...and quite a few beers in between. I've got to say, Heinz Field is nice, but tailgating under a highway overpass isn't the glorious Fall Saturday I'm used to enjoying.

First the good news. UNC could take Pitt. Pitt is not good. You thought T.J. Yates' four interceptions were bad? The Pitt quarterbacks matched that and coughed up two fumbles. And Connecticut's defense wasn't exactly South Florida's.

The bad news, besides the fact that Pittsburgh is not on the Heels' schedule for the forseeable future, is everything else. USF is a lot faster than Carolina on both sides of the ball, and it showed. It's telling that the UNC defense played a better game in the 37-10 rout than their offensive counterparts, buckling down after surrendering 78 and 83 yard scoring drives in the first quarter. After that, the Bulls were limited to field goals until the fourth quarter, when the turnover-provided field position proved too much. Matt Grothe is a good quarterback, and some of his recievers are incredible in the things they can pull down in tight coverage; UNC showed a lot of promise in just doing what they did.

On offense, well, USF is faster. Try to run, and the defense is there first, catching you. Try to pass, and the defense is there first, catching the ball you just threw. You can't win a game at this level with four interceptions, and to no one's surprise the game wasn't won.

South Florida will presumably continue to improve and should challenge West Virginia and Rutgers for the Big East title, especially as Louisville continues to be unable to play even the most rudimentary defense. UNC gets Virginia Tech, a tough team to try to show improvement against.