Louisville and South Florida set the table today with their 11 a.m. game and WVU’s chances for the BCS are enhanced if the Bulls find a way to show up, care and try and also beat the Cardinals. Whatever the outcome, you’ll know a lot more about what’s at stake tonight once the appetizer is digested. Bobby Eveld is, as he was last year, your man today.

If Louisville wins, WVU needs to win out and have Cincinnati win out to get to the BCS. If USF wins, WVU still needs to win out and that’s it, though there are some tiebreakers the Mountaineers could fall back should they lose to get to the BCS.

Now as for tonight, there’s some different language coming out of the Pitt athletic department. WVU athletic director Oliver Luck has said all the proactive and optimistic things about the Future of the Backyard Brawl, but his counterpart sounds a little less convinced this series can continue.

“I’d say it’s pretty mixed, just in an initial response to it,” he said, when asked what he’s hearing from Pitt fans. “People feel both ways. It’s been a good game. But if it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make sense.”

I don’t know how it doesn’t make sense, especially with the changing dynamics in scheduling and conference affiliation and finances and recruiting, but, whatever. What I know is this is somehow a swing game for the conference championship and if it’s the last time the Mountaineers and the Panthers go at it for a while, at least there’s something to it.

11:45 am: Pitt’s backup quarterback, Trey Anderson, and WVU’s running back, Dustin Garrison, have an interesting relationship.

Garrison, leading the Mountaineers as a freshman running back with 600 yards rushing and 5.5 yards per carry this season, had just moved into his new house in Pearland, Texas, and looked at the driveway across the street.

There was Anderson, who today is Pitt’s backup quarterback, shooting a basketball in his driveway.

“I go outside for a second and sit on my porch and I see him shooting,” Garrison said. “He looks at me and he’s like, ‘Hey, come over.’

“Well, I don’t know anything about the guy and I don’t care, so I get up and leave. Just go inside, don’t even acknowledge that I saw him. Get up, leave, go inside.”

Time went on in their neighborhood in the Gulf Coast region of Texas, and Anderson remembered more of the same even as they’d grown up and walked the same halls and played on the same team at Pearland High.

“I’m outside mowing my yard and he’s just sitting there watching me,” Anderson said. “I realize I’m the one doing all the hard work, sweating like crazy, and he’s sitting on his little porch outside with a lollipop or something.”

3:07 pm: Louisville 34, USF 24 and there was no joy in the parking lots — and that’s a shame, because it’s gorgeous today.

Things are easier now as they relate to the BCS … I mean, easier to understand, but not easier to achieve, and I wouldn’t discount the deflated feeling WVU might be feeling knowing Louisville won. (By the way, for the purpose of this discussion, anything after the BCS is pure speculation, but I would think if WVU doesn’t get into the BCS and WVU doesn’t finish 7-5/3-4, WVU is headed to the Belk Bowl. Can’t see Charlotte passing on the Mountaineers  knowing they may not be there after this year. Here’s what you focus on now for the BCS bid: WVU must win out and Cincinnati must win out.

And I’m not sure what’s more unsettling for you: Resting hopes in Bobby Eveld or resting hopes in Munch Legaux (or whoever replaces ML if Butch Jones pulls the plug). It’s enough to drive one to imbibe.

3:15: Ever wonder how they get the tubas to the game? You don’t? Well, too bad.

3:59: No surprises on the dress list today.

5:39: Sweater update? Sweater update! Let’s go with a pop quiz: Who is wearing this sweater? I’ll give you the answer just before kickoff.

5:45: I think Ivan Maisel is pretty good at this thing we do and I was looking forward to this profile on the The Product. It was going really well until I drove into this ditch.

Arizona may be a better fit for a guy like Rodriguez than Michigan. He is a genuinely nice person whose default facial expression is a grin. But he is a small-town guy who has spent his whole life proving he belonged, demanding he be taken seriously, competing to knock the opponent across the line square in the mouth.

On the whole, pretty good story.

6:01: For your use during the game, here’s the list of WVU single-season records in danger tonight and what the player has to do to get there:

Eu

-Pass attempts (needs three)
-Completions (needs six)
-Passing yards (needs 111)
-Total offense (needs 103 yards rushing and passing)

Stedman Bailey

-Receiving yards (needs seven)
-Receiving touchdowns (needs three)

Tavon Austin

-Receptions (needs six)
-Receiving yards (needs 138)
-All-purpose yards (needs 141 combined rushing, receiving and returning)

6:08: No player was to be as attached  to or affected by the coaching change than Geno Smith. The season has been … hmmm … eventful.

“It’s been a great ride,” he said. “It’s not over by any means, though. We have three more games left and we’re going to try to play hard and try to become the team everyone wants us to be.

“Personally, it’s been memorable. I’m honored to lead the team and be the first quarterback of Dana Holgorsen’s head coaching era and I’ve really tried to put this program back on the map.

“We have so much history and it gets overlooked. It means a lot to me just to be here in this position.”

6:14: Just got out my flip cam and told Hertz, “… pretty sure we’re gonna see some jawing between these guys at midfield.” Let’s find out!

6:16: Scouts from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills are here tonight.

6:21: Looks like Lucas Nix, Pitt’s best lineman, is going to give it a shot tonight. He’s missed the past five games, so that’s good for the Panthers. Then again, that could be the eighth different starting lineup for Pitt’s offensive line this season. Participants believe tonight’s game is to be decided by the line play.

“That’s definitely what this game is going to come down to,” Barclay said. “We both run the spread, so whoever gets the most push and penetration through the line is going to have the most success.

“Their front is good and they have some athletic guys up there and they’ve got a decent amount of sacks this year. We have to execute our offense and keep their guys away from our guys.”

6:27: I’m just going to say this and let you decipher it however you want, but WVU and Pitt are playing a night game and WVU will go with the blue-on-blue while Pitt will go with the white-on-blue. I’m not saying this happened before or that it might mean anything. Just an observation.

6:59: Among the notes on the seniors, who are being introduced right now, is this on Ea Smith: His mom has never seen him play in college. She’s here tonight. Brad Starks was introduced, but did not crutch out onto the field. Odd, but apart from Bruce and maybe Barclay, that seemed like Holgorsen’s warmest embrace.

7:04: Changes to the starting lineup: Josh Taylor is your nose guard in place of Jorge Wright, Casey Vance is at weak side linebacker in place of Doug Rigg, Najee Goode is again  at strong side and Brodrick Jenkins is starting at cornerback in place of Pat Miller. Vance and Taylor are starting because they’re seniors. Jenkins is a sophomore. You happy now?

7:05: As promised, the answer to your trivia question. If you guessed that that sweater belonged to JackBo, you would be wrong. Check for yourself. That marvelous sweater is, in fact, mine.

7:08: Good start — first pass on the second play is almost intercepted (and probably should have been) and Eu is sacked on the third play. Mike Molinari punts and it’s short with a fortuitous roll.

7:13: Garvin might have been able to intercept the second-down pass, but he was sizing up the receiver and missed the flight of the pass. He took out his frustrations on third down and leveled Sunseri.

7:15: Can’t recall ever seeing that penalty before. Ever.

7:18: Everyone on press row agrees: Got to go for it; Never, ever seen that penalty before.

7:22: You just witnessed history: Shortest penalty ever.

7:24: I’m not sure I can blame that on WVU’s special teams, but a penalty on special teams set up a touchdown after a missed field goal. I’m still shocked I saw that flag.

7:28: Zebras standing over the ball tonight …

7:29: It’s 5-on-3 up front and the three are winning.

7:32: Eu sets the attempts record with the second one to Tavon who might break the yardage record before Stedman. Very emotional crowd tonight, too, and none of them are fans of the officials … but that was a touchback.

7:34: The “real” defense is in now — Wright in at nose and Barber at MLB with Rigg at WLB.

7:36: Crowd is mad, but that’s really not a penalty.

7:39: I have nothing against Molinari, but you can’t let this continue. That’s a 22-yard punt in a game you can’t lose. I’d rather take what you don’t know you’ll get from Corey Smith over what you know you’re getting from Molinari.

7:42: Garvin has six tackles already, which would be good if he were an end or a linebacker and not the deep safety.

7:44: Worth repeating a point I made and so many others conveyed earlier today: Do not underestimate the impact Louisville’s win had on WVU. The Mountaineers do no start well and that had to take wind out of their sales. Pitt, meanwhile, is a killer in the first quarter and is now outscoring opponents 94-19. And this is something I got after Stewart for, so I have to do it here, too. A team that’s not good in the first quarter is 2:14 away form its largest deficit after the first quarter this season. And WVU hasn’t trailed at the end of the first quarter since Oct. 1 and is now being outscored 98-68. In Big East games, it’s 62-34.

7:47: Stedman gets his record with a 16-yard gain, oddly enough on a short pass where he ran to pick up the yardage. Shortly after that, Geno gets the completion record on the screen pass to Garrison.

7:50: That’s a 27-yard punt by Molinari and I’m positive WVU wanted that ball 10 or so yards deeper than it is. The reason you have to yank Molinari is because you don’t want to be in the third or fourth quarter and your lack of faith in the punter affects your play calls or punt/go decisions. Let Smith punt and see what he can do.

8:04: Jenkins playing well so far, by the way.

8:07: And here’s Corey Smith. The kid who was booed mercilessly earlier this season rifles a 57-yarder and a personal foul penalty totally flips the field as the crowd totally flips out. Pitt has a first-and-10 at the 10.

8:08: Stadium rushes out 7NA at the first opportunity, but the game is not in a timeout. Brief version is fine by me.

8:10: Defense seems calibrated now and forced a 3-and-out. Circle that punt, man.

8:12: I don’t know, but for some reason, this doesn’t feel like a 14-0 game.

8:15: And that’s probably why. Not unlike the  penalty earlier, I’m sure I’ve seen a touchdown like that, either. I’d like to see the receivers markedly better than this Bailey fellow.

8:16: 7NA! And Corey Smith changed this game. He did.

8:20: By the way, Eu set the yardage record on the TD pass to Bailey. Pretty neat for them, what with their years together in high school and now here.

8:22: In case you were wondering, “Whatever happened to Ish Banks?” there’s your answer. Thank him later for reminding you by losing his mind for a moment and watching the bouncing punt hit him. And again, why won’t Tavon just catch the punt? That’s not entirely on Banks. Huge, huge swing.

8:24: Defense saves WVU a little bit. Put in a bad spot, it gives up a first down, but then gets a stop and gives up a field goal. WVU could have tied it at the half, but down 17-7 now can only be as close as a field goal down entering the locker room.

8:30: Sheesh, shaky possession there and WVU, which got the ball with 2:50 left in the half, punts it with 2:01 left.

8:30: WVU has two timeouts here and pinned the Panthers as deep as the Mountaineer just were. Let’s watch! First-and-15 after a false start.

8:33: Dana calls a timeout after the second-down play. Third-and-8 at the 27, WVU has one more timeout left.

8:34: Ish Banks with the tackle! Here’s the other side of that timeout decision — and why I was curious what Dana would do. Pitt does what everyone would do on third-and-8 but gets a good cut-and-run by Brown. Now it’s first down at Pitt’s 47 after a 20-yard gain and the Panthers have 47 seconds to go.

8:36: See? Pitt is compelled to take a shot and Darwin Cook gets the interception and brings it back to the same 47 and now the Mountaineers have 31 seconds and a timeout.

8:37: Two sacks and an eventful half ends with Geno screaming at his offensive line and then kind of refusing to walk off the field with them. He walked slowly and deliberately in a straight line between the hash marks as everyone else angled toward the tunnel in the corner. Stedman came over, smacked hands with his QB and then got Smith headed toward the locker room.

9:03: It’s as though they’ve made a check list for special teams screw-ups and said at halftime, “Whoa, Ta! You haven’t muffed one yet. Get on it.” Austin muffs it and Pitt recovers at the 16. It’s ridiculous. And perhaps we do have an answer for why he doesn’t catch them, but then we have a question to counter that: Why is he back there?

9:05: Defense bails out the special teams again. A touchdown on either one of those and this is a very, very different game. I will now accept bets on how WVU makes us laugh on special teams next.

9:12: Third-and-2 and WVU takes a timeout not to get the right play, but to get the right personnel. Yikes.

9:14: WVU ran the ball very well on that possession. Remove the sacks from the rushing total and WVU ran the ball for 19 yards in the first half — and 13 yards go to Eu on scrambles, so that’s not even a true read of how bad the run game was. On that drive, WVU ran for 3, 14, 8, 11 and 8 yards — 44 total. Not surprisingly, a playaction fake on a run outside opened the middle for Urban’s big gain. Those Pitt FGs are significant right now.

9:23: Sunseri’s legs get him into trouble. Needs to throw it away more than he does or throw it to a receiver more than he does. Just holding onto the ball too much.

9:24: Tough crowd! Devon Brown is back to field punts and he is cheered loudly after a successful fair catch.

9:26: Have to kick it. Worked too hard to get back into it to give Pitt the ball there.

9:27: I always liked Corey Smith! Punt is downed at the Pitt 1 and that was absolutely the right decision. It’s the right decision if its a touchback.

9:30: I love playaction here …

9:30: And so does Pitt. Good call at a good moment and it nearly worked. Jenkins made a nice play to break up the pass to Street, who did have a step or so on Jenkins.

9:35: Jeff Mullen_ just spilled his drink. Triple option and Eu is shot out of a cannon for a 16-yard gain.

9:37: Turnover on downs there and twice on that possession Eu changed the play and  never told the running backs. Both times Pitt communicated something, probably that very fact, and jumped the pass play.

9:42: WVU has nine first downs  through three quarters. Nine! And the Panthers did not want to call a timeout there. They had something they liked, but Sunseri couldn’t get the snap in time.

9:43: Sunseri has 14 carries and has been sacked five times. He bails on plays in a hurry. Maybe it’s because he’s been sacked so much, but maybe that’s why he’s been sacked so much. You’d like to see him hang in there a little longer. He’s been getting tackled from behind a lot, basically when he’s trying to do something with his legs.

9:51: Pitt might have a hard time winning if it doesn’t do something with this turnover … and Bennett turns the third-and-4 into third-and-9 with a false start. Panthers look perfectly content to try to win 20-14.

9:53: Alligator arms there and here’s another punt, one Brown catches by his fingertips at the 17.

9:55: The crowd tonight is 60,932, the largest to see a Big East game this season.

9:56: Just noticed the note from earlier in the third quarter (9:16 pm) was lost — another refresh problem — but Quinton Spain and Curtis Feigt have played the entire second half at right guard and right tackle, respectively.

9:59: Third-and-1 and WVU loses five yards on a pass play … and  he’s not kicking  it here.

10:00: And he ran the entire play clock down before calling a timeout. Unusual, but there’s still 7:05 to go. This is not a timeout to discuss kicking it. They’re going for it.

10:03: Eu to Austin for nine yards and it’s on now.

10:05: Lots of time left here, but Pitt might be a five- and soon-to-be six-loss team for a reason. The Mountaineers, despite all their errors, lead 21-20 with 6:10 left to play and Shawne Alston how has 10 touchdowns this season. Notice the run went right.

10:06: 7NA! And I’m OK with the timing here. Place is nuts.

10:07: 7NA! Again!

10:08: WVU defense got everything it wanted there, but Najee missed a tackle.

10:11: Inexcusable sack and Pitt is just not good.

10:21: Pitt playing the numbers right late and making the defensive plays, but that might be the key offensive play, too. Would be a first down on second-and-12 if it stands. Drama!

12:25: Postgame story, with quotes!

Some stuff from me and the Mountaineers:

– Julian Miller tied a school record with his four sacks. “Above average,” Holgorsen said.

– WVU’s 10 sacks were two shy of a school record. Nine were in the second half … and all in the final 25 plays.

– You remember the 13-hitter? This is Dana’s quote after the game: “We had the two miscues on special teams, but other than that I thought we played pretty good on special teams. Those were two costly mistakes, but the defense had enough to them to go out and contain them.”

– Corey Smith was terrific after the game. Said all the right things. He was funny. He poked fun at his past to underplay the present. He also, in my opinion, was giving everyone the finger with everything he said. I loved every second of it. He maybe didn’t win that game, but I don’t know how WVU wins without him. We circled that first punt, but the last one was clutch.

– Curtis Feight was promoted from the scout team the week of the Cincinnati game. Not only that, but when he was on the scout team, he was the right tackle for the opponent’s offensive line.

– I think Holgorsen was kind of ashamed to cop to some of the changes he had to make for the second half — more runs than passes, hardly any dropback passes — and, more specifically, why he had to — WVU couldn’t block Pitt. He also said this team still doesn’t know what it is … but maybe this is a team that, at least lately, has been just good enough to find a few ways to do a few good things and escape a bad outcome.