Or is that Link Dump Notre? Notre Link Dump? I feel like I’m leaving something  out. Oh, well. Plenty of stories. No time to hash them. Sort through them yourself.

Q&A with Adam Gunn — McKillop wishes he was playing this weekend.

Apparently Notre Dame likes to pass. This Jimmah’ Clausen appears to be a decent QB. Best Clausen of the bunch — FWIW. It might test the secondary. In fact, the secondary faces its biggest challenge since NC State. Eep.

Any chance ND repeats its 6 trips to the red zone with only 2 scores to show for it? Considering they only came away empty handed 4 times in the prior 8 games, I doubt it.

The magic number is 10. As in top-10 wins for Pitt since 2002. Plus it’s been 10 years since Pitt beat ND in Pittsburgh — I feel even older.

Notre Dame likes to blitz. It is expected. But their defense has continually failed in big games.

For those Pitt fans who think too many older Pitt fans are living in the past of the 70s, it beats hanging the hat on the 60s and wistful memories of Ara Parseghian.

More speculation on Weis surviving at ND. Meanwhile, Coach Wannstedt is sympathetic to Weis’ plight.

Some work on on revisionism and/or trying to figure out how Wannstedt became an NFL punchline. This one’s a tough sell for anyone who is a Dolphin or Bears fan.

Happy, fluffy puff piece on Dorin Dickerson finding his position and success.

Former special teams/DB Pitt player from York, PA now in his first year as a defensive assistant coach at Duquesne.

Everyone’s favorite OC, Frank Cignetti gets the hometown love from the Indiana paper.

Lost (sort of) in the shuffle of the looming biggest football game in years (for this week) and the early signing period for basketball is that the season opener and Elite Eight banner raising is tonight.

Pitt tips off against Wofford of the SoCon.

After Wofford made school history last season by posting a winning record for the first time in 15 seasons as a member of Division I, Young is looking to take his team to the NCAA tournament for the first time.

With five starters returning, some of whom are among the best players in the Southern Conference, Young believes his team can be one of the 65 teams in the NCAA tournament field at season’s end.

“It’s as good a shot as we’ve had,” said Young, whose team was picked to finish second behind the College of Charleston in the Southern Conference’s South Division.

Are they likely as talented as Pitt’s players? No. They are, however, experienced and know each other well. That actually makes Wofford more of a challenge than expected.

Since we all know that Pitt will start a line-up that has one start between the five starters.

For the first time in his head coaching career, Jamie Dixon will have a completely new starting five for a season opener. Four of his starters from last season graduated or went to the NBA early and Jermaine Dixon, the only returning starter, will not play because of a foot injury.

The only players on the roster with starting experience are senior Chase Adams, who was a three-year starter at Centenary in the Summit League before coming to Pitt this summer, and junior Gary McGhee, who started one game last season when DeJuan Blair was injured.

Dixon will use the same starting five that he used in both exhibition games. McGhee will start at center with Nasir Robinson at power forward, Brad Wanamaker at small forward and Travon Woodall and Ashton Gibbs at point and shooting guard.

No excuses (at least at the moment) from the coach and players.

“I know the easy thing is to sit here, and most coaches would be stressing the youth,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “You’re as young as you play. We have no excuses.”

…

Wanamaker came off the bench for every game of Pitt’s 31-5 Elite Eight team last season. He said the new-look Panthers will get a chance to assume more ownership of the eight-time NCAA Tournament qualifier in the absence of Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields.

“We all talk about how we’ve been waiting for this moment,” Wanamaker said. “The moment’s here.”

…

“I think it’s going to be a good season for us,” said Gibbs, the team’s 19-year-old starting shooting guard. “We’ve just got to keep playing hard and play defense. As long as we play our hardest, we’ll be fine.”

The sharp-shooting Gibbs played in 35 games last season as a true freshman, and also played this past summer for the Dixon-coached gold medal-winning USA Basketball Under-19 team in New Zealand.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a kid that says ‘I’m young. I’m inexperienced, so I’m not good enough,’ ” coach Dixon said. “They look at it a whole different way. It’s not a crutch.”

The storyline all season for Pitt will be it’s youth. It will get tiresome to Pitt fans, but it is the glaring and obvious thing. As Eamonn Brennan pointed out.

So much of college hoops previewing is based on a simple formula: How many players did Team X lose? How good were those players? How good are the players that played behind them? And which recruits will help close the gap? The whole point of this feature is to do something a little bit less cookie cutter than that … but, on the other hand, sometimes the most interesting thing about a team is players lost vs. players found. In 2009-10, few teams in the nation will experience that formula more acutely than the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Pitt still has a 38-game home winning streak in the non-con to maintain.

The hope is that the team can show steady improvement during the season. The hard thing will be judging that improvement during the season. As I have learned and have to keep reminding myself with my kids, progress and improvement is not a straight line. There are fits, starts, steps back. Lots of frustration (at those moments). It’s only when you look back over the course of a time period can you more clearly see where they were to where they are.

That’s going to be very applicable to Pitt this year. There are going to be games where it looks like they are making a huge leap forward. Then appear to have forgotten everything. Some games of incremental progress. We all say right now that we will be patient with the team, hopefully that remains true. This season, is as much about getting ready for a very bright future.

Free t-shirt time.

Apologies to Dobber, I was a little late on getting your shirt from the Syracuse score-win out to you. Missed on Tuesday, and Wednesday was Veterans Day. It went out yesterday.

Reminder, only size Large remains.

Predict the final score of the Notre Dame- 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.

Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com has picked ND to win 35-31. Brian Bennett the ESPN.com beat guy has Pitt winning 35-33. Stewart Mandel of SI.com goes with ND 36-30.

I will also be giving one away while tailgating in Lot 23. I’ll be wearing the Pitt sweatshirt, so I will stand right out.

For those of you worried that Coach Wannstedt has been almost too perfect the last few weeks with the team and what he said, breathe easy. The struggles to return a punt instead of having Aaron Smith fair catch everything brought out the silly talk.

Wannstedt said Pitt’s lack of production on punt returns is because of the spread of rugby-style, directional punting throughout college football. The Panthers are averaging 5.3 yards on 15 returns, with a long of 17 yards, using primarily Aaron Smith.

“When there are returns,” Wannstedt said, “they are very short ones.”

Wannstedt, who doubles as Pitt’s special teams coach, noted Notre Dame’s explosive Golden Tate is averaging just 6.5 yards on punt returns. Pitt is allowing only 4.5 yards on punt returns.

Of course it is all because of the punters. Among punt returners (who average more than 1.2 punt returns/game) Aaron Smith is ranked 53d. For the record, Tate got yanked on punt returns in the Navy game which Weis claimed was to save Tate from taking extra hits.

In case you weren’t aware, it’s going to be a big football weekend at Heinz Field.

Weird headline for this story, “Irish anything but a distraction for No. 8 Pitt.” Apparently the idea being that an unranked, non-con game before a bye week and the final two conference games would be something Pitt would overlook. I mean, it’s only on primetime TV and against ND. Now if the theme was the coaching situation and daily drama that is ND football, I might understand the distraction argument.

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I thought I had mentioned this at least in passing sometime during the week, or maybe it was just in some e-mail to friends. From a storyline perspective, the oversaturation would be on the issues of the coaches. Whether it was things coming “full circle” with them meeting once more at Heinz Field at night in a prime time game — where both made their debuts as the head coaches at the respective alma maters. The other, which crystallized after the ND loss to Navy, are the programs/coaches heading in opposite directions.

Let’s start with the “full circle” stories. They are in Pittsburgh papers.

Back then, Weis was the hot-shot former NFL assistant poised to return his alma mater to national prominence, while Wannstedt was on his way to going 16-19 in his first three years at Pitt.

“We found out real quick that we had work to do,” Wannstedt said. “We were probably just a little bit ahead of ourselves.”

Both coaches have similar records at their respective schools (Weis 35-24, Wannstedt 33-24), but Weis, coming off a 23-21 loss to Navy, is under fire. Wannstedt is a candidate for numerous national coach of the year awards.

And in South Bend.

When Weis was asked to connect the dots Tuesday back to ND’s 42-21 thrashing of a 23rd-ranked Pitt teams four and a half seasons ago, he politely balked.

“I’m so predictable,” said Weis, 3-11 against the Top 25 since that debut game, including seven straight losses against ranked teams. “You already know what my answer is going to be when you ask that question. But I’m really only worrying about beating Pitt. And I’ll never change.”

Then there is national like Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com.

The Fighting Irish rolled 42-21 as the Weis bandwagon filled up fast. Wannstedt, meanwhile, has struggled to sustain any real momentum almost ever since. But now the Panthers, despite not having beaten any top-20 teams, have climbed to No. 8 in the Associated Press poll, which is the school’s highest November ranking since 1982. A BCS bowl is possible; the Panthers rank 12th in the BCS standings. They are off to their best start (8-1) since that ’82 season, when Dan Marino was their quarterback. Maybe Weis, the now-embattled Irish coach, can salvage some of his reputation that has taken so many hits after last week’s home loss to Navy. Before the season, this matchup didn’t appear to carry such juice for Weis, but now, perhaps it’s a different story.

Feldman’s bit, well, it’s not the most complimentary of Pitt’s season.

Still, Saturday’s game is almost as big for Wannstedt. If the Panthers lose the game, it’ll be just another clunker from a program that few people seem prepared to buy in on. It has inched its way up the rankings much as a non-automatic qualifying school would, as much through the attrition of everyone else as its own success. It feels as though the Panthers are up there by default: “Well, who else will we have in the top 15, three-loss Virginia Tech? Four-loss Oklahoma?!?”

To their credit, the Panthers have been outstanding on defense this season. They lead the nation in sacks (38), and given Notre Dame’s struggles to protect Jimmy Clausen, that’ll be a key matchup.

The next day, Feldman includes Coach Wannstedt in his top-10 list for Coach of the Year. So he does recognize that the coach and team are accomplishing something.

I’m not going to argue about the fact that Pitt’s rise to top-10 this year has as much to do with the volume of teams failing. Considering Pitt started the season unranked, it is the only way it happens. It is still an achievement.

I mean, god help me, I’m turning to Bob Smizik for the counterpoint on the argument of “who has Pitt beaten?”

This is not so much a knock on Cincinnati, Pitt or the Big East. We said the same thing about Penn State the other day and it applies to many, if not most, ranked programs. It’s the shame of college football. Teams, for the most play, play a ridiculously soft non-conference schedule and then amongst themselves. Who knows how good most of them are?

Consider #2 Texas. The Longhorns have only beaten one team that is currently ranked in the top-25 in Oklahoma State. Of course, since they were a preseason top-5 team, no one disputes their validity.

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Getting J.J. Moore was just that. The 3- or 4-star small forward was unexpected. A kid scoring a 93 (Insider subs) by ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc (that score is listed as “high-major minus“).

I didn’t see that coming. I assumed he was a lock for Louisville, and he was just creating some intrigue before signing day. But according to Chris Dokish, Pitt went all-out on getting him.

First of all, the job the entire Pitt staff did to get J.J. Moore was very impressive. And I do mean the entire staff. Despite Moore almost certainly heading to Louisville, Jamie Dixon, Tom Herrion, and Brandin Knight all put on an all out assault to get the 6’6″ small forward. According to one source with knowledge of the situation, “it was as complete an effort” as they’ve ever seen to recruit a player.

And while there are have long been concerns as to whether Moore can get eligible for the 2010 year, Dokish reports the belief and even expectation that Moore will get his eligibility set.

That and the signing of Cameron Wright todayand Isiah Epps puts Pitt at 1 over their scholarship limit at this point. Speculation as to how that is resolved (transfer, academic casualties, someone giving up a scholarship) is something for another day.

While it doesn’t rule out a commitment from Maurice Walker — the sleeper center — it does make it appear unlikely regardless of need. Especially since he seems to be getting more attention and it seems unlikely Pitt will go 2 over the limit in the early signing period.

Just another great class for the b-ball team.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ravenstahl has apparently joined in the whole national recognition for Pitt thing, by declaring Friday “Turn it blue day.”

The Panthers, ranked as high as No. 8 in the country, will face the Fighting Irish in front of a soldout crowd and national ABC television audience. Pittsburghers are encouraged to wear their Pitt Blue on Friday to get ready for the game.

Fans should also wear their Pitt Blue to Heinz Field Saturday night as Pitt and Pittsburgh are showcased to the rest of the country.

“This weekend, let’s `Turn it Blue’ and show our support for our own hometown team as they take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame,” Ravenstahl said. “We’ll have the eyes of the nation watching us, and I’m confident that with the talent we have this season and with the support of Pitt fans, our team will be successful. Go Pitt!”

What a sweet gesture. I’m sure that this more than makes up for the dickish attempt by the Mayor — after winning reelection — to impose a 1% tuition tax on college students in Pittsburgh to cover the budget shortfall. I’m sure the students will just embrace him now.

I’m guessing Ravenstahl won’t be making a public appearance at the game.

I think only the most ridiculously overconfident and/or foolish fan would think Pitt will have no trouble with Notre Dame. As Coach Wannstedt pointed out in his presser, they are still a damn talented team.

But, the focus this week with Notre Dame will be to clean up some of the details from last week’s game, and then get ready to play a very, very, talented Notre Dame football team. Looking at them on tape, offensively to start off with, they are a veteran group with size and experience on the offensive line. I think that Jimmy Clausen is playing as good as any quarterback around. He’s much improved. I’ve had a chance from playing him to follow his career. From when he first came in, he’s much improved in all aspects of the game. They have a talented group of skill players. (Halfback) Armando Allen, I remember visiting with him when he came out of high school down in Miami. We know what kind of talent they have at running back. Theo Riddick, a freshman, we talked to him last year about potentially coming to Pitt. Now with (wide receiver) Michael Floyd back, and with Golden Tate, they’ve got as dynamic a one-two punch and as explosive as anybody in the country. As you watch the tape of all of our opponents I would say without a doubt Golden (Tate) is the best player that we have faced. He does it all. This guy is exceptional at catching the ball, exceptional at making guys miss, he’s a tough guy. Wherever they line him up, whatever responsibility they give him, this guy is special. He is very impressive. Defensively, they do a lot. They’re a pressure team. They will force us to make sure that we cover all of our bases, from an offensive standpoint, run and pass-wise. They try to create bad plays, negative plays. They force turnovers. Again, with the skill that they have on defense, particularly in their secondary with some of the speed and experience they have back there, they can latch on to receivers and give you a lot of bad plays. So this will be a big, big challenge for us without a doubt.

Defensively their schemes are the complete opposite of Pitt’s. Their DC, John Tenuta (Tahh-noo-taa Blitz!) is absolutely in love with blitzing. He is always trying to bring pressure up front.

I would say this is the biggest challenge for the O-line and QB Bill Stull. It will be a lot like the Rutgers game from that standpoint, where Stull got hit a lot. It is arguably in Notre Dame’s interest to blitz early and often from a standpoint of trying to keep Dorin Dickerson off the field. If the Irish get some success, then Pitt will have to do much more blocking with the TE spot. Of course, the counter would be to let Dickerson be out there in two-TE sets and give up a WR. A trade I think OC Cignetti would be willing to make. And make no mistake, Dickerson is  a major concern for ND.

Dickerson’s big season is part of Pitt’s successful equation, too, with the position switch working out well.

“They had to find a positing for me where I could use all my intangibles in one, which is the tight end/H-back,” he said.

Dickerson moves around in the Pitt offense, so he is not spending his whole day blocking defensive ends. He’s definitely found a home at tight end/H-back.

“I fell in love with the position,” he said. “I feel like I can use my abilities a lot more.”

Notre Dame is a little banged up as their starting TE Kyle Rudolph is not on the depth chart this week after suffering a shoulder injury in the Navy game. Of course, that could just be Weis channeling his inner-Belichek. [UPDATE: Rudolph is out until at least December.] But ND also gets back leading rusher Armando Allen and guard Trevor Washington — both starters who missed the Navy game.

The ND offense though, is all passing. Especially in the past month, as the run seemed to have been abandoned more often. Getting away from a balanced attack.

Rudolph is the 3d leading receiver, so if he’s out it could be a factor. Well, maybe were it not for Michael Floyd being back and the extremely dangerous Golden Tate.

Notre Dame junior receiver Golden Tate is one of the nation’s leading receivers with 65 passes for 1,059 yards and 10 touchdowns. And the Panthers know if they take their eyes off him, it is likely they will not win the game.

Tate averages 16.3 yards per catch and he is the kind of star-caliber player who is capable of changing games with big plays in clutch situations.

“Without a doubt, he’s the best athlete we’ve faced all year and he’s the best athlete in football right now,” said Pitt linebacker Adam Gunn. “He’s special and they do a great job of finding ways to get him the ball, whether he is lined up in the backfield in the wildcat package or he’s lined up wide.

“They find ways to get him the ball and they look for matchups that favor him and they are going to try to use him to exploit us. We have to prepare throughout the week to be matched up in different circumstances and know where he’s at every play.”

Tate’s ability to run the ball out of the wildcat and in some reverses — he has 21 carries for 157 yards and two touchdowns — is not a surprise to anyone who has watched him because he can outrun defenders as well as make people miss.

This is the best passing offense Pitt has faced, and likely the second best they will face all season (Cinci will be the best). So, yes the secondary has performed very well in recent weeks, but it will be the biggest test yet.

One of the reasons for the secondary’s improved play, has been the emergence of Jarred Holley.

Wannstedt is pleased with the progress Holley has made in the short time he has been with the team.

“Jarred Holley is a playmaker, and that interception was great,” Wannstedt said. “He has a lot of responsibility back there for a redshirt freshman, like making checkdowns.”

When Fields is healthy, Wannstedt may be faced with a decision to either bring him back or leave Holley in as the starter. It may end up being a good problem to face.

“Jarred is not only in the starting lineup right now, but he’s playing extremely well,” Wannstedt said.

I don’t see any changes being made. Elijah Fields is rather close to fully healthy (if he isn’t actually), but he seems more comfortable being a linebacker/safety with a little less pressure on him as not being a starter and being used in packages.

As everyone is saying, it won’t be enough for Pitt to play defense and get yards to chew clock. They have to score. The Irish score a lot — when they aren’t making key redzone turnovers and missed scoring opportunities.

Their defense has been as good as it should be, but it has done survived enough to keep them in games. Notre Dame has 7 games out of 9 where it was decided by 7 points or less (4-3 in those games).

The last time Pitt beat Notre Dame in consecutive years? The Mike Gottfried era. Pitt did it in ’86 and ’87. Obviously it has been a while.

There is always drama surrounding Notre Dame. It is the nature of the program. The attention, money and simply it is what the Domers love. It plays into the mindset that everyone pays attention — love or hate.

The drama this year remains the job status of Charlie Weis.

But, regardless, the gnawing question mucking up the background will be: If you have the nation’s third-most efficient passer, two receivers who will likely finish 1-2 in every career receiving category, a future NFL tight end, competent running backs and offensive linemen and you might get a bid for to the Gator Bowl, how are you going to climb higher when the stars aren’t as perfectly aligned?

When Swarbrick broke his short silence early last December, announcing Weis would return for a fifth season, his decision took heavily into account who he thought Weis could become.

Now it’s more about who Weis is. And what Weis has to show immediately is the ability to reverse the trend of eight losses in his last 11 November games. He has to show he’s capable of beating a team that will bring the goal posts down – even if it’s at someone else’s stadium.

He has to show that all this strong, consistent recruiting and evolution from NFL CEO into college coach is going to lead to something special, starting with moving back into the same sentences with, yes, new national bullies TCU, Boise State and Cincinnati.

Part of the issue is that the Irish were outschemed. The Navy coach said as much and a player even agreed causing the coach to smack his own player for the comment.

Navy second-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo probably was quoted in more papers Saturday than he has been in his entire career with the suggestion that, essentially, that the Mids had a decided schematic advantage offensively over ND’s defense.

More specifically, he suggested that the Mids expected Notre Dame would use the same strategy that hamstrung Navy’s offense in 2008, so the Mids’ coaches simply tweaked their offense. And Irish nose tackle Ian Williams, point blank, said ND got outschemed.

“I think that question was presented to Ian and it was also presented to (safety, defensive captain) Kyle McCarthy,” Weis responded Sunday. “And from what I understand, Kyle McCarthy’s answer was quite different. He said it had nothing to do with the scheme.

“So there’s a reason one guy’s a captain and one guy’s not.”

Apparently that reason is that one guy says things that do not make the coach happy.

So, at this point, Weis is demanding “accountability and dependability.” But he’s not pointing fingers or anything.

“There’s going to be plenty of evidence today of guys understanding who was at fault for what situations,” Weis said. “As you know, after a loss, I’m not big on giving up players, ever. That’s not my way. But I think when they watch the tape, there’s going to be plenty of evidence. Don’t sit there and point the finger at anyone other than yourself because here’s what happened on the play.”

Notre Dame indeed must get its mind and its execution right, given a date Saturday at No. 8 Pittsburgh.

“It’s always easy because I always start with me,” Weis said. “But there’s plenty of evidence in this game where these guys are going to feel sick to their stomachs. For the guys that really care, which I think will be most of them, they’re not going to feel very good about what they’re going to see.”

Good to see he’s handling the pressure well. Apparently he sees the role now as spoiler.

Before the possible program-shattering consequences of the loss had time to sink in, Weis was already talking about going to Pittsburgh next Saturday night and “spoiling (the Panthers’ party).”

“It’s like the sacrificial lambs are rolling into town,” Weis said of the trip to Pitt. “We don’t intend to be that.”

From the bravado just a few days ago of controlling BCS destiny, to “spoiling”a party and being considered “sacrificial lambs,” the tune has certainly changed.

It’s still up to Pitt, not to be spoiled.

The fact that we are discussing and analyzing the results of exhibition games against a D-2 opponent is indicative of two things. The first is just how much interest there is in Pitt basketball, but more importantly it shows just how much we don’t know and want to know about this newest incarnation.

So, Pitt had an easy time with Coker. Shutting them down on defense.

The score was 41-6 at halftime. At one point in the second half, Coker was shooting 24 percent from the field, which wasn’t good, but was still better than its 21-percent performance from the free-throw line at the same moment.

It’s nearly impossible to determine what any of the events that transpired yesterday will mean when the regular season opens in five days against Wofford at the Petersen Events Center, but Dixon was happy with the improvement his team showed after a lackluster victory against Slippery Rock in the first exhibition game last week.

“We talked about Sunday to Sunday, and our guys responded in a big way,” Dixon said. “That was a challenge we gave to our players. We improved throughout the week. You could see it in practice. We really set a goal, set a time frame and our guys responded. It was a good week for us.”

Really, hard to judge the team defense at this point. Hard to judge the team at this point. It’s more about seeing how comfortable individual players are looking in the system.

Travon Woodall looked very comfortable in this game.

Woodall shot 8 for 10 from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range. He had three assists and one turnover.

Woodall almost certainly will be the starting point guard when the new-look Panthers, tabbed to finish ninth in the Big East, open their schedule against visiting Wofford at 8:15 p.m. Friday.

“I’m just feeling real confident about the season,” Woodall said. “I’ve been working hard all summer, and, hopefully, it’s going to pay off.”

Nasir Robinson disclocted a finger on his left hand, but it was nothing major. Since it was an exhibition that was enough to shut down his night.

Real thing starts on Friday the 13th.

I’m actually happy that GameDay is not coming to Heinz Field this Saturday. There are enough parallels to the 2005 from a storyline perspective to keep piling on.

Here’s what confuses me about the Navy-ND game. Doesn’t the Navy win somewhat help Pitt’s computer numbers, at least right now, since they already beat Navy? Would it have been better for Pitt’s computer numbers if ND had won and then beaten ND?  Is it a wash?

It’s BCS or Meineke for Pitt, by all appearances. The Gator can take ND as long as they are within 2 wins of who they would have to take from the Big East. If you want to assume Pitt beats ND, then WVU but loses to Cinci, then Pitt finishes 10-2. Notre Dame would have to lose their remaining games versus UConn and Stanford to finish 7-5. Even then, the Gator would work like hell to make it happen.

This year the floor is probably 8-4. “Last year our alternatives were mostly teams with seven or eight wins,” Catlett said. “This year, there could be Big East teams available at 10-2. It wouldn’t be impossible to take a 7-5 Notre Dame over a 10-2 Big East team, but it would be difficult.”

Cue outrage and frustration in 3, 2,…

One game at a time. Of course all opponents look vulnerable. This is a very flat year in college football. It’s not like Pitt doesn’t have big weaknesses concerns that could cost them (secondary, kicking).

Notre Dame will be difficult enough. They managed to screw up so much in the redzone, that it is somewhat hard for me to believe that will happen in a second straight game. This is one of those games where they can fall back into total sports cliche mentality: Us against the world, back against the wall, nobody believes in us, we love our coach, etc.

Not going to dwell too long on this game. Pitt did what they were supposed to against Syracuse.

They started out a little sluggish. Looking very much like a team that had a bye week and had to regain their rhythm. They did, and buried the Orange. Taking them apart on offense by ground and air. Another “top-ranked” run defense beaten apart as Dion Lewis went over 100 yards rushing once more (needing only 18 carries for 110 yards).

On defense, after the initial 71 yard drive that accounted for 1/4 of the Orange total offense, the defense shut it down. Other than allowing the first 100 yard rusher this year, they didn’t have a hard day.

So, it is now time to focus on beating Notre Dame.

Well, a lot of people really were close on this final score. 1, 2, 3 points away from it. Six predictions right around the final score. But there was one person to get it exactly right and take home the t-shirt this week.

Dobber hit it exactly right. He gets the free t-shirt this week.

I know we hate noon starts. The only one that seems to like them is my wife, because it means I don’t stay overnight, and I get back in time to help put the kids to bed.

Here’s how to have less of them. Win. Win more and the games get bumped to 3:30 and even a couple primetime slots. We are seeing that with the final month as the ND game goes all the way to a national showing at night. Keep winning and you can bet that the season finale with Cinci will be at worst a 3:30 start and perhaps another 7:30 or 8pm primetime event.

The game thread is open and I’ll be live-tweeting for most of the game.

Granted, Pitt won’t be on national TV as much this year so we may not be bombarded with them. Still, Pitt’s athletic department has put together a “personality profile” for each player.

Rather than click on over right away, test your knowledge of this year’s Panthers.

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