Too many spots and not enough teams. That’s exactly what it felt like by the time I finished the ballot. I’m not at all happy about this, but that’s the way it is.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU	—
2	Ohio State	—
3	Boston College	—
4	Oregon	5
5	West Virginia	2
6	Oklahoma	1
7	Arizona State	4
8	Kansas	5
9	Missouri	3
10	Southern Cal	2
11	Georgia	15
12	Florida	8
13	Hawaii	1
14	Auburn	4
15	Wake Forest	4
16	Connecticut	10
17	Texas	—
18	Michigan	2
19	Alabama	2
20	South Florida	14
21	South Carolina	6
22	Clemson	4
23	Tennessee	3
24	Virginia Tech	8
25	Boise State	1

Waitlisted/Standing by: Does it really matter?

I found myself wanting to drop Kentucky and South Carolina, but not enough other teams worth putting in the ballot.  I mean, Boise State managed to get back into the rankings. Opted to drop Kentucky, despite their win over LSU. South Carolina holds the head-to-head edge and I’ll generally favor the team capable of playing defense. By the same token, I realize that Tennessee beat SC last week, but given the up-and-down nature of the Vols I expect a loss in their next game and them to drop from the ballot. Absolutely no faith in them.

The more I see of Oregon, the more I like — not withstanding the unis.

Arizona State is worthy of respect, but there’s a good chance their starting QB won’t be available.

South Florida will start winning again. They have two games left at home — where they are far better. Their remaining road games are at Syracuse and Pitt. No excuses. They should sweep the rest of the season or they are out of the poll.

Eh. Here’s the composite from all voters. Here’s where you can look at individual ballots.

Do you ever get the feeling there is a bit of regret amidst present and former Pitt decision makers about not hiring (now) LSU defensive coordinator and the hot head coaching candidate, Bo Pelini?

Word is as A.D. at Pitt, Long was interested in hiring Pelini but was rebuffed by higher-ups and tabbed Dave Wannstedt. Maybe Long will make a play for Pelini this time.

Mmm-hmm. That reminded me of something I read earlier this month in a Zeise chat.

ticktockman: What role does Jerry Cochran play in this program? We’ve sucked through various AD’s and Coaches, but he has been a constant it seems.

Paul Zeise: I’m not sure how much he has to do with the program. I know his first choice for the head coach the last time was Bo Pelini and he was obviously over ruled, so while he has some say, he clearly doesn’t have the final authority to do anything.

That leaves the blame all on Chancellor Nordenberg as Chochran and Long apparently have quietly whispered in different reporters’ ears how they wanted Pelini a few years ago. That is assuming both are being truthful and not engaging in a bit of revisionism.

There haven’t been a lot of puff pieces this season. I suppose that makes some sense. The last couple of years, there have been older, name players the beat writers knew and felt comfortable gushing over. Not so much this season, but now that the season is almost 2/3 complete we can probably expect a few.

Aaron Berry gets a story for coming round in the last couple of games after injuries and sloppy play had many questioning him.

“It taught me a lot of things. There’s no (referees) out there at practice to tell what you can do and can’t do,” Berry said. “You’ve got to have a confidence level to attack the ball and not be there too early.”

Ball and Rhoads, a former secondary coach, instructed Berry to trust in his technique and become the playmaker they anticipated he could be.

“He’s learned that he doesn’t have to reach and grab. He can cover people with his feet and use his technique,” Ball said. “For insecure corners, the security blanket is reaching and grabbing. He doesn’t necessarily have to do that now.”

Of course, with Berry improving, that mens Kennard Cox is getting abused more.

Meanwhile QB Pat Bostick gets the love from his hometown paper, and we learn he is referred to on the team as “quirky.” Whether that’s a nickname or just what they say about him isn’t entirely clear.

“You get a curve ball sometimes, and I have to make this feel like it’s playing in the backyard,” said Bostick. “You’re playing football; it’s a kid’s game, and you’re lucky enough to be playing in a venue as nice as Heinz Field. It’s great, but at the same time you can’t lose sight that it’s a game.

“I think this is a program on the rise. We are building the foundation for years to come, but at the same time, I’d rather not talk about that, because the future’s now, and the important thing is to win games now.”

Considering Lancaster County is pretty much Penn State country, Bostick was asked if he hoped to change the roar to a different tune.

“I’ve told countless people, I love where I’m from and I’m glad people there can get a chance to see me play. I get to represent where I’m from, and that is real real big to me,” he said with a huge smile. “So I’d love to do that.

“We’re recruiting more and more from that area, and I’m happy about that, because I think Pitt has a lot to offer, and people are starting to realize that although our record doesn’t really reflect that, we have a character program here.”

On the recruiting side, there was a scholarship offer “pulled” and a new commit.

A WPIAL player, no less, had it pulled.

Greensburg Central Catholic defensive back Chris Hayden-Martin, who had verbally committed in June, told Pitt coaches Monday that he planned to visit other schools. The Panthers have since pulled his scholarship offer.

…

The Panthers expected the same of Hayden-Martin, especially after he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee last Thursday against Jeannette. Pitt was prepared to honor its scholarship, but GCC coach Muzzy Colosimo said Hayden-Martin got “cold feet” once Boston College, Michigan State and South Carolina came calling.

“He never visited anyone other than Pitt, but he told me there were a lot of other schools interested,” Colosimo said. “I’m not in favor of this kind of stuff, but I didn’t believe he should have committed early because he didn’t visit anyone else.”

I have to say, I agree with his HS coach. You have to be smart enough to look around just a little before making a commitment. As for the scholarship being pulled. Fine. But I’m not entirely convinced it truly is.

The Mike Cruz case is the template. The scholarship was pulled when he backed out and even dissed Pitt a bit. The reports, though, said that Pitt was still recruiting him. The difference, I believe is that there is no scholarship being held for him. And that Pitt will recruit the position the recruit plays as if it was open. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pitt took that approach with Hayden-Martin.

The new recruit is something that Pitt needs. A kicker, since Conor Lee is a senior.

Harper has verbally committed to continue his football career at Pitt. The 5-foot-10 senior had official offers from Kent State and Marshall on the table, and he was drawing interest from Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State. In the end, it was the Panthers’ interest and loyalty prior to the long field goals this season that swayed Harper.

“Pitt showed a lot of interest before all the glamour came with the 58- and 61-yard field goals, and that mattered a lot to me,” Harper said. “I wasn’t ranked by Rivals.com until I hit those field goals, and now I think I am ranked seventh in the nation. That’s when most of the teams started showing interest, but Pitt was there before that.”

Harper is 10 of 16 on field goals and 42 of 45 on extra points this season for Mentor.

Beyond the long field goals, Harper also had 10 touchbacks in a game this season against Maple Heights, a contest Pitt recruiters were at. Harper said there is a kicker coming back next season, but he still might just handle kickoffs for the Panthers as a true freshman. Otherwise, he might redshirt, and then handle kickoffs and field goals for the next four years.

Harper had two field goals this season of 58 and 61 yards. His mom had been cautioning him going into the season about not expecting a D-1 scholarship.

I can’t say I’m completely buying into it. The spin isn’t just playing the freshmen, but playing “underclassmen.”

In Saturday’s loss at Louisville, Pitt started three freshmen – quarterback Pat Bostick, tailback LeSean McCoy and wideout Maurice Williams and three with sophomore eligibility – right guard John Bachman, tight end Nate Byham and wideout T.J. Porter. Three defensive players – cornerback Aaron Berry, tackle Mick Williams and outside linebacker Shane Murray – also have sophomore eligibility.

“I like the attitude of our team,” Wannstedt said. “I think we’re better conditioned, and we’re stronger mentally. When it’s 14-0 at Louisville at their homecoming game, it’s easy to fold your tent with a freshman quarterback and a lot of young kids. The seniors of this team, they just kept plowing, and I like where we’re at.”

Key phrase, “sophomore eligibility.” Bachman, Williams and Murray are all redshirt sophomores. Technically underclassmen, but not exactly.

Citing Porter and Byham is just silly. Byham was a top TE recruit in the country, so you hope he is starting at this point. The WR position last year had two redshirt freshmen in Turner and McGee seeing lots of action, and in Turner’s case starting. Exactly why is Porter starting as a true sophomore hold great meaning?

So reading how progress is slowly coming. Well… it just causes teeth grinding.

“[Progress] is slow, it’s not as fast as I would like,” he said at his weekly news conference. “It is not as fast as anyone would like, but we’re dealing with a great group of kids. The attitude is great. You wouldn’t know we are 3-5 if you watched these kids practice and study and get ready to try and win.”

If you watched them in the games however…

This article by Gorman actually implies Syracuse is also making progress. In rebuttal, this from a joint effort of Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and Orange 44.

Maybe in retrospect we expected too much to improve. But it’s not wrong of us to assume SOMETHING would have improved. Never has a football game been such a sobering experience than that Washington game. I joked beforehand about what it would be like if we lost by 40…and then we almost did.

2. Orange::44: Who is to blame for the football team’s underperformances? Is it DOCTOR Gross with his mismanagement of the department, Greg Robinson for being a bad coach and recruiter, Nancy Cantor for being a terrible Chancellor, or is it a combination therein?

Nunes: In theory you could trace the blame all the way up. Robinson for being a bad coach, Gross for hiring Robinson, Cantor for hiring Gross, Cantor’s mother for giving birth to her, Cantor’s grandmother for giving birth to Cantor’s mother, and so on until, ultimately…the blame falls to God (however you describe him/her/it).

In practice, I think you have to look at Gross. If it’s true that he only interviewed two people for the head coaching position and then decided his search was over because by the grace of God, Greg Robinson appeared before him on a diamond-studded chariot, heralded by angels, claiming that rapture and/or national titles would befall Syracuse upon his hiring…well then its Gross who needs to answer to why that didn’t happen. (The national titles, I mean. The rapture didn’t happen cause we’re all sinning masturbators, obviously)

No matter what you think of Coach P, it was a bad move to fire Pasqualoni and have no clear successor in mind. It was a bad idea to hire a lifetime coordinator and not interview other applicants as well, including ones with a history in the program and at the university. It was a bad idea to invest so much money into the state of the current program as it continues to underachieve. And it will ultimately be a bad decision to continue letting Robinson coach the team as the program and the school lose money, fan support, money, national appeal and money.

I guess Gorman was stretching a bit to make a complete parallel between Robinson and Wannstedt. The differences are that Wannstedt is an alum and is recruiting extremely well. Robinson is neither and is toast. Coming Thursday, you can expect a transcript of a chat I’ll be having with Sean from Troy Nunes… in anticipation of Saturday’s game.

Still trying to dig things out like the articles for Pitt basketball right after Media Day last week. Starting with the tradition from Coach Dixon to bring the seniors to Media Day, that has special meaning this year amongst the four seniors in tow.

Four years ago, Ramon and Benjamin, New York City natives, were the first two recruits to give Dixon verbal commitments, weeks before he coached his first game at Pitt.

Dixon has always brought his seniors to Big East media day in New York. But yesterday was the first time he brought a class of players that he recruited, signed and brought to Pitt as the head coach.

…

“It’s a reward for the seniors who have been through it,” Dixon said of bringing his seniors to this event. “They came to a program that wasn’t quite established when they arrived, and they’ve established it. They’re part of a team that’s had the best record in the conference by far over the past six years. And they’ve been a big part of that.”

The article also notes that they had a dinner with Manhattan head coach, and former top Pitt assistant Barry Rohrssen. Rohrssen will be one of many to attend the Sunday, November 4, exhibition game. Not to see Pitt have its way with IUP in a tune-up, but for the Bill Baierl Alumni game in between the men’s and women’s exhibitions.

A former basketball letterman and 1951 Pitt honors graduate, Baierl was a kind, caring, generous, highly accomplished and dedicated long-time supporter of the Pitt athletics program. As a student-athlete at Pitt, Baierl was a basketball player under legendary Pitt coach H.C. “Doc” Carlson. Following graduation, Baierl always remained close to his alma mater and became one of Pitt’s most highly respected and widely beloved graduates. Baierl was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni Fellow and was formally welcomed into the Cathedral of Learning Society, a recognition group for lifetime donors of more than $1 million to the University. He provided the lead gift for the construction of the Petersen Events Center’s 43,000-square foot Baierl Student Recreation Center and Baierl Basketball Center which houses Pitt’s lockerrooms, team meeting rooms, training and practice facilities. He passed away in April, 2007.

The game was put together by former Pitt great Charles Smith, who was very close to Baierl. Quite a list of participants.

Smith and Pitt coach Jamie Dixon are the co-hosts for the game. And they pulled out all the stops to make it a star-studded event. Among the former players expected to attend are Don Hennon, Jerome Lane, Clyde Vaughn and Curtis Aiken.

Many prominent coaches with Pitt connections are taking time out of their schedules to be there as well, including Memphis coach John Calipari, Xavier coach Sean Miller and Manhattan coach Barry Rohrssen.

The goal is to make this an annual event.  Something that is so blatantly a good idea that I have nothing snarky to say about it. The only thing I will sadly note is that former coach and player Tim Grgurich is not listed in the release as expected to attend. I keep hoping he will reconnect with Pitt at some point. He could be such a resource for Pitt in teaching and helping develop players. One of the great teachers of basketball (IMO), even just to get him in for a day or two each year could be so valuable.

As for the team itself, the consistency and achievements of the program has earned it a place now as a perennial top-25 team. Even with the changes, those outside of the program expect Pitt to continue to do well regardless of the personnel and change in style.

“Will Pitt be different because they don’t have Aaron Gray?” Thompson III said. “I think history has shown that they have made adjustments. They will be fine.”

…

“We’re obviously a different group and they understand it and they push the ball,” Dixon said. “We have six guys out there who can all handle the ball and handle the ball in transition. I think that’s going to lead (to up-tempo play) more than anything. It’s just going to mean opportunities. If Gilbert or Mike comes up with a loose ball, they can take the ball in transition. We always haven’t had that.”

The change in styles and the loss of three starters didn’t lower expectations at Pitt. The Panthers last week were picked to finish fourth in the Big East pre-season coaches poll, and 20th in the nation in the USA Today/ESPN poll.

“Personally, I don’t look at them as rebuilding,” Thompson III said. “They lost some very good players, but they have very good players that are there. I don’t think it’s a case of rebuilding. I think Jamie is too good of a coach and the players they have back there are too talented.”

That is the hope. Of course, stranger things have happened. Just look at UConn.

With many thanks to DJP from The Cat Basket, I was able to procure a Cat Basket t-shirt which I wore around the great city of Wexford, Pennsylvania, today.

He also invited me to the Oakland Zoo’s Student Event. (I wish I could go but won’t be able to make it.) Student’s can meet the players and coaches, with pizza and prizes available.

It’s hard to believe basketball season is creeping up on us already.

It’s a strange problem to have, and one I doubt I’d want to trade right now. Effectively I’m trying to write for four different blogs/topics. Pitt Football, Pitt Basketball, FanHouse College Football and FanHouse College Basketball. All the while taking care of a six-month old all day and my 5-year old added in to the mix in the afternoon after morning kindergarten. It’s probably wrong to think how much I’m looking forward to the point where the 6-month old will get hooked on the baby crack (Baby Einstein videos) so I can do extra work in the mornings. The point, is that I have a bunch of Pitt basketball links to clear through for almost a week.

In probably the highest preseason prognostication so far, Jeff Goodman at FoxSports places Pitt at #12.

Jamie Dixon lost three starters, including the team’s best inside player and its top defensive player. Despite the departure of Aaron Gray, Levon Kendall and Antonio Graves, Pittsburgh should be improved from a year ago.

That’s saying a lot since the Panthers finished 29-8 and 12-4 in the Big East. However, while the 7-foot Gray was a presence in the paint and a force on the boards, Dixon’s squad will be able to get up and down the floor now and utilize its speed on the perimeter.

He still tabs Pitt for 4th in the conference, so Goodman clearly likes the top teams in the Big East on a national level. 4th in the conference, of course, was also what the Big East Coaches thought.

“It doesn’t mean anything to us as far as how we are going to play,” coach Jamie Dixon said.

There is no Pitt player among the eight players pictured on the cover of the 2007-08 Big East Conference media guide. Senior forward Mike Cook graces a spot on the back of the 170-page resource, between players from Cincinnati, picked 12th, and USF, picked for dead last in the 16-team league.

“I still think they are going to have an outstanding team,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said of Pitt. “They are one of the favorites in this conference. Their style is going to change, but I don’t know to what.”

Oddly, the Syracuse newspaper beat writer seems very perturbed by Pitt’s preseason respect. Both Nationally and within the Big East. Mainly, I think, because it seems to have come at the expense of where Syracuse is predicted/expected to be. Seems silly since it is essentially one spot in the conference and it’s not like Syracuse doesn’t have more questions than Pitt — and more losses from the team. Just one of those things I guess.
I am of the opinion that Doug Gottlieb doesn’t actually hate Pitt. He just likes to see how pissed off he can get the fans. He offers quick thoughts on each team in the pre-season coaches poll.

20. Pittsburgh (29-8)

Let me predict Pitt’s season: 25+ wins, a couple of questionable losses, good team, well-coached, second round or Sweet 16.

It essentially is how a lot of the rankings in preseason seem to be looking at Pitt. For good and bad. As for Gottlieb, don’t let it get to you. Refute when factually in error and don’t waste time responding to the bait.
ESPN.com/Blue Ribbon happened to make Pitt’s preview page a freebie rather than an Insider subs.

Dixon has a good point. Pittsburgh is no longer a team that lives year-to-year, hoping enough players stick around to prevent a big slide. Nope, the roster is well stocked with talent at all four-year levels. OK, so there are no sophomores, but only because Austin Wallace and Gilbert Brown red-shirted last year. The Panthers welcome a deep crop of newcomers and have five stalwarts returning from last year’s three-round tournament run. It should be another good year, which will be no surprise to Dixon.

”I’m excited about the team,” he said. ”I know we have some guys who haven’t played as much who are ready to step in and be productive for us.”

…

BACKCOURT: B+
BENCH/DEPTH: B
FRONTCOURT: C+
INTANGIBLES: B+
Forget this stuff about rebuilding. Pittsburgh isn’t a juggernaut — although it could become one — but it isn’t some team in need of big-time rebuilding. Pittsburgh has talent. It has some ex-perience. And it has depth. That may not add up to an NCAA Tournament berth, but it’s a great start.

More stuff later.

That’s my feeling after the rough loss to Louisville — disappointed because we had a chance for a win, but content with the way the team looks moving forward into the future. Sure it took almost 45 minutes into the game for things to look upward, but it looks promising.

Notes from Papa John’s Stadium**:

— Brock Bolen was clearly in the endzone on Louisville’s last drive, and it’s amazing that I can see it every time I watch the replay but the officials on the field and in the booth can’t. Makes me wonder…if they had given UL the touchdown there, would it have kept them from reviewing Oderick Turner’s possible touchdown? Did the refs only take another look just to even out what had happened at the other end of the field?

— For the record, it’s hard to say Turner isn’t down:

Clearly looks like one or both knees are down short of the goal line.

— Looking at “the play”, you see two very nice plays made by Louisville defenders. First, #14 (Rod Council) who is circled in yellow. Also look at #22, Lamar Myles, who stormed right through the defensive line. Both players did what they needed to make McCoy think too much and try to make a decision without ever grasping the ball.

Also, a nice job by Council to securely recover the fumble.

— As many of the comments said in the live blog, we saw McCoy crying on the sidelines, and locker room interviews talk about him and Bostick being upset. There’s nothing wrong with this — it’s good to see that this team’s core players really do care. And honestly, it is very hard to be upset with Shady. Without him, we don’t pull off that great final drive. We ran the same damn play each time and he still managed to pick up 19, 19, and 7.

— Bostick and McCoy are going to grow from this loss.

LeSean was heading out (to the bus) with his uniform on; he wanted to fly home with his equipment on. I said, `No, you can’t do that. You have to change before you get on the plane.’ His emotions were that strong that he didn’t want to be in the locker room. I think that they handled it as well as could have been expected and neither kid has been in that situation very often. So it was all part of the game and they need to grow up along with that and know that they have my support, the team’s support and know that we wouldn’t be in position to win any games if those two guys don’t do their part — so that’s the other side of the coin. It’s just where we’re at right now.

— I still feel a bit uneasy about the way we scored our first touchdown. Intercepting the ball (nice catch by Aaron Berry) on the Louisville 27, so we had amazing field position. We then pulled off the trick play, Darrell Strong to McCoy. We’re rarely going to get that type of field position, and there’s only so many trick plays to try. We can’t win games living of off trick plays.

— Adam Gunn had to leave the game in the fourth quarter and did not return. I also noticed McCoy limping a bit after getting tackled in the fourth quarter, but he looked to be okay on the final offensive drive.

— Aaron Berry started the season slow, mainly because of some injuries, but is evolving into the player he was expected to be.

— On McCoy’s touchdown run to tie the score at 17, did you see the blocking by our offensive line? Especially tight end John Pelusi, who lead the charge by pushing the pile ahead for 3-4 more yards into the endzone.

— Speaking of tight ends, I wish we would see more balls thrown towards Nate Byham. Getting WR’s Maurice Williams and TJ Porter involved in the passing game is definitely a huge step forward. Both are very good athletes, and it seems like Bostick likes to find them.
Syracuse, noon, Saturday. Hopefully a win since it’s probably our best chance to get one the rest of the year.

**Is it worse to play in a stadium named after ketchup (Heinz) or a pizza chain (Papa John’s)?

Playing not to lose. Trying to minimize mistakes. Starting conservative. Whatever you want to call Pitt’s offensive strategy in the first half of games, it isn’t a very effective plan. They are coming out run, run, run and the defense knows it. Not only does it lead to a lot of early 3-and-outs, it hurts field position. Making it harder and harder for the defense to make stops.

That’s the overwhelming theme/meme in the papers.

A reflection of the statistics, however, shows the error of Pitt’s game plan against a Louisville pass defense that ranked last in the Big East and 103rd nationally. The Panthers (3-5, 1-2) appeared to play not to lose in a game they needed to win, a cautious approach that proved costly.

“Part of the mindset was, move the ball and play keep-away a little bit,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “Once we got that confidence going in the second half and started adjusting on defense a little better, that was our thinking. We felt if we turned the ball over, we would have no chance. That was our best opportunity.”

The problem with that theory floated by Wannstedt, is that there was nothing from the offense in the first half (or the 3d quarter) which he could legitimately say gave the offense confidence.

Wannstedt is not going to let go of the excuse that he is playing too many freshmen.

“To have two freshmen in a role where one of the two of them is touching the ball basically every play, that doesn’t happen very often,” Wannstedt said. “When you go in that huddle, from a skill-position standpoint, there’s not a whole lot of experience there.”

That didn’t stop the underclassmen from coming through in the fourth quarter, when Pitt came within a yard of tying the score. McCoy rushed for 65 of his game-high 120 yards, and Bostick completed 6 of 10 passes for 118 yards.

“We opened the offense up a little bit, as far as throwing the ball down the field,” McCoy said. “I think they started getting tired, and we started busting them up.”

That’s what makes it so frustrating. He has no choice. He knows it. He has no choice in the 4th quarter when the team is trailing, and good things happen — for a second straight week.

A bigger problem, at least recently, however, has been the Panthers’ reluctance to open up the offense early in the game since consecutive losses to Michigan State and Connecticut earlier this season. In those two games, the Panthers turned the ball over early and that led to easy scores for their opponents.

Since then, coach Dave Wannstedt has said Pitt comes out with conservative game plans in an attempt to avoid early turnovers.

That’s good in theory. The problem is Pitt has not been a good team at coming from behind — it is 1-13 under Wannstedt when trailing at halftime. Pitt and Syracuse are the only Big East teams averaging fewer than 30 points per game, which puts pressure on the defense when trying to win a low-scoring game.

The other thing is, in the losses to Michigan State and Connecticut, the early turnovers were interceptions thrown by redshirt freshman quarterback Kevan Smith. He has since been replaced by freshman Pat Bostick, who has played at a very high level for a true freshman.

Saturday against Louisville, the Panthers tried to be conservative in the first half and would have trailed by 14 at the half had it not been for an interception by Aaron Berry late in the second quarter that set up the Panthers at the Cardinals’ 27. That set up a trick play for the Panthers’ lone first-half score.

And if you take that play out of the equation, the Panthers ran 23 other plays in the first half for 22 yards — less than 1 yard per play. And Bostick threw only eight passes, completed three for 6 yards.

I acknowledge that Bostick didn’t look good for most of the game. He was missing on his throws. A lot. He didn’t look sharp. That said, the team did nothing on the passing game to even try to stretch the field. The pass plays called most of the game were screens (that didn’t work and even Louisville’s defense recognized) and pass plays that did nothing to exploit the weak Louisville pass defense.
That said, you know it’s not changing.  Before the games, he will talk about opening it up a little more. Letting Bostick do more. Bull. You know each and every remaining game, once it starts he will revert to ultra-conservative and predictable. Then after the game — win or likely lose — he’s going to trot out the young players at key positions excuse again.
If I’m a recruit, I have to question Wannstedt at his word when he says that the best players will get on the field. No. It is the players he feels most comfortable with. Coach Wannstedt is clearly — even at this point in the season — extremely uncomfortable with starting and really using true freshmen. McCoy is the exception only because he is a running back and so much further ahead of anything else Pitt has.

I  agree that at some point Coach Wannstedt has to trust Bostick to do more earlier in the game. The reality is I don’t believe it will happen.

I’m sure most of you have read the comments from Pat Bostick and LeSean McCoy. Each essentially trying to take the blame for the fumble at the 1 yard-line at the end of the game.

To their credit, Bostick, who was 10 of 20 passing for 136 yards, and McCoy, who rushed 26 times for 125 yards and a touchdown, took responsibility for the fumbled exchange. Both were fighting back tears when they discussed that sequence.

“I didn’t get the ball to him, bottom line,” Bostick said. “We don’t have much to show for [the effort] because we didn’t make the play.”

McCoy then responded, “No, it wasn’t all on Pat. I didn’t secure the ball well enough. I was trying to read the defense, but you have to secure the ball first. Things like that happen.”

Wannstedt was quick to defend his talented freshmen and pointed out that the Panthers would not have been in position to possibly tie the score had Bostick and McCoy not performed so well.

“These kids played as hard as they can play and there were a lot of plays in the game that could have made a difference and this is not about one play,” Wannstedt said.

And this one.

“I didn’t get it to him, bottom line” Bostick said, sniffling.

“It wasn’t on Pat,” McCoy quietly interrupted. “I didn’t secure the ball well enough. I got lackadaisical with the ball, trying to read stuff. I need to secure the ball first.”

Good stuff. Both players clearly distraught over the loss. Taking it hard and trying to shoulder all the responsibility. Just, um, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Before he entered the interview room, Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt could be overheard talking to quarterback Pat Bostick and running back LeSean McCoy.

He instructed the two freshmen to share responsibility for the goal-line fumble on a handoff near the end of the game, then he deflected blame from both.

“There were a lot of plays in the game that could have made a difference, and this is not about one play,” he said. “If these two guys continue to play like they did today, the University of Pittsburgh is going to win a ton of games, and these guys are going to have great careers.”

Well, clearly Bostick and McCoy are coachable in all facets.

Interesting little tidbit from a Cinci student paper.

While watching the University of Cincinnati Bearcats football team take on the Pittsburgh Panthers last week at Heinz Field, I could not help but notice an annoying reporter from the Pittsburgh media. Throughout the game he was complaining about Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt. Even when the game looked well in Pitt’s hands he still believed Pitt would blow the game.

“Wannstedt is going to [mess] this up,” he said.

For all we know, this was some kid from the Pitt News getting worked up over his team. Not the paid media. Still, that should fuel the Monday Morning Speculation.

Enjoy.

Navy is trailing the Joe Flacco led Delaware Blue Hens 45-42 midway through the 4th quarter.

And the hits just keep on coming.

UPDATE: Delaware won 59-52 with Flacco throwing for 434 yards, 5 TDs and 0 INT.

Noon start. Haven’t finished the coffee yet. We’ll see how quickly I have to hit the Scotch.

Must win game for both. Louisville isn’t denying it.

“It’s kind of do or die now,” running back Brock Bolen said. “Our backs are to the wall.”

The top Big East teams are lined up to keep them there. A trip to No. 6 West Virginia awaits on Nov. 8, followed by a Nov. 17 game at No. 11 South Florida and the season finale Nov. 29 at home against No. 25 Rutgers.

Pitt is the only team with a losing record remaining on the Cards’ schedule. Any hopes of earning their 10th straight bowl berth rests largely on beating the Panthers.

“It’s a game we have to win if we want to reach some of the goals that are still out there for us,” linebacker Malik Jackson said.

Urrutia is expected back for this game. Louisville still wants to win the Big East even with 2 losses in conference.

Shocking, I know. Wannstedt wants to control the pace of the game. Even as I questioned the whole Time of Possesion (ToP) stat value, Gorman kind of follows up and kills it for Pitt and Louisville.

Let’s hope there are no more injuries to the O-line.

Q: With Joe Thomas hurt, Bachman landed on the starting lineup. If someone else is hurt, who would be the next lineman who would be tapped to play? Would that player be ready to play at this level? Or just another body thrown to the wolves?

Zeise: Good question. Thomas is out with his injury, which means the Panthers are probably stretched to the limit in terms of their depth chart at offensive line. If one of the guards gets hurt, they still have Dom Williams and if a tackle goes down, they could move Bachman to tackle and bring in Williams at guard. They could also turn to Chase Clowser at tackle. Williams and Clowser have both played in games and are both veteran guys so they wouldn’t be thrown to the wolves as you say. Now, beyond those two, yeah, pretty much you are getting into true freshmen so that wouldn’t be a good thing.

Then it will be true freshmen. Seems to be almost a given now that Pitt will have to recruit some JUCO OLs at this point.

Game time coming up.

12:08: Weak. 3 and out. Looks like a series intended to give Bostick some confidence on the road.

Bad snap on the punt, just got away and a favorable roll for Pitt. Phew.

12:12: Surprisingly conservative play calling from Louisville. 3 and out as well.

12:17: McCoy bounces it outside on 3d and 3 with the direct snap and gets 14 yards.

12:19: And now two straight runs right up the middle for a total of 2 yards. Creative.

Nothing on a blatant bubble screen. Blitz came and Mo Williams had no chance on the catch. No blocking either.

12:21: According to my TV program guide, the game is on MSG, MASN, ALT (Altitude Sports & Ent. [Denver?]).

12:24: Louisville moving with the pass. Running game looks bad. Expect run to be mostly abandoned soon.

Barnidge got free while Brohm scrambled. Damn.

12:26: Almost (was?) intercepted on a tip, but pass interference by Scot McKillop makes it inside the 20.

12:29: Easy TD to Harry Douglas. Wide open. Shane Murray trying to stop him? Yeesh.

7-0 Louisville 3:30 in the 1st quarter.

12:32: Looks like plenty of seats available for this game. Not that Pitt can say much about fan attendance this year.

Mo Williams dropped one that would have been 6 yards even if he was stopped immediately.

Stephens-Howling gets his first run for 3 yards. 3d and 7. Yay.

Nothing on the delay to Stephens-Howling. Too slow developing.

Brytus with a decent punt. Muffed by Trent Guy, but he got it back.

L-Ville starting at the 33.

(more…)

The ESPN/USA Today college basketball poll was released today, with Pitt coming in at #20. The #1 team in North Carolina, who had more total ballot points than UCLA even though the Bruins had more 1st place votes.

Other Big East teams in the preseason poll are: Georgetown (5), Louisville (6), Marquette (12), and Villanova (25). Syracuse and Connecticut were both high in the “Others Receiving Votes” column. Too bad we won’t see a good opponent play the Panthers until mid-December.

As always, Penn State wasn’t even on the minds of voters.

Solid podcasting from CFB Weekly takes a step backward this week. They talk to me about Dave Wannstedt, Pitt and dodging the Morelli bullet. Take a listen and fully grasp why I should be read and not heard.

Also on there, the always entertaining Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician. Really, it almost  took a coach on the hot seat episode as UCLA and Ole Miss bloggers were also in the mix this week.