Pitt playing with a chance at the BCS

There weren’t many people who predicted Pitt having this type of chance in the Big East ‘-… There weren’t many people who predicted Pitt having this type of chance in the Big East ‘- especially after the Panthers dropped their opening game to Bowling Green more than two months ago. But after the losses, the inconsistency on both sides of the ball and the come-from-behind wins, it’s become a four-game season for the Pitt football team. Tied with Cincinnati for second place in the Big East, Pitt (6-2, 3-1 Big East) controls its own destiny in the hunt for a bid to a BCS bowl. West Virginia sits atop the leaderboard with an undefeated record in the conference. But if Pitt wins the rest of its games ‘mdash; including a Heinz Field showdown against the Mountaineers later this month ‘mdash; it’ll get the BCS bid. Even if West Virginia wins every game but the contest against Pitt, it’ll lose the tiebreak. But Pitt can’t get too excited. Before it starts thinking too much about a BCS bowl bid, it needs to focus on getting one more win to secure any type of bowl bid ‘- something it hasn’t been able to do since 2004. The Panthers are bowl eligible now with six wins, but they likely need seven wins to secure a spot. That means Pitt won’t be able to take anything for granted in its last four games. It also means Saturday’s matchup against Louisville has as much, if not more, meaning as any game Pitt has played this season. Louisville is coming off an embarrassing loss to Syracuse, a team that has three Big East wins since the start of the 2005 season. But Pitt shouldn’t look too much into that, as it has a few losses that fall into the same category. Louisville is a team that can give Pitt some problems. It runs the ball effectively and loves to set up the play-action pass. It seems like both offensively and defensively the Pitt football team is getting harder and harder to understand. Even when it seems like it should, Pitt rarely blows teams out. And when Pitt isn’t expected to win, it comes out with a solid performance that slings it back to the national stage. For example, the team struggled in its opener and lost to Bowling Green. But a month later, it took down then-No. 10 South Florida in Tampa. It then handled a solid Navy team on the road before losing to a mediocre Rutgers team. On Saturday, it beat Notre Dame and shot back into the national rankings. It hasn’t been your old roller coaster ride. It’s even crazier. There’s no doubt Louisville could be trouble, even if Pitt is favored. That could especially be true if Pitt doesn’t have quarterback Bill Stull back. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said immediately after the game against Notre Dame that Stull would start, but he didn’t sound quite as confident earlier this week in a press conference. Wannstedt said Stull is cleared to play, but he’s unsure of exactly what will happen in the next few days. ‘We’re anticipating him practicing,’ said Wannstedt. ‘[But] once we get down on the field and actually get involved in the whole scheme, then we’ll see where it goes.’ If Stull can’t play, the Pitt coaching staff will likely have to do what it did in the second half against Notre Dame on Saturday: continue to give the ball to LeSean McCoy. Give credit to offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh for keeping it simple and letting McCoy take over the game. As easy as it is to criticize play-calling ‘mdash; especially when some of that play-calling has a reason to be criticized ‘mdash; it’s tough to do when the offense is limited at quarterback. Instead of trying to do too much, the offense counted on one of the league’s best offensive players. As Wannstedt said, there was no secret about it. Pitt’s plan was to let McCoy win the game. That’s what he did, and that’s what Pitt will likely keep asking him to do. McCoy ran all over the Notre Dame defense on Saturday, lining up at quarterback, tailback and even receiver. Pitt’s Wildcat package, which uses McCoy at quarterback and has several options, was successful throughout the game. When the game ended, he had 55 percent of Pitt’s total offense. If Stull is out and sophomore Pat Bostick takes the reins, it’ll likely make an appearance again. That’s because with Bostick in, Pitt doesn’t have a ton of options through the air. Bostick tossed three interceptions on Saturday in relief of Stull. He battled back and tossed a game-tying touchdown to Jonathan Baldwin but is still inconsistent. If Stull can’t go and Bostick starts, look for a lot of shorter, safe passes. Pitt might even utilize tight ends Nate Byham and Dorin Dickerson. If Stull does start, the Pitt offense will have a boost and a few more options. Still, McCoy will likely carry Pitt all game. Defensively, it will be interesting as well. While the defense has guys like Scott McKillop and Jabaal Sheard playing well, it’s still allowing 27 points per game and isn’t causing nearly enough turnovers. Because McKillop, a senior, has never beaten Louisville, he’s looking to finally do it in his last chance. ‘We’ve had two letdowns this year,’ said McKillop. ‘We’re looking forward to getting back on track.’