Pitt rarely plays teams on the other side of the Rocky Mountains, so the Insight Bowl will offer something new for the No. 24 Panthers and their fans.

Pitt (8-4) of the Big East Conference plays Oregon State (8-4) of the Pac-10 Dec. 26, and traditionally there have been some differences between teams -- not to mention cultures -- from the opposite sides of the country.

Teams from the East supposedly play a more smash-mouth, three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust game. West Coast schools have the reputation of playing more of a finesse style. The lines have been blurred, though, over the years.

Oregon State senior Nick Barnett is a proponent of the notion that neither college football nor the personalities of its players can really be defined by region. The school's rosters certainly are distinct -- nearly all of Oregon State's players are from the West Coast, and nearly everyone on Pitt's roster is from the eastern half of the country.

Barnett, the Beavers' starting strong-side linebacker, leads the Pac-10 with 112 tackles, is second on his team with five sacks and has broken up seven passes, forced two fumbles and blocked a kick. He would like to think that's simply because he plays hard in a basic defense.

"I fit into the scheme and can run around and make plays," said Barnett, who is 6-foot-2, 220 pounds. "We have a balanced defense. We have a very strong secondary and a very strong front. We pick it up for each other.

"I just go into the game trying to stop everything, see the keys and then go make plays."

He is a key part of a defense that ranks 10th in Division I overall, allowing 293 yards a game, and ninth against the run at 92.3 yards a game.

Barnett works particularly well with middle linebacker Richard Seigler, a redshirt junior who is second on the team with 94 tackles, including 12.5 for losses, and has three interceptions. The two have played alongside one another since Barnett moved to linebacker from strong safety three years ago.

"We've been friends since I got here," Barnett said. "Once I got moved down here, we really started vibing on the field. He can trust me and I trust him. We let each other know if we do something wrong. We help each other out."

Oregon State uses a 4-3 alignment with some blitz packages and strong cornerbacks to cover deep. In other words, nothing Pitt and its fans haven't seen before from eastern teams.

Barnett also downplays another so-called rift between young people from the East and West -- music.

When he's away from football, you can often find Barnett behind a turntable and a microphone.

"I'm the DJ," he said. "I spin on the ones and twos.

"I'm the whole show. I get on the turntable, get on the mike, play with the lights. We throw parties every now and then."

He has done that for several years and is the hip-hop director at Oregon State's student radio station with a weekly show. That puts him in touch with a lot of record company representatives.

Barnett knows a lot of artists are associated with either the East or the West.

"West Coast is gangster," he said.

Barnett, who is from the Southern California town of Fontana, loves the gangster lifestyle. That has nothing to do with his smashing football numbers this year or with being on the wrong side of the law.

He was surprised to hear that 'gangster' can make some people uncomfortable, maybe more so in the East.

"Scared of the gangster word?" Barnett said. "Keeping it gangster can mean different things to different people -- gangster like 'Scarface,' or just gangster within yourself."

Barnett doesn't limit what he plays to gangster music.

"People like the music I play," he said. "A lot of DJs out here don't play the music I play. I play everybody from East Coast to West Coast. Whatever's hot out."

With his experience and his contacts, Barnett could have a future in music.

"I can see myself doing it, but I'm really more focused on football right now," he said.

In football, he doesn't rely on other people's words or tempo.

"I use my own lyrics out there on the field," Barnett said.

E-mail Shelly Anderson at shanderson@post-gazette.com.