Prepping for Utah Week

It's about time - the moment we've been waiting for since Pitt wrapped up a ten-win season. The Utah game. If Pitt wins, they continue the momentum they've built up since beating North Carolina in the Car Care Bowl. Lose, and while the season will be far from over, Pitt will need to go back to the drawing board.

So with that said, we've got a great guest to kick off this year's Q&As - Dirk Facer, a sports writer for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, who covers Utes football for the newspaper. Be sure to check out some of his excellent work for the full lowdown on Utah.

Dirk provided some answers to my questions below:

1. Freshman QB Jordan Wynn looked really sharp last year after taking over as the starter. How did he look in camp this Fall?

A: Wynn has picked up where he left off in last year’s Poinsettia Bowl victory over Cal, netting MVP honors by completing 26-of-36 passes for a career-high 338 passes and three touchdowns. Confidence is the big thing. Instead of competing for the job like he did last fall, Wynn entered camp as the designated starter and has embraced the role — leading the first unit throughout.
 

2. How did senior QB Terrance Cain take last year's demotion despite leading the team to a 7-1 start?

A: While acknowledging it was tough at first, Cain accepted the change and has been pushing Wynn ever since. Cain had a fantastic camp, working mostly with the twos, and may see action in specific packages as the backup. Cain and Wynn have remained friends throughout the competition.

3. With the departure of star WR David Reed and the return of 1,000 yard rusher Eddie Wide, do you expect to see Utah run the ball a little more than usual in the opener or will they look to test Pitt's unproven secondary?

A: The Utes certainly have strength in the backfield with Wide and fellow senior running back Matt Asiata, who led the team in rushing in 2008 and was setting the pace again last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury, back in the fold. Senior Jereme Brooks headlines a deep, but relatively inexperienced receiving corps. Utah will likely run the ball quite a bit, but has the weapons to throw it often as well.

4. Where are some of the weaknesses on Utah's defense that Pitt might be able to exploit?

A: The Utes have consistently been able to reload on defense over the years. However, this season’s squad features three new starting linebackers and new starters at both safety spots and one of the cornerback positions. Pitt is expected to challenge the newcomers. The Utes, however, counter with an aggressive defensive front.

5. How do you see the Utah vs. Pitt game shaping up on Thursday?

A: It certainly is shaping up as a much better matchup than the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. The main question in this meeting involves Utah’s ability to slow Pitt’s ground game. Another thing to watch is how the Panthers handle the travel to altitude and a hostile environment. The Utes have won 13 consecutive games when coach Kyle Whittingham has eight or more days to prepare for an opponent.

Car Care Bowl Note

The Meineke Car Care Bowl has decided to move to their game to New Year's Eve after the date opened up at the Carolina Panthers stadium. Too bad this didn't happen last year - it would have probably created a little more buzz around the Pitt - North Carolina game.

Pitt Ends Successful (Yes, Successful) Season

That was the feeling after Pitt wrapped up a 19-17 Meineke Car Care Bowl win over North Carolina on Saturday. Regardless of what anyone may try to argue, this was a fairly big win for Pitt. To get to ten wins for the first time since 1981, and 19 wins over the past two years, was pretty significant. No, it's not a BCS bowl win. But it is a nice win to end the season.

Let's recap - Pitt goes 10-3 along with picking up some nice wins against teams like North Carolina, South Florida, Rutgers, and Notre Dame. The losses against WVU and Cincy were tough, especially considering Pitt had the talent to win both of those games. But 10-3 is Pitt taking the next step. It didn't happen in the late 80s, or even in the Walt Harris era where Pitt experienced somewhat of a resurgence. The way the season ended was disappointing, but if you look at everything, it wasn't a bad year.

I'm normally with Bob Smizik, but I've got to respectfully disagree with him this time. I agree with much of what he says, but not this:

Pitt reached the 10-win plateau for the first time since 1981, which seems like a big deal to some. I’ll regard it as a big deal when they once gain reach the one-loss plateau, which was the case in 1981 when they were 11-1 in Jackie Sherrill’s final season as coach. Ten wins in a 12-game season isn't the same as 10 wins in an 11-game season.

The one-loss/undefeated seasons are another plateau. Pitt isn't there yet and rarely do teams go from several straight bowless seasons to those types of years. The progress Pitt has made over the past two years has been significant and they have taken the next step over the Walt Harris era in my opinion. Further, the talent Coach Wannstedt has been bringing in has also been upgraded. One step at a time and the next step Pitt needs to take is getting to those one-loss seasons.

I'm not sure I agree completely with Dion Lewis, though:

"It's back," Lewis said of Pitt football, moments after he was voted bowl MVP.

I think we need to see at least another strong 9-10 win season before we can declare Pitt back in the national spotlight. And even then, as I pointed out, Pitt is still another big step away from being considered among the best in college football. But, point taken - Pitt is definitely getting back on the map.

There were plenty of stars for Pitt in this one:

Dan Mason getting the start and a key interception.

Mike Shanahan pulling in five big catches for 83 yards.

Dan Hutchins kicking four field goals to push him ahead of Conor Lee's single-season record.

But none bigger than Lewis, who took home the game's MVP award. He was unquestionably the MVP for the team all season, and with 159 yards yesterday, kicked off his 2010 Heisman campaign a bit early. I'd like to say more about Lewis...I really would. But there's not much I can say to describe the type of season he had. 1,799 yards? Sick. I picked him back in the preseason blogger poll conducted by Bleed Scarlet in the beginning of the year as the Big East Rookie of the Year, but of course didn't predict this kind of season. It will be interesting to see what kind of season he has next year now that teams will likely key in on him a bit more.

Even though Lewis was the hero, he could have turned into somewhat of a goat had Pitt not been able to pull this one out. After the game, he acknowledged his fumble through the end zone was costly:

It changed the game. We would have been up, I don't know what the score would have been at the time but we would have been up. It would have been a touchdown but I fumbled. It was tough for me but I had to come back and respond. I just needed a little time to calm down and forget about it and go back out there and play.

I think the biggest play of the game may have been the offsides penalty on North Carolina prior to the long field goal attempt. I had doubts whether Dan Hutchins would have made that kick, but fortunately for Pitt, he didn't have to. That also allowed Pitt to run some more time of the clock and forced NC to burn two timeouts:

The drive stalled at the 30, forcing Wannstedt to make another tough decision with 1:56 remaining.

This time, he put his faith in Hutchins, who set a single-season school record with 22 field goals, including conversions from 31, 31 and 42 yards yesterday. Hutchins, whose career-high had been a 45-yarder, would be tested from 47.

But the Tar Heels flinched under pressure, and the offside penalty gave Pitt a first down at the UNC 25.

"We were trying to draw them offsides," Hutchins said, "but I had planned on kicking that ball."

Said North Carolina coach Butch Davis: "We shot ourselves in the foot, and that was my fault. I have to take responsibility for us losing composure."

All in all, a solid season for Pitt. Now it's time to take that next step.

Free To A Good Home

Pitt is making the wise move of offering free tickets to students willing to travel to the Meineke Car Care bowl game. A nice gesture, but I'd be surprised if more than a couple hundred took advantage of it. It's just a bad time of year.

Also, the Fighting Wannstaches have brought up something I haven't heard about this year. If I'm not mistaken, Pitt urged people to buy tickets to the Sun Bowl, even if they couldn't go. The tickets were then donated to people in the area who could make it. I haven't seen anything like that this year, but Pitt really should be encouraging it.

Will Anyone Go?

If a bowl game is played, but no one's there to watch it, does it really count?

Seriously, though. With the announcement that Pitt will be headed to Charlotte to play the Tarheels for the Meineke Car Care Bowl, does anyone really care? As bad as it sounds, it could get worse.

You see, playing against North Carolina will basically be a road game. Not to mention that with wins at Virginia Tech and against Miami, they're not bad, either. This is a game Pitt can win, but getting to ten wins will be no guarantee. Throw in the fact that Pitt is surely disappointed after dropping their final two games, and you wonder if they'll be ready to play.

According to Paul Zeise of the PG, apparently Pitt could have been beaten out by Rutgers for this bowl because they weren't sure the 12,000 allotment of tickets could be sold. It also sounded like Pitt might have been more interested in going to Birmingham to play South Carolina. Let's see:

Meineke Car Care Bowl - Cold weather, solid away game, vs. a non-interesting team, and the day after Christmas.

Versus

PapaJohns.com Bowl - Warm weather, neutral field, vs. a Steve Spurrier-led SEC team, the day after New Years.

Hmmm....I'll take option B.

Either way Pitt will have a hard time convincing people to drop plans to spend Christmas with family to head to a cold-weather town with not much happening. Sure it's within driving distance for many, unlike Birmingham. But Pitt probably won't get a strong showing for this one.

If you don't mind traveling over Christmas, here's more info.

Latest Test of the Year

That's the first thing I think of when I see the matchup this weekend Vs. South Florida. It seems like literally since the beginning of the season, each game has been more important. Not just because of the roll Pitt is on, but because the opponents have almost always been tougher.

Pitt started out with Youngstown State, a I-AA team before moving onto Buffalo. Week three represented another step up against an always tricky Navy team and the following week, Pitt played its first BCS conference opponent in NC State. Yes, you can argue that the next opponent, Louisville, may not be as good as NC State. But it was a conference road game on a Friday night, so you could argue that it was more important. Pitt then played a better team in UCONN and possibly a bettter team in Rutgers. This week, it gets tougher with a visit from South Florida. It's a good thing Pitt thinks more is left in the tank, because they'll need it.

Dave Wannstedt said it after Pitt's 24-17 win against Rutgers Friday night.

So did Mick Williams, Bill Stull, Dorin Dickerson, Dion Lewis and every other player who entered the media interview room at Rutgers Stadium after the game.

"We haven't played as well as we can play. We haven't played our best football yet."

Pitt has been somewhat fortunate in getting by with some crucial mistakes. Just when you think it's going to cost them, they stepped up and fought their way out of it. But I can't help but think that the mistakes are going to cost them in another game down the road.

Head-to-head, the teams are pretty even on paper.

Unknown to Dave Wannstedt at the weekly press conference, Pitt is trying to do something it hasn't in nearly 30 years.

Pitt faces another freshman QB, albeit a redshirt, in B.J. Daniels. Make no mistake, he's pretty good.

Paul Zeise at the PG says Pitt expects a good turnout. To be honest, I do, too. Pitt is 6-1, ranked in the top 20, playing a good team, and it's homecoming. Yes it may be a little rainy on Saturday, the temperature is supposed to be fairly warm in the neighborhood of 60 degrees. The game is televised, but Pitt should get a good draw for this one.

This comment by Bulls' coach Jim Leavitt seems a bit off to me:

"They do everything off the run game," Leavitt said. "I don't see any weaknesses in their offensive line. We're looking at film trying to figure out what to do."

Yes, the running game is strong. But Pitt has shown they can pass when needed. Bill Stull continues to play mostly error-free football this year and if Pitt doesn't turn the ball over, they're dangerous.

A few quick hitters:

ESPN.com's Brian Bennett's latest tidbits include Dion Lewis appearing on some Heisman ballots and picking Pitt to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Jared Holley has stepped up big time.

Cam Saddler may be back this week. If he is, Pitt will have two dangerous kick returners in he and Ray Graham.

Dorin Dickerson gets some love as a nationally-recognized TE.

The Petersen family steps up again.

Some quotes from Wanny.

Mark Cuban made a guest appearance at Pitt while in town for the Cavs/Mavs exhibition game.

This is old news, but Dion Lewis got some more accolades this week. Pat Forde also has some respect for Dion.