I won’t bore anyone with the details, but it was one of those situations where what started out as a couple minor things to do around the house this weekend got out of hand. The actual problems turned out to be much more involved, time consuming (and expensive). Add in a sick wife — and now me — and I haven’t even had the energy or time to fire up the computer for a couple days. So obviously I am behind on a bunch of things.

There was a very interesting piece at the beginning of the month by Luke Winn over the impact of elite freshmen on their teams. This of note because of the expressed feelings of many that Dante Taylor is either overrated/a bust/not ready/not getting enough minutes/being misused. Or some combination of them. Taylor was not just a McD All-American, he was considered an overall top-15 player.

In the first 10 games — which is only 1/3 of the season —  he is averaging 16.6 min (41.5% available), 5.9 pts and 5.6 rebounds. Comparing it to the charts and information from the story it looks like Taylor is playing slightly less than expected for a PF/C of his position. What is interesting, since these are tempo-free stats being used, is that Taylor is the highest offensively rated player on Pitt despite the low scoring. Part of it of course is Pitt is one of the slowest tempo teams this year, so scoring is limited. The other factor is getting the ball to him.

It has been an issue for the guards to get the ball inside. Not totally surprising with the loss of Levance Fields, but this has limited opportunities for Taylor and McGhee as well (though, McGee doesn’t help with turnovers).

Another factor for how Taylor is perceived is that he had to follow DeJuan Blair. We’ve all expressed admiration for how great Blair was, but just how much of a historic anomaly Blair was in all of college basketball, is probably not fully appreciated. So the McGhee/Taylor combo at the same spot just is not going to come close to being similar.

As for the idea of playing Taylor at the PF position to maximize size with him and McGhee and give Taylor more playing time, I’m torn. I really don’t think the two of them on the court together will be a particularly effective thing on defense. I see Taylor still trying to remember his footwork and position. Moving him would not necessarily help. Coach Dixon seems against it, even if Taylor likes the idea.

One thing is certain. Dixon said there are no plans to move Taylor to power forward, where undersized sophomore Nasir Robinson is struggling. Dixon said power forward is the most difficult position to learn in Pitt’s system and he doesn’t want to burden Taylor with learning two spots. Taylor, however, would welcome the switch.

“If he asked me, I would love to go play power forward,” Taylor said. “That’s where I’m comfortable at. But right now I’m focusing on being the center and rebounding.”

Taylor has shown a great attitude. Embracing the team concept and doing what the coach wants. So, he’s not going to complain. And Coach Dixon has shown a track record and long-term vision for preparing players for developing a serious inside game.

At the same time PF is his natural position and there is always a possibility that Coach Dixon is overthinking this one.

I am reminded of John Calipari and Derrick Rose. Calipari played Rose at shooting guard rather than point for the first third of the season because he didn’t want to put too much pressure on Rose. The Tigers won, but struggled and did not look cohesive. Calipari finally moved Rose to point and then Miemphis really took off. Calipari quipped that they should “fire that guy” who played Rose at SG.

I lean towards trusting Coach Dixon on this, but can’t help but feel he’s trying to protect Taylor a little too much.

Plus, there is Nasir Robinson at power forward. It isn’t that he is undersized. He is scrappy. His defense isn’t horrid. He’s got that grittiness and would be a fan favorite except for two things. His inability to score and the volume of turnovers. Of course, Robinson thinks he’s a small forward playing out of position.

“I had a good idea I would play small forward when I came here,” Robinson said. “That’s my real position. I’m playing power forward now but small forward is my position. I’m comfortable [at power forward]. I’ve just had two bad games. I’m trying to bounce back and help my team. The offense hasn’t been there. I’ve been trying to do other things to help us win. I’m just missing shots. Those are shots I have to make; I’m just missing them. I have to take my time to finish the play.”

Er, yeah. His size says small forward. His game doesn’t. He has a poor ball handling skills, a poor jump shot (I involuntarily shout, “No!” if he launches a 3) and while he can be an effective slasher to the rim, he rarely finishes. Generally, they are around the rim, but never in the basket. Which is only compounded by a sub-40% FT shooting when he draws the contact — meaning teams have no problem challenging him when he goes up.

This brings things to the speculation game of what player might be encouraged to look to transfer after this season. Right now Pitt is 1 over its scholarship limit — assuming J.J. Moore qualifies, and if he doesn’t then if Maurice Walker signs an NLI in the spring.

There’s a good case to be made that Robinson could be the guy that gets squeezed. He wants to play small forward but his game won’t let him for Pitt. Not with the way he turns it over and poor shooting. That would be a factor that could make him want to look around.

Plus he would arguably get squeezed by Gilbert Brown returning for next year and Lamar Patterson at the same spot at small forward. To say nothing of Cameron Wright (who is having a really good year), while a SG, is 6’5″ and could easily see time as a wing forward. At power forward next year, Taylor might be moved there. Plus there is Miller, Richardson and/or Zanna that will all be in the mix for the power forward and center positions — and yes maybe Moore.

Things will shake themselves out for next year. The concern right now is this season.

It has been a bad 2 week stretch for Pittsburgh versus Ohio. Not since the Penguins beat Columbus in a shootout at the end of October has there been a win. It’s a bad streak at the moment. (Even for those of us who are not Steelers fans.)

Hopefully Pitt can end it against the Kent State Golden Flashes.

Offline stuff has been a bit hectic this week, so this is last minute. Gametime at 2pm on ESPNU.

You can break out the live blog by Clicking Here.

Or play right below.

For some reason, knowing that Pitt lost its last two games by only 4 points will remain a bitter pill in the offseason. Especially when you consider that it also came down to special teams screwing up and a defense that couldn’t make the stops when needed. The team just didn’t finish.

Disappointment isn’t the right word to describe the way I feel about how the season finished. Frustration probably is the better choice. There is an undercurrent not of anger so much as annoyance — or some setting lower than outright anger. It wasn’t that the team underachieved from preseason expectations as much as it underachieved from what it showed it could do. Zeise sums most of it up.

…expectations always change as the facts change. And given that, let me rephrase my statement and see if you think you can come up with any other way to describe it than disappointing – what if I told you before the season that all of these things would go right for Pitt……

• Bill Stull would have by far the best season a quarterback has had at Pitt since Tyler Palko in 2004.
• Dion Lewis will be better than LeSean McCoy was, at least production wise.
• Dorin Dickerson would turn into Shannon Sharpe.
• Dan Hutchins would turn into a very reliable kicker from 40 yards and in.
• The entire starting offensive line would be healthy and start every game together.
• Matt Grothe would blow out his knee and thus USF was a much less dangerous team plus N.C. State, Buffalo and Notre Dame would all stink, Rutgers would be very mediocre (and awful on offense), West Virginia would be ordinary AND you’d have a 21-point lead at home against Cincinnati.

I’m sure some will argue that this is moving the goal posts, but we don’t jump from preseason expectations (i.e., guessing) to the end of the season without enduring or enjoying the games.

The offense surpassed expectations. Special teams disappointed — especially in November and the beginning of December. Defense really, really struggled with stopping the pass — which was somewhat expected but not this badly and when it counted the d-line couldn’t get the pressure up front to help.

Of special note in Zeise’s post is this.

It is almost certain that defensive coordinator Phil Bennett, as has long been suspected, will head back closer to his home in Texas. But even though he is a good coach, if he does leave, it is not a big blow because defensive line coach Greg Gattuso has been groomed for the job the past three years and would almost certainly be promoted into the job as Dave Wannstedt is a big fan of keeping the momentum going and believes continuity is a big part of that. If Bennett goes, perhaps linebackers coach Joe Tumpkin could follow him as Bennett brought him here but that is purely rumor mill kind of stuff and not a given.

The Bennett stuff has been very quiet, news-wise all season. It strikes me as one of those things the beat writers and those around the program knew as an open secret but (1) didn’t want to create a distracting story out of respect for Bennett who stayed after last year when he could have gone back to K-State, and (2) no one has any hard feelings about him doing it to be with his family.

Gattuso makes sense on all the reasons mentioned, but also because finding or mining for a good DC this offseason may be a lot tougher. Other programs looking for a new DC include FSU, Florida, Georgia and ND. All with a lot of money to toss around. I would expect that WVU could be looking for a new DC because Casteel has a good shot at being a target for one of those programs.

I think most Pitt fans, while dismayed by the missed extra point, hardly lost their head at Andrew Janocko. The holder who fumbled the snap. It wasn’t like he dropped it in perfect conditions. Plus at that point I think a lot of Pitt fans knew that even if it hadn’t happened if the defense couldn’t stop Cinci in the final minute-and-a-half, then it would have at best prolonged what would have felt like an inevitable Cinci win in OT.  A couple sympathy pieces on him were very nice and interesting (and expected), though.

Maybe it’s the plunging temperatures, freezing rain and overall grayness of the day. Maybe I’m just in a downer mood. Not sure, but for some reason the Big East honors did not do much to cheer me.

It should surprise no one that Pitt kicked ass in this. Four players made the 2nd Team All-Big East and ten made the 1st Team.

2nd Team All-Big East players from Pitt were: TE Nate Byham, K Dan Hutchins, DT Gus Mustakas and S Dom DeCicco.

1st Team All-Big East players from Pitt were: WR Jonathan Baldwin, OG John Malecki, OT Jason Pinkston, TE Dorin Dickerson, QB Bill Stull, RB Dion Lewis, DE Greg Romeus, LB Adam Gunn, DT Mick Williams and CB Aaron Berry.

Dion Lewis and Greg Romeus were unanimous picks at their spots.

In addition, Dion Lewis was unanimously chosen as Big East rookie of the year and named the offensive player of the year. The first Pitt player chosen for the offensive PoY since Larry Fitzgerald.

Greg Romeus and Mick Williams were named co-defensive players of the year in the Big East. The third time in the last four years that Pitt players have taken that honor.

The ten 1st team spots is as many as WVU and Cinci had combined. Yet Pitt finishes behind both of them.

So while I am happy for the deserved recognition for the Pitt players. Especially for what Dion Lewis has done this year, it makes the finish to the season just a little more bitter at the moment.

Okay, it was downright ugly.

As I started reading some of the post-game stories I was somewhat surprised. Not that this was the biggest win to date for Indiana post-Sampson. Or that Indiana was desperate for a win. No, it was reading how Pitt was strongly favored, which shocked me. I figured maybe a couple points, but the way Pitt had been playing most certainly would have kept the line down. Yet, there it was. Pitt was around a 9 point favorite. I guess mainly because of Indiana losing 4 games.

It was another poor game for Pitt. An inability to finish around the rim on offense. Guards not penetrating. Sub-32% shooting. And the turnovers. Oh, the turnovers. It was not good.

“We got what we really deserved,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “We didn’t play well. Indiana did.”

The poor shooting made rebounding a most meaningless stat. Pitt won the rebounding battle 45-39, but it mainly came because of the poor shooting and not good defense. Pitt was beaten by 6 on defensive boards but had a 21-9 edge on the offensive boards. Something that will definitely happen when you miss a lot of shots and the other team doesn’t.

The players after the game were focused on the problems at the other end.

“Defensively, we have to strap up,” said sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs, who scored a career-high 25 points. “We have to play tougher, especially down the stretch. Our offense comes from our defense and rebounding.”

Indiana penetrated freely against Pitt’s guards all game. The Hoosiers got to the free-throw line 34 times and converted 25 of those attempts. Verdell Jones, who came into the game averaging 11 points a game, scored 20 and got to the line eight times. Christian Watford got to the line 15 times and scored 12 of his 18 points from the charity stripe.

“It’s been a problem all season,” said junior guard Brad Wanamaker, who scored 18 points. “Guys are getting beat off the dribble. We’re not keeping people in front of us. Our rotation just hasn’t been there. It’s something we have to work on. We talk about it, but we don’t do it.”

…

“I’m not concerned about the offense,” Taylor said. “I’m more concerned about the defense. We’re letting teams score too easily. We’re not taking pride in defense. We need to put our foot down, stand up and play defense.”

While his impact was not particularly helpful in this game, Jermaine Dixon finally made his first start of the season. 13 minutes. 0 points. 2 rebounds. 1 assist. 1 block. 3 turnovers. 3 fouls.

Playing at MSG for Pitt often involves families and friends. So it is always interesting to see which players press a little too much. Travon Woodall had some 40 friends and family show up. Given how much he has been struggling I’m not sure he really pressed from that or just had another disappointing game. His minutes are dropping (23 last night) along with his scoring while fouls committed keep rising.

Late game. Fun. Fun. Fun.

Trying to get the kids to bed. Just me, my beer, computer and the big screen.

The fun will start sometime between 9 and 9:30 depending on how long Butler-Georgetown goes.

Click Here if you want to break the liveblog out from the site. Other wise, it is below.

In another year or two this would be a huge match-up that would get tons of hype. This year, take away the whole ESPN/Jimmy V tie-in, and it is a game between two teams in various states of rebuild.

Indiana Coach Tom Crean is letting the Indiana media know that this isn’t really a neutral-site game.

“It will seem like a road game,” Crean said Sunday. “There are probably two programs outside of New York right now that can turn the Garden into a home game: that’s Pitt and Duke.”

And while Pitt hasn’t faced Indiana since the NCAA Tournament in 2003, ther is one player that is almost as familiar with Pitt as their coach. Jerimiah Rivers transferred from Georgetown. So he knows MSG and Pitt.

Jeremiah Rivers understands. Sometimes New York City crowds don’t like you, especially in Madison Square Garden. Sometimes they express it. No matter. It’s all good. They don’t rip nobodies, after all.

Rivers was a Garden target for two years when he played for Georgetown during the Big East tourney, the price for being the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers. Now the junior guard returns to the arena to help Indiana (3-4) try to make a national statement against Pitt (7-1) in tonight’s Jimmy V Classic.

“We played Pitt in the Big East finals both times and went 1-1 against them,” Rivers said of his Georgetown days. “It’s ironic we play them now. This is one of the greatest venues in the world. I want the team to relish it.”

One of the Hoosiers, from suburban Cleveland envisions a LeBron night there.

“I’ve never played there, never been to New York, but I’ve seen a lot of teams play there,” sophomore forward Tom Pritchard said. “I’ve watched my (Cleveland) Cavaliers and LeBron (James) kill in there.

“Hopefully,” Pritchard said with a smile, “I can pull a LeBron moment in there and we can come out with a win.”

Insert standard comment about LeBron leaving the Cavs after this season. Pritchard is one of the few players with experience from last year. He’s an inside player that should be able to bang.

The Indiana University sophomore stands 6-foot-9 and weighs 248 pounds. He should find out if he’s capable tonight when the Hoosiers (3-4) face Pittsburgh (7-1) in the Jimmy V Classic at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Tipoff is set for about 8 CST, following the first game between Butler and Georgetown.

“Yeah, it’s something I’m looking forward to,” said Pritchard. “I like to think my game is very physical, so I think I go well against physical teams.”

Perhaps a little too physical. Pritchard is playing nearly 11 minutes less this season than last, and not so much because there is more depth.

“I try not to think about it, but it’s always there,” Pritchard said. “I just have to stop picking up those quick fouls. Coach has had me working in practice on guarding the perimeter players to try to get me to move my feet more. The idea is to make me more disciplined and not foul as much, so hopefully that will help me in the upcoming games.”

Last season Pritchard started all 31 games and averaged 29 minutes. He was often in foul trouble but still averaged 9.7 points and 6.4 rebounds. This season Pritchard has been limited to 18.6 minutes and just 4.7 points and 3.4 rebounds a game. IU’s other four starters all average at least 26 minutes.

“Foul trouble has been my big thing this year, and that’s what is keeping me out of the games,” Pritchard said. “But I just have to keep my head. At the same I need to continue to be aggressive and finish better around the basket.”

Pritchard is one of the guys who will battle with Gary McGhee inside tonight. McGhee is an Indiana native, so this game will be a big one for him. Not exactly a homecoming but a big deal.

Panthers junior center Gary McGhee was a high school star in the Hoosier state and comes from a family of Indiana grads.

“That was my favorite team,” McGhee said. “They offered me when Kelvin Sampson was the coach. I ended up coming to Pitt. I think I made a great decision not going (to IU).”

Seeing McGhee develop this year has been a shock to all. Still, don’t expect McGhee to be playing next to Dante Taylor any time soon. It looks like it will still be either or.

On Sunday, I asked Jamie Dixon for the second time in a couple of weeks about playing Taylor at power forward. I asked again because Dixon brought up the dislocated finger of starting power forward Nasir Robinson and how it might affecting his play. Again, Dixon gave me the same answer. In a nutshell, he does not want to put too much on Taylor’s plate so early in his career. he said he’s having a hard enough time mastering center. So let’s forget about that for a while. I don’t see it happening anytime soon.

As for Pitt, offense has been a premium commodity that I don’t recall this tough to achieve since the first year of Coach Dixon when Krauser first became a starter with Chevon Troutman, Julius Page spent much of the year hobbled, Jaron Brown was Jaron Brown.

So even 10 minutes of Jermaine Dixon might be welcome. A thought echoed by the guys out there.

“It’s really nice to start getting people back,” junior center Gary McGhee said. “It was good seeing Jermaine back out there [in practice]. He’s a senior and probably our emotional leader. It’s really good getting these guys back. It’s going to help us out.”

The players are saying the right things about being more aggressive on offense. That means having the guards drive the basket a little more. It is the way to have room to pass the ball inside. Not just around the perimeter.

The theme continues though about Pitt finding offense — well actually that goes for both teams.

The Panthers have been grinding out games so far this season, coming back to beat Wofford in the opener, taking two overtimes to knock out city rival Duquesne last week, and then going through the ugly affair with UNH that ended with the Panthers winning 47-32.

Meanwhile, Indiana has shown plenty of signs of life of late, even though the results don’t show it. Indiana lost all three games in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic to Ole Miss, Boston University and George Mason (it’s amazing to think that in the same season UCLA and Indiana went 0-3 in an eight-team field). But the Hoosiers gave Maryland fits by being down only two at the half before succumbing by 12 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge game last week in Bloomington.

Tom Crean has the Hoosiers, much like the Panthers, trying to be a defensive, physical team. Still, the Hoosiers will need to find scorers and can’t have some lines like the ones that were produced against the Terps (Derek Elston and Devan Dumes were each 2-of-10 while Verdell Jones III was 3-of-15 and the Hoosiers were a combined 7-of-26 on 3s).

Defense should be the theme of all four teams at the Jimmy V Classic. If one team gets to 70 points, that might be a story.

I’m with the Indiana blog Crimson Quarry on this one when he says, “I really don’t know what to expect from this game.”

As is typical with a Tom Crean team, they are heavily guard oriented and like to force turnovers. This Indiana team, though, gives back as much as they force. They want to move and push a bit, while Pitt is back to being one of the slowest tempo’d teams in the country.

Live blog tonight around 9:30

As much as it would appear that the talent is down — and compared specifically to last year’s team it is — for Pitt this year, my feeling is that the biggest issue is not simply a lack of experience or talent on the team. For most of the decade, Pitt has had continuity with the guys on the court. Guys who started at least the previous year before to keep things moving forward. That is something sorely lacking from this team.

Even as the team moved from Brandin Knight to Carl Krauser after 02-03, Jaron Brown and Julius Page were still there (03-04). They left but Krauser and Chevon Troutman were ready (04-05). Then it was Ronald Ramon and Krauser (05-06). The following year it was Ramon, Levon Kendall and Aaron Gray (06-07) to make the Levance Fields era go smoothly. Even as Sam Young emerged with DeJuan Blair the following year there was Fields and Ramon plus a guy like Keith Benjamin (07-08). And of course last year’s triumvirate of Fields, Young and Blair. Plus Biggs. Among all of those names there were only 3 second round draft picks (4 if you want to include .

Now, that brings us to the here and now and what everyone knows. Pitt has operated without its only returning starter in Jermaine Dixon. The top bench guy expected to start in Gilbert Brown is suspended until late December. I will skip the rehashing of the lack of experience on this squad.

There are guys with experience like Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker and even Gary McGhee. Guys who have been here a year or two and seen s0me playing time. But they were not regulars in the system. Still learning, finding their way and now have to make a much bigger jump.

Now I don’t think that just experience alone will make the team an elite team. But that isn’t what should be the issue. Chris Dokish pointed out what kind of talent has to be on Final Four teams, and what teams have the top talent in the Big East. That is not in dispute. Those are facts. You will not win big without big talent. Pitt does not have enough of that right now.

Talent alone, however, is not enough. Experience makes a huge difference. Why did Georgetown miss the NCAA Tournament last year? Or UConn in 06-07 (Thabeet, Dyson, Adrien, Price and Robinson) or ‘Cuse in 07-08 (Harris, Flynn, Greene, and Onuaku)? All teams with plenty of talent. All teams with excellent coaches.

Louisville has plenty of that top talent. A lock hall-of-fame coach. They also just lost at home to Charlotte (A-10) by 22.

But this drifts afield. The issue this year should not be whether Pitt has enough big talent on this team right now. Few Pitt fans (sanely) believe that. It’s whether the talent that is on hand will be enough to compete in the Big East and get into the NCAA Tournament this season.

My opinion is that they do have the talent, but they still might not make it. It is not a top-25 team at this point. It’s not related to the talent. It is related to the team still learning what to do. That takes time.

This is the first time we really are seeing a full team have to learn to play together, and without a clear guy that is tops in the pecking order. This team will get better in the season. It will not be smooth and a straight-line progression. There will be games where the team takes a step forward. Then fall flat on its back. Take a big jump and then tumble.

Get used to it.

At the very least it would have given them more incentive in the second half.

The annual schwag list is out for the bowl games.

The Sugar Bowl looks like a winner: Sony, Apple, Trek, Garmin and Weber gift suit. Plus a watch, hat, laptop bag and a recliner(?).

The Meineke bowl has an ipod touch, speakers and $20 gift card or a Bose gift package along with a watch, duffel bag and a Commemorative Richard Petty Driving Experience photo.

Still better than Birmingham — cheap RCA camcorder and backpack — and the Gator — watch and sunglasses.

That whole Indiana-Pitt game tomorrow at Madison Square Garden is going to be a battle between rebuilding teams. The Hoosiers are coached by the still hateable Tom Crean.

Catch a podcast about the game between Galen of CrimsonCast.com and myself. I explain to Galen exactly why and how long Pitt’s hatred for Crean goes back. It was a good hire for the Hoosiers, but I still hate that guy.

Here’s a direct link to the audio file.

Of all the things that should be rightly questioned and second-guessed over the Cinci-Pitt game, the whole clock management before Lewis scored the TD with 1:36 left is the silliest. The argument being that Pitt scored too fast and that if Pitt had somehow bled the clock better, Cinci would have been out of timeouts and not able to score in time — or at least it would have been harder.

I always hate these things in general because it not only presumes that the team that scored too quickly was in complete control to dictate exactly everything. To say nothing of believing college players are going to execute everything with absolute perfection that is rarely seen in the NFL.

I see in the comments how Pete Thamel’s argument (But Wannstedt should have drained the clock before scoring and Lewis ran out of bounds with just over two minutes remaining.)was already destroyed by reality.

When Lewis ran out of bounds, the clock kept running (NCAA rule, Matt Millen even made mention of it …

When even a PSU grad like Matt Millen has a better grasp of NCAA clock rules, you should be embarrassed.

Pitt had just completed a 3d and 9 with a 16 yard to Baldwin for 1st and 10 from the 13. 2:44 left and Dion Lewis breaks off an 8 yard run. Lewis then goes right up the middle for 5 more yards and the score. Cinci was left with 1:36 and 2 TOs left.

The idea being that if Pitt managed to only pick up 2 yards and then bled the clock to force Cinci timeouts and then Pitt kicks a FG with far less time left and Cinci with no timeouts left to get a game tying FG or winning score is silly.

Theoretically, I suppose it could happen. Pitt would have 1st and goal from the 2 or 3 with 1:36 left. Cinci wouldn’t use the timeout as the clock would stop briefly for the moving of chains.

Pitt would bleed the clock and take a knee on 1st down. Cinci TO. Knee on second down. Cinci TO. Knee on 3d down, and bleed the clock between plays and Pitt would take a TO just before the play clock expired. Roughly, Pitt would be kicking a FG with somewhere around 15 seconds left.

Worst that happens is Pitt flubs the kick and Cinci has no real time to get down the field and it goes to OT. More likely, get the FG and kick off with 10-12 seconds left.

First problem, Pitt’s special teams were hideous and counting on the special teams not to give Cinci a short field with any time left on the clock contradicts all that came before that point.

Odds are that Pitt would end up kicking out of bounds trying to avoid letting Gilyard near the ball again. I believe everyone saw that the week before with WVU.

So Cinci would start at the 40 with no time moved. They would have to get to about the 28 to allow a 45 yard attempt — Cinci kicker Jake Roger’s longest of this season (3-5 from 40-49 yards in 09). So they would need to get 22 yards with enough time to spike the ball and kick a game-tying FG.

The way Cinci was playing at the end of the 4th quarter that seems rather plausible. Plus, again, given how Pitt was playing at that point does anyone truly think Pitt could have executed as flawlessly as this scenario demanded?

I love stats and numbers. But, it is still sport and those immeasurables of momentum and confidence were all with Cinci. Pitt was trying to hang on and snatch back a victory they had let slip away. That rarely happens, and usually only with a freak bounce.

Sunday was  day of making up for not just going to the game on Saturday, but not leaving until hours later than normal… And proceeding to crash less than an hour after getting home.

What can I say at this point? A highly disappointing loss. Second straight. A total of 4 points. Two losses in two straight weeks and it is third place in the Big East.

Special teams cost Pitt for a second week in a row. Three straight games with huge gaffes in special teams. That goes beyond being an aberration. I do not think it is any doubt that the Gilyard runback for a TD at the end of the first half was a huge blow that changed things.

Going from being a rout in the first half with Cinci seemingly imploding and unable to cope, to being in the game with 30 minutes left. The Cinci defense made adjustments to force two straight 3-and-outs to start the second half and give the Bearcats time to find their offense. Four TDs in the final 24 minutes.

I mean, we all knew Cinci would put up points, but there was no excuse for the defense absolutely folding. They couldn’t claim to be tired. Even with Pitt’s poor start to the 3d quarter, Pitt held the ball for 10:32 minutes in that quarter and at that point had a ridiculous 30:13 to 14:47 advantage

You look at all the numbers and aside from Pitt dominating on time of possession as expected, the totals looks as close as expected in a 1-point game. Total yards was 371-369 with Cinci doing almost all of it in the air and Pitt having more balance but obviously tilted to the running game.

It simply came down to special teams, little things in the coaching, and it has to be said — Cinci wanted it more.

They were the ones on the road. They were the team that passes, playing in cold, windy and slick conditions. They were the ones dealing with the pressure of a perfect season. They were the ones facing the distractions of a coach most likely bailing for Notre Dame. They finished and Pitt didn’t.

The River City Rivalry might actually take on full-fledged meaning after today. Especially when you factor in how good the Cinci basketball team is looking.  That, however, is something for another day. This is about beating the Bearcats today.

Hopefully the open thread will be light because so many people are at the game. Those of you stuck outside of the ‘Burgh can carry the load.

I’ll be tweeting during the game as usual.

I’m sure there has been lots of arguing, angsting and general discontent between bowls, schools and conferences. But it sure seems that this yar it is a lot more public.

The Big 12 is trying to help Mizzou which has finished 8-4. Apparently the Tigers don’t have the best reputation for traveling in the conference (gee, that seems familiar). So that means the Tigers appear poised to fall to the Texas Bowl and being skipped by the Independence and Insight Bowls for 6-6 Texas A&M and Iowa State.

“This isn’t over,” Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe said Wednesday afternoon in a telephone interview with The Kansas City Star.

“I know (Missouri athletic director) Mike Alden and the Missouri folks have made a tremendous case to all the bowls they might be selected to,” Beebe said. “I don’t know that Missouri could do a better job than they are doing.”

And, Beebe added, he shares the concern of MU officials that the Tigers might be passed over for the Insight Bowl bid by a 6-6 Iowa State team.

“I am concerned about a bowl that would select a team that has two less wins and was beaten by that team head to head.”

Unfortunately, that is just the scenario Missouri officials have come to fear.

Of course, that is nothing compared to the boiled over frustration between the Gator Bowl and the ACC. We all know that this is the last year for the Gator Bowl and the Big East and ACC. The Gator has been stymied in multiple years at landing Notre Dame. Now they want FSU for Bowden’s last game. This in no small part because FSU went around the ACC offices and contacted the Gator directly about it. The ACC would rather send FSU to Orlando for the Champs Bowl.

Here’s where it gets problematic. Like most conferences the ACC has the pecking order where bowls can’t take a team that is more than 2 wins better than a higher team in the conference records. The Gator gets 3d pick. The Orange Bowl obviously takes the winner of the ACC Championship. The Chik-Fil-A picks next and likely will take Virginia Tech (6-2). So, for the Gator to take FSU (4-4), it would appear that they need GT (7-1) to beat Clemson (6-2) to be able to snag FSU. Otherwise GT would have to be taken.

Except that the Gator Bowl claims they have a different contract that allows them more flexibility to skip taking the loser of the ACC Championship. And since the Gator doesn’t have to play nice any longer they are threatening legal action.

“We have sat back so many times and taken it from the ACC,” [Gator Bowl executive director Rick] Catlett said, ” To have [ACC Commissioner John Swofford] trying to go around a contract is unacceptable.”

Of course, Swofford has to answer to the rest of the ACC and considering how many times he’s bent over in so many positions to take it from FSU for football, the rest of the members are probably not going to let him waive the rules to accommodate the Bowden farewell (and give FSU more money and exposure) at other members’ expenses.

Not sure who I want to fail more. The ACC of course, raided the Big East in no small part to benefit FSU. The ACC commish is a duplicitous dick so seeing him and his schools screwed once more would be nice.

On the other hand, the Gator Bowl people suck. They have acted like being associated with the Big East is a chore from the beginning, and made no secret that they would have screwed the conference this year to take a 7-5 ND team — if the Irish had won 1 of their final 2 games. They seem determined to take WVU regardless of tomorrow’s games. And Pitt could very well end up going to Birmingham.

Add in the sense of entitlement from FSU and Bowden, and it almost tips things in favor of the ACC.

I don’t know. I guess I’m hoping that it ends up in a lawsuit and costs both some extra money, time, and bad publicity.

Free t-shirt time.

After an accidental week off for the Brawl, it’s the regular season finale. This has been fun. I’ll have to look into doing something like this for next year.

Reminder, only size Large remains.

Predict the final score of the Cinci- Pitt game and get a free “Baldwin for Heisman” t-shirt. Courtesy of PittsburghSteelRocks.com.

There is a variance of +/- 3 points from the actual score if no one hits the exact numbers.