Huge day of football underway and continuing into the wee hours of the night. Wisconsin, ranked 7th in the BlogPoll, already lost to Illinois. Mark May has already pronounced the s in Illinois not one but twice. Penn State just kicked off against Iowa (go Hawkeyes!). Michigan State just lost in OT to Northwestern. Kansas is at 5-0 after defeating #22 Kansas State. Plenty of fun going on…

Quickly, some Big East picks (a little late but what I wrote down Thursday night — honest):

Louisville over Utah (The Cards are really falling apart…and killing my picks)
(14) WVU over Syracuse
(5) South Florida over Florida Atlantic
(23) Rutgers over (17) Cincinnati (So it looks like I’m finally hopping off the Cinci bandwagon)

Thankfully Pitt is not playing today — they tend to ruin my Saturday’s when they lose — which is more often than not.

Other news, notes, and assorted fun:

— In Mel Kiper Jr.’s top junior-class players by position, he has Conredge Collins ranked 1st at FB and Conor Lee as the #4 kicker. (ESPN Insider)

— Penn State’s Austin Scott might be involved in a sexual assault and isn’t playing today.

— Every single channel I turn on has a game worth watching…I love it.

— I’ve had my high-definition TV for a while but only recently have realized how amazing it is to watch football (and any sport) in HD.

Updates:

5:30 pm: This has to be a joke. Also, Penn State is winning 13-0 at the half and Tennessee is destroying (12) Georgia. I’m beginning to formulate a BlogPoll ballot, and it’s going to be a mess.

6:25 pm: The NCAA has a new all-time leading rusher in D-II Chadron State’s Danny Woodhead. I’m still waiting for USF to turn it on; I’ve supported them as a legitimate top 5 team so they better not let me down against FAU. The Bulls lead 21-17 with 11:46 left in the game.

11:15 pm: If you live in the Wexford, Franklin Park, or Cranberry areas you need to try out Patron Mexican Restaurant on Route 19. Great stuff. I come home from there and on CBS, ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 I can see four games between ranked teams. Top ranked LSU is 12 minutes from losing, #2 USC already lost against Stanford, and one of the best Big East games of the year (Cinci vs. Rutgers) is close in the 4th quarter.

If you’re looking for some perspective on Pitt’s loss to Virginia last week, that same Cavaliers team beat Middle Tennessee by 2 points. On a field goal with 8 seconds left. Against Middle Tennessee. Against Middle Tennessee!

Well, I mowed the lawn, did grocery shopping, cleaned the garage up just a bit. Generally just wanted to put this off. I mean, what can be said? Pitt looked, played and was absolutely pathetic and incompetent. I only got about halfway through the Dave Wannstedt press conference on video before clicking it off in disgust. I don’t know what I was expecting him to say that would make me feel better about things, but that wasn’t it.

Oh, hell, let’s get to the Virginia side of this.

Fan and media dissatisfaction with Al Groh was rising after last season and the season opening loss to Wyoming really raised it. Now, UVa is 4-1 and the complaints are a little more muted. Yet, there is noting that the opposition hasn’t exactly made it difficult.

Pliable Pitt did its best to render those questions all but moot. So inept were the Panthers in the first half, the visitors gave away the ball as easily as they gave in to U.Va.’s offense.

Against Pitt, Jameel Sewell, who was so clueless against Wyoming, looked like a left-handed Vince Young, standing poised in the pocket and adroitly moving around rushers to carry the ball on foot.

It was the biggest crowd at Scott Stadium this season, but Shayne Hale and Cameron Saddler from Gateway didn’t make it to the game for their recruiting trip. Small comfort, since they Hale already had Pitt off his list. More useless information, this was the third straight game for Groh and Virginia against teams with former NFL HCs (Butch Davis — UNC and Chan Gailey — GT).

Virginia QB Jameel Sewell obviously looked good against Pitt. Imagine that, a mobile QB looking good against Pitt.

Aside from that fumbled punt return, Vic Hall for Virginia had a good night.

Virginia fans were able to return to their tailgates early and in a good mood last night.

A half-filled Scott Stadium with four minutes to play means one of two things.

The late-game reaction of Virginia’s players, some that coincided with handshakes, hugs and high-fives, proved the reasoning without forcing a fan to peek into the night toward the stadium’s scoreboard.

Of course, many of those seats were still vacant when Virginia raced out to an insurmountable lead during the first 14 minutes of the game.

The quick start – Virginia scored 27 in the first quarter – coupled with a fourth-quarter resurgence, lifted the Cavaliers to an expected win over Pittsburgh by an improbable margin, 44-14, in front of a season-best crowd of 60,888.

…

“They were ready to jump in with both feet. This isn’t a stick-your-toe-in-the-water team,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “They were very ready to go tonight.”

The game was over quickly, even to Virginia fans.

Here’s how bad it is for Pitt, the game isn’t being taken for a deep meaning in Virginia.

Sometimes you don’t ask questions or explore too deeply. You simply take what the football gods and a generous opponent provide and say, “Gracias.”

Virginia had one of those nights. How else to explain a game in which the Cavaliers essentially delivered the knockout blow before the first north end zone, hillside human tumbleweed.

To be sure, there were a few anxious moments in the second half of the Cavaliers’ 44-14 victory against Pittsburgh. After all, this is Virginia we’re talking about, not Southern Cal or LSU.

And U.Va. coach Al Groh’s decision to execute a fake field goal for a touchdown with less than six minutes remaining in a 23-point game sure didn’t appear professionally courteous, especially for a couple of ex-NFL paisans. But we’ll leave that for Chairman Al and Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt to hash out behind the snack bar.

You know what, I don’t care about that. It may have been a bit bush, but so what? It was up to Pitt to stop them.

Moving to the Pittsburgh media, with the Steelers playing in Arizona, the columnists won’t be getting to this until maybe Wednesday. That’s okay, the beat writers jumped in for the deserved criticism of this team.

When Pitt hired coach Dave Wannstedt after the 2004 season, he promised to take the Panthers back to the Johnny Majors Era. So far, it looks as if he has delivered on that promise.

The only problem is these Panthers are starting to look a lot more like the 1990’s version during Majors’ second stint as Pitt’s head coach than the team that won the national championship in 1976.

That’s not a good thing as that second Majors stint marked one of the darkest periods in the university’s 117-year football history.

Yet for the second consecutive game, the Panthers (2-3) did their best imitation of those dead-teams walking…

Hard to really disagree.

Gorman went with the white flag from the opening play position.

Just when its 20-point loss to visiting Connecticut last week appeared to be a low for the Pitt football program, the Panthers (2-3) plummeted even further with its third consecutive loss and second in embarrassing fashion.

“The way we played does not mesh with how I feel, but I don’t believe we’re as bad a football team as what we’ve showed in the last two weeks,” Wannstedt said. “But – and that’s a big but – we are where we are right now. We haven’t given ourselves a chance, in my opinion, to show what type of team we are or what type of team we can be.

“I have been on one-win teams in college and the National Football League. I have been on undefeated teams in college and Super Bowl teams. We are doing everything in practice and preparation that championship teams do. Our kids are working as hard as any team I’ve been on.”

Well, then it is on the coaches.

This one wasn’t about being overmatched. Pitt was simply sloppy, committing costly turnovers and 11 penalties for 139 yards, which has become a recurring theme this year.

Worse, the Cavaliers (4-1) came in allowing more points (19.8) than they were scoring (19.2), but managed to score four touchdowns in the first 21:08 on drives consisting of only 39, 51 and 26 yards.

That rendered the debut of quarterback Pat Bostick and tailback LeSean McCoy in same starting backfield essentially meaningless. Virginia led 27-0 before Bostick, making his first career start, even attempted his first pass.

Gorman has some more stuff on his blog.

“They were executing. That was what they were doing all game. All the credit goes to them. They picked us apart,” McKillop said. “On our end, we’ve got to step up. When we go to the sideline, we’ve got to listen to coach Rhoads’ adjustments and we’ve got to go out there and apply them to the field.”

It’s not that Pitt has a poor game plan, just that the Panthers aren’t executing. At this point, the Panthers coaches ought to distance themselves from the word, especially with talk of putting them on the firing line.

Wait, someone is claiming that Rhoads understands the concept of adjustments?

And, based on McKillop’s comments, it already sounds like the Panthers are tuning out their coaches. Or, at least, they are starting to wonder if this season is a lost cause.

“There’s definitely going to be some doubt with our team, but the most important is we have leaders on our team who are going to have to step up and not have separation on our team, people forming groups and having a mutiny against everybody,” McKillop said. “We’ve got to stick together as a team. Everyone’s got to come in and push through this adversity.

“Right now, there’s been no finger-pointing with this team. We’re sticking together. Coach Wannstedt is preaching what he’s always preaching: ‘Trust. Accountability. Desire.’ We’re sticking to that.”

Well the players may be wondering. The fans pretty much have accepted this has become a lost season.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more frustrated/depressed/angry after reading an AP article than I was today.

Nearly three years after inheriting a team that reached the Bowl Championship Series from Walt Harris, coach Dave Wannstedt’s Panthers (2-2) are looking more like a bottom-of-the-Big-East team than a Top 25 contender. And they’ve yet to play any of the conference’s top teams.

It starts off by referencing Walt Harris and out BCS appearance while reminding us we’ve played like crap this year and have yet to play a very good team. They also do us a favor and help us remember Harris’ five consecutive bowl seasons. Meanwhile, we’re 13-14 under Wannstedt and we haven’t even hit the meat of this year’s Big East schedule. Terms such as “disarray” and “leaking points” are thrown around to describe the offense and defense respectively.

Great. Just great.

“We’re kind of back to the drawing board,” Wannstedt said. “We’ve taken a couple of steps backward.”

Ah. Anger and frustration growing. Using the breathing techniques Chas mentioned don’t seem to be working now. Wanny says we’re taking steps backwards, but I don’t think they know which direction to go forward in. We have no plan, no idea of what we’re doing. Similarities to a chicken with it’s head cut off are fair game.

The few fans that showed up in the announced crowd of 40,000-plus were booing by the second play of the game, and Heinz Field was nearly empty at game’s end.

I generally try not to boo my teams unless they do something completely bad. The way Pitt played was worthy of my boos and everyone else who joined in. Did anyone stay until the game was over on Saturday? How many people were left?

The only thing that made me somewhat happy was finding this blatant error (with my emphasis).

Bostick’s statistics looked good (27-of-42 for 230 yards and one interception), but most of those numbers were accumulated as Pitt trailed 34-7 and UConn wasn’t pass rushing. Bostick got rid of the ball quickly enough, but telegraphed some throws while being intercepted three times.

A huge point of contention in the UConn game was a lack of Shady-time.

“He (Stephens-Howling) will be a major part of our game plan” at Virginia, Wannstedt said. “LaRod’s done a lot of good things here, and LeSean’s a freshman.”

LSH, a senior with 3.6 yards per carry, is better than McCoy in Wannstedt’s book, because Shady is a freshman. A freshman with 6.3 yards per. I’ll take the freshman, please.

It would be really helpful if the offense stopped giving up turnovers. In the last two games, 34 points have been scored off of lost fumbles and interceptions.

“We’re reaching for some confidence right now,” Wannstedt said. “The only way to get confidence is to get some results.”

Make it happen (because I’m not too happy right now).

Football’s been stressing everyone out. Too tense. Way too serious. There is a real need to relax.

Take a moment. Breathe in. Hold it. Let it out. Ahhhh. That always helps me feel better. Of course, it helps when you picture someone else taking that deep breath. Lately, it’s been Missy Peregrym, but go with who works for you.

Anyways, the college basketball season is creeping closer. Athlon and Lindy’s both have previews on the periodical racks. They put Pitt at #21 and #17.

ESPN.com also has a little teaser as it gets to the Big East in its “Conference Shootaround.”

The Panthers don’t play glamorous basketball, but it’s definitely effective, especially on the offensive end. Aaron Gray, Antonio Graves and Levon Kendall are gone, but Levance Fields (assuming resolution of his legal issues), Mike Cook and Ronald Ramon all return. Add in Sam Young, Keith Benjamin and Tyrell Biggs, who all showed flashes in more limited minutes, and the Panthers may look different this season but could score with similar effectiveness.

Jay Bilas puts Pitt at 6th in the Big East this season.

Jamie Dixon has another solid group that should be back in the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers have good guards, are experienced and understand how to win. In short, Pitt has a program, not just a few good teams. Dixon needs to resolve the Levance Fields situation, but even without Fields, this is an NCAA Tournament team.

The questions remain about what will happen with Levance Fields. Damn. Now I need to take a few more deep breaths.

ESPN has played the Mike Gundy tirade as often as they possibly can. Hey, it’s filler so that they don’t need any more original programming; as if showing SportsCenter 15 times a day wasn’t enough. I swear I’ve seen it a hundred times (and you can too). I like what Gundy did — his stock with the entire team is through the roof now. The article in question began like this:

Bobby Reid stood near the team charters last Friday night, using his cell phone, eating his boxed meal.

It would’ve been normal post-game activity but for one thing.

His mother was feeding him chicken.

Which brings us to the quarterback switch-a-roo at Oklahoma State.

The first thought that ran through my head with this was the similarity to Pat Bostick’s situation. A member of the media (ESPN Radio’s Mark Madden) made a comment about a player that delves into his personal life (about the supposed “panic attacks”). Just sayin’.

The game this week is on ESPNU. Pitt would rather be on a “national” channel that a large majority of their fans don’t even get rather than be an ABC/ESPN Regional game that most fans can actually watch. Fans always come first to the Pitt athletic department, no question. Maybe I’ll go to a restaurant and watch the game. Maybe I’ll listen to Hillgrove and Fralic on the radio. Perhaps I’ll actually enjoy my Saturday night and not even watch/listen instead of Pitt ruining another beautiful weekend night for me.

Virginia is 3-1, including a tight win over Georgia Tech last week. In SI’s power rankings, they come in at 43 (with Pitt at 78). Virginia sophomore QB Jameel Sewell has picked it up in the last few games after playing horrendously in the opener, a loss against Wyoming. Since that ugly game, he’s completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns.

More importantly, Sewell has contributed in three wins for the Cavaliers (3-1, 3-0 ACC), which includes the most recent victory, a 28-23 decision over Georgia Tech. Against the Yellow Jackets’ vaunted blitz-happy defense, Sewell passed for a 177 yards and guided the team on two lengthy touchdown drives.

The Pitt defense’s ability to get into Sewell’s head early and throw him off for the entire game is a possibility, and a key to a Panthers victory. Too bad he’ll have all day to throw like every other QB we’ve faced this year. For now, we’re 7-point underdogs.

The Dave Wannstedt Press Conference today, in anticipation of the Virginia game should be an interesting affair. Today’s media discussion seems to be centered on the multitude of problems for Pitt. Not to mention waning media backing of Wannstedt. If you lived in Miami or Chicago, you will recognize this as the second sign of trouble for Wannstedt.

The first line of this article, however, gets to the bottom line.

The list of embarrassing losses continues to grow, while the number of wins over quality teams remains at zero.

Good god, who would have believed Syracuse and Greg Robinson would do it first?

Joe Starkey lists some of the good and much of the bad from what he saw of the game on Saturday.

But if you hold Long even partially accountable for Pitt’s precipitous drop in football, remember that chancellor Mark Nordenberg and executive vice chancellor Jerry Cochran pull the athletic department strings and had a heavy hand in hiring Wannstedt.

I still say Wannstedt deserves 2008 to prove himself — and I saw some positive signs from Bostick — but Nordenberg and Cochran might want to compile a list of coaching candidates not named Charlie Weis, just in case.

And the current coaches might want to keep their best player on the field.

Zeise focuses on the problems on offense.

• The offensive line.
• The wide receivers.
• Eliminating mistakes.
• Establishing an identity.

Through four games, the offensive line has yet to play well. It has been consistent at three things — missed blocking assignments, untimely penalties and failure to create openings for the Panthers’ running game.

…

The wide receiver corps has underachieved badly. The unit was supposed to be a strength and was supposed to help carry the young quarterbacks through the early part of the season. Sophomore Oderick Turner was being counted on as the group’s leader, but he has dropped a number of key passes and against Connecticut had several ill-timed, pre-snap penalties that killed what seemed to be a promising drive.

Pitt is also mistake-prone. It had six turnovers and eight penalties against Connecticut. The week before, in a 17-13 loss to Michigan State, it had 10 penalties and turned the ball over three times. Overall, the Panthers are a minus-9 in the turnover margin and 34 of the 51 points they have allowed are a direct result of turnovers, including 14 points on two interceptions that have been returned for touchdowns.

…

As for the identity problem, Pitt coaches have talked about playing conservative because of the quarterback situation and have wanted to build around a solid ground game. The Panthers have a talented back in freshman LeSean McCoy, but he did not start the Connecticut game and carried only 11 times. Still, he was productive, rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown.

So far, McCoy has 65 carries for 417 yards (6.4 yards per carry) and five touchdowns.

He split time with LaRod Stephens-Howling against Connecticut and Wannstedt said the reason was because both players are productive and deserve to play. However, Stephens-Howling has 99 yards on 25 carries, an average of 2.5 yards per carry less than McCoy.

Working backwards. LaRod Stephens-Howling is a good back, but he needs an opening. A hole. Something from the O-line to get yardage. McCoy is special. He can and has been doing it with minimal help from the O-line. I don’t think that Stephens-Howling can get much playing time while the O-line continues to be no better than cardboard cutouts.

Mistakes and turnovers. The former is on the coaching. Steadily increasing it seems, suggesting it can’t just be on “youth.” Especially considering who the players are that are making the mistakes and penalties.

Wide receivers is showing that while the talent is there, the loss of Kinder is hitting harder than believed. The lack of maturity and discipline at the spot is glaring. Kinder was a team leader and one of the hardest working players. The guys there right now are relying on their talent and not much else.

The O-line deserves its own post and they have been discussed many, many times.

A bit of an interesting split from Kevin Gorman. His standard news piece focuses on Bostick being the starting QB — and off-limits for interviews — overall a rather soft piece. His blog post, was a long and far more critical of what is happening with Pitt.

In his third season, Wannstedt is still looking for his first signature victory. Pitt players bit their lips Saturday night when asked if they were getting frustrated.

“It’s not really getting frustrating,” middle linebacker Scott McKillop said. “That’s one of the three key words Coach Wannstedt is stressing: Trust. We’ve got to trust that our offense is going to go out there and play well and do their job. They’re not performing as well as they should, but we have faith in them that they’re going to turn around. We’ve got to keep having faith and trust them.”

Sophomore tight end Nate Byham went so far as to defend the coaching staff without anyone asking him about Wannstedt or offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh.

“I think we’re pretty productive when we get the ball in our hands, but I also believe coach Cav calls the plays and he knows what he’s doing. He’s not the coach for no reason. He knows what he’s calling,” Byham said. “Coach Wannstedt knows what he’s doing, for all the people who are doubting my coaches, I don’t know what to say to you guys. I have a lot of faith in my coaches. My coaches are great guys. The game is over. We’re going to start game-planning for Virginia, start practicing for Virginia.”

Byham did admit to being frustrated, though, that Pitt can’t seem to get its offense, defense and special teams to perform on the same page – which is a direct reflection on the coaching staff.

“It’s very frustrating, actually,” Byham said. “It’s frustrating for all three phases. Last week, our defense played great. This week, there were plays where we were driving and our defense was stopping them. In the second half, they were stopping them and we couldn’t do anything.”

Byham is one of the guys Wannstedt recruited. This isn’t about whatever remaining holdovers from Walt Harris’ time getting disgruntled. It’s becoming a teamwide issue.

It’s hard not to write this season off on so many levels.

You know what makes this game so truly humiliating? (Well, lots of things but this really sticks out for me.) UConn only bothered to play offense for the first half. They rolled up 234 first half yards and ended the game with 289. Once again, the defense couldn’t actually get off the field as UConn was 5-9 on 3d down conversions in the first half. Don’t look at the total stats, they are very deceptive for this game.

UConn could essentially just sit on the ball the entire second half. During halftime, my friends and I discussed the likelihood of a comeback. Sure it was 27-7, but there was another half. Then, I asked a question, “Has Pitt comeback from any game in the second half under Wannstedt?”

…

“No.”

That was deflating and took a lot what little hope we had and crushed it under the heel of reality.

Even LeSean McCoy was limited by the coaches (not playing him much) and by an O-line that can’t block or do much that is good. McCoy had 70 yards on 11 carries, but 43 of the yards came on 2 carries. The other 9 carries went for 37 yards.

Moving on to media recap.

Coach Wannstedt put this loss on everyone.

The Panthers lost, 34-14, to the Connecticut Huskies last night before 40,145 at Heinz Field in one of the low points of the Dave Wannstedt era.

Pitt had six turnovers that contributed to 17 Connecticut points, was penalized eight times for 57 yards, converted 4 of 17 times on third down and allowed three sacks. It was exactly the kind of performance the Panthers (2-2, 0-1) could not afford in their Big East Conference opener. After the game, Wannstedt apologized for the way the team played.

“Speaking from my heart, I take full responsibility for that disappointing game,” Wannstedt said. “The fans came out and it was disappointing that we could not muster up a more effective attack. We have to be accountable for that and it starts with me.

“We started off with a couple of foolish penalties, we were late getting plays into the huddle, some formations were not what they should have been and then we turn the ball over a couple of times. I mean, with six turnovers, we’re lucky this thing wasn’t 60 instead of 34.”

1/3 of the way through the season and this team still has no clue and neither do the coaches.

Kevan Smith showed that it was the Grambling game that was the aberration not the Michigan State game with absolutely no clue or confidence as a QB. I believe his elbow problem is legit, though, I’m not sure if it happened in the game or if he was jumped on the sideline by teammates to force the change.

That led to the attempt in the local stories to try and find the silver lining because Pat Bostick showed at least signs of being able to throw the ball.

Pitt might have found a quarterback in true freshman Pat Bostick, who completed 27 of 41 passes for 230 yards in the second half, with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Oderick Turner. But Bostick threw three interceptions, including one that was returned 51 yards for a touchdown by linebacker Lawrence Wilson.

Wannstedt said Bostick will get the start next Saturday at Virginia.

Of course the O-line is a complete wreck. Again. Chris Vangas might as well hike the ball and curl into a ball. At least then, he might trip the defenders as they run straight up the middle. As it is now, they just go around him. Jason Pinkston is still out and Joe Thomas has looked clueless all season. McGlynn simply hasn’t been very good. Aside from Jeff Otah, there are no other bright spots on the line. The fact that no one behind them on the depth chart can or has moved up is probably more terrifying. It’s hard to imagine that the guys behind them are worse.

So how long Bostick lasts back there until he gets carted off is a legitimate question.

Bostick, who coach Dave Wannstedt announced as the starter at Virginia Saturday, completed 27 of 41 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown. Bostick did throw three interceptions, one which was returned for a touchdown, but appeared to grow more comfortable with each throw.

“Pat’s confidence, you could see it grow greatly,” tight end Nate Byham said. “I talked to him after the first two drives, I told him to calm his nerves a little bit, and he did and he started making great plays. That touchdown pass he threw was a great play, it reminded me of Tyler [Palko] last year.”

Hopefully he’s as durable as Palko. That Palko never got hurt playing behind the Pitt O-line is a true oddity.

As bad a loss this was for Pitt, it was big for UConn as they notched their second career Big East road win since becoming a full member in 2004. That year was also the last time they won a conference road game.

It was the first road victory in the Big East for UConn (4-0) since beating Rutgers on Thanksgiving 2004 and could be considered the biggest victory for the program since the victory over Toledo in the 2004 Motor City Bowl.

Yes, that’s right. One of their biggest wins. That theme got repeated in various Connecticut stories.

This was UConn’s most significant win since Dan Orlovsky’s last game against Toledo in the 2004 Motor City Bowl. Fittingly, the 27 points the Huskies ran up on Pitt in the first half are the most they have scored in a half since that game.

“As good a half since I’ve been here,” said coach Randy Edsall.

This win ranked among the handful of most important victories since UConn dared enter major college football. The shocker at Iowa State in 2002 … the only previous Big East road win, which came at Rutgers on Thanksgiving morning and led to a bowl berth … the Motor City bowl itself … that Big East win over the Panthers under the lights, on national TV, at Rentschler Field …

This one probably fits right in after those four. The Huskies are babies in terms of big-time football, but at the same time it had been 33 months since anybody could really go, “Wow, let’s sit up and take notice of them.”

“We walked in last Sunday and there was a sign in the training room that said we hadn’t won a road game since 2004,” quarterback Tyler Lorenzen said. “I went, `Wow, that’s a while ago.’ I was a freshman at Iowa State.”

The loss to UConn in 2004 helped chase Walt Harris out of Pitt, and this one is the kind that has got to make the seat of Wannstedt’s boxers hot, too. Including that double overtime win last year at Rentschler, UConn is 3-1 against the Panthers. The rest of the Big East has had UConn’s number, but, man, the Pitt administration must be shivering, wondering how Edsall has been able to exploit them.

Boos, mock cheers, emptied stadium. It was a horrible night for the home team at the confluence.

This kind of loss to this kind of team will have that effect on the home crowd.

It was the most lopsided UConn win in the Big East since beating Syracuse 26-7 in 2005.

This bit depressed the hell out me. It was probably the harshest write-up on the game regrading Pitt. It seems warranted.

It’s been a season-long slump for Pitt’s offense. Through three quarters against Connecticut, the Panthers made six first downs but they did convert a third-down attempt for the first time in 23 tries. That amazing streak of ineptitude stretches back to the second half of the Grambling State game.

“That’s horrible, horrible, horrible,” Wannstedt said. “We can’t win that way. You should be 40 or 50 percent. I think we were 0-for-21 before we converted one.”

The defense wasn’t much better.

Huskies quarterback Tyler Lorenzen looked like Pat White the way he ran through the Panthers. Take away sacks and Lorenzen had 50 yards rushing, most coming on third-and-longs that he turned into first downs. He also threw for 174 yards.

“Two scrambles killed us on third-and-long situations,” Wannstedt said.

The numbers weren’t staggering – Pitt actually outgained the Huskies, 349-289 – but Connecticut’s offensive effectiveness was impressive. Then again, any time an opponent uses the spread against Pitt, it works.

“I can’t understand it,” Wannstedt said. “We’re playing hard and banging around. We’re going to face it every week and face a lot more athletic guys.”

Gee, regardless of personnel or head coach, Pitt hasn’t handled the spread offense. What has been the consistent thing. Hmm. Let me think. Oh, yeah. That’s right, DC Paul Rhoads. Funny, no comments could be found from him after this performance.

Pitt helped Lorenzen look incredible in the first half. (Wonder if Rhoads will claim it just happened to be another career day for a UConn QB against Pitt.)

Lorenzen was 7-of-7 for 116 yards on those two drives as the Huskies took control with a 24-7 lead. They weren’t done, however. With less than a minute to go in the first half, Julius Williams sacked Smith and forced a fumble with Lawrence Wilson recovering at the Panthers’ 30-yard line. Ciaravino capped the spectacular first half with a 39-yard field goal for a 27-7 advantage as time expired.

Lorenzen’s numbers weren’t eye-opening, but he made all the plays he needed and managed the game almost flawlessly. He was 10-of-14 for 149 yards in the opening half.

In the second half, when UConn was just killing time, Lorenzen was only 2-11 for 29 yards.

Some quick things from the papers. Then it’s time to let the what ifs go, before some of you make yourselves crazier.
The defense was good, but gassed in the 4th quarter. Go figure. That little time of possession issue.

“She ran calling wildfire.” Ur, what?  I mean more about the wildcat formation. Funniest quote:

“I actually love that offense,” [Kevan] Smith said. “I’m out there blocking for the first time in my life, so I felt like everyone was doing their job. The offense was productive for us.

“Hopefully, we use that down the road.”

That’s too easy and the kid had a rough enough weekend.

Zeise’s Q&A was all about wildcat and QBs.

Coach Wannstedt didn’t quell the issue of who will start at the QB on Saturday. Is it really a controversy when it is simply trying to figure out which back-up is less likely to hurt the team until Stull gets healthy? Here’s the thing, if they are seriously considering putting Pat Bostick in there. It will make it impossible to shield him from the media and interviews. The coaches have been able to do that, because he hasn’t played much. If he gets in there for significant time, he will be talking a lot more. Is he, are they ready for that?

Partial transcript of Coach Wannstedt’s press conference. LaRod Stephens-Howling is apparently better. Pinkston isn’t.

Running quickly through the stories after the loss.

The interception that Michigan State ran back for a TD, the defender doesn’t even remember it.

Safety Travis Key picked off a pass that glanced off the hands of Pitt receiver Oderick Turner and took it back 31 yards to put the Spartans up 14-7 early in the second quarter.

“I just caught the ball and ran with it,” Key said. “I can’t even remember the play to tell you the truth. I just saw the ball, grabbed it and ran it in.”

Late in the game, Michigan State’s pornstar named linebacker kept coming up big. They may call him the “Sack Man,” but when your last name is Saint-Dic there has to be a better name.

It’s not like anyone thought Michigan State was that impressive. Just that Pitt screwed up more than the Spartans.

Three turnovers by Pitt, which hosts Connecticut next Saturday, led to all of the Spartans’ scoring. Caulcrick’s TD was set up by an interception, while Travis Key ran back another pick for a score. A fumble recovery led to a field goal by Brett Swenson.

Michigan State (3-0) shut down the Panthers (2-1) on all 12 of their third-down conversion attempts, often just as Pitt appeared poised to take the lead in the hard-fought game.

“The key to the game obviously was the turnovers, and our play on third downs was pretty good — actually, great,” said Mark Dantonio, the Spartans’ head coach.

Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt said turnovers cost his team the game.

No kidding.

With a national game on ESPN, many college football fans saw it. Sunday Morning Quarterback had some good observations about the game.

As mentioned, Pitt has serious quarterback issues, so much so that, when it got the ball back on its own 31, down 17-13 with 2:54 remaining and no timeouts, I wrote: “Can’t throw well enough to move for a TD.” As it turned out, I was wrong: Smith completed a well-conceived 19-yard pass Darrell Strong and then, improbably, a 26-yard completion to Marcel Pestano on fourth-and-17 as he was falling over two MSU linemen at his feet. Instead, the Panthers couldn’t block – Smith was in 4th-and-17 because Jonal Saint-Dic had abused Pitt’s right tackle on consecutive plays, causing a fumble on second down and forcing Smith into another loss on third.

He also notes that the Pitt pass rushing was much more impressive. He has some questions about the run defense, though (while admitting the numbers disagree with his doubts), because while the rushing total reads 144 that includes QB Hoyer’s 6 sacks for -40 yards.

Former Michigan State HC and Steeler assistant in the 70s, George Perles considers Dave Wannstedt a friend.

MSU Coach Dantonio was bothered by the number of penalties by his team, but he’s not complaining about the win. MSU QB Bobby Hoyer must not be thinking about the two drops by Pitt defenders on his throws when he spoke of how he was more willing to take six sacks than throw an interception.

In the “half-full” view, Pitt went on the road for the first time since the UConn game last year without an experienced QB, no #1 WR, the starting DT out for the season, and playing a team that has traditionally played well in September before fading at some point in October; and still nearly pulled it off despite all of that and going -3 in the turnover battle that led to all of MSU’s points. Of course, you really have to want to see it.

No one is pretending Kevan Smith had anything other than a horrible game. The one good thing to say is that he didn’t hide from it or the media after the game.

“The turnovers did kill us,” Smith said. “In my eyes, I’m seeing that I gave them 14 points.”

Senior Safety Eric Thatcher spoke the obvious.

“We’ve got to start winning some of these games,” Pitt safety Eric Thatcher said. “We’ve got to step up and make the plays at the end to get the Ws.”

Yep.

A little more about Pitt’s “wildcat” set.

I hate using injuries as an excuse for a loss, but Kevin Gorman depresses the hell out of me with the O-line.

Now that McCoy has proven to be the big-time back Wannstedt has wanted, Pitt’s offensive success, or lack thereof, will be determined by the play of its offensive line.

“We’ve got to bring that group along a little bit,” Wannstedt said. “They’re getting better, they are. I don’t know what the numbers were but I thought our offensive line has improved week after week – not to the point where we’re happy about it and getting excited. That’s, unfortunately, the last group to get together.”

…

Pinkston appears to have a separated shoulder and was replaced for a few plays by redshirt sophomore John Bachman, but later returned to play the final series.

“Jason Pinkston, his shoulder slipped out of the socket,” Wannstedt said. “He goes back in and tries to play with one arm at the end. They’ve got a couple guys that are good players. We got into some mismatch problems. They pressured us a lot and we got into some pressure problems, which we anticipated.”

Now, Pitt has to determine what to do about its line. It could leave Vangas at center, but he was overmatched against Michigan State and could have trouble handling Big East play. It could move McGlynn to center and return Joe Thomas to the starting lineup at right guard, but McGlynn might have to play right tackle if Pinkston is unable to play. The other options are Bachman and Chase Clowser.

It gets scarier when you read more about the injuries on the D-line.

Gene Collier, seemed to think part of the problem for Kevan Smith was that the O-line was still part of the problem.

In a star-crossed football season in which Pitt has already lost three starters to injury, the much-anticipated arrival of the freshman from Harrisburg would be a majestic highlight were it not timed concurrently with the fitful progress, a term used advisedly, of the Panthers’ offensive line. Coach Dave Wannstedt finally has the kind of running back around which a coherent ground-based offense can be built, but he doesn’t have the road-pavers.

“We have to bring that group along a little bit,” Wannstedt said. “They are getting better. Our offensive line has improved week by week, but not to the point that we are happy or excited about it.”

The coach pointed out that Jason Pinkston had his shoulder yanked out and was playing with one arm, and that part of the reason Michigan State sacked freshman quarterback Kevan Smith six times was breakdowns by the fullback and tight ends, but Pitt’s primary blockers are the reason this team will remain less than the sum of its parts for awhile.

Joe Starkey is all but begging Pitt to explore some variation of the spread-option offense.

Wannstedt said the offense could be expanded in future weeks. Question is, could it be used full-time, or close to it?

“Well, no,” he said, “because we have to throw the ball at some point.”

OK, but less is better. And if shifty tailback LaRod Stephens-Howling, who missed yesterday’s game with a rib injury, is ready this week, Pitt should think hard about matching him with McCoy and even speedster Maurice Williams — a former high school quarterback — in a spread-option package. Any one of them could take direct snaps.

Pitt has athletes. They might as well use them. Speedy receiver T.J. Porter took some inside handoffs from McCoy — the kind West Virginia’s Pat White often gives to Steve Slaton — and gained 36 yards on three attempts (he also had a costly fourth-quarter fumble).

McCoy likes the possibilities of a run-and-Shady offense.

“We have an offense where me and (Stephens-Howling) are in there together,” he said. “I don’t want to give up too much information, but it’s most likely we’d both be in the offense, with the spread, and the running back at the quarterback position.”

These kinds of packages usually are best-utilized as a change of pace, but Pitt is plain desperate. Plus, McCoy insists he and Stephens-Howling are capable of throwing a decent pass.

I don’t think that Wannstedt and Cavanaugh are wired to go that way. I think their brain pans would go “sproing.”

As I said, I don’t have a clue who the next AD will be. I’m not buying that Wannstedt will be looking to fill the role now or in the near future. Old names from the last search are brought up again.

Potential candidates could include Pitt’s last interim athletic director, Marc Boehm, now an executive associate athletic director at Nebraska, as well as three athletic directors who interviewed in ’03: Cincinnati’s Mike Thomas, Central Florida’s Keith Tribble and Florida Atlantic’s Craig Angelos.

Another notable name that has surfaced is Tom Donahoe, a former Steelers director of football operations and president/general manager of the Buffalo Bills. Donahoe received a personal guided tour by Wannstedt during a visit to Pitt’s Duratz Athletic Complex last month.

Not quite following why Donahoe would take a pay cut and prestige drop from the NFL, but let the rumors fly. As for Marc Boehm, returning if offered. I think that would be awkward.

Boehm is well-acquainted with Pitt, having been Steve Pederson’s right-hand man for six years before Pederson left for the athletic director’s job at Nebraska in late 2002. Boehm served as Pitt’s interim athletic director for 4¹/₂ months and was the top candidate to replace Pederson.

But with Nordenberg and the rest of the university administration preoccupied with the search for men’s and women’s basketball coaches — a process Boehm helped facilitate — Boehm grew weary of waiting for Nordenberg to hire him full-time and followed Pederson to Nebraska in May 2002 to accept a position Pederson created specifically for him.

Unbeknownst to Boehm until late in the process, the eight-person search committee had unanimously voted to name him as the successor to Pederson. Nordenberg asked Boehm to reconsider, but the chancellor never offered him a contract. That led to a hasty search by the committee that ended two weeks later when Nordenberg appointed Long as Pederson’s replacement.

Chancellor Nordenberg really does dawdle over these contracts for ADs, doesn’t he? I realize money and time can heal a lot of wounds, but Boehm coming back would seem uncomfortable. How much would he really feel he could trust Nordenberg to back him and not, ultimately, undermine him.

I also don’t by the revisionism that the school was “preoccupied” by the men’s and women’s coaching job vacancies to deal with the AD issue. The coaching vacancies came well after the AD vacancy.  In fact, part of why you have an AD is to lead the search for new coaches. The more I read that bit, the less sense it makes. Pitt’s men’s basketball coaching search had Skip Prosser at the top of the list and part of why he didn’t take it was that Pitt had no full-time AD and Nordenberg didn’t even assure Prosser that Boehm would be the guy.

That said, revisionism, doesn’t just apply to the time with Boehm. Long gets ripped on his way out the door.

Long’s biggest failure was his inability to maintain the season-ticket base for what should be the school’s flagship athletic program — football.

Pederson’s marketing initiatives led to the sale of 42,544 non-club season-tickets in 2003, a school record, and the establishment of a waiting list to buy season tickets for 2004.

Today, one literally cannot give away Pitt football tickets.

Puh-lease. At least rip on Long for things he actually did wrong. Heading into 2003, what had the season tickets sold-out was not any marketing initiatives, it was that Pitt was a preseason top-20 team that had the label of “darkhorse” Big East champion. A team that finished 2002 so strong, and looked poised to go farther. Instead, the season went to crap, the recruiting class was trashed and the head coach lost the majority of fan support.

Winning puts people in the stands, not “marketing initiatives.” Those only get their attention and might attract some first-timers.

Pitt is struggling with home attendance because the team isn’t that good and the home schedule is worse this year. Some of that is the weirdness of the Big East putting Louisville and West Virginia (and now Rutgers) all on the same home/away pace for Pitt so the Big East portion of the schedule is pitiful. The non-con  is distinctly bad as a consequence of balancing the road games to Michigan State and Virginia. That part you can pin on Long.
Smizik also goes after Long, for being a caretaker rather than dynamic.

His two most notable undertakings were the hiring of Dave Wannstedt as football coach and a fundraising campaign tied to season-ticket purchases for men’s basketball. Wannstedt, who also was enthusiastically endorsed by Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, remains a work in progress. He has been a disappointment thus far, but it’s too early to make any kind of final judgment. The fundraising program was a success but not before it enraged some fans and forced a lawsuit that, in effect, was won by the plaintiffs.

Under Long, the men’s basketball program continued to flourish and he was able to fend off schools, notably Arizona State, trying to hire coach Jamie Dixon. The women’s program grew significantly under coach Agnus Berenato, who, like Dixon, was at Pitt before Long. Pitt’s hosting of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament first- and second-round games last season was a major step for the program and that success came on Long’s watch.

Let’s be somewhat realistic. The football and basketball programs had already been revised and dragged into the modern world of college athletics. There was success occurring in those sports. Exactly how was the AD supposed to do more with those parts, other than just try to make sure they keep moving in the right direction and keep the money moving? You really want an AD to tinker with what was going in the right direction? Jeff Long had been focusing on the rest of the  athletic department that needed updated facilities, money and direction — which meant taking the hit for the fundraising by reseating for the Quest for Excellence.

College baseball is getting more attention each year. Pitt is finally on the way to having a modest ball field. Not to mention on-site facilities for the other sports to have practices and games — rather than going out into the burbs to high school fields.

Again, if you want to rip Long for being somewhat aloof, tin eared and actual sins committed that’s fine.  To essentially make crap up, bothers me.

Looks like Pitt will be in a position to find another prominent person for their athletic department. First it was the coaches; Dixon, then Wannstedt. Now, it’s the guy who hired/kept those two.

Pittsburgh athletic director Jeff Long will replace Frank Broyles in the same position at Arkansas, a person with knowledge of Long’s decision said Monday.

Broyles is retiring as the Razorbacks’ athletic director at the end of this year, and a person familiar with Long’s decision said he will leave Pitt to take over at Arkansas. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made.

Arkansas would not confirm Long’s hiring, but spokesman Tysen Kendig said a news conference was set for Tuesday afternoon regarding the athletic program.

Arkansas’ search had been a secretive one until last week, when Stanley Reed, chairman of the school’s board of trustees, confirmed that Long was “a strong candidate.” (The WWL)

It was looking more and more apparent that this was going to happen, but the press conference that Arkansas will hold tomorrow will probably confirm it. ESPN doesn’t usually put up items that turn out to be untrue (except saying Mike Vick wouldn’t plead guilty) so to me, this is a done deal. The AP story mentions that Long has few ties to Arkansas, a point echoed by a writer in that area. The question that matters — who’s the next Pitt AD?

Update: Two more stories from the local TV stations down there.

It’s Michigan State week, and not only am I pumped because we finally play a real team, but I’m also heading up there to see it. This will be my first time in a Big Ten environment and the first time in a (probably) full stadium since going down to WVU in 2005. The game will be on ESPN with Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Andre Ware (color) and Quint Kessenich (sideline).

Unless you dropped off the face of the Earth and didn’t see how the Grambling game unfolded, you’re aware that Kevan Smith is going to be starting under center. Coach Wannstedt, your thoughts…

On things that Kevan Smith needs to improve on:
As simple as this sounds, just hitting open receivers and taking what the defense gives him. He needs to work on those little things. It’s not sitting back there and reading the defense, that’s not the problem. He made some great throws on his deep balls. He had a great throw to Nate Byham. I think he just needs to continue to work on the little things, and he will.

On preparing Kevan Smith for his first game in a hostile environment:
We’ll bring noise out there on Wednesday and Thursday. That will benefit not just the quarterback but our entire football team, particularly the offense. He’ll be fine. We’ll continue to practice Pat Bostick. He’ll take half the reps in practice and we’ll continue to get him ready just in case we would need him.

On playing Pat Bostick:
We’ll play him if he’s needed, but we’ll have to see how the game unfolds.

There are some people out there who think Smith is even more talented than Stull, but I don’t see how any type of comparison can be made seeing them each in one game. Then taking into account the type of teams we played, and it’s nearly impossible right now to say one is more skilled than the other. Get used to Smith though, he’s going to be leading us through the next few weeks because Bostick didn’t look nearly as great as we expected.

How did the Spartans do last week? Saturday Sound Offs gives them a B letter grade.

Michigan State-They looked alright out there against the Falcons. Brad Hoyer was efficient through the air and the MSU ground game was the difference. The run defense also didn’t let Bowling Green do too much.

Pitt was graded as a B+.

EDSBS doesn’t buy or sell MSU at this point, but merely holds on them.

Michigan State Held off Bowling Green. Simmering until the inevitable collapse at some point over the next month. At the point the Spartans really start to look like a ‘buy,’ unload them. Fast.

Last year, after running all over Pitt (by using the same 2 plays — a RB dive and a RB stretch), MSU looked like a team to “buy”. They then proceeded to throw away their season by blowing a huge lead against Notre Dame. As Stuart said in the comments, “Can MSU please vomit away their season 1 week early this year? We all know they’re going to fold, its just a question of when.”

It seems like the “State” in Grambling State is optional, which it sort of mystifying. You can just call them Grambling and people know what you’re talking about. Or you could plug “State” on the end — yet, I digress.

GSU beat Alcorn State last week, but first-year head coach Rod Broadway thinks they should have caught more balls.

Seems Broadway can’t stop thinking about the ones that got away.

GSU quartertback Brandon Landers’ 53 percent completion rate he went 19-of-36 was only slightly better than the Carroll product’s 51 percent rate of a season ago.”We had six drops during the course of the ballgame,” Broadway said. “We can’t afford to do that, if we are going to throw the ball.”

You might recall that an Eastern Michigan player was wide open and dropped a sure touchdown that could have changed the complexity of the game. If Grambling drops some of the few golden opportunities they get, things will be that much easier for Pitt.

Broadway also did something Dave Wannstedt wouldn’t do — call out one of his players.

“We can’t have Clyde, one of our best players, drop the ball,” Broadway said. “For a player of Clyde’s ability, dropping those balls is unacceptable.

The Tigers are using Saturday’s game as a measuring stick for their program. To them, Pitt, even in our current situation (coming off a poor year last year, having a ton of injuries, etc.) is a “big time” team.

“It’s always a challenge to play up,” said Broadway, once a longtime assistant to Steve Spurrier at Duke and Florida. “It gives us a chance to measure ourselves, in order to get a better idea of what kind football team we have. It will let us know what we need to work on to become a top-level program.”

GSU’s student newspaper, The Gramblinite, predicts a Pitt win with a score of 41-17. What do they need to do to win?

Landers must continue to take what the defense gives him, and the receivers cannot drop balls. The offensive and defensive lines must be at their best on Saturday. If Grambling can establish a running game and keep Pitt’s offense off the field, it could be a little closer than many think. I just don’t think it will be.

Pretty much play perfect to win it seems.

And interesting bit on the Tigers not being scared playing in huge stadiums.

While some teams get caught up in the hoopla of playing in an NFL Facility, it’s almost second nature to Grambling State as the Tigers are guaranteed of playing in at least one NFL venue per year.

Annually, GSU plays in the Louisiana Superdome in the State Farm Bayou Classic against rival Southern University on Thanksgiving weekend. In 2005, GSU played at Qwest Field in Seattle, Wash. against Washington State in addition to Reliant Stadium in Houston versus Southern.

From the Grambling State athletics website.

One of the infuriating things about the whole Paul Rhoads thing, has been the complete lack of blame he has gotten from the media. From Starkey saying Rhoads should get as much time as Wannstedt, to excuses for the talent, and no blame for the lack of same talent from a supposed good recruiter. There has been a tacit acceptance that Rhoads is under some pressure with making him responsible for the linebackers rather than the secondary in addition to the Defensive Coordinator duties, but it is almost thought of as unfair.
Finally, though, a Pittsburgh media member acknowledges that Rhoads is not just on the hot seat, but he should be on the hot seat.

Q: Since it has been made clear that Dave Wannstedt is not on the hot seat, is Paul Rhoads at least on the hot seat? I mean, if the defense were to fail again, would the university at least force some sort of a shake up?

Zeise: Yes Rhoads is on the hot seat, as is the rest of the coaching staff. That is how these things happen — the first step towards making a wholesale head coach change is to force a guy to change his staff. Wannstedt is clearly nowhere close to the danger zone, but if the defense doesn’t show some signs of marked improvement someone on that staff will have to go and Rhoads would be the obvious choice. There is no way you could justify keeping him around, particularly if you are going to try and make the pitch to your fans that they must have patience with Wannstedt.

…I think it is very telling that Rhoads got handed over the keys to the linebackers this year and thus it is all riding on his shoulders with nobody else to pass the buck to now since that group is a part of the run and pass defense. The linebackers, to a man, say they loved the move because they all think very highly of coach Rhoads. Frankly, he is very well respected and regarded as a good football coach but at some point he must produce results.

There’s a Schiano comparison which is often made. Now I wouldn’t be surprised if Wannstedt did make that move at some point, but I am not totally sold on the Schiano comparison. The defense was improving under the old DC, but not quickly enough by what Schiano expected. I’m not sure Coach Wannstedt would be willing to pull the trigger, even if he felt that way.

Statistically, I expect the numbers to improve on the run defense simply because they were so bad last year. The actual effect is what I will be watching.

A week of website redesigns in Pittsburgh; first the Post-Gazette decided that they wanted to be NOW, and today the PittsburghPanthers.com redesign was revealed.

Most noticeably, the redesigned PittsburghPanthers.com features a larger lead photo for fans to appreciate the great photography and great moments in Pitt Athletics. The site also features a media player to provide users with free samples of Panthers All-Access as well as listings of upcoming events on Panthers All-Access.

Aspects of the website that remain but have been slightly refined is the Store/Tickets/Auctions tabs, Fan Poll and easy access to purchase tickets, merchandise and links to the Panther Club.

The navigation has changed from the left-hand side navigation to a horizontal navigation system with drop-down menus. The new masthead continues to feature Pitt student-athletes and select team shots; it also features Pitt facilities and monuments such as the Cathedral of Learning and Petersen Events Center. Also with this feature, users can click on picture in the masthead and be linked back to the main page.

Also available near the top of the page is the Gametracker scoreboard that provides direct links to audio, video and gametracker for upcoming Pitt athletic events. Farther down the page is an Events, Results and Photos section, this section provides up to date information along with photo galleries to coinciding events when applicable.

It doesn’t look all that bad to me although I’ve found a few problems (although it might be just my computer).

Just got back from Fan Fest — words and pictures to follow tomorrow.

EDIT: If anyone took pictures at Fan Fest and wouldn’t mind them being used in a post (with credit given to you of course), please e-mail them to dennis.pittblather@gmail.com.