I thought I had mentioned this at least in passing sometime during the week, or maybe it was just in some e-mail to friends. From a storyline perspective, the oversaturation would be on the issues of the coaches. Whether it was things coming “full circle” with them meeting once more at Heinz Field at night in a prime time game — where both made their debuts as the head coaches at the respective alma maters. The other, which crystallized after the ND loss to Navy, are the programs/coaches heading in opposite directions.

Let’s start with the “full circle” stories. They are in Pittsburgh papers.

Back then, Weis was the hot-shot former NFL assistant poised to return his alma mater to national prominence, while Wannstedt was on his way to going 16-19 in his first three years at Pitt.

“We found out real quick that we had work to do,” Wannstedt said. “We were probably just a little bit ahead of ourselves.”

Both coaches have similar records at their respective schools (Weis 35-24, Wannstedt 33-24), but Weis, coming off a 23-21 loss to Navy, is under fire. Wannstedt is a candidate for numerous national coach of the year awards.

And in South Bend.

When Weis was asked to connect the dots Tuesday back to ND’s 42-21 thrashing of a 23rd-ranked Pitt teams four and a half seasons ago, he politely balked.

“I’m so predictable,” said Weis, 3-11 against the Top 25 since that debut game, including seven straight losses against ranked teams. “You already know what my answer is going to be when you ask that question. But I’m really only worrying about beating Pitt. And I’ll never change.”

Then there is national like Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com.

The Fighting Irish rolled 42-21 as the Weis bandwagon filled up fast. Wannstedt, meanwhile, has struggled to sustain any real momentum almost ever since. But now the Panthers, despite not having beaten any top-20 teams, have climbed to No. 8 in the Associated Press poll, which is the school’s highest November ranking since 1982. A BCS bowl is possible; the Panthers rank 12th in the BCS standings. They are off to their best start (8-1) since that ’82 season, when Dan Marino was their quarterback. Maybe Weis, the now-embattled Irish coach, can salvage some of his reputation that has taken so many hits after last week’s home loss to Navy. Before the season, this matchup didn’t appear to carry such juice for Weis, but now, perhaps it’s a different story.

Feldman’s bit, well, it’s not the most complimentary of Pitt’s season.

Still, Saturday’s game is almost as big for Wannstedt. If the Panthers lose the game, it’ll be just another clunker from a program that few people seem prepared to buy in on. It has inched its way up the rankings much as a non-automatic qualifying school would, as much through the attrition of everyone else as its own success. It feels as though the Panthers are up there by default: “Well, who else will we have in the top 15, three-loss Virginia Tech? Four-loss Oklahoma?!?”

To their credit, the Panthers have been outstanding on defense this season. They lead the nation in sacks (38), and given Notre Dame’s struggles to protect Jimmy Clausen, that’ll be a key matchup.

The next day, Feldman includes Coach Wannstedt in his top-10 list for Coach of the Year. So he does recognize that the coach and team are accomplishing something.

I’m not going to argue about the fact that Pitt’s rise to top-10 this year has as much to do with the volume of teams failing. Considering Pitt started the season unranked, it is the only way it happens. It is still an achievement.

I mean, god help me, I’m turning to Bob Smizik for the counterpoint on the argument of “who has Pitt beaten?”

This is not so much a knock on Cincinnati, Pitt or the Big East. We said the same thing about Penn State the other day and it applies to many, if not most, ranked programs. It’s the shame of college football. Teams, for the most play, play a ridiculously soft non-conference schedule and then amongst themselves. Who knows how good most of them are?

Consider #2 Texas. The Longhorns have only beaten one team that is currently ranked in the top-25 in Oklahoma State. Of course, since they were a preseason top-5 team, no one disputes their validity.

I must admit some mild surprise that despite Pitt manhandling Navy. Navy beating ND, being bowl eligible, and nearly upsetting Ohio State in Columbus, there is little credit by the punditry for Pitt. Vegas, however, seems to believe a little stronger.

Then there are the “opposite direction” themes. The concurrent theme seems to be patience and lack of it.

Wannstedt took over a Pittsburgh team that had 18 returning starters from a Fiesta Bowl appearance. Weis inherited a Notre Dame team that had gone 6-6, leading to the ouster of Tyrone Willingham.

The first meeting between the two was no contest, as the Irish rolled to a 35-13 halftime lead and eventual 42-21 win at Heinz Field. Weis lived up to his reputation as an offensive mastermind, while Wannstedt looked lost. Weis would go on to make BCS bowl appearances his first two seasons; Wannstedt failed to record a winning record or reach a bowl in his first three seasons as fans grew restless.

Now fast forward to today. Wannstedt’s Panthers are 8-1, ranked 12th in the BCS standings and in the Top 10 of the human polls for the first time in November since 1982. Pitt has won 18 of its last 23 games and is closing in on a potential Big East title.

Weis’s Irish, meanwhile, are unranked and unloved after last week’s loss to Navy, the second time in three years they fell to the service academy at home. Since 2007, Weis is just 16-18, and he could well be out of a job by the end of the month.

It took Wannstedt a lot longer to establish his program, but his steady climb has put the Panthers in great position going forward. Wannstedt — who, unlike Weis had head coaching experience in the NFL with Chicago and Miami — did not look for quick fixes when he arrived at Pitt.

“We took it a little bit slower than the majority of head coaches that take over a program,” Wannstedt said. “We gradually made the changes that we felt we needed to make. I think the worst thing that you can do is make bad decisions. We have a lot of kids right now that four years ago it would have been really easy to give up on, or not give an opportunity to change, and we did.”

Or perhaps when contracts and extensions were made.

With a third consecutive non-winning season weighing on him like a backpack full of anvils, Dave Wannstedt marched into a 2007 meeting regarding his future as Pittsburgh’s head coach with chancellor Mark Nordenberg.

Angst reigned. The ex-Bears coach inherited a Fiesta Bowl team and directed mediocre seasons while restocking the talent. Then, contrary to every axiom of college football, patience won out: Wannstedt pocketed an extension and immediately produced a return on investment.

“(Nordenberg) basically came out and said he’s the coach and that’s the end of it,” Wannstedt said this week. “Two days later, West Virginia was (No. 2)in the nation and we upset them, and we’ve had an unbelievable run since.”

I won’t pretend I ever believed the extension to Wannstedt was a anything close to sane when it happened — or even the following year. That said, I don’t mind being incorrect on this one.

Weis, by contrast was given a ridiculous extension 7 games into his tenure. Mainly in response to hyped rumors (that Weis’ agent wisely helped push) that NFL teams were sniffing around for Weis. And now, despite a long, long contract, Weis is forced to pretend he is oblivious to all but the Pitt game.

The rest of the week, these meme’s will just get a link and little else (unless they somehow manage to have some sort of different perspective or really good quote.