Well, I mowed the lawn, did grocery shopping, cleaned the garage up just a bit. Generally just wanted to put this off. I mean, what can be said? Pitt looked, played and was absolutely pathetic and incompetent. I only got about halfway through the Dave Wannstedt press conference on video before clicking it off in disgust. I don’t know what I was expecting him to say that would make me feel better about things, but that wasn’t it.

Oh, hell, let’s get to the Virginia side of this.

Fan and media dissatisfaction with Al Groh was rising after last season and the season opening loss to Wyoming really raised it. Now, UVa is 4-1 and the complaints are a little more muted. Yet, there is noting that the opposition hasn’t exactly made it difficult.

Pliable Pitt did its best to render those questions all but moot. So inept were the Panthers in the first half, the visitors gave away the ball as easily as they gave in to U.Va.’s offense.

Against Pitt, Jameel Sewell, who was so clueless against Wyoming, looked like a left-handed Vince Young, standing poised in the pocket and adroitly moving around rushers to carry the ball on foot.

It was the biggest crowd at Scott Stadium this season, but Shayne Hale and Cameron Saddler from Gateway didn’t make it to the game for their recruiting trip. Small comfort, since they Hale already had Pitt off his list. More useless information, this was the third straight game for Groh and Virginia against teams with former NFL HCs (Butch Davis — UNC and Chan Gailey — GT).

Virginia QB Jameel Sewell obviously looked good against Pitt. Imagine that, a mobile QB looking good against Pitt.

Aside from that fumbled punt return, Vic Hall for Virginia had a good night.

Virginia fans were able to return to their tailgates early and in a good mood last night.

A half-filled Scott Stadium with four minutes to play means one of two things.

The late-game reaction of Virginia’s players, some that coincided with handshakes, hugs and high-fives, proved the reasoning without forcing a fan to peek into the night toward the stadium’s scoreboard.

Of course, many of those seats were still vacant when Virginia raced out to an insurmountable lead during the first 14 minutes of the game.

The quick start – Virginia scored 27 in the first quarter – coupled with a fourth-quarter resurgence, lifted the Cavaliers to an expected win over Pittsburgh by an improbable margin, 44-14, in front of a season-best crowd of 60,888.

…

“They were ready to jump in with both feet. This isn’t a stick-your-toe-in-the-water team,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “They were very ready to go tonight.”

The game was over quickly, even to Virginia fans.

Here’s how bad it is for Pitt, the game isn’t being taken for a deep meaning in Virginia.

Sometimes you don’t ask questions or explore too deeply. You simply take what the football gods and a generous opponent provide and say, “Gracias.”

Virginia had one of those nights. How else to explain a game in which the Cavaliers essentially delivered the knockout blow before the first north end zone, hillside human tumbleweed.

To be sure, there were a few anxious moments in the second half of the Cavaliers’ 44-14 victory against Pittsburgh. After all, this is Virginia we’re talking about, not Southern Cal or LSU.

And U.Va. coach Al Groh’s decision to execute a fake field goal for a touchdown with less than six minutes remaining in a 23-point game sure didn’t appear professionally courteous, especially for a couple of ex-NFL paisans. But we’ll leave that for Chairman Al and Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt to hash out behind the snack bar.

You know what, I don’t care about that. It may have been a bit bush, but so what? It was up to Pitt to stop them.

Moving to the Pittsburgh media, with the Steelers playing in Arizona, the columnists won’t be getting to this until maybe Wednesday. That’s okay, the beat writers jumped in for the deserved criticism of this team.

When Pitt hired coach Dave Wannstedt after the 2004 season, he promised to take the Panthers back to the Johnny Majors Era. So far, it looks as if he has delivered on that promise.

The only problem is these Panthers are starting to look a lot more like the 1990’s version during Majors’ second stint as Pitt’s head coach than the team that won the national championship in 1976.

That’s not a good thing as that second Majors stint marked one of the darkest periods in the university’s 117-year football history.

Yet for the second consecutive game, the Panthers (2-3) did their best imitation of those dead-teams walking…

Hard to really disagree.

Gorman went with the white flag from the opening play position.

Just when its 20-point loss to visiting Connecticut last week appeared to be a low for the Pitt football program, the Panthers (2-3) plummeted even further with its third consecutive loss and second in embarrassing fashion.

“The way we played does not mesh with how I feel, but I don’t believe we’re as bad a football team as what we’ve showed in the last two weeks,” Wannstedt said. “But – and that’s a big but – we are where we are right now. We haven’t given ourselves a chance, in my opinion, to show what type of team we are or what type of team we can be.

“I have been on one-win teams in college and the National Football League. I have been on undefeated teams in college and Super Bowl teams. We are doing everything in practice and preparation that championship teams do. Our kids are working as hard as any team I’ve been on.”

Well, then it is on the coaches.

This one wasn’t about being overmatched. Pitt was simply sloppy, committing costly turnovers and 11 penalties for 139 yards, which has become a recurring theme this year.

Worse, the Cavaliers (4-1) came in allowing more points (19.8) than they were scoring (19.2), but managed to score four touchdowns in the first 21:08 on drives consisting of only 39, 51 and 26 yards.

That rendered the debut of quarterback Pat Bostick and tailback LeSean McCoy in same starting backfield essentially meaningless. Virginia led 27-0 before Bostick, making his first career start, even attempted his first pass.

Gorman has some more stuff on his blog.

“They were executing. That was what they were doing all game. All the credit goes to them. They picked us apart,” McKillop said. “On our end, we’ve got to step up. When we go to the sideline, we’ve got to listen to coach Rhoads’ adjustments and we’ve got to go out there and apply them to the field.”

It’s not that Pitt has a poor game plan, just that the Panthers aren’t executing. At this point, the Panthers coaches ought to distance themselves from the word, especially with talk of putting them on the firing line.

Wait, someone is claiming that Rhoads understands the concept of adjustments?

And, based on McKillop’s comments, it already sounds like the Panthers are tuning out their coaches. Or, at least, they are starting to wonder if this season is a lost cause.

“There’s definitely going to be some doubt with our team, but the most important is we have leaders on our team who are going to have to step up and not have separation on our team, people forming groups and having a mutiny against everybody,” McKillop said. “We’ve got to stick together as a team. Everyone’s got to come in and push through this adversity.

“Right now, there’s been no finger-pointing with this team. We’re sticking together. Coach Wannstedt is preaching what he’s always preaching: ‘Trust. Accountability. Desire.’ We’re sticking to that.”

Well the players may be wondering. The fans pretty much have accepted this has become a lost season.

Game’s on ESPNU if you have it.

I’ll be offering limited commentary throughout. I’m hesitant to add too much since I’ve been consuming bourbon all day to brace myself.

7:24: Welcome to the implosion. 13-0 and then fumble on kickoff return.

7:29: It’s 20-0 UVa. Pitt and the Wannys have the Grohs right where they want them. Now Groh will invoke his NFL knowledge and go prevent the rest of the way.

I hope.

7:47: I’m hoping this is the proverbial “rock bottom” for the season. 27-0 and it’s not even the end of the 1st quarter. Pathetic.

7:55: Since the game is already lost, I might as well note a bizarre FatHead rip off ad for “Wallbangers.” Brit accent for lots of soccer, plus they’ll make oversized vinyl prints of uploaded photos. Picturing a fired up Rhoads after stopping a team for only 9 yards on 1st down on my wall. Plus some paint thinner and a lighter.

7 for 51 yards on penalties.

8:10: Only 30-0 now. Way to stiffen for only a FG.

Remember, when slitting wrists, cut with the vein, not across.

9:00: I mean, what the hell? You run, run, run, that means they will put 8, 9 men in the box. So then you have Bostick drop and look deep? NO!!!! You throw quick. Hit a TE on a screen. A slant, something quick. Not a drop back.

9:45: What can you say. Two straight passing plays by Virginia that are off the hands of Pitt defenders and then they let the Hoos complete a 3d and 20. I regained consciousness for that?

9:54: You know why I’m feeling pissed about this. Because part of me feels bad for the players that they have to suffer through this. Another part of me can’t help but be somewhat happy insofar as if Coach Wannstedt and the administration has to see there is a huge problem after this week and last. If they can’t see the need for a coaching shake-up of some sort after this season — minimum changing DC and OL Coaches — then I just don’t know anymore. And I can’t stand feeling a little good about Pitt bottoming out like this. It just seems like the only frickin’ way there is going to be some necessary changes at this point.

I don’t know how I feel about this game at all. Watch out for Chris Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald on the Virginia defense. Mel Kiper (Insider) says Long is the best defensive end in the nation and Fitzgerald is one of the best sophomore DE’s in the country.

Watch those two go up against Pittsburgh’s senior left tackle Jeff Otah. He’s still a bit raw but that’s because he played only one year of high school football. Otah (6-5, 339) played both football and basketball in junior college and has shown the skills to be a pro-style pass-blocker. Coach Dave Wannstedt has praised Otah for way he’s been performing, and this will be another big test for Otah, who should see either Long or Fitzgerald on almost every snap.

Otah could be the key to getting Pat Bostick some time to throw the ball. I assume Bostick is going to be a little shaky in his first start, but Otah (and the rest of the line) can relieve some of that — just don’t count on it.

Edit: Penn State and Notre Dame lost. Everything is good (for now).

Just looking about at stories before the 7pm game on ESPN-U.

Gorman talks to former Pitt coach Mike Gottfried who will be doing color for the game tonight.

Smizik points out that after this season, Coach Wannstedt will only have two years left on his 5-year contract. So that makes this game vital if he expects an extension. Actually, that’s part of why this whole season might be vital. Honestly, there’s no way — regardless of how the season goes — an extension will (should) even be considered until 2008 gets underway. I’d rather “risk” a slow start to recruiting then extend a contract foolishly.

Virginia media takes notice  that Pitt will be starting a freshman at QB.

The Virginia O-line is big and good at opening holes.

Big recruiting night for Virginia. Including Shayne Hale and Cameron Saddler from Gateway (Monroeville).

Another story on the theme of payback by Virginia for last year. Oh, and as a key to the game — go after Pat Bostick.
Virginia beat writers have a man-crush on Jeff Fitzgerald. That or their tired of writing glowingly about Chris Long.

Coach Wannstedt speaks positively about Bostick starting.

Beat writer in Virginia tries to figure out how Pitt can win after knowing why Virginia can win.

You know, maybe I’m projecting a bit, but it seems Zeise is a little more down on the defensive coaching in his weekly chat after the UConn game. Not so much of the players so much as the schemes, calls and general competence.

pittfan: Do you think that LB’s cover the wr’s too often in this defense?

Paul Zeise: Yes and I think this defense plays too many soft coverages and it is evident when you see the same routes working in the same spots every single week.

…

Tired_of_Losing: Paul, I thought that the defense would come through vs. UCONN, and was very surprised by the performance. 1st half drives of 15, 8, and 9 plays, as compared to the previous week vs. Mich St. Any opinions on what led to what I saw as a breakdown on D?

Paul Zeise: Yes, I thought that Pitt got caught in several coverages and defensive calls that were bad given what Connecticut is capable of doing. I also can’t understand, after last year, how the quarterback scrambling thing wasn’t rectified because that was a big part of it too. The sad thing is, a very good effort by the defensive line was wasted because the back end didn’t take care — or in some cases wasn’t put in position to take care of — its business. Again, this team seems to never be able to do everything well at the same time and that’s a problem.

…

Run_the_Ball: Should we be concerned that there were signs of the bad tackling returning last week?

Paul Zeise: Yes, as well as the quarterback scrambling and the fact that second and third and long seem to be very manageable downs for opposing teams again. All of that stuff could have been just a bad game or could be a sign of things to come.

Of course, the issue isn’t whether the beat writers are starting to see the incompetence of Rhoads as no longer acceptable despite his being a “good guy,” but whether Coach Wannstedt does.

This year, Virginia seems to have a much better O-line to allow it to run more effectively.

The line, which has four returning starters and features five players with significant experience, is big and powerful. It is also is mobile and athletic, which means the Panthers could have their hands full trying to stop Virginia’s running game.

And while size usually gives the Panthers trouble, it is the athleticism of the Cavaliers’ offensive line that has Pitt’s defensive coaches most concerned.

Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said the Cavaliers are able to do so many different things when they are run-blocking because their linemen move so well. That is why the Panthers not only will have to play physical football, but also smart football.

“That is a huge offensive line,” Rhoads said. “The key to dealing with that offensive line, and really the key to having a chance to be successful against their running game, is how well you can defeat blocks in the open field, especially against 300-pounders that run like skilled athletes.

“They will cut you, they will get on you. If you are going to stop that running game, you will have to get off physical blocks in order to do so.”

Left Tackle Greg Monroe is still questionable for the game, but seems more likely to play now.

The Cavs running game is vital because they still don’t have any receivers. They do have good tight ends, so the safeties and the coverage is going to have to key on them since the TEs have more receptions than the WRs.

This might be the game where the field position works for Pitt. The Cavs punt coverage has been shaky. Not a lot of hang-time on the punts so there is a chance to have some good returns.

Some more love for LeSean McCoy as Gameday lists him #2 among rookie RBs.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more frustrated/depressed/angry after reading an AP article than I was today.

Nearly three years after inheriting a team that reached the Bowl Championship Series from Walt Harris, coach Dave Wannstedt’s Panthers (2-2) are looking more like a bottom-of-the-Big-East team than a Top 25 contender. And they’ve yet to play any of the conference’s top teams.

It starts off by referencing Walt Harris and out BCS appearance while reminding us we’ve played like crap this year and have yet to play a very good team. They also do us a favor and help us remember Harris’ five consecutive bowl seasons. Meanwhile, we’re 13-14 under Wannstedt and we haven’t even hit the meat of this year’s Big East schedule. Terms such as “disarray” and “leaking points” are thrown around to describe the offense and defense respectively.

Great. Just great.

“We’re kind of back to the drawing board,” Wannstedt said. “We’ve taken a couple of steps backward.”

Ah. Anger and frustration growing. Using the breathing techniques Chas mentioned don’t seem to be working now. Wanny says we’re taking steps backwards, but I don’t think they know which direction to go forward in. We have no plan, no idea of what we’re doing. Similarities to a chicken with it’s head cut off are fair game.

The few fans that showed up in the announced crowd of 40,000-plus were booing by the second play of the game, and Heinz Field was nearly empty at game’s end.

I generally try not to boo my teams unless they do something completely bad. The way Pitt played was worthy of my boos and everyone else who joined in. Did anyone stay until the game was over on Saturday? How many people were left?

The only thing that made me somewhat happy was finding this blatant error (with my emphasis).

Bostick’s statistics looked good (27-of-42 for 230 yards and one interception), but most of those numbers were accumulated as Pitt trailed 34-7 and UConn wasn’t pass rushing. Bostick got rid of the ball quickly enough, but telegraphed some throws while being intercepted three times.

A huge point of contention in the UConn game was a lack of Shady-time.

“He (Stephens-Howling) will be a major part of our game plan” at Virginia, Wannstedt said. “LaRod’s done a lot of good things here, and LeSean’s a freshman.”

LSH, a senior with 3.6 yards per carry, is better than McCoy in Wannstedt’s book, because Shady is a freshman. A freshman with 6.3 yards per. I’ll take the freshman, please.

It would be really helpful if the offense stopped giving up turnovers. In the last two games, 34 points have been scored off of lost fumbles and interceptions.

“We’re reaching for some confidence right now,” Wannstedt said. “The only way to get confidence is to get some results.”

Make it happen (because I’m not too happy right now).

Last week’s record; season record: 3-2; 15-4

Friday, September 28, 2007

(5) West Virginia vs. (15) South Florida, 8:00 pm EDT
The first huge game of the Big East season is this one. USF gained national attention by beating WVU in Morgantown last year and this year at home they’ll likely have a Friday night sellout. The Bulls’ win over Auburn proved a lot — I like QB Matt Grothe to rip apart the WVU defense.
Pick: South Florida

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Akron vs. UConn, Noon EDT
I hate UConn so much right now. They managed to pull in some votes in the BlogPoll this week and yet they’re one of the worst 4-0 teams ever. Pitt managed to make them look amazing, but it ends this week.
Pick: Akron

Syracuse vs. Miami (OH), 3:30 EDT
Miami (of Ohio, naturally) picked up their only win of the season against Ball State. Syracuse has only one win as well — I’ll take a win over Louisville to a win over Ball State.
Pick: Syracuse

Maryland vs. (12) Rutgers, 3:30 EDT
Line one of the Yahoo.com preview:

One of Rutgers’ biggest strengths is its ability to score in a hurry. Giving up points in bunches is one of the reasons Maryland is suddenly struggling.

Game. Over.

Pick: Rutgers

Louisville vs. NC State, 3:30 EDT
Two ugly weeks for Louisville. Steve Kragthorpe might not completely have his team behind him, and especially not the fans, but they turn it around against NC State.
Pick: Lu-uhl-vuhl

Pitt vs. Virginia, 7:00 pm EDT
Answer: A true freshman making his first collegiate start, on the road, against a decent ACC team. Coming off of a disastrous loss — to Connecticut of all teams. Half of the team injured. Coached by guys who might be better off coaching 10 year olds. Nobody playing with intensity and no one showing leadership. Question: Why is Pitt going to lose?
Pick: Virginia

(19) Cincinnati vs. San Diego State, 10:00 pm EDT
The classic trap game if there ever was one. Next Saturday, the Bearcats will play at #12 Rutgers and the Cincinnati players have to be really looking forward to that game. Hopefully they don’t overlook SDSU. They have to travel out to the west coast and play an Aztecs team that isn’t great but is by no means a complete pushover. I still like Cinci.
Pick: Cincinnati

Track the scores here.

(Rankings used are from the BlogPoll.)

Beautiful stream of consciousness IMing between Peter Bean of Burnt Orange Nation and Orson Swindle of EDSBS to discuss the weekend’s upcoming CFB action. Key excerpt:

OS: I’m backtracking. But I can’t believe that Al Groh and Dave Wannstedt are coaching against each other and being paid to do so.

Peter: The midfield pregame handshake should be fun. Dave: “You prepare much for this?” Al: “A little. You?” Dave: “A little.” Al: You okay with a tie?” Dave: “I’m okay with a tie.”

OS: Al: “I’m gonna call a fake punt in the late second.” Dave: “Me, too.”

OS: Al: “Can we call them at the same time?” Dave: “I dunno. Lemme check the rule book.”
Al: “That would be boss, Dave.”

PB: “I always pass deep on 2nd and short.” “Ok. Me too.” “Meet for a drink after the game?” “Definitely. Cranberry juice okay?” “Ideal.”

OS: “No surprises, ok?” “No surprises. I hate those.” “Me, too.”

PB: “The fans hate surprises.”

OS: “All eight of ‘em that showed up.”

PB: “They are here. Let us give them what they expect.” “3 and out?” “Alwaays”

Moving on.

It was apparently LeSean McCoy’s media day. Especially since Pat Bostick is still off-limits to the media (can have him start on the road on semi-national TV (ESPNU), but no talking to the media folk). Articles from Zeise and Gorman. The focus on him starting over LaRod Stephens-Howling and how modest and mature he is about the whole thing.

Over to their online content. A good response in the Zeise Q&A that about sums up fan feelings with the issue of “progress.”

Q: Several times you have mentioned that this football program needs to make progress this season. But does progress necessarily constitute victories? Personally, I feel that with everything that has happened, a positive step forward would be to actually be competitive on both sides of the ball. What is your opinion?

Zeise: To a degree, yes, but at some point you have to start winning games. That’s the goal. There is no reason this team shouldn’t have gone to a bowl game the past two years and, frankly, had it done that, people would be more inclined to give a pass for this season, given everything that has gone wrong. The team needs to play better but it also needs to reverse a few negative trends that go deeper than personnel issues, like not being able to upset anyone, like never coming from behind at the half to win, like not being competitive for more than a half against the best team on the schedule — these are things that need to start happening and if they do, then yes, it would be a sign of progress.

[Emphasis added.]

Objectively you could make the argument that this season was toast with all of the injuries. Losing the starting QB, WR and DT in the first few games. Depth taking a hit with plenty of other injuries (Jacobson, Matha, Lindsey, Pinkston, etc.). The suspension of Fields.

The fact is, Wannstedt used up a lot of good will simply by losing a game each of the past two years that there was no excuse to lose — Ohio and UConn. Even Al Groh could get Virginia to minor bowls. So, it’s not going to be enough to talk about all the injuries. There’s a disillusioned feeling in the fanbase that even with everyone healthy, Pitt would still find ways to lose one too many games.

Gorman’s blog post has a bunch of things, from more McCoy to the QB-Center exchange, to the, um, upside to injuries to key players.

The other side of the coin for those who play as true freshman is that they have a redshirt year available in case of injury, ineligibility or suspension. Wannstedt mentioned senior receiver Derek Kinder, junior defensive tackle Gus Mustakas and sophomore safety Elijah Fields as three players who are benefiting from that scenario.

“It would be a crying shame if this was Derek Kinder’s last year. It may cost him an NFL career, I don’t know,” Wannstedt said. “That’s what I talked to Dom about: there’s two sides to this thing: You don’t know how it’s going to play out. We’re doing what we have to do to win, but we’re also being very sensitive to each player. They’ve just got to trust me on that.”

Er, yeah.

Well, Pitt didn’t get Eloy Vargas as most already know. He got hot over the summer and Florida came calling. Bummer. Still not sure who Pitt would have encouraged to look elsewhere for a school to free-up the scholarship for him, but maybe we’ll find out since Pitt still has the goal of adding one more player.

The upside for basketball recruiting knowledge, is that Chris Dokish will occasionally be contributing to the Big East Basketball Blog. I know I’ve pointed this one out to everyone before, so it’s probably redundant, but the BEB is the best blog for following news in the entire Big East in basketball. One stop shopping. Brilliant.

Back to Dokish, he has a full report on the Vargas stuff along with plenty of other Pitt targets for 2009 and a few potential ones for 2008. Not to mention a bit of news about the players presently on the team. Good news for those still missing his blog.

Football’s been stressing everyone out. Too tense. Way too serious. There is a real need to relax.

Take a moment. Breathe in. Hold it. Let it out. Ahhhh. That always helps me feel better. Of course, it helps when you picture someone else taking that deep breath. Lately, it’s been Missy Peregrym, but go with who works for you.

Anyways, the college basketball season is creeping closer. Athlon and Lindy’s both have previews on the periodical racks. They put Pitt at #21 and #17.

ESPN.com also has a little teaser as it gets to the Big East in its “Conference Shootaround.”

The Panthers don’t play glamorous basketball, but it’s definitely effective, especially on the offensive end. Aaron Gray, Antonio Graves and Levon Kendall are gone, but Levance Fields (assuming resolution of his legal issues), Mike Cook and Ronald Ramon all return. Add in Sam Young, Keith Benjamin and Tyrell Biggs, who all showed flashes in more limited minutes, and the Panthers may look different this season but could score with similar effectiveness.

Jay Bilas puts Pitt at 6th in the Big East this season.

Jamie Dixon has another solid group that should be back in the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers have good guards, are experienced and understand how to win. In short, Pitt has a program, not just a few good teams. Dixon needs to resolve the Levance Fields situation, but even without Fields, this is an NCAA Tournament team.

The questions remain about what will happen with Levance Fields. Damn. Now I need to take a few more deep breaths.

Still has to happen this weekend. After everything that has happened this past week, I actually still think Pitt has a chance.

Virginia has squeaked a couple out, and find themselves atop the ACC Coastal Division. Still, their offense is not in great shape. They have serious issues of depth and talent at WR.

As a group, UVa wideouts caught four passes in a 28-23 win over Georgia Tech last week. They also had four drops. The tight ends, by comparison, caught 12 passes.

“We certainly would welcome any production or any firepower we can get there,” Virginia head coach Al Groh said. “Obviously, the (touchdown) Staton Jobe came up with the other day highlights what that can do for a team.”

Covington wasn’t an explosive receiver in the mold of a Kevin Ogletree or Deyon Williams, but his nine receptions led UVa’s wideouts. Jobe, the other starter, has eight catches for 104 yards.

Maurice Covington is out for the Pitt game with a wrist injury.

Also likely out for the game is the Hoos left offensive tackle who was hurt late in the GT game.

Offensively, they will be running the ball a lot with Cedric Peerman. Obviously the passing game won’t exactly be a vertical game, with the TE’s being the main targets. The real danger for Pitt will be containing Sophomore QB Jameel Sewell, is also a threat to run the ball — a terrifying prospect for the Pitt defense. He’s been sharing the QB duties with Freshman Pete Lalich who is a better pure passer and has shown promise.

On defense, they may have two of the best DEs in the country (definitely in the ACC) in Jake Long and Jeffery Fitzgerald.

All he did last season was lead Virginia with 5½ sacks, tie for the team lead with 12 tackles for losses, rank second with two interceptions and finish third with 64 total tackles — as a freshman.

But even though Fitzgerald got his due as a unanimous freshman All-American, he won’t be the first name in defensive ends at Virginia for at least another year.

That’s because he plays across from senior Chris Long, he of the famous father and the media-guide cover, the projected first-round NFL draft pick whose average of 1½ sacks per game this season is second in the nation.

I’m sure the Pitt O-line is looking forward to the challenge of trying to keep Bostick upright.

Oh, and of course, the Cavs haven’t forgotten last year.

“They kind of embarrassed us on national TV,” defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald said. “So we kind of have that in the back of our minds, to try to get back and bounce back from that. We’re just looking forward to going out there and showing them that last year was not indicative of this season.”

He’s lying there, practically asking for it.

Sure, it seems like lousy timing to get the list of 10 worst football head coaches debate going when Pitt is (to be kind) floundering. Dave Wannstedt is going to make the list and be the nominee for the worst, by many. So what? Wanny is — to go all Gundy on this — a grown man. An adult. He can take it.

As fans of our school we can be bothered by it, but getting bent out of shape or indignant over it is silly. Right now, at this point he’s in the conversation, and even a punchline.
So, until Pitt shows a pulse and starts to even look like it is going in the right direction that has to be expected. And things like this:

Falling: Pitt. Getting beat down by Rutgers or West Virginia is one thing. But getting beat down by UConn — at home, no less — is quite another. Feel free to make your own joke.

There are plenty of teams and coaches doing more with less. Pitt and Coach Wannstedt are not among them. Like it or not, that is reality right now.

It can change. I still hold out hope that it will. Right now, Pitt is 2-7 in its last 9 games. 2-4 at home and the last time Pitt won a road game was Mid-October of last year. Coach Wannstedt has often fallen back on the cliche that “you are what your record says you are.”

Right now, he isn’t a very good head coach.

Not a huge amount of tweaking, but a couple little things from the draft.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	—
2	LSU	—
3	Oklahoma	—
4	Florida	—
5	West Virginia	—
6	California	—
7	Texas	—
8	Rutgers	1
9	Ohio State	1
10	Boston College	2
11	Wisconsin	3
12	Georgia	1
13	South Florida	1
14	Oregon	3
15	Clemson	1
16	Hawaii	4
17	Kentucky	9
18	Missouri	3
19	South Carolina	1
20	Penn State	9
21	Cincinnati	4
22	Nebraska	1
23	Arizona State	3
24	Miami (Florida)	2
25	Virginia Tech	1

Under Consideration/Wait Listed: Purdue, Michigan State, Kansas, Michigan and UConn.
The total voting results can be found here and here are individual ballots for all blogpollers.

I did swap Miami and VT after rethinking. Not sure the Hokies really are deserving but even that shellacking from LSU was more than could be said for anyone else to go in ahead of them.

I appreciated Sean pointing out that Nebraska somehow moved up. That, was just crazy talk. But, no way am I considering UCLA until they prove they can win a real game.

I don’t think Wisconsin is very good, but I just couldn’t put anyone else higher. They aren’t impressive, but they keep winning. Dropping them out of the top-ten seemed like enough for now.

Matt Cavanaugh had his meet the press day yesterday. As the offense struggles, the attention goes to the Offensive Coordinator.

Entertaining questions from the media probably ranks pretty low on Matt Cavanaugh’s list of favorite things to do, but the Pitt offensive coordinator was willing Tuesday to discuss everything from play-calling to the quarterbacks.

What has to be disconcerting for Cavanaugh is that when the Panthers were averaging 31.8 points per game last season, the defense couldn’t stop anyone. Now, when Pitt is holding opponents to 16 points per game, the Panthers have become turnover-prone and struggled to score.

The blame has been pointed at the play of freshmen quarterbacks Kevan Smith and Pat Bostick. By extension, that is a direct reflection on Cavanaugh, and as Pitt’s quarterback coach, he’s willing to acknowledge as much.

“In my opinion, we have not been very successful or very productive offensively because our quarterback play has been poor,” Cavanaugh said. “That’s got to change. We’ve got to game-plan the right way. We can’t put the quarterback in a position where he feels like he’s got to go win the game for us. He’s got to understand ball control, protecting the ball, getting it to the people who make plays for him.”

Cavanaugh, though, also sees the execution as a big problem on the offense.

“Believe it or not, as a coordinator, you always try to put a game plan together that you think is best to win that week,” Cavanaugh said. “I really don’t care what we’re doing, as long as we’re executing better. That’s what killing us.”

Having an O-line that can’t provide any protection or open up any running lanes doesn’t help much. Interestingly, Cavanaugh never mentioned the O-line issues except as part of the whole offense struggling.  This despite the fact that the offensive line has been part of the issue in making the offense such a frightful sight.

Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh understands the frustration with his unit’s lack of production because he is feeling the same way. He said the most frustrating aspect is that the 2-2 Panthers have plenty of playmakers who have not been utilized because of poor quarterback play.

But he also said it goes beyond just quarterback, where Bill Stull has been lost to the Panthers since an injury in the opening game.

In a Matt Cavanaugh offense, to see the TEs get so little work, that’s a reflection of an O-line that can’t protect. That means making the tight ends blockers rather than offensive weapons.

Of course, with now a true freshman starting, that means the playbook has to be further stripped down. From a playcalling standpoint, I do sympathize with Cavanaugh, because there isn’t a lot available for him to use. He has a bad O-line and a green QB. Other than direct snaps to McCoy or one of the receivers, it’s not that easy to get the ball in their hands if the QB has no time to throw, and is nervous; or if the defensive line is already in the backfield on a hand-off.

That said, this again goes back to the other part of his job. Coaching, teaching and development. The QBs have been very slow to get the hang of what Cavanaugh wants. It took Palko a while. Stull had the benefit of watching, learning and practicing for a few years. Smith, well, it didn’t click. Bostick is a true freshman. I don’t know, maybe Cavanaugh needs to focus more on the basics rather than the nuances right now at the QB spot.

Offensive line coach Paul Dunn, should be next in line for the “what the hell are you doing?” as a coach line of questioning.

If Saturday night’s post-game Wannstedt press conference was a shell-shocked event. I mean, you just have to watch the video to see him completely at a loss. Well, the Virginia pre-game was a bit on the defiant edge.

On Monday afternoon, he made excuses.

“For me to stand here and try to explain the truth and what the real facts are, most people don’t want to hear that,” Wannstedt said. “You go out and you try to have some success on the field and then people will start believing in you.”

Then Wannstedt tried to use statistics to support his argument. The Panthers, he correctly pointed out, rank in the top 25 in the country in seven of nine defensive categories. They are nine in pass efficiency (88.70 rating), 11th in total defense (250.0 yards), 12th in pass defense (154.5 yards), 13th in fourth-down conversions (14.3 percent), 14th in sacks (3.25/game), 18th in scoring defense (16.0 points) and 25th in rushing defense (95.5 yards).

“I think our defense has done a great job,” Wannstedt said. “The position that those guys have been put in, I think we’re in the top 25 in the country in seven of nine (categories). We’re 11th overall, with what we’ve had to deal with the last couple weeks from a field position (standpoint) and 10 turnovers in two games? You’ve got to be kidding me. When we’re trying to be conservative and run the ball. Understand what we’re doing: We’re not dropping back and throwing it 50 times.”

Actually, that’s precisely what Pitt did – likely not intentionally – by completing 31 of 51 passes for 277 yards: Kevan Smith was 3 of 9 for 29 yards, LeSean McCoy was 1 of 1 for 18 and Pat Bostick 27 of 41 for 230. For a coach that desperately wants to run the ball, Pitt had only 23 rushes for 72 yards to UConn’s 46 for 115.

Stats that include playing a 1-AA team and Eastern Michigan are not particularly persuasive. Just as offensive numbers weren’t last fall to start the season.

The online dichotomy of the beat reporters are fascinating to me, as they get more used to it. Gorman is interesting in that he keeps the observations in the blog only and his articles are much more straight reporting — Bostick and McCoy being named starters or the O-line being a noticeable problem (as usual). Zeise has been that way for a while with the difference in tones between his articles and his Q&As (whether weekly or daily).

I have no idea where to start about Saturday’s game other than to say it was one of the worst overall performances by a Pitt team — from an execution and organizational standpoint — that I have witnessed in my six plus seasons covering this team. The first half it really reminded me of some of those teams from the early 1990’s — the Panthers couldn’t make a play, when they did make a play there was a penalty or a turnover or something else bad happened and it seemed like every move that was made blew up in the coaches’ faces. It was a disaster on so many levels.

The article of the day, though, focused on Wannstedt trying to explain that some things were still good.

He said the most encouraging sign was that the Panthers never showed any signs of quitting Saturday at Heinz Field despite being blown out by Connecticut.

“For me to try and sit here and explain the truth and what the facts are, most people don’t want to hear that,” Wannstedt said. “We just have to be successful on the field and then people will start believing in what we are doing. The tape I showed our team yesterday had six plays from the fourth quarter where guys gave effort. We said, with eight minutes to go in that game, the guys were playing as hard as if we were winning by 20.”

Um, well, I can’t say for sure what kind of effort they gave in the fourth since I left in disgust after 3 quarters. I can say that I  wasn’t seeing much effort before that. And I’m even more afraid if they were giving a full effort.
The defiance and a sense of blaming things on the execution not the plan is not a way to make people feel better. It reeks of excuses and it still goes back to the coaching and preparation.

With or without quarterback problems, there’s no way Pitt should look that unprepared in a league game.

That was the theme from Ron Cook as well.

Is Wannstedt and his staff capable of coaching up all those great players and making Pitt a big winner?

I’m starting to have my doubts.

The embarrassing home loss Saturday night to Connecticut did the trick for me. Wannstedt gets a pass on a lot of things this season because Pitt lost its best wide receiver, Derek Kinder, in training camp and its quarterback, Bill Stull, in the first game. But there is no excusing that miserable performance in a 34-14 loss. This is Wannstedt’s third season. The Pitt program should be further along than that.

Actually, he seemed to echo a few of the points I made after the game including never coming from behind when losing at the half.

Well, it’s probably a good thing that Pitt is hitting the road for this week and then a bye. They need the extra practice time and after UConn it’s best not to be playing at home. Hate having to type that, but after last week a home crowd wouldn’t be particularly large and probably easily roused to hostility.