It all comes down to the Backyard Brawl, again

With one final game left in the regular season, Pitt’s situation just got interesting.

The… With one final game left in the regular season, Pitt’s situation just got interesting.

The Panthers (5-5 overall, 4-2 Big East) need a sixth win in order to become bowl eligible, but one team stands in their way – the West Virginia Mountaineers.

West Virginia, on the other hand, controls its own destiny for a Big East championship and a Bowl Championship Series bid. A loss to the hated Panthers will knock them back a couple of steps.

Add in the fact that Pitt won the last Backyard Brawl meeting and there’s a little extra incentive for the Mountaineers to come out swinging.

Let’s check out the questions heading into the Thanksgiving Day showdown.

Q:How did The Pitt News give special teams a D+ after what they did last week?

A: First things first: hats off to the special teams and their play against Connecticut. That’s what we’ve been waiting to see.

But let it be known that we gave our D+ grade in the midseason report of the team, which came before last week’s game.

Factoring into our grade was the special teams’ play against Nebraska and the two games in a row where they allowed a blocked punt just before we put the grades together.

If we could redo the grade, I still don’t think I would bump it up too far, maybe just one slot to a C-.

Remember Terrell Allen dropping the kickoff against Louisville? OK, well, he made up for it, but there’s no excuse for allowing the kicking team to score on their own kickoff.

Plus, they gave the Cardinals a safety when the long snap sailed over Adam Graessle’s head.

One game against Connecticut isn’t enough to significantly raise the grade, but you can see some improvement. The special teams group needs to start playing consistently to further bump up the grade.

Q:Why won’t Pitt go four-wide? It seems to work best and the running game is just too inconsistent.

A: I agree with you to a certain extent, because I’m all for giving Tyler Palko more opportunities to throw the ball, but I wouldn’t go that far.

I would send Greg Lee and Derek Kinder on opposite sides with Darrell Strong lined up in the slot on either side.

More than likely, Lee will draw a double team. If he doesn’t, throw to him. If he does, look for Kinder downfield or have Strong set up over the middle.

But they would never go four-wide to begin a game, because, as I’ve said before, Dave Wannstedt is trying to install a power running game, and you don’t accomplish that lined up four-wide.

But throughout the game, they should spread the field, which they have done at times.

Also, it’d be nice to keep a fullback and running back in the backfield to help with blocking, so Palko doesn’t end up on his back.

Anyway, it’s a nice thought and is something we should see during a game, if only to just test it out a few times, but I don’t think we’ll see the offense change. They’ll keep working on the rushing attack.

Q:Who on Pitt’s team is going to be a legit NFL player?

A: First name that comes to mind is Darrelle Revis.

Revis started at corner as a true freshman, and continues to get better. Already in just his sophomore season, offenses refuse to throw his way.

Shutdown corners are hard to come by in the NFL, so don’t be surprised if Revis’ name shows up in the first round of the draft whenever he decides he’s ready to leave Pitt.

Also, on the defensive side, I’m sure you’ll see H.B. Blades on an NFL roster at some point, contributing.

Blades is just a tough gamer, with football running through his family. He is in on every play, tallying 120 total tackles so far this year – second on the team is Tez Morris with 72.

So look for his name, too. As for guys who could be legit players, I wouldn’t rule out Palko or Lee.

Palko’s got a ton of talent and a good head on his shoulders. And with all the quarterback problems in the NFL now, I know I would take him on my team. Lee, for sure, should be able to latch on to a team in need of a receiver.

Have a question for Alan? Send it to sports@pittnews.comand it may appear in next Thursday’s edition of “Q+A with Alan Smodic.”