In all the talk about expansiopocolypse, there is one thing that most people on any side of the issue can agree: it sucks to lose rivalry games. Things change. New rivalries develop. New hate. But there is something special about being able to share that hate. Share the rivalry between generations. Comparing. Looking at the history. Taunting someone else of a long past game.

With Pitt heading to the ACC at some point. It looking increasingly likely that West Virginia will head to the Big 12 once Mizzou makes its decision to try their luck in the SEC.

[Brief tangent here on Missouri. The Missouri slow dance to the SEC is succeeding in pissing more people off than I could have expected. Everyone in the Big 12 seems to just want them to stop pretending and get out already so they get the replacement. Everyone in the SEC is hating them for jerking this around and not showing the proper unbrideled lust and desire to be in the SEC like Texas A&M did. And the rest of the country just wants them to make the move so we can forget about them once more.

Honestly, I can’t help but think that the slow move by Mizzou is all orchestrated out of desperation in a fruitless hope that the Big 10 will make an eleventh hour offer. That’s where they really want to go. Where they think they belong. The midwest. Rivalry with Illinois and natural rival with Iowa and old Big 8 foe, Nebraska. If they sign on to the SEC, it is going to be a long-term commitment and they may miss their chance when the next cycle of expansiopocolypse strikes the Big 10. It’s not going to happen. The Big 10 doesn’t need Missouri, and that conference would never do any reacting to what others do (or at least would act like it wouldn’t).]

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Here’s something I did not expect — for the rest of the season. A Pitt game that isn’t a Saturday nooner.

The storied River City Trophy game will be a 7pm game at Heinz Field. That’s right. An evening home game. Extended tailgating. Probably cold and wet. If you will be home, the game is on ESPNU.

Can’t wait.

The irrational part of me thinks at times, that if it’s a lost/transition/bad season then the best thing is to get as much negative things out of the way in one year. That way things might balance out with some good breaks and luck in the next year. Despite my best efforts to think otherwise, I find my mindset has gotten to this point.

Injuries have been a big one this season. The O-line loses the two best, most experienced players, went down. Lucas Nix, is at best, a game time decision on Wednesday. By some remarkable coincidence, the O-line is now incapable of picking up a blitz.

Trey Anderson is now dealing with Tendinitis in his wrist (throwing hand), making Mark Myers the back-up and fueling more controversy (and more than a few assholes actually hoping Sunseri gets hurt/concussed).

Now Jason Hendricks injury from the Utah game has him done for the season. Taglianetti is going to be the starter at safety in his place.

As an aside for the gotta laugh at coach speak, UConn Coach Paul Pasqualoni on the Big East coaches teleconference call today:

“We anticipate seeing Tino Sunseri, who runs their offense extremely well, throws the ball well.”

Um…

Paul Zeise has some thoughts from Todd Graham this morning as to the state of the coaching staff, players and the season so far, found in this article. While discussing the rather sordid state of affairs he finds his team in Graham chips in with this observation – not a new thought by any means but just as deflective as always:

“We only had two weeks to recruit this past year, and I thought we did a good job given that,” Graham said. “This year is very critical for us.  “We really need to upgrade the volume of players, and the biggest thing that we need is speed. We need more speed and explosiveness at every position — and you can get faster by either recruiting speed or developing speed. But we have good football players here.“

Smashing backhand drive to the far corner – he follows up with a strong forehand topspin!

“As you come to a new place, there are so many things that are different in your program. It takes some time to master that, and sometimes, it takes longer than others.”

Asked if Pitt will be a different team in three years, he said, “Oh, I think there is not any question.”  Graham said the challenge will diminish with each season.  “It will less challenging a year from now,” he said. “It will be less challenging two years from now, when every year it’s just ingrained in them: This is how we do it. This is the system.”

Hmmm, OK.  We got our asses kicked in the last two games because RU and Utah had faster players than we did?  Not because out QBs played like crap or the OL pirouetted instead of blocking or the WRs put on cement gloves before the game, or… perhaps most importantly, you put a horse collar on our best offensive threat in the Utah game? What about that Todd?  I can just hear it now…

‘Of course not.  We do need more speed to win these games, that’s for sure, but hey… the players we have are just great.  Really, they are and I wouldn’t kid you about that at all.  Closet was bare?  Who said that, I didn’t say that!   This is the best group of players I have ever had (remember that one?) and I’ll march through hell with them.   Except at QB, I ain’t marching anywhere with them two.  It’s possible we may have a problem there but we need consistent play out of  ‘the shorties’ as we call them, buy. you know, you dance with who brung ya…’

DiPaola of the Trib has an in-depth article of Graham’s thoughts also.  Here it is.  I’ll let you guys read and decipher it – I began having vertigo when Graham starting linking death to winning football games.  Funny thing that… for PITT fans the opposite seems to happen; we start losing football games and we either threaten to pull our eyeballs out of the socket and bleed to death, or we turn to the person sitting next to us and say “Buddy, I’ll give you a five second head start…” .

Todd Graham did expound on the QB situation a bit.  He didn’t address Mark Myers by name but we can infer he’s been a topic of conversation with Graham…  “I know fans are upset, and they should be — I’m upset, I go home my wife is upset, my mom is upset and my brother is giving me input on who the quarterback should be.”    I though Todd Dodge was doing that, but maybe he’s referring to Dodge in the street slang sense like “Hey my Brother, who we got slingin’ and shufflin’ back there today?”.

Who knows what is really going on or going through Graham’s head at this point in this most disappointing season?  In what may be Dante’s tenth circle of Hell: False Hope, we fans have an extra four days to ponder and discuss PITT football before the UCONN game.  That in itself primes the pump for reaching out to get the eyeball scoop.

Anyway, before I start crying, here is a positive thought to end this on, written anonymously and abridged here …

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
… When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must—but don’t you quit.
… Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup.

 We PITT fans can but hope.

Note: For us Blogger commenters and Message Board posters we have these Circles of Hell.

Obviously there has been plenty written, and by Friday much of it is stale. I’m just trying to catch-up. On many things. I’ve had about 7 hours of sleep over the last couple of days and I’m just trying to make it through today and tonight.

One other note, about my media day. I was stuck in the Philly airport for a good chunk of Wednesday evening waiting for a connecting flight to get me home. My WVU counterpart ended up seated next to Coach Dixon. The universe has quite a sense of humor.

Now one of the big side shows out of Big East Media Day was Rick Pitino — yet again — lashing out at Pitt and Syracuse by choosing the most uncomfortable analogy he could possibly think of using:

“My problem is not them leaving,” he said. “My problem is you did it in 48 hours. Don’t run away with a girl after one date when you’ve been dating someone else for three or four years. You’ve been dating this woman for 30 years, show a little respect.”

That quote didn’t get out the minute he said it — which would seem surprising. But once it was out there, man. My twitter feed exploded with it around 2 or 3 that afternoon. I remember seeing some comment from a media guy who was there when Pitino said it. He said, Pitino was on a roll at the time, and no one really batted an eye at it as being other than a good one-liner — at least until they went back to put things together for the story. Then, well, what else can you say.

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The trip was far too short, but it’s not like the wife could take a second straight day off from work just so I could get a night in NYC drinking. That gave me a little less than 15 hours in NYC. It was hectic, busy, and a lot of time spent in airports waiting for flights — in fact I spent more time in airports coming and going than I did at Big East Media Day. Well worth it. If this post feels disjointed and without flow, then I am effectively conveying that day.

To explain. Volvo is a corporate sponsor for the Big East. Last year they did a “Biggest fan in the Big East” contest for the first time. They brought it back for this year. I was selected to be the Pitt representative and got this paid trip to Big East Media Day to help kick things off.

Sixteen of us, representing our school will be “competing” for the title which includes a return trip to NYC for the Big East Tournament and a new car. There will also be a donation to the scholarship fund of the winning fan’s school. We got to observe Big East Media Day, will get a couple tickets to a conference home game (TBD) later during the season, and shot some video talking about why we are the biggest fan.

The last, was more than a little awkward for me. Trying to concisely explain why I’m such a fan of Pitt almost seems silly when you get past the basics. I just am.

I didn’t grow up a Pitt fan. I wasn’t raised on the school or the teams. I chose the school for the education and grew into being a fan. For me, being a fan at Pitt is tied to more than simply the athletics. Much of it has to do with staying connected to not just the school but the friends I have from Pitt. Sharing, staying in touch and having the reasons to get together centered around Pitt. That is only part of it. The thing I know, is that I have become a bigger fan the longer I’ve been writing about Pitt. My affection for the school and the athletics have only deepened. And that’s because of all of you. All of you who have come here to read my ramblings. Who have left comments. Argued, debated minutiae. The interaction and passion on the site and — all too infrequently — opportunities to actually meet has only strengthened my feelings for Pitt. Even when the frustrations run high, and tempers a little higher. I simply can’t imagine not being a Pitt alum and fan. Thank you. All of you.

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In Paul Ziese’s Red Shirt Diaries he reports that because of an injury Mark Myers may slide into the #2 QB slot this week.  Apparently Trey Anderson has tendinitis in his throwing hand, which he got by constantly patting Sunseri on the back while saying “Keep doing what you’re doing, Tino. Don’t worry about my playing time.”

Actually it was this as quoted in the P-G:  “Anderson has tendinitis in his throwing wrist. Dodge said it is an old injury that has become inflamed and so Anderson needs to rest it.“

This makes an for interesting situation because now Myers could be one snap away from seeing extended playing time, depending on the severity of Anderson’s, and in turn, Sunseri’s injuries.

Which harks back to the issue that we (well, DRW and I mostly) have been discussing on here so much lately;  if that comes to pass (pun intended) does Graham modify his offense to fit Myers, or have Myers try to play in this current offense as fielded, or does he switch Gonzalez back to QB and retain the offense also?

Or… even if Sunseri doesn’t get injured does the staff create packages for Myers to avoid the read-option and still get a look at playing time as QB2? That would be something I’d like to see because just like everyone else I’m looking forward to seeing him in actual action.

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A trip that I’d rather not discuss right now. Yeesh. It’s drizzling and gray.

Apparently the unofficial media poll was released last night and Pitt was picked to finish 4th — behind Syracuse, UConn and Louisville. The big stunner DePaul was not picked for 16th. That honor went to Providence. No irony there. Nope. Nothing to see with that.

And just to also note that 6 of the top 8 teams happen to be football playing teams. Go figure.

Ashton Gibbs was picked as the preseason player of the year.

Just a quick note before I meet the other Big East folk and the marketing guy who will be in charge of us.

Not sure how much posting or time for posting I will actually have. Twitter may be the best bet today. If you are on Twitter and don’t follow me, then why the hell not? Otherwise, just click the twitter logo in the sidebar and you can follow the tweets today without an account.

I’m en route to NYC for Big East Basketball Media Day for Wednesday. The good news, is the trip is fully paid for by someone else. The bad news, I’m not going there as a media-type person that gets to ask questions.

I am going courtesy of Volvo and their Biggest Fan of the Big East contest. I will be the Pitt representative. More on that aspect in another post, on another.

The immediate upshot is getting to observe Media Day, and will be tweeting things from there. So, follow along.

Disappointed that I don’t get to ask each coach a question. Spent part of my Saturday evening while drowning my sorrows coming up with questions I would love to have asked:

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I’m stuck trying to get a lot of stuff done. In the mean time, head over to Chris Dokish’s site for a nice piece on taking a step back from driving yourself more than a little insane.

For a little more perspective, check the Incline Blog’s alternate reality.

After waiting for a few days to completely absorb the latest failure, and it takes that long to actually digest what we saw, Chas’s excellent take of the Utah game and the team’s disposition needs expounding on.  Since football is more than just statistics and how they affect the overall won / loss record, this is the perfect time to really look at what shape the football program is in and how the team represents the tip of the overall iceberg that is PITT football.

It wouldn’t hurt to reread what Chas had to say in the previous post because he hits the root cause of what is happening between the whistles and makes great points about the pieces of the puzzle that are missing during the execution of playing the games.

But, and since my educational and professional background revolves heavily around psychology and sociology (two worthless degrees except when following PITT football apparently); I see cause and effect around every corner and under every rock.  Some of those jump out and bite you in the face. To wit:

The 2010 off the field problems — the on field problems — Wannstedt’s firing — Haywood’s hiring — Baby Daddy smack down — Haywood’s firing — Graham’s hiring — Radical changes in style of football — uncertainly among the players — poor results on the field — dissention in the rank and file — Same Old PITT.

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Ugh.

So, in the last eight quarters Pitt’s offense has scored 10 points. A complete shutout in this game.

In both games the defense did their job. But the offense is wreck. While progress is is not a straight line, and there are dips and valleys. This is something else right now.

I would love to have an easy answer right now. It just does not seem that there is one. Now that Trey Anderson has not shown anything with an extended look, the fanbase seems fixated on Mark Myers. The attitude being, “what the hell, he can’t be any worse.” It should be noted that this was the opinion regarding Sunseri versus Anderson. At the very least, that theory seemed to be blown out of the water once at this point. Of course, the ABT (Anyone but Tino) sentiment is so strong that it seems to overrule all logic.

That doesn’t, however, address all the other issues. The offensive line is a mess. The wide receivers are doing nothing to help — and in fact seem to be regressing as much as the QB. The playcalling has become questionable to say the least. There is so much blame to place on the offense right now — in so many different places.

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Well I’m battling the cold my kids had last weekend. I’m going to Big East Media Day in NYC, which means leaving my wife and kids during the week. So as a trade-off, I had to give up going to this game.

I can’t say I’ve seen any Utah games this year. I don’t really know what to expect from this one. Like the team, I know I was more than a little overconfident going into last week’s game. Sure that even if Pitt struggled a little more than they did against USF, they could still take that Rutgers team. That factored in to taking the loss so hard. Actually assuming a win.

The game is on ESPNU at noon.

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That’s the theme facing Pitt on Homecoming weekend.

Utah has an exceptional attacking defense that will pressure Pitt’s offensive line, but the Utes have had quarterback issues and their offense is a work in progress.

Sound like a team Pitt knows?

It sounds a lot like Rutgers, which defeated the Panthers, 34-10, Saturday.

Let’s face it, for any opposing defense, Rutgers laid out the best approach to stopping Pitt. The O-line is shaky. So is the QB. Attacking makes the most sense. Coach Todd Graham acknowledged as much.

Todd Graham said Utah (2-3) doesn’t blitz nearly as much as Rutgers, but he expects the Utes will change their defensive strategy against the Panthers.

“I look for them to (blitz) early and often,” he said. “They are going to game-plan and I think that is what you’ll see.”

The O-line will see some changes as Mark Rotheram is going to see action over Juantez Hollins.

Quick link hits after the jump.

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The Russel Shell commit is obviously welcome news. The 4- to 5-star Army All-American Running Back is staying home to play college ball.

Depending on the recruiting service you prefer, Pitt how has three or four, 4-star or higher recruits in this class — Shell, Chad Voytik, Demitrious Davis, Corey Jones and Adam Bisnowaty have all been tagged in at least one recruiting site (ESPN, Rivals.com, Scout.com).

With the commit of Shell, Pitt’s recruiting class is rising in the national rankings (Insider subs).

“Aside from a strong power-base and ability to break first contact, Shell has good lateral agility the shiftiness to avoid through the hole which has helped him avoid a lot of punishment throughout his career. He can get outside with above average speed, make yards on his own between the tackles and is just a well-rounded back who the Panthers could lean on to help turn the program back into a Big East contender.”

Pittsburgh now has 18 Class of 2012 commitments and could push for a spot in ESPNU’s top 25 class rankings.

Realistically, though, as important as the big gets are — and they really, really are important — it will be the development of 3-star type recruits and the hidden gems — that will make the difference between mediocrity and contending for conference championships and BCS games. It will be getting those players that fit the system best and operate within it.

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