The Sports Monitor

Heralded running back Rushel Shell wanted to leave Pitt in the spring. So coach Paul Chryst let him go. Shell supposedly was going to enroll at UCLA, but it didn't happen. Last week, Shell wanted to return to Pitt. Chryst said no. Great move. I'm stunned that there are people saying Chryst should allow Shell back. Some are saying give him a second chance. Hey, if Shell wanted to enroll at Pitt, he's free. He has no right to be on the football team, however. What Chryst did will help more in the long run than the Panthers might experience in any hurt this fall. I applaud Chryst. There are other options for Shell close to Pittsburgh. West Virginia immediately comes to mind.

That wasn't a Backyard Brawl in Morgantown, W.Va.,  on Friday. It was a display of how to lose a football game. And it was classic Pitt football from the 2011 season. I bailed on Tino Sunseri as Pitt's quarterback back in September . Pitt escaped with a win against Maine, and Sunseri looked like a quarterback better suited for Division II or Division III, not a team that had aspirations for winning a Big East championship. Nearly two months later, Sunseri hasn't changed. Left with a chance to beat West Virginia, Sunseri looked awful. I'm not sure awful is strong enough, but Sunseri stunk when it mattered most. Faced with a three-man rush, Sunseri got sacked four times on the team's final series and had an intentional grounding call, all of which were poor decisions. Sunseri can't be counted on when the game is on the line. Heck, he can't be counted on to protect a lead. Maybe things would have been different if running back Ray Graham didn't...

OK, Pitt football fans, you have to admit, this was fun to watch. The West Virginia football program tried to clean up its coaching mess Friday when Bill Stewart resigned and Dana Holgorsen took over. Holgorsen, AD Oliver Luck's coach-in-waiting, doesn't have to wait any longer to be the man. The man I find partly responsible is Luck himself. Luck's hiring of Holgorsen and refusal to fire Stewart cultivated the troubles that led to Friday's events. It was supposed to be a smooth transition. It turned out to be anything but smooth. Stewart and Holgorsen didn't like each other. You can't blame them, but you could expect them to act like adults. Holgorsen allegedly got unruly at a casino and had to be removed. Then, the allegations got interesting. Stewart reportedly tried to dig up dirt on Holgorsen. Maybe Stewart thought that he could survive if more reports surfaced about Holgorsen. Instead, when that news broke, it hastened Stewart's departu...

Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt is on the hot seat after Friday's blowout loss to West Virginia. Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez is on the hot seat after losing again to rival Ohio State. If the Wolverines can Rodriguez, Pitt should put him at the top of the list of potential replacements for Wannstedt. Rodriguez did wonders for West Virginia and could revive the Panthers' attack with his spread offense. It's far more dynamic that Wannstedt's and could dominate the rest of the Big East. And if such a move could come to pass, imagine how much fury would be added to the Pitt-West Virginia rivalry. Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/green_rick .