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November 18, 2009

Well a 3d straight night game was probably out of the question.

It will be a noon start which sucks for tailgating. That said, no excuses for the place not to be packed. To decide whether Pitt goes BCS bowling or not.

The good news for those who can’t attend, is that it will be a true national game. ABC and apparently no split map crap.





before you complain, Rutgers play Louisville on 11/27 at 11 am. More than a handful of of B10 and Big 12 games have started at 11 am local time, also.

Comment by wbb 11.18.09 @ 5:21 pm

Just don’t go to sleep Friday night. Start the tailgate at the bars.

Comment by Todd Gack 11.18.09 @ 6:34 pm

A game between two top-10 teams to decide a BCS berth gets a noon start? Really?

Comment by Chuck Morris 11.18.09 @ 6:55 pm

Chuck, consider that the SEC final (Bama v UF) is scheduled for 4; the ACC final on ESPN is scheduled for 7 on ESPN directly against the Big 12 final on ABC … it isn’t too bad really

Comment by wbb 11.18.09 @ 7:20 pm

Your right on the money wbb. In fact this might be great considering it might be 20 degrees with a wind chill?

Comment by Lou 11.18.09 @ 9:09 pm

will this game be a sell-out…anyone know the answer?

Comment by Marc 11.18.09 @ 9:51 pm

Yeah, the Bama-Gator clash is definitely prime time, but the other two are not. The annual Big 12 massacre of a northern division team is a sure snooze. Remember the 67 point margin in 2005? They kept it close last year, Okla only won by 41.

But I guess that the real reason for the snub is that nationally, the Big East is pretty much viewed as the WAC of the East. I hope that Cincy fans will understand when their 11-1 ‘Cats end up in the Meineke Bowl.

Comment by Chuck Morris 11.19.09 @ 3:28 am

This Big 10. ehem. 11. is the new Big East. Other than OSU, PSU, and Iowa, that whole conference is a joke. PLEASE PICK UP ON THIS STORY NATIONAL MEDIA. The Big 10 should lose their automatic BCS bid.

Comment by Todd Gack 11.19.09 @ 7:23 am

The Big 12, SEC and ACC championship games are set at the beginning of the season. Ours is a regular conference game that happens to be for the title (which is what the BE hoped for when they set the schedule). This is by far the best hope for the Big East and we don’t have to play second fiddle to the conference championships. I’m surprised it took them this long to announce it.

Comment by Stull for Heisman 11.19.09 @ 7:40 am

ya its great for the tv audience, but what about the fans? The 2 games we played later in the day this yr, navy and ND, the crowd was good. I hope the fans will come out to this game as well…
I wish the BE would have said we a 3:30 KO and what ever station airs the game so be it…
But its always screw the fans and bend over backwards for the tv.

Comment by mike 11.19.09 @ 8:42 am

My HDTV antenna picks up every single channel EXCEPT ABC!!! Do you guys know if games shown nationwide on ABC are picked up on ESPN360? That would be perfect!

Comment by Foursnow 11.19.09 @ 9:00 am

mike, ND will always sell out no matter what the starting time. There were very disappointing crowds for 3:30 starting times … and I’m really getting tired of this lame excuse for not attending.

The fact is that TENS of THOUSANDS will leave their homes before 7 am to pack Beaver Stadium for a noon start even when PSU plays Coastal Carolina. For many reasons, Pitt cannot expect to draw what PSU does …. but a noon start is not one of them … it is purely lame rationalization.

Comment by wbb 11.19.09 @ 9:59 am

Please quit the comparison with PSU. They are almost twice the size as Pitt. Pitt has a larger commuting population and Pitt is really small when you consider PSU’s magnet schools.

It’s not the time of the game, it’s the fact that 25% of the classes I attended had people 10-15 years older than me with kids and a full time job. Their connection to Pitt is just not that strong.

Comment by Freebird 11.19.09 @ 10:35 am

Why dont some of you stop the complaining and just enjoy the great oppritunity in front of our football team in the next two weeks. Both games are national t.v, with a oppritunity to go to a bigger antional game played around new years. So shut up and just enjoy it!

Comment by Lou 11.19.09 @ 11:24 am

i guess you didnt notice the empty seats at the state penn game for the indiana game, plus there student section looked non exisitence as well.
I will be there bright and early at 7:00, wish we could get in the lots earlier then that!

Comment by mike 11.19.09 @ 11:32 am

Mike,
Right on Mike! I would love to get into the lots at 5am!

Comment by Fletch 11.19.09 @ 11:45 am

Todd Gack, Really? Nevermind that the Big 10 consistently sends two Big 10 representatives to BCS bowls. The BIG 10 fanbases will travel and provide an attractive option for BCS Bowls. And, aside from the MNC game, the rest of the BCS Bowls are money grabs, anyway. The Big 10 teams puts asses in the seats. That’s all that matters to the BCS Bowls.

Comment by Spats 11.19.09 @ 1:06 pm

We need a good crowd for that final game, no doubt. the players seemed to feed of of it, especially the defense. We can score on anyone in the country, but slowing down the cinccy passsing game will be challenging to say the least. A loud stadium would be a big advantage. No doubt the 12 noon game sticks, ABC/ESPN could have made it 8 PM a regional/east coast only. Tell me who on the west coast is gonna wake up to watch Pitt/Cinncy at 9 AM?

Comment by blaise novotny 11.19.09 @ 1:38 pm

There are, IMO, a number of factors that lead to the poor attendance at Pitt games/lack of Pitt football travel base. The demographics of western Pa. play a big part. More so, though, is the competition from the Pens and Steelers. People spend lots of time and money and emotion on these two teams, and I don’t think there’s much left for Pitt.

Also, the local media coverage of Pitt sports is, generally, pathetic, and so the city does not embrace Pitt football (or basketball, for that matter) the way they do the Pens and Steelers. Whether Ryan Clark would play in Denver got more coverage over two weeks than Dion Lewis, Jonathan Baldwin, and Dorin Dickerson have received altogether this year.

Yes, Pitt hoops puts butts in the seats at the Pete, but outside of the hardcore hoops fans/alumni, the remainder of the region doesn’t give two sh#ts about Pitt basketball until well after the NFL playoffs are over. And they definitely don’t have a strong connection to Pitt football. They want winners. They want championships. The Pens and Steelers have provided that. Pitt football has not.

Maybe if Pitt can get back-to-back BCS bowls, that will change, but until then, even “big” games like Cincy will be hard to sell out.

Comment by Carmen 11.19.09 @ 1:38 pm

If they lose to WVU, the stadium will be empty. If they win, it will be another sell out.

Comment by Chris 11.19.09 @ 1:39 pm

Of course asses in seats is all that matters. Otherwise, how could ANYONE justify marketing a team from that Big11 snoozefest into a BCS game.

OSU is going to get spanked out of S.Cal by Stanford or Oregon. The ONLY thing ‘the machine’ cares about is how many OSU fans will travel to Pasadena and clap like seals for the parade and zombie themselves into the Rose Bowl for their ass-whooping.

HTscriptP

Comment by Cool Hand Nuke 11.19.09 @ 1:44 pm

The noon start is unfortunate for many reasons, none of which should deter fans from coming. Magnitude of the game, non-competiting TV options, and of course for the betterment of the fan pre-game experience. God forbid we have someone at the higher levels (Slippery Steve, Big East Commish) fight to get us a respectable timeslot.

For all of you “shut up and deal with it” people, I say chill out and have some consideration for those of us coming from hours away. Fans can (and should) be able to voice their displeasure with the start times if they rob from the pre-game experience.

Personally, I don’t enjoy leaving my house at 6AM to get into my lot in time to have 20 minutes of tailgate enjoyment, then have to pack up and head to the game early enough to manuever parking lots that are tore-up like an Iraqi warzone…just in time to make it for the first drive.

3:30PM is an acceptable time to start…especially considering the magnitude of the game and to help cater to the fans. I don’t think that would have been too much to shoot for from the higher ups…seems like they simply rolled over to ESPN/ABC.

Regardless, we will be in our seats…just-in-time to watch the improtant experience = a Pitt Win!

Comment by Pauly P 11.19.09 @ 1:45 pm

Whether or not Ohio State “gets spanked out of So Cal” is kind f ireelevant. The fact is that they’ve been significantly better than anything in the Big East for the last several years. They played in consecutive MNC games and have consistently finished in the to 10. So, yes, they are quite marketable. When was the last time the Big East sent more than just their default conference winner to a BCS Bowl?

They may be clapping like seals, but let’s face it – they’re filling stadiums much larger than Heinz, regardless of whether the team is winning or losing – not just when they pull their first 10-win season in 25 years.

Comment by Spats 11.19.09 @ 3:04 pm

Foursnow,

ESPN360 never allows you to see games that are available in your local market. Since the game is available nationwide, it won’t be on ESPN360. If for some reason it were on ESPN360 that would block your internet access to it if you have a local channel that is carrying it.

Comment by KeithS 11.19.09 @ 3:16 pm

first Saturday of Buck, first day of doe season, was hoping for the 8 pm start so I could hunt with my daughter then drive down. will be first Pitt game I miss this season. Note to athletic dept, have game before Buck season!!!!

Comment by Kurt 11.19.09 @ 4:43 pm

spats, The BE would have been playing for the BCS title 2 years in a row — once against OSU and the another instead of OSU – had they not been beaten by teams in their own conference. In 06, if Louisville didn’t lose at Rutgers in OT, OSU would have played them instead of UF. The following year, WVU’s loss to Pitt opened the door for OSU to play LSU. Note that OSU lost handily both times and the last time the SEC champ lost a BCS game, it was at the hands of a BE team.

Comment by wbb 11.19.09 @ 5:29 pm

Dude, who gives a crap about running around in the woods and shooting deer, go root for Pitt!! Deer season will be there after the game. Maybe you’ll hit one with your car on the drive to town!

And wbb, actually the year we beat WVU, OSU was already sitting at 1 in the country, it was LSU that benefitted from our upset of the Mountaineers.

Comment by Jimbo Covert's my Dad 11.19.09 @ 5:57 pm

OSU was not No. 1 — Missouri was. Missouri was 1st and WVU 2nd with OSU 3rd going into that week

link to espn.go.com

Comment by wbb 11.19.09 @ 6:03 pm

Actually, my argument wasn’t that the Big East didn’t come close to playing for the MNC.

Somebody commented above that the Big 10 should have their automatic invite revoked and that the Big 10 was unmarketable. Since the BCS inception following the ’98-’99 season, there have been three seasons in which the Big 10 didn’t send 2 representatives to BCS games (’00-’01, ’01-’02, & ’04-’05). I just don’t think you can make the blanket statement that it’s an unmarketable conference – especially when the argument has always been that the Big 10 doesn’t play quality football. If both were true, then you’d never see more than 1 Big 10 representative on an annual basis.

Comment by Spats 11.19.09 @ 7:03 pm

My apologies wbb, I forgot all about that wierd Mizzou/Kansas surge that happened that year.

But my point is still the same, OSU was in regardless of what we did against WVU (due to Mizzou getting crushed by, I believe, Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game). But it was LSU, who had 2 losses, that really benefitted from us beating WVU.

Georgia didn’t play in the SEC title game so they didn’t move into #2, same deal with Kansas and the Big 12, and VT had the same record as LSU but had been crushed by them earlier in the year.

I just remember going into the game and hearing that LSU had the most to gain by us winning and that those other teams were longshots.

Now that I’m looking through the rankings, 07 was a whacky-ass year in cfb. That was the year USF even made an appearance at #2!

Comment by Jimbo Covert's my Dad 11.19.09 @ 10:29 pm

Spats the reason that the B10 gets the BSC bowl bids is because they bring the big crowds and nothing more. All the BCS guarantees are the top 2 teams, and that each BCS conference champ gets a bid. Otherwise, the bowls get to pick what they want … and they go with the teams like PSU, OSU and UM that brings the crowds and TV ratings. Note that ND was picked in Weis’ 1st 2 years and were blown out each time because they were not worthy.

Comment by wbb 11.19.09 @ 10:35 pm

by the way Spats, I believe that previous remark about taking the B10 automatic bid away was sarcasm because there was talk last year that the BE bid should have been taken away.

Comment by wbb 11.19.09 @ 10:38 pm

Potentially great PR day
The noon start will provide plenty of positive TV coverage for the winner all day long and a replay extravaganza for star performances. It’s opportunities like this one along with the sustained success of the Pitt basketball program that have given us name recognition across the country and probably contributed to the results of the cnnsi.com poll where Big East fans claim Pitt to be their biggest rival by 5% over West Virginia. link to sportsillustrated.cnn.com
Let’s Go Pitt

Comment by TonyinHouston 11.20.09 @ 9:44 am

College football should follow the same TV rules as the Pros do…No Sell-out, then black-out the game in the local market. That will put people in the seats.

Comment by HbgFrank 11.20.09 @ 5:17 pm

Forget all this Big East Championship talk and BCS bowl talk. Lets all get focused on what we really want. The River City Trophy!

Comment by Z-boy 11.20.09 @ 8:57 pm

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