I don’t care if the oddsmakers are favoring UConn over Pitt (UConn -7.5). This is a must win for Pitt and Walt Harris. Here’s Joe Bendel on his ESPN.com Big East Insider gig.

First things first. The Panthers bumped their record to 2-1 last Saturday at Heinz Field, but they needed overtime against Division I-AA Furman to get there. Coach Walt Harris would like to paint a pretty picture of how his team fought valiantly from a 17-point deficit in the second half, but the Panthers shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. Good teams win those games by a couple of touchdowns, mediocre teams struggle to win and bad ones lose. The Panthers appear to be nothing more than mediocre at this point, as they take their show on the road for the first time at Connecticut (3-1, 0-1) on Thursday night (ESPN2, 7 EST). The defense failed to solve Furman’s passing game — Pitt yielded scoring passes of 17, 42, 75 and 43 yards — and had it not been for a rejuvenated offense, the season would have been over before it started. The Connecticut game should give a true barometer of where the Panthers are.
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You can expect Orlovsky to attack the Pitt secondary, particularly freshman cornerbacks Mike Phillips and Darrelle Revis. Both have played well this season, but they’ve yet to face the bevy of receivers Connecticut can put out on the field. And remember, that duo was on the field for the four Furman touchdowns. Harris even said he would attempt to exploit them if he were Orlovsky. “Sure I would,” he said.

[Emphasis added.]

Pitt loses this game and Pitt fans will start drawing up their wish lists for replacing Harris in earnest. Matt Hayes at the Sporting News does a piece on one who will be on many teams wish lists — Urban Meyer at Utah. Success at Bowling Green and now at Utah. Clearly he can recruit and coach anywhere.