May 10, 2007: To Schedule or Not to Schedule

That seems to be the question Chris94 has brought up on Panther Digest recently. And anyone who has read Panther Digest long enough will tell you, this is not the first time Chris has brought it up...and it won't be the last. But that is what makes him one of the best posters on Scout.com. He's opinionated, and he isn't afraid to defend his opinion on a few key topics that he feels strongly about.

The Dawg obviously has a ton of respect for his fellow moderator's opinion that Pitt should beef up it's out of conference schedule as much as possible. It's one we have debated for some time now. My stance has generally been not to make the schedule too difficult year in and year out, especially since it could be perceived as a knee jerk reaction to offset a supposedly weak conference schedule. Although the Big East might still have a lot to prove, the conference has proven in the last two years that it certainly is head and shoulders about any current non BCS conference (like the MWC or WAC) that might have had it's eye on moving up and taking it's place with the other big boys in major college football when the defections of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College supposedly crippled the conference.

So with the Big East's place in the BCS secure (at least for now) its time to consider the question strictly on the basis of how it affects the Panther program alone. If you asked me whether Pitt should schedule USC in the next two years, I would have to say absolutely not. But if we are looking at 2009, I say go for it. As many have said on the thread above, who knows how good USC will be three seasons or more from now. What we all know is that the Trojans will still be recognized as one of the best and most storied programs in college football. And that alone is worth pursuing a series with them. The national exposure and respect of playing one of the major programs, especially the biggest program in college football out West, is well worth the potential beat down the Panthers could receive if USC is still a top 5 team and Pitt is still treading water at .500. Somehow I doubt that would be the case, but if it is true, Coach Wannstedt will be a lame duck head coach at that point anyway, so the loss would be a mercy nail in the coffin for fans anyway.

But if Pitt is back to being a routine bowl bound team, a game against the Trojans could really put the spotlight back on Pitt football. That is especially true if the game ends up being close or even better, if the Panthers find a way to win.Either way, it would be an exciting event for all Pitt fans and tremendous exposure nationally for the program.

And those are two benefits that never go out of style.