News Archive on Pittsburgh University

How will the Pitt Panthers rebound from devastation?

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

The story line of todays Car Care Meineke Bowl  is how the Pitt Panthers will rebound with one of the their most devastating defeats in the history of their program. Pit is coming off a loss to Cincinnati in the Big East Championship game. Pitt had a 21 point lead and a 14 point fourth quarter lead before eventually losing 45-44 in front of their home crowd..Too add insult to injury, Pitt’s holder botched the extra point that would of had the game into overtime. Instead of playing a BCS game, the Sugar Bowl, Pitt finds themselves in Charlotte today facing North Carolina. What a difference a extra point can make.

How will Dave Wannstedt have his Pitt Panthers motivated in today's Car Care Meineke Bowl?

How will Dave Wannstedt have his Pitt Panthers motivated in today's Car Care Meineke Bowl?

Pitt is (9-3) and 17th ranked. They are lead by their sensational freshman running back Dion Lewis. Lewis is the Big East Offensive Player Of The Year. He will be going up against North Carolina’s 6th nationally ranked defense and 9th against the run. He will be a key factor in taking the pressure off their  senior quarterback Bill Stull. Stull  and his fellow seniors are more than ready to answer the question from that last loss and wants to go out a winner as a Pitt Panther. I also want to see how Pitt’s coach Dave Wannstedt will motivate his team after that devastating loss. He has something to prove in this Bowl game.

I think Pitt will come up big in front of the Carolina home crowd and show that they have the character to rebound from the Big East Championship loss. They have too much talent and pride to go out losers this year. This time rebounding will occur in football and not basketball.

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Posted in Cincinnati University, North Carolina University, Pittsburgh University, college football | No Comments »

College Bowl Game Predictions

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

BSCThe college bowl schedule kicks off today with two opening games on the schedule as Wyoming meets Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl and Central Florida hooks up with Rutgers in the St. Petersburg Bowl.   College football fans will be treated to 34 games over 20 days culminating with Alabama and Texas deciding this year’s national champions.

This year’s matchups pair what appear to be some with three teams favored by double-digit spreads and twelve team favored by a touchdown or more.  While Vegas is seeing a lot of mismatches, there appears to be some great upsets brewing.   I am projecting right now seven underdogs achieving outright victories and sixteen underdogs covering the spread.

My biggest underdog covers include SMU, Boston College, Northwestern, East Carolina and Boise State.  My biggest underdog outright victories are Texas A&M and Stanford.

Bowl Matchup Spread Winner Cover
New Mexico Bowl Wyoming vs. Fresno State Fresno State by 11 Fresno State Fresno State
St. Petersburg Bowl Central Florida vs. Rutgers EVEN Central Florida Central Florida
New Orleans Bowl Middle Tenn St vs.Southern Miss Southern Miss by 4 Southern Miss Middle Tenn St
Las Vegas Bowl BYU vs. Oregon State Oregon State by 3 BYU BYU
Poinsettia Bowl Utah vs. California EVEN Utah Utah
Hawaii Bowl SMU vs. Nevada Nevada by 15 Nevada SMU
Little Caesars Bowl Ohio vs. Marshall Ohio by 3 Ohio Ohio
Meineke Care Bowl North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh Pittsburgh by 3 Pitt North Carolina
Emerald Bowl Boston College vs. USC USC by 9 USC BC
Music City Bowl Kentucky vs. Clemson Clemson by 7½ Clemson Clemson
Independence Bowl Texas A&M vs. Georgia Georgia by 7 Texas A&M Texas A&M
Eagle Bank Bowl UCLA vs. Temple EVEN Temple Temple
Champs Sports Bowl Wisconsin vs. Miami Miami by 3 Miami Miami
Humanitarian Bowl Bowling Green vs. Idaho Bowling Green by 2 Bowling Green Bowling Green
Holiday Bowl Nebraska vs. Arizona Arizona by 1½ Nebraska Nebraska
Armed Forces Bowl Air Force vs. Houston Houston by 4½ Air Force Air Force
Sun Bowl Stanford vs. Oklahoma Oklahoma by 8 Stanford Stanford
Texas Bowl Navy vs. Missouri EVEN Navy Navy
Insight Bowl Iowa State vs. Minnesota Minnesota by 3 Minnesota Minnesota
Chick Fil-A Bowl Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech Virginia Tech by 4½ Virginia Tech Tennessee
Outback Bowl Northwestern vs. Auburn Auburn by 7½ Auburn Northwestern
Capital One Bowl LSU vs. Penn St. Penn St. by 3 Penn State Penn State
Gator Bowl Florida State vs. West Virginia West Virginia by 3 West Virginia West Virginia
Rose Bowl Ohio State vs. Oregon Oregon by 3½ Oregon Oregon
Sugar Bowl Cincinnati vs. Florida Florida by 11 Florida Florida
International Bowl Northern Illinois vs. South Florida South Florida by 7 South Florida South Florida
Papa John’s Bowl Connecticut vs. South Carolina South Carolina by 4½ Connecticut Connecticut
Cotton Bowl Mississippi vs. Oklahoma State Mississippi by 3 Oklahoma State Oklahoma State
Liberty Bowl Arkansas vs. East Carolina Arkansas by 8 Arkansas East Carolina
Alamo Bowl Michigan State vs. Texas Tech Texas Tech by 8 Texas Tech Texas Tech
Fiesta Bowl Boise State vs. TCU TCU by 7 TCU Boise State
Orange Bowl Iowa vs. Georgia Tech Georgia Tech by 4 Georgia Tech Iowa
Gmac Bowl Troy vs. Central Michigan Central Michigan by 3 Central Michigan Central Michigan
BCS Championship Texas vs. Alabama Alabama by 5 Alabama Alabama

Looking at conference performance, here’s how I see it playing out:

Bowl Matchup
Atlantic Coast 4-3
Big East 4-2
Big Ten 2-4
Big 12 4-4
C-USA 2-4
Mountain West 4-1
Pac-10 3-4
Southeastern 4-6
Western Athletic 2-2

The SEC might be the power conference, but they got some unfavorable matchup.  I think the Big 12 and Big East are going to surprise some opponents.  The Mountain West is going to do some damage and really stoke the argument that they deserve an automatic BCS invite.

As for the National Championship game, I am seeing a major blowout.  Given Texas’ performance against ranked opponents and closing out its season on some very poor play, this just seems like a mismatch of grand proportion.  TCU and Cincinnati were much more deserving of a spot in the Championship Game and Alabama is going to apply a major smackdown that will likely drop Colt McCoy’s NFL stock drop tremendously when he loses the game single-handedly.

Overall, this bowl season looks to be exciting.  We have a lot of underdogs with solid shots at upsets which should make the next 20 days enjoyable for all to watch.

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Big Ten Conference Expanding, Who Will It Be?

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
Big Ten Conference Looking To Expand

Big Ten Conference Looking To Expand

Officials from the Big Ten, as reported by ESPN, announced that a committee has been formed to explore the addition of a twelfth team to join the conference. The committee will explore options over a 12-18 month period.  The Big Ten last expanded in 1989 when it added Penn State to the conference.  Exploratory conversations were had with Notre Dame in 1999, but their inclusion never transpired.

The call for expansion comes on the heels of the recently completed football season.  Each season, the Big Ten concludes two weeks prior to all other conference championship games.  The early season ending hurts the Big Ten visibility with recruits and can often leave the conference irrelevant when they are on hiatus.  More importantly, the Big Ten loses out on big broadcasting rights and sponsorship deals given their inability to hold a conference championship.

The question that is bouncing around is who is on the list of consideration and why?

Notre Dame

The obvious first candidate for consideration.  Everyone wants Notre Dame to join their conference.  The are a great addition due both to athletic program quality and educational prowess.   The Irish have traditionally been noted to get top recruiting classes, but the recruits are not translating into wins on the field.   Joining the Big Then would create an immediate impact in getting real blue chippers to come to South Bend.  By joining the Big East for all other sports, the Irish have seen improvements across the board in performance and success.  Given the lucrative TV contract that Notre Dame can still command, its unlikely that we’ll see Notre Dame join and give up that revenue.  They gotta cut those checks to Charlie Weis for quite a few more years.

Pittsburgh

Pitt seems like the most practical choice.  Not really one of the “Big East” notables, Pitt has flown under the radar for years in the conference despite its consistent success in basketball and football.  From a recruiting standpoint, the are right in the mix with Big Ten teams given their proximity.  More importantly, they have an instant rivalry in Penn State upon their joining the league.

Boise State

The athletic program at Boise State has probably displayed the most growth of any over the past decade.  The school puts it football, basketball and wrestling teams into the conversation every year.  With no true rivals out in Idaho, joining the Big Ten would reward this school for its progress and success across the board.  They are the feel good story of the NCAA.  And think about the fan interest it would generate on the West Coast for the Big Ten to enter the Great Northwest.  The Rose Bowl would become a much bigger bowl game draw.

Syracuse

The once great football power is limping on its way to death.  Since the departure of Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech, the football squad has suffered from an inability to generate recruits due to the loss of its biggest rivalry matchups.  Football has historical importance to this school and becoming relevant again would happen with a jump to the Big Ten.  For the Big Ten, they get a premier basketball squad that can help make their basketball conference relevant again.  Good payoffs for both sides.

Nebraska

The Cornhuskers should be desperate to get out of the Big 12.  Since joining, they have become irrelevant in every sports and lost their annual rivalry game with Oklahoma due to the splitting of the conference into North-South.  A jump out the Big 12 would give Nebraska new life.  For football, they become the talk of the town and recruiting would go skyward.   For basketball, they are immediately playing their way into the NCAA tourney every year, both women and men.  Volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling all fit in nicely with the Big 10 as well.  You split the conference East and West with the dividing line at the Indiana border.  And when they bolt, TCU finally gets its invite to the Big 12.

If I was a betting man, I’d like my money on Nebraska.  Second choice goes to Pitt.  Notre Dame is not going to join because they want the football TV cash.  Syracuse will show its allegiance to the conference it helped form despite the devastation to its once proud football program.  Boise State, well, they are used to not being the belle at ball.  The expansion is definitely going to happen.  There is big money to be made and the Big Ten is ready to put tradition behind for the cash.

Biggest problem in front of the committee is not what team to chose, it is is what to call the conference.  The Big 12 is already trademarked and calling yourself the Big Ten when you have twelve team makes no sense.   Hope it doesn’t take them another 12-18 months to figure that one out.

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Posted in Boise State University, Boise State University, College Basketball, Illinois University, Illinois University, Indiana University, Indiana University, Iowa University, Iowa University, Michigan State University, Michigan State University, Michigan University, Michigan University, Minnesota University, Minnesota University, Nebraska University, Nebraska University, Northwestern University, Northwestern University, Notre Dame University, Notre Dame University, Ohio State University, Ohio State University, Penn State University, Penn State University, Pittsburgh University, Pittsburgh University, Purdue University, Purdue University, Syracuse University, Syracuse University, Wisconsin University, Wisconsin University, college football | 4 Comments »

Irish to Irish

Friday, December 11th, 2009

Notre Dame hired a new coach this week and his name is Brian Kelly. I think that they hired the right guy in their hopes of bringing a winning tradition back to the school. Kelly lead Cincinnati to a perfect 12-0 record this season and a impressive 34-6 over the last three years. Cincinnati is headed to the Sugar bowl against Florida. While I agree that he is the right man for the job, I am not happy that he will not be coaching his team in the game. This is his decision and whether it is not a sound moral decision, it does not take away from the fact that he is a solid coach that has what  it takes to turn around things in South Bend.

Will Brian Kelly bring back winning to the Irish?

Will Brian Kelly bring back winning to the Irish?

Kelly will inspire passion and purpose from his players and will get the most from them when the game is on the line. Cincinnati pulled out close victories against the likes of Connecticut 2, West Virginia 3, and the last minute victory by 1 over Pittsburgh to give them the Big East Championship and a perfect regular season. In contrast, Notre Dame lost a bunch of close games under Charlie Weis. They were defeated by 4 by Michigan, 7 by USC, 2 by Navy, 5 by Pitt and 7 by Stanford. All these games could have been wins.

Kelly will bring that toughness and will to win those close games when the victory is on the line.

Notre Dame is a dismal 16-21 over the last three seasons. Kelly will be looking to improve on that. He does have the cards stacked against him a bit, because Notre Dame loses its QB Jimmy Clausen and his top receiver Golden Tate. He rebuilt Cincinnati. I think he will do the same for the Irish and restore pride and winning back to the school with the golden dome.

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Posted in Cincinnati University, Connecticut University, Florida University, Michigan University, Notre Dame University, Pittsburgh University, Southern Cal University, Stanford University, West Virginia University, college football | No Comments »

Cincinnati Pulls Off Thriller, National Championship Hopes Still Alive

Saturday, December 5th, 2009
Mardy Gilyard Speaks Cincinnati Comeback

Mardy Gilyard Speaks Cincinnati Comeback

The National Championship hopes of Cincinnati were almost dashed by an upstart Pitt defense, pulling off a huge comeback victory at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA.  With its 45-44 victory, Cincinnati earned an automatic bid to a BCS bowl game and must await the results of the Big 12 Championship game between Texas and Nebraska.   A Texas loss will likely lead to Cincinnati earning an invite to the Rose Bowl and a shot at the national championship.

Flustered by the Pitt defense, the high-powered Cincinnati offense failed to fire as it had all season leading up to the Big East championship game, often looking unprepared and out of sync.  Entering the game, Cincinnati led the NCAA in least turnovers, having only 2 fumbles lost and 5 interceptions for the entire season.  Heisman Trophy candidate Tony Pike committed three interceptions that hamstrung his team and led to a sideline verbal altercation with head coach Brian Kelly.

Pitt initiated its game plan to perfection in the first half, feeding the ball to its star running back Dion Lewis 12 times on the opening drive as Pittsburgh got on the board first at 7-0.   Cincinnati responded quickly on the next drive with a quick touchdown drive, highlighted  by 40 yard run by Isaiah Pead, to tie the score at 7-7.

Riding the legs of Lewis, Pitt fed the ball over and over again to their offensive stud, driving them down the field before a 22 yard TD pass from Bill Stull to Jonathan Baldwin to open the second quarter.  Cincinnati once again moved quickly down the field, but was halted by a terrific goal line stand by Pitt, settling for a field goal to bring the score to 14-10.

The momentum shifted fast into the direction of Pitt, as Stull completed a 23-yard pass to Mike Shanahan, followed by a 40 yard touchdown strike to Baldwin that gave Pitt a 21-10 lead.  Cincinnati went to the air to close the gap, but Pike was intercepted on a sideline thrown by Dom Decicco.  Pitt seized the opportunity feeding the ball once again to Lewis and scoring a field goal to extend their lead to 24-10.  On the ensuing drive, the Pittsburgh defense held serve again.  Cincinnati punter Jake Rogers then mishandled the punt snap and Pittburgh took over on downs at the Cincinnati 5.  Pittsburgh quickly capitalized with a 3 yard plunge by QB Stull to extend the lead to 31-10.

Looking down-and-out, Cincinnati needed a big play to shift the momentum.  All-American WR Mardy Gilyard responded by returning the kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to close the gap to 31-17.  The Cincinnati defense then came up big, getting a stop deep in Pitt territory with time running out.  A poor Pitt punt, combined with a 15-yard personal foul gave Cincinnati the ball on the Pitt 35.  QB Tony Pike then telegraphed a rollout pass that was intercepted by Elijiah Field.  On the very next play, Pitt turned the ball back over when Stull was intercepted by Cincinnati’s Aaron Webster as the first half came to an end.

Cincinnati got on the board first in the second half, with Tony Pike engineering another scoring drive which was highlighted by a 68-yard catch and run by Gilyard to bring the score to 31-24.  Pitt coach Dave Wannestedt kept with his conservative approach, grinding it out on the ground, but not with the same success as in first half, as Cincy got the ball back again after holding Lewis in check.

Following a great 50-yard punt out-of-bounds by Pitt’s Dan Hutchins, Cincy went back on offense with a quick attack mentality.  After a 7 yard rush by Pead and 16 yard catch by Armon Binns, Pike made an ill-advised heave down field that was intercepted by Pitt’s Jarred Holley at the Pitt 17.  As Pike came of the field, heated words were exchanged between Pike and Coach Brian Kelly.  Kelly called for backup QB Zach Collaros to begin warming up on the sidelines, signaling an end to Tony Pike’s day at the helm.

As the game moved into 4th quarter, fireworks exploded as the teams went back and forth with scoring drives.  Cincinnati sent Tony Pike back on the field to finish what he started and Coach Brian Kelly was not to be disappointed in his decision.   Pitt struck first with a 15-yard touchdown run by Lewis to make the score 38-24 with 12:26 to go.  Cincy’s Gilyard once again stood up and delivered a 49 yard kick return to setup a D.J. Wood touchdown reception, but Cincy kicker Jake Rogers nailed the upright, missing the extra point to leave the score at 38-30.

Pitt followed with a 3-and-out, giving Pike another chance to drive his team down the field and he delivered, directing a 7 play, 68 yard drive to close the gap to 38-36.  Pike then hooked up with Gilyard for a two-point conversion reception to tie the score at 38-38 with 5:46 left in the game.

The ball was placed back into Dion Lewis’ hands, as Pitt fed their workhorse all the way down the field for a final 5-yard touchdown run by Lewis.  The star running back ended the day with 47 carries for 195 yards, as well as 5 catches for 34 yards.  Unfortunately for Pitt, bad luck turned their way, as they mishandled the extra point snap, leaving the door open for a comeback with the lead at 44-38 with 1:36 to play.

Cue Tony Pike…Superstar.   Pike put his struggles behind him, completing four straight passes for 70 yards, culminating in the game winning touchdown to Armon Binns with 0:33 left on the clock.  The Cincy defense then did its job, shutting down the Pitt passing game for the victory.

Despite all the media attention shone on Brian Kelly this week and the rumors he is leaving Cincinnati to take the head coaching job at Notre Dame, Cincinnati was able to pull it all together in the 4th quarter to keep its championship hopes alive.  And Tony Pike made sure that references to another Tony famous for choking in big games…Romo…would not be levied upon him by delivering when it counted in the end.

Given the performance put on today by the Cincinnati Bearcats, if they are not in the national championship game, a playoff system needs to be instituted to award such great play.

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Posted in Cincinnati University, Pittsburgh University, college football | No Comments »