Pitt Football- Making strides

[El-Moldo]

We're talking GENERALLY SPEAKING!!!!!! Is Windber better than the top 4 or 5 teams that didn't win the LHAC??? That's all. Just because Akron won their conference doesn't mean they are better than UVA. Hey, they even lost to that powerhouse Memphis this bowl season.

[The Ancient Enemy]

Any time you play a conference champion, it looks better than a team who finished as low as UVA did in THEIR conference. Therefore, in that sense, yes they are "better".

I'm suspecting UVA is in a lot of trouble right now. They were making a lot of progress with those good coordinators and with FSU being the only team better than them in the ACC. Now, there are 4 teams better than them. Maryland is in the exact same boat. Who called that, again?

[El-Moldo]

Well, since UVA perennially has more players drafted into the NFL than Akron, then I guess UVA has more talent and therefore is a better team despite not winning their conference. It's all in how you look at it.

[ham55]

So you're telling me NC State is better than PSU because they had 2 drafted in the first round and PSU only had one? Come on.

[The Ancient Enemy]

A lot of these schedules are made for presentation. If you can get a team on your schedule that won, say, Conference USA, and you beat the crap out of them early in the next season, you can say that "cupcake" on your schedule won their conference, and that gives your win more credibility. I cannot stress enough the similiarity between boxing records and NCAA scheduling.

Keep this in mind though. There's 119 I-A teams. Even if there were 20 teams, someone is going to be number 1, and someone is going to be number 20. When you put the top 60-some teams in the "major" conferences, there's 60 other teams out there that you are going to have to play at some point because of conflicts. You inherently play teams worse than you.

[El-Moldo]

bdftbllham: Please think about what I posted last. I said that year in and year out UVA has MORE kids drafted then Akron. I'm not talking about once in a while, or this year in the first round. But consistantly over the years. That says to me that UVA does have more talent, generally speaking. Does more talent mean they are a tougher opponent? Not sure, but it's a better gauge than winning a mid-major conference once in a while, and going to your 1st bowl game in the history of your school. There's probably few reading this topic that are going to say that Akron is better than Virgnia year in and year out.

[The Ancient Enemy]

[quote="D-nice";p="122165"]how can c-usa take the big east bid when the big east just took their top programs? stop being so wankerish! [/quote]

The Blunder Award for this week goes to D-nice for this brilliant post. He claims that the Big East just took C-USA's best programs. Things that make you go... HMMMMM, folks. Your Literary Hero has done a little investigating into this accusation that the Big East grabbed the top programs in Conference USA. Let's go to the tape:

Conference USA Champions

1996 Houston & Southern Miss
1997 Southern Miss
1998 Tulane
1999 Southern Miss
2000 Louisville
2001 Louisville
2002 Cincinnati & TCU
2003 Southern Miss
2004 Louisville
2005 Tulsa

The people say: "Tally 'em up for the masses, Brom Bones!"

You got it, dudez.

Louisville: 3
Tulsa: 1
Tulane: 1
Cincinnati: 1
Houston: 1
TCU: 1

Wait a second... wait a second, here... hold on... I'm getting a psychic message...

That's right, Louisville (3) and Cincinnati (1) and South Florida (0) are the best C-USA programs... that would mean that on my trip to Mobile two weekends ago, when I stopped in Hattiesburg to look at Southern Miss as a grad school, THIS photo that I took is false:



As you can see by the photo and the list of champs, Southern Mississippi has won Conference USA four different times in a ten year span. Now, I'm no mathlete, but I believe 4 is still greater than 3, and it sure as hell is greater than 1 and 0.

The funny thing about this, is that I said two years ago that Southern Mississippi is the team that the Big East should have went after. When adding new teams to a conference, as I said, you should go after the best teams in your area. As USF and Louisville were already added, it was not out of the geographical realm to go after a team in Hattiesburg that had done as well in the past ten years as USM has done. The ACC teams were locked up, and no SEC team was headed to the Big Least.

Other notable possibilities: Toledo and Bowling Green. Other notable failures: Toledo and Bowling Green.

It's like 50 said: "Go 'head, get gully. See if I won't leave your brains leakin' up out your skully." D-nice does get a gold star for making up the word "wankerish", though.

[ham55]

Moldo, buddy,

Miami perennially has the most people drafted in to the NFL year in and year out. Therefore, by your theory, they should win the National Championship every dang year.

The Big East really did a good thing by letting that team leave for the ACC. They gave the ACC more credit and more standing in the NCAA, all the while ripping credibility from the Big Least.

How many kids from Pitt were drafted this year?

[flybynight]

Here it is, and PSU is their for a reference




PITTSBURGH
DRAFTED PLAYERS POS ROUND PK(OVR) TEAM
Charles Spencer OG 3 1(65) Houston
Josh (Bernard) Lay CB 6 5(174) New Orleans



PENN STATE
DRAFTED PLAYERS POS ROUND PK(OVR) TEAM
Tamba Hali DE 1 20(20) Kansas City
Michael Robinson WR 4 3(100) San Francisco
Calvin Lowry S 4 5(102) Tennessee
Alan Zemaitis CB 4 25(122) Tampa Bay
Tyler Reed OG 6 31(200) Chicago
Ethan Kilmer WR 7 1(209) Cincinnati

[flybynight]

By the way, M-Rob was drafted as a RB not a WR