I think 9-3 is an acceptable hope. My hope last year was 6-6 and they got close. Pitt simply can’t afford to lose a key component or two like they did last year (Stull and Kinder going down, plus losing Pinkston later in the year just really hurt them). Pitt has lost 1 guy that would have played but has great depth behind him in Fulmer at DE. I’m actually pretty upset at the loss of Cam Saddler, that kid is a freak in terms of punt and kickoff returns, he’s the type of player that can change a game.
In terms of Penn State, I’m a big fan of Darryl Clark. I like the way he plays, I think he probably should have been playing in front of Moronelli. Clark gives them a much more dynamic offense. The issue with Penn State is who is going to run the ball? They don’t have much depth in the backfield and if they are hoping one of these freshman like that kid from the catholic school in Youngstown is going to be a McCoy/Moreno type freshman talent, that is a tough thing to bank on. Also, where is Derrick Williams? #1 player in the country should have been doing more than this throughout his career. I’d say he’s been a dissapointment to say the least. It’s bad when a walk-on from the local high school (Jordan Norwood) has a career that is eerily similar to yours.
For West Virginia, this year I think they will be okay, but the future does not look bright. They made an extremely poor decision bringing in the guy with the racist tendencies to be a head coach. I’m not sure how he recruits with that on his record. Can Noel Devine carry the load? He’s 5’6" 180. Sure, he can get around the corner, but he’s nowhere the size of Slaton and if you just force him inside eventually you’re going to break him down. Most of their defense is gone. I wouldn’t be surprised to see WVU have a year this year like Louisville had last year. Then again, I could see them going 10-2 and winning the Big East. It’s kind of a crapshoot with them.