As the title implies, Pitt's 2009 schedule was released today. The McCoy-less Fighting Wannstaches, ranked #25 in Stewart Mandel's early SI rankings, play 12 games, including nine against teams that played in bowl games in 2008.
Pitt will be on national TV five times, including the Backyard Brawl (ESPN or ABC), a Friday-nighter at Lousville (ESPN2), another Friday-nighter at Rutgers (ESPN2), Notre Dame (ABC, ESPN or ESPN2), and Cincinnati (ABC, ESPN or ESPN2).
The full slate:
Pitt will be on national TV five times, including the Backyard Brawl (ESPN or ABC), a Friday-nighter at Lousville (ESPN2), another Friday-nighter at Rutgers (ESPN2), Notre Dame (ABC, ESPN or ESPN2), and Cincinnati (ABC, ESPN or ESPN2).
The full slate:
Sept. 5 Youngstown State TBA
Sept. 12 at Buffalo TBA
Sept. 19 Navy TBA
Sept. 26 at North Carolina State TBA
Oct. 2 (Fri.) at Louisville (ESPN2) 8 p.m.
Oct. 10 Connecticut TBA
Oct. 16 (Fri.) at Rutgers (ESPN) 8 p.m.
Oct. 24 South Florida TBA
Nov. 7 Syracuse TBA
Nov. 14 Notre Dame (ABC, ESPN or ESPN2) TBA
Nov. 27 (Fri.) at West Virginia (ABC or ESPN) TBA
Dec. 5 Cincinnati (ABC, ESPN or ESPN2) TBA
Pitt's football schedule includes five national TV games [Trib]
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14 comments:
5 TV games? That is actually impressive.
It is absolutely pathetic that Pitt plays 3 games on Friday nights. Absolutely pathetic. The day Penn State football submits to that will be the day hell freezes over. Seriously, what self respecting college football team plays its games on Friday? Who watches college football on Friday?
No one.
I'll give them the day after Thanksgiving game. Its a big weekend when most people aren't working and have time for football, but for the love of God, not 1, but 2 games on Friday night is beyond shameful.
I'm sure all you yinzrs will give me some barbaric, insult laden response, but the truth is, you should be giving that response to your school's athletic department. Pitt claims they refuse to play a 2 for 1 with Penn State because they are a self respecting athletic football program, but self respecting football programs don't play their games on Friday nights either. Maybe its time to come down off your high horse and realize your a second class football program in a second class league, bite the bullet, and come to Happy Valley.
Sir,
Your argument is illogical. Whether we are talking about Pitt, State Clown College, or Southern Cal, they are going to play when the TV networks tell them to.
Is Friday optimal? No. Would I prefer that PITT play on Thursday, instead? Yes, but ESPN opted to schedule other teams in those slots this year.
The point remains that TV exposure is better than no TV exposure.
Whether or not PITT were to schedule a 2 for 1 with State Clown College would not make any difference as to when the other 12 games on the schedule are played.
Would I like to see Pitt play Penn State again? Of course. Is a 2 for 1 preferable? No, but perhaps when Penn State basketball accepts a 2 for 1 to come to the Pete, then we can start talking.
#1 No Big 10 teams will ever play on a Friday night. Ever. Period. We have our own network to broadcast games on. Even if ESPN wanted to screw us, and put us on Thursday or Friday nights, we could easily flip them the bird and take our act to our own channel where we'd play in the optimal time slots on Saturdays (3:30, 8:00). The Big 10 Network is effectively a poor man's Notre Dame deal with NBC. It gives the schools all the leverage when dealing with ESPN/ABC. Our games are going to be on national television no matter what (so to your point, we'll get exposure no matter what). Its just a matter of where, and everyone knows Big 10 schools have the biggest alumni base. If ESPN gets into a game of chicken with the Big 10, they're only hurting themselves. In terms of scheduling power, Big 10 > Big East by a gaping margin.
#2 Penn State could show up at the Pete 10 straight years and the money Pitt would pull in from all the games would be less than a quarter of what they could get for having Penn State football go to Pittsburgh once. In terms of revenue, football is far and away a bigger cash cow than basketball will ever be. But hey, if in your pea sized brain, a 2 for 1 in basketball is equal to a 2 for 1 in football, good for you man. I wish my life was as simple as yours.
Sir,
Perhaps I did not get my point across clearly. You present the Big Ten Network as a viable solution to scheduling problems on Friday evenings. As there is no Big East Network, PITT or any team in the conference does not have the leverage to "flip ESPN/ABC the proverbial bird."
In other words, I conceded your point from the beginning that the Big East is not in a position as other conferences in dictating the schedule of their games to the networks.
I no longer live in the region, so I can't speak to how popular/profitable the Big Ten Network is, though I remember the conference and Comcast having some initial controversy over the cost of it in the beginning.
Faced between the choice of having PITT play on Saturday on ESPN 360 or ESPNU, two networks that a majority of households do not get, it's arguably more advantageous to be the only game on Friday evenings and be on ESPN or ESPN2.
Obviously the revenue generated from a football game dwarfs the revenue generated from a basketball game. I was not suggesting that such a tradeoff is economically viable, rather that Spanier or the Penn State AD are about as likely to accept it as Steve Pederson and Chancellor Nordenberg are to accept a 2 for 1 football deal.
Your personal attack on my "pea sized brain" and the lack of complexity in my life is unnecessary.
Reread my original post. If you were offended by the "State Clown College" remarks, then I rescind it. However, the greater points remain. I was not comparing the situations of Pitt vs. Penn State or The Big East vs. The Big Ten. Instead, my point was that for PITT, in our present circumstances, we have to accept the deal.
I even alluded to the situation as suboptimal, but the only viable solution due to a present lack of bargaining power.
I wish you the best of luck in simplifying your life. Perhaps steps in anger management would be a positive step.
Better idea: Penn St. football is not and never will be a good fit for the Big Ten. They can only compete against Ohio St. and (eventually) Michigan every 5 or 6 years. C'mon, their big rival in the Big Ten is that contrived rivalry with Michigan St.
PSU needs to join the Big East. Advantages? They would annually have around 9+ wins every year, and would be a favorite to win the conference every year, getting the automatic BCS bid. Oh yeah, they get to play natural rivals like Pitt and WVU every year as well. They could still schedule their non-conference cupcakes and get their 7 home games a year.
All we need is for JoePa to....ah...."retire", one way or the other.
For the record, they don't play 3 games on Friday night. The WVU game is the day after Thanksgiving, probably on ABC at noon like last year. Since you're a PSU fan let me explain something that is hard for you people to understand: fans of college football like rivalries- even when they have no interest in the teams or conference. The Backyard Brawl is a great rivalry that people want to see on a work holiday sitting around with their families. That game is on the day after Thanksgiving because it's a game people want to see and therefore its in an awesome time slot. I'm pretty sure no one in Texas or California (1) gets the shitty big ten network or (2) wants to see PSU play Indiana, Perdue or Northwestern or some other shitty big ten team. Pitt has 5 true nationally-televised games. Get over it.
One more rule of rivalry for you PSU-ers: last game gives you bragging rights. Till you get the balls to play Pitt instead of Syracuse or Temple, just remember- Pitt 12, Penn State 0.
Johnny,
I take back the "pea sized brain" comment as well. All I know is, WPIAL football Friday nights in this town take a back seat to no one, and it amazes me that Pitt would accept being shelved on a Friday night when the majority of its fanbase is in high school stadiums around the region. To your second point, I don't think Penn State would be opposed to a 2-for-1 in basketball,especially now that the team is experiencing a little success. I think we'd jump at the chance to get a little exposure by playing you guys in basketball.
SantoGold,
Your comments speak to Pitt fans' satisfaction with mediocrity. First of all, we've won 9 games 4 straight seasons, including 2 conference championships, so we're winning 9+ games anyway. Second of all, the Big 10 is far and away a better football conference than the Big East will ever be. Admit it, the Big East football conference is a conglomerate of basketball schools pretending to care about football. If theres anyone out of place, its Pitt. They could play in a good basketball conference in the Big 10, which granted, is not the Big East, but they could still have a respectable football program as well. Your choice.
Dark Helmet,
Are you illiterate?
"I'll give them the day after Thanksgiving game. Its a big weekend when most people aren't working and have time for football, but for the love of God, not 1, but 2 games on Friday night is beyond shameful."
And just remember. 48-14, which by any rational measure is far more significant than 12-0.
Actually, I just didn't bother reading your long-winded posts in their nauseating entirety. The first post said "3 games on Friday nights".
I don't think anything is far more significant than the last head to head game. You can play the games with 'Pitt beat Iowa, Psu didn't', 'Psu beat oregon state, Pitt didn't', 'our conference is better', etc. all you want. Having no balls to play Pitt, this is the garbage PSU fans have to rely on. Last time on the field of play, it was Pitt 12- PSU 0.
Pardon me for assuming that Pitt would want their major rivalry to be featured on Black Friday night. I mean for God's sake even when I give Pitt credit you yinzrs get upset.
Second off, I don't play those games. What I will say is that this was Pitt's first 9 win season since 1982. In that same time period, Penn State has 16. Paterno is 24-7-1 against Pitt. Thats all that really needs to be said.
USC plays games on Thursday nights, so I guess they're right below Pitt on Sir Adam's Holy Grail of College Football Rankings
Ya, and I can promise you after that debacle, it will never happen again.
In any event, even Thursday night is better than a Friday. People spend their Friday nights out (at least people with lives), either meeting up with friends, going to high school games, or taking the family out. No one is staying in to watch a Pitt game.
Cmon man, common sense.
Auburn, Utah, Kansas, USC, WVU, BYU, TCU, Cincinnati, Miami (FL), Texas, Ole Miss, Boise State...all played on Thursday/Friday night last season. So I guess all those teams aren't worthy enough to play in the Big Ten, aren't worthy enough to have their own network, and not worthy enough to get their butts handed to them in bowl games, year...after year...after year.
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