The University of Pittsburgh Panthers
Posts tagged BCS Rankings
Pitt and the Rankings
Nov 9th
So my guess is that there are a lot of upset Pitt fans this Monday morning. The BCS Rankings came out yesterday and, even with all of the upsets this weekend, Pitt only moved up one spot to 12th. The Panthers did, however, move up a bit more in the AP Poll and ESPN/USA Today Poll. They are 8th and 9th, respectively, in those polls.
Before you Pitt Blog fans get too upset, remember that the BCS Rankings mean nothing to Pitt at this point. There are three things for upset fans to consider right now. First off, there’s no way that Pitt is getting into a National Championship game this year with the NC State loss on the record. Second, if Pitt wins the Big East, they’ll get the automatic BCS Bowl bid anyway. And finally, if the Panthers finish second or third in the Big East, there’s virtually no chance that they’ll get an at-large bid. Right now, all that should concern Panther fans is the possibility of winning the Big East.
That brings us to an interesting scenario. Pitt has a good chance at the Big East title this year. The Panthers have three games left: Notre Dame, WVU, and Cincinnati. The Notre Dame game could have implications when it comes to the Gator Bowl. Notre Dame’s contract with the Gator Bowl requires the Irish to finish within 2 wins of the second place Big East team to get invited. If Pitt finishes in second place in the Big East and wants to avoid going to the Meineke Car Care Bowl, they need to beat both Notre Dame and WVU, as well as have Notre Dame drop at least one more game (to either UConn or Stanford). That would put Pitt at 10-2 and Notre Dame at 7-5. Pitt would then get an invite to the Gator Bowl.
But that doesn’t mean that Pitt must win against Notre Dame. In fact, Pitt could lose both the Notre Dame game and the WVU game and still win the Big East, thereby getting an automatic bid to a BCS Bowl Game. As long as Cincinnati beats WVU, the Cincinnati vs. Pitt game on December 5th will decide the Big East Champion.
It gets a bit more confusing when you try to map out all of the possible scenarios, but the bottom line is clear: Pitt needs to beat Cincinnati. That’s what Panther fans should be most concerned with right now. A win against Notre Dame will help Pitt, but only if Pitt loses to Cincy and Notre Dame drops another game after Pitt. Even then, it only helps the Panthers get into the Gator Bowl in an unlikely scenario. Pitt’s best shot at an exciting bowl game lies in winning the Big East.
A Day of Upsets
Nov 8th
Talk about a day of upsets football fans. Here is a look at all of them and how they affect your Panthers.
#3 Alabama beats #9 LSU
While this isn’t an upset with Bama winning, it will lower LSU in the BCS rankings allowing Pitt to move up a position in the rankings. This was the best case scenario from this game for the Panthers.
Northwestern beats #4 Iowa
This is huge, not only for the Panthers, but for the Big East as well. This allows Cincinnati to move up a rank in the BCS rankings. Also depending on how the pollsters and computers see this loss, a 7 point loss at home to an unranked team (it should be viewed poorly), Iowa has a chance of falling behind the Panthers in the polls.
Stanford beats #8 Oregon
While Oregon did lose on the road by 9, it was a loss to an unranked team. Add another rank for the Panthers to move up in the BCS rankings.
#16 Ohio State beats #11 Penn State
No matter the ranking, Panther fans usually celebrate when Penn State loses, but when Penn State gets manhandled and loses a rank to Pitt, that’s another story. It will be interesting to see how this game affects the rankings. Does Ohio State’s 17 point win on the road against a ranked team equate to more than the Panthers 27 point win at home versus an unranked team? It is very possible Ohio State leapfrogs Pitt, but Penn State will fall behind Pitt.
Oregon St beats #20 California, Nebraska beats #24 Oklahoma
Neither of these games really affect the Panthers. Both teams are ranked behind Pitt, and neither winners have played the Panthers this season.
Navy beats #22 Notre Dame
This is good and bad for the Panthers. Good because if Pitt wins next weekend and finishes 2nd in the Big East, Pitt will be going to the Gator Bowl (if they do not get a at large bid for the BCS bowl games). Notre Dame gets first crack at the Gator Bowl if they are within 2 wins of the #2 Big East team. This loss was bad for the Panthers because it ruins the chance of them beating a ranked team next week.
Well there you have it Panther fans. It was a big day of upsets and they will surely affect the Panthers in the BCS rankings. The Panthers can go up anywhere between 3 and 5 spots, depending on how the pollsters and computers see the USC narrow win over Arizona St. Pitt should be #10 in the new BCS rankings when they come out later today.
Pitt Jumps to 13th in BCS Rankings
Nov 2nd
The Panthers moved up in the BCS Rankings this week. During their bye week, Pitt moved up to 13th in the BCS Rankings while also moving up to 14th in both the AP Poll and USA Today Poll. Losses by both Virginia Tech (previously 13th) and Oklahoma State (previously 14th) helped move the Panthers up in the BCS Rankings.
Pitt’s loss to NC State is looking more awful by the week. NC State is now 3-5 overall and 0-4 in the ACC after losing yet again this past weekend.
The Big East had both ups and downs as far as the rankings were concerned. While Pitt moved up two spots in the BCS Rankings, Cincinnati moved up to the 5th spot (4th in the AP Poll, 7th in the USA Today Poll) after a win at Syracuse. WVU dropped from all three polls after their loss to USF. You won’t hear the Bulls complaining, however, as they climbed back into BCS Rankings at the 25th spot. USF also made its way to the 26th spot in both the AP Poll and USA Today Poll with their big win.
WVU isn’t down and out just yet. While not in the top 25, they still received a significant number of votes in both polls (30th in the AP Poll, 27th in the USA Today Poll).
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