Looks like Rashad Jennings will not play because of a shoulder injury. This means Kirkley, Stephens-Howlings and Mason will get the handoff. Fullback Tim Murphy is also battling a sore shoulder so it should be expected that Kellen Campbell will see some action. Perhaps even one of the freshmen fullbacks. I suppose what unnerves me is Coach Wannstedt is not looking to change things if the personnel shifts.

“If Rashad’s out, Brandon becomes the third back in the rotation,” Wannstedt said. “But will we vary what we do or how much we do it? No.”

Good God, there are beat writers in Cincinnati lecturing Wannstedt about using what you have in the right way.

Stubbornness can be an admirable quality for a college football coach, but in Dave Wannstedt’s case, it’s damaging his team’s potential.

The first-year coach is doing a disservice to the Pitt players he inherited from coach Walt Harris by dramatically restructuring the team’s offense without the personnel to complete the task.

Harris ran a West Coast style built on speed and precision. The former Miami Dolphins coach, Wannstedt is (pathetically) running a smash-mouth, up-the-middle system that is obviously failing with players who are better suited to spread out the ball.
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The best coaches, the ones who aren’t recycled through the system with a new team every three or four years, can adapt to new personnel they inherit. Those like Wannstedt are bound to endure seasons such as this because of inflexible attitudes.

Anyone who saw the Washington Redskins and Joe Gibbs last year try to turn Clinton Portis into Gerald Riggs (or had family members ranting to the point of incoherence about this) knows what he is writing. I’m not saying do not be untrue to your football philosophy, but show some flexibility in how quickly and stubbornly you implement it. Just because you want to run the ball, and go to power running more, doesn’t mean you have to keep running it right up the middle.

It’s that approach that makes me fear that he’ll keep trying to run Kirkley up the middle rather than try and get him to the outside, where he has some speed to turn the corner. It’s that approach that makes me wonder whether he really will use Stephens-Howling more. He’s definitely got potential if run on a sweep or an end around. Something where he has a chance to use his speed.

Tight End Steve Buches was named one of the team captains for the game, along with Safety Tez Morris, Linebacker J.J. Horne and Running Back Ray Kirkley.

This story effectively explains the pressure on both coaches and teams, but also the potential ugliness of the game.

Two proud programs will match downright embarrassing offenses when Pittsburgh and Nebraska meet on Saturday.

Pitt (0-2) comes into Memorial Stadium seeking relief from the heat already on first-year coach Dave Wannstedt after losses to Notre Dame and Ohio University. Another loss would mark the Panthers’ worst start since 1984.

Nebraska (2-0), which relied on its defense to beat undistinguished Maine and Wake Forest, wants to work out the kinks on offense before Big 12 play opens against defending North Division co-champion Iowa State in two weeks.

“I know we need improvement,” Cornhuskers coach Bill Callahan said. “It’s clear to my eyes and anyone else’s eyes.”

Fans have wanted to cover their eyes when Pitt and Nebraska’s offenses have had the ball.

The Panthers are 95th nationally in total offense; the Huskers 99th.

Pitt is 92nd in passing and 75th in rushing and is converting a miserable 32 percent of its third downs.

“There are no shortcuts to solving this thing,” Wannstedt said. “You have to go out and do it. We have to improve.”

The Huskers are 100th in passing and 77th in rushing and converting just 30 percent of its third downs.

Each team has just two offensive touchdowns so far.

The bright side (if you choose to see it that way) for the 3:30 away game start — no early start on the beer. For some reason, the wife casts a disapproving an eye when I shift from coffee directly to beer or bourbon when there is a noonish start time.

There is the obligatory story about 2 washed out NFL coaches facing each other.

The Pittsburgh papers take notice of Nebraska’s defense. One piece is a puffer on Linebacker Corey McKeon and his trash-talking. The other piece is a little more substantive about the actual style and play.

“Active is a great word to describe their entire front seven,” said Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt. “They are very active the entire game and they keep the pressure on from whistle to whistle. They look an awful lot like those great Nebraska defenses from the 1990s when it seemed like they were winning national championships every year.”
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Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh said the most impressive thing about the Cornhuskers’ defense is that it is simple in concept, yet difficult to defeat. He added that Nebraska’s players are fundamentally near flawless and overwhelm teams with discipline and athleticism.

“They play a real sound scheme,” Cavanaugh said. “And they are very, very good at playing their scheme. They don’t do a whole lot, but what they do, they do it very well. They don’t try and fool you or trick you, they come right at you. They are able to bring pressure with just their four guys up front and they’ve been able to pressure quarterbacks into making poor throws.”

The O-line for Pitt is going to have to play an outstanding game.

Strangely, in Nebraska there is some concern that the defense is not really that good, since it hasn’t been tested yet.

Can you blame them? Probably not when they point out, with good reason, that the defense appeared to be doing just fine last year, too, until that 70-point night in Lubbock. Before then, Nebraska had the nation’s fifth-ranked defense, and the Blackshirts were coming off a tough 14-8 victory against Kansas.

Today, some folks don’t want to risk praising the defense, only to be burned and disappointed by another implosion. Those four touchdowns by the Blackshirts in two games? That number might as well be 44, because, well, Texas Tech hasn’t come to town yet, so what difference does it make?

Perhaps such hesitation is warranted. It has only been two games — one against a Division I-AA team — and the opposing quarterbacks haven’t exactly elicited thoughts of Joe Namath.

Reasonable concerns, but apparently Pitt isn’t causing the fans much concern.

So far this season, the Big Red has taken some hard hits. So, too, has Fan Conventional Wisdom, or FCW for short. What’s that, you say? FCW is the dominant opinion that emerges from the plurality of voices that make up the Husker fanosphere. Its most important function is to help us fanboys get a bearing on the next game’s most likely outcome.
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This week, Pitt (and it’s OK to call ’em Pitt again) is 0-2 after losses to Notre Dame and lowly Ohio. Unsurprisingly, FCW is calling for a big-time Husker win tomorrow. Most folks I talk with expect the Panthers to barely get a whiff of the end zone. Predictions around the Web are bursting with victories in the 34-7, 49-6 and 38-10 range. Wow. I hope they’re right.

But, at the risk of the Husker Nation Loyalty Patrol coming to my house and confiscating all of my red clothing, I sense Saturday’s game will again stubbornly refuse to follow FCW’s script. The Panthers seem to own most of the intangibles: They’re upset and hungry, and they’ll likely play with a renewed sense of urgency. They’re a veteran team that has its back against the wall.

The game will be Red Cross Day at Memorial Stadium. Donations will be raised before and during the game. It’s also worth noting that the Pitt Athletic Department has raised over $70,000 for relief efforts.