With the departure of West Virginia to the Big 12, Pitt's been looking for a couple of opponents for their 2012 football season. File this in the 'rumor' category for now, but according to website ChampionshipSubdivision.com, they may have found one. The site lists the schedules for the FCS' Big South Conference and says that Pitt could play a game against Gardner-Webb. This isn't being widely reported yet, so take it with a grain of salt. But with so much angst over Pitt's home schedule, any observations are worth noting.
As we're already in 2012, schedules are filling up fast and there aren't a lot of quality teams left. Still, if Gardner-Webb is truly the pick here, it would be a bit of a disappointment. The Runnin 'Bulldogs (yes, that's a real team nickname) have been bad, even by FCS standards. They were 4-7 in 2011 and have had only one winning season (a 6-5 year in 2009) in the past five years.
The disappointing aspect is that Pitt's home slate is already weak. Only Virginia Tech is looking like a big time game and if Gardner-Webb is indeed added to the remaining schedule consisting of Rutgers, Louisville, Youngstown State, it will be even more difficult for the Panthers to sell tickets. A final slot exists, but with Temple being rumored as a possible Big East addition in time for next year, a game against the Owls won't exactly excite fans.
↵For more on Pitt's schedule, check out SB Nation blog, Cardiac Hill.
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