No, it's not the way the season was supposed to go. But I still maintain that playing in any bowl is better than staying at home. And with that, Pitt is bound for the BBVA Compass Bowl to play SMU. The most annoying thing about the matchup? We've got to again explain what the heck a BBVA Compass is, anyway (it's a bank, in case you've forgotten from last year).
Your first thought was probably, 'Weren't we just there?' That would be yes, since Pitt defeated Kentucky in the game last year. No, it's not the BCS, but there are a few things to like about this one.
Pitt gets a team it should beat ... 'should' being the operative word. The Mustangs were 7-5 in C-USA this year and in three of their biggest games against Texas A&M, Houston, and Southern Miss, they were rolled up 110-24. That's downright ugly. They did beat a pretty good TCU team, so Pitt shouldn't be sleeping in this one. But at first glance, like I said, Pitt should be able to win this one and get to seven wins on the season.
The game is also the only one on January 7th, so it will get plenty of attention (well, as much as it can get, anyway) That's a Saturday and the game has a 1:00 p.m. kickoff, so you'll be able to watch without missing work.
Lastly, it's in Birmingham - which should have considerably better weather than here in Pittsburgh ... though if I remember correctly, it wasn't all that warm there last year. Could make for a nice trip, although not too many Pitt fans made it last year.
This season was a disappointment - no other way to say it. But still glad to see Pitt going bowling this year.