ESPN College Football

Greetings from the Midwest. Let's see what's happening around the Beast.

• South Florida player Boo Simon quits football after being diagnosed with epilepsy. The Bulls are working at an accelerated pace this spring.
• Pitt's new defense is similar to the one employed by former coach Dave Wannstedt. Panthers RB Isaac Bennett gets a showcase opportunity in practice while Ray Graham is on the mend.
• Tavon Austin's versatility stands out for West Virginia. Donte Campbell could be the Mountaineers' next 1,000-yard receiver.
• Connecticut coach Paul Pasqualoni has no issues with taking transfers, as long as they fit his program.
• Kyle Flood's friends and family members weigh in on the new Rutgers coach.
• Cincinnati coach Butch Jones discusses the second section of spring football.
• Athlon Sports ranks the current and future Big East coaches.
• Louisville offers a defensive back from Florida.

Todd Graham arrived in Pittsburgh talking a big game, throwing around his ideas for a high-octane offense, for doing everything the Pitt way, for making the city and its fans get behind him and his players with the special brand of football he had to offer.

But from the start, it was obvious Graham did not do anything the Pitt way.

He did it the Graham way.

Graham took a sledgehammer to Pitt football in every way imaginable, gutting the true essence of what this program represented. He was flashy. Self-absorbed. Concerned for his own advancement. When his high-octane offense looked as exciting as a jalopy riding in a NASCAR race, he blamed his players -- not himself.

And when his first opportunity came to bolt, he did, taking a page out of the Randy Edsall Book of Class to deliver the message to his players via text message. Graham lasted less than a year at Pitt, compiling a 6-6 record after setting preseason expectations so high, the Panthers were picked to finish second in the conference.

The Graham way indeed.

The disaster started before Graham, of course, when athletic director Steve Pederson decided to fire coach Dave Wannstedt even though he delivered a share of the Big East championship last December. Wannstedt failed to live up to some pretty high expectations, but he never wounded his school, his players or his fans with such a reckless, selfish attitude. Nothing about Wannstedt ever screamed, "Me first." It was Wannstedt last week who astutely pointed out that Graham treated quarterback Tino Sunseri with little respect throughout the entire season.

After getting rid of Wannstedt, Pederson turned to Mike Haywood, but that turned out to be a disaster itself. Haywood was arrested on domestic violence charges a short time later, leaving the Panthers desperate. Graham had lobbied hard for the job before Haywood was hired, so Pitt already was familiar with him and his background at Tulsa.

So in came Graham, who professed his love for Pitt, for this being a dream opportunity, for all the amazing things he could do to get this team back into a BCS game. I sat down with him for the first time during the Big East spring meetings last May, and he went over all his talking points when I asked him why he wanted to coach at Pitt.

"I’ve spent my whole life working to get this job," he said. "This is the best job I’ve ever had. To get an opportunity in a conference like this in a place like Pitt where you can compete to win it all ... our goal is to win championships. We’re extremely motivated."

Not motivated enough. In hindsight, perhaps Pederson should have seen the signs. Graham now has two one-year tenures on his résumé, a man so completely consumed with finding a bigger, better opportunity that he has no sense of loyalty, relationships or how to tell the truth.

Just ask Pitt receiver Devin Street, who took to Twitter on Wednesday to deliver one harsh message after another:

"I feel like dirt and I was just abused. For a year"

"I'm literally sick. That man pulled me in his office one on one and lied to me"

"He's an actor he did it to rice then us now he's gonna do it to ASU... That energy is fake he has them fooled"

Or defensive end Brandon Lindsey, who tweeted, "For someone who said they read the bible everyday, he must've missed the pg that said 'thou shall not lie'"

It is understandable for the players to be reacting this way. They are going on their fourth head coach in a year. But we all know coaching changes are a necessary part of college football. Coaches lie to advance themselves. None of this is new to Pitt or to the sport itself.

What is so unsettling about this situation is the way Graham went about leaving. He asked for permission to interview at Arizona State but was denied. So he resigned anyway, after 11 months on the job and a .500 record to show for all his bravado. Whatever his reasons, his final day proved to fit Graham to a tee:

He did it the Graham way.

We're taking a closer look at city schools in college football. Our definition of a city school is one that competes in the same city/market as an NFL franchise. The Big East has a few of them. Let's examine the Pittsburgh Panthers

School: Pittsburgh
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Enrollment: 18,000 full-time undergraduate students
Bowl appearances: 23
NFL first-round picks: 22
Losing seasons: 33
10-win seasons: 5

Source: ESPN Stats & Info (Note: College numbers date back to 1936, the first year of the AP poll. NFL numbers date back to 1970.)

The good: For many years, Pitt was one of the premier football programs on the East Coast. The Panthers claim nine national championships, the last coming in 1976. They have also produced scores of legendary players, including Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Hugh Green and Mike Ditka.

Pitt is located in a football-mad area, and thanks to a solid partnership with the Rooney family, it shares top-flight facilities with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, including Heinz Field. The Panthers' and Steelers' training facilities are connected, so Pitt players can interact with NFL stars on a daily basis. Western Pennsylvania has long been a fertile ground for recruiting, and Pittsburgh boasts top-flight academics as well as the comforts of an underrated city.

The program went through a dry spell after Jackie Sherrill left in 1982, and it has struggled to reach the same heights since. Things looked to be turning around when alumnus Dave Wannstedt led the team to a 10-win season in 2009, but Wannstedt was forced to resign after 2010's 7-5 regular-season record. New coach Todd Graham is looking to restore the glory.

The bad: Pittsburgh is a Steelers town first. The Panthers got an upgrade when they moved downtown to Heinz Field, but there is little college feel to the place, and the stadium is very rarely full except for when marquee opponents like West Virginia and Notre Dame come to town.

Pitt's greatest accomplishments came as a football independent, and those have not been matched since the school joined the Big East in 1991. The Panthers have not won a single outright conference title and have made only one BCS appearance, getting blown out of the 2004 Fiesta Bowl by Utah. The program's recent history is filled with disappointments, big-game losses and stunning upsets.

Shifting population patterns mean that Pittsburgh can no longer rely simply on Western Pennsylvania talent to fill the roster, and competition for the best players in-state is fierce with Penn State and Ohio State as main competitors. The school has changed coaches frequently and hasn't found a signature leader since the days of Sherrill and Johnny Majors (even Majors' second go-round as Pitt coach ended up a failure). Perhaps Graham can help the program establish an identity and return to the elite status it once enjoyed.

• South Florida has plenty of options in the backfield.
• Dave Wannstedt defended his time at Pitt after a story shed negative light on the Panthers' off-the-field issues. Pitt won the wrong kind of national title.
• With Eric LeGrand in good hands, Greg Schiano can get back to business this spring.
• Syracuse is gearing up for the start of spring practice next week.
• Financial losses like UConn's in the Fiesta Bowl are just part of the game nowadays.

Keep the e-mails flowing, and it will be spring practice time before you know it.

Sgt. Robert Jackson from Montgomery, W. Va., writes: Hey, there Brian! Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your blog, I'm currently deployed overseas and I follow it everytime I hit a computer! I just wanted to ask you how quickly you think Dana Holgorsen will have an impact on WVU's offense compared to the time it took Coach Rod several years ago?

Brian Bennett: Thanks, Robert, and thanks for all you do. I think we'll see a quick impact by Dana Holgorsen, because for one thing that is his track record. Here are the offensive totals in his first year as coordinator at both Houston and Oklahoma State.

• Houston (2008): 562.8 yards per game (second nationally) and 40.6 points (10th)

• Oklahoma State (2010): 520.2 yards per game (third nationally) and 44.2 points (third).

Rodriguez's offense didn't really hit its stride until he found Pat White and Steve Slaton. Holgorsen has shown an ability to adapt his players to his system, and I think the Mountaineers are in good shape to adjust to it with the players they have, starting with Geno Smith.

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Mike from W. Va. writes: Your prediction for the best running back in the BE in 2011? Also, the best over all offense?

Brian Bennett: Based on stats alone, you'd have to say Isaiah Pead, who finished fourth in rushing last year at 1,029 yards and is the leading returning rusher. However, it does seem like there are games when he is either shut down or forgotten about. I think you have to look at Ray Graham and what he might be able to do as the lone returning tailback for Pittsburgh, and the way Todd Graham will set up that offense. And whoever emerges as the leading ball carrier at UConn usually puts up big stats. As for the top offense, I'd say it's a competition between Cincinnati and West Virginia right now.

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Dave from Parts Unknown writes: UConn is sending six players, all of whom were two-star recruits, to the NFL combine. Sort of puts the recruiting rankings into perspective, no?

Brian Bennett: And don't forget that the Huskies had four players drafted in the first two rounds of the 2009 draft, plus two more draft picks last year. It's not your potential as much as what you do with it.

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Alex from N.J. writes: I am very excited coming off the outstanding Rutgers recruiting performance and the hiring of a new offensive coordinator. Speaking of which, does Pitt officially regret firing Dave Wannstedt? The school did not seem to have a real plan after his firing and botched the first try. I just cannot see how that program has improved its prospects. I know one thing, RU has benefited most from that fiasco, locking up some new coaches, including a great NJ recruiter in Jeff Hafley.

Brian Bennett: Rutgers did a good job of swooping in and taking some players away during Pitt's turmoil, not to mention adding three former Panthers assistants. There's no question that Pittsburgh botched its first hire in replacing Wannstedt. Ultimately, though, the judgment will be whether Graham can win at a higher level than Wannstedt. If that happens, along with a more exciting offensive attack, then Pitt won't have any regrets.

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Afram M. from Palm Harbor, Fla., writes: I noticed that most of the high-profile teams have live mascots or do other exciting pre-game acts as they run onto the field. That sort of stuff really pumps up players and fans and seems to help recruiting as well. It doesn't seem like any of the Big East teams do anything like that. I know the athletic directors at USF are too chicken to do anything exciting in fears of a lawsuit. How come none of the other Big East teams step up their efforts with things that will excite players and draw national attention?

Brian Bennett: I agree that the pregame festivities leave something to be desired around the league. There's nothing nearly as exciting as Ralphie running onto the field with Colorado, or the Sooner Schooner or even the Oregon duck on the motorcycle.

West Virginia has the Mountaineers and his musket, and Rutgers has the knight on horseback, but it's not quite the same. UConn has a Husky on the sidelines, and Cincinnati has a live bearcat at games, but neither is intimidating. (Nor would a live cardinal impress anyone). And I don't think anyone would get too excited if this thing came running out of the tunnel first. The league's marketing departments have some work to do.

A reader asked me on my chat Wednesday to grade Skip Holtz's first year at South Florida, and then another reader asked me to do it for all the Big East coaches. It's certainly a lot easier to sit on the sidelines and pass judgments than it is to try and run a program. But it's kind of fun, too. So here are my grades for each job turned in by a Big East head coach in 2010:

A-plus

Doug Marrone, Syracuse
Charlie Strong, Louisville

What is coaching if not maximizing a team's potential? If you had told Syracuse supporters before the season they would win eight games and a bowl, and Louisville backers they would win seven games and a bowl, both fan bases would have giddily agreed to that. Strong and Marrone squeezed the most out of their teams.

B-plus

Skip Holtz, South Florida

The Bulls' 8-5 season is particularly impressive when you consider how many defensive starters were gone from 2009, the potential for team conflict following the Jim Leavitt episode and the lack of playmakers on offense, especially in the passing game. USF played about as well as any Big East team down the stretch.

B

• Experience and support from high school coaches earned Paul Pasqualoni the UConn job. Pasqualoni is returning to his roots.

• It looks like Ishaq Williams is headed to Notre Dame, not Syracuse.

• Todd Graham could be bringing some Tulsa recruits with him to Pittsburgh. Dave Wannstedt is looking at the Buffalo Bills.

• West Virginia picked up a linebacker.

If Todd Graham simply makes it to signing day as Pittsburgh's head coach, he will already have proved more successful than his immediate predecessor.

How much more success Graham will have with the Panthers remains to be seen, of course. But it looks like the school made the best of a messy situation with a solid hire this time around.

I thought that Pitt should be bold and go after Rich Rodriguez or Gus Malzahn. Instead, it landed a coach who once worked under Rodriguez at West Virginia and who once was Malzahn's boss at Tulsa. Graham has a terrific record, going 43-23 in five seasons at Tulsa and Rice, winning at least 10 games in three of the past four years with the Golden Hurricane. He has also been a part of some major turnarounds, leading Rice to its first bowl game in 45 years in his lone season as head coach at that school, and working on the staff that brought Tulsa back from the dead.

Pittsburgh doesn't need to be resurrected. The Panthers just need a steady hand who can realize the potential for a program that has long underachieved. The foundation is in place, as former coach Dave Wannstedt left things in good shape before being forced out. Graham will have to hastily patch together a recruiting class that has gone up in smoke since Wannstedt's departure and the hiring and firing of Mike Haywood. It won't be easy, and the team could feel the impact of those losses in years to come.

But one recruiting class is less important than having the right man in charge. Graham makes for a considerably better choice than Haywood, who led his own impressive turnaround this season at Miami (Ohio) but had nothing else on his résumé as a head coach. Why didn't Pitt hire Graham in the first go-around, when he was one of the men considered? Mostly because of money, since Graham made $1.3 million at Tulsa and wanted a raise to leave. The notoriously budget-conscious Panthers didn't want to open their wallet the first time but were far more willing to do so now after the public relations nightmare of the Haywood arrest. Graham will reportedly be paid in the $2 million range.

Now he must prove he is worth it. The last Tulsa coach to take over a Big East program was Graham's former boss, Steve Kragthorpe. He flamed out in spectacular fashion at Louisville. Rebuilding a team at the Conference USA level and guiding one to a BCS game in an AQ conference, even one as wide open as the Big East, are not the same thing.

Whatever happens, Pitt fans shouldn't be bored, as they might have been with Haywood's style. Graham's teams score points in bunches; the Golden Hurricane led the nation in scoring in 2007 and 2008 when Malzahn was their offensive coordinator and averaged better than 41 points this year, breaking the 50-point barrier four times. That has to sound great to Panthers fans who were sick of Wannstedt's conservative offenses.

It's interesting, though, that Graham's background is on defense, as he was Rodriguez's defensive coordinator in Morgantown. Yet Tulsa has often been terrible on defense and allowed more than 30 points per game this season. Graham won't have Malzahn or Chad Morris -- who left Tulsa this week for Clemson -- to call plays at Heinz Field.

Regardless, Pitt is about to fully embrace the spread, even if all the current players were recruited for a pro-style system. Get ready for some big-time Backyard Brawl shootouts between Graham and new West Virginia offensive coordinator/future head coach Dana Holgorsen. The offensive doldrums that plagued both schools this year -- and the Big East in general -- are about to end.

Had the Panthers simply hired Graham instead of Haywood in December, they could have saved themselves a lot of grief. He looks like a solid choice going forward. He'd better be, since athletic director Steve Pederson's job and the future of the program are riding on it.

Graham will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. I'll have more thoughts after that media briefing.

Now that Pittsburgh has officially wrapped up its 2010 season, we can jump in the way-back machine and see how our Best Case/Worst Case scenarios for the Panthers matched up with reality:

Best Case in a nutshell: A 12-0 record and loss in the BCS title game

Worst Case in a nutshell: 6-6 and no bowl.

Reality: Pitt finished 7-5 in the regular season and won the BBVA Compass Bowl against Kentucky.

Analysis: My Worst Case outlook turned out to be almost eerily prescient. Pitt did indeed lose to Utah, Miami and Notre Dame and get beat by UConn and West Virginia after starting out 3-0 in Big East play. At least the Panthers did manage to beat Cincinnati in the finale to avoid a step-by-step disaster scenario. I also wrote that Dave Wannstedt would possibly retire in that prediction; instead, he was forced out. No way I could have seen the complete nightmare of a coaching search that followed. Pittsburgh may have won a share of the Big East title and a bowl game this year, but in many ways it was a Worst Case kind of year.

With all the coaching turmoil surrounding Pittsburgh this past month, it could be easy to forget the Panthers still have a game to play. They'll kick it off in one of the last bowl games of the season Saturday in the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., vs. Kentucky. A Pitt victory would give the Big East a winning record in the postseason, as the league is currently 3-2. Here's a quick preview:

WHO TO WATCH: Pittsburgh wide receiver Jon Baldwin. It's all but assuredly the junior's final college game before he goes to the NFL, and Pitt's offense usually only excels when he's fully involved in the game. Kentucky is not a great defensive team but does have a decent secondary, as the Wildcats finished No. 20 in pass defense this season. It will also be interesting to see how Baldwin is used after he publicly complained about his role in the offense following Dave Wannstedt's forced resignation last month.

WHAT TO WATCH: How focused and organized the Panthers are. The last month has been incredibly strange, with not one, but two head coaches being dismissed. The players weren't even sure who would coach them in the bowl game until Wannstedt announced Monday he would not be going to Birmingham. The program might have a new coach in place before kickoff. Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett will be serving as interim head coach, but the staff is missing defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, who both went to work for Rutgers. Where the players' heads are is anybody's guess, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Pitt struggle after all this dysfunction. Then again, maybe playing a game will serve as a major relief.

WHY WATCH: If for no other reason than to see the soap opera unfold on national TV. In strictly football terms, there will be a lot of playmakers on the field, like Kentucky's Randall Cobb. But the Wildcats have their own problems, starting with the loss of suspended starting quarterback Mike Hartline. Still, it's a team that nearly beat Auburn this season and upset South Carolina. Every Big East vs. the SEC matchup is worth watching for league respect, and Pitt needs to win a nonconference game against somebody of note this season.

PREDICTION: Kentucky is no juggernaut, especially without its quarterback. But Pitt also will be missing Big East defensive player of the year Jabaal Sheard and starting defensive tackle Myles Caragein because of injuries. Throw in all the off-the-field drama and the Panthers' inability to win big games all year, and I just don't see how they can claim a bowl victory. Make it Kentucky 31-21.

• Dave Wannstedt gave an emotional farewell speech. Wannstedt should coach in the bowl (but he shouldn't read that column, which calls him a "hypocritical quitter." Ouch.) Can Pitt still get a quality candidate?
• West Virginia will shell out $1.8 million for all its coaching changes.
• Randy Edsall failed to live up to his own standards upon exiting UConn. A quarterback recruit is still solid with the Huskies.
• A first crack at a 2011 South Florida spring depth chart.
• Frank Cignetti will bring a change in offensive philosophy to Rutgers.

At this point, perhaps this blog should just become the hourly Pittsburgh bad news report.

In addition to all the crazy coaching news, the Panthers will be without Big East Defensive Player of the Year Jabaal Sheard for the BBVA Compass Bowl, Dave Wannstedt said Monday.

The senior defensive end had surgery on his elbow that Wannstedt called "nearly elective." Let the conspiracy theorists debate whether Wannstedt advised the pro prospect not to risk his status in a meaningless bowl game overshadowed by the coaching fiasco. If Jon Baldwin comes up with a phantom hamstring injury before kickoff, then we'll talk.

Sheard had 14.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks this season. His absence puts more pressure on Brandon Lindsey to perform, and Pitt will have to rely on other players such as Justin Hargrove, Nate Nix and T.J. Clemmings to pick up the slack at end.

Meanwhile, Kentucky just became a bigger favorite for Saturday's game.

Rutgers continues to take advantage of the turmoil at Big East rival Pittsburgh.

The Scarlet Knights have hired Frank Cignetti as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. That's the same job he had at Pitt the previous two seasons.

Cignetti replaces Kirk Ciarrocca, who -- fairly or unfairly -- took a lot of the blame for Rutgers' abysmal offensive performance in 2010. The Scarlet Knights gave up a nation's worst 61 sacks and never established any kind of running game outside of the Wildcat formation.

At Pitt, Cignetti helped make Bill Stull one of the best quarterbacks in the league his senior season in 2009. The 2010 Panthers weren't as productive in the passing game, but they also had a first-year starting quarterback in Tino Sunseri and holes on the offensive line. Cignetti was known as a quarterback guru at Cal before coming to Pitt, and perhaps his hiring will signal a rejuvenation for Tom Savage.

Cignetti oversaw a balanced attack and a rushing game led by Dion Lewis and Ray Graham. That has to really appeal to Greg Schiano, who would like to get back to a pro-style, ground-based attack that the Scarlet Knights succeeded with a few years ago.

It's an excellent hire for Rutgers, which absolutely had to shake up both its offensive staff and offensive philosophy. There had been sentiment in some Pittsburgh corners for Cignetti to replace Dave Wannstedt, or for him to take over now for the fired Mike Haywood. Instead, he'll head to New Jersey, as did former Pitt defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley. Both moves figure to not only help Rutgers on the field but to give them more ties in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey recruiting market, while taking some strengths away from another league competitor.

The coaching circus continues at Pittsburgh.

Dave Wannstedt announced on Monday that he will not coach the Panthers in Saturday's BBVA Compass Bowl against Kentucky. Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett will lead the team in the bowl.

This has been an incredibly odd situation, to say the least. Wannstedt was fired a few days after the season finale but was given the option to coach the bowl. He did not tell university administrators until Monday -- less than a week before the game -- what his intentions were. I'm sure Wannstedt would love to coach his players again, but he is also angry at the school's administration and doesn't want to deal with the news conferences/attention in Birmingham (not that anyone there will care that much about the bowl, but still). And by dragging his decision out, he got to make athletic director Steve Pederson feel uncomfortable, which Wannstedt probably enjoyed.

Meanwhile, Wannstedt has been coaching the team during the bowl practices, as players wondered who would actually lead them onto the field at game time. There was Mike Haywood watching practice from the sideline during his brief tenure. Wannstedt's former staff members were all dismissed except for defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley, who bolted for Rutgers. Various outlets have reported that offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti will join Hafley with the Scarlet Knights. And Pitt now is searching for a new head coach.

The whole situation is reminiscent of Cincinnati's coaching sideshow at last year's Sugar Bowl against Florida. But at least the Bearcats had a head coach in place for the following season.

The "distractions" angle is often overused. But if any team has had distractions this bowl season, it's Pitt. Kentucky (6-6) is not a great team, but the Panthers must be considered a huge underdog in this game considering the massive amount of chaos surrounding the program.

In case you haven't seen the story yet, new Pittsburgh coach Mike Haywood was arrested Friday afternoon in South Bend on a domestic violence charge.

Let's exercise some caution here until more details emerge. Domestic issues can often be very complicated. So far, Pitt officials haven't made any announcements or responses.

But there's no denying this is a horrible piece of news for the Panthers and a very difficult way for Haywood to start his tenure at the school. Athletic director Steve Pederson talked a lot about discipline and character as priorities upon hiring Haywood, and this is at the very least making him squirm mightily.

With Pitt still not sure who will coach the Jan. 8 BBVA Compass Bowl while waiting for Dave Wannstedt's decision, the football program is appearing to be in chaos right now. And as Pitt approaches the final stretch drive in recruiting for 2011 -- after several commitments have already rescinded their pledges -- this latest news can only do harm.

[UPDATE] Pitt sent out the following statement tonight:

“The University of Pittsburgh is aware of an alleged incident involving head football coach Michael Haywood today in South Bend, Indiana. The University expects the highest standards of conduct from its employees, including its coaches, and any breach of those standards is a very serious matter. The University will decline further comment until more complete information is available.”