Everyone who didn’t think, “Here we go again,” when Navy took their opening possession of the game and marched it right down on Pitt for a quick score, was either a delusional optimist or really, really drunk. At that first score, I literally live-paused the game on the DVR, and stalked outside to curse for a few minutes before coming back in to watch with my now very confused daughter.

That 63-yard opening drive took less than 3 minutes and suddenly all those concerns from the coaching staff regarding how Navy would kill the clock on long drives, from earlier in the week seemed to be the most ridiculous thing. Whether it was just an opening drive slow response from being off. Or pride kicking in. The coaches getting in the players faces. That drive would constitute 1/4 of the total yards Navy would produce the rest of the game. The other 24+ minutes Navy had the ball, they could only get 188 yards. It was their lowest output in yardage in 2 years.

Navy was held to 251 total yards and 12 first downs, its fewest since an Oct. 14, 2006 loss to Rutgers. Nose tackle Rashaad Duncan (seven tackles) led the way as the Panthers dominated the line of scrimmage and middle linebacker Scott McKillop was very disruptive as the Midshipmen were limited to a season-low 194 yards rushing.

“We had some trouble doing some things out there. We couldn’t sustain anything,” Bryant said. “We were so close on so many plays of busting a long gain.”

McKillop was largely responsible for bottling up fullback Eric Kettani, who managed a mere 13 yards on eight carries. Kettani had absolutely no running room and was often tackled as soon as he took the handoff.

“We couldn’t get anyone to the middle linebacker. He was all over the place. We couldn’t get the fullback going. In our offense, if you can’t get the fullback going it’s hard to get the pitch going,” said White, who managed just 30 yards on nine carries other than the 40-yard run.

McKillop was singled out by the Navy defense as the biggest disrupter to their game.

“You have to give them credit,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “Their two stars played well. We had a hard time blocking [linebacker Scott] McKillop and we had a hard time tackling McCoy.”

2006 was also the last time they lost a game that badly.

Nose tackle Rashaad Duncan (seven tackles) was a force up front as the Panthers held the Mids to a season-low 194 yards rushing, their lowest total in two years. It was a 360 degree turnaround from a year ago when Navy rolled up 331 yards rushing at Heinz Field.

“I thought our defensive coaches had a real good, sound scheme. We really did a lot of research on what they did and we felt like we had to stop the fullback, which we did,” Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt said. “I thought we kept it simple. Things weren’t as complicated as they were a year ago and we let some guys make plays and used the athletic ability that we have.”

Cornerback Jovani Chappel and end Jabaal Sheard (six tackles apiece) also had good games as Pittsburgh held Navy fullback Eric Kettani to 13 yards on eight carries.

This was a game where the speed on defense really showed up. Sheard and Romeus were coming off the edges all game long. Greg Williams at linebacker really stayed in position to contain, and with his speed could keep the option runner from turning the corner. According to Coach Wannstedt, it was a K.I.S.S approach by the coaches.

“I thought our defensive coaches had a real good, sound scheme,” Wannstedt said. “We did a lot of research on what they did and we felt like we had to stop the fullback, and we did.

“We kept it simple. Things weren’t as complicated as they were a year ago, and we let some guys make plays and just used the athletic ability we have.”

Navy — their coaches and players — knew what had happened, and owned up to it.

There wasn’t much for Navy’s players to say following their 42-21 loss to No. 23 Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon. When cornerback Rashawn King was asked about Pittsburgh’s dynamic tailback LeSean McCoy, he simply said, “He’s fast.” When quarterback Jarod Bryant was asked for his thoughts on the game, he responded, “They’re a good team, and they just put it on us.”

Their head coach took the brunt of the blame.

“We just got our butts whipped in all facets,” Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “I did a bad job of getting our team ready. (Pitt’s staff) did a great job of getting their players ready. Both teams had byes. We had a week to prepare, they had a week to prepare. They played better than we did and that starts with me.”

Always have to give credit to a coach that takes the blame and not on the players or the fact that their star otpion QB was out for the game.

One thing from the Navy game that was surprising was how many touches LaRod Stephens-Howling and Conredge Collins got. Heck, in scrub time Henry Hynoski and Shariff Harris actually got touches. Well, part of the reason was that McCoy needed breaks at times because he was under-the-weather.

The man they call “Shady” overpowered the Midshipmen, rolling to a season-high 156 yards and three touchdowns on just 18 carries.

All but 28 of his yards came in the first half. Dealing with a chest cold, he only touched the ball four times in the second half and sat out the entire fourth quarter.

“I couldn’t breathe tonight,” he said. “I was gasping for air. It sucks because I really couldn’t get in there too much.”

His performance left an impression on those who cover Navy.

When Texas Christian University visited Navy back in 2000, Navy fans got to witness a future NFL star in LaDainian Tomlinson.

The Navy defense kept Tomlinson from his usual gaudy numbers, although he did manage 121 yards and a touchdown. However, the Mids had no such luck yesterday against what appears to be another future NFL star in Pitt’s LeSean McCoy.

Navy’s coach was stood up to praise McCoy after the game.

McCoy was basically unstoppable, turning even 2-yard runs into tackling adventures for the Midshipmen. He would likely have had many more yards and touchdowns had Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt not removed him in the third quarter.

“That guy is good,” said Niumatalolo, who compared McCoy’s first visit to Annapolis to when LaDainian Tomlinson came with Texas Christian in 2000. “He’s going to be playing on Sundays. Don’t be surprised to see him in Honolulu [in the Pro Bowl] in a few years.”

And it’s a safe bet that McCoy will be likely be the Big East Offensive Player of the Week once more. That is, unless the BE decides to spread it around. The other candidates would be Louisville RB Victor Anderson — 19 carries, 161 yards and 1 TD; or USF’s QB Matt Grothe — 19-26, 248 yards, 3 TDs plus 72 rushing yards and a rushing TD.

Of course Louisville was playing Middle Tennessee St. and USF had Syracuse. I’d like to think that the competition played would tilt it towards McCoy.

Wow. A fantastic performance by Pitt. The coaching staff called a great game. And I guarantee, the biggest buzz is going to be questioning why Pat Bostick was put in the game to hand-off to Shariff Harris.

I don’t know why Coach Wannstedt chose the scrub time of this game to burn Bostick’s redshirt. I don’t know why, if they wanted to wisely take out Stull and others, Greg Cross wasn’t at least put in there for some reps.

I do know there are going to be a lot of questions and second-guessing after a game, where otherwise there would be none.

With my wireless card screwed, I am line-bound on the computer for the moment. So, I can’t watch the game and post at the same time. Sorry, I have the game on my TV, and I’ll pass on watching on the computer.

Reader DanS. has some pictures he’s passed on. First, the horde has apparently invaded and taken over a local elementary school as they raise their flag to show control and dominance.

This is where the flag was raised in relation to the stadium.

It does seem that the Pitt contingent has arrived.

Thanks again to DanS. for the photos.

Any ways, fire away in the comments. I’ll try to check in at the half with some thoughts.

OKAY, Click Herefor the LiveBlog.

HALFTIME UPDATE: A great opening half. Pitt leads 35-14.

As frustrating as that 14 point swing on Stull’s interception was, credit to OC Matt Cavanaugh. He came out calling 4 straight passing plays. As much as anything to get Stull’s confidence back up. The first two throws were not there, but the next two were right on the money and all was right.

Pitt’s defense unnerved me in the opening series, but my did they figure things out. Forcing 4 punts in the first half. Navy had 0 punts last year in the first half, and only 1 for the entire game.

You can see that Navy’s d-line can’t really handle Pitt. They are bringing up the linebackers. It is really opening things up.

Just want to see Pitt keep up the pressure on both sides of the ball in the second half.

Scott McKillop has his first person “as told to” up on Sporting News Daily.

…we couldn’t adjust. October 18, 2008

It’s very clear McKillop has not forgotten about last year. And he’s told everyone that.

“They brought in those guys for the game [against Navy last season at Heinz Field],” McKillop said this week. “It was a national television game. There was a big audience. It was another chance for us to establish ourselves as a program. We wanted to make Tony proud. But we didn’t show up. We couldn’t stop them. We were terrible.”

That 48-45 Pitt loss in double overtime was the low point of the Dave Wannstedt era, at least until the home debacle against Bowling Green in the opening game this season. Navy had the ball for 84 plays, ran for 331 yards, had 497 yards of offense and punted just one time. That abysmal Pitt performance followed losses in which its defense gave up 44 points to Virginia and 34 to Connecticut. There was a public outcry for defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads to be fired and to take Wannstedt with him.

No. That last bit is an exaggeration. It was mostly just get rid of Paul Rhoads. The get rid of Wannstedt vibe wasn’t really there.

Any ways, there aren’t many people picking Pitt. Most of the Sporting News folk go with Navy. Lee Corso on Collge GameDay went with Navy. Stewart Mandel at SI.com also picked Navy. Suddenly, I feel better about this game.

Interesting contrast between what Coach Wannstedt says he wants to do versus what he is expected to do.

“The hope is that our reaction times, our adjustments and our mental frame are ready to go because I think we are physically ready to go,” Wannstedt said. “I really think we got as good of a look from our scout team as possible, but we know it is not going to be as good as what Navy will show us. It is just hard to simulate exactly what they do.

“But we have to get started fast. That will really be the key. We’ve talked about that. We need to make sure we start fast and make sure we don’t fall behind. Our guys understand this is an opponent that is not going to turn the ball over and commit foolish penalties and beat themselves.”

But, what is expected?

Q: Do you think Wannstedt and his staff can coach aggressively against a physically inferior opponent such as Navy? Or can it only happen in the second half of a close game?

Zeise: No, I don’t think the Panthers will come out blitzing and attacking on defense nor do I think they’ll come out throwing the ball all over the field. I think that Dave Wannstedt is who he is and he will come out with a more conservative game plan than most of you would like and try to establish the run and try not to give up big plays early. That’s just been the pattern — the coaches don’t seem to turn up the heat until it is needed and sometimes that has been too late. I’d like to see them come out throwing, though, because I think you can throw against this defense as they are ranked 104th in pass defense and 107th in pass efficiency defense. There is no reason Pitt shouldn’t come out and for once, try to blow a team out of the building. But as we have seen, that just isn’t the Panthers style so I would expect another nail biter that comes down to the last possession or two???..

Which might also be why so many are picking against Pitt.

I did find this question funny.

Q: With the kickoff run back for a touchdown (Syracuse) and the blocked punt for touchdown (South Florida), and lack of a punt return game for us all year, do you think the special teams is suffering with Charlie Partridge’s departure to Wisconsin?

ZEISE: No, not really at all to be honest. I think the special teams have been fine, there have been a few breakdowns, but not enough to sound the alarms. And did you happen to see Charlie Partridge’s special teams give up a punt return for a touchdown against Penn State last week? Did you see how miserable some of the punts were from the Badgers punter, thus giving Penn State field position for the entire first half? In other words, special teams some times have breakdowns and I actually think Pitt’s have been better in a lot of areas than they have been in the past. Yes, the lack of a punt return game has been frustrating — but really, when was the last time Pitt had a great return game? I guess it would be like Darrelle Revis sophomore year. I just don’t think the special teams have been all that bad.

There are parts of special teams that could be better, but I have had no problem with their performance. And if you look what Partridge is doing with Wisconsin’s it’s definitely not working. Just shore up the blocking on punts and things are okay. Not having Saddler is the main reason, for struggling with punt returns. No one back there but Berry.

As for the Outside Linebacker spot, well… it seems a bit patchwork.

Q: Could this be the game that Pitt’s lack of depth and experience at OLB finally catches up with them? It seems like Navy’s offense is the type that could really exploit teams that don’t contain well.

ZEISE: Well, it could, though like I said yesterday the outside linebacker issue is being addressed some by the fact that the coaches are using Elijah Fields in that role a little bit in certain situations. Plus I think Greg Williams’ speed can help here and the coaches talked about dumbing some things down on defense in order to take advantage of his physical ability (i.e. “on this play, run as fast as you can and hit the quarterback as hard as you can, regardless if he pitches it or not …”). But this game is all about two things – stopping that belly/fullback dive/fullback power (whatever you want to call it) play in early downs and getting off the field on third downs. And I think more of the pressure will be on the defensive line to get off some blocks and make some plays in order to blow up some of Navy’s plays and put the Midshipmen in second or third and long situations. It will be a very long day if Navy is spending the night in second-and-3 or similar down-and-distances.

Using Fields, especially against Navy is an intriguing idea. It’s also a little scary. As many have said this week, to defend against Navy, you have to stay in your assignments. Being swift is vital, and Fields has the latter cold. It’s the discipline of staying in his lane that is a concern. If he drifts and tries to freelance, I can see him being yanked.

Well, hopefully not that bad. Still, you know you are expected to be a major player in the season when the news of a player’s slow recovery from an injury is getting play and the AP story is picked up everywhere.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said Thursday it is uncertain how long Fields will be out. Pitt, which is likely to be a preseason Top 10 team, begins play Nov. 14 against Fairleigh Dickinson.

“I don’t think we can make any predictions on that,” Dixon said. “Who would have thought he’d be playing on it for two months (this summer) and not have one problem with it, and then have the injury re-occur? It’s unexplainable.”

Dixon called the injury a setback.

“There’s nothing positive about him not being able to go (and) losing conditioning,” he said.

Yesterday was Pitt’s media day, so there was no way to keep this relatively quiet. And despite the angst in the story getting reported, Fields is still downplaying things as not that big of a deal.

“It’s good. I’m up to date as far as where I should be with it,” Fields said. “I’m rehabbing it and doing the right things out there but its is frustrating. How could it not be?”

Fields, who participated in the Steve Nash Skills Camp over the summer, said he still feels pain in the foot but he is shooting a basketball and he expects to be ready when Pitt opens its season Nov. 14 with a home game against Fairleigh Dickinson.

“We’re taking our time right now. Taking a few days off here and there,” Fields said. “It’s the best surgery I could have and it’s what the doctors wanted to do when I broke it in the first place. I’ll be fine.”

That means while Fields is recovering, it’s freshman Travon Woodall at the point.

Woodall suffered a mild concussion and had some teeth knocked loose when he collided with another Pitt player during a workout yesterday. But he’s ready to fill in for Fields, who has become his mentor.

Woodall said he’s learning from the best, just as Brandin Knight taught Carl Krauser, who taught Fields.

“I’ve got the best point guard in the country on my team,” Woodall said. “He doesn’t score 30 points, but he makes sure he gets the win. He doesn’t turn the ball over. … What better person to learn from than Levance? I don’t have to watch old film of Isaiah Thomas or anybody like that. I’ve got the best general right here, right now.”

Oh, it was Wednesday night and Sam Young did it.

Woodall, at 195 pounds, is thin, but he already has gained 10 pounds under the tutelage of strength and conditioning coach Tim Beltz.

If there is one aspect where he might struggle as a freshman, it is with his ability to endure the rigors of the Big East.

Woodall has yet to take part in an official Pitt practice, but he already has learned how physical they can be. In a scrimmage Wednesday night, Woodall stepped in front of Sam Young to take a charge. Young’s elbow caught Woodall in the mouth, cut the inside of his gums and gave him a slight concussion.

“I found out real quick that it’s the Big East,” Woodall said. “I woke up real fast and recognized how physical it is. I actually had a mouth guard in. The mouth guard split, so that tells you strong [forward] Sam is.”

I guess the concussion must have been mild. Otherwise, it might not be the best plan to put a freshman with a concussion before the media, not to mention a whole lot of camera flashes going off around him.

Also on the injury list for freshmen, forward Dwight Miller has a heel injury that has held him out for six weeks. There’s nothing saying when he will be able to participate in regular practices that will start tomorrow. If he doesn’t get back soon, he’s almost assured of redshirting and not getting in the rotation when the season gets underway (he can ask Gilbert Brown about that). Hopefully not, because most accounts had him as a very pleasant surprise in the summer league and his practices.

And Gilbert Brown is having some ankle issues to slow him down.

As for those big expectations in the preseason rankings. Naturally Coach Jamie Dixon downplays it a bit — even while acknowledging why.

Coach Jamie Dixon felt his team was underrated going into last season, so how about this year? How about the folks who pick his team as high as No. 2?

“Maybe I don’t agree with it,” Dixon said, “but I understand it.”

Dixon wants to see how some of his inexperienced perimeter players perform before he believes his team belongs in anybody’s top five.

But he knows why people are bullish on Pitt. It’s because of The Big Three — senior forward Sam Young, sophomore center DeJuan Blair and senior point guard Levance Fields.

Here’s Hoopsworld.com, for example putting Pitt #3.

The expectations haven’t been this high for the Panthers since Chris Taft was considered a lottery pick. Unlike back then though, this team is legit and is certainly capable of being the last team standing after all the madness. Levance Fields established himself as one of the best lead guards in the country last night, and more importantly a clutch player who you can give the ball with the game on the line.

Inside the Panthers have two of the nation’s most talented frontcourt players in Sam Young and DeJuan Blair. Young is among the nation’s most versatile players and few freshmen big men have come in and made as big of an impact as Blair did in his first season. Expect the duo to have a big year as they begin to put establish their NBA draft stock. The most important thing for the Panthers is to stay healthy. Last year at times they were decimated by injuries and it definitely contributed to their early exit from the tournament.

Pitt has a press release listing the various preseason rankings and honors/rankings for the various players and coaches. It also has a link to watch Coach Dixon’s opening day press conference, and audio interviews with Sam Young, Levance Fields, DeJuan Blair, Gilbert Brown and Bradley Wannamaker.

With many schools — but not Pitt — doing a Midnight Madness event to kick off the beginning of practice, ESPN-U will kick off its coverage of college basketball tonight from 9pm to 1am. Coach Jamie Dixon will be one of the coaches interviewed in the course of the evening.

This week, as the team gets ready for Navy, the defense has talked of being more aggressive and physical against Navy this year. What we haven’t heard, is how the offense is preparing. Are they going to keep to a similar offensive approach that they had with USF and even against Syracuse? Are they going to keep things mixed up and take shots over the middle and deep? Will Greg Cross see the field?

I don’t know. I do know that if you went to the Zeise chat, it wasn’t reassuring.

JoePa_Fears_Pitt: What’s the over/under for touchdowns scored by Greg Cross this Saturday?

Paul Zeise: 1/2 —- and I am taking the under. I just don’t think coaches are going to use him that much in situations where he can score a touchdown. I am telling you they are very nervous about this game and generally that means — sort of like going into the Bowling Green game — we’re going to see a relatively conservative game plan. I hope I am wrong, but I fear I am not.

…

Pitt_Script: It seems that the Pitt coaching staff opens up the playbook and doesn’t play conservative when they are underdogs. However, when they are favored, they go in shell and back to their conservative ways. Why is that?

Paul Zeise: That is a great observation and question. I have no idea. I think it is a problem though that when you play teams you should blow out, you leave them in the game because you are so afraid to make mistakes. That’s what happened against Bowling Green, let’s hope there is not a repeat performance.

I hate doing predictions. All I will say is that if Pitt keeps Navy under 30, then Pitt will win. Pitt’s scored 30 or more only once this season. so while there are plenty of weapons on the offense to score it goes against the natural order.

I say appears, only because it is only comfirmed by KDKA at this point. Generally I like it better when there is a second report to back it up. Especially several hours after the initial story came out.

…4-star wide receiver Todd Thomas. Pittsburgh Sports Insider has been told that within the last hour, Thomas officially announced that he wants to become a Panther. Thomas selected Pitt over Penn State, Michigan and West Virginia. Thomas is rated the #23 receiver in the country by Rivals.com and the 7th best prospect in the state according to Pantherlair.com.

He is indeed a 4-star recruit in both services, yet neither has listed him as giving a verbal for Pitt at this point.

The ESPN.com/Scouts Inc. evaluation (Insider subs) also notes that he could be developed to play safety.

Our main concern when projecting as a receiver is that he builds speed and lacks great separation burst as a route runner and after the catch. Would be more of big-catch possession receiver. Still needs to polish/sharpen up his route running and sink his hips more out of his breaks. Potential to develop as a college safety with his impressive ball skills and range. Has the ability to cover a lot of ground as a both a run and pass supporter. Overall, Thomas has a boat load of natural tools for a program to polish up at the next level and mold into a good college positional prospect. Outside linebacker is not out of the question with his great frame showing the true versatility this kid can bring to a roster. Could help in the return game as well.

Well, hopefully the coaches figure out where they want him and stick with it. He has a lot of potential and ability, but he doesn’t seem to have a true position yet — other than WR. Just a question of whether he stays there or not.

The big concern for Navy is getting by without Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada at QB. Navy has won without him, but the offense has struggled to finish with Jarod Bryant at QB. It’s not that he is bad. It’s that Kaipo has been the best QB at Navy to run the triple-option. Ever. The coaches don’t disagree. He makes great reads, is decisive, precise and as Pitt fans know, really good. So anyone that has to take his place afterwards will look bad.

[Navy head coach Ken] Niumatalolo and [offensive coordinator Ivin] Jasper admit that’s a fair assessment and said Bryant needs to get better.

“Jarod isn’t playing bad, but he’s not playing as well as we want him to,” said Jasper, who doubles as the quarterbacks coach. “I’m taking that personally. It’s my job to get him ready.”

Jasper spent a good portion of the bye week addressing the situation. Concerned that perhaps he’s put too much time into being offensive coordinator and not enough as quarterback mentor, Jasper decided to go back to the basics with Bryant.

“Last week, I spent more time on film and the fundamentals just to make sure I’m doing all I can to get that kid ready to play,” Jasper said. “Jarod can be just as good as Kaipo in this offense. It’s my job to make sure he knows what’s coming and has the confidence to trust what he sees.”

So, now we know what the QB and OC did with the bye week. Hopefully Pitt will be ready, because that means just because of what the coaches have seen on tape of Bryant this year, does not mean Pitt will see the same.

“We had a bye week before the Navy game last year, too, and that didn’t help,” McKillop said. “But our mentality is totally different this season. … Any time you have a big victory, that makes it a lot easier.”

The Panthers were on a three-game losing streak when they played Navy last year, but they have won their last four this season. Navy (4-2) has won its last three.

During practice, Wannstedt has emphasized the necessity of remaining disciplined against an opponent that runs on almost every down yet remains difficult to stop. Navy is third among bowl subdivision schools with 1,881 yards rushing and is second at 313.5 yards rushing per game.

“They’re still the same team,” Wannstedt said. “It doesn’t take much for a defense to be out of position a little bit and, all of a sudden, it’s a big play.”

Kaheaku-Enhada has been hurt, but replacement Jarod Bryant ran for 101 yards and a TD and fullback Eric Kettani ran for 75 in a 33-27 win at Air Force on Oct. 4. Navy blocked two punts and returned them for touchdowns.

“They have multiple ways of blocking each play and multiple plays with each offensive formation,” Wannstedt said. “It’s really unique because you follow them during the course of a game, a defense will come out and change their front or slide somebody to take something away, and it’s almost as if they just turn the page and say, “OK, that’s over, let’s go to this.’ There’s nothing that you’re going to do on defense that they haven’t seen before.”

On the flip side, Pitt has a player who is very familiar with the triple-option.

Josh Novotny, a Carmichaels graduate, played for the Midshipmen in the 2005 and ’06 seasons before walking on at Pitt this fall. “He’s an offensive lineman, so he’s talked a little bit about what they do with some of their techniques and schemes and stuff,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “It’s been helpful, just to have somebody who’s been there and been through that. I haven’t had him talk to the team or anything, but he’s talked to our defensive guys enough for them to get a feel.”

Of course, Pitt’s defensive coordinator Phil Bennett has a sense of familiarity to the offense.

Bennett played outside linebacker in the mid-1970s at Texas A&M for Emory Bellard, the man credited with inventing the Wishbone offense. Bennett has vivid memories of avoiding its low blocks and stopping its fullback dives as a player, as well as scheming to simulate the intricacies of the offense as a defensive coordinator.

“It’s a challenge as a coach, a challenge for all of us,” Bennett said. “You’ve almost got to become part of the triple-option cult, to think like they do.”

Bennett has experience doing just that, whether it was facing Oklahoma’s Wishbone or Nebraska’s I-option as defensive coordinator at Texas A&M and Kansas State.

So, Bennett has more than an idea of what to expect.

“I’ve always admired his ability to take away what the opposing offense likes to do. Phil tries to make you play left-handed, and he’s good at that,” CBS College Sports Network analyst Trev Alberts said. “That’s the conundrum with Navy. I will tell you, I don’t care who the defensive coordinator is. If the option is executed well, it’s really hard to stop.

“What Phil is great at, is he knows exactly what Navy wants to do. What he’s trying to do is make them uncomfortable, force them to do what they can do but not the No. 1 option. What Navy wants to do is establish the fullback and get to the outside on the pitch.”

Navy’s Flexbone offense, Bennett said, relies on seven basic formations and one personnel grouping that includes three running backs, two receivers and a quarterback at the skill positions. It’s a variation of the Wishbone, adding wrinkles such as four unbalanced formations that force defenses to determine the eligible receivers at the line of scrimmage and distribute the coverage.

“It’s the same-type plays, what they call triple-option — fullback, quarterback, pitch — but they do it from multiple formations,” said Bennett, who credited former Navy coach Paul Johnson, now at Georgia Tech, with adding pass-game twists while at Georgia Southern. “They came up with the idea of spreading the field, so that if you don’t spread with them, they’ll throw the ball. It’s a running version of the run-and-shoot.”

The run-and-shoot gets negative connotations from its days in the NFL. Credit, as much as anything goes to Buddy Ryan for derisively calling it the chuck-and-duck — it was funny and it stuck, but it , there are a lot of similarities — and  direct lineage — between the run-and-shoot and spread. The difference of course, is that the spread actually incorporates the run and direct snaps, far more than the straight run-and-shoot. Still, even the spread has plenty of variations like at Texas Tech. Sorry, I’ve gone completely off on a tangent.

The issue is not that Pitt doesn’t know what’s coming. It’s whether the defense can stop it.

On the other side, Navy has a freshman starting at defensive end — Jabaree Tuani. The first freshman to start on their d-line in 10 years. And this bit may be familiar to everyone. He’s a slightly undersized defensive end with great speed. He’s “only” 6-1 and 242 pounds. There’s more.

Said Navy defensive line coach Dale Pehrson: “He’s a very smart football player, he came from a really good [high school] program, he catches on very quickly. He’s got a long way to go still, but he’s making tremendous strides for a plebe.”

If the second-half performance against the Tigers gave Tuani the confidence that he could play right away on the college level, it was what he did against the Demon Deacons that solidified his spot on the defensive line.

“I knew that he had that in him, but I had no clue that he’d play that well in his first outing [start],” Pehrson said. “That was a big game and for him to handle the mental part the way he did. He had no missed assignments; he just really did a nice job.”

Tuani had six tackles, second on the team, including two for losses. He continued that the following week at Air Force. Tuani led the team with eight solo tackles, tied senior safety Jeff Deliz with a team-high 10 overall and also forced a fumble, one of two he has caused this season.

Tuani’s 22 total tackles this season are the most among Navy’s defensive linemen, and his 4 1/2 tackles for losses and 1 1/2 sacks lead the Midshipmen.

While Pitt doesn’t want to repeat the performance on defense as last year, they do want to replicate the offensive performance.

Whether it’s a midseason review:

Defensive MVP: MLB Scott McKillop. The senior has already won Big East defensive player of the week honors three times and ranks second nationally in solo tackles (7.4 per game). He’s accomplished this despite playing with two newcomers at the outside linebacker spots. He’s not just the defensive MVP of the team but of the league as a whole in the first half.

Or talking about underrated guys, nationally.

Matt Hayes: I love the unsungs.

Spencer Hall: McKillop’s a nice place to start.

Matt Hayes: He’s bad man. Tackling machine. He’s the perfect player for Pitt: a tough kid, works his ass off, wants to win, hates to lose. No better ambassador for the steel city.

Yep. Half-season All-American list.

Leads Big East with 52 tackles. Ranks second in nation in solo tackles per game (7.4). Also has nine for loss.

That last number was a surprise. 9 TFLs out of 52 overall. There seems to be a perception — maybe based on last year — that McKillop is getting the tackles late. Especially at the end of runs. Reality suggests something else.

Shane Murray, as you’ve probably heard or read — heck I even saw it on the ESPN Crawl this evening — is out for the year with a torn ACL in his right knee. It wasn’t caught until a second MRI. It isn’t clear whether it was torn from when he got injured just before the end of camp or subsequently when he came back versus Syracuse.

One of the area where there isn’t depth, yet.

Pitt wasn’t the only team to have to turn things around after a bad start.

Back on Sept. 13, Navy’s chances of earning a sixth straight bowl berth looked questionable. Navy was 1-2 after suffering consecutive road losses to Ball State and Duke, opponents that didn’t garner much preseason respect.

More troublesome was the fact the Midshipmen faced an ominous stretch of three potentially tougher games leading up to the current bye week.

On the horizon was a Rutgers program that had been to three straight bowls, a Wake Forest team that was an early favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference and service academy rival Air Force.

The Midshipmen swept those three games. A good rebound for the program under a new coach this year. Right now the new coach is talking up Pitt.

Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo was asked last week if he watched the Pittsburgh-South Florida game, which was televised nationally on ESPN the previous Thursday.

“Unfortunately, I did,” Niumatalolo said.
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”Pitt is a good football team and is going to want revenge from last year,” Niumatalolo said. “We snuck one out against them last year. I’m sure their coaches have been talking about that. That’s not going to happen this year. If we think we’re going to sneak up on them again, we’re in for a rude awakening.”

Part of the reason for the slow start was that starting QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada has been bothered by a sore hamstring for a good chunk of the season. His status is still up in the air for the game, but Kaipo killed Pitt last year.

Coach Wannstedt remembers, but saw it differently.

“I remember coming out of that game being disappointed that we spent so much time on their triple option and they really moved the ball and scored points on offense,” Wannstedt said. “They beat us by throwing the ball. That was the most disappointing thing. …

“They put a lot of pressure on you to stop the run and when you least expect it, or in a passing situation, they are a more capable passing team than anyone gives them credit for. So, they’re not just a one-dimensional team, even though everyone would like to think they are. I think we learned that lesson last year.”

Um, yes. They passed for two TDs including one in OT. They were efficient with 9-14 for 166 yards. That said, they could do that because they were killing Pitt running the ball out of the triple option. 331 yards on the ground and 4 rushing TDs — all by different players. They ran the ball 70 times and passed 14. All things being equal, I’d rather take my chances with Navy passing rather than running.

Wannstedt is also worried about running out of time.

Wannstedt said another major issue when dealing with Navy is the new play-clock rules, which have shortened games because it makes it easier for teams to kill time, because the Midshipmen are so good at keeping the ball. He said the Panthers need to execute well on offense and take advantage of every possession they get because they likely won’t get that many opportunities.

“With the new rules, they say there’s anywhere from eight to 10 plays less in a game,” Wannstedt said. “It will be a factor. It’s been a point of emphasis for our offense. They [Navy] play a similar defensive scheme in that they’ll do a little bit of pressure and some things inside but on the back end they’re kind of conservative. They play defense to try and match their offense.

“They make you try to out execute them, knowing that if you make a mistake, you turn it over, you take penalties, you lose a possession, it could come back to cost you a game.”

The defense is vowing not to repeat what happened last year.

“When you look at last year, the game caught us off guard,” Pitt linebacker Scott McKillop said. “We just have to read our keys. It’s going to be physical along both sides of the line of scrimmage.”

Last year, Pitt was criticized for not attacking the Navy offense.

“We have to be aggressive,” McKillop added. “What they want to do is establish the fullback and get him his carries. Last year, he got six, seven yards every time.”

Linebacker Shane Murray didn’t even make the depth chart this week. Seems that partially torn ACL in his right knee is still a problem. Go figure. You can see the full depth chart in Pitt’s game notes (PDF). Here is the Navy game notes.

Want to learn more about some of the nuances of Navy’s attack? The Birddog breaks down Navy’s midline option. Fantastic stuff. Even better is this on the QB reading the defense to decide what to do — which by odd coincidence was written the week before last year’s Navy-Pitt game.

Yay. The Rutgers-Pitt homecoming game has been set for 3:30 pm.

That means I don’t have to be out the door at 6am driving to the ‘Burgh.

It isn’t actually listed for television yet. But I have to believe ESPN Regional/GamePlan will pick it up. At least, as long as Pitt wins this weekend and stays ranked.

No not for the football team. Basketball season is closing within a few weeks. Right around the election, exhibition games begin.

Fields was one of the cover boys of the USA Today preview (everyone does regional covers).

They know the goal.

But it will likely be Fields, Blair and Young who determine how far the Panthers can go. Although Pitt has been one of the Big East’s best teams for years, reaching the conference tournament final in seven of the past eight seasons, deep runs in the NCAA tournament have been missing.

“We want to take it to the next level this year,” says Fields. “We’ve been through the Big East wars and the Big East tournaments, but we haven’t gotten the job done in the NCAA tournament, other than going to the Sweet 16 my sophomore year (2007). But we want to go further. With the core guys returning with a lot of experience and the freshmen we have, we feel this is the year, this is the make-or-break year.”

The three core players feel the same.

Now the Pitt Panthers have their sights set on the Motor City — site of next year’s Final Four.

“I have a picture of Detroit in my room,” sophomore center DeJuan Blair said. “That’s all I think about. We won the Big East last year. Now I want to win a national championship.”

Pitt has plenty of motivation after the way last season ended. The Panthers won the Big East tournament championship with a stunning four-game run but were upset by Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA tournament, an all too familiar ending for a program that has been dominant in the Big East but disappointing in NCAA play.

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“To be honest, I definitely didn’t think that was going to be the end of the road for us,” Young said of the loss to Michigan State. “I’m sure a lot of people didn’t. For an upset like that to happen to us after we won the Big East championship … I feel like we could have done so much more.

“For us to have basically the same team back for this season, it definitely was an inspiration for me to come back and to show people that we’re one of the teams to beat, that we’re the team we thought we were before we lost to Michigan State.”

We’ll see. Right now, after UNC it’s a jumbled mess from #2-8. You can make a legitimate case for any of the following: Pitt, Louisville, UConn, Notre Dame, UCLA, Gonzaga, and Texas (or Oklahoma). That’s what Andy Katz does as he capsules some things on the top teams.

Update: Levance Fields got hurt again. Fields had surgery over the summer, and that causes concern. Fields has to be healthy for Pitt to be the team projected. The Panthers are solid everywhere else. Sam Young stayed put. DeJuan Blair remained happy and if he’s playing loose then the Panthers have a good vibe about themselves. The Panthers have depth, a nasty home court and the experience to make a run to Detroit.

Concern: Fields. Until Fields is on the court without any pain in his foot then the Panthers will have point guard issues. If he’s good to go, a lot of the concerns fade. Perimeter shooting will always be an issue, but that will change if Fields is in the game because he can help set everyone up.

Nonconference highlights: Well, there isn’t much to get excited about in the nonconference. Maybe a Legends Classic against Washington State or Mississippi State will make for good theatre, or even a home game against upstart Siena or always pesky Florida State in Tallahassee. But none of these games will compare to the top of the Big East.

Practices start this Friday. Whoo-hoo.

Okay. This week there is some shake-up.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Alabama	2
2	Texas	3
3	Penn State	3
4	Oklahoma	3
5	Georgia	2
6	Southern Cal	2
7	Florida	4
8	LSU	4
9	Texas Tech	—
10	Utah	5
11	Ohio State	1
12	Brigham Young	2
13	Oklahoma State	13
14	Kansas	—
15	Missouri	13
16	North Carolina	3
17	South Florida	—
18	Virginia Tech	2
19	Boise State	1
20	Ball State	—
21	Wake Forest	1
22	Michigan State	1
23	California	2
24	Minnesota	2
25	Georgia Tech	1

Have to concede that Penn State looks pretty damn good. Yes, they beat up a lot of cupcakes, but they did it without any mercy. Wisconsin may have been overrated, but they had lost two straight and were at home and desperate. PSU just dismantled them.

Okay, now I believe that Oklahoma State is a pretty good team.

Essentially swapped spots for Utah and BYU. The Cougars may have had a final of 21-3 vs. New Mexico, but I actually watched a lot of that game. BYU was very unimpressive at home against a mediocre MWC opponent.

Vandy gets Croomed and out they go. Buh-bye Northwestern.

Another impressive turnaround is coming out of Minnesota as Tim Brewster has that team going after a hideous 1st season.

UNC has lost their starting QB and now their star receiver and return guy. Yet they are still winning. Butch Davis definitely didn’t lose anything as a college coach while doing time in Cleveland and the NFL Network.

As always reasoned arguments about teams will help shape the final ballot.

Texas Tech is uncomfortably unchanged. It’s just that I don’t feel much better about anyone behind them.