Pittsburgh athletic director Steve Pederson has signed a five-year
contract extension that will keep him at the school through 2018.
Everybody
that knows me recognizes that I am not a Steve Pederson fan. I have
been one of his biggest critics throughout his Pitt tenure and I was
critical of him at his time in Nebraska. I am not going to go that far
deep into the Nebraska fiasco but all I have to say is that anybody down
in big red country will tell you that he is not a beloved figure for
his alma mater. He was fired after 5 disastrous years and Pitt literally
hired him back the next day. (He was also the AD at Pitt from
1998-2002).
With the news of his recent contract extension, there
has been a mixture of reactions from alumni and fans about their
feelings towards Pederson. I am going to create a pros and cons list of
Pedersons actions while at Pitt and I want the readers of the article to
tell me how they feel about him.
360 Sports Network's Panther Chronicler Alex Dellaverson had the pleasure of speaking with Bryan Brunsell, an avid supporter of University of Pittsburgh athletics and one of the major influence in the "Bring Back the Script" campaign with Pitt athletics. Check out his Facebook and Twitter pages for more information about the Script Pitt campaign. In a Q&A from Panther to Panther, Bryan explains his campaign and why Pitt should return to their former colors. Bryan is a true image of the 360 concept - a passionate and dedicated sports fan who has something important to say - and we are proud to let his voice be heard!
Pittsburgh and Penn State are making their Keystone State fans uneasy. Both teams started the year 0-2, with Pitt losing at home to FCS Youngstown State 31-17 and on the road to conference rival Cincinnati 34-10, Penn State losing to Ohio at home 24-14 and at Virginia 17-16.
Is there any relief in sight for either team? Can a season be salvaged in either Happy Valley or along the Three Rivers?
We asked the 3SN experts. Panther Chronicler Dellav and Nittany Narrator Dot give their insight and opinions as to the future of their respective 2012 seasons.
Really? Like for real? YSU? The more I think about it, the more I realize that us Pitt fans shouldn't be that shocked about what happened Saturday. They are Pitt. They do things like that. Actually, they do it quite often. The loss doesn't mean the season is over, or that they can't win the conference. It just means they aren't really giving us much of a reason to believe in them. In 2008 they lost to Bowling Green and finished 9-4. That was also the year they finished the season with a loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl 0-3. Some people are ready to write off Paul Chryst, but I'm not. Honestly, this team just isnt really good. The defense is pathetic and even though Tino had an "okay" game, he still should not even be playing division 1-A football. Ray Graham playing was a nice surprise, but he obviously isn't near his old self. YSU is a really good FCS team and even before the game I heard that they would be tough from a lot of websites. I'm willing to give Pitt one more chance before I write them off for the season, but It doesn't look good. I also honestly believe if Pitt would've kept Wannstedt, they would have been farther along then they are now. People said it was time for him to go, but he kept the program stable with 8-9 win seasons and bowl games. The program took a step back when Peddy decided to let him "resign" at the end of 2010 season. I think Pitt is going to be rebuilding for a few more years and they shouldn't even be at this point. I can honestly see Pitt having losing seasons for the next 3 years. At least Chryst took the names off the back of the jerseys so the players don't have to have the dishonor of having the fans know who they are and that they play for Pitt. Ugh. This shouldn't even be happening. If the Paul Chryst hire does't pan out, then I only got 1 thing to say: BRING BACK THE STACHE!
Many people don't realize this, but Antonio Bryant was in the Heisman discussion in 2001. Furthermore, people don't realize Bryant was a Fred Belitnikoff award winner as well. He is kind of the "forgotten" man in Pitt football history. That may be because of his brash behavior and his mediocre stint in the NFL but Antonio Bryant was one of the reasons Pitt began to turn the tide in the late 90's. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I realize that the reason Antonio Bryant has been forgotten was because of the future Heisman Hopeful and Fred Belitnikoff award winning Panther. You all know who I am talking about... Bottom line, Pitt fans MUST NOT forget what Antonio Bryant did for Pitt and be grateful for his talents in Oakland.
Do I really even need to say why he is on this list? A Pitt Panther made the cover of an EA Sports title. For me, I will always be proud of that. On the field, Larry Fitzgerald was the best player in college football. He finished second in the Heisman voting to Jason White, but Fitz should have won that trophy. Wide Receivers, let alone sophomores, get no love in the Heisman voting. If Pitt finished better than 8-5 and if Larry Fitzgerald was a senior, I bet my bottom dollar that Larry would have brought home the Heisman to the Pitt community for the first time since Tony Dorsett. I am not going to list his statistics or his awards that he won while he was a Panther because nobody needs to be reminded. Instead I am going to salute Larry Legend for bringing life into the Panther program again. Thanks bro, means a lot.
Ever since the 360 Community Sports days, I have written a lot about Pitt Panther athletics. I have basically said everything that I felt like saying, whether it be Dave "the stache" Wannstedt or Steve "Quaker Oats" Pederson. So I guess I am just going to do a breakdown on my favorite Pitt football players from the past 12 years. I'll rank them but it's going to be simple and sweet. Not one of my longer posts. It will be broken up into a few separate posts for the sake of "brevity". It is completely random I know, but I feel like talking Pitt and I am not sure what else to talk about. So lets get right into it.
College football is a business. Period. I don't blame schools for switching conferences BUT I still hate to see it happen. I remember when Pitt applied to the ACC, I was so pumped. The thought of a schedule with Miami, Florida State, and Clemson coming to ole Heinz was great. The thought of North Carolina and Duke coming to the Pete was even better. Now that it appears FSU wants out, I'm starting to get the feeling that Pitt is going to go through all this conference realignment stuff all over again... If FSU leaves, expect dominoes to fall. It has been reported that Clemson wants out as well. With the Big 12 and SEC making the bowl agreement last week, it is easy to know that the ACC and Big East will be looking from the outside once again. So if FSU and Clemson leave, then the conference will have one decent football school (Va Tech) and the rest dominated by rich basketball programs.
Sound familiar? Yep, basically Pitt will be back where it was in early September before it applied to the ACC. Pitt should try to get into the Big 12. Before everyone starts calling me delusional, let me just remind everyone that the Big 12 has shown interest in Pitt as early as last year. People will accuse Pitt of being "sleazy". You know what, it would be true. It would be absolutely true, it would be a sin, and it would be a wrong. But guess what? In today's world of the business and power driven college football, you either improve, or die. #TCU
I think it would be wrong if Peyton Manning was on any team besides the Colts. That dude buit Lucas Oil stadium. That being said Jim Irsay and the Colts are in a difficult situation. Do they draft Andrew Luck and part ways with their head horse or could they possibly have both on the roster? I would like to see them both on the roster. People have to realize no matter how good Andrew Luck is (and he is good) he will never be Peyton Manning. That is no knock on him but Peyton Manning is Peyton Manning for goodness sakes! The Colts have the cap room to have both Luck and Manning on the roster but Irsay is not sure if he wants to use up all that cap space on two quarterbacks. Well we all saw what happend to Indy when they didnt have Manning so at this point do they really expect any thing to be different if Manning is not under center for at least the next couple of years? Colts should draft Luck and keep Manning. Period.
Finally after all these years The Pitt football schedule will face a significant increase in quality.Today the ACC announced that the new format will be employed when Pitt and Syracuse join the league (hopefully for the 2013 football season). Pitt will be plugged into the Coastal Division in football, which has Virginia Tech and Maimi in it. There will be no divisions when it comes to basketball because teams will be assigned a "primary partner" that they will play two times during the season. For Pitt, Maryland will be that partner. It will play the rest of the league once a season on a rotating basis. I think its great that Pitt will be paired with two great programs in Miami and Virginia Tech. Pitt has history with both schools so its nice to see these rivalries renewed. I can't wait for this because It will as if we will be brought back to the Walt Harris era of Pitt football!!! Oh well, on second thought....
We have not posted in a while and its because its been a hectic holiday for all of us to say the least. Its been especially hectic for our fantasy football blogger Greg Beshero because his mother was hospitalized before christmas so we ask all our fans and followers to pray for Gregs mom. We are also asking patience from all of you. We will get back to posting and podcasting as soon as things get more settled. But in the mean time I'm going to recap the hire of new Pitt football coach, Paul Chryst.
After one year as coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers, Todd Graham bolts from the Steel City to head west to Arizona State, where he was introduced today as the Sun Devils' next head coach. That makes three coaching changes in the past 12 months for Pitt. So who now will take over as Panthers head coach? Local names like Mike Stoops and Todd Haley sound like great ideas, even former offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti or QB Tino Sunseri's father Sal. Or will it be another no-name, maybe FIU's Mario Cristobal. No matter who it is, the general consensus seems to be that another position needs to be replaced before the head coach: AD Steve Pederson.
Pitt (6-6) will play SMU (6-6) on January, 7th in the Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama. Talk about a real barn burner in the making right? As we all know Pitt played in this bowl last year against Kentucky and Pitt won. This was a game that was over shadowed by the firing of Dave Wannstedt, Michael Haywood, and Pitt's second head coaching search in 2 weeks.
I'm not going to recap the game but I'm going to talk about my thoughts on the potentially last backyard brawl. A while ago I posted an article on why the backyard brawl should not be discontinued. I am having second thoughts now and Its because im wondering if it truly is better for Pitt to have them on schedule every season. So unlike my last blog post, let's take a look at why it would be better for Pitt to end the backyard brawl.
Pitt has this stigma of being West Virginia's little brother. I hate that so much. The sad truth is that Pitt really is the little brother. West Virginia has dominated the series lately and even when Pitt does pull out a victory, its by the skin of their teeth. Pitt loses recruits to WVU because of this stigma and if Pitt did not have this stigma hanging over its head then WVU would not be able to come into Western PA and out-recruit Pitt like they have since the early 90's.
It's obvious that West Virginia fans want Pitt as a rival more than Pitt wants West Virginia. That's not to say that there aren't Pitt fans out there that see the Mountaineers as the main rival - there are plenty that do and the more time goes by without playing Penn State, the more fans get on that bandwagon. But lots of Pitt fans (such as me) would much rather have a rivalry with Penn State. The bottom line is that majority of Pitt fans hate Penn State more than they hate West Virginia. Honestly Pitt fans dont hate WVU they hate the fans. Pitt fans hate the fact that Mountaineer fans bring 20,000 some fans to Heinz field and how they come in, start fights, bully people, and trash the parking lots like filthy pigs. I have such a disdain for WVU fans (I know all fans arent like this) that whenever Pitt beats WVU, I rejoice over the fact that their fans are in complete and utter misery...and that's wrong of me. The only reason I am so invested in the brawl is because of my hate for the WVU fans and I should want to have a rivalry with them because it benefits Pitt.
The perfect rival for Pitt is Penn State not West Virginia. By leaving West Virginia off the schedule that means there would be an open slot for the nittany lions. Heck, I would even take Notre Dame before West Virginia. Just to have a home and home series with Notre Dame is something special. Having a home and home series with West Virginia is not special.
All in all I'm thinking of just getting rid of the headache that is Hoopie University is not such a bad idea after all. If Pitt can get Penn State or Notre Dame to replace WVU then im all for it. Pitt fans will forget about the last 3 straight loses to WVU (but always remember 13-9) if it can get a real school like PSU or Notre Dame to be its rival. Another thing is that Pitt is going to have 3 non-conference games open, but the word inside Pitt administration is that 2 of the 3 games available are going to be filled by teams that seem "winable" aka Youngstown State and Buffalo. Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson has said that he doesn't sense much support from Pitt fans and school officials to keep the brawl alive and he has to do whatever makes "sense" for Pitt, and if it doesnt make sense it doesnt make sense. As much as I dislike Steve Pederson I think he is right. And if I'm agreeing with Steve Pederson then I guess thats saying something.......................
I remember when Dave Wannstedt took over as coach for the Panthers. I remember him arriving with such bravado and such promise of how Pitt was going to win a Big East championship. Ironically enough I believe I am the only one who realizes that Dave Wannstedt actually did win a Big East championship. I know that he didnt advance to the BCS and that Uconn got the bid but he did what he said he was going to do. Dave Wannstedt engraved Pitt's name on the Big East championship trophy and the players got Big East championship rings.
With that being said I'll be the first to say that I was expecting Wanny to win more while he was at Pitt. Who knows maybe he would have advanced to the BCS this year if he was around but obviously we will never know. His first 3 seasons he led Pitt to records 5-7, 6-6, and 5-7 again. Talk about disappointing. The thing is though a coach generally needs 2-3 seasons of rebuilding and recruiting to get players that fit his system. I gave Wanny the benefit of the doubt and so did Steve Pederson which is why he gave him an extension on his contract. The 13-9 game was when Wanny and his program finally turned the corner and that was the last game of his third year. So In a way I kind of erased the previous 3 seasons from my mind and started to judge him and his team the following year.
The following 3 seasons he had made bowl games and had records of 9-4, 10-3, and 7-5 (with a Big East title). That is not bad for a program who had just turned the corner three years ago. But loses to Ohio, and Bowling Green lingered over his résumé. The nail in the coffin for most Pitt fans was the loss to Cincinnati in the Big East Championship game in 2009. It was a game in which the Panthers had complete control and a 21 point lead and found a way to lose.Wannstedt lost most of his fan support that game and thus his tenure on the hot seat started.
2010 was Wannstedt's last year and he finished 7-5. It was also a year in which many players on Wannstedts team had gotten arrested. That did not help him in terms of getting off the hot seat. Reports said that Steve Pederson made up his mind to fire Wannstedt when Pitt got embarrassed at home to West Virginia and lost basically all hope of winning the Big East title out right. Pederson waited till after the final game of the 2010 season to fire Wannstedt. The funny thing is that Pitt won their last game against Cincinnati to clinch a share of the Big East championship. Even though Pitt was co-champions and it took 6 years, Coach Wannstedt was able to live up to his word and win a Big East championship.
Among Wannstedt's accomplishments are the following:
1. 2010 Big East Champions
2. Going 42-31 in six seasons, including a 26-12 mark from 2008-10. That is Pitt's best for a three-season stretch since 1981-83.
3. Top 10 recruiting classes that included Blue Chip prospects
4. Produced NFL players such as: Lesean Mccoy, Darrelle Revis and Jon Baldwin.
5. 3 Bowl trips in his final 3 years as head coach.
6. Led Pitt to a top 10 ranking for the first time since 1982.
7. Led Pitt to a 10 win season for the first time since 1981.
8. Most importantly he brought Pitt nation 13-9.
So all in all Coach Wannstedt was a success for the Pitt football program. And for that I salute coach Wannstedt and his accomplishments at the University of Pittsburgh. Hopefully one day he can come back to Pitt in some fashion. How great would it be that he came back to replace Steve Pederson as Athletic Director? The odds of that happening are slim to none but like I said I leave the Stache with a salute and hope that one day he returns to his alma mater that he loves and adores.
I will be starting a new blog series covering all things Pitt football from now until the end of the season. My series will mostly be about what's happening now in Pitt football. But, I will also be blogging about some controversial topics as well such as; Steve Pederson, Pitt Script etc. I'm sure my Co-blogger James Dotson will see this and want to do a Mount Nittany Chronicle or something so just make sure to check back to this site regularly.
The Backyard Brawl is on life support
I have been a HUGE Pitt fan since my freshman year in high school. Since then I have experienced great moments while rooting for Pitt and I also experienced some REALLY BAD ones as well. My all time favorite memory of Panthers sports is: 13-9
It was December 1st, 2007 and it was the end of my first semester of college. Golly gee was I proud to be a Panther that night. Going into the game I had ZERO faith that Pitt was going to find a way to come out victorious against the 28 point favorite and #1 ranked Mountaineers. I had been to backyard brawls before and the way Mountaineer fans came into Heinz field and harassed adults and children made me sick. Now I know every fan base has their jerks, but the Mountaineers are known around the country for having one of the rowdiest and boorish fan bases in Division I athletics. I am not afraid to say that anyone who dismisses that claim is completely foolish and ignorant. I'M NOT SAYING ALL WVU FANS ARE LIKE THIS but they have a bad national reputation for a reason.
I wonder if these fans cancelled
their trip to New Orleans after
the 13-9 debacle?
The point is the Mountaineers where one win away from the National Title game and to see my Panthers led by THE STACHE come out and beat the Mounties on national tv, on the 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl was by far the greatest Pitt moment of my life.
Dave Wannstedt was mercilessly ridiculed by Mountaineer fans after the 2005 version of the Backyard Brawl for saying in a halftime interview on national tv that all Pitt had to do was run faster to beat West Virginia. Mountaineer fans made crude Youtube videos of Wanny's interview and it was all over the internet. Very clever and mean spirited but I guess Dave Wannstedts team did in fact run faster than WVU on December 1st, 2007.
Today we all have learned the BIG XII has invited WVU into their conference. They are landing in a great situation, so good for them. I am worried though that the Backyard Brawl is going to be discontinued. It sounds as if the ACC is going to have its schools play 9 conference games per season and that leaves only 3 non-conference games for Pitt. Two them will end up being a 1AA games against team such as Youngstown State, and Butler County Community College. So the question becomes: What team will the Panthers end up playing on their open date? Some might say it will alternate between a different opponent each year, but I find that unlikely. Pitt is going to want Notre Dame or maybe even pipe-dream Penn State for that open date. I dont know how everything is going to work out. It sure seems like from all the "sources". From every major media news outlet that the backyard brawl is coming to an end.
Both schools are going to have fun trying to find a new "true" rival. As much as I can't stand the hoopies and their fans, I LOVE when Pitt comes out victorious (which is rare) against them. The feeling of beating the hoopies is second to none and I'm not sure in fact I know that even if Pitt finds a new rival, I will not be able to get that kind of joy back. Kind of sad I know but thats the way it is. Other Pitt fans will say "But Al what about Penn State?" but lets be real here for a moment. There is no way Penn State wants to renew the rivalry with Pitt other than the home and home series 5 years from now. Even if Penn State did renew the rivalry with Pitt full time, It wouldnt be the same because I have some love in my heart for Penn State because I am a student at a local branch campus (ill be at Pitt main next semester so just chill). Does that mean im not a true Pitt fan? Probably BUT I dont care about being a "true" Pitt fan. I care about being a fan of sports in my own way. Bottom Line: both Pitt and WVU need to find a way to keep this rivarly alive for the sake of both schools and for the sake of both fans.
For the few of you who do not understand what 13-9 meant to Pitt fans and students, please watch at least the first 2 minutes of the following video...
Everybody
that knows me recognizes that I am not a Steve Pederson fan. I have
been one of his biggest critics throughout his Pitt tenure and I was
critical of him at his time in Nebraska. I am not going to go that far
deep into the Nebraska fiasco but all I have to say is that anybody down
in big red country will tell you that he is not a beloved figure for
his alma mater. He was fired after 5 disastrous years and Pitt literally
hired him back the next day. (He was also the AD at Pitt from
1998-2002).
