fans at the time.

When Harris left Pitt/was forced out, I was torn. Harris had probably reached the end of the line with Pitt. There was something of a plateau. He had alienated a lot of people. If he had stayed, it is very likely he could have done harm to Pitt.

At the same time, I felt like I owed Coach Harris. I owed him a debt. This, despite not knowing the guy. Never meeting him. At times being as eager as anyone else to throw him over.
Walt Harris brought me back to caring and following Pitt and college football. I wouldn’t be writing this blog. I wouldn’t be writing for AOL on college football. None of that, if it hadn’t been for what Walt Harris did to bring Pitt back into mainstream Division 1-A college football.

So I hope he turns the corner at Stanford. Just as he did in time at Pitt. Rebuilding doesn’t come easy at all places.  I know not everyone feels the same way. That’s fine. My view is just that. My view. Just don’t expect me to revel in his struggles.