Seems to be something we can all agree. With a new QB and questions on the O-line, there is going to be extra pressure on the defense early. The number of stories this past week reflect that.

Bryan at PittScript has collected some, but wait, there’s still more.

There’s the fact that the defense is looking to get more turnovers.

During position drills, they work on tomahawks or punching at the ball. Soon, they will work on drills to emphasize the second defender arriving focused on the ball as much as the ball carrier.

“The big thing is that if they don’t go for the strip in practice, they are not going to go for it in the games,” Gattuso said. “Who knows what’s going to happen. But I know we’ve had 24 turnovers the last two years, and we’d like to get that into the 30s.”

Forced turnovers, obviously, correlate into winning. Last season, No. 2 Texas led the nation in forced turnovers. No. 3 Boise State and No. 4 Ohio State were tied for third among 118 Division I teams. National champion Alabama was 10th, and No. 7 Iowa was 11th.

But there are some exceptions. No. 3 Florida and No. 9 Penn State were tied for 50th. Among other top-25 teams, Southern California was 61st, Cincinnati 80th, LSU 89th.

“Turnovers usually come from aggressive play, fast play, confident play,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said.

It’s a new wrinkle, and as long as they don’t forget the basics — tackle not hitting — it would be hard to be against this.

The fact that Pitt is expected to rely so heavily on the defense, especially in the first game has expectations of a low scoring match.

As for the whole season, Paul Zeise has collected submissions of predictions for how Pitt does this coming season.