— The game against Notre Dame is the only kickoff time known right now because NBC has exclusive rights to ND games.

— December in Connecticut will be cold.

— The Backyard Brawl is set for Friday, November 28, the day after Thanksgiving. I wouldn’t mind this game to be played on this day normally, except it could end up being a noon or afternoon game. It’s on ABC, which previously had Texas/Texas A&M in the afternoons for the past few years, but they’re moving that game to Thanksgiving night on ESPN. I’m not really too high on the idea of an afternoon Brawl. Also, it’s always odd not finishing the regular season with WVU.

— The WPIAL championship games will likely be played on Saturday the 29th of November, the day after the Pitt game. Therefore the Friday night game won’t take away from any high school games, plus Pitt would be playing before the field gets torn up by the HS games.

— The game against South Florida comes just five days after playing up in Syracuse. Between traveling across the country and a short practice week, it should be interesting to see how the team responds.

— Following the USF game, Pitt has a a bye week before Navy. That’s an 18 day(!) break. So we have five days off before one game then 18 before the next…something seems weird.

— On both August 30 (Bowling Green) and September 20 (Iowa), the Pirates play a 7:05 pm home game. Expect a noon start (ugh). Remember: a good Pitt team will be forced to play at a bad time because of a baseball team that has had 14 losing seasons and will be out of contention by mid-May. Oh, and I’m still a Buccos fan.

Updates: WPIAL finals will be played the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Pitt-WVU is a noon kickoff on ABC.

Yes, this is probably just the “exception.” That there are no WPIAL games (probably) or such. Whatever. It didn’t take long for ESPN and the Big East to force Pitt back into a Friday night home game.

Pitt’s annual Backyard Brawl rivalry game against West Virginia will be played on Friday, Nov. 28, at Heinz Field and will be televised by ABC.

Unlike last season, when Pitt upset West Virginia 13-9 on Dec. 1 to put the Mountaineers out of the national title game, the game will not end each team’s regular season. On Dec. 6, Pitt finishes at Connecticut, while West Virginia plays South Florida at home.

Pitt and West Virginia also played on the Friday following Thanksgiving in 1997, 1998 and 2000, with the 1998 and 2000 games at Three Rivers Stadium. Pitt staged a 41-38, three-overtime upset at West Virginia in 1997.

The conference schedule was announced by the Big East.

Date Opponent Time

Aug. 30 Bowling Green TBA

Sept. 6 Buffalo TBA

Sept. 20 Iowa TBA

Sept. 27 at Syracuse* TBA

Oct. 2 (Thurs.) at USF* (ESPN) TBA

Oct. 18 at Navy TBA

Oct. 25 Rutgers* TBA

Nov. 1 at Notre Dame (NBC) 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 8 Louisville* TBA

Nov. 22 at Cincinnati* TBA

Nov. 28 (Fri.) West Virginia* (ABC) TBA

Dec. 6 at Connecticut* (ESPN/ESPN2) TBA

Don’t expect a lot of late starts. ESPN Regional will likely pick up a bunch of the games.

Oddly enough, I felt better about this game than any other in a while. I’m not happy about the outcome, but there was enough to encourage me rather than just make me crazy.

In Fields’ 3d game back, the offense had much better flow. Only 4 turnovers, 18 assists and the ball was worked inside more. DeJuan Blair saw a lot more touches in better spots better shots. From inside the arc, Pitt was 23-44. Considering how badly Pitt has been struggling with scoring and shooting, going for nearly 45% against one of the best defensive teams in the country is a positive.

I’m bothered that DeJuan Blair keeps losing his man at the top — over and over again. With Pitt’s lack of size, there’s no one that can handle the opposing big man dropping down. The only good thing is that there aren’t many big men that are actually threats to shoot from outside as the players Blair has had to defend in the past week plus. The defense did get 7 steals and helped create 14 turnovers. Pitt limited their possessions, but gave up plenty of easy baskets and open looks.

I can’t believe how poor and inconsistent the perimeter shooting has been. Is it any shock to know that when Pitt has shot below 33.3% on the perimeter Pitt is 0-6 in the Big East? Pitt doesn’t need to be unstoppable from outside. They just need to be a threat. The ball was kicked out more this time rather than just passed along the perimeter. The open looks didn’t help, though.