John Marinatto: Do the Right Thing and Give Boise State the Big Least's BCS Bid

ESPN programming executives, make a note: Never again put a Wannstedt-coached team on prime time Thursday Night Football.

Boise State: Amp up your legal team and be prepared to sue if anyone from the 2010 pretend BCS conference—the Big East—bumps you from a spot in a BCS bowl.

Randy Edsall: Don’t celebrate too much. Your Huskie team was just a shade less horrible than the stumbling, bumbling Pitt team you beat.

Dave Wannstedt: You still suck, buddy; re-run the tape of last night’s game if you have any questions about that.

Pitt fans: Remember, never stop the Wannstedt hate. When you extend the olive branch of trust and confidence in your head coach, Wannstedt will poke you in the butt with it.

Steve Pederson: Hopefully, you managed to stay away during the game. Do not schedule any more Thursday night games. You lose alumni donations every time a Wannstedt-coached team takes the field on TGIF’s eve. Also, no more breaks in the schedule. If you’re sticking with the pro-league reject coach, give him a break—as in no break.

All Pitt lacked last night was a ribbon and bow in their gift-wrapped fraud of poor play and turnovers to the almost equally as inept Connecticut Huskies.

"Early on, Tino was not himself," Wannstedt said. "He missed a few throws, he had a couple of turnovers when we were driving and had field position. He had been playing so well over the past several weeks and, not only did the turnovers give points away, it was also a momentum killer.”

Great, coach, a middle school ball coach could have given us that.

To the sucker’s analysis, Tino Sunseri, whose Jekyll and Hyde performance last night helped cost Pitt a secure lead in the Big East, added: "I felt that Uconn had a good game plan and came out and executed... We're a young team and we're just going to keep learning each and every week."

Take note, Tino: The “young team” comment was cute after the Louisville game. Now it’s just pathetic.

Pitt scored early on a four-yard touchdown run by Dion Lewis.  Connecticut answered immediately with an 11-play, 83-yard drive and scored on a 36-yard pass from Zach Frazier to Kashif Moore.

A Sunseri interception set up the UConn’s next scoring opportunity   The Huskies took possession at their own 26 and then drove to Panthers 32, but on 3rd-and-11, Jordan Todman was held to a three-yard run and Connecticut settled for a 46-yard field goal by Dave Teggart and a 10-7 lead.  Pitt trailed at the half but the Panthers came out in the third quarter determined to take control of the game.

Pitt’s offense hit on all cylinders when Jon Badlwin made a leaping, rolling-on-his back 42-yard pass reception to set up Pitt’s running game. Lewis scored on a one-yard touchdown run and Pitt was ahead 14-13.

The Pitt defense held UConn and the Panther offense went to work again. Pitt went 65 yards on its next scoring drive and scored on another run, apparently closing out the third quarter with a 21-13 lead.

Not so fast. The sign of a truly bad team is when its special teams completely collapse right after its offense scores.  Nick Williams, UConn’s return specialist, took the kickoff and dazzled the crowd of 35,000 with a 95-yard touchdown run to close out the third quarter with Pitt ahead just by a point, 21-20.

UConn dominated the fourth quarter, kicking a field goal and using a Pitt fumble as another scoring opportunity. A Sunseri-to-Baldwin connection cut the Huskie lead to two, 30-28, but Pitt couldn’t stop the Huskies on downs thereby sealing its fate.

The vaulted Panther rush defense surrendered 222 to Todman and 249 total to the Huskies but only rushed for 143 yards, 77 by Lewis, 75 by Graham and minus-nine by Sunseri, who threw two first half interceptions. There was nothing about Pitt’s effort that said BCS.

At the very best, Pitt could still finish 8-4 and earn a BCS bid. Who wants an 8-4 BCS bowl team?

If fair is fair, Wannstedt will be subject to the same relentless criticism Walt Harris faced in 2004 when he took an 8-3 Pitt team into the Fiesta Bowl to face Utah.

With a win, Pitt might have broken into the Top 25 at 6-3. Now, at 5-4, the Panthers have demonstrated once again that under Dave Wannstedt and given the right conditions—in this case a game after a break on ESPN Thursday night football—they will fall apart.

Pitt fans only need to remember the Oregon State—Pitt Sun Bowl, the second half against Cincinnati last season, or the Miami game this year.

If Boise State goes undefeated and is bumped from the BCS lineup, Commissioner Marinatto should do the right thing: Forfeit the Big East Fiesta Bowl slot and give it to the Broncos.

College football fans deserve to see the best teams play in the BCS, not these Big East pretenders.