Yeah, I’m not working particularly hard on the titles. Considering the way my brother-in-law and I have been hitting my dad’s Scotch selection so far, just be happy I can spell and post. Yes, I’m enjoying Thanksgiving.

USF Coach Jim Leavitt is either blowing smoke or smoking something.

University of South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said the Bulls will face a “tremendous” challenge when they visit Pittsburgh on Saturday.

“Offensively, their offensive line is as good as we’ve seen this year,” Leavitt said. “They are a very good group. LeSean McCoy is a tremendous running back. They’ve been going between two quarterbacks who have got a lot of talent.”

[Emphasis added.]
Right.

Here’s the catalog of offensive problems in story form the last few days. Here, here and here.

Meanwhile, Paul Rhoads has appeared to have saved his job.  I am now starting on the Macallan single malt Cask Strength (117 proof).

As pointed out a few months ago on a West Virginia blog (talk about an oxymoron) and recently discussed again over at Panther Rants, The University of South Florida is actually not in Southern Florida. Places such as Miami and Fort Lauderdale are in the southern part of the state, while Tampa Bay is in the middle of the state. Very nonsensical.

Back on October 18, I admitted my man-crush on Matt Grothe. That was back when I was on the USF bandwagon, but after a few losses I decided to jump off. Now they’re playing Pitt and I’m officially done with them.

A huge factor in Staurday’s game won’t be the players but the weather and field conditions. Even though they’re not from South Florida, Tampa is still a bit warmer than Pittsburgh, and any help we can get from cold weather will be helpful. Weather.com claims Saturday will see temperatures in the low 40’s with a very small chance of precipitation. The other huge factor is the condition of the actual field. Tomorrow are the WPIAL Championship games at Heinz Field, which means four games on Friday before Pitt’s noon game on Saturday. They’re going to re-sod the field for the Steelers’ Monday nighter but Pitt will be playing on mud that’s spray painted green to look like grass.

A few other notes:

— The Cowboys and Jets play at 4:00 this afternoon which means a lot of Darelle Revis covering Terrell Owens…but T.O. doesn’t know who Revis is (Fanhouse).

— Things are crazy in Louisville. First, the rumors of coach Steve Kragthorpe leaving were confirmed until he called a press conference to say he’s committed to UL. Usually when coaches say they’re staying at a school the fans are happy — not this time.

— Pitt hoops plays 4-0 Duquesne in the City Game on December 5. The team has reached enough credibility to have their own blog, Dukes Court.

— The Post-Gazette’s annual Fabulous 22 came out today. Familiar names include Pryor, Nix, Saddler, Baldwin, and Williams.

— My picks for the WPIAL games tomorrow: AAAA — Gateway, AAA — Thomas Jefferson, AA — Jeannette, A — Serra.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, everyone.

Bradley Wanamaker got press time this past week (if you take a look at the press release for the Buffalo game, you will see a link to a media appearance video for Wanamaker). That of course leads to an article on him.

“The transition from shooting guard to point guard is pretty good so far,” Wanamaker said. “Fifteen assists ain’t bad. I’ll just try to keep it up.”

Despite averaging only 12.8 minutes per game, Wanamaker is second on the team in assists (15). His eight assists against Houston Baptist in the opener were the most in a freshman debut at Pitt since Sean Miller two decades ago. Wanamaker has six turnovers for a respectable 2.5-to-1 ratio.

With freshman center DeJuan Blair’s memorable debut, Wanamaker’s strong November has been a bit overshadowed. Coach Jamie Dixon is taking notice.

“He is doing a great job,” Dixon said. “He really makes good decisions. He’s a great passer and has a great feel and he gets to the basket.”

Of course, Coach Dixon does know how to tweak him a bit.

“He thinks he’s a really good defender,” Dixon said. “As with all freshmen, they think a steal counts for 12 points, and the one (basket) they gave up doesn’t count for any.”

Wanamaker is going to be very versatile as he learns — at a minimum — back-up point guard duties. Even if Jordan Gibbs or Travon Woodall eventually succeed Fields as the starting PG.

Speaking of the new recruiting class, Pitt has all four letter of intents in hand, so the press release announcing the class is out. Jordan Ashton Gibbs, Travon Woodall, Nasir Robinson and Dwight Miller.

Don’t forget about the Buffalo game tomorrow (PDF). That one will be on All-Access web broadcast.

Well, for those of you thinking Pitt is always underrated, this preview of a top-25 will make you feel good. For those feeling that this is just asking for bad things to happen, well I understand.

10. Pittsburgh Panthers (29-8)

The Ben Howland/Jamie Dixon era has made Pittsburgh perhaps the most consistent team in college basketball. And they’re only improving. Freshmen DeJuan Blair and Bradley Wanamaker headline the best recruiting class of the era, and the returnees have a lot of potential. Blair, a center, and forward Sam Young will take on starring roles. Young is explosive, Blair is steady and strong. Senior guard Levance Fields is the chemistry guy and gutsy defender. Together, they give the Panthers the type of leadership and skill that could push the team beyond the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1974 (when there were only 25 teams invited to the Big Dance).

…

OVERRATED: Louisville | UNDERRATED: Pittsburgh

Admittedly, I have a bit of an advantage over a number of publications’ preview specials in that I have seen a little bit of the season already. Still, Louisville is not a top 10 team, yet some are claiming they are a top five team. I’m not sold that Derrick Caracter has the fitness or mentality to play big minutes consistently. And without David Padgett, Caracter will need to. Juan Palacios would help, but he can’t stay healthy either and is out till at least December. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh makes the Sweet Sixteen seemingly every year these days. So why is it that no one expects anything big from them? Jamie Dixon is a really great coach, the system works, and Sam Young and Dejuan Blair are two of the best players ever to come to Pitt.

Everyone wants their team to play in the non-con tournaments in November and December. Afterall, national media exposure is a good thing. Pitt fans are no exception. the disadvantage for Pitt is that the marquee teams and coaches in the Big East still carry a lot of weight. That limits Pitt’s opportunities.

The recruiting classes in 2008 does not have the talent as 2007 offered. Pitt finds itself ranked somewhere in the middle of the Big East, yet not highly ranked nationally. Yet, last season Pitt was somewhere in the middle of the pack in the Big East, but ranked nationally.

Point guard Travon Woodall (5-11, 185), shooting guard Ashton Gibbs (6-2, 190) and forward Dwight Miller (6-8, 220) are unranked at this time. Rivals ranked Pitt’s class as No. 8 in the Big East behind the likes of Rutgers and Cincinnati.

“I would term it solid,” said Jerry Meyer, a national recruiting analyst for Rivals. “There is no star power in this class. There are no difference-makers. This is not a great class. But I think this is a good class.”

The recruiting class from a year ago was No. 6 in the Big East and ranked No. 26 in the country by Rivals. That lofty ranking was due in large part to Dixon getting DeJuan Blair and Brad Wanamaker, both top-100 players, to come on board.

This whole 2008 recruiting class seems like a “nuts-and-bolts” type class. And I mean this for both Pitt and on a national level. There just aren’t that many difference maker players for next year. A lot of potential sleepers and surprises, but mainly players that will contribute a little in their first year and develop down the road.