Is Rutgers any good this year? I don’t know.

Coming into the season it was believed that they would at least be middle-of-the-pack in the Big East. With their schedule, it was thought that at least a bit above average would give them a great chance to win the Big East.

Of course, then the season started and they laid an egg in their nationally televised conference, season and home opener to Cinci. The second straight year of doing this.  Such a bad start that they were immediately dismissed from even half-hearted discussions as a player in the Big East this year (and forget the top-25).

Now, the Scarlet Knights have reeled off 4 straight wins, but that has come against two 1-AA teams and Maryland (2-4) and Florida International (1-4). Admittedly, if we start playing the schedule game, Pitt doesn’t look that great either — as UConn constitutes Pitt’s best win to date. Still, at least Pitt has one win against a team with a winning record.

It’s not like Pitt can run that much smack at Rutgers right now. They remain the only team in the Big East coach Dave Wannstedt hasn’t beaten at Pitt.

The Scarlet Knights have been a puzzle too complex for the Panthers to piece together. They’ve beaten the Panthers with both the run and pass.

The bottom line, says Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, “They’ve made less mistakes than we have. I think every game has taken on a little different twist.”

While Coach Wannstedt did what he could not to make it a big deal in his weekly press conference, he was betrayed by reality and his own players. Starting with QB Bill Stull.

“This is personal, I’ve yet to be on the winning side of the ball and I am really taking it personal this week as are all of our seniors this week. It is obviously personal, but we are going to remain cool, calm and collected and make sure we give ourselves the best chance to win.”

Stull — who was knocked out of the game a year ago, giving him even more reason to make this one personal — and several of his teammates were made available yesterday after Wannstedt’s weekly news conference. They all recounted the disappointing ways they’ve lost to the Scarlet Knights over the past four seasons.

Wannstedt tried to downplay the significance of the game but it is clear his record against Rutgers is weighing on his mind as Stull, Gunn and Oderick Turner all talked about a team meeting Sunday night when he had all the seniors stand up and…

“He said to us — ‘Sit down if you’ve beaten Rutgers’ — and nobody got to sit down,” Turner said. “That said it all, so this year we’d like to do everything we can to beat this team. Just once I need to be able to go home [Turner is from New Jersey ] and have some bragging rights.”

Not to mention the fact that he has had tapes of the last 4 losses to Rutgers looping in the TVs at Pitt’s practice facility. But, you know, it’s just another conference game.

Of course, Rutgers can find their own slights for motivation.

A columnist who’s been one of Pittsburgh’s most trusted voices for nearly two decades now called Rutgers an inferior team. A national college football analyst, on a national broadcast, said Rutgers wasn’t on Pittsburgh’s level.

By early Sunday morning, Greg Schiano had heard the open-faced insults. And shrugged.

“I don’t know if we are in Pitt’s league. We’ll find out,” Rutgers’ head coach said, standing behind a podium he’d gripped just 15 hours before.

Surprisingly, I don’t think that “trusted voice” was Smizik, since he referred to Rutgers as “competition more difficult” than UConn. Turns out it was a throwaway line from Ron Cook at the end of this column. One of his space-eating single sentence ‘graphs.

Sigh. The trade-off for getting a much needed night with friends in Pittsburgh following the game, is that the crap to do at home immediately piles back and I owe the wife some extra kid-watching. So, Sunday and Monday were essentially lost without any media recap or any detailed review of the UConn-Pitt game.

Now it is Tuesday and it really is time to get focused on the coming Friday night game at Rutgers (and yes, there will be a liveblog full of impulsive declarations and hyperbolic statements as the game takes place).

Still, I can’t just let it go that simply. The Cat Basket has some more thoughts on the game well worth reading. They also make a very good point about the defenses stubbornness with regards to too heavy a faith in the base 4-3.

Media recapping on the Pitt side is covered in good form over at Eye of a Panther.

I think most Pitt fans are still waiting to see if Pitt can play a good game for both halves. On the bright side, it only cost Pitt one game this season. The downside is that the games are getting harder and that won’t fly much longer.

I want to ignore the whole booing Stull thing after he and offense came back on the field following the pick-6, except that from my vantage point the boos were actually short-lived and not widespread. To the credit of the students and a good amount of other fans started cheering and trying to drown out the negativity as much as encourage Stull. It was moronic and had no excuse. It also did not seem that loud to me at the game, though, I don’t know how it sounded on TV.

Now from the UConn perspective things get interesting. This is the second game the Huskies have lost this season and both came with double-digit leads late. As we all know, it was frustrating to see Pitt blow a double-digit lead in Raleigh a few weeks back. So imagine how it must feel to see it happen twice. Especially when the Huskies have been outscored 40-10 in the 4th in 1-A games. As to the why? The UConnBlog tries to break it all down and comes up without a unified field theory to explain it.

All are plausible, but there isn’t one that seems to be the true issue holding them back. Maybe it’s all of them? Maybe it’s one no one’s mentioning? Maybe Pitt simply had the talent to overwhelm them when it stopped shooting itself in the foot? Who knows. Regardless, nothing explains why all these things happened all at one time three times in a month-plus.

Coaches, players and pundits will probably eventually fall back on old, nonsensical coach speak, saying the Huskies need to have more want-to and have-at-it. But there were no actual answers, nothing the team can try to work on in practice this week. Meaning these fourth-quarter questions might be lingering over them all season.

But the one answer they did find Saturday was one they’d hoped to dispell in September: A team desperately searching for some sense of direction, some of kind of identity, may have found it in the art of the choke.

Not that they are bitter. No one ever thinks of the bunnies.

Of course there follows the rational discussion after a bitter loss when fans start asking whether their coach can take them to “the next level.”

Overall, a “C” effort from UConn, and the team really can’t tell you what happened.

Finally, while there have been complaints (that have diminished) about Stull at QB this year, compared to UConn’s issues at the spot it is all good. So much so, the Husky beat writer came away impressed.

I was all set to offer congrats to Wally on getting the exact score of the Pitt win over UConn when I realized he picked UConn to win. Whoops.

Pauly P was close with a 23-20 pick.

The closest picks were within 1 point at 24-20.

Greg and Nick both made that selection. Nick won the coin toss so he gets the t-shirt this week. Congrats.

After the jump, some pics from the game.

(more…)

Well I made it to my seat a few minutes before kickoff. Was a hell of a game. I’ll be looking at comments, box score and media stuff later. This is just a bit of a recap from my memory — rendered a bit spotty by the post-game.

Manic in what happened. Pitt’s offense missed some big opportunities early as TD passes dropped, mis-timing, and just out of reach. And then the interceptions. The offense was withering late in the first half and uninspired for a good portion of the 3d quarter.

The defense was purely bend-but-don’t-break for 2.5 quarters. Very frustrating as the UConn running game was able to break off chunks. I know the numbers look better with the running because of sacks, but it sure was disappointing to see the D-line get pushed by UConn’s O-line. The secondary, was what you expect.

Then there was the final 22 minutes or so. The offense came up with an actual touchdown. That fired up the crowd, and the defense showed signs of life. At the end of the 3d quarter, I looked at the stats to that point, and the thing I remember best was that Pitt had about a 2 minute advantage in time of possession. It was 23:xx to 21:xx.

As much as I hate “Sweet Caroline,” I will concede it got the crowd, especially the student section excited. We were actually standing for most of the 4th quarter. Pitt, especially the defense,  just seemed stronger through the 4th quarter. Pitt’s conditioning looked superior and was grinding down the Huskies.

Both sides of the ball executed and came together to play a flawless 4th.

Breaking UConn’s spirit. This was the second game where UConn appeared to have the game in hand, but could not match-up in the 4th quarter. So, from the UConn perspective it was a lot like the UNC choke. Of course, from the Pitt perspective, it was a stirring comeback and a second straight game where the team finished strong.

The Pitt coaching and clock management in the 4th was fantastic. Forcing UConn to burn all their timeouts but not able to stop Pitt. Instead, Pitt drove all the way to the half-yard line before kicking the game-winning FG as the clock expired.

All told, a solid win. The kind of game Pitt could have lost. They didn’t. They made plenty of mistakes. Lots of concerns that can’t be dismissed — and I’m sure they are already in the comments — but it still goes in as a win.

Hopefully traffic and construction won’t be too bad as I try to get into the game on time, after the panel at Podcamp Pittsburgh4.

Comments are open for the game, and I’ll be tweeting all game.

Don’t ask me why, but that became a popular issue for the media coverage on both sides. A good amount is focused on the Pitt rushing attack.

Then there is the whole fact that Pitt’s entire backfield is new, but thriving. Oddly, though, little mention of the O-line in that.

There’s an AP article talking about Pitt’s offense being — you know — diverse, and a challenge for UConn.

Edsall ran down a list of about a dozen different personnel groups the Panthers use, some with tight ends Dorin Dickerson and Nate Byham switching in and out and others with them playing at the same time. He also said that wasn’t all the Panthers (4-1, 1-0 Big East) are doing now that many in Wannstedt’s first few recruiting classes are juniors and seniors.

“They’re a very multiple team and we’re going to have to be multiple with what we want to do,” Edsall said.

Stull is the primary reason for the multiple personality Pitt’s offense is taking on. Much improved from a year ago, Stull has thrown 11 touchdown passes and only one interception, with Dickerson (6 TD catches) and Jonathan Baldwin (nearly 20 yards per catch average) having big seasons. Stull has already thrown for two more touchdowns than he did last season.

“We want to maximize our possessions on every series,” offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti said. “You’re always looking for explosive plays from every area.”

Brian Bennett at ESPN.com sees Johnathan Baldwin being a major factor in the game tomorrow.

The difference, then, may come down to whether Pitt can take advantage of its playmakers in the passing game. As good as UConn’s defense has been, the Huskies have not seen a fleet of receivers yet quite like Pittsburgh’s. And they have definitely not seen a receiver as talented as Baldwin since last year’s season finale. Baldwin had just one catch in that game, a Pitt victory at Rentschler Field.

But he’s more dangerous this year as a sophomore. And that might tilt Saturday’s game in the Panthers’ favor.

The UConn beat writers sees a major key for the UConn defense will be getting off the field on 3d down (gee, that seems like an oddly familiar thing) and preventing the big play.

Oh, and of course, UConn is playing to get some respect.

As expected, the storyline regarding UConn starting QB Cory Endres, is that of homecoming.

Endres, a lifelong Pitt fan, passed for 2,450 yards and 20 touchdowns as a two-year starter at Trinity but never drew much interest from the Panthers, who were pursuing highly regarded Pat Bostick.

After Bostick committed, Pitt “wasn’t in the market” for a quarterback, Wannstedt said. About a month later, Endres picked Connecticut over Ohio, Akron and Cincinnati.

“I was a little disappointed when (Pitt) went in a different direction,” Endres said. “But I’m happy I’m here, and I’m excited to get a chance to play.”

And the homecoming theme continues. Earlier in the week UConn coach Randy Edsall got ticked at the local media for having the teremity to ask about what happens when Zach Frazer comes back from his injury — perhaps next week.

Sticking with the theme of QBs, Bill Stull gets a nice write-up in one of the Connecticut papers. No new ground broken on the storyline.

Not letting go of the QB theme, we turn to Pat Bostick. Seems he has a lot of respect from the players and coaches — and the beat writers.

AnotherTurmanINT: Looking back on it, was it a mistake to play Tino? They should have just played Bostick to get him out of here.

Paul Zeise: No, why? Sunseri already took a redshirt last year and there is nothing wrong with having two quarterbacks with at least some experience to compete for the starting job once the senior starter graduates. And Pat Bostick is actually the perfect kind of back-up quarterback for the next two years if he doesn’t win the starting job. He is smart, he knows the offense as well as any of the coaches, he has a great attitude and is a team player who won’t mope and whine and he’ll do what it takes to help the starter be successful. He is a Pitt graduate assistant still in uniform — mark it down, he is going to be a coach some day and I’ll be surprised if he isn’t a big-time success. He is just one of those guys who loves it and understands it — and there is nothing wrong with having a guy like that around even if he is just holding a clipboard because I can promise you this – he has helped Bill Stull see some things on game day and he’s even helped giving little tips and suggestions for plays.

A point repeated by Coach Wannstedt to another beat writer.

Junior quarterback Pat Bostick is staying busy as he plans to redshirt this season. The former high school All-American is working with the scout team, breaking down film and even contributing on the sideline on game day. “Pat is doing great,” coach Dave Wannstedt said. “No one is working harder on a week-to-week basis to help our team win than Pat Bostick. He is approaching it the right way. His opportunity will come.” On game days, Bostick often can be seen wearing a headset and, presumably, making suggestions to the coaching staff. “Sometimes, he’s too much of a coach,” Wannstedt said. “Trust me on that, and I love him like a son.”

I know there’s a lot of people that like Tino Sunseri, but I hope to see Pat Bostick succeed. Not just for everything he has had tossed at him since coming to Pitt. I think finally getting a redshirt year along with the ongoing conditioning under Buddy Morris along with actually being taught mechanics and footwork by the OC.

Of course there are always others looking for the next new thing.

Q: You mentioned that Pat Bostick and Tino Sunseri would be competing for the starting job next year. Where will Anthony Gonzalez and/or Mark Myers fit in? I think that Gonzalez should have a shot to take the starting role.

ZEISE: I think it will be hard for either of the two incoming freshmen next year for the same reason it was hard for Ray Graham to catch up to and pass Dion Lewis this year — spring football. Sunseri and Bostick will split reps the entire spring and the two freshmen won’t get here until training camp. And they will spend a few weeks trying to learn the system and, given that the other two will get most of the reps, it will be hard for them to do much to impress coaches. Dion Lewis, remember, came in January and went through the spring and it was easy to see how much he benefitted from it and how far ahead of Ray Graham he was once training camp started. I’m not saying it can’t happen for one of the true freshmen, but it would have to be an extremely fast rise for one of them.

Don’t forget Kolby Gray should be healed from his surgery to compete as well.

It’s time once more.

Predict the final score of the UConn-Pitt game and get a free “Baldwin for Heisman” t-shirt. Courtesy of PittsburghSteelRocks.com.

There is some wiggle room for a +/- 3 points from the actual score if no one hits the exact numbers.

Time to clear the backlog of links.

Hat tip to BDuBB for noting the coverage map for ABC on Saturday’s games. Judging by the two small patches around Connecticut and Western Pennsylvania (and a little bit of WV), that the UConn-Pitt game — well it sucks. Not even New York, NJ or any other Big East markets — only 3% of the country.

But in an effort to keep things confusing, there is a second map below showing the distribution of standard definition signals that put the UConn-Pitt game in the Eastern half of the US. Just glad I’m going to the game so I don’t have to think too much about it.

I believe a couple people have noted that the loss of Saddler on returns is a big deal. I have to agree. The field position has been a huge issue for putting Pitt’s offense in great field position. The stats bear that out.

Pitt is tied with USF for 2nd in the Big East for scoring offense. Pitt’s total offense, though, is only a distant 4th. While Pitt’s numbers in returns don’t look good, I would argue that’s because the returns have been deep, but not broken off for ones to the house. If you check out the numbers on Pitt in the redzone, the Panthers are second to only UConn, but Pitt has had the most opportunities and converted the most (23-25). Part of it has to do with the schizo nature of Pitt’s offense through the first 4 games where the offense thrived in the first half with drives and stagnated quickly in the second half.

Heck, the total defense is only 6th. It’s definitely been a bend-but-don’t break kind of defense so far this year. The special teams defense, though, has been great.

UConn better not try and change things up by throwing a lot and trying some sort of spread offense. I’m not sure Pitt would be prepared for it.

“Our team relishes buckling up the chin strap, and hitting somebody in the mouth,” Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti said Wednesday. “This is Pittsburgh, and it’s going to be that kind of football game.”

Does anyone think Pitt might be bluffing about offense?

Pitt fullback Henry Hynoski and right tackle Lucas Nix glanced at the statistics sheet that lists Connecticut ranking No. 4 nationally in defense and No. 8 against the run. They’ve watched game tapes that show the Huskies repeatedly putting eight defenders along the line of scrimmage.

This would appear to be a game in which Pitt’s best strategy might be to have Bill Stull target tight end Dorin Dickerson and wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin downfield against a secondary that may have fewer defenders.

Uhh, no.

The Panthers (4-1, 1-0 in Big East) believe the Huskies (3-1, 0-0) are daring them to run the ball, and they apparently plan to do exactly that on Saturday.

“Hopefully, this game will include a lot of us trying to jam the ball right down their throats,” Nix said. “We might have a couple of passes to loosen them up, but basically we’re going to have to pound the ball to be successful against them. They’re ranked in the top five, so it should be a good contest for us to go out there and see what we can do against them.”

Hynoski was the lead blocker on numerous plays as freshmen Dion Lewis (87 yards) and Ray Graham (75 yards) each had productive games during a 35-10 victory at Louisville on Friday. Hynoski sees no reason to change, even though Ohio, Rhode Island and Baylor had trouble running against UConn.

“I love games where we just grind it out and just pound the ball,” Hynoski said. “That’s my favorite thing to do. I’ve done that my whole life in football, so I’m really looking forward to this week.”

The theme is the collision of two teams that want to play defense and run the ball. Forget the reality that Pitt’s defense has been inconsistent and the offense has been balanced.

You know, if Pitt is unsure about their chances of making a 40+ yard FG early (like in the Louisville), then why should they be confident late? Because Coach Wannstedt says so, I guess.

Wannstedt said that 40- to 50-yard field goals could be kicked by freshman Kevin Harper, who has a stronger leg than Hutchins, but Harper was not as accurate as he needs to be.

That is why Hutchins ultimately won the job.

“Harper has the strong leg and, if we needed him to kick a long field goal to win a game, he’d kick it,” Wannstedt said. “I have no reservations putting him in there and he can kick a 55-yarder.”

Or is it at that point you have no choice. Maybe try and give him some confidence with a slightly less pressured situation first. Or is that just silly?

Pitt’s defense was glad to get Adam Gunn back to direct the defense from MLB.

While UConn welcomes back Scott Lutrus at linebacker — as he’s been cleared to practice and moved to probable.

They also have more depth at safety than they did to start the season with Aaron Bagsby back from a suspension for unknown reasons.

The same day I wrote something about the use of the running backs, there was an article about how Ray Graham shined in the Louisville game. And that RB Coach Dave Walker pushed for his playing time.

“I’ve never been a split-time kind of coach,” Wannstedt said after Pitt’s 35-10 win at Louisville. “But I think because they are both young kids, it helps that they are learning, so we’re going to play them both.”

…

Wannstedt and running backs coach David Walker talked prior to the game about getting Graham more touches. Admittedly, Wannstedt had his doubts, mostly because he wasn’t sure how Graham would react before a vociferous road crowd.

“I’m just nervous about playing a freshman with all the noise and the crowd,” Wannstedt said. “The experience Ray got, I feel like now we have two backs we can play at anytime.”

UConn, on the other hand has had no problem this year splitting carries with senior Andre Dixon and sophomore Jordan Todman.

Lots of fun. Wife has the flu. Windstorms knocked out power for most of the day. I’m just trying to keep things moving well enough so I can flee come Saturday.

Worth noting that Bill Stull was named Big East Player of the Week (16-23, 242 yards and 3 TDs). Added bonus, is that Hoopie fans are a little ticked about this since Noel Devine’s 220 yard game didn’t get the nod.

His numbers got the nod from Pat Forde this week.

Stepping up: Bill Stull (28), Pittsburgh. The quarterback was pedestrian last season — right up until he was simply dreadful in a 3-0 Sun Bowl loss to Oregon State. But the senior fought off Tino Sunseri and Pat Bostick to keep the starting job and has responded well, with 11 TDs and just one interception in five games. He’s now fifth nationally in pass efficiency.

And it seems that Coach Wannstedt thinks an uncluttered mind helps.

“It’s experience on his part. He’s a senior now and he’s got a lot of games under his belt,” Edsall said. “Looking at the film, he looks very comfortable in his surroundings.”

If Stull truly is at ease, it may have something to do with his tweaked role in the offense.

“We’re trying to eliminate the over-thinking,” Wannstedt said. “In other words, ‘Here’s the play. Look for this one thing. If you don’t, throw it here.’ That part of it has really helped him.”

Or as Crash Davis would say, “Don’t think, Meat. You’ll only hurt the team.”

It helps that the offensive line has been so steady to this point.

The Pitt offensive line has been perhaps the biggest surprise of the season. But the unit will get its toughest chore of the season this week. Connecticut is allowing only 232.25 total yards per game, No. 4 in the nation. Connecticut defensive end Lindsey Witten ranks second in the nation in sacks. “I’m really excited to see how they meet the challenge this weekend,” Wannstedt said.

It’s odd (and I’m terrified that I may be jinxing things) that the O-line has not been a big issue to date this season. I mean, that’s been the lament of Pitt fans for at least 6 or 7 years.

Not that it won’t rear its ugly head once more next year. What with no clear successor at center. Hell, what with no true center having committed to Pitt in the last couple of years. Even Coach Wannstedt has acknowledged that the O-line recruiting has not been what it should.

Wannstedt said recruiting on the offensive line wasn’t enough of a priority in recent years. Behind the starting five, the Panthers have virtually no experienced depth. Two redshirt sophomores with no career starts, tackle Greg Gaskins and guard Chris Jacobsen, are the first linemen off the bench.

“It’s not where it should be,” Wannstedt said. “As I look back over the years, from a recruiting standpoint, we put more of an emphasis on the defensive line and some other spots. Probably, the offensive line got slighted a little bit.”

Considering Thomas, Houser and Malecki are seniors that’s a bit unnerving. Let’s try not to think too much about it until January or so.

UConn has had a bye week and before that, a 1-AA game with Rhode Island. In other words, they have had time to rest and prepare.

Despite the time to get well, they do have some key injuries. Zach Frazer was the starting QB, but he is still out. Cory Endres — a Washington, PA native that might get mentioned here or there — has seen plenty of action this season. He did not get named the official starter for the game until yesterday. UConn coach Randy Edsall is notorious for his Belichekian approach to sharing info on his team. So, watch for Frazer to show up at some point since other reports say he might be ready for the game.

The real injury issues for UConn is at linebacker. Scott Lutrus is their best linebacker and he is likely out as he continues to try and come back from a stinger. Another linebacker — not a starter — Kijuan Dabney had season ending shoulder surgery. They’re a little thin at linebacker spot.

The lack of depth at linebacker means they need more production right up front from the D-line. Especially from defensive end Lindsey Witten.

On the Pitt injury side, it’s a big one in special teams as kick returner (and some punts) Cameron Saddler is out with an ankle sprain. That’s been a big thing for the offense. Saddler’s returns have been giving Pitt great field position. That means Antwuan Reed and Aundre Wright will get shots.  Elijah Fields’ ankle sprain is not as bad, so he should play. I expect Jared Holley to see more action, though, to spell him.

The theme from the Pitt side is that this should be a significant challenge for the offense.

“So, from an offensive standpoint, this will be by far, and I use the word far, our biggest offensive challenge of the year. These guys are playing extremely well. They’ve got talent. They’re well-coached. We’re going to have to play our best game on offense; both run and pass from an execution standpoint.”

Connecticut’s defensive numbers are impressive as they are rank third in the Big East Conference in scoring defense (15 ppg), first in total defense (232.2 ypg), first in rushing defense (68 ypg) and second in pass defense (164.2 ypg).

Also, linebacker Lawrence Wilson is second in the conference in tackles (10.5 per game), defensive end Lindsey Witten leads the conference in sacks (8) and is second in tackles for losses (4.5) and cornerback Robert McClain leads the conference with three interceptions.

Wannstedt said that the Huskies are similar to the Panthers in that their defense is designed to stop the run while also not allowing the big passing plays.

One difference between the two is that while Connecticut also plays a 4-3 up front, it plays a little more zone coverage in the secondary than the Panthers do.

Looking over the chat by Courant’s beat writer, his observations suggest a mirror image defense. A strong D-line that masks a shakier secondary. So, the goal of their defense to control the pass is get pressure on Stull. Make him move in the pocket and keep him from setting his feet.

Something that makes sense. It dates back to last year, that when Stull did not have set feet and being able to step into the throw his accuracy and velocity suffered greatly.

Of course, the counter-argument is that Stull is playing much better and with more confidence.

“Bill is playing extremely well right now,” coach Dave Wannstedt said. “If he was a freshman or a sophomore, I would probably have a concern right now — a young kid having some success. But he’s been here five years. He’s truly experienced both sides of the street.”

Stull has competed 66.4 percent of his passes (77 for 116) for 988 yards with 11 touchdowns and one interception this season. He already has thrown as many touchdowns this year as the rest of his previous three years combined.

He’s even saying the right things.

“It’s great to have all that stuff,” he said. “It’s a tribute to my teammates.”

Wannstedt credits Stull’s improvement to an offensive system that eliminates “overthinking” and the motivation provided by Sunseri’s push for playing time.

“I think the competition … has created a sense of urgency with Billy,” Wannstedt said. “He wants to keep the starting job. He knows if he goes out and he plays poorly and turns it over, he’s not going to start. That’s a great motivation.”

Lots of credit to the offense and the way it is being run by OC Frank Cignetti. Not just taking shots downfield, but using the playmakers as more than decoys.

“We talk about Billy Stull growing up as a player and as a man,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “But Dorin’s done the same thing. You have to give him a lot of credit.”

Baldwin has one less reception than Dickerson, but he is averaging 22.8 yards per reception and has caught a touchdown pass of more than 70 yards in each of the past two games.

Dickerson, who had two touchdowns against Louisville, said the Panthers’ passing game is in great hands with Stull.

“We’re just getting started, we definitely have a lot more of [the passing game] to show,” Dickerson said. “It has been great to see our offense get tougher to defend every week.”

And fun to watch.

As a side note to Dickerson, this puts that drop in the NC State game in the realm of quite excusable.

One of the knocks on Dickerson, fair or not, was that he was a little “soft” but he played this game with a broken nose and chipped tooth after the hit he took last week in the endzone trying to make a play to tie the game.

What makes moments where a player actually does the big play despite the pain spectacular is the fact that it rarely happens. I, for one, am not going to say he should have made the play when something like that happens.

A little late in passing out the credit, but there was a winner in picking the score for the Pitt-Louisville t-shirt contest. An exact score pick, no less. Fear the Mustache is this week’s winner. There were a number of others who were close but only one exact match.

I’ll post the UConn score pick post later this week.

I have mixed feelings on this. I love that Stull has really played well this season. He’s had some rough patches, but compared to expectations he has been much better. That said, every column that praises him keeps repeating the “he was booed by the fans in the first game” bit. Even when they are talking about his improved confidence and footwork. That gets more than a little tiresome. Even more tiresome is repeating the lie that he was booed louder in the second half when he was inexplicably reinserted after Sunseri played a series. He wasn’t Smizik, and you were not there to even claim you witnessed it.

It was a solid win. It was great to see a strong finish and Pitt did what they should. That said, no one should claim it was a win against a good team. Louisville is bad. They have now lost 8 straight to 1-A opponents. Their coach is (or should be) a lame duck and gone after this season. On top of that, the Cards quit.

Pitt tight end Dorin Dickerson said the Cards “flat-out quit” toward the end of the game…

There is no greater insult to a team than for the opponent to say you gave up. Whether it was Pitt that made them quit, or their own problems it is a brutal indictment on the Kragthorpe time in Louisville. Sloppy, undisciplined and getting worse deeper into the game. Not good signs for the rest of the Louisville season.

As for Pitt, it was needed to reestablish the defense. It was also the first time in a few games that Pitt’s offense finished strong. Reeling off 28 unanswered points in the second half. There’s no doubt that trailing at the half helped make sure Pitt kept the foot on the gas in the second half. No letting up this time.

On the defensive side, the D-line had a much-needed big game.

“We had a team meeting on Monday,” said middle linebacker Adam Gunn. “We made a promise to the offense — we will never have a performance like we did against Buffalo or N.C. State again.”

It then went from words to actions as a defense that had been shredded for 500 yards in a win at Buffalo and more than 500 yards and 38 points in a loss at North Carolina State went out and had perhaps its best week of practice since early in preseason training camp.

The result was a defensive unit that showed up at Louisville’s Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium Friday night with a chip on its shoulder and resembled the dominant unit most people predicted would carry the Panthers this year.

Particularly dominant — at last — was the front four.

Every Pitt watcher knew the D-line had to be stronger. Or else the real problems in the D would get exposed.

“We’ve kind of dominated here and there, but this was a total performance by the whole D-line,” Romeus said. “We’re still not satisfied. Next week, we are going to try to come stronger.”

Strong play by the front line takes pressure off a Pitt secondary that was exposed against Buffalo and N.C. State. It will be critical in the future as the Panthers meet Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen, West Virginia’s Jarrett Brown and Cincinnati’s Tony Pike, who all rank in the top 6 in the nation in total offense or passing efficiency.

“If we can’t make plays up front,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said, “we’re not going to play very good defense.”

Over the last couple games — and especially in the Louisville game — there was a very encouraging trend in the backfield. Using more than one back.

It is no secret that Coach Wannstedt wants to run on offense as much as possible. It is also no secret that Wannstedt would prefer to have one workhorse back, a blocking fullback and an occasional change-of-pace back for a series or two. That’s what he has always preferred and had the last two seasons in McCoy, Collins and Stephens-Howling.

This year he does not have the workhorse back and change of pace back. Dion Lewis and Ray Graham are very similar in size and speed. While they have slightly different running styles, it isn’t so dramatic to constitute a change-of-pace.

In the first 4 games we saw the offense try to use Dion Lewis as a workhorse back, since he was the starter. The problem — which especially became more noticeable in the Navy and NC State games was that Lewis was clearly getting worn down in the second half. A mix of hard running in the first half, teams adjusting in the second and the slow wear of the first third of his first college football season.

To that extent, we saw in the Louisville game, more utilization of Ray Graham. An appearance for a series in the first half and more touches in the second. It made a huge difference. More than as a change-of-pace, it was fresh legs to attack.

I think going forward, there will be more of that. A roughly 60-40 split in carries between Lewis and Graham. Between simply keeping talented backs happy by giving them both touches, and allowing more productive running in the second half this should continue.

We (I) criticize Wannstedt often for refusing to change his approach on offense — even if he pays lip service to it. In this case he has appeared to make an adaptation. Whether you want to credit new OC Cignetti or RB Coach Walker for helping push for the change, it is still Wannstedt’s team and his call so he gets some credit for going with what can only help the running game.

There is still the change-of-pace issue and that brings it to the fullback Henry Hynoski. For Pitt, he should be the guy to change styles from the quick and shifty/quick and explosive to power-bruising.   The big bruising fullback is clearly doing great as a blocking back, but through 5 games has only 6 touches. Especially late in the game, it seems that it would be an ideal time to use Hynoski. Have him hit that line and deliver some blows to the D-line.

That promises to add to the weirdness.

For those who haven’t heard or read, the UConn-Pitt game on Saturday, October 10 will be a 3:30 game with regional coverage on ABC. And by regional, I mean regional. Here are the games at 3:30 on ABC.

I’ll post the regional map when it is actually published (or simply when I find it. Odds are, though, if you are on the East Coast you are set. West of the coastal states and you better have ESPN 360 or GamePlan.

As for my sobriety, which seems counter intuitive to a 3:30 start? Well, here’s the culprit.

There is a sportsbloggers panel at 2pm on Saturday. I’ll be sitting on a panel with bloggers from Pensblog and Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies. The panel will be moderated by Mike Woycheck of Pittsburgh Bloggers.

So, I’ll be heading over to try and make kickoff afterwards. Faced with the choice of making a guaranteed ass of myself by trying to do the panel after drinking or only a 50-50 chance of it, I’m opting for the coin flip.