Of all the things that should be rightly questioned and second-guessed over the Cinci-Pitt game, the whole clock management before Lewis scored the TD with 1:36 left is the silliest. The argument being that Pitt scored too fast and that if Pitt had somehow bled the clock better, Cinci would have been out of timeouts and not able to score in time — or at least it would have been harder.

I always hate these things in general because it not only presumes that the team that scored too quickly was in complete control to dictate exactly everything. To say nothing of believing college players are going to execute everything with absolute perfection that is rarely seen in the NFL.

I see in the comments how Pete Thamel’s argument (But Wannstedt should have drained the clock before scoring and Lewis ran out of bounds with just over two minutes remaining.)was already destroyed by reality.

When Lewis ran out of bounds, the clock kept running (NCAA rule, Matt Millen even made mention of it …

When even a PSU grad like Matt Millen has a better grasp of NCAA clock rules, you should be embarrassed.

Pitt had just completed a 3d and 9 with a 16 yard to Baldwin for 1st and 10 from the 13. 2:44 left and Dion Lewis breaks off an 8 yard run. Lewis then goes right up the middle for 5 more yards and the score. Cinci was left with 1:36 and 2 TOs left.

The idea being that if Pitt managed to only pick up 2 yards and then bled the clock to force Cinci timeouts and then Pitt kicks a FG with far less time left and Cinci with no timeouts left to get a game tying FG or winning score is silly.

Theoretically, I suppose it could happen. Pitt would have 1st and goal from the 2 or 3 with 1:36 left. Cinci wouldn’t use the timeout as the clock would stop briefly for the moving of chains.

Pitt would bleed the clock and take a knee on 1st down. Cinci TO. Knee on second down. Cinci TO. Knee on 3d down, and bleed the clock between plays and Pitt would take a TO just before the play clock expired. Roughly, Pitt would be kicking a FG with somewhere around 15 seconds left.

Worst that happens is Pitt flubs the kick and Cinci has no real time to get down the field and it goes to OT. More likely, get the FG and kick off with 10-12 seconds left.

First problem, Pitt’s special teams were hideous and counting on the special teams not to give Cinci a short field with any time left on the clock contradicts all that came before that point.

Odds are that Pitt would end up kicking out of bounds trying to avoid letting Gilyard near the ball again. I believe everyone saw that the week before with WVU.

So Cinci would start at the 40 with no time moved. They would have to get to about the 28 to allow a 45 yard attempt — Cinci kicker Jake Roger’s longest of this season (3-5 from 40-49 yards in 09). So they would need to get 22 yards with enough time to spike the ball and kick a game-tying FG.

The way Cinci was playing at the end of the 4th quarter that seems rather plausible. Plus, again, given how Pitt was playing at that point does anyone truly think Pitt could have executed as flawlessly as this scenario demanded?

I love stats and numbers. But, it is still sport and those immeasurables of momentum and confidence were all with Cinci. Pitt was trying to hang on and snatch back a victory they had let slip away. That rarely happens, and usually only with a freak bounce.

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.

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.

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.

Depth up-front. It’s there. At least defensively.

Defensive line coach Greg Gattuso, who coached tight ends that first year, remembers those early days of the Wannstedt era and is almost giddy about the wealth of talent he has to work with now.

“I think our depth was challenged a little bit this camp, but we showed we do have the numbers now to survive an injury or two,” Gattuso said. “Obviously, we want all of our guys healthy, but when we first got here we just didn’t have many options. I’ve been impressed with how well the backup guys have played this camp and the great thing is, most of them still have a lot of football to play here so they will only get better.”

Gattuso said a great example of how far the Panthers’ depth at defensive line has come can be found in the fact that a player like Tyrone Ezell (6 feet 4, 270 pounds) — who certainly looks the part — will almost assuredly be redshirted. Five years ago, he would have not only been put on the field and asked to contribute, he might have been the unit’s best player.

“I always say it takes three years for a defensive lineman to really come into his own as a player,” Gattuso said. “We now have enough depth where we can really develop our young guys properly and don’t feel pressured to get them ready to play a game on a given Saturday.”

One other luxury is the variation of players. This gives Gattuso a lot of flexibility, and it gives opposing offenses a lot to think about when deciding how to block.

The match-up stuff may be good, but it is still up to the coaches to use it. Something the defensive coaches struggled to adjust appropriately  in a couple key losses last year (see also, BGSU and Rutgers).

A bit of focus on the defensive backfields as Paul Zeise tries to spell out why he (and presumably the coaching staff) gets so frustrated with Elijah Fields.

Q: I don’t understand exactly what the problem is with Elijah Fields from reading your remarks. Can’t he learn the defenses? Can he not pay attention? Does he not care? We can talk all we want about his “talent” but is it anything more than he runs fast?

ZEISE: I think Pat Benatar would classify Elijah Fields as a “heartbreaker,” because that is what he constantly does to his coaches and his teammates – he breaks their heart. They put their trust in him, they root for him and they believe in him and he seems to find a way to let them down just when they think he is ready to turn the corner and finally realize his enormous potential. A great example was a practice last week when Fields at times was looking like the best player on the field as he flying around and knocking guys senseless. It was one of his best practices. Of course, then near the end in a two-minute drill, he is blitzing on a play and he runs in and knocks quarterback Bill Stull to the ground — even though it was clear the quarterbacks were not live. And instead of taking redirection from coaches about it, he cops an attitude and is promptly sent off the field. It is stuff like that — it is almost never anything malicious but almost always just a sign of immaturity. Another day, he was late for a meeting or something and got demoted to the second team. Again, the he is not a bad kid and I don’t think he is a dumb kid. He knows what he needs to do, he knows where he needs to be — I just think he needs to grow up a little bit and if he does that, then I have no question he is an NFL talent. The problem he has, however, is that time is running out on him and sooner or later he is going to run out of second chances. It really is time for him to get focused on becoming the dominant player he should be.

You know a copy of that ended up nailed in Fields’ locker. Even if he probably reads it and says, “Who the #@%&* is Pat Benatar and where did he coach?”

Anyone else wonder if Buddy Jackson will ever get fully healthy in a preseason to take part in enough practices to be trusted to get in a game? Jared Holley will at least be out there in packages for obvious passing situations. Here’s hoping Aaron Berry is as consistent as he’s been in camp.

Q: Aaron Berry got picked on a lot last year by opposing offensive coordinators — do you see that continuing? If so, does he have the skill to recover and make it stop?

ZEISE: I don’t know that I agree with that completely. He gave up some big plays and I don’t think he had a great year by any measure. But he wasn’t as bad as some people seem convinced he was and he was and is still the Panthers best corner. And don’t forget, he was All-Big East, so he must have done a few things right. And teams certainly didn’t pick on him. That being said, Aaron Berry really had a great camp. He has played as well as anyone on the team and he really does seem more focused this year. I’ve even heard coaches talk about him as a shutdown corner who can take away half the field. I really expect him to have a big season.

The mystery of what is going on with Tony Tucker is still unknown. Pitt has said it is “personal reasons,” excused him and really don’t seem to expect him to return. The kid is from Maryland, and according to the Maryland blog, it seems that there are family things that are in play. So he is looking to be closer to home. Maybe transferring to Maryland or a 1-AA school. Sorry that he’s leaving, but I hope things work out for him.

Then there’s the return game. Cam Saddler and Aaron Smith are battling it out.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Smith is known for possessing the best set of hands among Pitt receivers not named Jonathan Baldwin.

“Aaron makes it look easy,” Saddler said. “I take tips from him every day. He’s relaxed and looks so confident.

“We’re two different types of returners. He has sure hands, and I’ve got the big-play ability. Once I get ‘Aaron hands,’ I think I’ll be all right.”

Smith, however, is haunted by dropping a critical third-down pass against Bowling Green last year in the season opener. Although he played in four games, Smith never saw another pass thrown his way.

“I got caught in a bad situation,” Smith said. “I can’t wait to rebound from that. I had to wait all season to gain their trust back. It’s still up in the air until I get on the field (to prove) I can catch the ball.”

That’s what has kept Saddler from winning the starting punt return job, although he was sidelined last season with a torn ACL in his left knee.

The 5-6, 170-pounder had seven kickoff returns for touchdowns in high school, one short of a national record, and a pair of punt returns for scores as a senior. He averaged 30.7 yards on kick returns and 25.1 on punt returns that year, but he has struggled to catch punts since arriving at Pitt.

“I was never really coached how to catch it,” said Saddler, who is on the first kickoff return unit. “It was just, get back there and catch the ball. Now, I’m getting coached on doing it, and (Wannstedt) wants me to catch everything, so it makes it harder.

“Plus, it doesn’t help that these guys know how to kick. My senior year of high school, it was the center or guard kicking the ball. I knew it wasn’t going over 30 yards, so I could catch it on the bounce.”

Last year, we expected big things from the return game and just ended up with scary. This year I expect a lot more excitement from the return game this year. Almost as scary at times, but also exciting.

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.

Little things worth noting, that do not have a real common thread.

Michigan needs an opponent to start 2010 in the refurbished Big House.

Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez said Michigan is close to signing a deal with a major-conference opponent to open the 2010 season. “We’re looking at a BCS school,” Rodriguez said. Duke, Virginia and Pitt are among the BCS schools with open dates in Week 1 next year.

I have a hard time believing ole’ Dick Rod would really want to risk scheduling Pitt to open Year 3 of his term at Michigan, with the updated stadium. Still…

Brian Bennett makes his predictions regarding Pitt. He sees Greg Romeus having a big year and going pro, Pitt beating the Irish, and a blindingly obvious prediction.

1. Bill Stull will take the most reps at quarterback: There’s a heated quarterback battle underway on the Panthers, with Pat Bostick and Tino Sunseri nipping at incumbent starter Stull’s heels. Stull didn’t help himself with a poor stretch run last year and an awful Sun Bowl performance. But I think that, in the end, Dave Wannstedt will go with the experienced senior over the other two candidates, though all three will probably see the field at some point. Whether Pitt can win the Big East depends largely on how Stull (or the other two) come through.

Frankly, I think Bennett overstates how much of a competition there really will be. This is already a given to most fans. As Jones at Cat Basket has already noted that Coach Wannstedt has essentially said it is Stull’s job unless Stull blows it.

I don’t think anyone is really shocked. Disappointed? Perhaps. Frustrated? Sure. This is still Coach Wannstedt’s team. There may be a new OC, but the call is ultimately the head coach’s. Wannstedt will go with the QB he feels will make the fewest mistakes — not the one that will give Pitt the best chance to win.  And I don’t know if Bostick or Sunseri or even Kolby Gray are truly better than Stull. I am certain, though, that Wannstedt trusts Stull not to make the big mistakes more than the other QBs.

A good interview/discussion with defensive coordinator Phil Bennett on defending the spread.

Your defense at Pitt is built on undersized but fast guys. Does that help against the spread?

PB: I think obviously it helps on the pass rush against play-pass because you don’t have as long to throw it. In the spread read game, it makes the quarterback have to make a faster decision, whether it’s give, keep, throw the bubble. And I think what it also does — I keep using the word equalizer — but if you blitz this thing it’s dangerous. If you don’t hit the right blitz, there’s a chance — and you’ve seen it over and over again — the dive can go 80 straight up the field, or the pitch, or the quarterback keeper. So you’ve really got to be careful how you pressure. It makes people think twice about pinning their ears back and taking off and getting after people.

That goes back to our philosophy. We’re a speed defense. … I just believe that speed beats size. If you look at it right now, so many people are running a version of the spread that outside linebackers are what I would call a tweener safety/linebackers. You look at our guys, and Austin Ransom was a former wide receiver/safety. Greg Williams we handpicked; he was a running back. I think the days of the 6-foot-3, 235-pound plug linebackers on the edge are gone, for the time being.

I’m a firm believer in that I don’t think you recreate your defense. We had a lot of people come up and visit because they liked the way we played it this year. We’re sort of a nickel defense to begin with.

I haven’t focused much on the preseason mags, because they seem as unsure about the Big East and Pitt as I do. The NY Times clocks Pitt at #42 overall (probably placing Pitt 4th or so in the BE). Really, the only reason to mention this preview is that they wisely mention this blog as a destination.  They also point out that the issue of QB play looms large.

Well, the Aussies are feeling a bit cocky about their chances at winning the FIBA U-19 Championship.

And though everybody around the event is talking up the United States as a cast-iron prospect to end their 18-year drought at the tournament and finally take home the gold medals, the awesome Aussies are bristling over that.

Ellis, the team’s most polished all-round player with a nice mix of grunt and guile, reckons his team is thriving on its unheralded status and feels like they can give the confident Americans more than they can handle at the business end.

The two sides won’t meet until Sunday’s final, should they both get that far, but Ellis has sent a clear message to Jamie Dixon’s side should that eventuality play out.

“Mate, we can beat ’em – we can beat those guys” said the 2.04m forward who had 14 points and four boards in the Australians’ hard-fought 79-74 win over Croatia on Wednesday night to close out qualifying.

“We can beat anyone on our day, and we’re going for it,” added the impressive 19-year-old who hit three of his five three-pointers against the Croats.

The Australian U-19 team has been playing together year round so they do have the better teamwork, chemistry and such going for them. Like the US, they are 6-0 after the first couple of rounds.

Some interesting things from the Washington State blog, Coug Center on the U-19 team.

• This team is playing at an insanely fast pace. That 78.6 figure would have been second in the nation in college basketball last season — they play 40-minute games in international competition, too. This isn’t real surprising, given all the athletic bodies (and depth) Jamie Dixon has to work with.

• Their shooting has been excellent, as has their offensive rebounding and ability to take care of the basketball. The encouraging thing about this is that it shows this team isn’t getting by on mere athletic ability — they’re actually excelling at different facets of the game.

The latter point is not surprising. We know Coach Dixon does emphasize the rebounding and not turning the ball over. He has always coached the fundamentals well.

The point about the pace being so fast is interesting, since it seems to run contrary to what Coach Dixon likes at Pitt. As Nuss points out, though, this team is very athletic and should be running. That Coach Dixon is letting them play that way is the eyecatcher to me.

That indicates a lot more flexibility from Coach Dixon regarding how a team should play on the court.

We’ve heard recruits and occasionally even Coach Dixon indicate that he is willing to run at times. I’ve been a doubter of that, as it would seem to go outside his comfort zone. This suggests that there is some truth to it. Dixon will let a team play faster if they can still do the basic things that he demands.

Obviously, if you haven’t read Chris Dokish’s latest Q&A regarding the basketball team, you are missing a lot. Too much to excerpt.

I don’t disagree that Gibbs is intended to be the shooting guard and Woodall is hoped to be the starting point. I think the plan with Gibbs — especially with the way he seems to be being used in the U-19 is to make him much more comfortable as super-sub guard and another reliable ball handler

If you assume Jermaine Dixon starts at the shooting guard, Woodall at point and Gil Brown is the small forward  then Gibbs will see almost as many minutes as all three in the rotation but in both guard spots.

Gibbs will spell Woodall at point. He will spell Dixon at SG plus Dixon and Wanamaker at times could slide over to the SF/wing spot when Brown is out. Giving Pitt a 3-guard look.

Especially when Wanamaker is on the court, Pitt will need to make sure that there is another sure-handed guard. Wanamaker keeps improving and progressing, but the glaring weakness in his game is that he gets a little loose with the ball.

Back to the U-19, the US had no problem with Canada. Rolling to a 93-73 win (PDF). While the offense was excellent for the US team (especially draining 3s), their defense was probably better. Holding the Canucks to under 40% and getting 8 steals and 7 blocks.

Gibbs was only 1-5 in 23 minutes with 2 assists, 2 boards and 0 turnovers. Gibbs has not shot particularly well in the last 3 or 4 games.

As Croatia handled Puerto Rico, the US will have its toughest game next. I fear the Croats more than I do a meeting with the Aussies potentially in the gold medal game.

As it stands, the US team is now 7-0.

Slam Online has a nice recruiting recap for the entire Big East. It’s not a ranking, but it is a good way to look over the conference to get an idea about which teams loaded up and the expected impact players in the conference.

The good news is that DeJuan Blair’s going to be okay to play.

Blair sustained a hyperextended left knee less than three minutes into the game when he banged knees with Seton Hall guard Jeremy Hazell. Blair returned to play 26 minutes, finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Blair, the team’s second leading scorer and rebounder, underwent testing in Pittsburgh on Sunday after the Panthers returned from their 89-78 victory over the Pirates. Dixon said Blair had some soreness in the back of his knee, but no swelling.

“He seems pretty good about it,” Dixon said. “We will see how he feels (today). All signs are pretty good. It was a little scary there at first, but he seems all right.”

Gilbert Brown seems to be bothered with a sprained ankle.

The issue of turnovers has everyone a little on edge. There’s plenty of blame.

The turnovers are coming from every position on the court. Every starter except for Dixon had at least two against Seton Hall. Teams are testing the Panthers and their ball-handling ability at every opportunity.

But the majority of the miscues in the past two games have been coming from DeJuan Blair and Sam Young.

Of the 41 turnovers in the two-game span, Blair and Young have committed 17. Young had a team-high five turnovers against Seton Hall and had nine in the past two games. Blair had eight in the previous two contests.

“We’ve got to be more active,” Jamie Dixon said. “We have to meet passes. We had 13 in the first half [against Seton Hall]. It’s not the press. It’s the frontcourt. We had no turnovers against the Providence press. It was all in the frontcourt again. We have to make better decisions in the frontcourt once we get across.”

Young had three turnovers in the first half against Seton Hall called by the officials. Two called for palming and one off of his shot fake that the official bit on.

With Blair, it has been when he is not right by the basket the past couple of games. The minute he drops the ball below his waist, usually a guard comes to help and take a swipe. I’m thinking that is something that other teams have figured out in scouting. That if they can get him a little further from the basket, they have a shot at getting him to put it on the floor and can get a strip.

I’m not as concerned with Fields’ turnovers. When his assist-to-turnover ratio is 10:3 in a game, I can live with that. Hopefully he Fields will go down as the most successful point guard in Pitt’s history.

I was frustrated by the first half turnovers in Seton Hall, but the Pirates shot their wad in that first half trying to do it all.  I mentioned this in the recap, but Pitt had 14 TOs in the first half, 2 in the final seconds when it was an empty bench. Most of the second half was much better by Pitt. Obviously, we want to see Pitt do a better job for an entire game. That said, I can’t be surprised that a team like Seton Hall was going to create a lot of turnovers against Pitt. Look at their conference stats.  They are 3d in steals and 2nd in turnover margin. Their defense is predicated on forcing turnovers.

I’m not trying to minimize concern over turnovers. Given Pitt’s offense is based on efficiency, and does not play at a high pace, possessions matter. I am saying certain opponents style are going to create more turnovers. The unforced turnovers that we saw a lot of in Providence was much more worrisome than what Seton Hall got. Especially since Pitt did a fine job on getting back on defense and minimizing the harm by keeping Seton Hall from getting easy baskets off of the turnovers.

In the seven games prior to Providence, Pitt had a total of 70 turnovers. In 9 games this season, Pitt had 15 or more turnovers. Pitt is 6-3 in those games, and only 1-3 against teams that are NCAA Tournament bound (or on the bubble).

Here’s the thing, I expect around 15-17 turnovers against Marquette on Wednesday. Connecticut takes care of the ball nearly as well as Pitt, and they had 15 turnovers against Marquette. The Golden Eagles are another aggressive defense that tries to get steals and force turnovers. Again, the key is not the turnovers as much as making sure they don’t get out in transition quickly for easy scores.

Finally, UConn has a week to get ready for the season finale. They are already talking about it.

One thing that they can agree on: They’ll have no problem maintaining their competitive edge given what’s still at stake – winning a Big East regular-season championship.

”That’s not going to be too hard,” Calhoun said. “We have Pittsburgh Saturday. The most important thing is to win at Pittsburgh. I’ve always considered the regular season very important. If you can go through 18 games in this league and finish with the best record, you’re probably a very good basketball team.

”We have one more giant test.”

And Pitt has two.

In both losses, Pitt had limited availability from Blair. That created the meme that Pitt can’t win without him on the court. Incorrect. Pitt can’t beat the best teams in the conference without him. Just like they couldn’t without Fields or Young on the court. UConn would struggle without Thabeet, Adrien or especially Price not playing. Villanova without Cunningham or Reynolds. Marquette without their guards and Hayward. Louisville without Terrance Williams, Samardo Samuels or Edgar Sosa.

Note, it isn’t whether they are playing well or not. It is whether they are playing. If those players aren’t on the court for big minutes, then teams can key in on just a couple other players. Always watch for the creeping  jump that goes from not having your best players on the court to not having your best players play well.

We have been frustrated lately by Sam Young’s slumping play. The fact is, he needs to be out there. Having him out there, means that Young still needs to be accounted for by opposing teams. He helps open up the court for the rest of the team. Just like not having Blair out there, means teams can play further from the basket on defense and have more opportunities for rebounds. Even if the star players aren’t playing well, their presence matters.

Coach Dixon won’t let the team use the lack of Blair’s presense as an excuse.

“We’ve played without him before and we’ve won,” coach Jamie Dixon said.

That isn’t to say that Pitt wants to experiment playing without him.

That shows how much of an impact Blair can have for the Panthers when he’s in the game. And how much it hurts when he’s not.

“I think they can get through it, but having him is a big difference,” Bilas said. “Their efficiency is nowhere near the same when he’s out of the game. He’s the best offensive rebounder in the country, so you’re automatically going to get second shots. Plus, when he sets screens, they’re screened. He opens the floor for everybody else. You have to pay attention to him.

“I think their defensive lineup is a (heck) of a lot better with him in it.”

It’s obviously helpful that Pitt has gotten a lot of production from the bench — even if not a lot at Blair’s spot.

Gibbs is the top 3-point shooter in the conference, having made 26 of his 52 attempts (50 percent) from behind the 3-point arc. He is averaging 4.8 points overall.

Brown, who was supposed to be the top reserve, has been a steady, if unspectacular, contributor. He is averaging 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

But the player who is emerging as the top sixth man in the league is Wanamaker, who has been playing the best basketball of his short career in recent weeks. Wanamaker, who is averaging 7.9 points per game in Big East play (6.0 overall), has made 19 of his past 30 shots from the field and 9 of his past 15 3-point attempts. He is second only to Gibbs in 3-point shooting (46.3 percent) on the team.

“My confidence is sky high right now,” Wanamaker said. “When I see the ball going in the way it is now, that just makes me want to get to the gym every day and work harder.”

The strong play of the back-up guards has allowed Coach Dixon to go smaller at times and change the tempo. Even if Dixon isn’t completely comfortable with the pace.

Big shock, Pitt is still not a particularly good free throw shooting team. Both beat writers had stories on it. There’s no new ground broken. The same rhetoric. We’ll curse, mutter, sigh. Not much else to say.

I got a kick out of this.

When Blair walked into one class early last week, the other students gave him a standing ovation.

“They got up and started clapping,” Blair said. “I was like, ‘C’mon’. It was weird to me. But it’s cool.”

The story noted that Coach Dixon was doing interviews all week long with Pitt’s ascension to the #1 spot. It seems that Bill Plaschke wasn’t the only one doing the look-back with Maggie Dixon. This USA Today piece has some of the same details from the interview right down to the rocking chair and cutting his kids waffles.

Sigh. Well, getting away from the warm fuzzies of the basketball team for a bit. There’s more than a bit of unfinished business with Pitt football. I might come back to an abbreviated media recap. Right now, my sense is that it is almost as if we are back to the beginning of the season. Right after the BGSU debacle. The frustration with Wannstedt, the complete disappointment in Cavanaugh.

Right now, the comments from Coach Wannstedt the other day are being parsed, dissected and interpreted. Fun. Fun. Fun.

Let’s start with the obvious big issues: QB Bill Stull and OC Matt Cavanaugh.

Not just the fans have turned their questions on Matt Cavanaugh within the Pitt program.

Games like that make you wonder if the program can take the next big step as long as Cavanaugh is calling the plays.

It was such a glaring issue in the Sun Bowl.

…or the play callers and decision makers who left them in the game and did little to change things up in order to help them out?

For instance, I’ve been a critic of fans who are always crying for Greg Cross to get in the game – but if ever there was a game that cried out for something different, and if ever the team had enough time to put together a few packages for a guy with his talents, this was it. Particularly when you consider that the Beavers defense in their last game gave up 65 points and like 400 yards rushing TO A SPREAD OFFENSE TEAM.

Let me state that again – a team gets ripped by a spread offense running the ball. Pitt has a quarterback who you recruited to run similar spread schemes. Pitt had almost ONE MONTH to prepare said quarterback and offense for a few packages like that.

Honestly, though, was anyone really surprised that Cross never got into the game? I know I wasn’t.

That brings us to Coach Wannstedt’s teleconference and what he said.

…he also took the opportunity to say he will retain offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh for next season. Pitt’s season ended with a 3-0 loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl Wednesday.

Wannstedt said that Cavanaugh has been unfairly criticized and that the Panthers’ problems on offense are mostly because of poor execution and are not Cavanaugh’s fault. Despite the struggles of Pitt’s quarterbacks, he said, Cavanaugh is one of the best quarterbacks coaches in the country.

“Are you kidding me? We’re not going to base anything off of just one game,” Wannstedt said. “Matt has forgotten more about coaching quarterbacks than most of the other guys out there will ever know. And you can quote me on that one.”

I guess that’s the first issue. Wannstedt sees it as “just one game.” Everyone who is critical just sees the Sun Bowl as the final straw. I admit to being in the latter camp with Cavanaugh at this point. From his struggle to adjust to being an OC in college — remember when he admitted to not realizing/remembering that hashmarks were in different places — to playcalling that has made little sense far too often, to not developing any QBs with any degree of consistentcy or confidence. I will concede that it can be hard to declare the QB all on him, as they players have some responsibility.

Still: Bill Stull, Pat Bostick, Kevan Smith, Greg Cross. None of them are good enough? None have progressed much? At the very least it has to call into question his ability to evaluate. At worst, he’s just not doing the job. If “you are what your record says you are,” then at some point those players and their development reflect your ability.

Honestly, I wish I could muster the anger and frustration. I guess I’m a little numb since I’m not in the least bit surprised by this. Coach Wannstedt believes in his circle and his way. He would rather fail with it, than change his way. We’ve all known this. This is part of it.

The part that actually gets me close to upset is that Wannstedt appeared to put the offensive struggles all on “poor execution.”

DPJ is rightfully pissed off about everything he read.

This has been the hallmark of the staff since the moment they were hired. The is 0 accountability from the staff. We always used to joke about “Not My Fault Walt” but really, when was the last time you heard Wannstedt accept responsibility. This season Cavanaugh admitted a few times that his game plans were poor and the results of which led us to lose to Bowling Green as well as struggle against Iowa and Buffalo.

I will say that it is more Wannstedt than the staff at this point. Wannstedt may be trying to defend his embattled OC, but he’s instead put the blame on his players and the team instead. Nice work.

Even, though, it sure seems like the staff screwed up in some huge ways.

Freshman tackle Lucas Nix didn’t play in the Sun Bowl, but Wannstedt said Nix would have started at left tackle and played the “whole game” if coaches had known prior to pre-game warm-ups that Pinkston would not be available. Instead, fifth-year senior Chase Clowser got his first career start.

Good god, does that cry out for more detail. What does that even mean? I know Pinkston got hurt the day before, but why was it a one or the other situation? They didn’t want to spring it on Nix at the last minute? And then, they didn’t want to make a change? You know, to — what? Disrupt the O-line? I freely admit that I don’t know the full context and what else went into this, but nothing about it made sense on the 31st and it still doesn’t. Clowser was completely overmatched and unable to do the job. Yet, Nix wasn’t going to get a snap because Clowser got the start?

Here’s CBS Sports’ Spencer Tillman’s breakdown of the Sun Bowl (he picks Pitt).

Watch CBS Videos Online

One of Oregon State’s concern is to not have punts blocked. OSU Coach Mike Riley knew exactly who Andrew Taglienetti was.

Coach Wannstedt acknowledged Duncan’s comments about the Oregon State O-line. He didn’t try to change their meaning.

Wannstedt said: “As we always used to say, if you talk the talk, you better be able to walk the walk. But I wouldn’t read anything more into it other than he is a senior, this is last game and he wants to play good … and now he better be ready to play good.”

And then some.

Coach Wannstedt, refuses to say that there is any change of plans with the Rodgers boys out.

The University of Pittsburgh football team won’t make changes to its game plan, despite word that Oregon State star running back Jacquizz Rodgers and his brother, receiver James Rodgers, will not be playing Wednesday.

“I don’t think they’ll change their offense at all,” Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt said. “We’ve been down that road too many times, and that’s something that you don’t talk about because you really don’t know until you kick off, and you just have to be ready to adjust on the move”

With Duncan’s comments, all the attention has shifted to the OSU O-line. Pitt’s O-line, though, gets their own moment of attention.

“Coach Wise has brought a lot of technique to us that we didn’t necessarily use before, so it’s been great,” Williams, the left guard, said. “We’re just more mature this year. We’re learning more about football now. Things that might have been a problem in the past are not necessarily as challenging as they have been.

Wise said he’s happy with how the Panthers’ piecemeal offensive line has jelled.

“I would say it’s come together really well,” he said. “The big (change), obviously, was when Robb Houser went down, because he was just coming into his own at center. And he was just truly starting to play well when he got hurt at Rutgers.”

But Davis was quick to step in and give the line some continuity.

“The wonderful thing about C.J. is he just jumped in and just took over,” Wise said. “He’s a smart guy, a veteran guy, a very good athlete. So he just went in and took over. So that was a real godsend the way he did that.”

I found this amusing. One of the OSU beat writers has some fun imagining the coaches press conferences with other questions and honest answers.

Follow-up for Wannstedt: Dave, the Oregon State guys thought they had seen some ugly passes from their own guy, Lyle Moevao, but then they got a load of Bill Stull and they practically fell out of their chairs. Is that the best quarterback Pitt could come up with? What do you do on the deep routes, call FedEx?

Wannstedt: You sound like one of the message board crazies back home. Next question!

…

Question for coach Riley: Mike, if you couldn’t stop Jeremiah Johnson, how on earth will your “gap control” defense handle LeSean McCoy? The kid is liable to rush for 350 yards against your defense. … and what about that mismatch on special teams? Will you have (punter) Johnny Hekker just run out of bounds to avoid getting a kick blocked?

Riley: “All we need to know about Pitt is that they beat UConn. We know how good UConn is. … but yes, we’re thinking about having Johnny just down the ball.”

Follow-up for coach Riley: “Mike, that’s great, but what about McCoy? How do you stop him?”

Riley: “Well, you would hope that an old friend like coach Wannstedt would do the decent thing and not play LeSean McCoy. We can’t use Jacquizz Rodgers, so why should they be able to use McCoy? … but that’s all off the record.”

It also seems that LaRod Stephens-Howling will not be returning punts, but will be on the punt return unit.

Lots that I have not gotten to for a couple days.

Working backwards, there was the Seton Hill exhibition blowout. A chance to play with the line-ups and give the new guards lots of playing time.

Gibbs, who started at point guard, and Woodall, who came off the bench, combined for 22 points, four assists, five steals and three rebounds. They shot 9 of 12 from the field, going 4 of 7 from 3-point range, while playing a combined 37 minutes.

“Both of them played well,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “They are both good players. They are great kids. …Both guys have got to get better defensively. But it was good minutes for them.”

Gibbs, a Seton Hall Prep product, started alongside sophomore shooting guard Brad Wanamaker, and finished with nine points, two assists and two steals. He had no turnovers in 17 minutes.

Woodall, who played at USA Today No. 1 St. Anthony’s, went 3 of 5 from 3-point range, with 13 points, three steals, two assists and two turnovers.

“I think I could have done a lot better,” Woodall said. “When Levance gets here, you know he’s not going to turn the ball over. So, I have to improve that. But I think I came out and did all right.”

Fields has returned to practice, but he won’t return until he’s full-strength.

Gibbs learned at the morning shoot-around that he would start.

“I think I did well,” he said. “I did all right. I’m just glad we were able to get in there and get some playing time.”

All of Pitt’s newcomers performed well. Freshman forward Nasir Robinson went 5 of 6 from the field for 10 points and junior college transfer Jermaine Dixon had five assists and four rebounds while playing turnover-free ball.

It seems to be partially necessity with Fields out, but also Coach Dixon’s comfort level with tinkering in exhibition rather than focusing on making sure a rotation is set and everyone knows their roles. Despite this being a veteran team, there are still a lot of open spots in the rotation and determining whether there will be an redshirts.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon cautioned not to read too much into the starting lineup he had on the court yesterday afternoon for Pitt’s first exhibition game against Seton Hill College. By the time the regular season rolls around, the starting five of Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker, Sam Young, Tyrell Biggs and DeJuan Blair could be ancient history.

Or, if things unfolded the way they did against the Division II Griffins, Dixon could be tempted to keep it the same. Pitt routed Seton Hill, 102-51, before 6,020 spectators who saw what Dixon described as his “tinkering” process as the preseason unfolds.

Josh (Merlin) Verlin at Oakland Zoo has a very good game write-up of the exhibition.

DeJuan Blair talked a little about his leadership role and offseason conditioning. Can’t wait for the first game on TV so I can actually see the difference.

Jeff Goodman at FoxSports.com and The Sporting News preview both peg Pitt at #9 in the preseason rankings.

Not surprising, are the concerns.

Pittsburgh’s season hinges on the health of Levance Fields’ foot and the development of a reliable perimeter shooter.

Plain and simple.

The Sporting News Preview from Mike DeCourcy is always interesting since he is the only national college basketball writer who has his roots back in the ‘Burgh.

So when the subject of that drought comes up — and it comes up often, because it’s pretty much an obsession with Pitt fans — folks want to know what the program needs to do in order to get past the Sweet 16.

And the answer is simple: Have more than one DeJuan Blair grow up in the backyard every 20 years.

Not that there’s ever been another DeJuan Blair. He’s darned close to unique as a college basketball player: a 6-7 bear who can handle himself as a center both offensively and defensively. But around him are guys from Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore and New Jersey. There are as many scholarship players from the Bahamas as there are from Western Pennsylvania.

That lack of homegrown talent, as much as anything else probably had much to do with why Pitt pursued Herb Pope despite most observers not seeing him worth the risk after a point. One of those other potential local talents took a visit to another school last week. Tom Droney was in South Bend to visit ND and watch their scrimmage. Unfortunately he returned home Saturday morning. So, he didn’t get to see the football game.

Finally Big East Basketball Report pegs Pitt for #3 in the Big East and sees a 13-5 conference record.

I’m trying to be done with the whole Pat Bostick stuff. It’s just that there are still some things to clean-up.

First, Bostick is a good teammate who knows what to say about this.

“I’m the backup quarterback on a team that’s trying to win a championship,” Bostick said Tuesday. “Whatever they deem necessary to do that, trying to prepare ourselves to win a championship. We’re getting into the thick of things now. I’ve got to get ready to help this team win.”

…

“The important thing is, I’m not worried about the future right now, and this team is not worried about the future right now. We’re worried about right now,” Bostick said. “I think it’s natural to think about the future, and there are questions that arise as a result of what happened. But it’s also important to know that I’m helping this team to win every game, every week, and whatever the circumstances are for me to go on the field, that’s what I’m prepared for.”

Next, Coach Wannstedt should stop talking. It just seems that he is really trying to justify the decision and getting a little silly about it.

“It’s been made very clear to Pat and our team that he’s the backup quarterback,” Wannstedt said. “I’m concerned and Pat is concerned about winning as many games as we can this year. To say to a kid that you’re the second-team quarterback, but if someone gets hurt you’re not going into the game … I don’t know if that’s fair to the team and I don’t know if that’s fair to the kid.

“The third point is these redshirt things work out in different ways. Thank God, Derek Kinder had his redshirt year or his career would have been over [last] August. … You have to look at it in two ways. What’s best for the team? And who knows what’s going to happen and what’s best for the kid?”

I have to agree with Zeise who came back to it in the Q&A. The decision was made solely for this year. To then try and add a justification on how redshirts can work themselves out — because of injuries and what is unknown — is a load.

Q: Why are you people making such a big deal over Pat Bostick burning his redshirt this year when he still has next year to use it? Maybe with another year of maturation Greg Cross or Tino Sunseri will ready to be the back-up and thus Bostick could take his redshirt.

ZEISE: Technically you are correct but I’d say the likelihood of him taking a redshirt next year is next to nothing because he’ll be the back-up again and well, since he is the back-up, he’ll need to get some work and stay fresh. Look, this wasn’t a move that was made with the long term thought out — and this is something Dave Wannstedt even admitted during his news conference Monday. And while those other two players might progress — are you telling me that Greg Cross — or even Kevan Smith for that matter — hasn’t progressed enough to take three snaps and hand-off and then a fourth snap and then take a knee? Really, unless Bill Stull is injured and can’t play this week — and he said after the game he is fine — there was no logical reason to waste Bostick’s redshirt for what he was asked to do. And frankly, if the idea was to get him some work, considering Pitt scored to take a 28-point lead with 14 minutes left in the game he could have entered the game in the Panthers next drive — which began with 12:54 to play — and got some meaningful work. Had that been the case, this explanation of “needing to get him some work” would have been a whole lot easier to buy. The other theory I have heard floated — that coaches are losing confidence in Bill Stull — and want a viable alternative to be ready — that would be a lot easier to buy as well had they put Bostick in the game at the 12:54 mark and let him get some meaningful snaps — but they didn’t.

OC Matt Cavanaugh at least had a more reasonable explanation. The coaching staff screwed up on the timing portion.

Cavanaugh also admitted that the timing of playing Bostick late in the fourth quarter was “probably not” perfect. But he believed it was important because starter Bill Stull has been “banged around a little” this season with hip and shoulder injuries, and “you never know when he’s going to come out.”

“Obviously, it would have maybe been better if we’d stuck him at the beginning of the fourth quarter and given him a lot more work, but we’re a little slow to feel comfortable with a lead,” Cavanaugh said. “We didn’t think it would be fair to just throw (Pat) on the field.

“It could have been a better situation, the timing could have been better, but we accomplished what we wanted to. We wanted to get him some reps. Hopefully, we can continue that and have him ready if he has to play.”

You know, I can accept that easier than anything else. Why? Because it is consistent with the Pitt coaching staff with playing back-ups. There is no plan. It isn’t really thought out. With very little reason or logic. Any “plans” often get tossed because of the game situation.

It’s a shame it took the offensive coordinator and until the Thursday news for this to be said. It might have spared at least some of the speculation, rumors and such.