A Week by Week Look at How Pitt Can Rise Up the AP Poll

With the AP Poll released today and Pitt clocking in at No. 15, it will be a long road if Dave Wannstedt and the Panthers hope to rise into the Top 5 by seasons end and at least being in the BCS talks.

The main goal should be to win the Big East and play in a BCS Bowl.  That would be a huge step for the program.  However, if you are greedy and are dreaming of a National Title, it would be very hard to get there from the preseason rank of 15 unless a lot falls the Panthers way.

First of all, they would have to take care of business on the field.  That would mean running the table, which is unlikely, but do-able if they play great football.  There is a couple higher profile non-conference games on the schedule in Utah and Miami which would help draw attention to the program if they can win both.

Even if they escape the grind with only one loss, it will be very difficult to leapfrog 14 other teams, but here is a week by week look of what to root for, if Pitt would have any chance of making the BCS Championship Game.

Week 1

First things first.  Pitt must take care of Utah.  By losing that game, they likely drop out of the AP Top 20 and the climb to the top will be to big of a hurdle to climb.

Win that game and turn the television on to watch Boise St-Virginia Tech.  The first bit of good news for the Panthers could come by Virginia Tech winning this game.

The 10th ranked Hokies will have other opportunities to lose throughout the year, but a Boise St victory means they have a legit chance to run the table again and are unlikely to be kept away from playing for the National Championship in consecutive seasons.

A one-loss team from the WAC doesn't merit title consideration, but if Boise St. starts the season 6-0, they become America's favorite team and that's bad news for Pitt.

Week 2

The Panthers should have little trouble with New Hampshire, so they can turn the television back on and hope for some help from Jacory Harris and the Miami Hurricanes.

The Canes are ranked 13 in the AP Preseason poll, but can do the Panthers a huge favor by going into Columbus and knocking off the No. 2 Ohio St. Buckeyes.

The Canes have a ton of talent so this wouldn't be as big of an upset as most would think.

Later on that night, it would help the Panthers if No. 1 Alabama also beats Penn St.

Week 3

The Panthers have the week off preparing for the big prime time Thursday night show down the upcoming week.

Week three of the season doesn't present much of a challenge for the teams currently ranked ahead of the Panthers in the AP Poll.

If there is one game to keep an eye on, it's No. 8 Nebraska traveling to Washington to take on Jake Locker and the Washington Huskies.  This is the type of upset that can help the Panthers along the way.

Week 4

This is the first and maybe best chance for the Panthers to garner national attention.  Miami at home on a Thursday night.  If everything plays to form, Miami will be coming off a big win at Ohio St. and this game will be talked about all week.

Now's the opportunity for Wannstedt to step up and win a big game.  A win on a national stage against a quality opponent, coupled with the Utah win, may vault Pitt into the AP Top 10 the following week..

As far as the rest of the country, No.7 Oklahoma travels to Cincinnati.  With Oklahoma not playing an overly tough schedule, the Panthers may need some help from the rival Bearcats here.  It may vault Cincinnati up the rankings as well, but Pitt will get the opportunity to take care of them later on in the season.

Two other games to keep an eye on, even though upsets aren't very likely are No. 1 Alabama at Arkansas and No. 11 Oregon at Arizona St.

Week 5

Pitt should be riding high at this point and must avoid a let down to Florida International, which shouldn't be a problem.

Week five features four games between ranked teams that could help the Panthers out.

Miami always struggles with Clemson and this year the game is at Clemson.  A Clemson win and the Panthers shouldn't have to worry about the Canes anymore.

Oklahoma and No. 5 Texas meet in the Red River Shootout.  A Texas win here and the Panthers don't have to worry about the Sooners any longer either.

Alabama and No. 4 Florida also meet.  No Tim Tebow likely means no win for the Gators and brings them back to the pack as a one-loss team.

Penn St. and No. 9 Iowa meet as well.  Iowa doesn't schedule much out of the conference, so they will need to slip up in a couple Big 10 games.

Week 6

Pitt's tough out of conference schedule continues with a trip to Notre Dame.  This would be a good time to finally beat a Brian Kelly coached team.

Around the country, LSU can help the Panthers out by handing Florida their second straight loss.

No. 14 USC also could meet defeat when they travel to take on Jim Harbaugh's Stanford team.

Week 7

If Pitt somehow gets into Big East play without a loss, they likely will be sitting somewhere between 6-9 in the AP Poll.  Now it's time for the Panthers to take care of business in the conference, beginning with a winnable game at Syracuse.

There is a trio of other games worth keeping an eye on as well.  No. 12 Wisconsin gets Ohio St. at home and a second loss for Jim Tressel's Buckeyes is something the Panthers will need.

Another must for the Panthers is for No. 6 TCU to stumble somewhere along the way.  The toughest test they may have all season comes this week when BYU comes into town.

Texas also travels to Nebraska.  If Nebraska has a loss or two, this would be a good time for them to beat the Longhorns.

Week 8

Pitt has Rutgers at home.  After finally figuring out how to beat the Scarlet Knights last season, now is a good time to start a winning streak against them.

There isn't much on the schedule this week that could help the Panthers out except an Iowa-Wisconsin Big 10 game.  Panthers fans may want to pull for the Hawkeyes here. The Badgers won't have many tough tests the rest of the way.

Week 9

The Panthers should improve to 3-0 in the Big East with a win against Louisville this week.

Again, not much going on nationally to help the Panthers out except a Pac 10 game between USC and Oregon.  While it's tough to root for Lane Kiffen to have any success at all, this is a game he could win to get the Ducks in the loss column.

Week 10

Week 10 can become a huge week for the Panthers by simply watching teams lose.  If the Panthers are somehow unbeaten, this is the week they could potentially get in the BCS talk if LSU can knock off Alabama in the "Saban Bowl."

If this could happen, everyone ranked ahead of the Panthers in the Preseason AP Poll will have at least one loss, except Texas (unless they lose to Nebraska) and Virginia Tech.

Half of that problem takes care of itself when Georgia Tech strolls into Blacksburg and hands the Hokies their first loss on the season.

TCU at Utah is also woth watching if the Horned Frogs survive BYU.

Week 11

In this hypothetical scenerio of the first ten weeks of the season, Pitt could find themselves ranked as high as the Top 5 in the AP poll at this point.

Now begins the tough grind of the Big east schedule as Pitt heads to Connecticut to face the Huskies, a team they typically struggle with.  This is a game they can lose, but what fun would that be.  I already have them on a roll, so I might as well keep them hot.  Pitt beats U Conn.

If Pitt is somehow undefeated, they really won't have to watch the scoreboard much from here on, but chances are they have a loss or two, so there are still some things that need to go their way.

Oregon has a tough test at Cal. Ohio St can beat Penn St., practically ending their climb up the rankings. 

Afte beating Oklahoma early in the year, Cincinnati will need to stumble and they can do so at West Virginia.

Finally, Wisconsin will need to drop another game the rest of the season and will get upset at Purdue.

Week 12

Pitt has South Florida and should win this game.  For any of this BCS talk to happen, Pitt can't afford to lose and there has to be complete choas among the rest of the Top 25.

Let the chaos continue in week 12.  Miami beats Virginia Tech at home.  Ohio St. also hands Iowa their second loss.

Another team to start keeping a watchful eye on is LSU.  I've had them winning a few big games to help the Panthers out and could start to climb up the rankings.

That ends here when Ole Miss beats LSU.

Week 13

By now, Pitt is either a legit title contender, or just playing to win the Big East. You can't hope for too many upsets to help you out at this point in the season.

First thing, Pitt needs to win the "Backyard Brawl."

The Top 25 doesn't feature many tough contests this week, but if Alabama is still unbeaten, we will focus on the "Iron Bowl."

Alabama has finished the past two regular seasons unbeaten.  Three in a row is asking a lot.

Anything can happen between Auburn and Alabama and Pitt fas may have to pull for Auburn in this one.

Week 14

Week 14 features the regular season finale and a revenge game against Cincinnati.  It's on the road, but no slip ups and blown 21 point leads this year.

Pitt handles Cincinnati to win the Big East and let the chips fall where they may. The SEC, ACC and BIG 12 could all still see upsets in conference championship games the following week.

While I obviously don't feel Pitt will run the table, this whole hypothetical scenerio could get them in the conversation towards the end of the season.

If we've learned anything, it's that the unpredictable can, and usually does happen during the college football season.  It should be an ebtertaing season to watch.