The road to a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bowl begins Thursday.

No matter how bad you… The road to a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bowl begins Thursday.

No matter how bad you think this team is, the real season starts when Pitt kicks off its Big East schedule against UConn.

Since the Orange Bowl is set aside for the top two BCS teams, the winner of the Big East will get the chance to play in the Fiesta, Sugar or Rose Bowl, and Pitt is in a good position to win that title. There are very few obstacles standing in Pitt’s way — mainly No. 7 West Virginia. But Pitt gets a full slate of nine games before it has to play the Mountaineers.

And keep one thing in mind: The winner of Backyard Brawl has often been the team that shouldn’t win. Just take a look at the last two contests. Pitt was supposed to win those games, and it did not. This could be Pitt’s year, but many of the questions that still surround this game will be answered in the next two weeks.

Pitt has a key two-game road trip coming up Thursday against UConn and a trip to Temple the following weekend.

These two road games will show what kind of team will be coming home to play Boston College and Rutgers, the homecoming game. Two wins on the road will mean that fans will be looking at a 4-1 Panther football team gearing up for a two-game home stand.

After that, the only road game left on the Big East schedule is Syracuse, which has been lost in a sea of Orange ever since Donovan McNabb left.

Then, following a non-conference game at Notre Dame, Pitt will come home to turkey and West Virginia on Thanksgiving Day.

The schedule is very favorable for Pitt, and there are reasons to be optimistic, even with the young offense.

Harris continues to express that he has a young offense and that they are still learning. The offense played a heck of a game last week, and Palko was impressive.

He threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday.

I know what you’re thinking. It was against Furman, but those of you who let the yellow seats at Heinz Field shine bright in the student section would not understand that this was not a typical Division I-AA team. This team was fast, talented and worthy of Division I-A competition; hence the reason Pitt found itself in a 31-14 hole in the second half.

For the season, Palko has thrown for 657 yards and five touchdowns, and, most importantly, he has led his team back.

But this team battled back and came together to win the game. If the offense can keep rolling and be as comfortable as it was on Saturday, no one can stop them. That’s how the team feels too. The offense felt unstoppable. Rob Petitti said after the game that he just wanted the ball back because he knew they were going to score.

Confidence.

That’s what this team holds in itself and its coaches.

Want any more reasons to be optimistic?

Running back Raymond Kirkley has rushed for two 100-yard games this season. Malcolm Postell has two interceptions for touchdowns, and, despite a few big plays by Furman, Pitt’s defense has been solid.

The fact is, Pitt is 2-1 not 0-3, so it’s time for everyone to open their eyes and their arms and welcome the opportunity that is still alive — a bid a BCS Bowl.

Jimmy Johnson is the assistant sports editor of The Pitt News, and the Pitt-Furman game was the best game he has ever witnessed in person and thanks all those who stayed to witness it with him. Complain about his optimism at [email protected].

Correction: The Pitt News previously stated that the winner of the Big East would play in the Gator Bowl. The Pitt News regrets the error.