Okay Game Notes for Pitt and UConn (PDFs). Thomas Smith is the only Pitt starter who is day-to-day with a toe injury.

This of course is Pitt’s final home game and that makes it Senior Day. Coach Wannstedt is all gooey over it, well not really.

On the seniors’ emotions as they go into their last home game:

It’s probably something that you don’t give much though to until the day after. You’re going through the season and they say, “This is the last game.” Maybe it’s in the locker room when it really hits you that this is the last time that, “Hey this is the last time that I’m going to be, not necessarily with these guys, but the last time I’m going to be running out of that tunnel and with the team in this locker room.” That probably is the biggest emotional type of feeling that the guys would feel.

I’ve got to think about it a little more to be very honest with you. I haven’t given it a whole lot of thought. My focus has been on what we’ve got to do to try to win this game. The best thing that I can do is to do my part and whatever I can do to get a win this week so that they would leave winning a football game in their last game at Pitt at home.
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On members of this year’s senior class going on to play professionally:

Oh yeah, I [think so]. I don’t think it would be fair to comment, but we’ll definitely have some guys go on and have the opportunity to play at the next level.

Over on the UConn side of things, they have become one big freaking M*A*S*H unit this season.

UConn fullback Lou Allen will undergo surgery today on his right hand to repair the broken finger he suffered in last week’s loss to West Virginia. Allen, a redshirt freshman from Salem, could be out for the season.

In addition, cornerback Jimmy McClam is trying to recover from an injury to his right ACL, which also came during the West Virginia game. Coach Randy Edsall said Monday he wasn’t sure if McClam’s injury would require surgery, but that the true freshman would not play again this season.

“We’ve basically lost Jimmy for the rest of the year and Lou for at least a few weeks,” Edsall said.

The injury to Allen leaves the depth in UConn’s backfield slim. Starter Terry Caulley and reserve Cornell Brockington are there, but Allen and Larry Taylor have been lost to injury. In addition, freshman fullback Anthony Barksdale isn’t 100 percent healthy, either.

“We’re down to 2 backs,” Edsall said. “We’ve got Terry. We’ve got Brock. Anthony Barksdale is going to have surgery as soon as the season is over.”

Then there is the QB situation. Starter Matt Bonislawski went down with a broken collarbone last month as they were beating up on Syracuse. Back-up redshirt freshman D.J. Hernandez took over and then he went down with an injury. That left freshman Dennis Brown to start the last 2 games (both losses). Hernandez actually relieved Brown in the last game, and will likely be the starter versus Pitt. Hernandez has mobility and could be a problem for Pitt.

UConn booted their punter down the depth chart in favor of a walk-on.