Football: Panthers schedule about to get much tougher in upcoming years

Somehow, the Big East is still omitted from talk of power football conferences. But what can it do to fix that? Teams in the league need to schedule impressive out-of-conference games to make a strong case when it comes time for all that BCS bowl talk.

Pitt is doing just that.

The North Carolina State game earlier this season and the game against Notre Dame coming up in a couple weeks are good examples of that. Not to mention games against the Irish and Big Ten teams, such as Iowa and Michigan State, in the past two seasons.

Yet the Panthers’ out-of-conference schedule might just be the toughest in all of college football next season, even if it is playing in a “weak” league. Next year Pitt has road games against Utah, currently ranked No. 19 in the BCS poll, and against Notre Dame. However, its most notable game next year will take place Sept. 25 at Heinz Field against the Miami Hurricanes, No. 10 in this week’s poll.

Pitt has also scheduled additional games against Iowa in 2011 and Virginia Tech in 2012 and 2013 while continuing to play Notre Dame. When you throw in games against strong mid-majors like reigning MAC champions Buffalo, those games more than make up for games against lowly Big East teams like Syracuse and Louisville.

For a Big East team to be considered for a bid in the National Championship game, it needs these types of teams on its schedule. Look at Cincinnati this season, which is the topic of a lot of national title talk up to this point. The Bearcats are 6-0 right now and No. 5 in the BCS poll, and for good reason. Not only have they beaten all the Big East opponents on their schedule, but they’ve also played quality out-of-conference teams.

They traveled across the country to beat Oregon State and also beat a perennially strong mid-major team in Fresno State, while taking a break from their Big East schedule to host Illinois in late November.

While the Big East is certainly not weak — as Cincinnati, Pitt and West Virginia are all in the BCS top 25 — it can’t even come close to stacking up with conferences like the SEC, Big 12, ACC and even the Pac 10. Not only that, but it has largely been perceived across the country as a weak conference ever since the exodus of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College to the ACC.

The league is taking strides at improving though. Programs such as South Florida, Connecticut and Cincinnati have gone from having Division I-AA programs — or not even having a program at all — to being legitimate title contenders in the league.

When Coach Dave Wannstedt took the job at Pitt four years ago, he promised to bring the program back to the national prominence it once had. He is doing just that by not only winning games, but also by putting his team in the position to play some of the elite programs in the country. If Pitt starts winning those games, it just might be in the National Championship discussion before you know it.