Maybe. Maybe not.

We know some change will occur with C.J. Davis taking over at Center and Dom Williams at left guard. After that the rest of the two-deep on the O-line is apparently in potential flux.

Pitt offensive line coach Tony Wise believes Davis will handle the transition seamlessly. Davis already was taking pre-practice snaps with quarterbacks, so he has the mechanics down. The main adjustment will come in making the calls on blocking assignments. Davis not only knows the offensive scheme but occasionally helped Houser in that regard.

Where it could affect the Panthers is in the run game, as Davis was adept at pulling for lead blocks on power plays. But Wise looks at the move as an advantage, considering Davis is one of the team’s most powerful players and will be going head-to-head with Notre Dame 310-pounder Ian Williams.

“Their best player is a nose tackle, so, in some ways, that’s a little bit of a benefit,” Wise said. “C.J. is a little bit more powerful in there. There’s a downside at left guard, but he could possibly be a benefit at center with him being covered by this guy.”

Wise didn’t rule out the possibility that Pitt could make future changes to the starting lineup, hinting that freshman right tackle Lucas Nix could get a long look at left guard as a backup to or replacement for Williams.

The one constant appears to be Davis staying at center.

The fact that Pitt has no real back-up center is just mindblowing. So far, Wannstedt hasn’t recruited any centers beyond Houser last year. Instead, trying to develop one from O-line recruits. An experiment that has failed miserably every year. As witnessed last year when senior Chris Vangas still won the job by default. Before that, Vangas couldn’t beat Joe Villani, who transferred from Bucknell. Do you know who the back-up has been and is (PDF)? Alex Karabin — a redshirt sophomore walk-on and no, he isn’t a center by trade.

Bill Stull may or may not play/start at QB. Here’s my view. I don’t care if he’s medically cleared. He should not play. He took a concussion. Mild or otherwise, it is still a brain bruise. Stull is a bright kid. He wants to play I have no doubt. It’s not his call, and it shouldn’t be. The coaches and the program have a responsibility to the players. Given the present state of Pitt’s O-line and a blitz happy John Tenuta (TAH-NOO-TAH BLITZ!!!!) on the other side, it isn’t worth it for his long term health.

I just don’t know whether Coach Wannstedt means it when he says there may be changes, whether it applies to the the secondary. The beat writers don’t even seem sure of what Wannstedt will actually do.

The other areas that could see changes are in the secondary — which was torched for 371 yards and six touchdowns by Rutgers’ Mike Teel — and at punt returner, where Aaron Berry has struggled and had a costly fumble against the Scarlet Knights.

Reserve cornerbacks Ricky Gary and Antwuan Reed likely will get some extended looks in practice this week and split some time with Jovani Chappel. At safety, Elijah Fields might play more than he has had in recent games.

“I’m not going to stand up here and tell you that we’re going to have changes,” Wannstedt said. “But we are evaluating everyone on what we’re doing and who we’re dealing with.”

That promises exactly nothing.

The headline editor at the Trib. either must have freaked out from Wannstedt’s press conference where he seemed to talk a bit too much about ND running the ball against Washington or he decided to freak out Pitt fans with a headline of, “Pitt focused on Irish running game.” The actual article stresses, however the passing aspect of the Irish.

Eric Thatcher has taken a lot of criticism the whole season for his actual play at safety. Much of it deserved. I just don’t see Wannstedt making a move with him. He’s a senior, been a “good soldier” for Wannstedt, and he stands up and takes the responsibility.

What in the heck happened to Pitt’s pass defense? Safety Eric Thatcher tried to figure that out in the film room on Monday.

“We got kind of lackadaisical at the reception point, and they went up and attacked the ball,” Thatcher said. “On some of the routes, we didn’t get our hands on receivers to slow them down. Teel had a ton of time to sit back there and decide who he wanted to throw to, and the secondary, we gave him a ton of options to pick from.”

…

“I kind of take ownership of what happened because I’m the senior in the secondary,” Thatcher said. “I’ve been around and I know the things we need to do. On Saturday, we just did none of those things.”

…

“We know that we’ll have a ton of people watching,” Thatcher said. “We want to show people that last week was just a mix-up and that we can cover in that secondary.”

A great guy, but he’s just not good enough on the field.

On the Notre Dame side, they have some minor injury issues.

Weis said senior wide receiver David Grimes, who missed the Washington game because of back spasms, told him Monday he was “100 percent.” Weis said he’d wait until Tuesday’s practice to see how far along the captain has come.

Meanwhile, Weis said sophomore linebacker Brian Smith, who suffered a mild concussion against Washington, will be limited in practice this week but is expected to play against Pittsburgh.

Both are starters.

Charlie Weis thinks Pitt will go with the “circle the wagons” approach.

After posting five consecutive victories, Pitt took a step back last week with a 54-34 home loss to Rutgers. And because of that, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis believes the Panthers may have an extra edge about them when the two 5-2 teams meet Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.

“I think they’ll take an ‘us against the world’ mentality,” Weis said during his Tuesday meeting with the media.

Can’t hurt. Go with the “no one believes in us” approach. Pin up the Smizik column all over the place.

The legend of LeSean McCoy continues as the South Bend paper puts out the story on McCoy checking his name off a sign at the Georgetown-Pitt game.

A year made a big difference for ND’s offense which could go from dead last in 1-A last year to top-40 or better.

Finally, Rakes of Mallow — an excellent ND football blog — offers a personal view of Dave Wannstedt as a Dolphin fan who grew up in Western PA.

With South Bend, not a long drive to Chicago. To say nothing of all the ND alum and pretend alum in Chicagoland, the Irish get a lot of play there. Now with Pitt visiting, it’s time to recall the Dave Wannstedt era.

The pieces were in place, Dave Wannstedt insists to this day.

Wannstedt made his oft-repeated and frequently mocked proclamation before the 1996 season, his fourth with the Bears.

“I believed in that with all my heart,” Wannstedt said Monday. “And I would have said it again.

“We had Bryan Cox and Curtis Conway, and Erik Kramer had just set a bunch of Bears record. Rashaan Salaam was coming off a nice rookie year. And I really felt like the pieces were in place. And they were – for three weeks. And then Erik broke his neck, and obviously you can’t win without a quarterback.”
…
“I’ve always believed,” Wannstedt said, “that whether it’s at Pitt or the Bears or the Dolphins, for every coach there’s a window that opens up. It might be the first year. It might be the third year, the fourth year. The stars either align and things fall right or they don’t and the window closes.”

No, he doesn’t say what happens after that.

Actually the stories, are not much on rehashing his Chicago time, though Chris Zorich is still pissed at Wannstedt for cutting him from his hometown team.

“The wins and losses aren’t where anybody would like them to be,” said former NFL offensive lineman Bill Fralic, a three-time All-American at Pitt. ”Dave is building a program, and good things are happening that the administration and fans really like. This is the year he’s got to go to a bowl game to sustain the other things that are going on. It needs to happen.”

Although South Bend, Ind., is 75 miles from Chicago, and although it has been nine years since the Bears fired Wannstedt, bitter feelings remain. Former Notre Dame All-American and Bears defensive tackle Chris Zorich said the way Wannstedt treated him and other Bears players makes him root against his former coach.

”I’m extremely surprised that he landed a college job with his reputation,” Zorich said. ”The majority of players who I know who played under Wannstedt were not fans. Obviously, I’m not a fan. I’m surprised at the success he has had at Pitt.”

How do you really feel. I’m thinking that Charlie Weis is going to let Chris Zorich fire up the Irish before the game on Saturday. Bitterness and bile are a fun brew.

From the day both Wannstedt and Weis were hired and slated to face each other in their opening games, there has been a built in storyline. And this season keeps it coming.

The pieces were in place, you might say.

Final score: Rutgers 54, Pitt 34. Ouch.

Now the former Bears coach has to pick up those pieces, put them back together and bring them to South Bend. Notre Dame awaits Saturday.

It’s an intriguing matchup of teams and coaches with remarkable similarities. Both teams are 5-2 and unranked in the AP poll but receiving votes.

Wannstedt and Charlie Weis are each in Year 4. You could make a case that both programs have turned a corner. Or you could argue that neither has accomplished anything significant, other than luring promising recruiting classes.

Weis hasn’t won a bowl game, and Wannstedt hasn’t coached in one.

Wannstedt and Weis patrolled opposite sidelines in their first game as college head coaches. The date was Sept. 3, 2005. It was a night game at Heinz Field.

“It was a big, hyped game and I thought the intensity was in the wrong place,” Wannstedt recalled. “About half the articles were about how I came from the Dolphins and Charlie was with the Patriots.

“It was a little embarrassing, to be honest. We were just trying to get this thing going and play the game.”

Notre Dame won big, 42-21, piling up 502 yards.

“It’s funny. The two guys starting for us at defensive tackle – Rashaad Duncan and Gus Mustakas – were starting as true freshmen,” Wannstedt said. “I remember thinking: ‘Gus isn’t even old enough to vote yet.’ “

It’s been a slow transition to being a college coach, hasn’t it?