This is utterly awful. Not even Sarah Palin could put enough lipstick on Big East football and spin this performance to date.


Ughhh............

South Florida's big win last night over Kansas will earn back some respect for the Big East.
And West Virginia will bounce back.
And a third team will probably emerge as a successful "surprise" team, though after Thursday night, I doubt it will be Rutgers.

Well sure, SOMEBODY has to finish third in the conference...

Nope, sorry. You're stuck with 'em. South Florida and Connecticut could be your standard bearers. Two programs with years of tradition. LOL It's early, I'm sure WVU will be good this year, just maybe not as good as everyone thought. Plenty of games to be played by everyone. And maybe Syracuse will rise up and... oh, ummmm... on second thought...

Make it stop!

LOL That was spit beverage on the screen funny! After all the boasting the past couple of years, it's nice to see things return to their natural order.

Well, your conference did better this week. Though, it looks like the bloom is off the rose at Rutgers. Losing to Navy? Who do they they they are, Notre Dame?

And just maybe RichRod was more important to WVU than people thought. All that "talent" isn't producing much. Of course, this could also just be a team adjusting to a new coach, and it will sort itself out.

Let's at least be honest. I was WRONG about Billy Golly GEE Stewart. He is a cross between Gomer Pyle and Barny Fife. Now all WVU needs is the rest of Mayberry on the sidelines.

The best part of CU-WVU game was Billy Ive been at 10 universities in the past 12 years Stewart was when it was a 14-14 game in the 4th Quarter and WVU had the ball around 10 minutes left in the game. WVU calls a time out and is huddled around the OC . What's Billy Stewart doing? He is 20 yards away standing by himself looking up at the stars in the sky ( UFO hunting?) with crossed arms looking like he is on another planet.

Of course, WVU not calling a timeout after 3 straight RUNNING PLAYS while having the ball in CU territory was oustanding. We had 2 timeouts and finally called one with 4 seconds left. Our FG has made a 53 yard FG before and only needed 10 yards to get in legitimate FG range, but Gomer Pyle ran the ball 3 straight times without wanting to call a timeout and wasted one minute on 3 damn running plays.



If Marshall beats WVU, my TV is being thrown out my skyrise. It's getting to that point.

TAMPA, Fla.- Pitt continued its rebound from their opening-season loss with a 26-21 road victory against #10 USF at Raymond James Stadium last night. Pitt sophomore sensation RB LeSean McCoy rushed for 142 yards and 2 TDs on 28 carries and junior QB Bill Stull completed 16 of 27 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown.

Both teams had some serious miscues on special teams. USF had a 42-yard field goal blocked in the first half. On the next FG attempt, backup QB Grant Gregory went for the fake, but failed to convert the 4th down. In the first quarter, USF's Quenton Washington blocked a punt by Pitt P Dave Brytus. Charlton Sinclair picked up the ball and ran it 27 yards to give USF an early 7-0 lead.

That would be USF's only score in the first half. Pitt's defense held USF to just 77 yards through the first two quarters. Pitt returned the favor on its next drive when Stull hit receiver Jonathan Baldwin with a 52 yard-strike.

Pitt extended its lead to 14-7 after McCoy scored on a 6-yard run. K Conor Lee nailed a 35-yard field goal near the end of the half to give Pitt a 17-7 lead.

USF QB Matt Grothe scored on a 1-yd run in the third quarter to cut USF's deficit to 17-14. Lee extended Pitt's lead with a 31-yard field goal at 9:43 in the 4th quarter. Grothe responded with another touchdown, a 22-yard strike to Jessie Hester at 6:05 in the 4th, pushing USF ahead by one. McCoy capped the scoring with a 3-yard TD run set up by his 19-yard gain in the previous play. Pitt attempted a 2-point conversion, but failed when Stull got stuffed at the line, leaving the score at 26-21.

The win puts Pitt atop the Big East standings at 2-0 in the conference and 4-1 overall. USF falls to 5-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference. Pitt doesn't play until October 18, when they head to Annapolis, MD to face off against Navy. USF next hosts Syracuse on October 18.

Now I can add my opinions, which I didn't want to do in the story. I watched part of the game and McCoy did look very good. He's had two exceptional games in a row. You can argue that USF's defense lost some of its teeth without George Selvie on the line, but that shouldn't take away from McCoy's night. If Pitt can keep its running game going with McCoy and LaRod Stephens-Howling taking pressure off Bill Stull, I don't see why Pitt can't make it to a bowl game this year.

Defensively, Pitt stepped up in a big way. There were some concerns after last week's victory at Syracuse, but the defense dispelled some of the fears. They held USF to 245 total yards; 77 in the first half. They forced Grothe to throw an interception; Grothe hadn't thrown a pick in his past 111 attempts. Addtionally, Grothe was sacked four times.

Dave Wannastedt is on the hot seat. But for the past four weeks, he's done his best to lower the thermostat and find ways for Pitt to win these crucial games. I like Wannastedt much better than his predecessor (Walt Harris... ) and I want him to succeed. If he can take the team to bowl game, I think he'll be safe for another year.

I was pleasantly surprised by my Panthers on Thursday night. The defense is certainly stepping up, and Wannstedt and Matt Cavanaugh (Offensive Coord) are finally starting to mix it up in the play-calling to take advantage of the talent they have. You are right in that Wannstedt is on the hot seat, as is Cavanaugh, but only in the eyes of the fans and media. The administration loves them because of the "success" he has had with recruiting and because no big donors have put any real pressure on them to get rid of the two. Of course, the recruiting "success" needs to pay off on the field, and it needs to pay off this year. After the first game against BG, I was among the many Pitt fans who were actually remembering the Walt Harris era fondly....and almost ready to give up on Wanny and Cavvy. They seem to have righted the ship. But with this program, you just never really know from week to week what to expect.

I am going to the away games at both Navy and Notre Dame and am praying that we'll bring home victories in both!

I would rank the BE like this:

1) Pitt and USF

3) UCONN and Cincy

5) WVU and Louisville

7) Rutgers

8) Cuse

I think this is the first time I have said this on Outsports, but nice win by WVU last night. Winning the BE isn't looking that crazy any more.

That was a nice win, but I think Pitt is in the driver's seat. Let's see what happens when they meet in November.

I expected big things out of USF.

So far the only thing they've done to impress me is beat Kansas at home.

So, what did we learn today, boys and girls? Don't rank sPitt. When you do, they lose! On second thought... let's keep ranking them until after they lose their last game! Apparently it's the kiss of death for them. Mark May has to be just beside himself... I hope Lou gets a few good zingers in.

Pitt will never be good as long as their coach remains on the sidelines.

So, you think he should move up to the pressbox like JoePa? Oh wait, you meant... I wonder if we can start a new website. www.Re-HireFogeFazio.com

I agree. Wannstedt has to go. His comments after the game, that he expected Rutgers to run all day long, were ludicrous. The local media all week long was talking about how Rutgers is reyling more and more on the pass, since Ray Rice is gone, and that's where their talent is. Even if they DID expect the run initially, do you think they would have gotten a clue after the first two 70-yard TD passes?

I have not been a fan of Wanny since the day his hiring was announced. There is no way he will this program to the Top 10. No way. Perhaps the athletic administration will actually see that this season.

Having said all this, I am a sucker and am heading to South Bend to cheer on my Panthers. At least the players are worth watching.