I hate trying to read too much into the season opener, especially when going against Eastern Michigan.

As we all know, QB Bill Stull went down in the third quarter with ligament damage to his right thumb. He had the surgery today. Last year Louisville QB Brian Brohm had a similar injury and was out for 2 games over a 3 week period. As I recall his first performance was rather shaky. Right now, I’m assuming Stull is out for at least 4 weeks. That means, it’s unlikely to see him until the Navy game (October 10). Maybe the Virginia game (September 29), but I doubt it.
It was so odd when he got hurt. From the vantage point I had, he came out from under center and staggered backwards, the ball tumbling behind him. The initial thought was that he had tripped over his own feet, but he immediately gripped his hand with the other.

Kevan Smith came in and was better than I expected — considering the way he was killed in training camp reports he would have had to work to play down to that. He did have a fumbled snap, and fumbled another when he was blindsided as he was trying to set himself. Can’t totally kill him for the latter. Still, he would be well-served to figure out the basics of taking a snap real soon.
The O-line looked horrible. I mean, I was rooting for Chris Vangas to win the center spot, but it now looks that as soon as Mike McGlynn is fully healthy — not just going in for a play to keep his games played streak alive — he will be taking that position unless Vangas can somehow improve quickly. The middle of the O-line was just a sieve. No way for any of the backs to run straight ahead, and pass protection was shaky.

Both McCoy and Stephens-Howling got nothing that way. McCoy has great lateral speed that he could get outside better to make some plays. Stephens-Howling was successful if they started him running to one of the sidelines. Then he could give a burst at an opening.

I can’t buy into the O-line was looking better as the game wore on, because what it looked like to me was that the EMU D-line was worn down. Pitt’s line was better conditioned. Not a tremendous surprise. The O-line rightfully is unnerving.

“We were inconsistent in our running game on offense,” is the way the head coach put it, which is the more palatable synonym for “stunk.”

Aside from Shane Brooks’ 1-yard plunge that overturned a 3-0 Eastern Michigan lead with barely two minutes left in the first quarter, Pitt tried 10 running plays in the first half. Three went backwards a total of 7 yards, five others went forward at an average of 5 feet, and two — wait a minute — two actually worked, gaining 6 yards apiece.

Stull played well enough without much time to throw and until someone yanked his thumb, but offensive conclusions were simply not to be drawn due to an overall lack of evidence.

Coach Wannstedt appears to be leaving the possibility of Bostick starting a very real possibility. Some are calling for it.

It has to be Bostick, doesn’t it?

Wannstedt confirmed his plan for this season was to redshirt Bostick, the Gatorade Pennsylvania High School Player of the Year last season and Pitt’s long-term hope at quarterback. That was especially true after Bostick left the team in August and missed the first week of training camp, returning home to Lancaster to deal with personal issues.

“That redshirt is out the window now,” Wannstedt said.

Wannstedt needs to learn from Penn State coach Joe Paterno’s mistake with his hotshot quarterback, Anthony Morelli, now the senior leader of a Nittany Lions team that should contend for the Big Ten Conference championship. Paterno didn’t redshirt Morelli in ’04 but hardly played him, wasting a year of his eligibility. That extra year would look pretty good next season, wouldn’t it? Or, look at it the other way: Wouldn’t Morelli be even better now if he had received significant playing experience in ’04?

If Bostick is going to use a year of eligibility this season, he has to get the most out of it by playing extensively. Starting him at home against Grambling Saturday is the right call. Wannstedt couldn’t pick a better opponent. Pitt should win easily and Bostick could ease into the lineup without having the pressure of carrying the team. That pressure will come soon enough; Pitt plays at Michigan State the following Saturday. Bostick needs the Grambling game under his belt to have a fighting chance against Michigan State.

I’m torn. I don’t think Bostick should start, but the issue of preserving his redshirt seems extremely unlikely unless they move Maurice Williams from WR to QB as a stopgap.

Really, given the state of the O-line the last few years it’s actually a bit stunning that this is the first time a Pitt QB got hurt in some time.

I want to see what Kevan Smith can do. He has an arm, but accuracy is an issue. He also has speed and can run. Given the O-line, that seems more like what Pitt needs. Of course, if he can’t hold onto a snap, then he won’t be playing.

So really, the offense was already an unknown and it remains one with a change in QB.

As for the defense. Well, clearly it looked good, but again, no conclusions based on the foe faced. No fumbles forced but then again, only 39 yards rushing.