Pitt's Rod Rutherford was charged Friday with indecent assault, simple assault, and criminal mischief for an incident outside a nightclub last Monday night. Coach Walt Harris has suspended him for Pitt's season opener against Kent State. There was no comment on whether or not the suspension could be lengthend depending on the outcome of the investigation/charges/trial.
I've been indirectly following Pitt's program since the days of Mike Gottfried and have always thought of them as having a decent respect for right and wrong. But the stakes have never been this high before.
If Rutherford is convicted, what will Walt Harris do? The pressure from fans and alumni will be to hand out a short suspension and get Rutherford back on the field before Pitt heads to College Station to take on Texas A&M on the 27th of this month.
Personally, I think that if he's convicted, he should probably be suspended not only for the A&M game, but also for the Notre Dame game that follows it.
It would take Pitt out of the running for the Sugar Bowl (although even if they win the Big East, no one is expecting them to go to New Orleans). But the structure of Pitt's schedule is such that all of their Big East games come after the Oct. 11 Notre Dame game.
Harris could suspend him until the beginning of the Big East schedule, use the Rutgers game to get him back in the swing of things, and still have a chance to compete for the conference title.
Harris and the University may be able to handle this just right to maintain their reputation for class, while still protecting their opportunity to challenge Miami and Virginia Tech for the Big East Championship.
Hopefully, they make better decisions than Rod Rutherford.
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