On the other side, Tyler Palko’s precision passing is getting more attention.

“I don’t care what offense you’re in. You have to make good decisions,” Palko said. “When you throw a football, you’re taking a chance. If I’m making bad decisions and bad reads, we’re not going to be on the field very long.”

Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh has credited Palko’s work ethic in film study, but he noted the greatest improvement has come in his fundamentals. Palko isn’t holding the ball as long or throwing off his back foot as often. He isn’t staring down targets. In fact, he has distributed the ball to at least six different receivers every game, connecting with seven three times and eight twice.

“If his fundamentals are in order, I think he could be a good passer all the time,” Cavanaugh said before the Toledo game. “Sometimes, if he gets rattled or starts guessing, his feet aren’t set and he becomes inconsistent. He knows that now, and I think he’s buying into what we’re doing.”

In my Q&A with Syracuse blogger Matt Glaude, he never published the final installment of his questions to me, but he asked me about Palko this year.

Tyler Palko is leading the nation in passing efficiency. Has this been the result of playing a somewhat favorable schedule to start the season or is he really that effective? How has Palko been getting it done? Is it all Derek Kinder and Joe DelSardo?

Part of it is simply making the decisions faster. At the risk of going cliche, Palko is the son of a very successful Western PA high school coach. It took him a while to really get the system that Wannstedt and OC Cavanaugh installed. I mean, get in a wrapping his head around the nuances, understanding the concepts, reasons and simply grokking it. Once he reached that point, it made things easier to know what his role and what he needed to do.

What has aided this has been a receiving corp that went from question mark/weakness to strength. This without DelSardo even catching a pass this season. Kinder has stepped up in a tremendous way to become the #1 receiver. Redshirt sophomore Marcel Pestano and redshirt freshman Oderick Turner made tremendous strides from an inconsistent spring to improving training camp to solid receivers.

From there you add Darrell Strong at Tight End, who is starting to match expectations when Pitt recruited him, as the big target receiving TE like Todd Heap.

I think Palko really knowing and understanding the system itself and what it is supposed to do is huge. There’s a difference for a player like Palko in being told to run a certain play or series, and comprehending the reasons and the whole game plan. He seems much more comfortable when he understands the whole plan.

It’s part of why I think he will be playing on Sundays. He has shown that he can thrive in two different systems doing different things. He has a good enough arm, but more important he has the head to be a NFL QB.

Moving to Sunday’s well-digested stories.

Have to love how both dailies went with similar headlines. Apparently the editors at both papers found it fascinating that LaRod Stephens-Howling is nicknamed the “Johnstown Jet” by his teammates, so “Jet” was worked into the headlines.

(While on the observation of the papers, nice of them to split their articles by a day. The P-G mentioned Palko’s efficiency yesterday and today the Trib. had it. Of course, the Trib. gave props the D-line yesterday and that was the P-G’s today. I don’t know, are the beat writers talking this over in advance? Flipping a coin?)

The defensive line was highlighted by DE Chris McKillop.

McKillop had the best performance of his career, finishing with five tackles, 2 1/2 sacks for minus-20 yards, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Clermond added three tackles, 1 1/2 sacks for minus-8 yards and a fumble recovery.

Pitt finished with five sacks for minus-32 yards and three fumble recoveries.

“Chris McKillop and Joe Clermond both came up with big plays when we needed them,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “Chris had a heck of a day.”

McKillop has made some real progress since the season started. A very good and necessary thing with Doug Fulmer out for the year. Pitt really did a tremendous job against the Syracuse running game 33 carries, 92 yards. Syracuse does not have the passing game to beat teams.

It would appear that moving Coach Greg Gattuso in the offseason to working with the D-line is really making a difference.

“Everybody talks about [how] the defensive line needs to improve; it was nice to be a part of the solution today,” defensive end Chris McKillop said Saturday. “We just keep working hard and we know we’ll get better. Coach [Greg] Gattuso and coach [Charlie] Partridge really beat in our head the fundamentals and it paid off today.

“Every time we’d run off the field coach Gattuso kept pumping us up and reminding us about our footwork, about using our hands, about all those things we have in what’s called our fundamentals gospel.”

Fundamentals? Hey, imagine that.

Morning. Haven’t had a chance to look at the papers or box score yet. Had a very long solid sleep. A whole day of liveblogging college football, surprisingly, takes something of a mental toll. No zoning out for long periods. Very brief bathroom breaks. Eating bad food, in handfuls. On the plus side I was paid to sit on my ass all Saturday to drink beer (that was optional but I am a perfectionist), watch and write college football, and since I was “working” it fell to the wife to deal with the kid all day while I fulfilled my responsibilities. So no, I am not complaining about a sweet gig. Hell, I’m bragging.

This was a very, very good win for Pitt. There are some concerns. There are some issues. There always are. Don’t worry, I’ll get to them later. This was a big, important win for the team and the program. It was legitimate progress.

Last year, Pitt didn’t win one road game. Not a single one. This year, Pitt already has two and they are both in conference.

There was a real, viable gameplan on offense that was well executed. Pitt took advantage of an agressive defense and set them back on their heels with the short pass and screens. It created hesitation and allowed the running game to go. The tight ends were involved more. Buches finally got some passes going his way.

LaRod Stephens-Howling had a monster game, as the O-line was able to create holes in the right spot for him to get through. That 70 yard run was tremendous. It first looked like he squirted through the line and took off, but the overhead shot showed an actual, hole right where he was headed. At that point he hit the accelerator and blew through and caught the whole Syracuse linemen and secondary by surprise as he ran past them. Not only was the hole opened, he hit it exactly the way you want a tailback to do it. No hesitation, no planning on jukes afterwards. Head up, and looking downfield.
Tyler Palko executed the gameplan very well. The first time in two years I’ve seen him do that on the road. He knew that it was his job to get rid of the ball quickly and was finding his receivers or safety valve without hesitation. Cedric McGee was not only sighted, but played a vital role as the 3d WR/safety valve. He picked up key first downs or created 2nd or 3d and short on drives with excellent yards after the catch runs. Syracuse was so keyed on stopping Kinder and Strong — they were blanketed by coverage most of the game — and Palko made sure to find other receivers.

The defense played a very good game. I think the corners should have been playing tighter against a less then impressive group of Orange receivers, but I’m hardly surprised that DC Rhoads had them backing off. Very good containment of the run, and some great up-front pressure by the D-line to keep Perry Patterson from having too much time to throw.

Don’t forget, Syracuse is an improved team from last year. If anything, their progress probably puts them where Pitt was last year. In fact there were times when I watched that I felt Pitt was playing the team it was last year. Considering how bad they were last year, however, that is significant progress.

Pitt and Dave Wannstedt were probably right and it was sporting not to put that final score on the board at the very end. I can’t help but wish they had, though, just because it would have really pissed off the Orange. Adding some extra spice to the game next year and perhaps a little heat to a traditional game that lacks the feel of hatred and rivalry.

I have a lot to do before game time.

With all that has happened, getting satellite was delayed. Unfortunately, the cable hook-up in the new/temp place won’t be until Tuesday. Instead I bribed a friend to let me hijack his TV for the day. In return, I bought Gameplan for the day for them (so I can see the Pitt-Syracuse game) and a 12 of Newcastle. I’ll be live blogging the Pitt game for AOL, then doing more liveblogging of the rest of the CFB action from about 3:30 to 6:30. I really need the cyberpunk era to get to reality so I can just jack the computer directly into the base of my skull and be done with it.

Since that hasn’t happened yet, maybe I should just do a weekly “host the homeless blogger” thing where I travel to people’s houses glomming off their broadband, commandeering their TV and becoming the houseguest from hell.

Either way, time is a little short so I’m just going to do the links quickly. By the way, you can look at all the Q&A between the ‘Cuse blogger and I through this link (it’s given me the excuse to seek and post photos of old Pitt unis from the Getty archives).
Lots out of Syracuse and upstate NY for this game. Not so much from the ‘Burgh.

Base, simple preview from the Trib. The P-G is about how Syracuse’s improvements from last year to this, to a large degree mirror Pitt.

Syracuse football players like to visit men in prison.

Some are thinking bowl for the ‘Cuse if they win.

More talk about how Syracuse gets a lot of sacks.

Finally, the ‘Cuse are still talking payback for the entire last season of winless ineptitude in the Big East. A bit of respect for Palko though from their lineman.

Syracuse linebacker K.J. Smith said Palko reminds him of Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. He said Palko was quieter last year at Heinz Field. But two years ago at the Carrier Dome, Smith said Palko talked plenty of smack with former SU safety Anthony Smith, who now plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Smith called it, funny.

“He’s a tough dude,” said Smith, who is No. 2 in the Big East in tackles behind Pittsburgh’s H.B. Blades. “I respect his game. I like his game. I like to play against a quarterback like that. You can look at him and you know he’s ready to play. Not many other quarterbacks do that – look a linebacker in the face and know what it is.”

What kills me in the article is it talks about how Syracuse wants to take away Pitt’s run and make them pass. That’s what Pitt already does.

Upstate NY products playing for Pitt get some love from the locals ahead of today’s game. Kevin Collier is asked if he still loves Pitt.

Yeah, he’s pretty happy with his decision.

“It’s the place I want to be,” says Collier, who is averaging 3.2 yards per carry in a backup role. “I love it here.”

Plenty of family will be on hand at the Carrier Dome, but not all.

Collier will have some, but not all, of his family present. He expects “more than a dozen” on hand, including his parents, but younger brother Averin will be busy. The Churchville-Chili junior has emerged as a top college prospect himself and will be playing at Webster Thomas today.

“He’s having a great season,” Kevin says of Averin. “I’m very proud of him.”

As for McKenzie Mathews, he kind of dodges and weaves around discussion of what had him leave the team in training camp.

“I wasn’t homesick. I never thought about transferring to Syracuse, never made any inquiries about it,” he said this week. “I made the right choice coming to Pittsburgh. I like the school and I like the football program. I was just going through some personal issues.”

Mathews, a freshman defensive end, will return home again this weekend, when the Panthers visit Syracuse today in the Carrier Dome. He has played in two of Pitt’s five games and is credited with two tackles.

…

Mathews said he slid down the Panthers’ depth chart after his Syracuse visit a couple months ago. Coaches, he said, allowed him a week off from practice to deal with his issues. Mathews said he stayed in Syracuse for three or four days before heading back to Pitt and practice.

During his time home, he visited CBA football practices and talked to coaches there about his situation. He said he also had long talks with his mother, Sonia Williams.

“It helped,” he said. “It was something I needed to get through and it helped a lot. To play well, I needed to go home and take some time away from everything.”

Well, he may not have considered transferring to Syracuse — and actually the Big East prohibits that — but he did debate leaving Pitt and football behind.

I wish I was making this up. This morning’s “trivia question” in the LA Times Sports section.

What is Pitt’s football rivalry with West Virginia called?

Deep, deep sigh.

Excellent news.

Schenley High star DeJuan Blair has decided to commit to Pitt. Blair is a 6′ 7″, 240 pound Power Forward. He briefly soured on Pitt when he felt they weren’t recruiting him very hard, but in the end felt the love and has made a verbal. He was considered a good prospect with some risk — knee surgeries and sometime shaky interest in school work — who has blossomed into one of the hotter targets in the last 4 months or so. He had offers from Indiana, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Miami and K-State. He was scheduled to take a visit to K-State Tennessee this month, and he may still do so.

This is excellent news for Pitt basketball. It’s been a long time since Pittsburgh has had some good talent and Pitt got one of the best and more stable top flight talents.

I hate to say it, but I think they wasted nearly half the season with Lowell Robinson.

Citing his team’s depth at wide receiver, coach Dave Wannstedt is moving Lowell Robinson to the defensive backfield after a two-month experiment at wideout. Robinson was a JUCO All-American safety at Erie (N.Y.) Community College last year and intercepted a conference-high seven passes. The 6-foot, 195-pounder, who moved to wide receiver during training camp and played mainly on special teams, will remain the Panthers’ kickoff returner and will play on coverage teams.

Robinson has looked very good at returning kicks, but moving him to WR was questionable from the start. As a JUCO, he doesn’t have a lot of time at Pitt. He now has to try and climb the depth chart at safety for the rest of the season. No question he is valuable on the special teams, but I don’t give him good odds of getting on the two-deep depth chart by seasons end barring injuries. That just gives him next season.

I also think this is clearly an indicator that they are very nervous about how much they are going to use Jason Pinkston on the O-line.

Wannstedt said junior guard/center Chris Vangas and sophomore tackle Chase Clowser would be the first substitutes off the bench on the offensive line. Jason Pinkston, who moved from defense to the offensive line two weeks ago, also could see some time.

“It doesn’t take long before the lack of depth is obvious,” Wannstedt said.

All week, we’ve read how Pinkston will see a lot of time and be a key reserve. Now it seems that they are hedging.
Talking about the line and how Palko hasn’t been sacked as much, Zeise responded in his Q&A.

Q: It seems like Palko is getting sacked less, not because of great line play, but because of the West Coast system of quick passes and dumping off the ball. What are your thoughts?

Zeise: There is definitely some truth to that, but that’s how the system is supposed to work. They also have used more max protection schemes and Tyler is a lot better versed in the safety valves that each play provides and he’s making quicker decisions. That’s all a part of any team that doesn’t give up many sacks. Do you really think the Dolphins had the greatest lines on the planet all those years they were protecting Dan Marino, or do you think his lightning quick release of the ball had something to do with him hardly ever getting sacked. So yes, part of it is the system but I do think the offensive line is playing much, much better in pass protection as well. Of course, Syracuse leads the nation in sacks I guess this theory will be put to the test tomorrow.

Palko is also making the reads quicker. While on Zeise’s chat on Thursday, he spent more time mocking those who have wanted to make sure Bill Stull saw some action at QB. Either he got too many e-mails about the issue or he has something against the whole idea of giving the back-up some work for the future. He does his usual stumping for Conredge Collins to get more carries. To be fair, though, the Pitt coaches said Collins was going to get more work and instead saw less. Heck, they are saying it again this week.

Pitt running backs coach David Walker said the Panthers hope to balance their running game with 6-foot, 235-pound fullback Conredge Collins, who is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and has scored on his past two touches.

“We’ve got to come up with other ways we can get him the ball,” Walker said. “He’s in the mix with some of the one-back stuff we do. I would hope we’re going to start to see his carries increase, because he’s proven he can be very effective with the ball.”

Whether it happens or not is another issue.

Hmm. This caught my eye.

This just in…SU 5-0 versus the spread (this season).

I love home underdogs. SU is +7 at home versus Pitt on Saturday.

One more reason to give SU the check is their 5-2 record versus the spread at home against Pitt since 1992.

Straight up, the ‘Cuse is 6-1 against Pitt in that same span (yeep). Man the 90s were rough on Pitt — but we all knew that.
Pitt is 3-1 ATS (against the spread) and 4-0 going over on points this season (go figure, the Citadel game wasn’t even on the books), so it’s not like Pitt has been a bad bet this season.

Of course, the issue of their defense getting sacks has been talked about, but it has also led to 13 turnovers and a turnover margin of -1.6, 5th best in the country. So the defense is helping the offense with a shorter field at points, and the offense while not producing huge point totals has not put the defense in a huge hole with field position. The Orange will be hoping for their first Big East win since that pasting they put on BC (heh) back in 2004 that allowed Pitt to go to the Fiesta Bowl.

Pitt offers the next opportunity for Syracuse (3-2, 0-0 Big East) to break its sorry streak of seven straight conference losses, not to mention the chance for the Orange to extend their first winning streak under Robinson.

No wonder Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt is wearing a worried look.

“We’re going to get everything Syracuse has to offer,” Wannstedt said. “They’re riding high right now, they’ve got a game at home, and they’re looking to make it four in a row. This will probably be as emotional a game as we have from an opponent’s standpoint.”

And it’s homecoming. I can’t believe the Domers scheduled homecoming for the Pitt game. Kind of insulting. That’s like scheduling Rutgers for homecoming this year — oh, wait.

Do you realize that college basketball teams can start practicing next Friday?

Hard to believe. Pitt’s first exhibition game will be November 1 against Carnegie Tech.

Honestly, the whole month of September has been a blur. The last couple weeks we’ve seen gaggles of high school kids all dressed up for homecoming or fall formals. Totally threw us off to realize it was the end of September.

Preview magazines for college basketball are trickling onto the newstands and I haven’t had a chance to review them.

Give some credit to the Pitt football team for at least holding our interest. They may not be ready to be a top-25 or contending team, but they are a bowl team and they have lots of potential.

Back to B-ball.

A couple weeks ago, there was an article in the Trib. focusing on transfer Mike Cook.

“Who is Mike Cook?”

It promises to be a popular query among Pitt basketball fans when the Panthers open the season with a pair of home exhibition games in early November.

Cook is a transfer from East Carolina, where he led the Conference USA Pirates in scoring two years ago. He figures to blend in nicely with a veteran Pitt team that is being touted as a preseason favorite in the Big East Conference.

I’ve been very eager to see Cook in action since it was announced that he was transferring and sitting out all of last year. Cook spent the summer in Pittsburgh playing in the local college league and just further bonding with his teammates rather than go back to Philly for the summer and where the summer leagues are traditionally very competitive.

Well, the B-ball writer for CBS Sportsline decided to answer the question about Cook in his blog (Sept. 19 entry).

Allow me to supply the answer.

Cook is a 6-foot-4 guard from Philadelphia, one who played his first two years of college basketball at East Carolina for Bill Herrion. There, he was great, averaging 12.8 points per game — including 15 points per game as a sophomore — while reaching double-figures in 41 of 55 contests. And keep in mind, this was not the depleted version of Conference USA that now exists. Cook did this in the C-USA that featured Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette, Memphis and Charlotte, the C-USA that put two schools in the Final Four in a three-year span (Marquette in 2003 and Louisville in 2005) and was one of the better basketball leagues in the country.

At Pittsburgh, Cook — who was featured in my list of top 10 transfers a few weeks ago — will be the dynamic backcourt scorer any Final Four hopeful needs. He’ll create off the dribble, get into the lane and toss runners at the rim. In the process, the opposing big man will be forced to help, which should lead to some easy stickbacks for Pitt senior Aaron Gray, the 7-foot center whose return to school was wise and makes the Panthers the Big East favorites.

Who is Mike Cook?

He’s a difference-maker, a key part to a puzzle that when put together should be great. He’s a name not many know right now, but a guy I’m sure Marquette’s Tom Crean and Louisville’s Rick Pitino (two coaches who have seen Cook up close from that old C-USA) aren’t wild about dealing with this season.

The list Parrish made had Cook at #7. Parrish is doing positional rankings this week (he gets to Centers on Friday). So far the only Pitt player listed is Sam Young at #20 among Small Forwards.

Luke Winn at SI.com blogs today about his “all-breakout team” (hat tip to Mike).

G: Ronald Ramon, Pitt, Junior LAST SEASON: 8.0 points, 2.2 assists in 24.9 minutes/game< BREAKOUT FORMULA: The Panthers operated under a low-efficiency arrangement last season. Their point guard and leader, Carl Krauser, took an overwhelming amount of the team’s shots — 391, compared to star center Aaron Gray‘s 323 and Ramon’s 175. The problem? Krauser was hardly the team’s most efficient player: He fired at a pedestrian 40.2 percent clip from the field and 36.8 from long distance.

The division of labor in Pitt’s backcourt will be more traditional this year: Levance Fields will handle the ball and distribute, and Ramon will likely fill some of the 15-points-per-game scoring void left by Krauser. Putting the ball in Ramon’s hands should pay off: With limited opportunities in ’05-06, he led the Big East in 3-point percentage at 50.8 during conference games. More importantly, Ramon’s personal efficiency rating of 124.6 was more than 19 points higher than either Krauser’s (104.5) or Gray’s (105.3). Those numbers mean that if one had given Krauser and Ramon 100 possessions each to score last season, Ramon would have produced 20.1 more points than his fellow Bronx product.

Thankfully, the meat of Pitt’s non-con really doesn’t start until December (yes, there are a couple good games in November as well).

Former Pitt CB Josh Lay worked out for the Steelers yesterday. The Steelers are undermanned at the CB position with only 1 CB on the practice squad and carrying only 4 the active roster. Backup Ricardo Colclough is questionable at best to play this weekend.
Lay was a 6th round pick of the New Orleans Saints but was cut in the beginning of September. He worked out later in the month with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but didn’t get signed.

Sadly, I’ve missed several in between. This one comes from CrossCyed.

1. We’re about halfway through the season at this point. Have you gotten a gauge on your team’s chances this year to make noise in conference play, or is the team still a total freaking mystery?

I am amazed at how many fans of so many other teams this year are completely unsure about what their team can do. And I too am one of them. I don’t think Pitt will win the Big East, but I’m not convinced that they can’t end up knocking off Louisville or WVU at this point. Those are the last two games of the season and they are home games so there is a realistic chance still. Of course, Pitt could end up as low as 6th if they don’t take care of other games in the conference. Suddenly Syracuse is looking like a much tougher game this weekend as they have improved plus it’s at the Carrier Dome where Pitt has had minimal success.

I don’t flippin’ know. I want to say they will beat ‘Cuse, Rutgers and USF, but …

2. Many of the bigger conferences such as the Big 12 and the Big 10 use a rotating schedule to determine conference games each year. What are your feelings on the current system used in your conference? Does a rotating schedule work? Has your team always caught a break?

Obviously, the Big East doesn’t have the rotating schedule issue. Arguably, though, the way the home-away BE schedule has worked for Pitt is advantageous this year. If — based on the top-25 rankings — you look at the top 3 teams in the BE: Rutgers, Louisville and WVU all come to Pitt for home games and the road games are to Cinci, ‘Cuse, USF and UConn. The only reason I hedge, is that Pitt has not played much of the conference slate yet, so they haven’t shown they will take advantage of it.

3. In an effort to get to know more about college football, both nationally and regionally, what have you done to expand your college football horizons? Have you caught yourself watching games from other conferences, or taking an interest in games that show up on ESPNU or Fox Sports?

I’m stuck in Ohio. So whether I want to or not, I have to see what the Big 11 is doing every week. The ACC has my attention thanks to the Fanhouse stuff. So I’m already trying to absorb action from 3 BCS conferences every week. That doesn’t even include the SEC stuff on CBS that I click to. The wife hates this time of year.

4. What would you change about the current exposure your team gets, either on the radio, television, print, or on the internet?

It’s not bias or anything like that. It’s seeing Pitt and the whole Big East used increasingly as programming filler for ESPN’s weekknight lineup. The Wednesday and Friday night games. Being stuck in the role previously occupied by the Mountain West before they had enough and left the WWLS.

Don’t even get me started on the continuing future of this arrangement, not to mention turning over all of the internet video rights to ESPN in the next contract as well. Insuring that the games won’t be seen that way unless you are on a broadband service that agrees to carry ESPN360, or your willing to pay the same amount for the online gameplan that you would to see it clearer and better on TV.

5. During last Saturday’s game against I-AA Northern Iowa, Iowa State trailed 21-7 at the half. The Cyclone Marching Band played a variety of songs from animated shows, including selections from South Park titled “Blame Canada” and “What Would Brian Boitano Do?” Needless to say, the Cyclones outscored the Panthers 21-6 in the second half. If you had to pick one song for your favorite team to rally to, what would it be? Because we all know what they did for the 2005 White Sox, Journey and “Don’t Stop Believing” are not to be considered.>

Hmmm. I’m pathetically out of date at this point in music. It’s just sad, really. I think if it was the band doing the song, I think “Left of the Dial” by the Replacements would be a good call (I mean it when I said I’m out of date). Really, this is one that calls for debate and discussion by those who know.

Looks like the Carrier Dome will be packed for game or at least near capacity. The Syracuse AD is projecting over 40,000 for the game (which is also Homecoming). Just to note, that was Matt Glaude — who does Orange 44 and is a fellow participant in the NCAA CFB Fanhouse — and I are answering each others questions about our teams the rest of the week. I asked him a little about the crowd projections yesterday.

While the ‘Cuse’s best WR and deep threat Taj Smith is out for the season with a broken clavicle, Rice Moss and his “slightly” separated shoulder are expected to play.

Syracuse’s Joe Fields has adjusted quite well to moving to Free Safety from QB and is now enjoying the game again.

“I haven’t had this much fun since middle school,” Fields said. “Not even high school.”

…

As the season approaches the midway point and the Orange (3-2) approaches its most important game, Fields is becoming more than competitive; he’s becoming a playmaker. Two games ago he sacked Miami of Ohio quarterback Mike Kokal on the first play, setting the tone for a 34-14 Orange victory. Saturday, he made his first career interception in the fourth quarter of a double-overtime victory over Wyoming, then nearly made a second one that would have sealed the verdict in regulation.

Despite having 25 sacks, there is some concern about the lack of speed from the Syracuse linebackers when they are in pass defense (hence, I imagine why they blitz a lot). Hopefully Pitt will be able to exploit that with the tight ends and some screens to the backs.

Nothing like aiming high, I guess.

Syracuse University senior cornerback Tanard Jackson wasted little time celebrating his team’s dramatic double-overtime victory over Wyoming on Saturday before turning his attention to Pittsburgh, the Orange’s next opponent.

“We start the Big East, and we call it the tour of revenge,” Jackson said, referring to Saturday’s noon game in the Carrier Dome (Time Warner), SU’s Big East opener. “We didn’t win a game in the Big East last year, and we definitely have something to prove.”

So far none of his teammates have exactly stood behind Jackson and his words. Suggesting most of the other players kind of wish he’d have kept his mouth shut and not given any bulletin board material. At least he didn’t guarantee a win.

Meanwhile another paper in upstate NY has some rose-colored glasses on:

It was a win, to be sure.

An exciting one, too, in double overtime, against a team that certainly was better than its record.

Wyoming’s only win has come against the very bad Utah State (still winless at 0-5). Wyoming has lost to Virginia among others. The article does express some concern over the amount off yardage the Orange D yielded in the game (512), especially with the way Pitt’s offense has played.
Meanwhile, Syracuse Coache Greg Robinson wants a big turnout for the game, even if it means blacking out the game. Okay, he was smiling when he said that, but he did make it clear about the turnout.

Would you like a blackout?

“No, not really. I would like a full house without a blackout.”

But it’s obvious that if a blackout’s what it takes, he’d prefer it.

Joe Starkey, writing for ESPN.com, does a piece on Derek Kinder’s emergence as one of the top WRs in the country.

A 6-foot-1, 205-pound junior, Kinder earned a letter as a freshman because of his intense special teams play. He relishes contact, kind of like this city’s other star receiver, Hines Ward.

“Don’t get confused — I still want the ball as much as possible,” said Kinder, who leads the Big East in receiving yards per game and total receiving yards. “But I’m no prima donna. I started off on special teams. That’s how I got my foot in the door, so by no means am I going to try to get off that.”

…

Shortly after he’d earned the No. 3 spot, Kinder had a good talk with [WR Coach Aubrey] Hill, his position coach and a guy who’d played at Florida under pass-happy coach Steve Spurrier.

“Derek said, ‘Coach, I really appreciate having the No. 3 spot, but I don’t just want that. I want the No. 2 spot and the No. 1 spot,’ ” Hill said. “That was a defining moment with me, letting me know he was really sincere about being the best player he could be.”

Hill compares him favorably to his old Florida teammates Ike Hilliard and Willie Jackson as complete receivers.

Kinder is also from NY. It seems he grew up as a Syracuse fan, but was not heavily pursued by the Orange. So, a paper upstate has an opportunity to point out another whiff on a local product and try to push the revenge storyline.

Kinder, 20, grew up a Syracuse fan and had hoped to play for the Orange. But former SU coach Paul Pasqualoni dragged his feet in offering a scholarship, and when Kinder visited Pitt and saw the new facilities and met with the players, he decided the Steel City was where he should be.

The Orange, beset by receiving problems in the past several seasons, definitely could have used him.

Though he downplays the significance of playing in the Carrier Dome, you know there’s a part of him that would like to make the Orange pay for the oversight. He had eight catches, including an 11-yard TD reception, in last year’s decisive win against SU.

Kinder is going to have a sizable contingent of friends and family at the game, but he insists he will be focusing on the game. Given his performance to date, there is no reason to doubt that.