To just simplify all stories regarding Bill Stull for the rest of the year. The theme is redemption. The obligatory aspect is that Stull was booed in the opening game.

As Pitt fans, we may be tired of the storyline. We may feel it has been beaten into the ground. We may feel that it is being overplayed and exaggerated. That’s irrelevant. This is the story and by god it will be run into the ground by each and every sportswriter that chooses to write about Stull at some point.

So Kevin Gorman, freshly minted Trib. columnist after his stint as Pitt football beat writer gets his Stull redemption story a little later than most in Western Pennsylvania.

“I’ve kind of become immune to it,” Stull said. “I know if I let that get in my head, if I let that sink into my heart and, most important, if I start buying into what these people are saying, then I can’t play the type of football that I know how to play, that I’ve been taught how to play.”

What Stull can’t help but notice is how the negativity has affected his family. The cascade of catcalls has prompted his parents, Bill and Debbie, to leave their seats and watch games from a rotunda at Heinz Field this season.

Bill Stull Sr. has been so bothered by the booing that he left the Backyard Brawl last year at halftime – after his son threw an interception in the end zone – and walked home to Mt. Washington. He left the Connecticut game Oct. 10 for the same reason, watching the fourth quarter at Bettis Grille 36.

This is the conflict. We can and as fans do split the hairs over whether the boos are directed at the players, coaches and/or playcalling. Parents from their perspective see it as being directed at their kids.

As a fan, I don’t recall much of the booing from the Backyard Brawl being directed at Stull so much as the poor playcalling and the overall ineffectiveness of the offense.

The UConn game was a small surge, but then drowned out by support and cheers. As a parent, though, I can understand the feelings.

Gorman does get Stull and his father on record to talk a little about their feelings regarding it. It’s more candid than done so far.

The piece ultimately fails because Gorman does this in a way that is sure to make Pitt fans defensive about the whole thing rather than willing to think critically about it. All because he preceeded that part with this.

For this, Pitt fans should be embarrassed. To his credit, Stull blocked out the boo birds to become one of the feel-good stories of college football.

Gorman’s bio notes that he is now teaching a sportswriting class at Pitt. Hopefully he focuses on the fact that everything you write gets preserved. As pointed out, Gorman while still a beat writer in training camp was quite honest in writing that Stull hardly looked like he had earned the starting job.

Now, Stull has a 9-4 record in 13 starts. Bostick is 4-4 in eight starts, including victories at West Virginia and Notre Dame. Sunseri has yet to take a snap in a college game, but has the best arm of the bunch. Even so, Stull is the starter, even if he didn’t shine the way a fifth-year senior should.

“Has Billy made the big strides? I would say probably no. But has Billy performed at the level that you would say he’s the starter? I would say yes. I’m just trying to be as honest about it as I can,” Wannstedt said. “He’s got 13 starts under his belt, so he’s our starting quarterback. I feel good about the other guys; I feel good about Billy. I think our quarterback position as a whole is better now than it’s been the past couple years, that’s for sure.”

Stull, however, is going to have to prove that he’s the quarterback of the first nine games of the 2008 season, not the final four. He’s going to have to put the Sun Bowl behind him – and fast.

Now to right a piece that comes off as self-righteous and that Pitt fans should be ashamed of themselves for some vocalizing their feelings over Stull’s performance while ignoring that he wrote about his own doubts from watching in training camp (and yes, I get that since the piece is a news column and doesn’t necessarily allow for expanding on that –but then he still has his blog to do that) makes it seem a tad hypocritical. Heck even Ron Cook has managed to admit he was wrong in between the single sentence paragraphs.

What’s really interesting in light of the Stull stories, is this from the Paul Zeise’s chat today.

Frankie_CigsPack: Can you give us some insight as to what the team thought of Bill Stull at the beginning of the season to where they see him now? It’s a great story in college football this year without a doubt.

Paul Zeise: Yes, a lot of the team wanted Tino to be the guy because they didn’t have much faith in Stull. Now, if you talk to them, most of these guys would run through a wall for Bill because he’s earned their respect, not just as a good quarterback but as a tough guy who is a leader and who wants to prove he is a winner. Respect and confidence from your teammates are two things you must earn and Stull has certainly done that.

So coming out of training camp, even the Pitt players didn’t have faith in Stull. And not just because of the Sun Bowl.

We can go round and round over the booing. The fact is, that Stull has turned things around and stands to change his legacy at Pitt with the way the season goes.

He’s done a lot to this point. Hopefully he keeps it going.

Pitt-Penn State in the Fiesta or any of the BCS Bowls.

I hate to even waste a post on it. I’ve read the articles laying out how it could happen. So what?

Yes, it would pack the stadium, but that’s only half the equation. It would be little with the TV ratings. It is a regional game of limited interest. Nationally, it would be something like a Florida-Miami game or perhaps Texas-SMU for the nostalgia hounds.

Even in a bye week, this is a complete waste of time.

Speculating on bowl match-ups is silly in October. Speculating on BCS bowl match-ups in October is dumb.

I want the Pitt-PSU game back as much as anyone — as a home-and-home series. My parents are PSU grads, so the return to that fun at family gatherings is something I would dearly love.

I’m also resigned to the fact that the series won’t restart until sometime after the Zombie King is denied his brains on which to feed, has salt poured into his mouth, and has his eyes and mouth stitched shut to put him at rest.

Until then, skip the time waste.

The USF game was a very good day for Jonathan Baldwin — notwithstanding having the wind knocked out of him for a few minutes.

Baldwin (Aliquippa) had six catches for a career-high 144 yards, Dorin Dickerson (West Allegheny) had five catches for 58 yards, and each had a touchdown as the Panthers picked apart the nation’s ninth-ranked scoring defense.

“(Offensive coordinator Frank) Cignetti switches it up so they can’t know what route I’m running,” Baldwin said. “It makes it good for me and easier.”

It seemed that Baldwin has faded out of the Pitt offense in the past couple of games, because of the double-teams.

The P-G’s Paul Zeise has noted in blog and Q&A that the offense somehow manages to forget Baldwin too often in the redzone or when he’s getting covered. Or even more bizarrely taking him out in favor of Cedric McGee for blocking purposes. In the USF game, Stull was definitely looking for Baldwin to take advantage of things.

He burned the USF secondary — especially Jerome Murphy — so badly that USF Coach Leavitt started threatening to bench top defensive players.

I should be focused only on this year, but I can’t help but think a little bit about next year (likely Baldwin’s last year) when he and Mike Shanahan will be the two top WR targets for whoever is the QB. Shanahan may have been slowed by the injuries in getting out there, but he is living up to a good deal of the training camp hype.

Those are two big guys that can run and stretch the field.

The nice thing is that both were catching balls in the second half, even when Pitt was up big in the 3d quarter (the 4th quarter was just fun for seeing the 2nd and 3d stringers get action). Watching Pitt continue to press its advantage on offense rather than simply try to run clock and let the defense do it all is a welcome change.

Q: I must admit, this team looked as good as they have at any time since Dave Wannstedt became the head coach. And just when I thought Wannstedt would take his foot off the gas, the team kept pouring it on to run USF out of the building. My question is — do you think that Wannstedt finally gets it, that he has to keep scoring to put teams away?

ZEISE: Well, yes, I think the N.C. State game showed him two things — you can’t shut it down with a lead and also you have a good offense, so you don’t need to. The whole evolution of this team and offense has been trust — the better the offense performs, the more trust the coach has in it. And the more trust he has in it, the more he’s willing to let it open up and fully realize how good it could be. This team is too good offensively to be afraid to let it continue to be aggressive and I don’t think that we will see that conservative shell again this year.

Some of that trust has to be coming from OC Frank Cignetti. He believes in the offense and to keep it going.

I hate to keep hammering on Cavanaugh, but his NFL mentality was not one that bred trust in the offense — especially by Cavanaugh himself. That meant not pushing harder and pressing the advantage. Instead pursuing a more risk averse strategy that can be more reasonable when the talent gap and mismatches are much smaller and every mistake can create a bigger swing. In college the gaps are larger and too conservative an approach on offense leaves not nearly enough room for what else can happen.

I also think that Coach Wannstedt realizes that no matter how he masks it, the secondary will be a concern. And especially when a team is trailing, they are going to throw — and go at an area of defensive weakness for Pitt. So the best way to deal is to keep building the lead — not just running the clock and keeping the defense off the field — to have a larger margin of error.

Just looking at the experience of the individual players, it should be obvious that the backcourt will be expected to do a lot more than simply work the ball inside for the post players. Gibbs, Wanamaker, Dixon (when he returns), Brown (when he returns) and the new guy Adams are all guys that work more on the perimeter. (Yes, I know that Gilbert Brown plays small forward as well, but he definitely likes to post and slash to the basket — not play inside).

By contrast, the front court has only two players with any experience — McGhee and Robinson. After that it is heavy on the youth and raw potential with Taylor, Patterson (who may be a lot more like Brown insofar as he’s a guard/forward type), Zanna, Miller and Richardson.

Coach Jamie Dixon seemed to indicate that the backcourt will be very much the driving force — and will show a lot of different looks and combinations.

Coach Jamie Dixon is looking forward to playing with his guard combinations once senior Jermaine Dixon, the only returning starter from last season, returns to the lineup from a foot injury. Among Adams, Dixon, Gibbs and redshirt freshman Travon Woodall, Jamie Dixon believes he can develop a nice rotation where everyone is making a contribution.

“When we get Jermaine back, those four guys will be interchangeable,” the coach said.

“That’s going to be a strength of ours — our versatility. They can play off the ball and on the ball, and I think they’re all going to be good defenders. That’s encouraging. I think we’re going to have a good shooting group out of those four.”

The guards certainly carried the play last night. Brad Wanamaker, who will play guard and small forward because of the absence of the suspended Gilbert Brown, finished with 19 points. Gibbs had 17 and Woodall 11.

The combinations may seem almost random at times early in the season. If for no other reason, than experimentation and figuring out which players mesh best together on the court.

The comments from those at the scrimmage are most interesting to me.

They jibe strongly with the reports on how Chase Adams looks. He seemed to fit right into the Pitt team.

The much heralded Dante Taylor struggled in the scrimmage.

…Taylor finished with three points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 22 minutes. The 6-foot-9 Taylor, who played eight minutes on the Blue squad and 14 on the Gold for the short-handed Panthers, shot 1 for 7 from the field. “Dante is trying to figure out our offense and trying to find the times when to post,” coach Jamie Dixon said. “He doesn’t quite have that down yet.

It also had to make things difficult since Coach Dixon said that Taylor will likely be playing center rather than power forward for the team.

It’s all going to be a work in progress this season.

Tonight is the Blue-Gold scrimmage for the basketball team.

Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon uses the scrimmage to simulate a typical game day schedule. The 14-player team will be split into two squads. Pitt will play two 16-minute halves with normal media timeouts and a five-minute halftime break.

Assistant AD Greg Hotchkiss has tweated the Gold team:

Gold Team: Ashton Gibbs, Nick Rivers, Brad Wanamaker, Nasir Robinson, Dante Taylor, J.J. Richardson

And the Blue:

Blue Team: Travon Woodall, Chase Adams, Lamar Patterson, Talib Zanna, Gary McGhee (big men will rotate)

There will be lots of curiosity about the freshmen, especially the much heralded Dante Taylor — who was picked by the Big East media as preseason rookie of the year. The guy I will be most curious about how he looks will be senior transfer Chase Adams. The man who would be starting point guard.

NBE: What can you add to the mix that this team might not have had without you?

CA: I feel like I bring a lot of energy and passion for defense, not saying their defense has been bad in the past, but I really care a lot about getting stops and battling and fighting for loose balls. I think this group has a ton of toughness already and I think I add to that with my toughness and I bring a veteran presence to a team with a lot of young guys on it along with Jermaine, Brad and Nas.

Look forward to reports on the team.

It’s how you know we have gone past the mid-point in college football. No, not the BCS standings. The myriad of awards keep putting out their mid-season or semi-finalist lists. Anything to remind people that there are other college football awards besides the Heisman.

Bill Stull has made the list of 15 semi-finalists for the Davey O’Brien Award for best quarterback. It’s nice recognition for a season that has been stunningly efficient. The odds of Stull making the cut to 3 finalists is rather slim. In terms of name recognition and statistitcs, he is an unlikely candidate. While Stull is one of the most efficient QBs nationally, Kellen Moore at Boise State has comparable numbers but more TD passes. Then there’s the name brands of Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy. Plus the numbers put up by ND’s Clausen. Still, there is fan voting (allegedly) at this site (though I couldn’t get it to load this morning).

Coach Wannstedt also made one of the many “Coach of the Year” lists. This one is the Bear Bryant CFB Coach of the Year remaining 20 semi-finalists. With the exceptions of Akey (Idaho) and Golden (Temple) the list looks like it was cribbed from this week’s top-20 teams.

In a more immediate and somewhat surprising honor. Dom DeCicco was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Week.

DeCicco, who had significant run support responsibilities against the Bulls, compiled a team-high 10 tackles (nine solo) to lead an impressive Pitt defensive effort.

USF managed only 212 yards of total offense. The Bulls entered the game averaging 407.3 yards and 33.7 points per game.

DeCicco is playing at an all-star level for the nationally ranked Panthers. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive back leads Pitt in tackles (62) and interceptions (tied with two). Among all Big East defenders, he ranks seventh with 7.8 tackles per game.

DeCicco took a lot of abuse early in the season for missed tackles and assignments. So this is a nice bit of recognition. The only negative to me, is that it just doesn’t seem like a particularly good thing that Pitt’s strong safety is the team’s leading tackler when this is a defensive unit that doesn’t blitz or bring the safeties up that much. It just points to the struggles to date with the linebackers this year.

A nice interview with Pitt asssitant coach Brandin Knight (still feels weird to type and read that even though he finished playing at Pitt some six years ago) about recruiting Pitt players.

“I think where we do a good job in recruiting is we recruit guys who we like and not necessarily guys that someone else told us to like,” says Knight. “What I’ve found now is even guys that might not be as highly touted is that when we start recruiting them, a lot of other big schools start recruiting them because they’ve probably seen what we’ve done with guys like Sam and DeJuan and Chevy and how they became impact players here.” Knight’s points are spot on, particularly with Blair and other schools jumping on kids that Pitt shows interest in.

The article notes a couple of Pitt recruits that have gotten a lot of interest after Pitt jumped on them. Cameron Wright in 2010 and John Johnson for 2011.

John Johnson, by the way, shined at the Eddie Griffin Challenge and was named a co-MVP of the tournament.

One of the best players in the event, regardless of class, Johnson was outstanding at getting to the basket and had multiple impressive finishes. He used his quickness and athleticism to get past his defender and finish at the rim or pass it off to a teammate for an easy basket. His speed with the ball going to the lane was eye-opening, and he was certainly not outplayed by the more well-known Kabongo. In the future, he adds a big-time dose of speed to the Pittsburgh attack.

And this report on his performance.

Johnson is the latest in the line of great point guards from Philadelphia. He plays the game and the point guard position with terrific poise and maturity beyond his years. Although he has a wiry frame, Johnson is very strong and rarely has the ball taken from him on offense nor does he get pushed off the ball or beaten on defense. There is no question that he has the toughness to play in the Big East. He is continuing to develop the skills and is making better decisions on offense that should help him contribute to Jamie Dixon’s team at the University of Pittsburgh.

It is looking like Pitt got another good one early.

And Pitt may be adding another Johnson for 2011. Durand Johnson out of Maryland has Pitt high on his list even if he doesn’t know that much about the school.

“Pitt, UConn, Florida State and Virginia Tech. That’s it right there,” Johnson said. “I really like those four the most right now. I really can see myself being a big-time player at any of those programs.”

Johnson, who wants to make his decision in the spring, plans on taking an unofficial visit to Pittsburgh on Oct. 23.

“I really don’t know a lot about them,” Johnson said. “I’ve seen them play a couple of times. I know Jermaine Dixon, he’s from Baltimore and he plays at Pitt. They’ve turned him into a pretty good player. And [former Pittsburgh standout] Sam Young played for Cecil for about two or three years.”

Of course, that was before the 6-7 wing/shooting guard visited.  Apparently he really enjoyed the visit.

…it looks as though his visit to Pittsburgh has certainly elevated the Panthers into the driver’s seat in his recruitment.

“My biggest impression was the team, the coaches and the fans”, said Johnson. “They showed me alot of love and really wanted me to be a part of the Pitt family.”

He’s now close to making a decision according to the story. Lots of teams interested.

Okay, folks it is another noon game for Pitt after the bye week.

When Pitt hosts Syracuse, the game will be at noon but for the scattered alum the game is getting shown on ESPNU on November 7.

I’m sure most of you have seen the quote from USF Coach Jim Leavitt that accurately described what happened to the Bulls.

“They just whooped us,” South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said in describing the Panthers’ 41-14 destruction of his team before a homecoming crowd of 50,019 at Heinz Field.

There would be no way to spin this as it being close or just a couple plays making the difference. Right? Right?

Helllll00oooo B.J. Daniels. Your late entry for Mr. Delusional 2009.

“I feel like we beat ourselves: penalties, missed opportunities and not completing drives … I don’t think they contained us,” said redshirt freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels, who had 104 yards total offense. “I feel it was us, in terms of 11 guys on the field. There were a lot of things we could have done better. The scheme was there. We just didn’t execute.”

As a team, the Bulls had nine penalties for 71 yards, including four on the opening two drives.

On the opening kickoff, an illegal block by Nate Allen set the offense back to its 10-yard line.

…

Daniels said the offense needs to get back to executing to turn things around.

“I feel like if we did everything we were coached to do and take advantage of our opportunities then we would be sitting here with a win,” he said.

Two facts regarding penalties. The USF Bulls are the most penalized team in the Big East. It’s not like penalties are an aberration for them.

Second, the nine penalties were very equitably split amongst squads. The Special Teams had 2, The Defense had 4 and the Offense had 3. All three of the offense’s penalties came in the 1st quarter and the Bulls had 7 of their 9 penalties in the first half. Even trying to blame the penalties for a small amount of the loss is a complete farce when your team commits them all the time.

The cliche is, “you are what your record says you are.” At this point in the season the stats also tell you what your team is. The Bulls are a sloppy undisciplined team. They have athleticism, speed and potential playmakers but do little with it. So, while the Bulls players and coaches may somehow convince themselves that they lost the game with mistakes, they really did little differently. They just ran into a team that was better than them, that didn’t let them get away with that kind of play.

Especially delusional is the offense.

“They were giving us a six-man box and we kept getting the third-and-medium, third-and-short, but we couldn’t execute,” USF offensive coordinator Mike Canales said. “We were trying to find a niche. We felt like we were getting 3, 4, 5 chunk of yards at a time.

“Then something bad happens, a mistake or a penalty. It stops your mojo. It takes away your rhythm and the next thing you know, it’s all out of whack. It’s so frustrating.”

Redshirt quarterback B.J. Daniels, USF’s leading rusher, did most of the work on keepers. He carried 15 times for 50 yards. Otherwise, the carries were divided between Jamar Taylor (five for 28), Mo Plancher (five for 23) and Mike Ford (two for 4).

“I believe we have playmakers everywhere on this team,” Plancher said. “I just think we’ve got to come out with more fire and play with more discipline. Whatever play is called, we should be doing much better than we’re doing.”

Well, at least we know that on the offensive side, the whining about beating themselves originated with the OC.

Despite Pitt not stacking against the run. Instead guarding against passing and B.J. Daniels taking off, the Bulls still had no run game.

Of course, the supposed strength of USF was the defense. Er, not so much. Now, they are confused.

“This shouldn’t be happening,” said USF senior defensive end George Selvie, shell-shocked after watching the Bulls give up 486 yards to the Panthers. “We didn’t put any pressure on Pittsburgh. They had their way.”

The Bulls (5-2, 1-2 Big East), losers of two straight games, were undressed in the first half. Pittsburgh (7-1, 4-0) scored on all five of its possessions, rolled up 297 yards and built a 31-7 advantage at the break.

The second half was merely a formality. Overall, Pittsburgh converted on 11 of its 16 third-down opportunities.

Thinking about it, the inability for USF to get off the field when it was 3d down was very reminiscent of what happened to Pitt’s defense against NC State. Well, except that it wasn’t just one guy making plays.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I saw a Bulls team that simply quit in the 4th quarter. Pitt beat them down on both sides of the ball and whether Pitt made them or USF did it on their own, they still quit. The question is, do they stay that way?

Offensive coordinator Mike Canales said the Bulls “can’t buy a break” with missed opportunities and penalties negating big gains but the players must decide how they will respond to the recent adversity.

“We need to start leaning against each other. Our backs are against the wall a little bit,” he said. “You say, ‘Hey, who are we?’ Are we going to lie down, or are we going to come back and fight. I think you’re going to see fighters.”

Recent history has suggested otherwise. Of course, if they don’t, they could well miss bowl eligibility. They need two more wins and their remaining games are against WVU, at Rutgers, Louisville, Miami, and at UConn in December.

The only thing they salvaged from the game with that final score against Pitt’s 3d string defense was avoiding their worst loss ever in the Big East. So, at least they had that.

The last couple games have been a painful reality check for USF that they are still no where near “arriving.” They can be a good team, but not a consistent one.  They haven’t done it for more than half-a-season to this point in their history.

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

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

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

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

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

This is the week of acknowledging what is happening.

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

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

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

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

So, there is some actual respect going on.

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

And respect for Coach Wannstedt.

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

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

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

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

So, while I was in Pittsburgh enjoying a dominating win by Pitt my wife had to take our son to the pediatric emergency room as he is apparently battling pneumonia. He seems to be responding real well to the medicine, so there is no great danger. It did mean I was on duty to watch and care for him last night and most of the day while the wife got some sleep and down time. Hence the lack of anything for a while.

Dumbest thing I heard during the game. A guy behind me complaining about Bill Stull after he hit Baldwin for the deep touchdown. I would love to be making it up, but it really happened. Apparently the pro was all over the mistakes: Stull double-clutched before throwing, it was not actually in perfect stride plus it was over the wrong shoulder.

Seriously? Why even go to the game if you hate everything and need to be that miserable? It was on the money. In stride. Stull had another great game.

Yet, when Stull threw that pick I swear you could see people in the stands catch their breath. There was murmuring.  People began to look around at the rest of the crowd. Waiting to see if anyone and who would boo Stull at that point. When nothing happened there was an exhale.

It was a great effort from the team in all phases. I’ll get more later. After all, there is a bye week to fill the time.

The Manning Award Watchlist expanded by ten more QBs. Bill Stull is one of them. He has no real shot, but it’s an honor to be among the 48 QBs on the list. There isn’t a cut-down until November 20 or so.

There are 12 players on Pitt’s roster from Florida. USF Coach Leavitt is especially familiar with the Florida guys on the D-line.

He’s familiar with at least three: Jabaal Sheard, Gus Mustakas and Greg Romeus — all Florida natives he targeted on the recruiting trail. “I know those Pitt defensive linemen very well,” Leavitt said. “They’re very active and very strong.”

In trying to describe Mustakas, Leavitt paused, then said: “He is very strong. There is no finesse there.”

His name is Gus Mustakas. Finesse just is not possible with a name like that.

The storyline for Pitt’s O-line is stopping George Selvie. That kind of ignores that the other DE, Jason Pierre-Paul, who has been outstanding this season. Especially since Selvie has been more reputation than output in key games this season.

One could make the same claim about Pitt’s Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard who were expected to be the dominant force on the D-line. They haven’t been as impressive, but the interior has stepped up nicely.

In terms of sheer production the Panthers rotation of tackles — Mick Williams, Gus Mustakas and Myles Caragein have been more productive than the trio of ends — Sheard, Romeus and Brandon Lindsey.

As an example, last Friday, the Panthers beat Rutgers, 24-17, and the three defensive tackles combined for five tackles for loss (the team had seven) and the team’s three sacks. The three ends had no tackles for loss and no sacks but did knock down three passes at the line of scrimmage.

The defensive tackles have combined for 75 tackles, 20 1/2 tackles for loss and 8 1/2 sacks; the ends have 56 tackles, 15 1/2 tackles and 11 1/2 sacks.

Pitt defensive coordinator Phil Bennett said that while the numbers aren’t overwhelming for the ends, Sheard and Romeus are playing well. He said they are just drawing a lot of double teams and help from running backs, which has hurt their productivity.

Yes and no. Romeus and Sheard have been facing a lot of attention, but they haven’t seemed to do a great job at beating it. At times, it seems like Romeus is more interested in the tape ball.

Some love for Hynoski, who is all about the team.

“I just want to do whatever it takes — running, blocking or catching,” said Hynoski, who had career highs of 29 yards rushing and 36 receiving in a 24-17 win at Rutgers last Friday. “I want the coaches to feel confident in me in all three areas. I’m not a guy who cares about the stats. I just want to win, and that’s all that matters.

“The way I look at it, if Bill throws a touchdown or Dion scores, it’s just as good as me scoring one. Once the team does well, all the individual things will fall into place.”

Jarred Holley has taken advantage of the injury to Elijah Fields to show he belongs out there. Hopefully someone on Pitt’s defensive staff does this.

Q: Despite Dave Wannstedt’s unwillingness to change from his preferred 4-3 defensive alignment, do you think that he would entertain the idea of taking out a linebacker and replacing him in the starting line-up with Elijah Fields (assuming he is healthy) in that bandit/hybrid position that he can play against the more athletic teams left on Pitt’s schedule (i.e. – South Florida, Notre Dame, West Virginia, and Cincinnati)? I think that both Fields and Holley need to be on the field against the teams mentioned above to help match the speed of those offenses.

ZEISE: If I had a gift certificate or something to give away for the question of the week — you would certainly get it because that is a great question. And the answer is — I think against South Florida, West Virginia and Cincinnati (three spread teams left on the schedule) — I guess Syracuse plays a bit of a spread now too, don’t they — you will see more of that bandit/buck stuff and Fields will be the guy to fit that role. One thing these last two games have done is convinced coaches that Jarred Holley is indeed ready to fill that role as starting safety and he is capable of making plays and holding his own.

Coach Wannstedt doesn’t want a redux of the Russell Wilson/NC State defensive debacle with B.J. Daniels. No body does.

The fans, commentors and this blogger have not been shy about heaping praise on OC Frank Cignetti. He gets a puff piece today focusing on his modesty.

In no particular order, Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti credits coach Dave Wannstedt, quarterback Bill Stull, running back Dion Lewis, tight end Dorin Dickerson, the other playmakers, the offensive linemen, the offensive coaching staff, the ball boys and even former coordinator Matt Cavanaugh for their roles in the team’s surprisingly effective offense and its 6-1 record, No. 20 ranking and first-place standing in the Big East Conference.

It just keeps making former OC Matt Cavanaugh look worse.

Q: I believe Frank Cignetti Jr. is a much better fit as a college offensive coordinator than Matt Cavanaugh. I think he has shown more creativity in his schemes and is younger and better with college athletes. Do you agree?

ZEISE: Yes and mostly because he really likes being a college coach. Matt is a very good offensive mind and he knew what he was doing but in four years here you never got the sense that he really wanted to be a college coach, in fact he had said as much. His heart was in the NFL as a coordinator. Frank Cignetti wants to be a head coach and he loves the college game so he has embraced it and ran with it…

At one time, early in his job at Pitt, Cavanaugh talked about being a head coach in college. Yet, no one took it particularly seriously. He was very much like the Paul Hackett style coach/coordinator. More about seyt schemes and systems and less about using the players in ways that played up their strengths.

Here’s a list of stations around the country that are showing the game.

I find it funny, amusing and sad.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Speaking of not letting go.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s been a pretty good week for Dion Lewis. The Big East Offensive Player of the Week has gotten a lot of attention, as he is 82 yards from 1000 yards after only 7 games.

The storyline after a trip to Rutgers was how all the other schools missed him. Everyone seems to be running with it including Sports Illustrated.

Two years ago, after rushing for 979 yards and 14 touchdowns on only 79 carries as a junior at Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., Lewis sent copies of his highlight tape to several Division I-A programs, including nearby Rutgers. The response was underwhelming. Only Pitt assistant coach Jeff Hafley paid him a visit, and he immediately began working to get Lewis’s commitment. “I’d run into other coaches who were recruiting one of the seniors [at Blair],” says Hafley, who liked the way the 5’8″, 195-pound Lewis broke tackles and accelerated through holes. “They thought he was too small, and I’d lie and say, ‘Yeah, he’s real small.’ But he’s short, not small. He’s built like a truck.”

And once Pitt got that commitment, Lewis wasn’t interested in going anywhere else.

When Lewis averaged an astounding 14.1 yards per carry as a senior, more major programs — including Cincinnati — checked on his availability. Lewis wouldn’t even take a call. He had verbally committed to Pitt the previous summer.

“If coach (Stone) told me a (college) coach wanted to talk to me,” Lewis said, “I’d say, ‘Tell him I’m not here or something.’ “

The other impressive thing is that he hasn’t worn down at this point. Something many (including me) expected if he didn’t see more splitting of time with Ray Graham.

“You have to tackle him every time,” Wannstedt said. “And, in the fourth quarter, those 21/2-yard runs become four-yard runs. He has proven he can do it all. He can go inside and outside, shows power and speed, and that is very unusual for any back, let alone a freshman.”

Pitt guard John Malecki said it is no coincidence that Lewis is getting better and stronger as games wear on because he is one of the best-conditioned athletes on the team.

Malecki also loves to block for Lewis because he is a physical, straight-ahead runner, the kind of football player people in Western Pennsylvania seem to embrace. Lewis played high school football at Blair Academy in New Jersey.

“Dion is doing a lot of incredible things,” said Malecki, a Franklin Regional graduate. “He is a four-quarter, smash-mouth, Pittsburgh-style running back, even though he is not from around here. You can tell he loves the way we run the football.

“He worked very hard to get into our strength and conditioning program to catch up to older guys, and he fits our mentality as a second-half team. Coach Wannstedt and [strength and conditioning coach] Buddy Morris implement that in all of us. [Lewis] takes it to another level.”

Obviously there are still 6 more games (including a bowl appearance), so he could still hit a wall. The good thing is Pitt hasn’t had a bye week yet. So, there will be a week off after this game and between ND and WVU to hopefully be refreshed during the final games.

And, yes, the Bulls know they will have to focus on stopping him.

“His feet are always within his body; they never get outside his framework, and they’re always moving. He does a great job with balance, does a great job with vision seeing the field,” defensive coordinator Joe Tresey said. “You just don’t know where he’s going to appear sometimes. He just gets behind people and, boom, he’s outside on the perimeter outrunning people. … He’s the best back we’ve seen so far this year without a doubt.”