I thought I had mentioned this at least in passing sometime during the week, or maybe it was just in some e-mail to friends. From a storyline perspective, the oversaturation would be on the issues of the coaches. Whether it was things coming “full circle” with them meeting once more at Heinz Field at night in a prime time game — where both made their debuts as the head coaches at the respective alma maters. The other, which crystallized after the ND loss to Navy, are the programs/coaches heading in opposite directions.

Let’s start with the “full circle” stories. They are in Pittsburgh papers.

Back then, Weis was the hot-shot former NFL assistant poised to return his alma mater to national prominence, while Wannstedt was on his way to going 16-19 in his first three years at Pitt.

“We found out real quick that we had work to do,” Wannstedt said. “We were probably just a little bit ahead of ourselves.”

Both coaches have similar records at their respective schools (Weis 35-24, Wannstedt 33-24), but Weis, coming off a 23-21 loss to Navy, is under fire. Wannstedt is a candidate for numerous national coach of the year awards.

And in South Bend.

When Weis was asked to connect the dots Tuesday back to ND’s 42-21 thrashing of a 23rd-ranked Pitt teams four and a half seasons ago, he politely balked.

“I’m so predictable,” said Weis, 3-11 against the Top 25 since that debut game, including seven straight losses against ranked teams. “You already know what my answer is going to be when you ask that question. But I’m really only worrying about beating Pitt. And I’ll never change.”

Then there is national like Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com.

The Fighting Irish rolled 42-21 as the Weis bandwagon filled up fast. Wannstedt, meanwhile, has struggled to sustain any real momentum almost ever since. But now the Panthers, despite not having beaten any top-20 teams, have climbed to No. 8 in the Associated Press poll, which is the school’s highest November ranking since 1982. A BCS bowl is possible; the Panthers rank 12th in the BCS standings. They are off to their best start (8-1) since that ’82 season, when Dan Marino was their quarterback. Maybe Weis, the now-embattled Irish coach, can salvage some of his reputation that has taken so many hits after last week’s home loss to Navy. Before the season, this matchup didn’t appear to carry such juice for Weis, but now, perhaps it’s a different story.

Feldman’s bit, well, it’s not the most complimentary of Pitt’s season.

Still, Saturday’s game is almost as big for Wannstedt. If the Panthers lose the game, it’ll be just another clunker from a program that few people seem prepared to buy in on. It has inched its way up the rankings much as a non-automatic qualifying school would, as much through the attrition of everyone else as its own success. It feels as though the Panthers are up there by default: “Well, who else will we have in the top 15, three-loss Virginia Tech? Four-loss Oklahoma?!?”

To their credit, the Panthers have been outstanding on defense this season. They lead the nation in sacks (38), and given Notre Dame’s struggles to protect Jimmy Clausen, that’ll be a key matchup.

The next day, Feldman includes Coach Wannstedt in his top-10 list for Coach of the Year. So he does recognize that the coach and team are accomplishing something.

I’m not going to argue about the fact that Pitt’s rise to top-10 this year has as much to do with the volume of teams failing. Considering Pitt started the season unranked, it is the only way it happens. It is still an achievement.

I mean, god help me, I’m turning to Bob Smizik for the counterpoint on the argument of “who has Pitt beaten?”

This is not so much a knock on Cincinnati, Pitt or the Big East. We said the same thing about Penn State the other day and it applies to many, if not most, ranked programs. It’s the shame of college football. Teams, for the most play, play a ridiculously soft non-conference schedule and then amongst themselves. Who knows how good most of them are?

Consider #2 Texas. The Longhorns have only beaten one team that is currently ranked in the top-25 in Oklahoma State. Of course, since they were a preseason top-5 team, no one disputes their validity.

(more…)

Getting J.J. Moore was just that. The 3- or 4-star small forward was unexpected. A kid scoring a 93 (Insider subs) by ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc (that score is listed as “high-major minus“).

I didn’t see that coming. I assumed he was a lock for Louisville, and he was just creating some intrigue before signing day. But according to Chris Dokish, Pitt went all-out on getting him.

First of all, the job the entire Pitt staff did to get J.J. Moore was very impressive. And I do mean the entire staff. Despite Moore almost certainly heading to Louisville, Jamie Dixon, Tom Herrion, and Brandin Knight all put on an all out assault to get the 6’6″ small forward. According to one source with knowledge of the situation, “it was as complete an effort” as they’ve ever seen to recruit a player.

And while there are have long been concerns as to whether Moore can get eligible for the 2010 year, Dokish reports the belief and even expectation that Moore will get his eligibility set.

That and the signing of Cameron Wright todayand Isiah Epps puts Pitt at 1 over their scholarship limit at this point. Speculation as to how that is resolved (transfer, academic casualties, someone giving up a scholarship) is something for another day.

While it doesn’t rule out a commitment from Maurice Walker — the sleeper center — it does make it appear unlikely regardless of need. Especially since he seems to be getting more attention and it seems unlikely Pitt will go 2 over the limit in the early signing period.

Just another great class for the b-ball team.