[Editor Note: Back in the very early days of this blog’s existence, like the first year when it was still PSB, Lee regularly offered a weekly look at the games with the betting lines. I’m not saying it’s returned as a regular feature, but we’ll post when he offers.]

Once again, my picks will not be backed up with an actual cash bet, because I am deathly afraid of my wife. Hey, nobody wants to get stomped by a pregnant woman.

West Virginia (-20) at UConn: You don’t just go into Rentschler Field and expect to come out with a win… unless you’re West Virginia, ticked off at Auburn’s passing you in the BCS, and need to impress some pollsters. The Huskies haven’t done anything since Calhoun got bounced out of the tourney last spring. I’ll take the Mountaineers and give the 20.

Louisville (-17) at Syracuse: OK, same thing as above, but substitute the Carrier Dome. Now that Miami is finally back down where they belong (I almost took Duke and the 17.5 as my pick of the week), Louisville’s most impressive win isn’t impressing many anymore. They gotta start impressing pollsters too, and they know it. Plus, Syracuse has no defense.

Rutgers (+7) at Pitt: The Scarlet Knights will be able to run on Pitt with their tough o-line, Ray Rice (RB), and Brian Leonard (FB). Session, Campbell, and Blades will certainly stop the running game in the backfield, but not until Rice has gained a few yards. But LaRod Stephens-Howling will be able to run on Rutgers’ undersized defense line too. The tiebreaker? We have Tyler Palko and a solid receiving corps. Rutgers has the inconsistent-at-best Mike Teel. Pitt wins this one by at least seven with the more balanced offense – with me, for once, actually in my Heinz Field seat…

I’ll have one more B’East pick below.

Now for the other conferences…

UCLA (+13.5) at Notre Dame: The Irish offense is at least two touchdowns better than this inconsistent UCLA squad, especially at home.

Iowa (+14) at Michigan: Do I even have to explain why Michigan can cover at least two touchdowns on the mediocre-all-season-and-just-lost-to-freakin’-Indiana Hawkeyes? Forget about it. Take it from Buckeye. Neither Iowa’s defense or its offense is as good as Penn State’s, even with Ciociolo-or-whoever at QB. A blowout at the Big House.

And finally, the Stone Cold Lead Pipe Cinch Guaranteed Picks of the Week

Yeah, I got two this week.

USF (+1) at Cincinnati: Once again, you don’t just go into Nippert Stadium and expect to come out with a win… well, unless you’re Pitt anyways… and even then, Bob won’t remember it. But seriously, this is where the Bearcats’ tough out-of-conference schedule, and Mark Dantonio’s defense, finally begin to pay off. I’ll easily take the Bearcats for the second week in a row… this time giving a measly point.

Indiana (+31.5) at Ohio State: (1) This is the same Hoosier squad who just upset Iowa the hard way, and (2) the Shoe isn’t that tough of a place to play. Four and a half touchdowns is a lot to lay. No, Indiana won’t win, but I’ll take the Hoosiers and the points easy.

Games I ain’t even touchin’

Illinois (+17.5) at Penn State: Gawd knows how the Penn State offense will work with Ciancolo. It worked OK in spurts against Michigan last week, and you know that Tony Hunt will roll up a ton o’yards against the Illini. But still, you’d have to know something I don’t to take either side of this line.

North Carolina (+6) at Virginia: I guess speaking logically, somebody has to win this game tonight. But Lord knows who. I still can’t believe that Virginia is favored over anyone at this point. But then again, I wouldn’t favor UNC over many people either…

A nice piece on LaRod Stephens-Howling, who after some early dings this season and challenges to his position as a starter, has responded very well the last couple of games.

It dogged him through the first five games, when he was hobbled by a nagging right ankle sprain. It wasn’t until he carried 27 times for 221 yards at Syracuse and 19 times for 135 yards at UCF that those doubts dissipated.

“I’m glad that question kind of fell off now,” Stephens-Howling said. “Not so many people are asking me if I can do it. They saw the last two weeks that I can.”

They also saw the burst that makes him a threat to break it every time he touches the ball. He had runs of 34 and 40 yards before scoring on a 70-yarder at Syracuse, then added touchdown runs of 23, 26 and 6 yards at UCF.

Stephens-Howling credits that to an offensive line opening holes as well as his improved knowledge and patience, which has allowed him to accelerate through the creases.

“I don’t care how good your offensive line is, it still comes down to athletic ability, and a 4-yard run can turn into a 40-yard run if you’ve got enough quickness to make somebody miss — and he does,” Wannstedt said. “He’s got breakaway speed in addition to quickness. That’s a nice combination.”

I still don’t like seeing him carry back-to-back, as they have been doing, after he busts one for double digit yards. That seems to be the point where you take advantage of a different style to have someone like Kevin Collier, Shane Brooks or Conredge Collins to pound at the defense after they got burned.

Rutgers will be the best defense Pitt has faced. Like Coach Wannstedt, Rutgers HC Greg Schiano favors speed on the lines over size. The average size of the RU D-line is 6′ 2″, 256 pounds versus Pitt’s O-line which is 6′ 4″ and 308 pounds. Given the Scarlet Knights speed, it will be vital for the O-line to engage and seal off their blocks.  Otherwise, the D-line will simply  get around them and make the tackle.

On top of all the Homecoming stuff, playing a top-25 team, and bowl officials from the Sun and International Bowl being on hand.

There is the added issue of recruiting visits. This trip has 5 kids from Florida including the already verbally committed RB Xavier Stinson. This includes a 300 pound OL with offers from South Carolina and Mississippi. Also a CB with offers from FSU, Florida and Auburn. And a DE with offers from Tennessee and WVU.

I don’t think the Pitt coaches will be counting on it to happen, but hey, it’s worth a shot.

Redshirt Senior OL John Simonitis will be applying for a medical redshirt.

He is now looking into the prospects of getting a medical waiver with the hopes of gaining a sixth year of eligibility but, according to Simonitis, that appears to a be a long shot.

“I’m going to try but it is not looking good,” Simonitis admitted. “The coaches don’t think it’s possible. I think I will be all right without it, I have enough game film and I have been a four-year starter. A lot of my coaches are going to help me out, getting me into some (NFL) camps.”

According to the NCAA, a student athlete has five years to complete four seasons of competition. The school must apply to the conference office, in this case the Big East to receive a medical waiver. The criteria for receiving a medical waiver is an athlete must suffer a season-ending injury. The injury must occur during the first half of the season and the athlete can not have participated in more than two games or 20 percent of the games during a season.

In Simonitis’ case, he played in five games, although he participated in just two plays against Cincinnati and one play in the Toledo game.

“The coaches have to petition the NCAA and give good reasons why I should be able to get the (waiver),” Simonitis said. “I already was redshirted and I never had a season ending injury before. If I had a choice I would go back for a sixth year and get another year of experience. That would probably help me in the draft. Whatever happens, happens. The coaches don’t think it’s looking good, there are a lot of circumstances and I think I have probably played too many games.”

As for his future, only time will tell. It all depends on how smoothly the rehab goes. Simonitis is still intent on getting to an NFL camp whether it be in 2007 or the following year. The Dolphins and Raiders are two teams that have visited the Pitt campus and relayed to the coaching staff that they liked what they saw in Simonitis. At 6-foot-5, 315 pounds, he has the size and footwork to make it in the NFL.

Even though his other redshirt was non-medical, the fact that he has already redshirted probably weighs heavier against him then playing in 5 games this year.

The bloggers have spoken and Pitt comes in at #24. You can see individual ballots here. By this standard, I actually underranked Pitt by putting them at #25. Apparently, the number of voters down on their school more then others has dwindled to this point, because that small deviation actually got me on the “straight bangin'” list.

I just can’t believe VT still got votes after the way they were undressed by BC on the field and Kirk Herbstreit in the booth last Thursday.

Joe Starkey has a piece on ESPN.com about Pitt and Rutgers.

No. 19 Rutgers (6-0, 1-0) moved up five spots in the AP poll this week, checked in at No. 16 in the BCS Standings, and is off to its best start since 1976. It boasts the nation’s top-ranked scoring defense (8.3 points per game) and second-ranked overall defense (221.3 yards).

Rutgers tailback Ray Rice will be clashing with Blades plenty on Saturday — Rice is fourth in the country in rushing (149.8 yards per game) and Blades is sixth in tackles (11.1 per game) — but the two are in sync on the subject of the game’s importance.

“It’d be a steppingstone for either program, whichever comes out the winner,” Rice said. “[The Panthers are] obviously way better than they were last year.”

Rice had his consecutive 100+ yard games streak snapped in the Rutgers blowout win over Navy. Pitt’s defense will need to focus even more heavily against the run. Mike Teel, their QB hasn’t been that great — though he finally had a good game versus Navy — minimizing their passing game despite having Clark Harris at TE.

If Rutgers does pass, it doesn’t seem like they’ll be bothering with one side of the field.

There’s a reason why Pitt’s Darrelle Revis only has two interceptions through seven games: Teams simply avoid passing in the direction of the All-Big East cornerback.

“I don’t know how much we’re going to want to throw at him,” Schiano said. “We’ll see. It’s early in the week, but from what I’ve seen of him, he’s awfully darn good.”

Rutgers defense has been excellent since Rutgers HC Greg Schiano also took over the DC duties. Especially against the run this year.

The veterans up front, starting with senior defensive tackle Ramel Meekins, who leads the team with six tackles for loss, six quarterback hurries and three sacks, have played a big part in the Scarlet Knights’ success.

Meekins was named the Walter Camp national defensive player of the week and the Big East defensive player of the week after having 12 tackles, two sacks and three forced fumbles in the Scarlet Knights’ 34-0 win Saturday against Navy.

And Pitt couldn’t run the ball last year against Rutgers.

The Panthers ran the ball 25 times for minus-11 yards in the 37-29 loss to the Scarlet Knights, which means they lost a little more than a half a yard every time they ran the ball. Those numbers were skewed a bit by quarterback sacks, but the adjusted numbers without sack yardage — 20 carries for 34 yards — weren’t much better.

Pitt (6-1, 2-0 Big East) plays host to the Scarlet Knights (6-0, 1-0) Saturday, and Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt knows the Panthers will have to run the football much better to have any chance to win.

“The goal is to do better than we did a year ago, that’s for sure,” Wannstedt said, then laughed. “This will be by far our toughest test running the ball of the year. They are playing against the run as well as anyone we [have] played. Last year, we didn’t do a good job of blocking and we didn’t give ourselves a chance because of falling behind. It won’t be easy again — they have seven seniors on defense, and six of them are in their front seven.”

…

Pitt center Joe Villani said the Panthers’ poor running performance last year has not sat well with the offensive line. He said controlling Meekins is only one part of the equation for success against the Scarlet Knights. The other is figuring out who is coming from where and blocking them.

“That’s not a stat we like to talk about, minus-11 yards,” Villani said. “That was a bad night for all of us, but a stat like that, plus the [five] sacks or whatever, we got our butts kicked. What else can you say? This year, though, we are a year more experienced. I think we are running the ball better than we have, and we need to just keep working hard.

“What makes Rutgers so tough to run on — or move the football on, for that matter — is their front seven is so fast and so physical, and they will take some chances. This is a game where we all need to know our assignments. We all need to be on the same page because they are too good to take even one play off.”

It didn’t help that Pitt buried itself by being run over on defense in the first half and found itself down 27-0. Essentially guaranteeing that Pitt had to throw. In Palko’s two games against Rutgers he’s exceeded 300 yards both times.

We’ll find out in this game whether Pitt’s O-line really is opening holes for the running game, or if it was simply inferior opponents. Mind you, that is still progress considering Pitt couldn’t open holes last year even against inferior opponents. I’m just hoping for a little more.

Maybe it’s because I like history. Maybe it’s because all the blogging makes me appreciate archives and being able to search them at any time. In any case, this seems rather cool.

Last week, the University of Pittsburgh launched Documenting Pitt, a digital archive of more than 70,000 pages of text and images: course catalogs, chancellors’ reports, yearbooks, commencement programs, fact books, football and basketball media guides and hundreds of photographs of students, staff and buildings. It’s all searchable at digital.library.pitt.edu/d/documentingpitt/.

There’s some overlap with another digital Pitt archive on the City of Pittsburgh.

I could see spending a lot of time looking around these sites.

Okay, I think this is a pretty good honoree for homecoming. John Woodruff who won the 800 meter in the 1936 Berlin Olympics is coming.

Woodruff will travel from Fountain Hills, Ariz., with his wife, Rose, to attend the event as well as other homecoming festivities, including the Oct. 21 Pitt-Rutgers football game. (During the game, Pitt will recognize Woodruff’s presence and the 70th anniversary of his Olympic victory.) The world premiere of the short film Footsteps of a Giant: The John Woodruff Story (Sugar Camp Productions) will take place during the AAAC reception.

A 1935 graduate of Connellsville Area Senior High School in Southwestern Pennsylvania, Woodruff earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in 1939 at Pitt and went on to receive a master’s degree in sociology from New York University.

Back in August, Woodruff wasn’t expected to be able to make the trip because of his health and age. This is great to read.

As for the game itself. Both Pitt and Rutgers have their game notes (PDF).

I made the point yesterday that whichever team loses on Saturday will get called out by the media as being a sham product of a weak schedule. Sure enough, the AP has just such an article making the papers.

Pitt hasn’t had a record this good in mid-October since 1982. The Panthers might soon learn if they’re as good as their 6-1 mark indicates, or if that record is the product of a softer-than-usual schedule.

Funny how this worked out, but opponent Rutgers is in the same position.

In what is turning out to be one of the Big East Conference’s games of the year — and who could have figured that — Pitt (6-1, 2-0) meets No. 19 Rutgers (6-0, 1-0) on Saturday in a game that may determine which team’s talent matches its record.

I also happen to agree with the assessment that Rutgers has received more of a challenge then Pitt has to this point. It’s not a huge difference, but it’s there.

Ron Cook at the P-G notes that this is a big opportunity that Pitt has continually missed at home to make a statemtent of progress (he doesn’t note any exceptions but I will — beating VT in 2003 seemed like it until Pitt followed it up with bad losses to WVU and a home humiliation to Miami).

He also spends half the article concerned with putting bodies in Heinz Field. Coach Wannstedt won’t bite. He’s seen plenty of programs struggle with attendance regardless of the success.

“I was at the University of Miami when we had the Heisman Trophy winner” — Vinny Testaverde — “and were 8-0 and had 35,000 for a game against East Carolina. I was at Pitt when we won the national championship in ’76 and had Tony Dorsett and averaged 48,000. I was at USC when, if we didn’t play Notre Dame or UCLA, we might get 40,000 when we played Oregon or Oregon State …

“We want a packed house, just like everyone else. If it’s to be, it will be. All I know is we’re going to keep recruiting the top players who people want to see. We’re going to keep winning games. I want to put out a product that the alumni and the people of this city can be proud of. That’s all I can do. That’s all my football team can do.”

Admittedly, you don’t like to get lumped in with perceived front-running fans. The thing is, like Pitt those are programs in pro-city towns, so it all comes down to winning (LA at the time Wannstedt is speaking had the Rams and even the Raiders came. A bit different now, and by coincidence the Trojans are packing them in).

I want to see more people and better support at the game, but we all know the majority mindset is they want to see the team winning before they come. Heck, the blog stats reflect it. The drop-off in hits following the Michigan State loss was significant, and only now with a 4-game winning streak has come back to the levels of the week leading up to that game.

And of course, all the beat writers cover mention this topic.

The critics have pointed out that the Panthers’ schedule isn’t very strong and the best team the Panthers played, Michigan State, beat them rather soundly and hasn’t won since. The Panthers haven’t defeated a team with a winning record.

In that case, it’s more of a lead-in to discuss the Rutgers team.

The players know the team isn’t seen as legitimate yet because of the schedule, but also know they are the ones that can change it.

“We’re not concerned about what people say about us, that we’re not that good or we haven’t really played anybody,” Pitt linebacker H.B. Blades said. “We just do what we’re supposed to do, go out and win games. All that other stuff is going to take care of itself, as long as we keep winning.

“It’s a little strange, but they’ve done a great job so far this year. They’ve beaten ACC schools, Big Ten schools. They’ve just been killing people. They’ve been doing it this year. We’ve got to beat the teams that (have) been doing it, and Rutgers has been doing it.”

The main difference is that the Scarlet Knights have beaten three teams with four wins or more — Ohio (4-3) and South Florida and Navy, both 5-2. Pitt hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record, and Michigan State has lost four consecutive games since beating the Panthers on Sept. 16.

“We struggled against Michigan State. That was probably the only team that could validate us,” said Pitt linebacker Brian Bennett, a Delanco, N.J., native. “People say, ‘You haven’t beaten anyone,’ but we went out and practiced, prepared to win and beat people the way we were supposed to.

“We’ve got to beat these guys if we want to win the conference, to be considered a legit team.”

And Thursday night’s UVA-UNC game will go some ways to determining who had the better win against a bad ACC team.

If there’s any caution, it’s that hyping the game too much may make an actual loss that much more painful.

“This is an opportunity for us to play a ranked opponent on national television, and it’s an opportunity for us to see where we’re at,” Palko said. “By no means will this game make or break our season, but it’s going to be a test. So, we’ll study all week and see where we’re at when we take it.”

Yeah, it only feels like SATs to determine whether you are going to be able to get into Pitt or Slippery Rock.

A round-up of some stuff from national sites on Pitt basketball.

From a chat with ESPN’s Andy Katz:

Paul (San Diego – Pitt Alum): Is Pitt able to live up to the hype this year. They are being touted as a final four team again but I just see us settling for another Sweet 16 exit. Can you ease my mind?

Andy Katz: Yes they can. Aaron Gray is better and so are the guards in Ronald Ramon and Levance Fields. Levon Kendall has become one of the top role players in the Big East and a capable scoring option. I still say there is a high ceiling for Sam Young. So, yes, they should be in the group that goes for a Final Four berth.

Luke Winn at SI.com blogs his “All-Attribute team.”

THE GLASSMASTER-AT-BOTH-ENDS CENTER: Aaron Gray, Sr., Pitt.

Rebounding percentage — not total rebounds, but the percent of available boards grabbed while on the floor — was the determining factor in this pick. And in that department, no one comes close to Gray, who ranked in the top-10 nationally in both offensive and defensive rebounding. The Panthers’ 7-footer, who matured from reserve to national star last season and was a late scratch from the 2006 NBA Draft, got his hands on 15.7 percent of offensive boards (seventh in the country) and an amazing 27.0 percent of defensive boards (fourth in the country) — better than such monsters as Tyrus Thomas of LSU, Leon Powe of Cal and Paul Millsap of Louisiana Tech. The pros may have been skeptical about Gray’s athleticism, but he’s welcome on this team any time.

Meanwhile Seth Davis sits down with Jamie Dixon and Orlando Antigua for dinner at an old favorite Tessaro’s in Bloomfield after taking in a Pitt practice. He raises some serious questions about the team leadership, but comes in at the end with this.

Bottom line: Not only has Pitt not reached the Final Four since 1941, but the Panthers have not been past the Round of 16 since then either. They’re one of only four schools to make the NCAAs in each of the last five years, and three of those times they reached the Sweet 16. This feels to me like a program ready to break through. Pencil in the Panthers to at least reach the Elite Eight. If they get a little lucky, a trip to Atlanta is definitely within their grasp.

Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News thinks Pitt will end up redshirting Freshman Center Austin Wallace. It makes sense with Gray, Tyrell Biggs and Doyle Hudson all ahead of him. Next year it will just be Biggs. Give Wallace time to really learn and have full eligibility. Not that he has a big shot of getting meaningful playing time.

Here’s my draft ballot. I have until Wednesday morning to make changes so start arguing. Thanks as always to Lee, who has his rankings below, with my comments where appropriate for the changes I made.

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

Despite all the accolades as Rice and Leonard being the best backfield in the country, and possibly the best (neutered) TE in the country in Clark Harris, the Rutgers offense is hampered by Mike Teel at QB. Teel, prior to the Navy game, had only completed 9 passes to Clark Harris in 5 games (someone sent him a memo or something because Harris got 5 catches against Navy).

What has been the big thing for Rutgers this year has been the defense. Something that can be directly attributable to Rutgers HC Greg Schiano since he is also the DC.

And a day after Rutgers’ 34-0 stifling was in the books and its defense was officially installed as the nation’s stingiest, the unit had earned itself … an extra hard week of work.

“That whole game plan was something different,” coach — and defensive coordinator — Greg Schiano said of what produced such raves in Annapolis, Md., and what won’t work this coming Saturday, when his undefeated squad travels to 6-1 Pittsburgh.

Because of last weekend’s bye, and Navy’s incredibly taxing triple-option offense, the No. 19 Scarlet Knights didn’t practice their nickel or dime packages for nearly two whole weeks. They didn’t work on their base defense, they didn’t run their base pressure, their base fronts or their base coverages. Navy demanded such different techniques and reads, Schiano said, this week will be “a big challenge.”

Still, Schiano has to like what he’s working with. Now in his second year of doubling up duties, he’s got his undersized and somewhat patchworked defense ranked first in the country in points allowed, second in yards allowed, fourth in passing yardage allowed and seventh in rushing yardage. He said he full well expects to relinquish his defensive coordinatorship some day, but for now, this group’s got him hooked.

The performance against Navy also got a Rutgers player recognized as a possible player of the week in USA Today.

Ramel Meekins — The Rutgers defensive end had 12 tackles, two sacks and three forced fumbles in the undefeated Scarlet Knights’ 34-0 win at Navy. Meekins helped the Rutgers defense record its second shutout and hold a Midshipmen offense that had been averaging 351 yards rushing to just 161 yards of total offense.

Pitt’s toughest defensive opponent this season has been Cinci. This will be the offense’s biggest challenge to date.

I noted last week that Pitt was very much in favor of scoring first. In fact, in every game this season Pitt has scored first. The first quarter, especially has been very high octane for Pitt.

Whatever their motivation, the Panthers certainly are on the same page come game time. Pitt (6-1, 2-0 Big East) is off to its best start in 24 years, largely because it has outscored opponents, 76-3, in the first quarter this season.

“It’s very difficult to maintain the intensity that these guys have,” Wannstedt said. “We haven’t had a game, including the one we lost to Michigan State, where we’ve come out of the tunnel and our guys have been flat. We’ve come out smoking.

Our guys are coming out, and they’re mentally focused. We’re coming out emotional. You can’t play this game at the level you need to play it at unless you’re emotionally ready to play. We can’t wait to see how good they are or how ready they are and react to that.”

Rutgers has been similar in the fast start approach.

When it comes to fast starts, the Panthers aren’t alone. Rutgers has outscored opponents, 48-7 in the first quarter and 44-0 in the third quarter.

Pitt’s scoring by quarter: 76-3; 69-29; 74-31; 44-30. Total 263-93.

Rutgers’s scoring by qtr: 48-7; 68-24; 44-0;  30-19.  Total 190-50.

After I got over my initial self-righteous annoyance at seeing Luke Winn rank Pitt 8th behind Wisconsin and G-town, no less, I had to admit the write-up made me laugh.

One of the weirdest moments of the summer was center Aaron Gray‘s noon-hour workout for NBA scouts during the pre-draft camp in Orlando. A crowd of nearly 60 scouts showed up to see a legit 7-footer who was a force in the Big East last season … and the crowd dwindled to less than 20 by the time it was over. It was a boring, 45-minute session, and there was no free lunch served, but it was a little awkward to watch. Every time a scout hit the door, though, I imagined a Pitt cheering section erupting with chants of “One More Year” and “Big East Champs.”

Well… yeah.

Gary Parrish at Sportsline poses questions for various teams, and in a roundabout way responds to Seth Davis’ question about Pitt.

15. Can Mike Cook be the go-to scorer Pittsburgh needs? There will come a time when Pitt has to throw the ball to the wing, isolate a guy and let him try to get a bucket to win a game. If Jamie Dixon is fortunate, Cook will develop into that guy for the Panthers. Prior to transferring from East Carolina, he scored 15.0 points per game and always showed the ability to get into the lane and create shots. If that attribute transferred with Cook to the Big East, Pittsburgh will be a legit Final Four contender.

I guess I don’t worry overmuch about that, since I also have confidence in Ramon taking the shot and even Fields. I also like the idea of Sam Young driving to the hoop. I just think this whole “you need that one key guy to get the rock” is a tad overrated.

On the positive, this ESPN Chat with Aaron Gray (hat tip to Matt).

Ryan Jefferson Hills, PA: Whats up Aaron. How does transfer Mike Cook fit into the lineup? I am guessing he may start at the 3 or be the first guy off the bench?

Aaron Gray: He’s the man. I love playing with Mike Cook. He’s a fierce competitor and understands the game. As far as who plays and how much they play, that’s the difficult decision that Coach Dixon will have to make. I have confidence that he’ll make all the good decisions.

Paul (San Diego): Aaron, how are you going to avoid falling into the trap of listening to the hype and looking ahead to the NBA vice focusing on the season ahead?

Aaron Gray: Two things. No. 1, I understand there’s a lot of things I need to improve upon. By no means do I think I’m as good as I’m going to be. The second thing, just in coming back, my main goal is winning. I’m not interested in if a game improves my stock or not. Just in winning.

Will, Pitt: Being on Pitt’s campus I’ve seen the basketball team out in the public a lot as a TEAM. Do you think the commemoratory of this year?s team is the best since you’ve been here? Over the past few years there’s been discussion over the lack of chemistry. How has that changed?

Aaron Gray: I think by far this is the best year we’ve had for team chemistry. We’re like a family. When we’re on the court, we push each other. We’re so competitive that sometimes practices end in fights. But when we leave the court, we’re a family. It’s always hard to find just one of us on campus. When we’re out, there’s at least two of us or three or eight of us.

Stacy (Pitt Alum!): Who will step up to replace Krauser this year?

Aaron Gray: There’s so many things that Krauser did. Team leader, toughness. He seemed to always put us over the edge when facing adversity. But this year we have so much talent and experience that hopefully we can pick it up just fine, without too much of a dropoff.

Looking forward to November and the opening tip.

I’m mildly surprised Pitt didn’t make either poll. Not a big deal, but with the total domination on a game that everyone saw — no competition is the bright side to the Friday night game — with all the upsets. It was more surprising that Georgia and Iowa stayed in the polls with 2nd straight losses to teams that don’t exactly have football heavyweight reputations. Just more incentive for the team to take care of business against Rutgers on Saturday.

It is confirmed, that the game will be played at 5:45 and shown on ESPN2. Rutgers is ranked, so this will be big. Imagine that, a homecoming with big implications. Those class reunion dinners will be cancelled or changed to brunch.