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).

I don’t say this lightly. There is just so much in this Q&A interview with Tom Dienhart that everyone will take as a key item or focus point. About this season. About Cignetti. About when he came in. The practice facility with the Steelers. About old unis. Playing Penn State.

Here.

Q: Can you bring back the mustard yellow uniforms?

A: “We wore the old traditional uniforms a couple of years ago. You don’t have to twist my arm. Those are the colors I wore. They always will be special in my heart. Times change. I never have been one who gets too caught up in uniform colors. That’s a decision the higher-ups can deal with. I have more important things to deal with. They talked about when we play West Virginia, with both teams wearing throwback uniforms, but I don’t know if that will happen or not. I would favor that.”

Q: Do you want to play Penn State every year?

A: “We need to be playing Penn State. I was on the job about a month and I talked to Coach Paterno about it. It probably won’t happen until he retires and I understand that. It’s his prerogative. But it’ll happen. Maybe I won’t even be here, either [when it happens]. We should play each other. It’s a great, great national in-state rivalry. We should be playing each other. There is no question about that. There probably isn’t anyone who would disagree with that.”

As I said, go read all of it.

Not sure how the world can handle this. The conventional wisdom in football is that Coach Wannstedt is at best a mediocre coach. That he is simply the latest in a line of ex-NFL coaches in college that operates in that 5-8 wins per year group (Gailey, Groh, Sherman, Callahan, et. al.).

Now Pitt sits at 7-1. Ranked its highest under Wannstedt (#15 BCS, #16 AP, #17 Coaches). Pitt’s best start since 1982.

So it is time for the paradigm shift. Something many Pitt fans have been working through for the past year or so.

3. Pittsburgh is for real: Yes, it is sometimes tough to give coach Dave Wannstedt a whole lot of credit but he has a team that is legitimately good. The Panthers not only beat South Florida, they absolutely dominated the Bulls. There’s probably a slip-up coming somewhere (Pitt is usually good for one head-scratcher per year), but until that happens the Panthers deserve to be feared.

I think we can agree that the NC State game could and should count as the slip-up game. Here’s hoping it’s the only one.

This is the week of acknowledging what is happening.

We’ve certainly been critical of Dave Wannstedt in the past, but he has it going on at Pittsburgh this season. His Panthers crushed USF 41-10 Saturday to move to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big East. Pitt led 31-7 at halftime Saturday and didn’t punt the whole game.

“They just whooped us and were much better than us” was USF coach Jim Leavitt’s succinct reaction.

If not for a loss to N.C. State in which it blew a 14-point lead, Pitt would be 8-0 and almost certainly in the top 10. (That NCSU has not beaten any other FBS team has to make it doubly frustrating for Pitt.)

Yeah, that’s going to be a bitter thing for a while. I guess it can be used as a reminder to the team not to take anything for granted and the close difference between winning or losing. Or some motivational gimmick. Still just sucks.

So, there is some actual respect going on.

P is for Pitt: The only thing more complete than Dave Wannstedt’s mustache might be his football team. A 41-14 victory over South Florida makes the Panthers 7-1 for the first time since 1982, when Dan Marino quarterbacked Pitt to its last No. 1 ranking.

And respect for Coach Wannstedt.

Lesson 6: We all owe Pitt a big ole apology.

Sorry, we never should’ve doubted the ‘Stache. Dave Wannstadt and his Panthers absolutely dismantled South Florida 41-14 to take over the Big East lead at 4-0. This is the first time since 1982 that Pittsburgh has started 7-1. But I wonder just how hard Pitt is kicking itself for blowing that two-touchdown lead at N.C. State back in September? Damn.

By the way, that Cincinnati-Pittsburgh game on Dec. 5 is gonna rock.

Expect more of this meme during  the next week. What with Pitt on a bye week and Coach Wannstedt being more available for media interviews.

I find it funny, amusing and sad.

There are people who still have trouble with Bill Stull as the starter.

Q: Bill Stull is having an excellent year statistically, but do you really think he is the best quarterback on the team? My main objection is that he is not a “playmaker.” I have always felt that the best chance of winning a game is to have a quarterback who is a playmaker.

ZEISE: Bill Stull is indeed the best option for this team at quarterback right now. He’s put that to rest long ago and frankly this isn’t even a worthy discussion at this point. Pitt will go as far as he takes them and in terms of playmakers, I don’t agree. He’s made some big-time throws in recent weeks and Friday against Rutgers he made a few under a lot of pressure. Stull for some reason isn’t the most beloved player on this team among fans, but my goodness, the Panthers are 15-5 with him as a starter. I’m not saying he’s an NFL quarterback — or that he’s even a great player — but to say he is just along for the for ride is inaccurate because he’s made a lot of plays and frankly, a couple of games he’s been the difference between winning and losing. He also proved against Connecticut that he could indeed bring the Panthers back if they got behind and that was a question people had about him.

I have to admit to staring at that link all week. First, it is really hard to argue with success, and by nearly every metric Stull has been a success this season. I’ve been among the doubters as to how successful Pitt’s offense could be over the first few games, but he has done the job. The main problem I have with it, though, is — well, who on the roster would have fit the role of “playmaker” QB? You can’t just declare that he shouldn’t be the guy because he isn’t dynamic enough without a clear alternative that fits that bill.

There is no evidence that Sunseri would be that guy other than his success in high school and nice reports on how he did in the training camp. I like Bostick, but I can’t call him a “playmaker.”

I don’t know if people still hold the Sun Bowl and his performances in the last 3 games of 2008 against him. The natural distrust of the starting QB. The way Stull was guaranteed the job, despite not really outplaying the other QBs in camp. There just should be a point where you have to let it go.

Stull is the starter. He’s been very good this season. He has stayed within the system and has made a lot more throws than he’s missed. Unless there is an injury he should be the starter. Not because he has experience. Not because Coach Wannstedt says so. Because he has been very good in the job.

Speaking of not letting go.

So I’ve got this guy who emails every time Pitt loses a game. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear it was Lou Holtz in disguise.

Here’s what it looks like: Wannstedt ruined the Bears, he ruined the Dolphins, and he’ll ruin Pitt, too.

And whaddya know, Wanny has won 16 of his last 21 games at Pitt, and only a 28-21 loss to Cincinnati last year kept the Panthers from winning their first ever outright conference title. In previous years, Saturday’s game against USF would have been a classic Pitt stumble.

Not now – not after Wannstedt has his players and philosophy set; not after he made one of the best hires of the offseason by bringing in Frank Cignetti to run the offense and turn wayward QB Billy Stull into one of the nation’s most productive passers (Stull, 2008: 9 TD, 10 INT; Stull, 2009: 14 TD, 3 INT).

Maybe, you know, the guy in Columbus can learn a little something from the guy in Pittsburgh who will, according to my email friend, one day ruin the Panthers.

At least he hasn’t had to hear from the guy in a month.

I won’t defend his time at Miami or Chicago. They were unmitigated disasters that not only messed up the teams for years, but the fanbases there still regard him with disgust while the sportswriters continue to use him as an easy punchline.

Now, understand. I have a continuing ambivalence regarding Coach Wannstedt. I just don’t know if he can be as successful as he thinks on a consistent basis. I think some of his ingrained inflexibility especially with offense is a fatal flaw that may keep him from ever realizing the goals he has set out for the program and we fans want.

That said, the key is that I while I don’t know about the level of success he will achieve at Pitt, there is no metric by which you can say he will or has ruined Pitt. He has underachieved for a few years. He has had headscratching losses (and probably will have more). He frustrates at times.

He has not shown anything, however, to suggest that he will or has ruined Pitt in the four plus years as head coach. Recruiting has improved. Relations with alumni is better. Media relations are stronger. Interest in the program has picked up again.

The police blotter has been relatively clean. No hints of impropriety in the program. Academics have been solid. Things that were in place before Coach Wannstedt and have continued.

At some point, you have to actually have more to go on than gut and past screw-ups.

Is Rutgers any good this year? I don’t know.

Coming into the season it was believed that they would at least be middle-of-the-pack in the Big East. With their schedule, it was thought that at least a bit above average would give them a great chance to win the Big East.

Of course, then the season started and they laid an egg in their nationally televised conference, season and home opener to Cinci. The second straight year of doing this.  Such a bad start that they were immediately dismissed from even half-hearted discussions as a player in the Big East this year (and forget the top-25).

Now, the Scarlet Knights have reeled off 4 straight wins, but that has come against two 1-AA teams and Maryland (2-4) and Florida International (1-4). Admittedly, if we start playing the schedule game, Pitt doesn’t look that great either — as UConn constitutes Pitt’s best win to date. Still, at least Pitt has one win against a team with a winning record.

It’s not like Pitt can run that much smack at Rutgers right now. They remain the only team in the Big East coach Dave Wannstedt hasn’t beaten at Pitt.

The Scarlet Knights have been a puzzle too complex for the Panthers to piece together. They’ve beaten the Panthers with both the run and pass.

The bottom line, says Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, “They’ve made less mistakes than we have. I think every game has taken on a little different twist.”

While Coach Wannstedt did what he could not to make it a big deal in his weekly press conference, he was betrayed by reality and his own players. Starting with QB Bill Stull.

“This is personal, I’ve yet to be on the winning side of the ball and I am really taking it personal this week as are all of our seniors this week. It is obviously personal, but we are going to remain cool, calm and collected and make sure we give ourselves the best chance to win.”

Stull — who was knocked out of the game a year ago, giving him even more reason to make this one personal — and several of his teammates were made available yesterday after Wannstedt’s weekly news conference. They all recounted the disappointing ways they’ve lost to the Scarlet Knights over the past four seasons.

Wannstedt tried to downplay the significance of the game but it is clear his record against Rutgers is weighing on his mind as Stull, Gunn and Oderick Turner all talked about a team meeting Sunday night when he had all the seniors stand up and…

“He said to us — ‘Sit down if you’ve beaten Rutgers’ — and nobody got to sit down,” Turner said. “That said it all, so this year we’d like to do everything we can to beat this team. Just once I need to be able to go home [Turner is from New Jersey ] and have some bragging rights.”

Not to mention the fact that he has had tapes of the last 4 losses to Rutgers looping in the TVs at Pitt’s practice facility. But, you know, it’s just another conference game.

Of course, Rutgers can find their own slights for motivation.

A columnist who’s been one of Pittsburgh’s most trusted voices for nearly two decades now called Rutgers an inferior team. A national college football analyst, on a national broadcast, said Rutgers wasn’t on Pittsburgh’s level.

By early Sunday morning, Greg Schiano had heard the open-faced insults. And shrugged.

“I don’t know if we are in Pitt’s league. We’ll find out,” Rutgers’ head coach said, standing behind a podium he’d gripped just 15 hours before.

Surprisingly, I don’t think that “trusted voice” was Smizik, since he referred to Rutgers as “competition more difficult” than UConn. Turns out it was a throwaway line from Ron Cook at the end of this column. One of his space-eating single sentence ‘graphs.

Over the last couple games — and especially in the Louisville game — there was a very encouraging trend in the backfield. Using more than one back.

It is no secret that Coach Wannstedt wants to run on offense as much as possible. It is also no secret that Wannstedt would prefer to have one workhorse back, a blocking fullback and an occasional change-of-pace back for a series or two. That’s what he has always preferred and had the last two seasons in McCoy, Collins and Stephens-Howling.

This year he does not have the workhorse back and change of pace back. Dion Lewis and Ray Graham are very similar in size and speed. While they have slightly different running styles, it isn’t so dramatic to constitute a change-of-pace.

In the first 4 games we saw the offense try to use Dion Lewis as a workhorse back, since he was the starter. The problem — which especially became more noticeable in the Navy and NC State games was that Lewis was clearly getting worn down in the second half. A mix of hard running in the first half, teams adjusting in the second and the slow wear of the first third of his first college football season.

To that extent, we saw in the Louisville game, more utilization of Ray Graham. An appearance for a series in the first half and more touches in the second. It made a huge difference. More than as a change-of-pace, it was fresh legs to attack.

I think going forward, there will be more of that. A roughly 60-40 split in carries between Lewis and Graham. Between simply keeping talented backs happy by giving them both touches, and allowing more productive running in the second half this should continue.

We (I) criticize Wannstedt often for refusing to change his approach on offense — even if he pays lip service to it. In this case he has appeared to make an adaptation. Whether you want to credit new OC Cignetti or RB Coach Walker for helping push for the change, it is still Wannstedt’s team and his call so he gets some credit for going with what can only help the running game.

There is still the change-of-pace issue and that brings it to the fullback Henry Hynoski. For Pitt, he should be the guy to change styles from the quick and shifty/quick and explosive to power-bruising.   The big bruising fullback is clearly doing great as a blocking back, but through 5 games has only 6 touches. Especially late in the game, it seems that it would be an ideal time to use Hynoski. Have him hit that line and deliver some blows to the D-line.

Not to bore anyone with stories of homeownership, but somewhere along the line somebody who owned our house decided that speaker wire would work just fine as the grounding wire for the wiring in the bathroom.

Been a bit crazy with things that need to be done at the new house, while getting everything cleaned out and up at the old rental by today.

So after being unable to post for a couple of days, I’m not sure how much it is worth going back over the NC State game.

I’m just going to touch on a couple things here. Forgive the rambling. Not enough coffee or sleep.

As usual, Bob Smizik likes to act like the contrarian by making strawmen.

At the highest levels of the University of Pittsburgh, where wise and cool heads prevail, Dave Wannstedt is not in trouble.

At any level of the blogosphere, where hot heads and insanity often prevail, Wannstedt would have been fired around 7:00 p.m. Saturday after Pitt blew a 14-point lead in the final 18 minutes and lost to North Carolina State.

Exactly where in the blogosphere are they calling for Wannstedt’s firing after the loss? Can you actually cite a post where Wannstedt’s head on a platter is demanded? Are people pissed? Yes. Were there comments made to that effect by readers? Of course. Just as there are on any message boards. If you are claiming that people who comment on the posts are that blogosphere, then congratulations Smizik, your blog has contributed to this. In other words, you share the blame.

That’s really only a minor thing that just bugs me.

This is the part I really wanted to note.

From all indications, Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and athletic director Steve Pederson are happy with Wannstedt.

They appear to be satisfied with a coach who’s usually going to win seven, eight or nine games, recruits well, keep his players mostly out of trouble and conducts himself in an outstanding manner.

They’d love to go higher, to be in contention for a national championship every year, but changing coaches is not always the answer.

This jibes with other things that have been said in the past by others and what has been relayed to me at times. In other words, they wanted Walt Harris only with more personality and better relations with the media and alumni.

It may not be true, but at the same time I think that perception is beginning to harden as conventional wisdom and as reality.

I did wonder what Coach Wannstedt would single out for the reason for Pitt’s loss. Afterall, Pitt had no turnovers. So that excuse was no good. Instead it was penalties and the injury to Adam Gunn. I’m not downplaying the importance of either, but the injuries compared to NC State and plenty of other teams are relatively minor.

All through camp, we heard how this was completely Wannstedt’s team and his players. How the depth was there. Instead, the loss of one of the last Harris holdover players and a player that was a hair away from being a grayshirt are differences? That does irritate me.

As for the penalties, well they aren’t good. The pass interference calls were earned by the poor positioning of the secondary. The officials see the corners playing out of position and late all game. So, when they finally play up and get there with the player, they lose the benefit of the doubt.

That said, NC State had no shortage of penalties of their own to offset, but in the second half both the offense and defense couldn’t do anything with opportunities.

The offense does need to finish games. That’s on the players as well as the coaches not to let up. Too predictable play calling and not particularly strong play in the second half worries me that the offense has taken the personality of their head coach. Just try and run out the clock.

It is an interesting thing with Greg Cross. In a way he is an ink blot by which Dave Wannstedt gets judged.

A JUCO transfer brought in to provide more competition and depth at QB. Specifically, a dual threat QB with some major wheels. A player obviously and even acknowledged to be used in the “Wildcat” formation.

Instead, he spends the year doing very little. As Coach Wannstedt and his disdain for offensive “gimmick” plays appears to have overruled his own ideas from the offseason when Cross was recruited.

Given Cross’ obvious athleticism and the vital TD he did score against Iowa last year, he looms large in Pitt fans imagination (including my own) as to what he might have been able to do if used.

Excuses such as the game flow, and that he didn’t know the offense well-enough were offered. Most didn’t buy it, because when you bring in a JUCO, there is an expectation that they are to be plugged in. Not molded over time since they are already on a shortened clock for eligibility.

Crosswas moved to WR after it became obvious that he would never see the field as a QB. Of course, Pitt has depth and experience at the position, so naturally he is buried there.

Everyone wants to somehow see Cross get on the field.

Q: Do you think with the lack of depth and the lack of height at defensive back that maybe Greg Cross should be moved to that position?

ZEISE: I don’t think with two safeties who are 6-foot-3 or taller there is a lack of height at that position, which is where he’d be moved to and I’m not sure how Greg Cross became the Michael Jordan of Pitt’s team. Quarterbacks struggle? Cross is the answer!!! Bad receivers? Cross!!! Need help at tight end? Cross!!! Defensive backs stink? Cross!!! Look, he is a good athlete, it is ridiculous they couldn’t find a role for him in the offense as a change of pace quarterback in certain formations. I get it and agree with it. But as we’ve found out this training camp — being a good athlete and making a transition to new position and being ready to play at a Division I level are two completely different things.

The hindsight of looking back on this, says that Coach Wannstedt’s recruitment of Cross was a mistake based on a trend not fully embraced or understood by Wannstedt.

In the late-90s lots of businesses saw the internet taking off and decided they should have a website. They had no plan or idea how to use it, though. So they bought their domain and slapped a poor looking site that maybe reprinted a brochure and offered nothing but a phone number and address for people to contact for prices on products and services. Then let it languished and wondered what the fuss about it was.

Eventually, someone else in the business or someone else helped make the business owner understand ways to make it work for the company.

That seems to be the way Wannstedt is. He knew he was supposed to look at this, but he had no clue what to do with it. So even as he acknowledged the need and idea at times, it left most wondering if he actually would be able to reconcile it with his own conservative approach to offense. The guy who should have explained it and made it useful was Matt Cavanaugh — who also never grasped the concept.

Now Wannstedt appears to have an offensive coordinator in Cignetti that can make him understand the usefulness and how to use a dual threat QB beyond simply considering it a “gimmick.” (I must admit, however, a bit of concern that we may be overstating Cignetti’s abilities simply because he gets the college game so much more than Cavanaugh).

This is vital since Pitt has made another commitment to using a QB that moves and does not just drop back or hand-off. The verbal from Anthony Gonzalez, was big news last week. A dual-threat, 3- or 4-star QB recruit from Bethlehem, and the second-best QB recruit in Pennsylvania.

A kid loaded with potential (Insider subs) who turned down offers from schools like Mizzou and Oregon, that have previously demonstrated an ability to utilize dual threat QBs in their offensive system.

The thing that stands out about this kid is his competitiveness and football savvy. Some guys are just football players regardless of where you line them up and Gonzalez is one of them. As a passer he is going to have a lot of refining to do in terms of his throwing mechanics. He must tighten up his release and get rid of the ball in a compact manner that eliminates wasted motion. This will be a big part of his development, but as far as football players go, he is one of the better ones we have seen in this class because he just makes plays and gets things done despite being very raw. Excellent prospect that could end up being a very productive and exciting player at the next level in an offense that accentuates his strengths.

[Emphasis added.]

That is what will be watched over the next few years.

I’m paraphrasing, but it is something of the question that keeps getting asked. Whether it was before the season:

Hi Stewart. As you know, there is no clear-cut favorite in the Big East this year. You called Rutgers your “gun-to-my-head” pick to earn the Big East’s BCS bid. My question is — Why Rutgers over Pitt? Pitt has had the best recruiting class in the Big East for four straight years under Wanny. At some point, don’t you think that talent starts to equal wins?
— Dave Moser, Pittsburgh

It’s pretty simple: I don’t have faith in Dave Wannstedt. I want to. Really, I do. He’s a great guy who bleeds Pitt football. But every time I think the Panthers are about to turn the corner (upsetting West Virginia in 2007, winning nine games last year), they follow it up with something mind-numbing (losing to Bowling Green in last year’s opener, losing a bowl game 3-0). The Panthers probably do have the most talented roster in the Big East at this point; I just don’t have faith in Wannstedt to maximize that talent.

Honestly, no one likes to read that from a national writer or some “outsider.” At the same time, that echoes the thoughts of many fans.

Q: Is Dave Wannstedt the right coach for Pitt?

ZEISE: I think I mentioned this the other day — Pitt is 11-4 in its last 15 games. The Panthers have acquired a lot of talent. There is depth on this team. This team should be able to compete with every team in its conference. I think there is no question the talent base has been rebuilt to the point where this team should be a perennial bowl contender again. So Dave has certainly delivered all of that and has the program moving in the right direction. The bigger question, the one I think you are asking is this — he was hired to get the program to the “next level” and he has yet to do that. Well there is no way to know this and just when I think I know the answer, it changes. The one thing I will say is that this is a very big season for Wannstedt because I think he needs to prove last year was not a fluke and, more importantly, that he can indeed build on last year…

Whether fleeting or just full-grown belief system (I’m somewhere in the middle), this seems to be a disturbing issue at this this point.

In Wannstedt’s 4th year at Pitt the view is starting to harden, so even when Pitt doesn’t flub it seems like a surprise (Insider subs).

In the same spirit, nice win for Pitt routing Buffalo. That felt like the kind of game the Panthers used to botch.

Also known as the backhanded compliment. As also seen here.

In previous years, Pitt goes to Buffalo and either A.) loses, or B.) plays so badly it should’ve lost. A different Pitt team, a different attitude.

We hope. We will see.

Lots of links to clear. So, it is time to just quick hit this stuff.

Plenty of stuff on how Pitt takes the Bulls of Buffalo seriously. Whether it is last year’s loss to BGSU or painful reminders of road losses to MAC teams.

Buffalo has a talented receiver that should get plenty of attention from Pitt’s secondary. Of course, Pitt has their own stud receiver and a lot of other receivers with talent that hope to actually see the ball — you know — thrown.

“I think we can live with our passing game,” Cignetti said. “If we get into a football game, and have to rely on the passing game, we’re more than willing to do so.”

Turner, a 6-foot-3 senior, had one of his most productive outings (five catches for 69 yards) last year in the Panthers’ 27-16 victory over Buffalo at Heinz Field.

“If we have to lean on the passing game, it won’t be a problem,” Turner said. “We can make a lot of things happen.

“We didn’t open up the playbook against (Youngstown State). We don’t have to demand the ball, but we’re going to open things up real soon.”

You dream that dream.

The O-line needs to pick things up a bit, and they know it. They were okay against YSU but that isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.

The defense might actually leave its base 4-3 when playing Buffalo. Can’t blame them for just staying basic against YSU. Not just mercy, but a lot less film to review and prepare as Pitt’s speed on defense will seem that much faster (hopefully).

Those players in the 4-3 are what worry Buffalo coaches.

“Their front seven is probably the best we’re going to face,” UB coach Turner Gill said Tuesday. “Size and strength … those are the first two things that stand out. They’re able to rush the passer and play the run very well.”

The offensive players have a little more bravado.

“Well, something to say about that is, we’re not Youngstown State,” said senior co-captain and right tackle Andrew West.

Said sophomore quarterback Zach Maynard: “That’s a small school and Pitt is a big-time program so usually the results are going to come out like that.”

Surprisingly confident for an O-line with 3 new starters.

I love that the Bulls are looking at a packed house. Everywhere.

“Seeing that is our only BCS opponent on the schedule,” first-year quarterback Zach Maynard said, “we’re going into this game full speed.”

The game is so anticipated in Western New York that Buffalo athletics communication director Jon Fuller said a record-high 30 media credentials have been requested, more than twice the typical number.

To accommodate the overflow, an auxiliary press box is being set up. “We don’t have enough room,” Fuller said.

Well considering the Buffalo papers don’t even give the Bulls their own online section, that shouldn’t be too surprising.

It’s back to school week here. Needless to say, getting readjusted to things is a process.

As Paul Zeise noted, one of the things from the Coach Wannstedt press conference was how much Wannstedt stressed that the players behind the starters on the 2-deep would get a shot. I wanted to give voice to the skepticism of that, but Zeise beat me to it in his Q&A.

Q: How diligently do you expect Wannstedt to stick to his depth chart? In his defense, he has left himself a degree of flexibility, but do you feel like any of those aforementioned guys will get legitimate playing time (Sunseri, Jacobsen, Mason or Fields)?

ZEISE: What have we seen from Dave Wannstedt in four years? A lot of guys are “going to get into the game” and yet never seem to because the “flow of the game didn’t allow us a chance to get him in.” So while I can appreciate his desire to keep everyone happy and give everyone hope, I am not going to buy the “our depth chart is 55 players deep and everybody plays!!!!” approach he took yesterday at the news conference. Perhaps this week everyone will get into the game but that’s only because I expect Pitt to smash Youngstown State and thus in the second half it will be “empty the bench” time. I do believe that Elijah Fields will split time with Andrew Taglianetti. But when it comes to Sunseri, Jacobson and Mason, well, let’s just say we will have to see it to believe it.

Um anyone else remembering the response seemingly every week to one particular player’s time in the game? Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross, Greg Cross. There I think I got that out of my system.

Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, a Panther Nation turns its jaundiced eyes to you. Give us some reason to believe that this will be different. That it was simply the groupthink of Wannstedt and Cavanaugh that reinforced each other’s world view on the offensive approaches and use of personnel.

Now I actually have faith that Dan Mason will see action. Everything about him that has been written and observed says that he is too good not to be out there. It’s at that QB spot, where the curiosity lies.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt vowed to get Tino Sunseri into “as many games as we can,” but one detail remains in the air.

When, exactly, the redshirt freshman quarterback will play.

“Nothing is scripted out,” Wannstedt said. “We will see how the game unfolds.”

/deep sigh

Remember last year’s team motto? “Prove it.” Turned rather painful after losing to BGSU in the season opener. Players to a man swore they didn’t take the game for granted. Welcome to (almost) revisionism.

“I can almost say we overlooked (Bowling Green),” Gunn said. “We’re making sure we don’t do that against Youngstown State.”

Added Stull, “After that happened, it really struck some light onto us. We want to finish each game and focus on those little details.”

Credit to Coach Wannstedt. He isn’t buying that.

“We’ve talked about that,” Wannstedt said. “I don’t think it’s a matter of taking anybody lightly. It’s a matter of going out there and being focused and playing as good as you can play. We lost to Bowling Green last year because we turned the football over. We didn’t tackle well. We’ve got to go out there and protect the football and we need to tackle. If you do those things, you’re going to have a chance to win every week, whether it is Youngstown State or West Virginia.”

“I don’t think it’s a matter of taking anybody lightly. It’s a matter of going out there and … playing as good as you can play.”

Stopping the aggressive offensive playcalling after going up 14-0 and poor defensive schemes to a team that was entirely reliable on the QB running and passing didn’t help.

Johnny Majors will be in town for the kickoff luncheon and will sign autographs on Saturday. (Okay Pat, I’ll say it) Remember, Sharpies and markers don’t stay on non-porous surfaces like metal flasks and bottles of Jack Daniels.

Okay, not many surprises on the depth chart for the YSU game (PDF, pg. 3).

Joe Thomas gets the nod over Chris Jacobson at Left Guard. By all accounts this was an even thing, with neither clearly above the other. In the end, Thomas’ experience seems to have given him the nod.

Max Gruder over Manny Williams for the WILL (weakside) Linebacker.  Not a shock, really but Williams was switched to that side after the spring practice where he competed on for the SAM.

At Free Safety Andrew Taglianetti is listed ahead of Elijah Fields, though it is with an “OR.” Still, that Tags was placed ahead is yet another disappointment regarding Fields.

Dan Hutchins is listed ahead of Kevin Harper for Placekicker duties. Meaning he has both punting and kicking to start the year. Lucas Briggs has the kickoff duties.

Aaron Smith is listed as the primary for Punt Returner ahead of Cameron Saddler.

Saddler, though, has the kickoff return duties which he shares with Anwtuan Reed.

Tino Sunseri is the back-up QB. So, it looks like Pat Bostick will get his redshirt year (probably).

One other interesting thing. Oderick Turner is not the de facto starting WR opposite Jonathan Baldwin. He is listed behind Baldwin at the Split End and is also listed at Flanker behind Cedric McGee — though with the “OR” designation.

Coach Wannstedt’s press conference addressed most of these and confirmed most of the reasons for things in the depth chart.

Kickoff is 1pm and hopefully the lots will be open very early.

I’m hesitant about this. Apparently the practice yesterday afternoon excited Kevin Gorman, the Trib’s beat writer.

The Panthers conducted perhaps their most entertaining and exciting offensive practice of training camp this afternoon.

Sorry I can’t tell you about it.

There are certain things we are privy to watching in practice but are not permitted to report, and offensive formations and gimmick plays are primary among them. So, I can’t share what I saw. Please forgive the tease.

What I can say is that Pitt has some playmakers and, when used in certain formations, its offense has the potential to be explosive. And we’re not just talking about receivers Jonathan Baldwin and Oderick Turner as deep threats or tailbacks Dion Lewis and Ray Graham and their make-you-miss moves in the open field.

…

The fun resulted in big plays that broke up the monotony of training camp, energized the team and proved contagious.

Sounds very exciting and promising, but this is training camp. Even within the gushing about the action there was a bit of caution.

If Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt allows offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. some creativity in his play-calling, especially when the Panthers face an opponent that is considerably slower, like Pitt’s 2005-06 teams.

That’s the “if.” Coach Wannstedt is not known for being particularly adventurous on offense, and has come off as deploring innovations on offense as gadgets and gimmick plays — the Wildcat formation comes to mind as does the oft-cited ignoring of Greg Cross last season.

It’s one thing to shake-up a training camp practice by running some of these plays and getting the players juiced. It’s something far different to pull the trigger on calling the play in a game. Especially a game that might be tight or against a non-patsy opponent.

I’m not trying to be so negative about some offensive creativity, but Coach Wannstedt is still the head guy, and as much as strong defense is his hallmark so too is a highly conservative offense. One of the defenses of former OC Matt Cavanaugh’s questionable play-calling was that it was the offense his head coach wanted.

We will find out a lot this year about that defense.

Not much to go on right now. The stats on offense (PDF) such as they are say that Tino Sunseri was the better passer. Going 6-7 for 60 yards and a TD. Bostick was adequate at 9-14 but with an interception. Sunseri, though, took two sacks for -15 yards while Stull was unscathed.

To the shock of no one, Coach Wannstedt sees no controversy.

On the quarterbacks:

“Bill Stull went with the first group. Then Pat Bostick was next. Then we gave Tino Sunseri a shot with the first team, and he responded. We brought Bill Stull back, and then Pat Bostick with the third group. We’re really at this point in camp trying to work all three of them. I thought that all three did fairly well. I don’t think that any of them jumped off the charts in a great way, or in a bad way. We had some checks at the line, they all handled that well. We signaled things in, they all handled that well. I think that those little things that go without notice sometimes, they all handled that well.”

On the starting quarterback position:

“Bill Stull is the starting quarterback. Obviously we’re in training camp and every day we go on the field to prove ourselves and we have to continue to improve. I don’t think it’s as much as we’ve got to prove something, as much as it is to improve. The decision making, and the throws, that’s what training camp is for.”

I take that back, someone was surprised.

The declaration was surprising, considering that Stull has struggled during camp and appeared to be losing ground in recent days to Sunseri, who has begun to get first-team reps in every practice. Bostick, however, again worked only with the second team, which seems to indicate that he is headed for a role as backup or, perhaps, even a redshirt.

During yesterday’s scrimmage, Stull’s first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by defensive back Jared Holley. Stull completed 9 of 14 passes for 57 yards, but all the completions were short, safe passes, and he led one touchdown drive.

Sunseri was 6 for 7 for 60 yards and threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to reserve tight end Jon Tisak. Sunseri appeared to throw a second touchdown pass, a fade to receiver Jonathan Baldwin, but Baldwin dropped it in the corner of the end zone.

Really? Surprised? After everything Wannstedt has said and his history? You can’t be surprised. Even if it isn’t believed, Wannstedt saying it should not be surprising.

What is interesting is that despite Wannstedt’s protestations, everyone else seems to see this as a QB competition.

If Stull is the unquestioned starter, it isn’t being discussed in position meetings with Frank Cignetti Jr., Pitt’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Panthers are treating each practice as if it’s an audition, and Stull’s first pass was intercepted by cornerback Jarred Holley.

“I feel if I don’t play well that I’m not going to play,” said Stull, who also led an eight-play scoring drive. “Obviously, it is a competition. I know how camp is around here. I definitely think it’s a competition. I’m always going to compete and do my best, and I know the guys behind me are going to do the same.”

Stull is being pushed by Sunseri, who’s splitting first-team reps with Stull and appears to have moved ahead of junior Pat Bostick (5-of-10 passing for 18 yards). Sunseri has impressed with his arm strength and mobility, but he admits he’s still learning the nuances of the offense and huddle command.

Nonetheless, he led two scoring drives, settling for a field goal on the first after Jonathan Baldwin dropped a corner fade in the end zone and rolling right to throw a 22-yard touchdown to walk-on tight end Jon Tisak on the second.

“With the way coach Cignetti has done it, it’s open competition,” said Sunseri, son of former Pitt All-America linebacker and assistant coach Sal Sunseri. “In that same aspect, we’re trying to help each other every day. … Whatever we can do to help the team is what we’re going to do, and whoever can do it the best is going to play.”

As for Ray Graham, while it appears he impressed Kevin Gorman with his performance, any Wannstedt watchers know that Graham probably hurt his chances by fumbling the ball on his first two touches (recovering one of them).

I’m guessing Dion Lewis is still the leader for the top of the depth chart at tailback at this point. Graham will be a factor in time, but he has been fumbling too much in practice and now the scrimmage for Coach Wannstedt to trust him right now.

On Ray Graham fumbling and recovering:

“Ray Graham has talent. With those early turnovers, you easily go down 14-0. It was a fumble last year in the Bowling Green game early that turned the game around. So, that’s all part of it. It’s just not a matter of how hard someone is throwing the ball, or how many moves a player has or athletic ability, but are they able to play the whole game and do the little things that are necessary. That’s what we’re working through with the younger guys. There’s no question that Ray Graham has talent, he’s going to be a heck of a player. There’s no question that Tino Sunseri’s got talent, he’s going to be a heck of a player, but it’s just a matter of when and how fast these guys come along.”

Back to QBing, and Gene Collier apparently attended the scrimmage. He sees Sunseri as the best option, and not just because of the unwashed masses.

Bostick went next and launched one of the very few deep balls attempted, overthrowing sophomore wideout Aaron Smith quite comfortably. Sunseri followed, but it wasn’t possible to determine if he was drawing any momentum from Panther-centric portions of the blogosphere and the related message boards, where it is widely advanced that in the current history of Pitt football, it is “Tino Time.”

Let the record show that I have not, nor do I intend to use that phrase. Otherwise, good to know another reader.

The redshirt freshman out of Central Catholic might not be any better than the others at checking down at the line or in any of his required recognitions, but again yesterday the best balls thrown came out of his right hand. Sunseri was anything but error-free, but his 16-yard slant to Oderick Turner was maybe the crispest completion of the scrimmage, and his fade pass to Jonathan Baldwin was just the prettiest thing, even if it was disallowed by a boundary call. When Sunseri rolled right later in practice and found freshman tight end John Tisak behind Todd Gilchrist, nothing Bostick or Stull could arrange between then and the end of hostilities could alter the impression that Sunseri looks like Wannstedt’s best pitcher.

There is no escaping the undercurrent that to most observers Sunseri looks best and Stull is just not looking like he has earned the starting gig.

On the defensive side, the stats here (PDF) show the safeties led in tackling. Looks like most of the defense got work and collected tackles. No shock since the defense has been and continues to be dominate.

On the kicking matters:

Both Pitt kickers converted field goals yesterday — Dan Hutchins a 30-yarder, and Kevin Harper a 36-yarder, as well as an extra point. Hutchins also punted twice for an average of 39 yards, and walk-on Matt Yoklic punted once for 51 yards.

I’m going to guess that as long as Harper shows accuracy he will be the kicker and Hutchins will land the punting duties. I just don’t see the coaches going with Hutchins to handle both. Kickoff duties is anyone’s guess.

Looking over the list of players who did not play, I’m mildly concerned that Nate Byham has missed several practices with a “headache” after taking a hit. Aren’t they called concussions these days?

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said redshirt junior defensive tackle Ty Tkach had surgery on his left foot this week and is expected to miss about three weeks. Fourteen other Panthers didn’t participate in the scrimmage: safeties Irv Brown (calf) and Elijah Fields (foot), tight ends Nate Byham (headache), Andrew Devlin (knee) and Dorin Dickerson (hamstring), linebacker Carl Fleming (headache), quarterback Kolby Gray (shoulder), tailback Shariff Harris (hamstring), cornerback Buddy Jackson (jaw), center Wayne Jones (knee), wide receivers Cedric McGee (hamstring) and Mike Shanahan (hand), right tackle Lucas Nix (infection) and safety Marco Pecora (ankle).

The running back battle also may have thinned out for a while as Jason Douglas was hurt in practice. Status unknown.

Mike Shanahan has to be very frustrated to have missed the scrimmage. He was looking great.

Q: You mentioned that Jonathan Baldwin and Aundre Wright are having great camps at wide receiver. How are the rest of the wide receivers doing? How do the third and fourth receiver spots look?

ZEISE: I think the receivers as a whole have played extremely well this camp. I really do. I think Mike Shanahan, before he got hurt, was making a push to really get into that top four group. He was having a great camp and he might have the best hands at camp as I don’t recall one ball he dropped. But right now the top three are Baldwin, Cedric McGee and Oderick Turner. Aundre Wright has probably the edge over the other players because he’s been the most consistent and he has some experience. There have been flashes from players like Greg Cross, Cameron Saddler and Ed Tinker but I don’t think any has made enough of a push to get into the top four yet.

TE Mike Cruz did return to practice after missing a few days for the nebulous “personal reasons.”

The practices are split once again, with the older players and first-teamers practicing in the morning. The afternoon is with mainly freshmen and second-team.

The first two days of practice have come and gone. As per NCAA rules, helmets are allowed, but no padded clothing. Watch out for those girdles.

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