Bowl Preview: Meineke Car Care Bowl

Meineke Car Care Bowl
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.
Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina
Date: Dec. 26
Time: 4:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Line: Pitt -2.5

About Pitt: The Wannstaches were only a late touchdown away from beating Cincinnati and reaching a BCS game. Instead, they're spending Christmas in Charlotte. Ouch. Pitt's biggest improvement over previous seasons was when offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh took a job with the New York Jets. This let Pitt hire a new OC, Frank Cignetti, who was interested in scoring points. That and they got a freshman running back named Dion Lewis who's sweet.

Intangibles:Peppi's North Side: +5
Pitt campus: -3
Steelers fans: -7
Steelers fans when they suck: +4

About North Carolina: The Tar Heels are returning to the Car Care Bowl for the second season, which may not be quite the visions of Mack Brown-like glory fans were hoping for when they hired Butch Davis. the Heels could be great Saturday. Or they could be terrible. Nobody ever knows. They're kind of like the rest of the ACC. Or any team coached by Butch.

Intangibles: Butch Davis at Miami: +3
Butch Davis with the Browns: -8 (F you, Butch.)
Roy Williams: -3
Not Duke: +3

Impact Player: I'll go with Pitt QB Bill Stull, who I actually saw play in high school as a freshman. He's a little better now. If Stull can make some plays down the field, Pitt wins.

Bowl slogan: "Inviting North Carolina-based teams since 2004 to help our attendance projections!"

Little known fact: North Carolina's uniforms are kind of cool, but kind of gay and make me uncomfortable with own sexuality. Billy, have you ever seen a grown man naked? Wait, what?

Watchability (1-5): 3.8

The pick: Pitt 27, North Carolina 21

Observations from Saturday's games (Sept. 12)

Another great Saturday of College Football. Upsets, close calls and breakout performances. Oh yea, how much longer can Notre Dame officials think everything is OK with Charlie Weis?

So let's get to 'Eer's observations.

1. "How much did I pay for that?" At least that's what I think T. Boone Pickens is saying about Oklahoma State's stunning 45-35 loss to Houston, just one week after beating Georgia and moving to No. 5 in the polls. Houston is a decent Conference USA squad, but this is the early favorite to be the biggest upset of 2009.

2. Whew!! This goes for Wiconsin, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and especially Florida State. But for those who didn't watch last Monday's FSU-Miami game you may not truly understand why the Seminoles were primed for an upset Saturday. After the hard-hitting affair with the Canes, FSU had to be worn out today.

3. Viva LeFevour. Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour is not a household name, but the big QB may be a first- or second-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. The Mid-American Conference's best player led the Chippewas to a big upset of Michigan State on the road. Don't overlook LeFevour or CMU this fall.

4. Slick Rick. Did you see that awkward halftime interview between Erin Andrews and UCLA's Rick Neuheisel. Did he actually say, "How you doin?" He's either real smooth or slimier than Lane Kiffin. Slick got the win, though, while Tennessee fans are wondering about Lane.

5. What can Brown do for you? QB Jarrett Brown is doing everything he can to help WVU fans forget Pat White. The senior threw for a career-high 334 yards and four touchdowns as the Mountaineers exacted a bit of revenge with a 35-20 victory over East Carolina. Now the Mountaineers have to solve the turnover issue to be a legitimate Big East contender.

6. Boulder, we've got a problem. And his name is Dan Hawkins. The man who once ranted "It's Division I football!!!!!", should consider finding a Div. I quarterback. Otherwise he won't be coaching Division I football any more. Are there any openings in Colorado's intramural program?

7. Not so offensive. What little I've watch of South Carolina-Georgia one thing is clear ... both teams can play a little offense. After managing just seven points apiece last week, each SEC team has eclipsed 26 points in the third quarter.

8. LeSean who? Pitt doesn't look like it will miss LeSean McCoy quite as much as many feared. Dion Lewis has stepped right in and played extremely well again Saturday, rushing for 190 yards in a 54-27 victory at Buffalo. His presence is also taking pressure off the much-criticized QB Bill Stull.

9. Nice rebound. The ACC went 9-1 this weekend after an embarrassing 5-7 last week. Poor Virginia and Al Groh. However, North Carolina, Wake and Maryland were all lucky, so 'Eer still believes the ACC is the worst BCS conference.

10. Nice first half. Despite what happens in the second half, Ohio State has played USC better than 'Eer expected. Just hope 'Eye has sobered up enough to enjoy the game.