I should know better. It’s the offseason. Not much to discuss. So, a useless story will generate more attention than it should.
“I’ve tried to talk to the Big Ten people about, ‘Let’s get a 12th team — Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt — we could have a little bit of a playoff.'”
Paterno spoke to several college football reporters before a booster meeting at the Plaza Hotel. The comments came in response to a question on whether a team from the Northeast could win a national championship. The 1986 Nittany Lions are the last No. 1 team from the region.
“The only [Northeastern] team that’s got a shot would be us, and yet we’ve got a tough job because the Big Ten is not as visible in the key times as the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12.”
Asked what sort of response he had received, Paterno raised his eyebrows in a facial shrug.
“You know, it’s a conference that’s dominated by a couple of people,” Paterno said. “If I start talking, they’re polite, but they snicker.
“They don’t know I know they’re snickering, but they’re polite. …I wish I were younger and going to be around [another] 20 years.”
With the conference commissioners holding so much power, Paterno said, the whole landscape could change if two or three people change.
“We’re not talking about invading Normandy,” Paterno said. “We’re talking about some alignments that could happen very quickly.”
Whether it is talk about expanding for purposes of the Big 10 Network, it’s just that — talk. It’s not happening. Not now. Not in the next several years. It may happen at some point, but not in the near future.
The only exception would be if ND came to them. That would be it.
From a geographic/market standpoint, there is probably little interest in adding Pitt. Rutgers or Syracuse is much more attractive in that respect. Frankly, if you want to play that game, the Big 11 is best to wait and watch anyways.
Rutgers may be the stronger football program at this point, but can it be sustained? They are a mess in basketball — still. They have major budget issues that even predated the recession. If Syracuse can at least get back to mediocrity in football, the overall health of their athletic department makes them actually a more attractive program in the long term.
That said, it is nothing new. Paterno has said on occasion before that he would “support” Pitt getting invited to the Big 11 if they ever expanded. It was an empty promise then.
The desire by Paterno for a Eastern member in the Big 11 is simply about the geographic isolation of Penn State. It is, as usual, self-serving for Paterno and Penn State. It is not about the Big 11 or any desire to reach out to the other 3 programs mentioned. It is not about helping the Big 11 and their big gap between the end of the season and bowl season.
Chances are that not only will ND leave, they will join the Big 11 (Ten) for their other sports as well as fotball (since the Big 11 will have it no other way.)
This will ensure that Big 11 will no longer consider add an eastern team which is good since a BE team defection (Pitt, SU or RU) would have devastating effects to the remaining BE team members. Not only would a new team need to be added, it is hard enough as it is right now for BE ADs to schedule 5 non-conference games each year.
In 2007 it really felt like WVU and Louisville would be national powers for years to come and Rutgers and South Florida were strong up-and-comers. None of that feels true anymore.
A scant two years later and Big East football is on VERY shaky ground; when you think about the Top 25 teams for 2009, there isn’t one Big East program that comes to mind. Coaching defections and graduations have gutted this football conference.
Combine declining football with a ridiculously bloated Big East basketball conference and the Big 10 looks that much more attractive. (Yes, I know, Big East basketball has great teams. It also has awful teams, which means many of the games stink.)
I hate the Big 10 as much as anybody, but today’s Big East has a lot of problems. It’s not nearly as viable as it looked in 2007.
If they did join the B11 it would end up hurting Pitt because they would drop Pitt from their football schedule and keep USC and Boston College as their out of conference games.
Pitt does benefit from non-conf with ND but it is by no means even close to a perpetual agreement as ND has with USC and BC, even the Navy series is longer-lasting that the one with Pitt.
Bottom line is that BE cannot afford another fb defection … it probably can survive the status quo but will likely never flourish. On the other hand, BE basketball should maintain its high level since the eastern seaboard should be a fertile recruiting ground for years to come.
Minor correction, but the BC-ND rivalry is not very extensive. The series is tied 9-9 (they have only played 18 times), while Pitt has played ND 64 times.
Also, because BC joined the ACC, it is doubtful they will continue to schedule ND after the 2010 season.
What does concern me is expanding in other conferences. It will be a domino effect that ends up at the BE. joe pud would get his dreame come true, the demise of the BE football.
Something about Scott McKillop (fifth round) reminds me of Derek Smith, who closed out his 49ers tenure with five consecutive seasons with at least 100 tackles (by NFL.com’s count). Maybe it’s the way McKillop’s eyes lit up when he start talking about the art of wrapping up.
While at Pittsburgh, missed tackles were treated like a deadly sin. During film room sessions, former Paul Rhodes (now the heat coach at Iowa State) would count up missed tackles and then think of some horrible punishment for the offenders – push-ups, up-downs, etc.
“We’d probably spend at least two or three periods per day just working on proper footwork, proper angles and securing the tackle,’’ McKillop said. A great defense doesn’t miss many tackles.”
Pittsburgh credited McKillop with a 151 tackles in 2007 and 137 in 2008.
Quite the opposite. Nothing has happened. Hence, no need for a Q & A. They are all pretty much seasonal on the PG website, so when things pick up for Pitt athletics late this summer, you will see more content on the site.
rev. george – I’m with you. Sports writers are not commenting much about possible Big Eleven expansion nor the need for the BE to expand in football. BE football has a tentative feel as long as the BE brass offers nothing.
PapaJohn’s.com Bowl
Jan. 2 / 1 p.m. ET Birmingham, Ala. ESPN
Tie-Ins: Big East vs. SEC
Way Too Early Projection: Pitt vs. Auburn
Note that CFN is predicting that WVU will rep the BE in the BCS playing in the Sugar Bowl vs Ole Miss
