Senior Send-off

Saturday’s contest between No. 15 Pitt and No. 5 Cincinnati will have… Senior Send-off

Saturday’s contest between No. 15 Pitt and No. 5 Cincinnati will have emotional gravity for reasons beyond its Big East championship implications.

Saturday will mark the last time 18 seniors take Heinz Field in Pitt uniforms. Out of those 18 players, 13 have started in a game for the Panthers this season.

This senior day will be especially significant for head coach Dave Wannstedt, because it will mark the graduation of players who committed to the Panthers as members of Wannstedt’s first complete recruiting class.

“Most of these kids … came in as freshmen during that first full recruiting season that we had here when I first came to the University,” Wannstedt said. “It’s been really neat seeing these kids grow as young men and also become better football players and build this program up over the past four or five years.”

Wannstedt noted that the “script” couldn’t be prepared any better for Saturday’s game, especially for the seniors who want to go out on top. It would be a fitting accomplishment for the players who bought into Wannstedt’s vision during the recruiting process four years ago.

After struggling during Wannstedt’s first few seasons, Pitt now has an opportunity to play in a Bowl Championship Series game. Recent success has transformed the expectations for the football program.

“Our expectations and our players’ expectations have changed. A year ago, everyone was doing backflips, because we won nine games, and rightfully so, because it was the first time in over a quarter of a century,” Wannstedt said. “Now we’re at nine games, and we’re pressing for more.”

An assumed level of success is a part of any top-tier program, which is what Wannstedt hopes Pitt becomes under his guidance.

“We feel like we can get more [wins]. We want more, these kids want more, the fans want more, and that’s all part of winning,” Wannstedt said.

The Ugly Alternative

If the buzz around the bowl selection process is correct, the Panthers must win this weekend to avoid an unpalatable fall in the bowl picture.

The comfortable safety net that the Gator Bowl provided no longer appears to be available for Pitt if it loses to Cincinnati.

In an interview published in the Florida Times-Union, Gator Bowl Association president Rick Catlett stated that his bowl was interested in creating a matchup between Florida State (6-6) and West Virginia (8-3).

If that is the case, the Jan. 1 bowl would feature Bobby Bowden’s second head coaching position (West Virginia) against the team he has coached for the last 34 years (Florida State) in the last game of his career. The game would be a definite sellout and would be impossible for a bowl committee to turn down.

With the Gator Bowl out of the picture, the Meineke Car Care Bowl would be the next destination for the Panthers. However, if reports out of the Asbury Park Press are any indication, representatives from the Charlotte, N.C., bowl are interested in inviting Rutgers (8-3) as their Big East participant.

Pitt finds itself on the short end of all of these bowl debates because of the perception that the Panthers fan base doesn’t travel in impressive numbers to bowl games. Since bowl games are businesses, the money that comes with large, traveling groups of fans will always be favored.

Ultimately, if Pitt fails to beat Cincinnati, it could go from playing for a shot at a BCS game to accepting an invitation from the Papajohns.com Bowl or the St. Petersburg Bowl. Such a fall from grace would take some of the shine off a once-promising campaign.

Bringing Berry Back

According to Wannstedt, starting cornerback Aaron Berry is expected to play in Saturday’s game after missing the West Virginia contest because of a shoulder injury.

Berry practiced earlier in the week and will help the Panthers in their attempt to contain Cincinnati’s passing attack, which ranks sixth in the nation.

The senior corner will have his hands full while matching up with the explosive Mardy Gilyard, who leads all Big East wide receivers in receptions and touchdown catches.