Beano Cook Discusses ND, Pitt

Longtime Pittsburgh resident, college football observer and ESPN analyst Beano Cook offers the following analysis of Saturday’s Pittsburgh-Notre Dame game.On why Dave Wannstedt came back to coach Pittsburgh after 12 years in the NFL: “He probably wanted to have some fun. You don’t have any fun in the NFL anymore, whether whether you’re a coach, a publicity director or an owner.”On the state of the Pittsburgh program: “When [Wannstedt] came here there weren’t many lineman. That was the problem. He had some players at the skill positions. Now they seem to have more good lineman but not great lineman that can help them compete as a top 15 team.”On criticism of Wannstedt: “People are complaining but they complain everywhere. They complain at Ohio State and they have played in two straight national championship games. Most of the second guessing has been on game-day decisions. Sometimes they out-think themelves.”On Wannstedt’s recruiting: “Pitt has four players Notre Dame even looked at. He’s getting top-flight players but if you compare them with what Notre Dame has there’s no comparison.”On Notre Dame not winning a national championship since 1988: “To me, it’s unbelievable they haven’t won a national championship in 20 years. Here they have their own television network. The coverage of Notre Dame football on NBC is like a four-hour infomercial. They have their own radio network. They have everything going for them and haven’t won a national title in 20 years. Had I told you in ’88 that they wouldn’t win another national title for 20 years you would have said I was crazy.”On Notre Dame’s immediate future: “Next year they will go into November with a chance to play for the national title. That doesn’t mean they will but that’s all you can ask for.”