The Pitt News 9-10-14

Vol. 105 Issue 25

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Wednesday, September 10, 2014

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Manicure with a mission: college students develop nail polish to detect date rape drugs Jesseca Muslin Staff Writer Most women have heard the warnings: “Don’t take drinks from strangers,” or “Don’t leave your drink unattended at a party.” Now, a new product may inspire an additional piece of advice: “Don’t forget to paint your nails.”

Four college students from North Carolina State University created a nail polish that when wearers dip in a drink can detect commonly used date rape drugs like Rohypnol, Xanax and GHB. If detected, the nail polish changes colors, alerting the wearer that his or her drink is contaminated.

The students founded the nail polish company, Undercover Colors, in April in Raleigh, N.C. The creators of the polish and company — Ankesh Madan, Stephen Gray, Tasso Von Windheim and Tyler Confrey-Maloney — said they are refusing all media inquiries at this time. The group is still developing the first product before releasing it to the public.

According to the company’s website, its slogan is “Choice Matters,” and the creators are promoting it as “The First Fashion Company Empowering Women to Prevent Sexual Assault.”

Some have criticized the product for perpetuating rape culture — the idea that society trivializes and normalizes rape and sexual assault — instead of solving the problems surrounding it.

Rebecca Denova, who teaches a class on women and religion at Pitt, said the preventative nail polish is not going to full the expectations surrounding it for two main reasons.

“It’s helpful in the immediate sense, but what’s the rest of the instructions?” Denova said. “You tell a girl to dip her nails, making them romanticized CSI agents, then what does she do? What’s the next step?”

Detecting drugs in your drink before you take a sip is a good thing, Denova said, but finding a way to discreetly call the police could present another obstacle..

Board proposes Elections Code revisions

1 in 6 women have been victims of rape or attempted rape

Abbey Reighard Senior Staff Writer

35 in 1,000 college wome,n report being raped per year, though as many as 250 in 1,000 are raped during college

While some students contemplate the idea of running for Student Government Board, the current members of Student Government are changing the rules.

At last night’s public meeting, Elections Committee Chair Lauren Barney proposed changes to the Elections Code, which is the governing code for SGB campaigns.

The changes will lift a restriction on slates running together, finalize candidates’ application deadlines and define the role of the campaign liaisons and managers and candidates’ workshop attendance. This year’s election night will be Nov. 11.

If passed, the new code would reverse a restriction that prohibits two slates — coalitions of people running together — from endorsing each other and joining to form what Barney called a “mega-slate.”

Barney and Student Government Board President Mike Nites said they have to lift

3 in 100 rapists spend time in jail for their crime

9 in 10 women knew their attacker

Graphic by Zoey Au

Statistics from the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center

“Do you shout it to the bar?” Denova asked.

Many media outlets have denounced the nail polish. A recurring complaint is that instead of teaching men to stop spiking drinks and attacking women, the nail polish pressures women to be careful. In an article for the Huffington Post, “What ‘Undercover Colors’ Gets All Wrong About Date Rape,” writer Sophia Kirby agreed that the nail polish places a lot responsibility on women.

“It puts it all back on the woman. It’s women who have to watch out for men. No one is addressing training groups for men,” Denova said.

According to the website for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), one out of every six American women has

been the victim of an attempted rape or rape, which in total is 17.7 million American women.

Also according to RAINN, “97 percent of rapists will never spend a day in jail.”

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s webpage said 35 out of every 1,000 college women report an incident of rape, and nine out of 10 victims know their attacker.

But the product also has its supporters.

Students Jay Kim and Nick Fosco said they took a more neutral stance.

“It’s not me wearing the nail polish,” said Kim, a sophomore biology major. “If it makes

Nail Polish

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SGB

Pitt Players in the NFL see page 10

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September 10, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Pitt holds steady, rises one spot in college ranking reports Cristina Holtzer News Editor For the second year in a row, Pitt ranked 62 on U.S. News Report’s National University Standings. The University rose one spot from 21 the previous year to 20 among state-related universities out of the 201 ranked.

Pitt’s spot at 20 for best public universities was a part of a five-way tie with University of Maryland-College Park, University of Georgia, Purdue University-West Lafayette and Clemson University.

The rankings, released Tuesday morning, placed Princeton, Harvard and Yale Universities in the top three spots respectively for top national universities.

U.S. News calculates the report each year based on 16 factors related to “academic excellence.” These factors include student retention rates,

faculty resources, financial resources and evaluation by “administrators at peer institutions” among others.

Class size is another indicator of quality education, according to the report. Classes with fewer than 20 students are preferable, and 41.1 percent of Pitt’s classes have fewer than 20 students. Only 19 percent of Pitt’s classes have more than 50 students.

The report cited Pitt’s average freshman retention rate at 92 percent and Princeton’s at 98 percent.

Pitt also ranked 52 in the 100 best business schools, 22 out of 181 for education schools, 18 out of 84 for primary care medical schools and seven out of 442 for nursing schools.

“Pitt is recognized in a variety of forms for its education,” said Ken Service, University Vice Chancellor of Communications.

Pitt ranked 62 on U.S. News Reports National University Standings. | TPN File Photo

September 10, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 1

FROM PAGE 1

NAIL POLISH

SGB

the girl feel safer, then why not?”

Fosco, also a sophomore biology major, acknowledged the implications of the nail polish.

“I can see how someone could turn the argument around and say it’s her fault for not wearing it,” Fosco said.

The Facebook page for Undercover Colors addressed the complaints that some Facebook users pointed out. The inventors launched the page in April, and it has since garnered more than 109,000 likes.

“Through this nail polish and similar technologies, we hope to make potential perpetrators afraid to spike a woman’s drink because there’s now a risk that they can get caught,” the company’s account said in a comment.

“In effect, we want to shift the fear from the victims to the perpetrators.”

Comments on the company’s Facebook page are largely supportive, with many people commenting that they would purchase the nail polish for their daughters who are college students.

Billy Cooper, a Facebook user, commented in support of the polish.

“This is an amazing idea that I support wholeheartedly. I have a daughter myself, and [I] will ensure that she uses the product. I’m a chemist with an MBA and would absolutely love an opportunity to come to work for you guys,” Cooper said.

Young women are also expressing their support for this product on Facebook.

“Love in your description where it says ‘shifting fear from the victims to the perpetrators,’” Lauren Teal, a Facebook user, posted on the Facebook page. “As females we shouldn’t have to worry about things like being date raped, but since sadly we do, I am so glad there are people like you guys making it so we can protect ourselves!!!!”

At Pitt, the Campus Women’s Organization is a student organization that raises awareness about women’s issues. The organization’s president Eleanora Kaloyeropoulou supports the idea behind the nail polish.

“I’m in favor of anything that will empower women and make them safe,” said Kaloyeropoulou, a junior Africana studies and history major. “It’s not solving the problem of sexual assault, but it’s giving women another piece of armor.”

that restriction because it is a violation of the freedom of speech.

After the meeting, Nites said he and Barney consulted Kenyon Bonner, director of student life and associate dean of students, about whether or not the restriction on “mega-slates” was legal.

Bonner sought advice from Pitt Office of General Counsel legal services, who said

the restriction was a violation of the First Amendment.

The Elections Committee and Board previously banned “mega-slates” to prevent six students from grouping together to secure the number of votes needed to be the majority on the Board, which consists of nine members including the Board President.

To prevent mega-slates from gaining the majority, the Board will vote to change another part of the Elections Code — the number of votes a student can cast during

3 the election. This proposal will update the code to reflect the last SGB election’s referendum, which reduced the number of students’ votes from six to four — three for Board members and one for President.

Barney said this move will prevent student groups from endorsing more than one slate, by effectively stopping a mega-slate from controlling the Board.

“It just evens it out for everyone [campaigning],” Barney said.

SGB

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September 10, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

FROM PAGE 3

SGB

The Board voted that they will table the new Elections Code, meaning the members will review and deliberate the changes before voting on the code next week, unless they propose additional changes.

The Elections Committee, along with the Allocations and Judicial Committees, is one of the three standing Student Government Committees that oversees the

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SGB elections to ensure that campaigning is fair in accordance with the Elections Code, the SGB constitution and by-laws.

Barney announced some of the proposed changes at last week’s public meeting, which the Board decided to table for a week. Members could have voted on the changes last night, but decided to table the code for another week to make their own changes to the code.

Nites said the changes the Board proposed for the Elections Code were minimal. He said the Board changed wording

E S T A B L I S HE D 1 9 1 0

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but didn’t change any major points in the Election Committee’s proposals.

Barney said one of the proposed changes to the Elections Code states that the Student Government Board application packet deadlines are final. For instance, last year, former Elections Committee Chair Aaron Gish extended the deadline during the last elections because of the low number candidates who ran for the Board.

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OPINIONS

Cartoon by Fatima Kizilkaya

EDITORIAL

At its roots: Sexual violence stems from cultural norms An unfortunate reality in our culture has attracted the spotlight of many media outlets as of late, including The Pitt News.

The hacking and releasing of the private photos of female celebrities, the video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee out cold, the persistent publication of studies and reports illustrating the prominence of sexual violence on college campuses — all outline a disturbing, yet pervasive trend. The trend is just as horrifying as it is passively accepted by an attitude that surrenders behind the phrase, “That’s just the way it is.”

Sexual and violent crimes have become a harsh injustice against women of all ages in this country. As a result, the media and the market urges women to use a plethora of products and strategies to protect themselves from the inevitable. Carry mace, wear conservative clothing, don’t take provocative photos of yourself and now, wear your roofie-detecting nail polish when going to the bar.

As a response to the statistics, measures like drug-detecting nail polish seem to make sense. One out of every six American women has been the victim of a rape or attempted

rape, and 35 out of every 1,000 college women report an incident of rape.

But, what about the 97 percent of rapists who never spend a day in jail? Or, that nine out of 10 rape victims knew their attacker?

The problem is not that women aren’t protecting themselves from inevitable sex crimes. Instead, the problem is that we as a society have begun to treat these crimes as inevitable.

One trigger that fuels the commonality and justification of acts of sexual violence against women is male entitlement.

The leak of celebrity nudes, Ray Rice’s attack on his then-fiancee and rape in general, are all instances in which a man has felt entitled to treat and view a woman’s body in a way that suits him.

Of course, this entitlement is fundamentally false — treating a woman as a sexual object against her will is never warranted, whether it be on 4chan or in a bar. But, as the numbers and recent events illustrate, basic human rights don’t stop men from feeling entitled to do so.

So what are the root causes — the ones that prompt the mace and nail polish?

There are two factors behind the problem of male entitlement — one, psychology and two, a tradition of masculinity and patriarchy that perpetuates this idea across many different forms of media and culture.

According to the report, “Rape: Psychology, Prevention and Impact,” by Yale’s Marcia Cohen and Sherrie H. McKenna, most rapists are between the ages of 15 and 19, and “seem to come from a subculture of violence whose values may be different from those of the dominant culture.” In that, rapists often have a violent past — perhaps involving domestic abuse or other aggressive situations.

So, improper mental health treatments may lead individuals to violent behavior later in life. And when growing up in a culture that emphasizes male sexual conquest as a virtue, “these adolescents and young men may be demonstrating their toughness and masculinity in a more violent and antisocial manner,” than that of many mentally healthy men.

This dangerous concoction of violence and sexually charged media may propel men’s potentially warped view of women

— one that justifies sexual violence.

Before that arises, teachers, parents and other guardians or mentors should tackle the warped conceptions early in development.. Proper and equal access for children to mental health options is essential to prevent them from having a violent and antisocial mindset later in life. This can be done through school mental health screenings and effective counseling programs.

The other — perhaps less realistic, yet no less pertinent — strategy would be to change the media to which young boys are exposed. Movies, television and music that portray “lady-killer’s” as pop-culture heroes already gives young boys the wrong idea about women, and when paired with poor mental health, the outcome can be devastating.

Thus, the lesson here should not be how women should do all they can to protect themselves from sexual violence. Rather, it should be that all women deserve to be viewed with respect.

When that lesson becomes an unquestioned truth, we will see these trends finally dissipate.

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September 10, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

COLUMN

The power of friendship: Who needs a military?

Eli Talbert Columnist From an outside perspective, it seems as though the world is descending into chaos.

With persistent headlines on the conflict in Ukraine and the unrest in the Middle East, the world may seem like a frightening place.

While it is true that the world may “seem” frightening, that doesn’t necessarily warrant military intervention.

Although the United States has often been referred to as “the world’s police force,” we have learned domestically that the less police there are, the better. So, let’s apply that to foreign policy, too. Instead of using our military as leverage against our enemies, we should learn to be persuasive in other, nicer, ways.

Countries like Russia, North Korea and China will no longer respond militarily to foreign policy issues — they have made it clear that they want to resolve situations

peacefully. Vladimir Putin reminded us in his op-ed last year that “We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement.” If the United States would refrain from “language of force,” then the White House, like Putin, could solve international issues in a peaceful, humanitarian way — much like in the way the Russian leader has handled the crisis in Ukraine.

Like Russia, China is also rapidly increasing its military spending — amidst nearly two decades of double-digit increases in its official military budget — with no reason to use its military. Don’t mind the numerous regional conflicts involving China — as Neville Chamberlain said on the eve of World War II, war can be avoided “by discussion in a spirit of collaboration and good will,” something Poland failed to realize — as history taught us.

Honestly, what any other country is spending militarily doesn’t really matter.

Our mere disapproval is powerful enough

to stop any country from, say, annexing a small part of another sovereign nation.

Even if a country were to outspend the U.S. militarily, the next top three spenders — China, Russia and Saudi Arabia — are all famously supportive of human rights. Russia even went through the trouble of releasing a “White Book” detailing all the human rights violations in Ukraine, stating in one section, “Moscow was deeply concerned by egregious cases of arrests [in Ukraine].”

The book stressed that the Ukrainian people deserve a place where freedom of speech is welcome. Correspondents on Russian TV echoed this sentiment.

In addition, the money we will save from using non-military tactics can be put toward improving the economy at home.

Sources predict that endless roads could be built by the government as a result, and seeing that 38.1 million American jobs are tied to international trade, decreasing our

Talbert

7 Camaraderie among nations | MCT Cam-

September 10, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 6

TALBERT foreign military presence will help guarantee that the global marketplace is completely open. For instance, pleasing North Korea by decreasing our military presence would open the republic up to some serious investment opportunities.

Reducing the strength of our military will certainly make us more likable overall. A little known fact is that the United

Nations is a much larger version of high school. Diplomacy is not an intricate calculation of economic and military advantage. Rather, it’s all about who likes who personally.

But, unlike in high school, no one likes the strong jock kid. Rather, world leaders prefer the kid who sits by himself quietly in the corner at lunch — he’s much less threatening. Once the newly crowned caliphate of Isis realizes that the United States no longer poses a threat to its cultural dominance, it will no longer see a

need to use violence to promote their extremist agenda. My guess? They’ll start using civil disobedience.

After all, the United States is the land of the liberated, not the liberators. If we just remembered that, we would be a lot more popular with our enemies.

The White House needs to realize this.

To some it may be an odd truth, but make no mistake, it is the truth: War is not a necessary evil. It is an unnecessary side effect of having too many aircraft carriers.

Write to ejt26@pitt.edu

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September 10, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

SPORTS

COLUMN

Big Ten conference already in poor playoff position The first two weekends of the season were crucial for the B1G. The conference’s apparent top four programs — Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin — each took part in a marquee matchup against a formidable out-of-conference foe. The B1G was thwarted in each of those games, Wisconsin being the only one to at least make things interesting. Delany released a statement Monday that warned the nation to watch out. Though down, he said the Big Ten is not out.

In the first year of the College Football Playoff, the selection committee will obviously aim to pick the four best teams in the country — with conference affiliation not being a factor — to compete in

Alex Wise Staff Writer

BCS

Florida State won the last BCS Championship in the old format | MCT Campus

The Pitt News Crossword, 9/10/2014

With the BCS era behind us and the College Football Playoff era now underway, every college football game is crucial to the initial legacy of the new system. Every Power-5 conference program is giving its all to be one of the teams left fighting for a shiny new trophy at season’s end.

It’s evident that after just two weeks, the Big Ten will not be part of that initial legacy.

“Anyone who writes the story of the 2014 football season after two weeks, that’s premature,” said Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany.

Well, then, I’m premature — at least in the case of the Big Ten.

ACROSS 1 Scavenging seabird 4 “You gotta be kidding me!”

9 “Cast Away” star 14 With 12-Down, Rodin sculpture 15 “__ the big deal?”

16 Bustling 17 Sound that may be averted by holding one’s breath 18 “Take your time” 20 Machu Picchu dweller 22 Mashed taro, mostly 23 Promising words 24 1993 film loosely based on the Jamaican bobsled team 27 Cry 28 Graphic beginning?

29 Sass 32 Watch carefully 34 Equipped 36 __ wave 37 Beginning auspiciously ... like 18-, 24-, 46and 55-Across?

40 Works on, as homework 41 Vocalist Vannelli 42 Heavy reading?

43 Ukr., once 44 Disney World visitor’s airport, on bag tags 45 Bluish hue 46 NCAA regional semifinals, familiarly 51 Acadia National Park locale 53 Word with game or room 54 Like lingerie models 55 Green-skinned movie villain 58 __City: computer game 59 Bull on a glue container 60 Beaufort __ 61 World Cup cheer 62 Anoint 63 Celebrated 2014 sports retiree

9/18/14

By Julian Lim

64 Site site DOWN 1 Moral code 2 Safari sight 3 Colorful candy since 1847 4 Grass bristle 5 Throw together 6 Georgia’s __Bibb County 7 Enjoyed some home cooking 8 Codebreaker’s org.

9 Tried one’s hand 10 Provides inside information for, say 11 2014 Russell Crowe title role 12 See 14-Across 13 Foxy 19 “You don’t have to” 21 They may be red 25 More than modify 26 Dome-shaped abode 29 “Love Actually” co-star 30 Memo words 31 Chinchillas, at times

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Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved

©2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

32 “American __”: Neil Gaiman novel 33 Sci-fi staples 34 Like acrobats 35 “__ appétit!”

36 Weasel kin 38 “It’s a deal!”

39 Charon’s river 44 Title holders 45 Group with a common bond 46 “Oliver Twist” bad guy

9/18/14

47 Double 48 Grabbed a stool next to 49 Banishment 50 Queens athlete, for short 51 Flour producer 52 Peak 55 Site site 56 Paper with NYSE news 57 Part of HRH

September 10, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

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COLUMN

Latest NBA scandal raises questions about prejudice Imaz Athar For The Pitt News

We’ve seen all of this before.

Just months ago, a phone recording revealed former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling making extremely demeaning remarks about minorities. The story dominated headlines, and it was an uncomfortable and sickening reminder of a fact that many know to be true but don’t like to discuss: racism still exists.

Now, Atlanta Hawks owner Bruce Levenson is selling his shares of the team after self-reporting that he had sent a racist email in 2012.

The news of Levenson’s email, in which he essentially said he valued white fans more than black fans, was another reminder of the racism that still permeates sports culture.

The NBA seems to know exactly how to react. Commissioner Adam Silver called

for Sterling’s removal as owner when the phone recordings leaked, and now Levenson will sell his shares of the team after he self-reported his racist email to the NBA. This isn’t a good look for the NBA, but the league’s reaction to the incidents shows that Silver is proactive.

The league has decided that it will not accept racist attitudes in any capacity, and if racism is expressed in any way, there will be very harsh consequences.

Not only is the league proactive, but it’s also — relative to other sport leagues — more progressive in its approach to racial issues. It’s definitely possible that other leagues cover up racial issues because they’re hard to face. It’s also possible that leagues simply ignore them as a matter of convenience.

For example, the Atlanta Braves are moving away from downtown Atlanta and are in the process of building a new stadium in the predominantly white suburbs

of Cobb County.

According to team officials, the move is purely to improve business. While that may be partly true, the move also represents the racial tension present in Levenson’s email.

In his email, Levenson said that “black fans don’t have the spendable income” that white fans do and later commented on how he valued the white fans more than the black fans.

Apply this thinking to the Braves’ move to the suburbs. The MLB doesn’t seem to care about the racial undertones of the move. On the other hand, based on the NBA’s reactions to Sterling and Levenson, it doesn’t seem that the league would favor such a decision were it to happen in basketball rather than baseball.

It’s significant that the NBA is responding to racism like this, especially because many don’t know how to react to such a sensitive topic. But it’s important to also consider whether or not the NBA is reacting

appropriately.

While the NBA is sending the message that any form of racial intolerance is unacceptable, the league’s actions aren’t encouraging racial equality effectively. With their jobs on the line, owners and front-office executives have been looking long and hard through past memos, emails and videos to see if there is evidence of any racist sentiment. Rather than questioning and changing personal beliefs, they focus on cleaning up their pasts.

Owners and executives are not encouraged to promote racial equality because it’s right, but because their jobs are on the line if they don’t. But what else can the NBA really do? The league can’t knowingly keep individuals who express racist beliefs in their league but, at the same time, it would be difficult or even unrealistic to force people within the league to change their views.

So what can we do? Removing Levenson is a start.

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September 10, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

FOOTBALL

Donald shines, Street makes first catch in NFL debuts Jack DeMarco Staff Writer

To no one’s surprise, workhorse and defensive superstar Aaron Donald led the pack of Panthers in the NFL with a strong opening day performance. Just as Donald dominated the trenches for the Pitt defense a year ago, he showed up in convincing fashion for the struggling St. Louis Rams in his debut.

Not only did he finish the afternoon with four total tackles against the Minnesota Vikings, but he also delivered a punishing hit to the prolific running back, Adrian Peterson.

This highlight play was one of his two tackles for losses as he erupted through the line of scrimmage with his lightning quickness.

With the Rams resorting to their third-string quarterback in a subsequent 34-6 loss to the Vikings, Donald was one of the few bright spots for the Rams’ home opener.

LeSean McCoy was part of a stagnant Philadelphia Eagles offense that went into

T P N S U D O K U

the locker room trailing 17-0 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who went 4-12 last season.

The Eagles turned around its dismal first half performance and rattled off 34 unanswered points to win 34-17. McCoy’s complement, Darren Sproles, provided much of the turnaround — he ripped off a 49-yard touchdown to get the Eagles on the scoreboard. All in all, McCoy wasn’t his usual self, only capping the day off with 74 yards on 21 carries. Although it was not a horrible outing, McCoy will definitely be hungry for week two, where the Eagles will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts on Monday Night Football.

K’Waun Williams started his NFL career in familiar territory in a contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. In the game, Cleveland’s hopes for a historic comeback were shattered when Shaun Suisham’s 41-yard field goal propelled the Steelers to a 30-27 victory after squandering a 27-3 halftime lead. The Browns’ defense forced five punts on the Steelers’ six second half

Today’s difficulty level: Easy Puzzles by Dailysodoku.com

possessions, thanks to the contributions of Williams and teammate Jabaal Sheard, who played for Pitt from 2007-10.

All three of Williams’ tackles came in the second half, one of which was an impressive special teams play. During a Browns kick-off, Williams’ lockdown tackle was key in pinning the Steelers on their own 10 yard line. Sheard also wrapped up his day in Pittsburgh with three tackles.

Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals closed out the opening weekend of the NFL season with a Monday night matchup against the San Diego Chargers. The Cardinals escaped with a 18-17 win as Fitzgerald finished with an unproductive evening.

Fitzgerald only hauled in one reception for 22 yards as much of the air attack involved third-year receiver Michael Floyd.

Defense and special teams dominated the action in Dallas as the San Francisco 49ers cruised to a 28-17 victory over the Cowboys.

Entering his 11th season in the NFL, former FROM PAGE 8

BCS

the miniature tournament on New Year’s Day. If those participants happen to be four SEC teams, for example, so be it. The Big Ten missed its chance to snatch a big time non-conference win, and that will haunt them come December.

The first opportunity for the Big Ten to take down a major opponent came in the first week of the season when Wisconsin traveled to Houston for a prime time matchup with SEC bully LSU. Les Miles’ Tigers prevailed in a close game, a loss that Wisconsin probably should not be heavily punished. But it’s no secret that a one-loss SEC or Pacific-12 team will historically be favored in playoff selection over a one-loss Big Ten team, and Wisconsin’s chances of running the table from here out are slim, anyway.

Out goes Wisconsin.

Next was Michigan State, who traveled west to Autzen Stadium to face a speedy Oregon Ducks team. Sparty took a slim lead into the halftime locker room, but

Pitt punter Andy Lee had an effective outing for the 49ers. Of his four punts, three were inside the 20-yard line, and the field position challenges for the Cowboys contributed to the team’s offensive woes throughout the game.

On the other side of the same game, wide receiver Devin Street saw most of his opportunities come after the Cowboys’ top wideout Dez Bryant went to the sidelines due to injury concerns. Street had two catches for 18 yards while being targeted three times. Look for the Cowboys to utilize Street more because its passing game struggled mightily Sunday afternoon. Specifically, quarterback Tony Romo threw 13 incompletions and three interceptions, and he failed to develop a rapport with any of his wideouts.

In his four years at Pitt before graduating last year, Street gave former Panthers quarterbacks Tino Sunseri and Tom Savage plenty of comfort, and the same should be true for him and Romo as the year progresses. chasing Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota and company all over the place proved too tiring a task in the second half. Oregon won handily, scoring 46 points against what’s considered one of the nation’s best defenses.

Michigan State’s conference schedule from this point forward is even less favorable than Wisconsin’s. The Badgers’ only true conference test is Nebraska. Michigan State is left with Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Nebraska among others.

If the Spartans continue to go undefeated, I’ll streak across Heinz Field at Pitt’s final home game.

Just kidding. But out goes Michigan State.

Michigan traveled to South Bend, Ind., for an under-the-lights matchup at Notre Dame Stadium, and it was everything I ever wanted it to be. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of the Irish. But I am a fan of watching Michigan getting blown out, and Notre Dame enabled me to do that Saturday night. The scoreboard showed 31-0 at game’s end, the first shutout pitched to the Wolverines in decades.

Read the rest online at Pittnews.com.