Just a seemingly random rotation in and out of ACC and Big East teams.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Oklahoma	4
2	Alabama	—
3	Florida	—
4	Texas Tech	3
5	Texas	1
6	Southern Cal	—
7	Utah	—
8	Penn State	—
9	Ohio State	—
10	Boise State	—
11	Oklahoma State	—
12	Ball State	—
13	Cincinnati	3
14	Georgia	—
15	Missouri	2
16	Oregon State	2
17	TCU	2
18	West Virginia	2
19	Brigham Young	4
20	Oregon	2
21	Georgia Tech	5
22	Michigan State	5
23	Florida State	3
24	Northwestern	2
25	Pittsburgh	1

Yes, after Pitt loses I rank them. Nothing to hold it back any longer.

Not that much movement near the top. Other than Texas Tech out at the top, and swapping in Oklahoma to the top spot. The two SEC teams will work themselves out soon enough.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m pissed about Pitt losing. The secondary has turned into a major weakness on the team. Exploitable and little seems to be helping. Pitt’s offense struggled as the receivers could not get open quickly and Bill Stull did not seem to grasp that he still has to get rid of the ball at some point. Teams are completely selling out to stop McCoy and the running game.

I can’t actually put a lot of stock in Pitt’s late scores because Cinci has had a habit of letting up late in the games. I’ve watched Cinci do it against WVU and Rutgers. So, it does have a discount effect.

Now, here’s why I am somewhat optimistic going forward. Pitt’s conference losses have come against teams that can throw the ball well. Teams that have good receivers with size and/or speed. The next two opponents are ground teams. Throwing is not what they do.

WVU’s receivers are virtually invisible. Instead they throw mainly to their impish running backs and expect them to get YAC. It’s all about Pat White and containing him.

UConn relies on Donald Brown to run the ball even more than Pitt does with McCoy. Their passing offense is ranked 102nd in the country.

So, the upcoming games won’t be as obvious a battle between Pitt’s weakness on defense. So, there is that.

A screenshot of Bob Davie’s use of the telestrator to show how Dorin Dickerson scored in the final couple minutes. I’m just channeling my inner Beavis.

Telestrator Use

I don’t want to have to have anymore to do with this, so please cooperate.

I have removed the personal information on commenter “Joshua.”

I have told him not to come back.

The IP addresses he has used on the Pitt Network have been saved, and if he does not comply I will forward accordingly to the Pitt IT department and appropriate people to deal accordingly.

This is not about someone who dislikes Wannstedt. If it was, he would have been banned long ago. This is about trolling and not helping to have a conversation.

This is not a free-for-all message board. A minimal level of civility is expected. Please act accordingly.

Just as you make your own luck, I don’t buy into destiny. I prefer free will.

So, here’s the liveblog that should get underway sometime around 7-ish.

Since there has been something of a queue to participate, I’ve sent out some invites (near the max allowable) to those that I trust will be able to reasonably control themselves that should allow more participation. Hopefully that will help.

Here’s the Link to tonight’s liveblog.

Okay, one of the big match-ups in the game will be the Cinci secondary vs. the Pitt receivers.

That’s because the Bearcats (8-2, 4-1) feature three of the Big East’s best defensive players in cornerbacks DeAngelo Smith and Mike Mickens and safety Brandon Underwood.

The trio has combined to intercept seven passes and break up 19 others, and all three are among the team’s six leading tacklers. Mickens, who is a four-year starter and has been an all-Big East selection three times, leads the Bearcats with 65 tackles, 43 of them solo.

That the Bearcats can trust their secondary to go man, keys the rest of their defense.

“Having those types of DBs in the backfield not only allows us to have one-on-one matchups and blitz quarterbacks more,” Cincinnati defensive end Connor Barwin said, “but a lot of our sacks are coverage sacks.”

Mickens and Smith have combined for six interceptions this season and 26 in their careers. They also have 16 pass breakups between them this fall, which will force Pitt quarterback Bill Stull to make sound decisions.

“We’ve been talking all week about their D-backs,” Stull said. “They’re definitely a very, very talented defense.

“I just need to be smart. Maybe some throws I think might be there, they might not, and I have to hit a check-down. I have to make sure I don’t force anything.”

It might also help, not to stare down the receiver this game. It’s one of the legitimate criticisms of Stull. He does tend to lock on a receiver.

Zeise calls tonight’s game an elimination game, not a championship game.

That’s why tonight’s game at Nippert Stadium is probably more accurately defined as a Big East elimination game than a Big East championship game.

“We all know it is a big game and there is a lot at stake,” said Pitt fullback Conredge Collins. “But at the same time, it isn’t our last game and we have a few more big ones after it so we need to be focused on winning this one.”

Although the losing team will not be mathematically eliminated from title consideration, it would need so many things to go right in order to have a chance.

Well, Cinci would not necessarily get to the BCS game, but they would still have an excellent shot at claiming a share of the Big East title. Just have Pitt and WVU split their final two games. Either way, both teams need/want this game.

An interesting thing with Elijah Fields and the hard time for him to get on the field.

Q: I keep hearing rumors that Elijah Fields doesn’t get more playing time because he doesn’t know what he is doing (assignments etc.) out there. How can this be possible? He has been here for 3 years now. Is Bennett’s defense that much different that Rhoads?

ZEISE: That is not entirely true and it is more complicated than what it sounds like. Elijah Fields is being asked to play a number of different positions and coaches believe he can help them more playing a hybrid safety/linebacker type of position than limiting him to a safety spot. He has been asked to play a different position in all of the sub packages and different defenses and he has been used in different games with different matchups. They like his ability to cover and his ability to stop the run because of his size and they think they are wasting him if he is not doing more than just hanging back as a safety. So he’s being asked to absorb a lot of stuff and his playing time has increased tremendously over the past two games. I’d expect him to see the field a lot tonight because of the matchup with Cincinnati’s spread offense.

I know, why question success of a team with only 2 losses. Here’s what’s bothering me about this. Fair or not, Fields has long had his ability to learn to play within the system questioned. To know the plays and not just freelance. Whether it’s an issue of learning it, or not just relying on instinct. If that is true, wouldn’t the worst thing, would be to have him playing too many other positions other than safety? To have to know multiple assignments and responsibilities. Wouldn’t that be an additional hindrance to his development and getting on the field?

Special teams ace, Andrew Taglianetti gets a puff piece. Helps to have a relatively famous father in the area.

Cinci fans have been ticked at their local paper’s website this week, because apparently they’ve had too many pictures of Dave Wannstedt. This piece on Wanny didn’t help.

Bearcat fans excited like never before.

I’ll be getting the remaining Pitt-Cinci links out in a while. I’ve got to run the FanHouse chat around noon. Stop over to chat.

And yes, there will be a liveblog here for the game tonight.

Not the best effort in the second half. Hard to maintain that intensity when the game was so in control by Pitt. Akron had no size inside. Biggs, who seems to be getting a little more comfortable as a starter, grabbed a lot more rebounds — admittedly, more than a few came from his own misses (2-8). The big 3 were steady and as expected.

Jermaine Dixon after a great start to the season fell to the earth a bit in shooting. His defense on the perimeter stayed consistently strong.

Sprinkler problems before the game. I was unaware that Maurice Polen had transferred to IUP. So, there’s that along with former Pitt assistant, now HC Joe Lombardi, coming back to the Pete this afternoon.

Sam Young got ridiculous comparisons from Akron’s coach.

“Young reminds me of LeBron (James) a little bit,” Akron coach Keith Dambrot said. “Obviously, he’s not as good but with his quick-twitch ability and the way he gets to the basket. There’s some similarities.”

Dambrot coached James at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. Dambrot got to know Young last night.

Young scored a game-high 26 points – 16 coming during a dominant first half – as the No. 6 Panthers (3-0) surged to a commanding 18-point halftime lead and cruised from there.

“I was a little more aggressive offensively,” Young said. “I knocked down a couple three’s and that set up the rest of my game.”

I love Young, but that’s just being silly. You no more compare Young to James than anyone ever should Vince Carter to Michael Jordan or Adam Morrison to Larry Bird. Just crazy talk.

Hard to believe Fields is saying he isn’t at 100% yet. He has looked excellent and like he’s been playing with the guys all through the fall.

While Coach Dixon wasn’t happy about the second half defense, he took the blame for it.

Dixon took some of the blame for the poor second half. He said his substitution patterns took the Panthers out of their game. Dixon once again liberally substituted his freshmen into the game at all times, which led to some of the team’s breakdowns in the final 20 minutes.

“I kind of took us out of our rhythm,” Dixon said.

“I took Levance out early. I tried something different. But to their credit, they just kept playing hard and kept battling and getting after it. They have tough kids.”

Young scored 16 of his points in the first half and led the charge to a 45-27 halftime advantage for Pitt. The Panthers built the lead to 21 points early in the second half before they lost their focus, according to Young.

“We played real good offense and defense in the first half,” Young said.

“It wasn’t until the second half where we got sloppy and lost focus when we were up by 20. We kind of lost our intensity. If the game was a little closer, we would have maintained our intensity and our motivation.”

That’s one of the reason the players have always played hard for Dixon. He will always do what he can to take the blame off of them. It’s been that way for him since he took over as head coach.

As for Akron, coming into the game their coach was already conceding.

”It is a good game for us. We will go in there, let our hair down and play,” UA coach Keith Dambrot said. ”We will try to win, but we are realistic. That’s one of the best teams in the country.

”It will be difficult to win. They are not going to lose many there. But in the long run, it will benefit us.”

Here’s the thing. There was a little playing up of the fact that Akron hadn’t beaten a top-25 team since the 80-81 season. The dirty secret is that Akron preferred not to play high majors. Even the Ohio papers knew that.

Too big, too strong, too quick, too fast. The No. 6 Pitt Panthers displayed all their wares to the Akron Zips Friday night in a disarmingly easy 86-67 victory that left Pitt undefeated on the season and the Zips literally and figuratively looking for a rebound.

It has been several seasons since Akron (2-1) has stepped up in class during the regular season to play a power conference team. Pittsburgh (3-0) was not a good choice to be reintroduced. By halftime, Pitt center DeJuan Blair already had 10 of his 13 rebounds, leading a board attack that left Akron behind, 29-9, by the break and 41-24 for the game.

Okay, that’s mostly it for b-ball talk today.

Well, the early signing period is over. Pitt had all of its commit sign NLIs.

The centerpiece of the class is 6-foot-9 power forward Dante Taylor, a consensus top-30 recruit from National Christian Academy in Fort Washington, Md. He is joined by 6-5 guard/forward Lamar Patterson of Lancaster, 6-7 forward J.J. Richardson from Missouri City, Texas, and 6-9 forward Talib Zanna, who is originally from Nigeria but is finishing his high school career at Bishop McNamara in Forestville, Md.

It’s a consensus top-25 class according to the recruiting services that do rankings. Hoopscooponline ranks Pitt No. 9, ESPNU Pitt No. 14, PrepStars No. 23 and Scout.com No. 24.

Well, ESPNU seems to have dropped them to #15. Scary when you look at their rankings. 5 of the top-15 classes are from the Big East. This conference is brutal in all facets of basketball.

It’s good to see Pitt steadily rising in profile for recruiting as well.

Now that the class is signed, Chris Dokish has Tom Herrion talking about each player.

Of course, we are greedy. It isn’t enough to have this class. We still want Dominic Cheek to choose Pitt. He’s eliminated Memphis from his list and will be at Pitt next week.

Cheek has been the subject of much attention. Including this video on his life so far (via ZagsBlog).

Hopefully not all the students will be home for the Belmont game on Tuesday.

Both teams do. Win their remaining games and they are headed to the BCS Bowl. Nothing like having that control. Nothing as scary as well.

Some good news. Lots picking against Pitt. Mandel at SI.com as well as most of the CBS Sports group along with Brian Bennett and Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com are going with Cinci. In a game that doesn’t seem to have a very clear favorite, I always feel a little better to see more going against Pitt.

Of course, Orson and Holly have found themselves under the spell of the ‘stache.

An advanced conversation with Coach Wannstedt and LeSean.

A Cinci columnist tries to justify the lack of interest by the city considering all things.

No one knows what the time frame is for converting pro football fans to college football fans in a pro football town. We could be about to find out. It’s wishful, in this economy, to think there are enough of both here to fill up two stadiums every fall weekend.

For now, here’s what Kelly has to deal with: a local affection for the Bengals that borders on delusional; a UC football history featuring middling results at best, in leagues nobody cared about; a two-year run on major success that still needs padding.

If you want a sold-out stadium, don’t win one Big East title. Win two in a row, three of five. Don’t just schedule Oklahoma, beat Oklahoma.

Change can occur here. Usually in geologic time. Certainly not in two years.

Admittedly the Cinci students and alum have a lot of blame. It just isn’t in their nature to care about the football team. The irrelevance of the team has been ingrained in them. Anecdotal evidence time. My  wife — Cinci alum — actually knows football and basketball. She could care less about Cinci football, though, but still loves her Bearcat basketball team. It isn’t changing.

In some ways, I agree with the column, but he’s shorting the fact that Cinci has been at the very least competitive under Dantonio as well. He’s also placing too high a burden on what the Bearcats have to do. He’s saying the team has to win — and win big — for quite a spell and only then will fans show up. All but just saying that Cinci fans are nothing but frontrunners.

If that’s the case, then you have to wonder why the Cinci administration is even trying.

The offline world has been hectic today. Since I don’t know if I’ll be getting back before the game, just want to drop the TV info on the game.

7pm tonight on SNY and FoxSports Pittsburgh. It’s also on ESPN FullCourt (channel 720 on DirecTV).

It’s better than a bankruptcy/going out-of-business sale. Just clearance on all things, as I’ve got too many tabs open and not enough time.

It’s another test for the O-line.

The Bearcats feature one of the most active defensive units in the country with a strong pass rush, and that starts with standout defensive end Connor Barwin, the Big East’s second-leading sacker.

Barwin, with seven sacks and 9 1/2 tackles for losses, is the kind of rush end who is a handful for any tackle, particularly Pinkston, who is essentially a first-year starter.

“This is my first time against Cincinnati, and seeing them on film, they look very good,” said Pinkston, a redshirt sophomore. “[Barwin] is very fast, he is very athletic, he is a lot like a mix of [Pitt’s two defensive ends Jabaal Sheard and Greg Romeus]. He plays on both sides [left and right]. This little stretch of games really is going to be a challenge for me because of the defensive ends we’ll be facing.

“The good thing is we have a good group of ends on our team as well, so that helps us prepare for it. That helps a lot. You can’t take a play off. I get as much work as I can against them and go from there.”

Extra focus on Jason Pinkston who has done a fine job on the O-line. Proving that old theory about when you don’t talk about the O-line, they must be doing something right. Pinkston hasn’t gotten much mention since training camp when he was out of shape. But he’s getting some attention this week as he has done well in taking over Jeff Otah’s spot.

As does Pinkston, who is still learning the technical aspects of playing left tackle after starting his career at defensive tackle. He moved to offense midway through his freshman season, then started the first three games at right tackle last season before suffering a season-ending left-shoulder injury that required surgery and forced him to miss spring drills.

“I think Jason’s done a very good job,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “He’s never really had a solid year of camp, spring practice and offseason lifting to give him a full advantage. If he wasn’t such a good athlete and so very conscientious, he probably wouldn’t have been able to make the progress he’s made.”

During the off-week, Pitt worked on things like two-minute drills, red zone offense and better communication in the secondary.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said the Panthers spent their bye week trying to correct communication problems in the secondary, which has allowed 10 touchdown passes in the past three games.

“There are going to be very good throws and very good catches from the opponent,” Wannstedt said. “The things that we’ve had a few plays against us this year are some mental mistakes.”

Senior safety Eric Thatcher said the Panthers emphasized using hand signals to improve communication among the defensive backs in an effort to eliminate mental breakdowns.

Pitt is among the best in the country on converting on 4th downs.

A good recruiting question I think many have been asking.

Q: Why is Pitt taking so many small and medium-size running backs in this year’s recruiting class and have open/pending offers out to even more yet? Especially since they all have near-same sizes and 40 times? Might some of them be converted to cornerbacks, safeties, nickel package linebackers, etc.?

ZEISE: This is a great question — one I can’t answer other than to say Dave Wannstedt’s philosophy has always been take as many athletes and skill players as possible and find a way to fit them in. They all have speed, they can play special teams and return kicks and stuff, so taking athletes is never a bad thing. Some of them are obviously going to have to move positions but I’m not sure where and who. It is a little bit puzzling given their limitations in scholarships this year but they are looking to the future and, frankly, if you redshirt these guys, they will be ready to go in a few years when the depth chart isn’t so jam-packed. Also, two guys listed as running backs, Kevin Adams will likely be a linebacker or a safety and Jason Douglas is going to be a slot receiver/return guy.

Still that’s four RBs in this recruiting class and aside from the aforementioned Adams (6-0, 208), the other 3 are in the same size and weight group of 5-6 to 5-9 and in the 170s. I wonder, though, how many who still have offers from Pitt are actually receiving active interest from Pitt at this point. The offer might still be there, but not the wooing for some.

A couple puff pieces. One on Austin Ransom and the other focused on DEs Jabaal Sheard and Greg Romeus. Scott McKillop did another “as told to” first person piece in Sporting News Today centered on the bye week, getting healthy and ready for Cinci.

Now moving to the game. Pitt has never lost to Cinci.

And last year, Pitt hung a 24-17 loss on UC at Heinz Field in a game the Bearcats led 10-0 in the first quarter.

Pitt finished 5-7 last year, going 3-4 in league play, and has not appeared in a bowl game since losing to Utah in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl following the 2004 season.

“We didn’t go out and play like we were capable of playing against a Pitt team that was down,” wide receiver Dominick Goodman said. “We should have done a lot of things different, but we lost and we learned from it.”

The UC defense was manhandled by Pitt, allowing 260 rushing yards, with LeSean McCoy and LaRod Stephens-Howling both hitting the 100-yard plateau on the ground.

Barwin said he has never seen Kelly as upset as he was after that game, when the UC coach blamed himself for not preparing his team better.

“It was the first time that we had not played to the level that we are capable of playing and coached at the level that we are capable of coaching,” Kelly said.

“That was not just the players. That was coaches and players who really screwed up that game. Last year was a game we let slip away. We had a couple kids miss curfew. We were not focused the way we needed to be.”

It was the second straight loss for the Bearcats, but it also served as a turning point for a UC team that went on to win four of its last five games.

Under Kelly, the Bearcats are 19-5. That’s impressive and the major reason why Brian Kelly is in demand. Another major reason has been the way he has had the Bearcat offense continue to function very, very well despite a multitude of QBs.

No one knows that better than Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly, who has endured injuries to starter Dustin Grutza (broken leg) in the second game and to backup Tony Pike (separated shoulder) in the third game. The Bearcats finished the Akron game with third-stringer Zach Collaros, then started fourth-stringer Chazz Anderson against Marshall.

Pike is expected to start against Pitt.

Amazingly, Cincinnati leads the Big East in pass efficiency at 137.5 percent.

“I think it takes some consistency from what we talk about every day – the next-man-in philosophy – and not panicking and making sure kids understand that we trust the next guy in,” Kelly said. “I think it speaks volumes for the kids in that they’ve got enough confidence in themselves to go out there and feel like they can get the job done. That’s the most important thing, the confidence in their ability.”

All without a stud RB, their rushing offense is ranked 90th nationally. Their leading rushers — Jacob Ramsey and John Goebel — barely combine to average 100 yards/game. It’s going to be important for Pitt to put pressure up front on Pike. Not to mention, that classic fundamental — tackle, not hit.

Since joining the Big East, Cinci had not beaten Louisville and WVU until this year. Prior to this year, Pitt hadn’t beaten Louisville since the Cards joined the Big East. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the past is meaningless.

The Pitt players are at least saying that much.

“I think if it was earlier in the year, it might be harder for us to gain respect (for Cincinnati),” fifth-year senior receiver Derek Kinder said. “But in the situation we’re in right now – with us both being ranked and so much on the line – it can be anybody, and we would get up for the game. We’re looking at our main goal, which is to win the Big East. If we don’t win this game, it’s going to be tough. That’s the only thing on our minds right now.”

Cincinnati has not been able to solve the Panthers, losing three Big East meetings by an average of 14.4 points. The Bearcats were ranked 23rd nationally last season, yet lost, 24-17, at Heinz Field. Pitt remains the only team the Bearcats haven’t beaten in league play, although they snapped streaks against West Virginia and Louisville the past two weeks.

“We can’t take them lightly,” fifth-year senior free safety Eric Thatcher said. “That’s a big game for them. It’s a big game for us, too. Not beating us is going to make it even more important for them and make them want to play even harder.”

It’s not a rivalry. No matter what the Big East calls it. Maybe in time. This game, though, may help determine whether it can actually become one.

One of the things that has kept me busy for the past week or so has been the start of college basketball season and my duties to it at FanHouse. We’ve been running a slightly delayed top-25 preview series where the profiles (mostly) come from the bloggers that know their teams best.

Josh (Merlin) Verlin of the Oakland Zoo was kind enough to help out  and drop his knowledge on #8 Pitt. Go over and check it out.

After you are done with that, head over to the Oakland Zoo to see his conversation about the Akron Zips with an Akron student and the ABJ beat writer. Great stuff.

Make no mistake, that is exactly what Saturday night’s game for Cinci is. Beat Pitt and the Bearcats are virtual locks for at least a share of the Big East title and the Big East’s BCS bid. Their remaining games after Pitt are home for hapless Syracuse and at Hawaii. Even if they lost to Hawaii, it would have no impact on the Big East or BCS issues.

A Pitt win on the other hand would merely be the first of three difficult games to finish the season. Pitt follows with WVU and then at UConn. Cinci faces the worst of the Big East and middle-of-the-WAC-pack. Pitt faces two bowl eligible teams with a combined 13-6 record.

Over the weekend there was an article in the Trib on Cinci coach Brian Kelly.

What Cincinnati has done this season has validated Kelly as one of the best and brightest coaches in the Big East. Only two seasons after leading Central Michigan to the Mid-American Conference title and five years removed from guiding Grand Valley State to its third consecutive Division II national championship, Kelly is considered one of the country’s hottest commodities.

Cincinnati has come a long way since Kelly arrived in December 2006 to replace Mark Dantonio. Kelly led the Bearcats to a 27-24 victory over Western Michigan in the International Bowl but found a media that turned a deaf ear to his pleas for giving the football program prominent play.

“If you wanted to buy a season ticket for basketball, you had to buy a football season ticket first,” Kelly said. “The program couldn’t stand on its own. It needed to break the tie of being held up by basketball. It was changing a perception that basketball was No. 1 and football was No. 2. If you’re truly a BCS team, if you’re truly a Big East team, your basketball and football have to stand on their own two legs. That was really the first thing.

“The second thing was setting expectations, and third was consistency. All of those things take time. We’re only into the second year of this, and we’ve got a lot of work to do. You can win a championship here at the University of Cincinnati. You just have to invest in it.”

He’s emerged as a hot coaching candidate this season for high profile gigs like Tennessee. A lot of writers last year at other pubs (Matt Hayes, Dennis Dodd, etc.) were talking about him being someone Michigan would have been smart to consider.

He has done a tremendous job at Cinci. Both in winning and generating excitement. This season he’s done it despite lots of injuries on the team — especially at QB.

For those of you who are still counting, the University of Cincinnati football team has used five different quarterbacks this season.

Quarterback No. 5 is Notre Dame transfer Demetrius Jones, who entered Friday’s 28-20 UC victory at Louisville late in the first quarter and rushed for five yards on second-and-16 from the UC 31-yard line.

Jones then returned to the sideline and Tony Pike trotted back onto the field.

“I’m really just doing it to set a record,” UC coach Brian Kelly said Saturday.

Actually, Jones’ appearance, his first in a UC uniform, probably will not be a one-time occurrence.

“We’ve been working on a package with him,” Kelly said. “The ball got a little wet out there and I was concerned about the ball going on the ground. If it was a dry-ball situation, he would have gotten more play.

“He can run it and he can throw it. He’s pretty dynamic when he runs the football. We think it can be a nice add-on to our run game and play action and gives us another offensive weapon. He’s definitely a part of our offensive structure now. We want to give the defense something else to worry about.”

As injuries have hit the UC quarterback corps this fall, Kelly has used three different starters – Pike, Dustin Grutza and Chazz Anderson – with Zach Collaros and Jones coming off the bench.

From what I have read, it looks like Tony Pike will get the start against Pitt. Oh, and Kelly isn’t trying to downplay the game.

“It is the biggest game in Nippert Stadium history,” Kelly said. “You put yourself in position for qualification for a BCS bowl game. There isn’t a bigger game than this one. We need that kind of support. This is where our Cincinnati fans have to come out and really give us a home-field advantage.”

I always prefer coaches and teams that don’t deny which games are more meaningful and are a big deal.

It’s something that many fans never thought possible, but that UC coach Brian Kelly predicts will become the norm.

“It’s where we want to go to each and every year,” Kelly said.

The Bearcats have won three in a row, putting them a half-game ahead of Pitt and West Virginia, which stand at 3-1 in the Big East.

“It’s obvious that Cincinnati is the team to beat,” said Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt.

Cinci has never beaten Pitt. Of course, prior to this season the Bearcats had not beaten Louisville and WVU since joining the Big East.

Now there’s a difference between embracing the game and screwing up your routine. Neither team is doing that.

And in preparation for this clash of the titans, both coaches have ordered up absolutely nothing special.

“We’re not going to do anything more (than usual) this week,” Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt said on Monday’s Big East coaches teleconference.

Said Bearcats coach Brian Kelly: “We’re not going to change anything. We’ve just tried to stay in the moment.”

That moment is getting close.

Let’s start in Western Ohio for the first recap.

It was about 8:15 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, that reality came crashing down on the Miami University basketball team.

This reality came in the form of the sixth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers, who opened the second half with a 26-6 run and went on to scorch the RedHawks 82-53 at Petersen Events Center.

Miami (1-2 overall, 1-0 against teams not ranked in the top six) had come close to taking No. 4 UCLA to overtime four days earlier, but this time there was to be no near-upset.

Levance Fields took blame for Pitt only leading by 5 at the half, DeJuan Blair asserted himself as a team leader in the locker.

“I took some rushed shots, and that kind of started it,” Fields said. “In the second half, we got out and ran. I know I can impact the game without scoring.”

Pitt outscored Miami, 16-2, in the opening 4:22 of the second half. Young, who had gone 12 minutes in the first half without a shot, scored six points during the run.

By the time guard Jermaine Dixon scored on a steal and layup, Pitt led, 51-32, with 15:38 to play and was cruising toward its 30th consecutive non-conference victory.

“We came out with a whole new attitude for the second half,” Blair said. “We came out and responded.

“At halftime, we were angry. Everybody had their head down. I tried to pick them up.”

It helped that he stayed out of foul trouble in the second half.

Coach Dixon was upbeat about the overall performance after the game.

Every conceivable facet of the game was dominated by Pitt in the second half, but coach Jamie Dixon was most impressed with his team’s defensive effort.

“I’m very happy with our defense tonight,” Dixon said. “I told the guys afterward that if our seniors continue to prepare our team the way they did the last couple of days this team can really take some strides. If they continue to stick with it and lead like they did we can really improve and become a pretty good team.”

Miami of Ohio forward Michael Bramos came into the game averaging 17.5 points per game, but the Panthers held him to only two points and without a field goal. He was 0 for 6 from the field and 0 for 3 from 3-point range.

“We didn’t want to foul him,” Dixon said. “About half of his points have come from the free-throw line. We really tried to stay at home and not over-help on penetration. I could see us understanding it and valuing the team defense. I felt very good about how well we were playing going into the game. I saw us improve defensively.”

It took Miami almost 12 minutes into the second half before they accumulated 10 points.

In the comments about and after the game, lots of love for Jermaine Dixon. Some of that I think is just relief that Pitt has an impact JUCO transfer for the first time since Ontario Lett. Another portion is just being pleasantly surprised at how he already seems integrated into the team. Dixon was big in the game.

“He’s a quite kid. He doesn’t say too much,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “He always seems to have more assists than I anticipated. We weren’t sure how good a defender he would be until we saw him on the floor. He’s got the toughness. He’s a physically and mentally mature young man. He’s a good addition to our team.”

Making his second start, Dixon scored 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting, made two steals and turned in one of the better defensive efforts defense-minded Pitt got from a newcomer in recent years.

“Dixon killed us,” Miami coach Charlie Coles said. “Boy, did he have a game. That’s what we weren’t counting on.”

What the Redhawks (1-2), fresh off a five-point loss at UCLA, nor the No. 6 Panthers (2-0) could not have imagined was Dixon’s effort in guarding Michael Bramos, Miami’s leading scorer (17.5 ppg) and a second-team All-MAC selection a year ago.

Bramos picked up two early fouls but managed only two points and did not make a field goal. Dixon and Sam Young spent most of the game guarding him.

“My focus was to come out, play defense and lock up their best player,” Jermaine Dixon said. “I think I’m coming along pretty good. It was my first time guarding somebody pretty good and I think I did a good job.”

It’s early, but things look very promising for this season.