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I didn't post anything about the Pitt hire of Paul Chryst, but I'm a big fan of the move. I've always thought Pitt should gear its program in the Big 10 model which tends to be a focus on big physical running rather than pass-first spread due to their primary recruiting base being PA & OH.

We also hired Wisconsin's OL coach Bob Bostad to be the OC, which I like because perhaps now Pitt can become a OL factory, which I think is critical if this program wants to take the step to the next level. The top programs throughout the country, often will have 3 or more NFL-caliber blockers on their line every year, and it wasn't that long ago that Pitt had been recruiting those kinds of players, and I hope that continues.

The other issue Pitt is going to have to deal with is that they need to do better recruiting QBs. Tino Sunseri is a tough kid, but his shoddy play is a major reason why we've underachieved the past two years. And I look at Pitt's past, and they've missed a lot of homegrown QB prospects like Matt Schaub, Marc Bulger, and Bruce Gradkowski, all of whom hail from Pittsburgh. Other players like Matt Ryan and Chad Henne show that PA is still a rich base for QBs, yet Pitt has failed to mine that talent. Sunseri is a hometown kid.

But my hope for the immediate future is that if Penn State is down, Pitt can start to dominate home state recruiting, still do its thing in OH, NY, and NJ. And also potentially go down and pilfer some talent from MD and VA, something that Penn State has historically done a good job of.

Here's hoping that Chryst helps turn Pitt into the premiere program in the state of Pennsylvania.

Well Pittsburgh is a tough town, so a tough run oriented offense makes a lot of sense. Where better to go for power o/oline than Wisconsin? I like the move too, and I totally agree on QB.

Latest ACC expansion topic I've read is does Pitt get aligned in the coastal with a VT, and shift BC to partner w/ SU in the atlantic? Or vice versa. The above makes the most geographic sense, but pairs you more closely w/ VT vs BC which you prob don't prefer competition wise. Will be interesting what they decide either way, as it seems VT won't be paired as closely w/ BC anymore.

I haven't been paying too much attention to the alignment thing because really I don't really have a strong opinion one way or the other.

It certainly makes sense to put Pitt and Syracuse in the same divisions as Tech, Miami, and BC to reunite the Big East schools, which I've heard some talk of. Then put UVA and Maryland in there too to keep with those rivalries. I like the idea of them developing a Pitt-Maryland rivalry to try and capitalize on the Steelers-Ravens animosity a bit in football. Plus on a side note, Maryland was the school I was initially planning to go to until Pitt offered me a partial scholarship.

Honestly, competition wise I don't think it really matters for Pitt. We're a couple of years away anyway, and Tech never really worries me that much. After we did beat them 3 straight years while I was in school under Walt Harris. And if we build up that Big Ten-esque type of identity/style of play, it will be a very difficult matchup for Tech who tend to favor the fast, athletic style under Bud Foster defensively.

So if they keep the divisions as is (which I've heard that is what the powers that be prefer), and I think you can plug Pitt into either. In the Coastal, you can build up the Tech/UVA mountain thing and then still have them play Miami. And if you put them in the Atlantic, then you can build up the Maryland rivalry (which I think is the closest school to Pitt geographically now), and then have them going toe to toe with BC.

Honestly, I always thought Pitt was a better fit for the Big 10, but it's going to be interesting if in the next 3-5 years where the ACC is football wise. The needle seems to be pointing up at a lot of these schools, and if or rather when we get to the singularity event in that time span in terms of the super conferences the FPS, the ACC is looking pretty attractive right now.

Well they decided to keep the divisions as is, and put Pitt in the Coastal with Tech and Miami, and Syracuse in the Atlantic with BC. Not surprising since they probably didn't want to put BC on that island in the north.

ATLANTIC
Boston College
Clemson
Florida State
Maryland
North Carolina State
Syracuse
Wake Forest

COASTAL
Duke
Georgia Tech
Miami
North Carolina
Pittsburgh
Virginia
Virginia Tech