Posts Tagged ‘Pittsburgh’
P.S.R. 1-120: Final Re-Ranking
By Paul Myerberg // Jan 11, 2012
With the season in the books, here’s a look at how the country ranks — using the original rankings as the starting point, with the year’s results as rationale for any movement. The top 25 teams land a one-sentence breakdown. The rest? Not so much. Part of the perks of being one of the best. Think your team is too low? Feel another team deserves more credit, less credit? Let’s hear it below. It’s a delicate ranking process, but with the year completely in the books, this is as good as it’s going to get.
Tags: Alabama, Arkansas, Boise State, Georgia Tech, Iowa, L.S.U., Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Stanford, Texas, U.S.C., West Virginia, Western Kentucky
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Pittsburgh’s Four-Point Plan for the Future
By Paul Myerberg // Dec 16, 2011
Pittsburgh’s four-part plan for solidifying the future of its football program begins with the most painful step, but I suggest that the Panthers adhere to the old adage and tackle the endeavor like a Band-Aid – you know, just rip it right off.
1. Hire a new athletic director. Or, if your glass is half-empty, fire Steve Pederson. A quick rundown of the last 21 months of Pederson’s tenure reveals a baffling array of personnel moves, beginning with the contract extension he handed out to Dave Wannstedt last March. If anyone in Pittsburgh’s recent history rivals Pederson for pure inconsistency – overachieving at times, underachieving at others, rarely in between – it’s likely Wannstedt, though he looks just like the steady hand the program could use at this critical time.
Tags: Dave Wannstedt, Mike Haywood, Paul Rhoads, Pittsburgh, Steve Pederson, Todd Graham
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A Look Back at the One-and-Done Coach
By Paul Myerberg // Dec 15, 2011
With the move official, let’s put Todd Graham’s second one-and-done stay into a historical perspective. Among the current 120-strong group, there are only two other head coaches with one such tenure, let alone two. This list doesn’t include those coaches currently in their first season at a specific program – coaches like Colorado’s Jon Embree, in the first year of a newly-minted contract. No active coach, other than Graham, has had two one-year stints.
Tags: Arkansas State, Dennis Erickson, Hugh Freeze, Lane Kiffin, Mississippi, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Todd Graham, Tulsa, U.S.C.
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Again, The Grass is Greener for Graham
By Paul Myerberg // Dec 15, 2011
Todd Graham’s been to Ada, Mesquite, Midwest City, Allen, Morgantown, Tulsa, Houston, Tulsa and Pittsburgh. Tulsa came twice, first as Steve Kragthorpe’s defensive coordinator and then as his replacement, with those stints sandwiching a one-year stay at Rice, when he led the Owls to their first bowl berth in 45 seasons. The point: Graham’s been around, touching down in several of those one-stoplight towns prevalent in nearly every coach’s history. But it’s the way he’s left town, first at Rice in early 2007 and then Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon, that makes Graham different than the rest. He’s the Runaway Coach.
Tags: Arizona State, Howard Schnellenberger, Pittsburgh, Rice, Todd Graham, Tulsa
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As if Picking the Teams Isn’t Hard Enough
By Paul Myerberg // Nov 2, 2011
I’ve never tried my hand at projecting the entire F.B.S. bowl slate; I have enough trouble with the five B.C.S. games, in my mind. But it’s worth a shot for one week, even if I mess up the various tie-ins, conference affiliations and so forth. Not to mention choose teams that end up staying home during bowl play. Well, here goes. Remember: those numbers signifying which team slots where in its conference are very arbitrary — to a point. The No. 7 team isn’t vaulting the No. 3 team, but No. 6 could be No. 4, No. 5 could be No. 7 and so on. And not every conference can meet its allotted bowl tie-ins; in that case, a substitute team is selected.
Tags: Air Force, Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Auburn, B.Y.U., Baylor, Boise State, California, Cincinnati, Clemson, East Carolina, Florida, Florida International, Florida State, Fresno State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State, L.S.U., Louisiana-Lafayette, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, S.M.U., San Diego State, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Mississippi, Stanford, Syracuse, T.C.U., Temple, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Toledo, Tulsa, U.C.F., U.C.L.A., Utah, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington, West Virginia, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Wyoming
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Like it or Not, This is Your Only Choice
By Paul Myerberg // Oct 7, 2011
In T.C.U., the Big East thought it had found its white knight. The Horned Frogs would have brought prestige to a league desperate for some B.C.S. credibility after its recent national flops, such as Connecticut’s backdoor entry into last year’s Fiesta Bowl — and we know how that ended. T.C.U. would have been the flag bearer, the gold standard and the national face of a conference frantically searching for a highly-ranked presence to combat the rest of the B.C.S., geography be damned. The Horned Frogs were added for one purpose and one purposes only: be the program we don’t have. And it was a marriage of convenience for both parties, with one side needing to alter its standing and the other looking for a place at the table.
Tags: Big East, Boise State, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, T.C.U.
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Good, Bad for Big East; B.C.S. Themes
By Paul Myerberg // Oct 3, 2011
This is a good thing for the Big East: the conference needs as many contenders as possible — not national contenders, just conference contenders — for its automatic B.C.S. bid, and Pittsburgh’s win over South Florida casts the Panthers right into the upper half of the league. Pittsburgh didn’t just look good; Pittsburgh looked great, illustrating a grasp of Todd Graham’s spread offense that seemed missing for much of the Panthers’ 2-2 start. If the Big East ever needed a win, this was it — ironically, the win came via a program soon, or somewhat soon, heading for greener B.C.S. pastures. Touching on Pittsburgh, South Florida and other B.C.S. conference themes:
Tags: Arizona, Brady Hoke, Cincinnati, Clemson, Dan Mullen, Denard Robinson, Jeff Tuel, Marshall Lobbestael, Michigan, Mississippi State, Pittsburgh, Ray Graham, Sherman, South Florida, Texas A&M, Todd Graham, Washington State, West Virginia
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Ten New Commandments for 2011
By Paul Myerberg // Sep 20, 2011
There are 10 real commandments — you know, the Ten Commandments — and whether you believe or not they still serve as a pretty good set of rules to live by on daily basis. Don’t murder. We can all agree on that. Don’t steal. Don’t covet another person’s significant other – and I ask that the members of the armed forces in San Diego pay attention to this one, seeing that several of you tried to do that with my significant other while we were on vacation. Don’t lie. Don’t cheat. We can get behind these. College football teams and programs should consider the more traditional commandments in addition to a few others tailor-made for 2011 – a few rules to live by, if you would, beginning with Texas A&M’s message to Baylor.
Tags: B.Y.U., Baylor, Big 12, Big East, Chris Relf, Colorado, Dan Beebe, Dan Mullen, L.S.U., Mississippi, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio, Pac-12, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
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