I don’t care if the oddsmakers are favoring UConn over Pitt (UConn -7.5). This is a must win for Pitt and Walt Harris. Here’s Joe Bendel on his ESPN.com Big East Insider gig.

First things first. The Panthers bumped their record to 2-1 last Saturday at Heinz Field, but they needed overtime against Division I-AA Furman to get there. Coach Walt Harris would like to paint a pretty picture of how his team fought valiantly from a 17-point deficit in the second half, but the Panthers shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. Good teams win those games by a couple of touchdowns, mediocre teams struggle to win and bad ones lose. The Panthers appear to be nothing more than mediocre at this point, as they take their show on the road for the first time at Connecticut (3-1, 0-1) on Thursday night (ESPN2, 7 EST). The defense failed to solve Furman’s passing game — Pitt yielded scoring passes of 17, 42, 75 and 43 yards — and had it not been for a rejuvenated offense, the season would have been over before it started. The Connecticut game should give a true barometer of where the Panthers are.
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You can expect Orlovsky to attack the Pitt secondary, particularly freshman cornerbacks Mike Phillips and Darrelle Revis. Both have played well this season, but they’ve yet to face the bevy of receivers Connecticut can put out on the field. And remember, that duo was on the field for the four Furman touchdowns. Harris even said he would attempt to exploit them if he were Orlovsky. “Sure I would,” he said.

[Emphasis added.]

Pitt loses this game and Pitt fans will start drawing up their wish lists for replacing Harris in earnest. Matt Hayes at the Sporting News does a piece on one who will be on many teams wish lists — Urban Meyer at Utah. Success at Bowling Green and now at Utah. Clearly he can recruit and coach anywhere.

After seeing Furman move the ball well against Pitt, and the fact that UConn has a darkhorse Heisman hopeful in QB in Dan Orlovsky, well the papers are focusing on the young secondary of Pitt. Makes sense when you have a true and redshirt freshman starting at the corners. Staying in the secondary, Safety, Malcolm Postell, who has made some solid hits and some big interceptions in the first few games gets his own puff piece as well.

Right Guard John Simonitis is listed as a starter on the Pitt depth chart, but has yet to play this year because of an ankle injury. For some reason, I don’t think he’ll be in there this week.

Coach Harris thinks Pitt is ready for the first road game of the season. I am hoping the road is the best thing for Pitt and Harris. Maybe getting a game away from Heinz Field can get the team more focused for an entire game. Something they haven’t done yet. It cost them against Nebraska. Looks like the line is up around -7.5 with UConn.

The post-to-post football blogging to mention that Pitt finally got another recruit to actual give a verbal to the basketball team.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon got his first good news on the recruiting front in a while when forward Sam Young of Hargrave Military Academy gave the Panthers a verbal commitment over the weekend. Young, 6 feet 6, 220 pounds, chose Pitt over Miami, Virginia Tech, Georgetown and George Washington.

Pitt had absorbed a series of blows in recruiting the past few weeks when some of the top players in the country had the Panthers in their final two but chose other programs. Jeff Adrien, one of the top forwards in the country, chose Connecticut; shooting guard Danny Green chose North Carolina; power forward John Garcia chose Seton Hall; and shooting guard Ricky Torres chose St. John’s.

Hargrave coach Kevin Keatts said Young will fit in well with the Panthers.

“Pitt got a really good player,” Keatts said. “He has the ability to score inside and outside. He’s super athletic, a great defender and he gets up on the glass.”

Young is not currently rated among the top 150 players by Rivals.com, but Keatts believes he will be by the end of the season.

These near misses were starting to bother me. His size suggests he will be a good strong player competing to fill the void after Troutman graduates after this season.

Pitt is also in the mix for some other big names.

They are in the hunt for top-three center Vernon Goodridge, a Brooklyn native who attends Lutheran Christian in Philadelphia. Goodridge eliminated Mississippi State, Florida State and Illinois recently. Also, highly regarded forward Tyrell Biggs, 6-8, 270, of Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., is considering Pitt, Connecticut, Miami and Syracuse. And, 6-8 forward Ryan Reid of Tallahassee, Fla., appears to be down to Pitt, Florida State and Miami.

We need to close the deal on at least one of these. While it is still something of an achievement and minor surprise, even now, to see Pitt listed as a final possible choice for top players, it means nothing in the end if none actually decide to come to Pitt.