PASSING NOTES ON USF...

Things are coming fast and furious on a lot of Pitt football related fronts as the Panthers prepare for their last Big East football game (I know, I know…I’ll give you some time to cry and gnash your teeth). I plan on doing a few posts after this game to keep up to date as best that I can.  Let’s give a brief of good news for ACC fans. It was announced today that the ACC slapped Maryland with a lawsuit in North Carolina to force the school to pay the full $50 million dollar exit fee.  Perhaps more important was that this was supported by all ACC schools…well, except for the Terps of course.  We will see how that unfolds, but forcing the full amount would be a HUGE win for the ACC to stop other teams from leaving.

Now…time to pass some notes on the South Florida Bulls.  The Panthers will travel to Tampa for a Saturday night tilt on ESPN2…don’t ask how this game got on that time slot, but my wife is not too thrilled. The Bulls enter the game with a 3-8 record and looking more like a MASH unit than a football team.  Before we get to the numbers, we will pass this one along to you: 3,832 yards and 27 TDs.  That is how much will be missing from the South Florida offense on Saturday night.  Senior QB BJ Daniels is out with a broken leg and sprained ankle, while Senior RB Lindsey Lamar broke his collarbone a few weeks ago, and WR Juniors Terrance Mitchell (head) and Derrick Hopkins will also be missing.  That is a lot to replace and it is really catching up to the Bulls.

USF is 68^th in passing, 59^th in rushing, and 97^th in points for on the offensive side of the ball.  Taking over for Daniels is Freshman QB Matt Floyd.  Floyd is getting his feet wet still and he is struggling.  Pitt has to put the pressure on so that he doesn’t start clicking on Saturday night.  In his limited play, he has thrown for 373 yards and is still looking for his first TD, while tossing 2 picks.  He has also been sacked 5 times in limited time.  When Floyd looks to hand the ball off, Senior RB Demetris Murray is the main man.  Murray has 652 yards and 6 TDs, while being complimented by Junior RB Marcus Shaw.  Shaw pitches in with 241 yards and still in search of the end zone this year on the ground.

Despite injuries to the receivers, when the Bulls go to the air, their main target is still on the field.  Sophomore Andre Davis is solid and has 522 yards and 6 TDs despite the problems at QB.  With Mitchell and Hopkins out, Senior Victor Marc has been stepping up with 19 grabs for 222 yards.

Pitt will be looking to take to the air when the defense of the Bulls is on the field.  South Florida ranks 73^rd in the country in sacks and dead last in INTs.  The unit is 60^th in points against.  Look, I think we can all agree that we want to see the real Pitt Panthers step up finally.  Is Pitt the team that took Notre Dame to the limit, beat up on Rutgers, and took care of Virginia Tech with ease or are they the team that lost to UConn and Youngstown State?  It is always fun to watch Pitt football, but ever growing bald spot is getting bigger with this year’s team. One way to find out is to win on Saturday and extend their season and see if the Panthers can break that 2 wins, 2 losses streak they have going this year.

Hubie Graham and Devin Street are questionable for the game.  They would be a big help for Pitt as the offense will look to take advantage of the lack of sacks and INTs South Florida has generated this season.  What is my prediction for this game? Well, if you want to look back at my picks this year, you will want me to choose USF in this game….no dice though.  Pitt 24 USF 10.  Let’s hope for a Backyard Brawl in NYC..as I could actually make that game!

Of note also is that Pitt is setting up a pretty big recruiting weekend next week with several big targets coming to town.

RECAPPING RUTGERS

I found out that I would be making the awesome turnpike back to Philly from Washington, PA trip instead of being in front of the TV on Saturday during the Pitt-Rutgers game.  Thank God for XM Radio!  I pushed in order to get home for the fourth quarter and was lucky enough to be home for the last quarter.  The drive made me realize how much I miss listening to Bill Hillgrove and it gave me an opportunity to really listen to Pat Bostick, who is REALLY good.  I enjoyed it very much.  Of course, it helps that Pitt once again played to their competition and beat up on Rutgers 24-6.

Tino Sunseri was efficient and the one-two punch of Ray Graham and Rushel Shell gave Pitt a big lead early and they never let Rutgers back into the game.  The offensive line should be pointed out as being very effective against a solid Scarlet Knights defense. One down side is that Junior WR, Devin Street, left the game early and did not come back.  Ed Tinker filled in and came down with a big TD pass, but make no mistake, Street is needed.  My fingers are crossed for a quick recovery.  On the defensive side of the ball, have we mentioned that Aaron Donald is good?  We haven’t….oh we have…yea, that still holds true…HE’S REALLY GOOD!

The win over Rutgers and the loss by Louisville reminded me how very little I will miss the Big East.  It seemed like almost every year since the raid on the Big East the conference would get a couple of teams (sometimes even 3) that would VERY slowly build up into the rankings.  This would lead to me running my mouth about everyone who was always on the conference for being weak.  Almost without fail over the last decade, the teams that had built themselves up…lost unexplainable games late in the year to drop out of the rankings leading to TERRIBLE bowl match ups and other fans laughing at us.  I will NOT miss this!

Pitt now moves into a 5-6 record and needs to take out South Florida at 7PM on Saturday night (yes, you read that correctly….7PM, not noon) in order to become bowl eligible.  If Pitt should win, it will start my favorite thing about Pitt fans….bitching and moaning about going to a bowl game with just 6 wins.  Maybe it is just me, but I love Pitt football…I don’t care where they are playing or who they are playing, I get excited to watch.  I know…I love punishment.  So….WHY ON EARTH WOULD I NOT WANT THEM IN A BOWL GAME!?!?!  Selfishly I want them to back into the Pinstripe Bowl and not really because of a possible match up with WVU, but more because I just need to hop a couple of trains and I can be in attendance!  Unfortunately, I believe they will end up in Birmingham again…again, I don’t care…I just want more Pitt football, so I’ll be pulling hard on Saturday night, while the wife is less than pleased with a romantic evening of Pitt football!

PASSING NOTES ON RUTGERS AND OTHER THINGS

Before we get to this week’s passing notes on Rutgers, we should take a few quick glances at some other important Pitt Panther football news. 

First…Pitt received a HUGE commit from OT Dorian Johnson from Belle Vernon.  This was huge for so many reasons.  He is an offensive lineman, from Western, PA, gets along with two other big recruits…the list goes on.  His recruitment was a long journey and a roller coaster ride for Pitt fans (and more importantly, for him), but I am glad he ended up at Pitt.  NOW…if we could just get Robert Foster and Tyler Boyd to pull the trigger!

Second, it was announced that Maryland will be leaving the ACC and Rutgers will take off from the Big East to go to the Big Ten:

 

 

Now…it is a big issue to keep an eye on as we do NOT want to see this hit anymore teams.  There are lots of rumors about what the ACC will do.  I feel like they should take on Louisville first, UConn second and above all else…try and land Notre Dame as a full time member.  UConn/Syracuse would allow the ACC to control the number one market in the US.  NYC is a Syracuse/UConn town…if anything….not Rutgers. I lived there for two years and still go back several times a year….I think maybe I saw one Rutgers fan there.  Louisville can compete with the big boys in both basketball and football.  Now is not the time to think too much about academics if you want to survive this latest expansion.  My head has been spinning with the rumors swirling around about who is next, so I just don’t even want to think about it anymore and will stop now.  The main thing though is that no one else leaves the ACC.  This cannot be happening again!

Finally, let’s pass some notes on Rutgers.  I attended last year’s 34-10 debacle that featured the dreaded penalty of having two players on the field at the same time with the same number for Pitt….HI NOTRE DAME!  I will always remember it for that and more importantly for the Rutgers fan who critiqued me and Pitt for bolting the Big East for the ACC….hmmmm, wonder what he thinks of the latest circumstances that just happened?  I’m sure he has a MUCH different take and reason why this is okay.   Fortunately, Pitt will play the host this weekend to Rutgers, who comes in for a noon kickoff on Saturday.  The game will be on ESPN2 and Rutgers is 9-1 and sports a number 18 ranking in the BCS.

This Scarlet Knights team should look familiar.  A strong and aggressive defense leads them into the game and the offense kind of plugs along.  Rutgers is 85^th in passing, 87^th in rushing, 88^th in points for and finally, 4^th in points against.  One thing to keep in mind is that Rutgers lone loss was to Kent State and besides them, the best team (arguably) other than that on their schedule so far was Cincinnati, who they edged out 10-3 last week.  So just how good is Rutgers?  They will find out over the next two games with traveling to Pitt and then playing Louisville in their finale.

As pointed out, Rutgers defense leads the way.  Like always, they are aggressive and are lead by Ray Graham’s brother, Khaseem Greene.  Greene is all over the place and leads the nation in tackles per game.  He also chips in with 5.5 sacks for the year and even has gotten his hands on 2 picks this year as well….so yea…he’s pretty good!  Pitt will need to locate him and get a helmet on him to establish the run, but Rutgers is a unit that plays together and Pitt will have to be clicking to come out on top.

When the Scarlet Knights come out for offense, they are led by Sophomore QB Gary Nova.  Nova has thrown for 2,125 yards on the year with 19 TDs.  Do not be misled by the 12 picks….half of those came in their lone loss to Kent State.  When Nova puts the ball in the air, he has two favorite targets.  The top one is 6’6, 220lbs Junior, Brandon Coleman.  Coleman leads the team with 36 catches for 552 yards and 8 TDs.  When Nova wants something else, he usually finds WR Mark Harrison.  Harrison has hauled in 34 balls for 403 yards and 5 TDs.   Rutgers does still like to pound the ball though.  The man with the rock (USUALLY) is Junior RB Jawan Jamison.  Jamison is approaching 1,000 yards and has hit pay dirt 4 times this year.  However, Jamison was hobbled last week with a bum ankle and may not be able to go.  If he doesn’t, Rutgers does have the capable Sophomore RB Savon Huggins.  Huggins compliments Jamison with 344 yards and 2 touchdowns of his own.

The bottom line is this.  Pitt’s defense has to force some turnovers and the offense HAS to click to win.  It could be a sloppy game, as the WPIAL championships will be played the day before and the field WILL be in less than ideal conditions.

 Oh yea….I almost forgot….LET’S GO PREXIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Sorry Quips, but I will ALWAYS be a Prexie. 

Sorry…back to the game.  The offense will be forced to make some plays and Tino Sunseri will want to go out with a solid game.  Sunseri plays a solid game and Pitt takes care of the ball, I like their chances.  Unfortunately, I don’t see it happening.  It will be close, but I see Rutgers walking away with a 17-13 victory on Saturday.  The good thing is if you go back and look at my predictions throughout the year…I have been REALLY off…so there’s that.

Enjoy the game and enjoy your Thanksgiving.

BYE WEEK POST

There are two things I want to tackle in this blog during the bye week.  One is this coming weekend for the Panthers football team and the other is a topic that has been an issue discussed among Pitt fans for several years now.

Let’s start with the quick one and that is the upcoming weekend.  Pitt has the big three coming in for their official visits.  High School seniors (and mega-recruits) Dorian Johnson, Robert Foster, and Tyler Boyd will be on the Oakland campus where Pitt will try and pull a major coup for the future of Pitt football.  These guys are difference makers.  I will be honest.  I’d be happy with just one of them, but to gain all three???  Let’s all keep our fingers crossed.  I do not believe any of them will commit this weekend, but a positive impression could set the tone for the future of this program. 

 

 

The second topic is one that I have recently taken a different tone on and it involves the uniforms.  I used to hear the cry to bring back the uniforms of my youth and I always took the side of “winning cures all,” and “who gives a shit what the uniforms look like!?” Then I got on twitter and heard the side of @PittScriptLogo.  PLEASE…I implore you to take a look at his twitter account and check out some of his images of what new uniforms could look like.

Let’s be honest, whether it’s Georgia’s black alternate uniforms, Boise’s crazy horse helmets, one of Oregon’s 7,896,043 uniform combinations, or even Maryland’s terrible uniforms….when you see a unique college football uniform, it creates a buzz.  Pitt is in dire need of a buzz and needs to have a cool factor about them.  Take a look at what the recruits and younger players are saying to @PittScriptLogo.  Go look at Rushel Shell’s twitter account.  They love it!

OK, OK, OK, I know….I know that changing back to the Pitt Script would be a major undertaking and cost a lot of money, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  Why not just create an alternate uniform?  WHY?!  What is the harm?  Do you have any idea how many alumni, fans, and students would purchase new merchandise should Pitt have one…just one away and one…JUST ONE…home game per year where they could wear the new retro Pitt uniforms!?  There are so many opportunities to make some money on this that it baffles me the administration would not take this chance.  What if it doesn’t work??  What happens?  NOTHING!!!!  You don’t have to change the whole face of the school or colors…you can do it by just doing an alternate jersey twice per year.

Do yourself a favor…if you agree with this, please do go visit the @PittScriptLogo twitter account and sign his petition at this link.  If you feel so inclined contact the Pitt athletic department and let them know your desire.  Two groups could really use their voices to help if they are in favor and those are season ticket holders and students.  Bring back the Pitt Script!

GROUNDHOG DAY! RECAPPING UCONN

I was a sophomore in high school and I wrestled for my school.  To say I was mediocre is to say I’m tall.  I’m not tall, nor was I good at wrestling.  I started for all three years mostly because no one else at my school was as small as I was and could not make 103 pounds.  My sophomore year, I won 1 match.  During that year, I wrestled someone that had lost to the only kid I beat.  I lost to him.  When I came off the mat, the coach pulled me aside and insisted that I took him lightly.  I kept telling him that I did not.  Over and over, he responded, yes you did…you just don’t know it.  I’m not saying the Pitt Panthers did not care about the game on Friday or didn’t think they had to show up, but in the back of their heads, they ABSOLUTELY felt they could show up and win.  After all of the trouble this program has had in playing up to their capabilities AND their trouble specifically at UConn in past years…I don’t know how this happens!

I won’t rattle off any stats.  I will tell you that there was a familiar feeling before the game happened.  I picked Pitt to win big (by 17) and yet, as soon as the game started, I was not even close to being in shock.  I felt it happening, as I am sure many other Pitt fans did.  A terrible offense and Pitt could not stop them at all in the first half.  The defense looked to have all of the intensity that I have when I get up to take a piss at 3AM.  Terrible effort and yet…not surprised.  I’ve seen this movie before.

From the look of the stats, someone who did not watch the game, may think Tino Sunseri had a good game.  According to multiple reporters, who were at the game, he most certainly did not.  According to those tweets, Sunseri missed a good amount of receivers down the field and to be blunt about it, several times it was Devin Street that he had on a pay no mind list.  To clarify…I don’t mean he missed as in overthrew…he simply did not see them.

If we can take one silver lining in this debacle, it was that LB Shane Gordon played the second half and played well.  Unfortunately, the Panthers everyone expected to see only played in the second half.  Why they could not bring that intensity in the first half is beyond me.  Going down 24-0 was typical of a Pitt team coming off a few strong games and when that happened, every true Pitt fan KNEW they would make a comeback only to fall short.  YOU KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN!  It happens every year….every year! Watching Pitt football is very much like the below.

 

 

PASSING NOTES ON UCONN

OK  - it is time to officially put the Notre Dame game in the review mirror and start passing notes on the Connecticut Huskies.  The Panthers will travel to UConn and take on the Huskies on ESPN2 on Friday night at 8PM. The Huskies come in sporting a 3-6 record and are on a 4 game losing streak.  They have a VERY solid defense, but a struggling offense.

Pitt will be looking to regroup from the triple OT loss to the Fighting Irish and a big key will be how Paul Chryst can get the Panthers to focus on the Huskies.  Considering the series with UConn in the Big East is 4-4, Pitt should have no trouble at all zeroing in on UConn.  One new injury to report for Pitt and that is it does not look like reserve LB Emmanuel Rackard will be available Friday night.  This is important if Shane Gordon can still not go in the game.  It would leave Pitt with just 4 linebackers if Gordon sits out, so having him would provide the linebackers with a little needed depth.

UConn’s defense is their strength.  They are 21^st in points against, 14^th in passing defense and finally 21^st in rushing defense. The Huskies are led by Sophomore LB Yawin Smallwood.  He has 91 tackles on the year and averages 1.63 tackles for loss per game.  He is their rock and Pitt got a good taste of what it takes to go against a good linebacker group on Saturday, so hopefully they can take the success they had on the ground there and continue Friday.  Ray Graham keeps getting better every week and will be looking to complete his comeback against the team he was hurt against last year….UConn.

The offense for UConn is struggling, but they are young, as their leaders are largely Sophomores.  The Huskies come in at 58^th in passing and 120^th in rushing.  They are also 120^th in points for.  The offense is under the direction of Sophomore QB Chandler Whitmer.  Whitmer has 2,115 yards on the season, but his TD to INT numbers are 7/13 and he has been sacked 26 times this season.  When he puts the ball in the air, he has three favorite targets.  Sophomore Geremy Davis and Senior Michael Smith lead the wide receivers with 36 and 26 catches respectively.  When UConn gets in the red zone, they LOVE to go to their Senior TE, Ryan Griffin, who has 20 catches, but 4 of them are for touchdowns. 

The weakness of UConn’s offense is their offensive line, so Aaron Donald should be licking his chops.  He has played well all season and could be looking at a big game.  Shayne Hale has officially been tabbed as a starter at defensive end for Pitt and he could be looking to prove Pitt’s coaching staff correct on that change in the depth chart.  Running behind this offensive line will be Sophomore RB Lyle McCombs.  McCombs has not had a lot of room, but he has made the most of it with 547 yards and 4 TDs.

On paper, Pitt should win this game, however right now is a VERY familiar position for Pitt fans.  The Panthers won 2 games in a row and then went to the house of the number 3 team in the country and went blow for blow with them.  Pitt has shown some strides lately and for Panther fans, this is when they are used to being let down.  It is a short week and Saturday was emotional.  I feel like this is a new coaching staff and they know how to get the team ready week to week.  I thought weather may play a factor with the East Coast storm coming, but it will be out of the area in a plenty of time for the kickoff. UConn has had trouble with turnovers and Friday will be no different as Pitt has been a good team since week 3 in that department.  The Panthers will win 27-10.

RECAPPING NOTRE DAME...

What to say?  Really….what can I say?  I really don’t know what to say.  Starting towards the end of the fourth quarter, I literally had a headache.  I had to actually calm myself down and just sit there with my hands on my head and calmly watch the rest of the game and not get too excited.  It worked somewhat, but my stomach was in knots the entire game.  In the end, Pitt went toe to toe with a very strong Notre Dame team (despite what you think, they are good), but ended up coming up short in triple OT, 29-26 at South Bend.

I really don’t have a lot of words.  One reason is that I have a long-standing tradition that, unless they are extreme….REALLY extreme circumstances, I do not blame refs for losses.  I just don’t do it.  VERY RARELY will I resort to that child-like behavior.  I feel like there are many other things that one’s team CAN control that they can blame more than what the refs call.  I am having a difficult time with this one today, so in order to ensure that I do not turn this into a whining post, I have asked a couple of friends to provide me with electric shocks if I come too close to blaming the refs for yesterday’s loss.  Anytime, I get close to doing that, my friends will make sure I stay on course.

Now, let’s start with some positives….shall we?  Pitt played WELL….forget everything else, Pitt hung in with a good Notre Dame team and at times REALLY took the play to the Irish (did anyone else see Ray Vinopal’s block on a big punt return by Cam Saddler?).  Ray Graham had 172 yards rushing on the number 2 ranked rushing defense in the country.  Tino Sunseri played well.  Not great, but well enough.  The defensive backfield for Pitt also played VERY well.  The Irish ended up with 291 yards passing, but much of that happened with the furious comeback.  Fifth year Senior LB, Joe Trebitz filled in well piling up 13 tackles, but they were missing that big play from the MLB position.  Want proof?  Shane Gordon played one snap.  On it the Irish were forced to settle for a field goal, because Gordon completely blew up Theo Riddick for a 4 yard loss around the goal line.  Hopefully Gordon can go next week….a little depth would be nice at LB.  Trebitz though, played his butt off and should be praised for it.

Now, Pitt lost, but absolutely had their chances. The Irish had the ball at about the 25 yard line of Pitt with a  4^th and 4 and a little over 10 minutes left in the game.  The pass fell incomplete, giving Pitt the ball and total control with a 14 point lead.  HUGE play by K’Wuan Williams….HUGE!  Unfortunately, the refs felt that Williams was too physical on the play and gave Notre Dame a fist down on pass interference. Two plays later and the Irish scored a TD to pull within 8.  The call was somewhat questionable.  Replays appeared to show that Williams had good coverage on the play.  I don’t see how they called it….a terriblecall….I CAN’T BELI….

Sorry…won’t happen again….I swear.  Let’s look at Pitt’s missed field goal in OT that would have won the game, had it gone through.  No question that Kevin Harper should have connected on it, but I saw something curious on Ray Graham’s second down run that pulled Pitt to a 3^rd and 1.  After the play, in pretty plain view, Notre Dame’s Louis Nix III blatantly punched Pitt’s JP Holtz in the head.  It was pretty bad and two Irish players QUICKLY grabbed Nix III to get him away from the play.  Instead of first and goal from inside the ten, Pitt missed the first down on the next play and brought on the fateful field goal attempt by Harper that missed wide right.  The play was pretty much right in front of an official and he did not throw a flag.  It was odd that he missed a call that wasRIGHT IN FRO…..

ALRIGHT!  Sorry!  That is the last time.  Regardless of that misstep, Pitt was granted with a field goal that Kevin Harper should have made.  It was pushed wide right and they played on.  It was brought to my attention that the missed field goal actually should have been called a first down for Pitt.  At least according to Post-Gazette’s Sam Werner’s twitter account, Notre Dame had two players on the field wearing #2 on the missed field goals.  He actually quoted a Notre Dame source as confirming it. As embarrassed Pitt fans will tell you from last year’s Rutgers game….that’s a penalty and should have given the Panthers a first down.  These are starting to pileup….WHAT ARE THE OFFICIALS THINK….

OK, I have to wrap this up, because it’s really starting to get to me.  One thing that REALLY bugged me that Pitt could control (besides the play-calling, which deserves its own post) happened after the game.  I have stuck up for Tino Sunseri a fair amount.  I have bashed him a fair amount.  I have bashed him far less than a lot of other people and have gone toe-to-toe with people on twitter and in life about how much blame Sunseri  deserves.  His quote after the game was indefensible.  It simply was out of line.  To show you what I mean, Sunseri said after the game, “We missed a field goal, that’s why we lost the game.”

If there is one player on Pitt’s roster who knows how awful it is to be thrown under the bus, it’s Tino.  If there is one Panther’s player who had teammates defend him in the press, it’s Sunseri.  If there is one player who should NEVER blame another player on his team for a loss….look no further than #12.  I really can’t say much more, but I hope that someone (PaulChryst) took aside Kevin Harper after the game and had a talk with him.

Harper struggled early in the year, but was kicking well coming in and made 4 of 5 FGs in the game.  He is NOT the reason Pitt lost.  I have bashed Harper a good amount here, but HE did not lose this game….if anything, the officials los…….DAMMIT!  OUCH!  OK, that’s it, I have to go now before I have my own meltdown.  See you for the UConn preview later on this coming week.

PASSING NOTES ON NOTRE DAME

OK – thanks to Hurricane Sandy, I was without power for a while and of course that led to trying to do work from a phone and then a make shift office for a while.  It hit the Philly area hard.  All of it put me behind and leads to a rather less than stellar (yea, like that is something different for this blog) preview.  Let’s get to it!

I am not going to mince words here….Notre Dame is for real this year.  After a big win AT Oklahoma, the Fighting Irish come in at number 3 in the BCS for Saturday’s 3:30 kickoff in South Bend, IN.  The defense ranks 2^nd in the country and their front seven are VERY good.  They are led by Heisman Trophy candidate (yes on defense) Manti Te’o.  He’s a linebacker and you will be seeing him a lot. 

On offense, the Irish love to run the ball.  Whether it is QB Sophomore Everett Golson, Senior RB Theo Riddick, Senior RB Cierre Wood, or even Sophomore RB George Atkinson III….Notre Dame goes against Brian Kelly’s reputation and runs the ball a lot.  They are 33^rd in the country in rushing.  With not a lot of time to put this preview together, I will make my main point here: THIS WORRIES ME!!!!  It worries me almost as much as the new Nor’Easter that may hit us next week (I’m not kidding…go look it up).  With Shane Gordon already out with a high ankle sprain and Dan Mason’s comeback story taking a bad turn with a season ending injury, Senior linebacker, Joe Trebitz will get his first career start.  Against a team  like Notre Dame, this spells trouble. 

The key for Pitt is for Tino Sunseri to take advantage of one of the few Irish weaknesses (and that is being picky) and that is the pass defense.  The Pitt defensive line and outside linebackers MUST play out of their minds and Trebitz just needs to play his game.  That may be a lot to ask, but Pitt has played Notre Dame tough lately.  I think they will hang tough early, but the Irish win this one, 31-10.

Look, I think it will be a tough game, so I leave Pitt fans with something fun: 

EDITOR'S NOTE: LATE LAST NIGHT, IT CAME OUT THAT RAY GRAHAM, LAFAYETTE PITTS, AND DEVIN STREET WILL BE HIT WITH SIMPLE ASSUALT CHARGES.  ALL THREE WILL PLAY ON SATURDAY AND DENY INVOLVEMENT IN THE INCIDENT.