PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) — As crazy as this may sound, a Big East championship and BCS bowl appearance isn’t terribly out of reach for the Pitt Panthers.

At 5-5 and 3-2 in conference play, Pitt is just one game back of Cincinnati for first place in the conference. What’s more, Bearcats starting quarterback Zach Collaros is out for the season after breaking his ankle Saturday in a 24-21 loss to West Virginia.

Thus, we’re left with the following scenario for Pitt to win the Big East…

• First, quite simply, Pitt must win its final two games against West Virginia and Syracuse.
• Cincinnati has three games remaining and must lose at least two of them. The Bearcats play at Rutgers, at Syracuse and end the season with UConn at home.
• Rutgers must lose one of its last two games, either against Cincinnati or at UConn.

Given UC has lost its quarterback, WVU has arguably the worst defense in the conference and Rutgers is … well … Rutgers, nobody can rule out the possibility of Pitt winning the Big East after all.

We know two things about the Panthers: 1. The offense has the ability to outscore any opponent, the execution is what’s inconsistent; and 2. Pitt’s defense can shut down any offense in the league.

With a little consistency offensively and some help here and there, Pitt could find itself in the Orange Bowl in a little over a month.

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Chris Gates | Area 4-1-Zoo Blog
Twitter.com/Chris_Gates
Chris.Gates@cbsradio.com