Oh, it's true. So true that No. 8 Pitt, ranked in the AP top 10 this late in a season for the first time since 1982, made two atypical moves to accommodate its first sellout crowd of the season: It sold 1,000 standing-room-only tickets and decided to remove the black tarp that usually covers the section behind the goal post at the stadium's open end.

The tarp will be replaced by real, live humans, often in short supply at Pitt games. That is sure to change if the Panthers keep winning.

Depending on suite sales, the Pitt game could even threaten the attendance record for a modern-era sporting event in Pittsburgh. The record was set Nov. 30, 2002, when 66,731 fans - many from West Virginia -- watched Pitt lose a memorable Backyard Brawl, 24-17.