Okay, it’s a likely damp, cool October night. Both teams below .500. Everyone is distracted by conference realignment. Or is it perhaps that we’d rather watch that spectacle than look too closely at the struggles of our own team?

UConn has a mess of an O-line. They have trouble protecting the QB. It all seems very familiar.

We will see how much UConn can or will blitz Pitt’s O-line. Haven’t heard anything in the hours leading to game time regarding Lucas Nix’s status. I’m assuming he will miss his third straight game. Hopefully here will be some better protection, and maybe even some average QB play. That or just give the ball to Ray Graham — a lot.

Hopefully Todd Thomas can return to the linebacker rotation.

In absurdity news, the Student Affairs Council (or something not affiliated with the athletic department) is distributing towels to wave during the game. Not blue. Not yellow. Lime Green. Yes, lime green. Apparently this is about depression awareness, and they are characterizing the green as a combination of Pitt colors. Yes, jokes about depression and Pitt football kind of write themselves. And I get a bit depressed just writing about this.

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I’m never going to actually talk about the football game tonight until the liveblog, am I?

In case you hadn’t heard, the move of WVU to the Big 12 — is no longer necessarily a question of when, but maybe not.

Not long after West Virginia University began to slowly spread word of its agreement to join the Big 12 Conference on Tuesday, people began to make calls to say the deal was on hold.

And now, as one WVU official said Wednesday morning, “Who knows?”

WVU learned Tuesday evening the expected announcement to join the Big 12 was being delayed and that Louisville, which would be one of five football schools the Mountaineers would leave behind in the depleted Big East Conference, began to exert pressure on the Big 12 to consider the Cardinals instead of WVU.

The Mountaineers may now have to wait until the Big 12 board meets again Monday to perhaps decide whether the conference will accept WVU or Louisville.

This is absolutely, bat shit crazy. And we also have our first sighting of possible political interference.

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