Just a warning to all potential winners. Only size large t-shirts remain.

The noon start was annoying, but really didn’t bother me until I looked at how the Big East put the time slots together for Saturday. The WVU-UConn game is on ESPNU at noon. Same as the USF-Pitt game which is the Big East regional game of the week. For the 3:30 games they have Akron-Syracuse and L-ville-Cinci.Really? The two most competitive and interesting games they put on at the same time. While a likely blowout conference meeting and a rather weak non-con match-up are the later games. Way to showcase.

Anyways…

Predict the final score of the USF-Pitt game and get a free “Baldwin for Heisman” t-shirt. Courtesy of PittsburghSteelRocks.com.

There is a variance of +/- 3 points from the actual score if no one hits the exact numbers.

Back to focusing on Pitt football. Didn’t intend to make it all about b-ball yesterday, but Cleveland  Beer Week has been great.

Met the regional sales manager for one distributor who turned out to be a Pitt guy. If you are near Lot 7C look for the Flying Dog tailgate this Saturday.

Allowed to go out in the evening to have really good beer. Then come back and watch the baseball playoffs. So evening posts just haven’t happened. Tonight will be more of the same.

Starting with offensive things.

For the past two games, Pitt has faced a team that coming in had the best rushing defense in the Big East. The Pitt O-line and Dion Lewis has consecutively trashed that ranking. This week, it is USF and the conference’s second worst rushing defense. Please don’t make this an opposite game.

Naturally, after what Dion Lewis has done, USF is on notice, and can’t hide the concern. Their run defense is a big issue for USF. Credit the DC there for noting that it isn’t just the run. That Pitt is actually running a balanced offense. U

Lewis is attracting plenty of attention. An AP story that went out on the wire.  Plus this Q&A in The Sporting News. He notes that being asked about following LeSean McCoy has really diminished as the season has continued.

You know, the fact that Hutchins was 1-3 on FGs last week after previously being perfect for Pitt is a concern. It’s nothing compared the the general coin-tossery of USF’s kicking game.

PK Eric Schwartz is three of six on field goal attempts, but Leavitt said the junior walk-on likely will remain the kicker for at least the Pitt game. Schwartz nailed a 50-yarder against Cincinnati after incumbent Delbert Alvarado missed his own 50-yard chance earlier in the quarter.

Actually, a coin-toss would be an improvement for USF which is 4-11 on FGs this season.

The Bulls have also been sloppier than Pitt when it comes to penalties.

Joseph took specific exception to USF’s 12 penalties on Thursday, grabbing senior cornerback Jerome Murphy by the facemask after another flag.

“You cannot win with penalties,” he said. “We gave up 80 yards to their offense in penalties. The Big East is a very good league … when you give up penalties like that, you give them chances to score and extra yards they don’t need. I just felt I had to step up and let everybody know we can’t have that anymore. We have to play good South Florida defense football like we usually do. It’s all about playing smart, fast, disciplined football.”

USF is worst in the Big East in penalties committed. They average more than 8 penalties a game costing them more than 80 yards. Pitt, which hasn’t been great, is at 6/game and 65 yards. The only good thing for USF is that they get teams to commit a lot of penalties as well. First in the conference with opponents committing over 7/game on average.

USF’s precocious redshirt freshman QB B.J. Daniels, was brought back to mortality against Cinci. His passing numbers were close to his average (he’s throwing a 48% completion rate), but it was the 2 INTs that killed. So, that’s what he wants to improve.

Daniels isn’t helped by a receiving corps that struggles to hold on to passes. Just not a sure-handed group.

The one thing that makes me nervous about Daniels, is that he can run. A lot.

The ESPN broadcast crew compared Daniels’ escape act to the “Mad Scrambler” himself, Fran Tarkenton, the Pro Football Hall of Famer.

A dated reference, perhaps.

“I’m not sure who that is,” Daniels said. “My dad might know.”

One thing is certain: Daniels is not your father’s traditional pocket passer. Although Daniels says he “really doesn’t like to run,” he is USF’s leading rusher (365 yards, four touchdowns as the Bulls (5-1, 1-1) head to No. 20-ranked Pittsburgh (6-1, 3-0) for Saturday afternoon’s Big East Conference game.

The Panthers won’t be taken by surprise.

“You better keep an eye on him because he’s fast,” Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt said. “He’s responsible for about half of their big plays, run and pass. They put a lot of pressure on the defense from the quarterback position. … So we’ve got to be very, very disciplined on defense.”

“Discipline” seems to be the buzzword for this week with regards to Daniels.

“[Daniels] has the strongest arm, pure arm strength, that we’ll face, and he throws on the run really well,” safety Dom DeCicco (Thomas Jefferson High School) said. “But when he’s scrambling, he’s not always looking to run. He keeps his eyes down the field and keeps a play alive and then can throw it over the top. So on some plays, we might have to cover guys for eight or nine seconds as opposed to three or four.

“It really will require us to be very disciplined to make sure he doesn’t burn us over the top, and we have to stay in coverage until we hear a whistle.”

On the bright side, Daniels is a Florida kid yet to play in cold weather.

It’s a testament to the success of the program and faith in Coach Dixon that there is a lot of optimism and enthusiasm for the upcoming season. This despite losing 2 NBA level talents along with 2 other seniors now playing overseas. This despite the football team performing well for a second straight season.

Coach Dixon is not afraid to say he expects this squad to measure up to past groups. Not just in a year or two, but this year as well.

“This team can be as good as any team we’ve had,” Dixon said Thursday afternoon at Petersen Events Center. “Where we are now is not going to be where we are in January or February or March. That has to be our belief, because if our freshmen play like freshmen in January, February and March, we won’t be as good as we want to be.”

The Panthers added a senior point guard in Centenary transfer Chase Adams, redshirt freshmen in forward Dwight Miller and point guard Travon Woodall and true freshmen forwards that Dixon calls “the best four guys we’ve ever brought in” as a recruiting class: Dante Taylor, Lamar Patterson, J.J. Richardson and Talib Zanna.

The Panthers lost their starting frontcourt when Blair left early for the NBA, and Young and Tyrell Biggs graduated. Pitt also returns 6-10 junior center Gary McGhee and 6-5 sophomore Nasir Robinson – both of whom appear much leaner – and the 6-8 Miller along with the four freshmen.

“They’re going to play,” Dixon said. “Just look at the numbers. Some freshman is going to play a lot of minutes this year on the front line. It’s a great opportunity.”

Heck Dixon really sounds like he expects things to go much better than it seems possible with such a young team.

The assistant Brandin Knight said: “With some guys, it just clicks. You never know how a guy’s going to be when there’s 12,000, 13,000 in the stands. Some guys come out and it’s like, What do I do? Other guys relish the moment.”

Pittsburgh is the only Big East team to win at least 20 games over all and 10 conference games and play in the N.C.A.A. tournament each of the last eight seasons.

“We always seem to adjust, find guys who surprise and play roles we didn’t anticipate,” Jamie Dixon said. “We’ve got a 3,000-person waiting list for season tickets. We’ve got to keep them happy.”

There seems to be some attempts to try and divine the subtext of what Coach Dixon is doing by being this positive and enthusiastic about the young players. Especially since he has often down-played and shown reluctance to use/rely too heavily on the underclassmen.

Here’s my view. Yes, he is mostly being honest about the talent. More importantly, though, he is sending the players a message. No excuses. They should know that he will help them. He will have their back in the season, but they are not going to be allowed to rely on the excuse of being young and learning. They want the playing time and the chances, then they have to know and be ready to meet the expectations

It’s partially a reflection of how he has grown as a coach. He is more comfortable and confident expressing things in public beyond mere coachspeak. He is actually using the media and public statements to let the players know that he really has meant the things he has told them in meetings and practices.

Dante Taylor is widely expected to have an impact right away in the starting line-up. From high school accolades and recruiting sites, he is Pitt’s biggest recruit since Paul Evans had John Calipari as his assistant in the 80s. It was news to Taylor.

“I wasn’t aware that they hadn’t had a big name in a long time, but I was excited to come here because I like the team and like the coaching staff,” Taylor said. “I like my teammates, the whole environment, I like the city and the school , I didn’t want to go to a school just because of its name.”

Knight likes that Taylor didn’t arrive with the attitude that he’ll be around only until he can turn pro.

“He works hard and he’s trying to learn like everybody else,” Knight said. “He doesn’t carry himself like he’s better than everybody else. His expectation isn’t, ‘I deserve this. I’m going to show up and I’m going to be that guy.'”

In case the other freshmen are somehow unaware, there is one nearly foolproof way to be one of the kids getting lots of minutes and perhaps even start. Play defense.

“That’s the first thing coach Dixon talked to us about,” senior guard Jermaine Dixon said. “We’re going to be better defensively. None of us are high-profile players like Sam [Young], DeJuan [Blair] and Levance [Fields]. We’re definitely going to get ours on the defensive end more.”

…

“They’re buying in,” Jermaine Dixon said of the freshmen. “We’re already having sessions together. We’ll go to my house or Brad [Wanamaker’s] house. We’ll talk over the defense. They’re definitely listening and they’re picking things up.”

And even though the vast majority of the players on the roster only know typical Pitt defense by reputation and not by experience, they are embracing what their coach is preaching.

“This year we’re trying to be at the top of the country in defense and rebounding,” sophomore forward Nasir Robinson said. “Defense brings offense, so we’re out there trying to lock down, play together and play hard. We have size, athleticism, guys who can jump and rebound. I think we’ll go back to that Pitt defense that it used to be.”

That will also mean some stretches of frustrating offensive ineptitude and cringe-inducing shhoting. In other words, the growing pains of a young team.

What is positive, is that the players who were on and playing last year are saying the right things about putting the defensive effort first.

With only Coach Jamie Dixon and senior Jermaine Dixon at the Big East basketball media day, there won’t be a lot of stories making the national rounds regarding Pitt coming out of today.

In most preseason publications, Pitt has been picked to finish anywhere from sixth to 11th in the Big East.

As for individual awards, it’s doubtful there will be any Pitt players on the All-Big East preseason team. While forward Dante Taylor is a candidate for Top Newcomer, Cincinnati’s Lance Stephenson is the frontrunner.

Pitt certainly could develop into an NCAA tournament team for the ninth consecutive season, but the one-player, one-coach interview table at Madison Square Garden indicates how young and inexperienced the Panthers will be — at least for now. Virtually every Big East school brings two or three players to media day.

Now there will be some stories. Mostly focused on Coach Dixon and the U-21 gold medal team he coached. Frankly, even that will be minimal when you look at the coaching personalities and storylines. Calhoun, his health and new contract. Pitino and his sex and lies. Boeheim is a national media darling. Huggins and the return of Thuggins style players on- and off-the-court.

As for Pitt in the Preseason Big East Coaches Poll, Pitt gets to be underestimated just a bit. The Panthers get placed 9th.

2009-10 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll

	Pts.
1. Villanova (10)	218
2. West Virginia (5)	215
3. Connecticut (1)	185
4. Louisville	179
5. Georgetown	161
6. Syracuse	152
7. Cincinnati	135
8. Notre Dame	132
9. Pittsburgh	119
10. Seton Hall	110
11. St. John’s	82
12. Marquette	78
13. Providence	52
14. USF	44
15. Rutgers	43
16. DePaul	15

*First-place votes in parentheses

I’m a bit surprised Notre Dame still got picked ahead of Pitt considering they already suffered a key injury.

Seton Hall is the dark horse darling in the Big East by most estimations with their potential transfer talent. It’s a reflection of how disliked Bobby Gonzalez is, that the Pirates were picked 10th by the coaches.

Not surprised by the top-3. I would have had G-town ahead of L-ville.

Still trying to figure out how DePaul only got 15 points. Not that they shouldn’t have been dead last in every coaches’ ballot, but there are 16 ballots and so they should have gotten at a minimum 16 points. Or am I not understanding how points are tabulated?

I love how coaches, who can go on endlessly about a particular play or player from 5, 10, 15, 25 years ago in the minutest details suddenly don’t know a damn bit about their own team’s recent history.

Another reason for that is that Pitt began the 2006 season 6-1 and appeared ready for a run at the Big East championship. Then, the Panthers lost a home game to Rutgers and never won again, finishing 6-6.

Wannstedt quickly dismissed the idea the Panthers could repeat such a collapse nor did he buy the idea that there was any parallel between this year and 2006.

“If you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have remembered to be quite honest with you,” Wannstedt said when asked about the 2006 start as compared to this year. “We hadn’t beaten Louisville since 1983 on the road. We hadn’t beaten Rutgers in five years. And we did it.

“So, this is a different football team. It’s a different year. Those things really have no bearing on what we’re doing.”

Yep. Nothing in common. Homecoming. Big game. Questions that still linger about who Pitt had really beaten. The winner will stay/be ranked. Facing a team with the same record and battling their own history. Why would the fans even consider the similarities? Don’t you feel silly for even considering it?

Yes, the talent is improved. So is the depth. Still for outright dismissal of past failures as not relevant and a different season — while making perfect sense for the players and coaches trying to prepare for the next game, to say nothing of the fact that many key players weren’t there in 2006 — is not something that fans can easily do.

Credit Bill Stull for at least trying to use it to keep focused on winning.

“I wasn’t trying to talk to anyone about that,” Stull said. “I know I’m not the only one who remembers it, who has thought about it since the game this past weekend. You’re definitely going to think about it. You’re obviously not going to want to duplicate the end of that season.”

I mean Pitt fans have to be looking at USF and like many other watchers, wonder or think that the loss to Cinci was the kickoff for their annual October swoon of the last 3 years.

Three years in a row, the Bulls jumped out to strong starts, winning at least their first five games and moving up the national polls, but then a single loss steamrolled into a midseason swoon.

In 2007, the Bulls opened 6-0, rising to No. 2 in the polls, only to lose three in a row to drop out of the Top 25.

In 2008, the Bulls opened 5-0, rising to No. 10, but fell even harder, losing four of their next five games, starting with a loss at Pittsburgh.

This season, USF again opened 5-0, moving to No. 21, but took its first loss Thursday to then-No. 8 Cincinnati. The Bulls’ challenge is finding the brakes and stopping the skid at one loss as they play at No. 20 Pittsburgh on Saturday.

So, they take a beating for losing to Cinci. Treated like every other Big East team that loses a big game. Back to nowheresville.

Catch you later … maybe.

Yeah, no sooner had the University of South Florida worked into the national conversation than the Bulls were relegated back to the obscurity that is the fate of all teams that fall short on the big stage. That’s the unfortunate fallout of Thursday’s 34-17 loss to eighth-ranked Cincinnati at RayJay.

…

They saw big plays on both sides, which always makes for good TV.

But ultimately, they also saw 21st-ranked USF spoil this grand opportunity with mistakes.

They saw drives sputter for the Bulls because of penalties – and haven’t we witnessed that before?

They saw the Bearcats keep drives alive because of penalties on USF – and haven’t we witnessed that before too?

And of course, USF Coach Jim Leavitt has no clue about what this October swoon that people speak of.

It was USF’s fourth straight loss to the undefeated and eighth-ranked Bearcats and third consecutive Thursday night defeat in three years.

“I don’t get into all that stuff about the late season losses. I just take it one game at a time,” Leavitt said. “I don’t like to lose whether I am 0-5 or 5-0.

“It doesn’t change for me. We are going to correct things and move forward. I don’t know any other way. I don’t have a magical formula.”

And after Saturday, one team and coach will be treated as being the same thing as always.

I should be positive. I really should. Pitt cracked the top-20. It’s a good thing.

Dion Lewis, unsurprisingly, was the Big East Offensive Player of the Week and is that much closer to being a lock for Newcomer of the Year in the conference.

Dorin Dickerson went from not being on the watchlist to a candidate at the midseason mark for the John Mackey Award given to the best tight end. He’s the only player from the Big East among the 22 candidates.

Homecoming is this weekend, and it becomes a big game. So, the students have led a charge to “Turn it Blue” at Heinz Field.

Heck, money is even being made betting on Pitt.

W is for Wannstache Watch. I won money on an actual legal bet involving cash on Dave Wannstedt. How can something so wrong feel so right? That marks the first time I’ve ever taken a bet on Pitt to win, and has now converted me wholeheartedly into a Pitt wagerer. This is your sign to bet on the other team, because nothing that feels this dirty and wonderful can last.

That part of me that gets wary when too much good stuff happens at once is now screaming. I’m begging the football team and the coaching staff. Don’t miss another opportunity. Don’t let it go ka-boom.

Much like Dion Lewis popping it outside for a big gain after Rutgers overcommitted/blitzed inside I’m just going to try and get through this quickly.

Eye of the Panther has a large chunk covered. Especially from the Pittsburgh media side of things.

It was a good win for Pitt. They broke a bad streak and put Rutgers in a 0-2 hole in the Big East.

After four consecutive wins over teams with a combined .286 winning percentage, the Scarlet Knights met their match against a Pittsburgh team that dominated both lines of scrimmage for much of the evening.

The Panthers got to Savage four times, and Pitt’s offensive line paved the way for a whopping 228-38 advantage in rushing yards.

So much for this year winning the Big East despite the soft schedule and getting all the good teams at home.

With Pitt, Cincinnati and West Virginia undefeated in league play, the Scarlet Knights aren’t mathematically eliminated, but someone at MIT needs to calculate the odds.

“I’ve been here five years now — you just want to step on that field and win every game,” safety Devin McCourty of Nanuet told The Post. “It feels like at this point this program should rise to the top like we’re capable of doing, so when you come out and you don’t, it just hurts and it’s disappointing.”

It’s 2008 all over again for Rutgers. Hopes dashed early, and now just trying to make a bowl game. Despite being 4-2, the 2 1-AA wins means they need to go at least 3-3 to make a bowl. Only one 1-AA win can count to the requisite 6 win minimum for bowl eligibility — not that they shouldn’t with games remaining at Army, Louisville and Syracuse. Even at UConn is winnable.

It was a half-full/half-empty game for Pitt. The winning trumps everything else. Especially since there were no injuries to make it potentially Pyrrhic.  Still…

As usual, Pitt was its own worst enemy most of the night. Two missed field goals. A blocked punt. A fumble by Bill Stull. A punt return turnover. Bad penalties at the end of the first half. All those mistakes allowed the Scarlet Knights to hang around until the final 90 seconds. The Panthers’ last two games and three of their last four have come down to the wire.

And.

The Panthers need to quit squandering so many opportunities, quit leaving so many points on the field and need to do a better job of putting teams away than they did tonight.

But it was a victory, nonetheless, and the Panthers (6-1, 3-0) now are poised to play host to South Florida (5-1, 1-1) Saturday in one of the biggest games to played at Heinz Field in quite some time.

…

Pitt made too many mistakes to beat a good team, something Rutgers right now is not. The Panthers had five penalties, lost two fumbles, missed two field goals, there were at least four potential sacks the Panthers failed to complete, Pitt had a punt blocked and Jovanni Chappel dropped an easy pick six. Those are the kinds of mistakes that stand between Pitt being a really good team and Pitt winning by the skin of its teeth against teams like Connecticut and Rutgers, which are both likely to struggle this year because they have some youth at key positions.

It’s a hard balance. Dwell on the mistakes and missed chances and you get labeled negative and/or wanting Pitt to fail. Go too far on the fact that it was a win and the good stuff and you are wearing rose-colored glasses who can’t see the gaping flaws and problems.

I mean the defense held Rutgers running game to a mere 38 yards (though, -25 were attributed to sacking Savage). Even excluding the sacks, Rutgers only managed 63 yards on 17 attempts — with 11 yards coming in a Wildcat formation early. To the point where Rutgers Coach Schiano had to defend the game plan  and playcalling.

Not that Rutgers partisans didn’t see their own opportunities squandered in the game.

The Pittsburgh game was not lost on Mohamed Sanu’s last fumble. It was lost in the first quarter, when Joe Lefeged accidentally took a knee at the one yard line, and Tom Savage threw an ugly looking interception on the next series. Football is sequential and cumulative; what happens in the first quarter has an impact in the fourth. The Lefeged miscue severely limited the available play calls by putting Rutgers in awful field position, practically guaranteeing the subsequent three and out. Without those mistakes, Rutgers could have built a little momentum, and maybe even tried to get their running game going. As such, not only did they fail to have that opportunity, but Pitt responded by going on methodical, clock killing drives which severely tired out the Rutgers defense.

It’s a much different perspective on what was seen as opposed to through partisan Pitt glasses. The mistakes and missed opportunities by Pitt are minimized compared to mistakes and missed opportunities by the Scarlet Knights.

I know there was a bit of excessive “Savage Love” going in the telecast. At the same time, if you are a Rutgers fan, you should be excited about his future. I thought the freshman looked very good so early in the career. Especially with fellow freshman WR Sanu.

If Rutgers had more depth at WR, it might have been different. The gameplan seemed smart if a little scary for Rutgers to throw more. Clearly the offensive coaches for Rutgers knew where Pitt’s weakness lay.

Now, during the game, it seemed like Rutgers was getting pressure on Stull. Not getting sacks but hurries, knockdowns and making him a bit more uncomfortable in the pocket. Not according to the Rutgers beat writer.

Pittsburgh quarterback Bill Stull would drop back to pass, look … look … and find a receiver.

It continued to happen as the game went on. Stull dropping back, looking around and finding one of his many targets. But the one thing he didn’t see?

Rutgers defense.

There was virtually no pressure on Stull all night long, allowing the senior quarterback to pick apart the Scarlet Knights defense and soften it up for big blows by his running backs. This wasn’t a full-scale meltdown the likes of the season-opener against Cincinnati. Rather, it was a slow defeat as the defense could get or sustain any pressure on Pittsburgh’s offense.

I would have sworn during the telecast that at one point they put up a stat saying Stull had 7 hurries and 3 knockdowns.  When there were only 24 passing attempts, I would see that as some pressure but that’s just me.

The story for Pitt. For the offense. For the game was Dion Lewis. Man, you hate when a kid playing right in your own backyard is missed and then kills you. It opens up the second-guessing about recruiting and talent evaluation (I mean, just imagine if UConn’s QB Endres had come up with a big game against Pitt).

When colleges were still sniffing around the then-mysterious running back while he was at Blair Academy, Lewis and a mentor drove tapes of his up to Rutgers to see if they would give him a look. Rutgers didn’t bite and chose instead to recruit another running back, De’Antwan Williams.

“We certainly evaluated him, like we do with thousands of kids,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said afterwards. “He’s a very good player. We made choices in recruiting — and some of the choices are made by them — but you made choices about who to go after.”

Another kid from Eastern PA got some attention, as Jarred Holley has done nicely starting at strong safety since Elijah Fields got hurt.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt is pleased with Holley and is excited about what he can bring to the team in the future.

“He’s smart and a playmaker,” Wannstedt said. “He’s a tough tackler with great instincts and he’s going to be a really good player for us.”

Holley lives with receivers Cameron Saddler, Mike Shanahan and kicker Kevin Harper and said he’s real close with the other safeties, especially since they go in early on practice to watch film on opposing offenses.

Dom Brock DeCicco looked to be a goat early for the really, really dumb gaffe on special teams that gave Rutgers the chance for their first score. Then he reversed the fortunes with Pitt’s first pick-off in four games.

Plenty of scouts at the game. From the NFL and bowls.

Represented were the Cardinals, Bengals, Browns, Packers, Eagles and two members each from the Colts and Jaguars. The Giants and Jets also were in attendance…  Representatives from the Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Papajohns.com Bowl were all watching the game.

I said “abbreviated recap” in the post before? Never seems to work out that way.

An exact score winner this week. Brian made the pick and was dead on at 24-17.

Mark in DC was heartbreakingly close with a pick of 23-16. Something that will surely haunt him for weeks on end.

Sorry for the lost weekend. Had to travel and no chance to log-on. I’ll be back later with an abbreviated media recap.

Fifth time’s a charm, right?

Today kicks off Cleveland Beer Week, as well as the Pitt-Rutgers game on ESPN. Coincidence? My liver does not think so.

The embed should be fine, if it isn’t working, Click Here.

Recapping the rules. It is a moderated liveblog. I approve the comments unless you are a trusted commenter. In which case I will put you through as unmoderated. Repetitive comments will not be posted. So if everyone essentially says, “oooooh, great play.” I’m not putting them all out there. If you feel like your comments aren’t getting posted, it’s probably for that reason. That or excessively profane language — unless absolutely justified.

Whining about, “why aren’t my comments getting posted,” most likely will subject you to some sort of sarcastic comment from me.

I’ve added feeds from some twitter accounts that might be commenting on the game.

The fun starts around 8pm.

Oh, boy. That Rutgers crowd will be fired up in the second half with Lil’ Jovi in the house.

Smizik thinks Rutgers is the best team for Pitt to date, but still inferior. Don’t know why that makes me nervous.

Everyone wants to have an overarching theme. It can’t simply be a conference game. It has to have a deeper meaning.

For Pitt, it is the whole revenge thing. For injuries. For losing 4 straight. That has been the storyline from the Pitt side.

For Rutgers, it is about redemption from laying an egg once more to start the season and to show that they can be a factor in the Big East.

“The Cincinnati game stuck with us,” defensive end Jonathan Freeny said. “It’s kind of like fuel to the fire. Every week we come into the week and we have to remind ourselves we don’t want that feeling again. Every week we have to practice hard, not overlook anything.”

Well, you get the idea. The big story arc will continue to be that Pitt is winless in the Wannstedt era against Rutgers. Well, when a team in 3-19 before a 4-0 streak, it is noticeable.

Rutgers’ series with Pittsburgh dates only to 1981 and has been an intense one. The teams will meet for the 25th consecutive season, which is the second-longest current continuous rivalry after West Virginia and Syracuse (30 straight years each). The Scarlet Knights have won only seven of the 26 meetings between the schools, but are 4-0 since 2005.

Uh, um. Right. “Intense.” That would be the word I’m looking for. Maybe it has a different meaning in New Jersey than anywhere else.

Rutgers freshman QB, Tom Savage, is likely the most heralded recruit in the Schiano era (or simply ever at Rutgers?). So starting as a freshman, making his first conference and BCS start along with it being nationally televised has just a little attention on him. Despite his youth, he has been well-coached at his cliches and bland statements.

Despite the disappointing opener, do you feel like this team can still get back into the Big East race?

TS: Yeah, absolutely. With the leadership we have, we’ve turned it around. And this game will be a huge measuring stick to see where we’re at, and I think we’re looking forward to it. Everything is a one-game season around here. We’re focusing on Pitt and not looking forward to anything else.

How much better are you now than when you first got thrown into the Cincinnati game?

TS: I think I took some pretty big strides, but I definitely have a lot to work on. You can always get better and always watch a lot more film. I just have to stay focused and keep working, and that’s what I’m going to do.

Of course, if he doesn’t want to end up with a second concussion this year, he needs to slide when he takes off.

Meanwhile in slightly more entertaining, Pitt DE Greg Romeus credits the students and crowd for getting fired up with Sweet Caroline, and getting the team fired-up vs UConn, and lets us know that Myles Caragein and Brandon Lindsey were the featured dancers.

Shockingly, it took until today before there was a feature story on brothers Ray Graham and Khasheem Greene being on opposite sides of the game.

“All of our lives, growing up, our families just dreamed of us going away to college and getting away from Elizabeth,” Greene said. “Now it just so happened that we both went to schools that play each other.”

While Greene and Graham are brothers, their relationship is a slightly complex one: “We’re brothers from different mothers,” Graham says. Ray lives with his parents, Raymond and Nyla, while Khaseem lives with his mother Arnessa Greene. They have never lived in the same house at any point in their lives, but that didn’t stop them from spending as much time as possible together.

“He was a great big brother, still is,” Graham said this week from Pittsburgh. “We always used to hang out together, do everything together. We played football, basketball, everything. He was always better than me though. I always considered him to be the best at everything in my eyes.”

Rutgers CB Devin McCourty and Pitt WR Jonathan Baldwin say nice things about each other ahead of tonight. Odds are the talk on the field will be less so.

Concerned about Rutgers running the Wildcat?

The Scarlet Knights haven’t used the Wildcat yet, but mostly because they haven’t had to as they’ve played a weak schedule — except for their opener against Cincinnati — to this point.

But Rutgers can run the Wildcat with either Lovelace (who is a back-up quarterback) or tailback Joe Martinek taking the direct snaps from center and either handing off to the motion man, or faking a handoff and running or, on rare occasions, passing out of it.

Still, in the game of cat and mouse that always seems to go on the week leading up to this game, Schiano denied that the Scarlet Knights have been working on the formation or saving it for tonight.

I’m only concerned that Pitt will be burned by it because the coaches might actually believe Jabu Lovelace will be allowed to throw the ball. The Scarlet Knights’ packages with Lovelace in at QB are predictable and fail more often than not because despite his athleticism, he can’t hit water falling out of a boat. That means if he’s in there, he’s running.  Even Rutgers fans want this package junked because it is a waste of time.

Those offline issues came a little sooner than I wanted, so this is a little later.

Predict the final score of the UConn-Pitt game and get a free “Baldwin for Heisman” t-shirt. Courtesy of PittsburghSteelRocks.com.

There is a variance of +/- 3 points from the actual score if no one hits the exact numbers.

Liveblog at 8pm tonight.

Just some more link dumping. Offline obligations looming.

Rutgers has no single running back. Kordell Young just hasn’t stayed healthy and is now seemingly limited to blocking on 3d downs. Freshman De’Antwan Williams had 132 against 1-AA Texas Southern, but is 3d on the depth chart. Size and style seems a lot like Dion Lewis.

According to a Q&A between beat writers, the default starter is Joe Martinek. Then it is Jourdan Brooks. Here’s the other side of the Q&A.

The question on Rutgers offense is whether Tom Savage — making his first start against a conference and/or BCS team — can be productive when facing a secondary that is (allegedly) better than the 1-AA patsies they’ve been facing. After all, this is not the QB and WRs from last year. But Pitt’s secondary has been, well, sieve-like.

Pitt’s secondary will be shorthanded. Senior Aaron Berry (shoulder) likely will be sidelined and free safety Elijah Fields (ankle) is day-to-day. If they can’t play, redshirt freshman safety Jarred Holley and redshirt junior cornerback Ricky Gary will see added action.

Regardless of who’s played, Pitt doesn’t have an interception in the past four games — a span of 110 attempts — and owns only three picks all season. The Panthers’ secondary has tightened since allowing 433 passing yards to Buffalo and 322 to North Carolina State.

“The biggest thing that we’ve improved on as a defense is our tackling,” Hafley said. “We’ve become better tacklers. … When we miss a tackle, it’s a touchdown. When we have a bad play, it’s a touchdown. We are on a cliff back there. It takes a special person to play in the secondary, and our guys are up for that.”

The thing that becomes even more important is the underachieving and inconsistent Rutgers O-line against Pitt’s underachieving and inconsistent D-line. The supposed strength-against-strength.

Q: What do you think are the key battles between Pitt and Rutgers and which side do you think has the edge?

ZEISE: Honestly — Rutgers offensive line was hyped as perhaps the best in the Big East and Pitt’s defense line was hyped as perhaps the best in the Big East. Both units have had their moments this year but both have also had their moments when they have underachieved. This is going to be a great battle though and frankly, the winner of this battle will likely win the game. I think if Pitt’s defensive line can win this battle and get to the quarterback, the Panthers can make it very difficult on the Scarlet Knights to score.

Flipping it around, the Rutgers defense against the run is tops in the Big East after Pitt’s rushing attack killed UConn and elevated the Scarlet Knights. Setting up the Rutgers D-line against the Pitt O-line.

Rutgers, of course, loves to bring pressure regardless of whether it is a run or pass. This despite being raised by Wannstedt and Butch Davis in just using the speed in a base defense. Coach Wannstedt for whatever reason does not even know why.

“We have to be able to coordinate how we block it between our linemen, our backs and tight ends. Our biggest challenge is being mentally sharp.”

Schiano’s defensive philosophy is much different than Wannstedt’s (Wannstedt doesn’t like to blitz and wants to create pressure with his front four), even though Schiano worked for Wannstedt for a few years with the Chicago Bears.

“I don’t know [why Schiano’s philosophy has changed so much since working with Wannstedt],” Wannstedt said “His first or second year at Rutgers, he went to a lot more movement and pressure stuff than we did in Chicago or that he did with Butch [Davis] at Miami. Why that is — I don’t know, we never talked about it.”

You would think  it might come up in conversation at some point. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say he does it because it works. Using that speed on defense with a little misdirection is almost like watching a good option spread offense at work. It creates a little more confusion, hesitation and chaos for the opposition when it is working.

As noted yesterday, the Scarlet Knights are worried about stopping Baldwin. Yet another reason to see them blitz a lot since none of their corners come close in size to Baldwin.

Brian Bennett at ESPN.com rattles off the things he plans to watch in the game.

3. Rutgers’ pass defense: The Scarlet Knights got ripped apart for nearly 400 passing yards in the opening loss to Cincinnati. They haven’t played a capable passing team since. Pittsburgh certainly fits that description, as Bill Stull is playing better than any quarterback not named Tony Pike in the Big East. Stull has lots of big-time receiving targets, too, including Jonathan Baldwin, Dorin Dickerson and Oderick Turner. Is Rutgers better equipped to handle a top-flight passing offense on Friday night than it was on Labor Day?

4. Tom Savage: The true freshman will make his first career Big East start against Pitt. The Panthers should bring lots of pressure on the rookie with their front four, but they are vulnerable in the secondary. Can Savage keep his composure, make big throws and avoid his first college interception?

5. Pitt vs the blitz: The Panthers have not beaten Rutgers in the Dave Wannstedt era, and they know what they’re going to get from Greg Schiano’s team. The Scarlet Knights will blitz at least half the time from all angles. Rutgers’ defense has been causing all kinds of turnovers and defensive scores, albeit against lesser competition. Pitt’s offensive line, which has protected Stull wonderfully so far this year, has to be ready for the onslaught.

Maybe I shouldn’t be making fun (or pointing out where others make fun) of the New Jersey stereotype with Lil’ Jovi a hit at Rutgers Stadium.

Yes there is plenty of Yinzer stuff that is so annoying at Heinz Field — especially with the continued use of AC/DC and other music that was dated when I was at Pitt. Seriously, when a 40-year old white guy — who’s new music purchases in the last 7 years has been limited to Backyardigans and Laurie Berkner — is tired of this stuff shouldn’t that be a hint.

And it was pointed out in the comments that “Sweet Caroline” is hardly unique to just Pitt and that baseball team from Boston.

It is, however, hard to argue with success.

Q: Should we credit Neil Diamond with an assist in the win against UConn? I had no idea “Sweet Caroline” could be a fight song! The crowd went from deflated to exhilarated after the song and the 30,000 or so who were left were deafening with UConn being forced to punt. Can you explain the “Neil Diamond Effect”?

ZEISE: You know you aren’t the only one who asked this, in fact, I got more than ten of these questions about Sweet Caroline changing the momentum in the game. Obviously, what happens in the stands can feed the emotions of the team to a certain extent and while I think this is a bit overstated I will agree with this — something does happen in that stadium when the crowd comes alive and sings that song. I think part of it is because the students came up with the idea, pitched it to the athletic department and the athletic department listened and as a result, it brings a little extra energy. It is pretty interesting actually — even the games like Youngstown State which were over long before the end of the third quarter, the crowd gets hyped for that song. What is interesting is, if you watch the team while that song is being sung, they seem to be getting into it a little bit as well. Hey, I’m not big on marketing gimmicks, but every little bit helps I suppose and this is one thing that every Pitt fan I’ve talked to seems to agree is a good thing and a good addition to the game day atmosphere.

I guess it’s better than a Donnie Iris sing-a-long.

Some stories regarding Pitt players.

Dion Lewis gets a little attention from New Jersey as the local flavor since the Albany kid played in New Jersey.

“I hate to say it, but you know who he reminds me of,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said, alluding to former Scarlet Knights running back Ray Rice. “He’s got good patience and balance and Ray did as well. … He’s very elusive.”

And Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com lists Lewis as #1 on his list of impact freshmen (Insider subs.).

LeSean McCoy, now of the Philadelphia Eagles, was a huge part of the Pitt offense the past two years. When he jumped to Sunday football, it seemed like a lot of the air could come out of this program. Enter Lewis, a fairly unheralded 5-foot-8, 195-pound recruit from Albany, NY. All he’s done is dart his way to almost six yards per carry, while sparking the Panthers to a 5-1 record. He’s fifth in the nation in rushing (123 ypg) and has run for seven TDs.

Late in mentioning it, but Punter/Kicker Dan Hutchins took home Big East Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

The game is personal for Bill Stull after last year.

Everyone remembers last year how Bill Stull was literally knocked out of the Rutgers game, but that game was also the one where Center Robb Houser suffered a brutal broken leg.

“Everybody has a little revenge for them,” Houser said. “I’ve got my own revenge.”

Houser suffered a broken right fibula and two torn ligaments in his ankle when he was hit with a blind-side block after a Pat Bostick interception in the second half of the blowout loss to Rutgers.

A transfer from Butte (Cal.) Community College prior to the 2008 season, Houser missed the final seven games in his first year at Pitt. He underwent two surgeries and spent 3.5 months on crutches. He followed that with a demanding recovery process.

“It was a lot of rehab,” he said. “Once I was (cleared to) work out, it was every day. I wasn’t taking days off.”

The loss of Houser was mitigated by C.J. Davis sliding in and doing a great job. It did, however, diminish the depth on the O-line which played a significant role in that which should not be mentioned in the Sun Bowl.

Unlike the rest of the Big East, Pitt has really good tight ends (that probably should be rephrased).

“Nate is such a great blocker, and he helps my game out so much,” Dickerson said. “People don’t even see how much he helps me out. I’m really happy for him that he got those balls, and look what he did — he made big plays. He’s a playmaker, too, not just a blocker.”

As far as the two tight ends go, though, Dickerson has been more of a playmaker this season. He was once a superstar recruit who opted for Pitt over Florida, Michigan, Penn State and others. But he and the Panthers coaching staff had trouble figuring out how best to use his skills during his first three years. He spent time at receiver, at linebacker and even in the backfield before finally switching to tight end last season.

This year, he has become a true weapon. He has 21 catches for 232 yards and is tied with Cincinnati’s Mardy Gilyard for the Big East lead in touchdown receptions with seven.

Of course, the guy that has the Rutgers secondary a bit worried is Baldwin.

Not since the opener against Cincinnati — a game that nearly ruined the Knights’ season before it truly got started — has Rutgers (4-1) faced the type of aerial test it will when 5-1 Pittsburgh visits on Friday night.

Panthers quarterback Bill Stull leads the Big East in passing efficiency and Baldwin has 27 catches for 532 yards. He also has complementary help at wideout from senior Oderick Turner and from tight ends Dorin Dickerson (21 catches for 232 yards and seven TDs) and Nate Byham.

But Baldwin — who had five catches for 81 yards against the Knights as a true freshman last season — is the one who strikes fear into secondaries.

“It starts with his physical skills,” said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. “He reminds you of Kenny. He runs that dig pattern, the guy throws it 12 feet in the air and there’s no one on the field except him who can go and get it. And on deep balls he’s very good at adjusting. He’s fast and he’s big. He’s very much a Kenny Britt-type — and maybe bigger. I think he is better.

“He’s one of those special guys in the country.”

Given Rutgers propensity to blitz. Blitz often and unpredictably with the players, making the defense pay with the passing game is vital.

At the same time I was just posting on Rutgers being a grudge game, Brian Bennett at ESPN.com echoes my post intro as to Rutgers to this point. He points out that Rutgers is an even bigger question mark than any other Big East team because of that schedule.

Now here are some reasons for skepticism.

While Savage has avoided turnovers, the passing game is nowhere near as productive as it was a year ago. Rutgers is seventh in the Big East with 181 passing yards per game, and Savage is completing just 56 percent of his passes. This will be his first Big East start.

The running game has put up decent numbers, but you would expect the Scarlet Knights to bulldoze weak FCS opponents like Texas Southern and Howard on the ground. Schiano says the running game lacks consistency. And no matter how good the stats are, there’s no getting around that they were compiled against wildly inferior teams.

The total offense for Rutgers is for 1821 yards through 5 games. 885 yards (48.6%) came against the 2 1-AA patsies. Really, that seems about in line given the badness of the opponents. The questions come in the running game. 915 total yards, but 498 (54.4%) came in those two games.

That means for a team that is breaking in a true freshman QB and wanting to minimize the pressure on him to make all the plays as he is still learning, the running game is needed. Especially for a QB that admits to holding the ball too long, facing the conference leading team in sacks. Yet, in three 1-A games the rushing totals were 50 (Cinci), 160 (FIU) and 207 (Maryland). No shock that as the running game goes, so goes the Rutgers offense.

Rutgers has also benefitted greatly from their strong turnover differential. Including three defensive TDs so far. To the tune of being second in the country in TO differential.

Of course, Rutgers is aware that they are about to take their own jump in challenges.

“Any competitor I’m sure wants to get back there (on the national stage),” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said Sunday, a day after his club shut out Texas Southern, 42-0, at Rutgers Stadium. “The last time people saw us we were 0-1. Now we’re 4-1. Hopefully we can go out and play better Friday night. As long as we play our best, that’s all I’m concerned about.”

Whether Rutgers (4-1) is ready for its nationally televised Friday-night home affair with Pittsburgh (5-1) is anyone’s guess. Not even Schiano knows for sure.

“It doesn’t really matter what I think — it’s coming,” Schiano said of his team’s litmus test with Pitt. “We’re going to do everything we can to be ready to play Friday I don’t know where that will put us in relation to Pitt. We are a work in progress — there’s no doubt about it. We’re not where we need to be.”

Rutgers coach Schiano is going to do what he can to find a 3d WR.

Particularly at wide receiver, where the Scarlet Knights have been searching for a capable third receiver to slide in behind Tim Brown and Mohamed Sanu. Freshman defensive back Quron Pratt received a few looks at wideout, along with Julian Hayes and another freshman, Mark Harrison.

Still, Schiano felt that while some progress was made, it doesn’t mean he’s satisfied.

“Quron made a play, like I said (Saturday) night,” Schiano said. “Julian played well. Mark had a little playing time but he didn’t get an opportunity to (catch a pass)… We are a work in progress.”

Injuries to Marcus Cooper and Keith Stroud are part of the reason for the continuing search. Rutgers WR Tim Brown hasn’t forgotten his game last year against Pitt.

Tim Brown can’t remember exactly what plays worked and how they worked from last year’s 54-34 win over Pittsburgh, but he can remember one thing:

His stat line.

“Four for 132,” Brown said after Tuesday’s practice with a grin, before adding: “Two touchdowns.”

And Brown was the 3d WR last year. This year he’s the #1 option.