You can see my week 1 ballot here and the overall blogpoll for week 1. Lots of shifting and changing. With just one game, I’m still not feeling totally confident. Some teams moved up for lack of anyone else to put in front of them at this point, some dropped, some added.

1. Southern Cal — Until they actually lose a game.
2. Texas — Given what happened to Oklahoma, I think I might get conned into believing they could win the Red River Shootout.
3. Tennessee — How does a team with this much talent struggle at home to UAB? Dropped 1 spot.
4. Ohio State — A very good team. I’m actually thinking the Texas-OSU game could approach the hype.
5. Louisville — Moved up a spot by default. Kentucky was a rivalry game away, but it still shouldn’t have been that close
6. Michigan — Also moved up by default. Notre Dame won’t be sneaking up on them, though.
7. Florida — They will only be getting better as the season goes on under Meyer.
8. Iowa — Very, very good team.
9. Virginia Tech — I don’t believe in Vick, but they won on the road. They will choke at some point, but right now they deserve the ranking.
10. Louisiana State — DNP, but 3 teams I thought were better than them lost.
11. Miami (Florida) — Brutal and humiliating performance. Big drop from #5.
12. Purdue — DNP
13. Georgia — Maybe even higher, with an impressive opening blowout, but it’s hard to say how much Boise St. was overrated.
14. Oklahoma — Still stunned they could lose to TCU. Maybe they need to rebuild more than I realized.
15. Florida State — They won, but they will actually need to score some points before they rise any further on their own merits.
16. Cal — This could drop back very quickly unless the new QB can keep them going.
17. Auburn — Bad loss. Lots of talent lost.
18. Arizona State — New entry into the list. Best of the new teams on my list.
19. Georgia Tech — Big win. Chan Gailey has the pressure drop for a week.
20. Fresno State — DNP
21. Texas Tech — DNP
22. Notre Dame — Beat Pitt fiercely and painfully. Pitt was overrated to be in the top-25 (and even worse by me), but ND looked very good in the game.
23. Boston College — I still think middle of the pack in the ACC, but by default they get in the top-25.
24. Iowa State — At least until the game against Iowa.
25. Toledo — Possibly the best of the MAC.

Dropping off my ballot — Pitt (damn), Texas A&M (coaching brainlock), Boise St. (they had to at least make it look close), North Carolina St. (no team that gives away like that should be ranked), Miami (OH) (a little better showing was expected).

Added to ballot — Toledo, BC, Notre Dame, Arizona State.

Just missing — TCU (can’t really justify keeping them off the ballot, but a hunch)

Both Pitt and Ohio have their game notes (PDF for both). Here’s the Bobcats’ football page.

From the notes, I read that 10,000 “thundersticks” will be distrubuted, along with rally towels.

The Bobcats were bombed in Evanston by Northwestern 38-14. They had 239 yards of total offense.

The team worked out yesterday. On Sunday, rather than practice or do drills, the team spent the entire time watching tape of the ND loss and breaking it down.

One area that Wannstedt said he was very unhappy with was tackling. He said the tackling was atrocious Saturday, which is puzzling because they spent a lot of time working on tackling during camp.

“We missed a more than a couple of tackles,” Wannstedt said. “I was concerned with our live open-field tackling in that game. A couple of those plays they made 3 or 4 yards — that’s fine, that won’t beat you. But the ones where we missed, we need to work on that.

“We work on tackling every day that we are in pads. Full-speed tackling. So that’s a high priority for us and we’ll continue to make it a priority and we’ll get better.”

Wannstedt said there were definitely some positive things to come out off the game. He complimented the play of quarterback Tyler Palko and the wide receivers, in particular Greg Lee. He said the tight ends played well and was very happy with the play of the offensive line and running backs.

Sadly, poor tackling has been an issue for Pitt the last couple of years.

I’m a little wary about the running game. It seemed Pitt was having trouble running up the middle. The good runs came on sweeps or just getting to the sidelines. Kirkley had a good bust, and Stephens had very good speed getting around the corner. I also don’t understand why Brandon Mason wasn’t given any carries.

Still, Coach Wannstedt is and always has been a “glass is half-full” kind of guy.

“Like Bill Parcells always said: ‘At least we know who we are today,’ ” he said. “We found out what our strengths are and where we need to improve. A lot of times you get to start off with someone a little lesser than Notre Dame and you might be able to play through some of your shortcomings, but we didn’t.

“Our focus now has to be on the areas we need to improve, but that game is not going to determine what type of season we have. It is how we react off of that one.

“We have to bounce back, and we will.”

The defensive line needs work, and not just getting Thomas Smith healthy. The good news, Ohio University’s O-line isn’t nearly the same class as ND’s.

“We don’t have a lot of experience on the offensive line,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “And we’re not that huge.”

The Bobcats have two returning starters — junior tackle Matt Coppage and sophomore guard Matt Miller — on their offensive line. Junior center J.J. Knabb (Peters Township), sophomore guard Paul Johnson and junior tackle Matt Coppage also started in last week’s 38-14 loss against Northwestern.

The only 300-pounders on Ohio’s first-string unit are Johnson (316) and Miller (301).

The game, of course, is on Friday night. Both schools are being apologetic to area high schools and blaming ESPN.

The great advantage to a short week, is there isn’t a lot of time to stew.

Well, Palko has a bruised right hand (his non-throwing). It’s no real shock that the players are hardly ready to toss the season in the crapper.

Palko’s injury is the result of a crunching second-quarter hit, and he spoke defiantly about the season ahead.

“Our spirits aren’t going to be crushed,” he said. “We’re not little girls. … We figured out last year you’ve got to learn the hard way sometimes.”

Lee, the Panthers’ leading receiver last season who caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Palko to give Pitt a short-lived 7-0 lead in the first quarter, agreed with Palko’s assessment but was a bit more diplomatic.

“We just need to stay optimistic,” Lee said. “It’s a big loss, but we’ve got a full season ahead of us. We’ve still got a lot more games to win; 10-1 is a good season.”

Blades, the Panthers’ outstanding linebacker who led them in tackles with a game-high 13 against Notre Dame, sat in a corner and stared at the floor long after the game had ended.

“I can’t describe the feeling right now,” the junior said. “They just came out and beat us. They wanted it more than we did. It’s a wakeup call.”

While his teammates and coaching staff all had different ways of coping with the loss, Palko remained constant.

“We got our tails kicked,” he said. “There’s one of two ways you can go from here — put your tail between your legs and crawl and run away from it and hide, or face it like a man. We’ve got 10 games left.”

Blades is also not ready to let the defense get away with the excuse that ND’s O-line was bigger and more experienced.

“Nobody wants to hear excuses. We need to play football. You have to deal with [a team that is bigger and more experienced]. You can’t complain, just go play,” Blades said. “It is just that simple. This isn’t rocket science. We just have to make plays. That’s it. This is one game. Our season isn’t lost, our season isn’t over, but it will be if we, meaning all of us on defense, don’t do a better job of stepping up and taking care of our business.”

The Big East as a whole did not have a good opening weekend. In terms of types of losses, though, I think I’d take the blowout to ND over blowing a 20 point lead to a bad Illinois team.

The national reviews for Coach Wannstedt’s debut were not positive.

… Much like Darius Walk– no, nevermind. Too painful.

In no particular order…

Ditka speaks, and nobody should be listening.

“He’s a young guy with a lot of enthusiasm and he’s really proud to be a Pittsburgh guy. And you have to have a Pittsburgh guy here. You don’t need any more California guys here, gang. We don’t need any of that crap. They come and go like the flies.”

He does know that Walt Harris is all of 5 years older than Coach Wannstedt. 7 years was like flies? Then I guess that time in New Orleans as head coach for Ditka was the lifespan of a fruit fly? Or was that just the amount of time it took before all 3 Saints fans realized that hire was up there with the Arizona Cardinals hiring Buddy Ryan?

Last I checked the kind of coaches from Pitt’s past everyone wants to see Wannstedt emulating in success were not exactly Pittsburghers — Majors and Sherrill.

I guess he’s quotable, and that’s what makes him popular. Though, when he was announced during halftime, most of us just started breaking into SNL “Superfan” routines — I never claimed we were original or that funny.

The only good thing from that story, is that Dan Marino has apparently made some peace with Dave Wannstedt following what happened in Miami.

“I’m excited for him and the entire university,” Marino said. “I think he’ll do a terrific job. As far as recruiting goes, I think he’ll do a great job because he is from this area.”

There was plenty of blame from this game.

As I feared, it was line play, line play, line play.

A lot of the blame went to former Coach Harris for not getting the talent on the lines. I suppose, then, that Harris was also to blame for the expectations that the lines would be better; because, up until the game was actually played, the majority of fans seemed willing to believe that the talent was good enough and the new coaches would make a huge difference.

I don’t want to have to keep defending Harris, but the bashing the former coach is rather useless at this point. Not to mention, petty.

And who knows, maybe by the end of the season, it will be far better. Will anyone give any credit to Harris then, or just the coaches and players?

I know, this is just to make excuses for Coach Wannstedt not meeting our expectations. Honestly, he and the players can handle it.

“I am disappointed,” Wannstedt said. “I must have not done a good enough job myself of not letting our guys read newspapers and magazines and think that we were probably a little better football team and a little further along then what we are today. I, really, from a fundamental standpoint, particularly on defense, did not do a good enough job of getting these guys prepared.

“We also did not deal with adversity the way championship teams deal with adversity. We just didn’t handle it well.”

Pitt linebacker H.B. Blades added, “Football is a game of will, and they wanted it more than we did. There are no excuses, there are no fingers to point — they just beat us in every aspect of the game.”

Personally, I like to hope that a little biased reading between the lines means the clock is ticking on Defensive Coordinator Paul Rhoads.

More coming.

One loss does not wreck the season. Even a disappointing, lopsided one like this.

I’d say the most frustrating thing about this kind of loss is how it deflated the excitement.

With a night game to kick off the season, that meant an opportunity for a lot of people to get to campus, before any tailgating or going to the game. This included me. I left for Pitt from Cleveland a little early so I could meet some friends on campus and just soak it in a bit.

It’s one of the perks of the first game of the season being an evening start. I’d been down on campus a couple years before the season opener, and I know some of the guys had been to Oakland the year before. Since Pitt has started playing their games over at Heinz Field, I have never seen the Campus so alive on game day.

I got in about 1, and the place was teeming. The Pitt Stop — the outdoor street vendors were looking mobbed. The Pitt Shop had a line of people out the door — I have never seen that. All the restaurants were packed. People made the pilgrimage. It was amazing.

There was such excitement and anticipation.

Following that kind of loss… I don’t want to say lost yet. But it’s going to take something special to get it back this year.

This is nothing against Coach Wannstedt, the team, anything like that. This is about energy and fandom.

At the moment, it is back down to “show me” levels. Pitt has its next 2 games on the road. Both games will be nationally televised. As down as I’ve been feeling, it’s not too late to get it back.

It wasn’t just that I didn’t feel like talking about the game.

I didn’t get home until the early afternoon, and owed it to the wife and kid to spend time with them for allowing me to indulge in the trip and everything else. So you can expect on home games where I’m spending the night in the ‘Burgh that I won’t be posting right away.

The nice thing about this blog — no deadline.

I still haven’t read anything on the game at this writing. Even managed to miss discussions about Pitt in the College GameDay Final. Just the box score to confirm some stuff.

Well, wow did that suck. I did not see that coming. Not that we lost — even when picking Pitt to win, I could see us losing. I just didn’t expect to see Pitt dominated like that.

After the game we just found ourselves in the lot just kind of looking at each other and cursing, trying to figure out where Pitt looked good. We didn’t find much.

The lines were absolutely dominated.

No pass protection or room to run up the middle for the offense. It was hard to tell whether it was by a bad game plan or the lack of time for Tyler Palko — and at the moment I’m favoring the latter — that kept Pitt from trying to get the ball to Greg Lee more.

On defense, the pass coverage had to play soft — in no small part because a lot of help was needed for the line. This allowed short, underneath passes all night long. And Quinn had all day for someone to get open with his O-line. To Quinn’s credit, he was also a lot faster than I expected at escaping when he did face pressure or on a roll-out.

Darius Walker, the ND RB, looked very, very impressive. The way he changed directions and hit the holes with a real burst was something.

Pitt couldn’t make ND punt until early in the 4th quarter. Special teams looked bad. Furman had that costly fumble mid-way through the 2nd quarter on a kick-off, and when ND capitalized to make it 28-10 that just took the crowd completely out of it. It was completely deflated.

The one bright side I could find, was that our corners defended rather well. ND wisely discarded any pass over 10-15 yards after the Revis interception in the 1st quarter. There’s a reason that their receivers only caught 8 of the 18 passes from Quinn. Over half the passing yards from ND came on the run after the catch.

Well, I expected ND to run a lot, and they did. At nearly 2-1.

I’m starting to drift. I’ll have more later.

I meant to do this sooner, but it’s been a very hectic day. Not a good excuse, but still.

Usually, I’m hitting you people up for donations for my selfish purposes. Right now, I’ll do it for those more in need.

Katrina destroyed much. Relief efforts are underway and everyone wants to help. Here’s a great list of charities hopefully many will want to donate to.

A few recommended by PSB:

And of course, the Red Cross.

This Post will stay at the top for a few days.

Totally unrealted to the game, but has to be noted.

Pitt Shooting Guard, Ronald Ramon had surgery yesterday morning to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb.

He’s got 6-8 weeks of rehab, so he likely won’t be out for any games, but may miss some time in pre-season camp.

The cause of the injury is unknown. There is a little speculation that it may have happened while working out and practicing with other players over the summer.

This is Ramon’s second injury. He injured his right shoulder during the season, causing him to miss a game, and his shooting was noticeably off thereafter.

I’ll do this very quick, because I have to hit the road very soon.

Big game, lots of excitement, plenty of build-up , going to be a tough one. Also Coach Wannstedt issued the following statement regarding Eric Gill.

“We were aware that Erik Gill was involved in a single-car accident on July 24. It was not until Aug. 31 that charges were brought. Erik denies the charges and is preparing to contest them. As we allow the judicial process to run its course, Erik will remain an active member of our team, and we expect him to play [tonight].”

There it is.

Factoids about Wannstedt-Weis and Pitt coaches debuting against ND.

Short article about Palko and the offense facing a new ND secondary and the secondary coach Bill Lewis.

Article focusing on Rashad Jennings as the starting tailback.

Yet another Wannstedt puff piece.

Basically, both teams big weaknesses are expected to be better since they couldn’t get much worse.

Essentially, it would seem if Pitt can run, its chances of winning increase exponentially. The Panthers averaged only 98 yards per game last year — 105th out of 117 Division I teams. But when they rushed for more than 98, they were 6-1.

Some Palko success against a green Irish secondary — 116th in passing yards yielded last season — seems likely. But Weis has said his Patriots offense had the most trouble passing vs. Wannstedt’s Miami defense, which is why he hired Dolphins nickel-package coach Bill Lewis as his assistant head coach-defense at ND.

Gene Collier says the offensive line needs a good game for Pitt to win.

Starkey says the honeymoon is about to be over. Actually, no. Oh, there will be critics and knee-jerk reactions from both sides if their team loses, but they have a year.

Not really part of the game stuff, but something that interests me. USC’s football media guide is in hardcover — the only school in the country that went that direction after the page restrictions.

A Uniontown sports writer picks ND to blow-out Pitt.

I’ll make these quick hits.

For those of you in the Pittsburgh media market unfortunate enough not to have tickets to the game — no offense to shut-ins, I’m sure you are wonderful people, really — WTAE will actually be doing a Pitt pre-game show. In a city where if a Steeler has the sniffles, the media knows whether it was Kleenex or Puffs that he used, this is significant.

Tyler Palko gets a very good puff piece on how quickly he grew last season. This was an AP story, and ended up in lots of media outlets. Cool.

Actually, one of the more interesting pieces I’ve encountered in the challenges ahead of Charlie Weis at ND.

Finally, still more predictions in addition to the ones I added to the list.

At least someone is picking ND (Osceola).

An Orlando Sentinel guy picks Pitt by 7.

The Gainesville Sun guy picks Pitt.

Finally, Dennis Dodd at Sportsline.

Really, who would you pick? Notre Dame traveling to Pittsburgh for its opener is not a good start to the Charlie Weis era. Try to look at this objectively:

In this battle of Pete Carroll wanna-bes, Dave Wannstedt has all the chips Saturday night. The former Panther has the city fired up after Walt Harris left him a load of talent. This year, it’s a perfect mix. Wanny is a defensive guy armed with a bunch of offensive playmakers.

Let’s not forget Wannstedt has been a two-time NFL head coach (just like Carroll). Weis is making his head-coaching debut with a team coming off a 6-6 season. Oh yeah, and it’s on the road. Call it 30-18 Wannies.

You know, if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s Pitt, I’d probably find more humor in the “Pete Carroll wanna-bes” line.

Paul Zeise’s Q&A is up. Either I was channeling him during my exchange with the boys of BGS, or he channeled me. A lot of his answers seemed awfully familiar.

He also addresses Wannstedt’s inadvertent mentioning of a recruit by name in a press conference, Conredge Collins and freshmen contributors.

Q: What will help the Pitt defense more this season – the reshuffled DL and LB corps or the balanced offense?

ZEISE: Great question. I’d say the linebackers are going to be the key. The offense will help only if it is working the way it is supposed to. The defensive line is shuffled but I’m not sure it is better. In fact, I’ll have to be convinced that it is capable of being competitive before I can really pass judgment on it. But the linebacking corps is a huge factor now that all of the players are in the right place. Remember Lewis Moore? He was an excellent strongside linebacker and a very mediocre middle linebacker. I think the same can be said for Clint Session. I expect he and Derron Thomas will both have big years on the outside and H.B. Blades is a perfect fit for middle linebacker. He doesn’t miss tackles, doesn’t over run plays and he always gets to the right place. This will be a big factor against the run.

Need I bother to tell everyone to read it all?

Now, usually I don’t bother with the Penn State beat reporter Q&A, but this was just comical paranoia.

Q: Why does the Post-Gazette jump on every chance they get to put Joe Paterno and Penn State football down? When something wrong happens at Penn State it makes the front page of the sports in big bold print with a cynical headline, but when Pitt does something wrong like having a player (Tyler Palko) drop the F-bomb on national TV it’s like nothing happened. Yes, Penn State has had some recent off the field problems, but so have other colleges. It just seems when PSU has off the field problems the Post-Gazette really plays them up more so than if Pitt had these same problems. As much the Post-Gazette will try to degrade Penn State’s football tradition with biased writing, Penn State will clean up its act and return to national prominence. In conclusion, I just would like the P-G to remain more unbiased when covering Penn State football.

HARLAN: The Post-Gazette has no intention of denigrating Joe Paterno or his football program, and because I am the lone reporter here charged with covering ol’ Joe and his football team, perhaps I should add that I, too, never aim for biased coverage. We cover all football programs the same way: we write about both the good and bad. After that, it’s up to the football program to determine the balance of good and bad. But I think it does bear mentioning that Tyler Palko, the day he dropped his famous F-bomb, was actually just commenting on a Penn State headline in our paper that morning.

[Emphasis added.]

Right, because clearly shooting arrows through dorm room walls, assaults and fights are the equivalent of an F-bomb uttered right after an emotional victory. Have to love that PSU fans seem to have now resorted to the point of going, “well other schools are just as bad as us” defense. (Inner voice comment: Uh, considering Gill’s DUI and trying to cover it up, aren’t you throwing a stone from the glass home? — Shut up!)

Ivan Maisel has a piece on Coach Wannstedt coming home (Hat tip to Jamie). Not too long and pretty good. Something that may just sum things up nicely:

The result has been beyond a marketer’s most feverish hopes. Pittsburgh loves its favorite sons. Behind the size of a major-league city is a provincial town that dotes on homegrown coaches, such as the longtime coach of the Steelers.

“Pittsburgh is a different town,” junior linebacker H.B. Blades said. “When they get one of their former sons back, like Bill Cowher, it’s important to them.”

I have to admit, I totally underestimated the reaction of the people to Coach Wannstedt. Maybe it’s because I’m not native, but the way he embraced and been embraced back by the city and fans has been astounding.

Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

If you can’t stand to read the extended remix, you can get an abbreviated summary from the boys at Blue Gray Sky.

Final thoughts and picks at the end of this part.

Jay: Let’s get down to brass tacks, as Grandpa Simpson would say. Chas, Pitt’s strengths in this game? Weaknesses?

Chas: Passing game, obviously. I think the running game will be a pleasant surprise, but not a strength right away. Definitely passing to set up the run. Secondary is a big strength — provided Pitt is more aggressive and plays tighter coverage.

So, QB, TE, WR, Secondary are the clear strengths.

Weaknesses include the D-line. They’ll be better (can’t be much worse) but how much is a big question. Especially going against a well known strength of the Irish. Pitt was horrible against the run and only got 22 sacks for the season.

The O-line is a big question. Can they open holes for the run. I think they’ll be fine for pass protection.

Question marks — more than weakness given the changes — both lines.

Jay: One the biggest matchups when pitt’s on offense is Ambrose Wooden (or whoever’s going to cover) vs Lee. Wooden’s fast, but completely unproven

Chas: Lee is not particularly blazing. He is tall, athletic and makes great adjustments.

Jay: Do they need to run to beat us? Or can Palko just go off?

Chas: You always need to run. Even last year, when Pitt couldn’t crack 100, Kirkley and Murphy had around 25 carries [against ND]. (Correction, they had 20 carries between the two of them. Furman added 3 more carries.)

Jay: And we know Wanny’s penchant for power running.

Pat: What matchups will you be watching closely chas?

Chas: Line play, line play, line play. I’ll be watching how it plays out in the trenches. mostly. Stuff in the secondary is “sexier” but a lot of that has to do with the type of coverage — what kind of position does it put a defender in?

Pat: As for the strengths and weaknesses of Notre Dame…

The strengths will be our O-Line, Brady Quinn, our RB, WR, and TE. Weaknesses right now have to be our secondary. We just don’t know how they’re going to look. 2 new starters.

Chas: Isn’t that a bit of a leap of faith for the WRs to be a strength?

Pat: I don’t think so. Stoval, Rhema, Shelton, and Samardizija are all experienced.

Jay: Well, the talent is there. Good depth.We’re trusting Charlie to bring it out

Pat: I was going to include our passing game as the question mark.

Jay: Good idea. Not because the talent isn’t there, but more we don’t know what to expect exactly.

Pat: So, question marks…passing game (Can we consistently get the ball to our WRs?), our defensive line (How will lack of depth and lack of size in the middle affect us?), and our linebackers (Two new starters, and Crum is only a sophomore).

Chas: Maybe it’s biases on both sides, but considering the coaching and personnel changes it’s hard to be as sure about the weaknesses — at least for that first game when it is all unknown.

Pat: True, but for all the importance ND fans have given to Pitt’s lack of size on the D-line (I know I’ve mentioned it here numerous times), one of our starting tackles is only around 260, with both his backups the same.

So if Wannstedt does try to establish a power game and run right at him, our lack of size in the middle could be an issue.

As for linebacker, Maurice Crum hasn’t played a single minute of college ball, and now he’s a starter, who will have to cover Erik Gill as well as lend run support.

Jay: So, how is Pitt going to win this game, Chas? What do they need to do to win it, I mean?

Chas: Starting on the defense, the secondary has to be big. I have no doubt that Walker will get his yards. The defense has to be aggressive. Do some blitzing and not wait for things. That will have to come from Coach Wannstedt.

Jay: Wanny’s creative. I’m sure we’ll see some interesting coverages & blitzes

Chas: On offense, Pitt will be running. I expect a few 3-and-outs where they almost inexplicably run. Then the passing game will start. I would prefer to see Pitt come out and try and throw deep on the first possession just to really rev up the crowd if nothing else — even on an incomplete – that would get people juiced. The passing game will likely dominate in the 2nd and 3rd qtrs. Only if Pitt’s behind will they still throw more in the 4th.

Jay: Then back to the run in the 4th. Thus fulfilling the maxim, pass to score, run to win.

Chas: Yeah, or at least mixed with more short passes and screens.

How about ND?

Pat: The big thing is going to be how our OL hangles your DL. If we can open up big holes early and really get the running game going, that will be huge. I’m sure Weis would love nothing more than to eat up as much clock as possible and keep Palko/Lee off the field.

Jay: It’s funny, for all the talk about how experienced our OL is — and they’re the most experienced in ND’s history — they’re STILL unproven.

Pat: On defense… I think that stopping the Pitt run game will be the most important. If Jennings and Co. get on track early, that will make the Pitt passing attack even more dangerous. But if they get a head of steam, and start blowing open holes…

I expect Lee to get his yards so trying to shut him out completely is probably a waste of time. Rather, slam the door on the run game and force Cavanaugh to move to the pass before he’s ready. If our DL can keep the running game in check, our linebackers will be free to either blitz or drop back into coverage, which will make the Pitt passing game a bit harder on Palko. Make Palko drive the entire field as much as possible. If Pitt can run early, then they will be pretty hard to stop in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

On offense, I’d love to see a brand new fancy aerial attack, but I really think that a steady, consistent rushing game is the best way to win against the Panthers.

Jay: If Pitt can stop our running attack, it’s going to be a long day for the Irish.

Pat: Oh, and improved special teams will be important.

Chas: Yeah, special teams, of course.

Pat: Chas, who’s the one Pitt player that you think will make Irish fans go “Where did this guy come from?” We know about Palko, Lee, and Blades. Who is the guy you expect to really have a great game?

Jay: (let me guess: Jennings)

Pat: (me too, but you never know)

Chas: I’ll give you 3 possibilities in order of likelihood:

Rashad Jennings — though how unknown to Irish in the know is now a question.

LaRod Stephens — a pocket rocket at 5’7″ 165 returning kicks.

Corey Davis — Redshirt Freshman Defensive Tackle.

And yours?

Pat: Corey Mays – 5th year senior, starting middle linebacker for the first time. If Pitt wants to start a ground game, it will be his job to stop it.

Jeff Samardzjia – WR, I expect Lay and Reville (sp?) to do a good job on McKnight and Stovall. Jeff is just as good and will get Pitt’s nickel back (not sure who that is) and could be a frequent target

Chinedum Nduwke – The Duke is a very big free safety (6’2″ 219) that has plenty of atheltic ability. I expect (hope?) to see him flying all around Heinz Field and hopefully helping out our corners with Lee.

Jay: We need a friendly wager. Pat was thinking the loser has to put up a picture of the other’s choosing on the blog?

Chas: Sounds fair.

Jay: Could be funny

Chas: Picture goes up on Monday — maximize the viewing pain.

Jay: Monday’s great.

Chas: Excellent. Now final score?

Jay: all right, since we’re the visitors, we’ll go first.

Today the line is 3, O/U is 52.

Seeing as I think ND’s OL will be able to blow the DL off the ball, and open holes for the running game.

And seeing as Palko/Lee/Gill/DelSardo are an experienced bunch, I think it’s going to be a high-scoring affair.

Still, ND will win the possession time battle, and control the ball.

ND wins, 31-24

With neither defense playing all that well.

Okay, your turn

Chas: First game, new coaches, new systems, everyone a little too hyped. Some sloppy play with a bunch of penalties mar the first half.

Pitt, even when they were a pass-oriented offense, still kept time of possession very even or better (check last year’s box score). The run gets results, but it is still in the air.

Still, it is a low scoring game, because neither head coach is a run up the score — more just enough to win.

Pitt wins 23-19

Some final thoughts.

Thanks again, to the guys at BGS for a level-headed discourse. As long as the IMing went, the time actually flew.

An important externality, but unknown is who the officials for the game. They didn’t have that information and neither did I. Still don’t know if it will be a Big East crew or a group from another conference. The way the game is called could be a factor in a close one.

Honestly, I don’t think either side really knows what could happen tomorrow. The teams are surprisingly evenly matched. Different strengths, question marks and weaknesses, but it balances out. Bias, faith, fear and hope were on display from each side. They have faith in their receivers being better, we feel the same about our running game — but it’s all unproven until they play.

I don’t leave for Pittsburgh until tomorrow morning, but I found myself packing the overnight bag already. Yeah, I’m ready to go.

Big shock that those were the overwhelming choice of storylines.

USA Today has a couple more articles. The main focus is on Weis with a smaller story on Wannstedt.

The Washington Post does a story on the two.

Another from the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette and from the Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Of course the Florida papers still seem to have affection for Wannstedt so he gets another puff piece about how good a fit it is for him to go back to Pitt and Pittsburgh.

Sorry to just skim these, but they are all starting to bleed together in my skull. After a certain point, it is the only thing making me tired of thinking about the game — the repetitive storyline. Thank God, I don’t have to watch it on TV and hear the same stuff over the actual game.

Here’s an AP story about ND’s secondary trying to improve.

In the final three games last season, the Fighting Irish gave up five touchdown passes each against Pitt and USC and four against Oregon State.

“We have a lot to prove,” safety Tom Zbikowski said.

The Irish secondary will get a chance to prove themselves immediately, opening the season Saturday against No. 23 Pittsburgh and quarterback Tyler Palko, who became the first person to throw five touchdowns against the Irish.

Zbikowski likes opening against the Panthers.

“Words can’t even explain how much I’ve been waiting for this,” Zbikowski said.

Cornerback Mike Richardson, who dropped what would have been a game-clinching interception against Pittsburgh last season, knows the feeling.

“We’re going in this year knowing there’s that big chip on our shoulder from last year and be positive about it,” he said.

First-year coach Charlie Weis said when he arrived, the secondary’s confidence was shattered. He isn’t worried about it heading into the game, though. He believes he provided them with an answer.

“Bill Lewis is the answer to the question. When you have one of the best defensive back coaches that there is at any level that knows how to teach the game and knows how to install confidence — I trust Bill Lewis and his teaching, his leadership and the way he handles the players,” Weis said.

Chip on the shoulder or just weight?

This one is about Pitt trying to prove itself with the opener.

Even though Pitt has played in postseason games five straight years, including a BCS bowl as the Big East champion last season, it clearly did not rise to the status level accorded a team with its record. Wins against MAC opponents, as well as losses, and about a .500 record against the better teams just wasn’t enough for the Panthers.

“You know, you just can’t ask for respect,”‘ Blades said. “You’ve got to earn it. We feel like we have to win every game, but we need this one because it’s the first one. For both schools, I think it’s a must-win situation. Notre Dame is trying to get back on track for a 10-win season and get into a BCS bowl, but we’re trying to do the same thing.

“We want to have a really big season. We want to see coach win his first game in such a big game.”

We all want it. Pitt has to seize it.