It’s starting. I don’t know if you caught the Charlie Weis-ND-ESPN media blitz yesterday. I caught part of his appearance on PTI. There is a transcript of some of his appearance on ESPN Radio.

Q: How much of an emphasis are you putting in the Pitt game?

A: “Two things. First of all, not to get into coaching analogies, but I think that because we are a game-plan team, you have to look at your season as 11 one-week entities. And because Pitt is the first one, it obviously is the most critical game on our schedule because it’s the next one. But, with that having been said, the one thing you have to d0 — winning that game would obviously do great to build the confidence of your team. At the same time, you have to make sure that you don’t put all your eggs in one basket so that if something negative came away, you can’t say, ‘OK, it’s time to throw in the towel.’ Obviously I have a lot of respect for (Pitt coach Dave) Wannstedt and his whole coaching staff, but I think the most critical thing for Notre Dame is to start playing football, playing smart intelligent football and playing it for 60 minutes.”

Obviously, no one is expecting him to start running smack. He’s going to avoid any bulletin board stuff. Weis may not be trying to put too much emphasis on that first game. Coach Wannstedt has mostly been the same way.

The thing is, I think the fans for both are. Starts of new eras. High expectations. Everyone has drunk the kool-aid (yes, I know I’ve been abusing that line for a while now with respect to both new coaches, but I haven’t found a suitable replacement that captures the feeling as effectively). That first game is the test to see if such faith and trust is warranted. Fair or not, that is the early sense I am getting.

The looking to the games has begun. College Football News.com has its early picks for key games up.

Saturday, September 3rd – Notre Dame at Pitt
It’s the battle of the new head coaches. While all eyes will be on Charlie Weis and Notre Dame, Dave Wannstedt will have almost as much pressure trying to keep Pitt at a high level. The Panthers won a classic between the two last year beating the Irish 41-38, but everyone seems to remember quarterback Tyler Palko’s f-bomb in the post-game interview more than the stirring finish. Palko will leave all of the talking on the field as he’ll riddle the Irish secondary for 300+ yards. However, Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn will also throw for a ton of yards.
Predicted score in late July: Pitt 31 … Notre Dame 24
Oasis Line: Pitt -3

Last year, Pitt was very, very good at not turning over the ball. That will have to continue.

Meanwhile at SI.com, there is interest in intersectional games:

It isn’t that I loathe great rivalries. It’s simply that those teams play one another every season. No, what I live for is seeing the teams who rarely meet, or have never met, play one another. I love to see unusual pairings.
…
Contests between schools who do not compete in the same conference are known as “intersectional games,” except in the Southeastern Conference, where they are known as “wins.” See, SEC teams rarely schedule worthy non-conference foes and even less often do they leave home to play them. Les Miles isn’t just an SEC coach; it’s an SEC credo. This year the 12 SEC schools will play a total of six intersectional games on the road. …

… The point is, intersectional matchups rock. Athletic directors owe it to fans to schedule at least one non-conference opponent who is better than a 10-point underdog each season. A cursory glance at the list above illustrates Miami and Michigan deserve extra-special props for giving the people what they want. Notre Dame, being an independent, plays nothing but non-conference games, so I did not include them, but the Irish always play at least three top-10 teams each season — or so it seems. This year they’re Michigan, Southern Cal and Tennessee.

Here’s my list of this year’s top 10 intersectional games (not including the previously mentioned Notre Dame games), in chronological order:
…
September 17: Pittsburgh at Nebraska. Let the commentators talk about ex-NFL coaches Dave Wannstedt and Bill Callahan. I’m more interested in seeing how Panther QB Tyler Palko operates amidst the Red Sea.

This is what scheduling good (or name) teams in the non-con does. It generates early attention for the program. Think Wanny and the coaches aren’t out on the road selling that, along with an easier route to the BCS bowls?

An article today on Freshman Point Guard Levance Fields getting playing time in the upcoming season.

There could be some reading into the article that controversy could erupt with Fields’ statement that “I am not going to redshirt. I didn’t come here to do that.” I don’t see it that way. That sounds like a reporter asked him about that possibility and an honest answer. Considering the story takes the view that there will be an issue of playing time with a crowded backcourt.

Fields must earn the playing time he receives because the Pitt backcourt is crowded. Krauser averaged almost 36 minutes per game last season and figures to play just as much as a senior.

Three other veterans return and will compete for time at shooting guard. Junior Antonio Graves started 25 games last season and played 27 minutes per game. Sophomore Ronald Ramon started four games and played 26 minutes a game. And sophomore Keith Benjamin played 10 minutes a game.

There does not seem to be a lot of room for maneuvering, but Fields is confident that he can crack third-year coach Jamie Dixon’s lineup.

Fields is Pitt’s point guard of the future. He will crack that line-up. It is more likely that Graves will suffer the most in minutes. Carl Krauser, in his first year as Knight’s back-up, averaged 18.6 minutes per game. Krauser of course had a redshirt year — for academics — so he got to practice with the team and really learn the system. Still there was an effort to make sure Krauser got real playing time in Knight’s final season.

That is what Coach Dixon has to do with Fields. It also an issue of using the best talent. Fields is considered one of the best players. The program has to show that it will use the talent if it wants to keep recruiting it.

This is just part of why I have been saying that this will be Coach Dixon’s big season as far as showing what kind of coach he is. He has all the big decisions and he has to show he can handle it.

They keep winning in this warm-up to the real U-21 championships. If anyone knows where box scores for these things are, please let me know. I would really like to know what kind of game Levon Kendall is actually showing.

This time they beat China with ease.

Pierre Cespedes of Montreal led Canada with 13 points, Levon Kendall of Vancouver added 12 and Majak Kou of Hamilton chipped in 10 points plus six rebounds in the one-sided contest. “A 30-point win is a good win,” said Canadian head coach Dave Crook. “We saw a lot of positive plays from the guys on both ends of the floor. Now we just have to work on being more consistent from the opening tip to the final buzzer.”

They will face Australia once more for the “gold medal” of the tournament.