Pitt football following familiar path

By JEFF GREER

It’s happening again.

The wheels are coming off the Pitt football wagon. The trail is… It’s happening again.

The wheels are coming off the Pitt football wagon. The trail is getting rocky. The faithful are losing faith. The Promised Land is drifting away.

Pitt hired Dave Wannstedt just before Christmas 2004. Everyone knew he could recruit. He had NFL credentials.

He was a name.

Two and a half seasons later, Pitt is chalk-full of blue-chip recruits. A lot of big high school football names decided to suit up for Pitt the last two seasons.

This gave Pitt fans hope. A new coach with high-powered recruits meant national prominence for a mediocre program.

At least that’s what was expected.

Almost as quickly as it rose, the Pitt program under Wannstedt is falling.

In fact, it’s plummeting.

Saturday’s loss at Virginia served as a microcosm to what Pitt has become under Wannstedt – a team that plays not to lose.

With all of the stockpiled talent, athleticism and star power at Pitt, some might say this program should be skyrocketing toward the top of the Big East and beyond. Some might even say this program should at least be a winner.

But there is so much wrong with the program at this point, it’s almost time to blow it up – again.

It became startlingly apparent Saturday that Wannstedt and offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh expect Pitt to play like the 2006 Chicago Bears – let the defense create points and hope the offense doesn’t screw it up.

It’s not working.

If somebody doesn’t put up or shut up soon, the Pitt football wagon will be grounded, and it might be time to bring in some new people who can fix the wagon and get it rolling again.

Let’s get to the rapid fire before I throw up:

I fear for LeSean McCoy’s life every time he dons a Pitt jersey and takes the field. Will someone please block for Shady?

TRIVIA: I’ll give you a hearty pat on the back, Roc, if you can tell me who holds the Pitt record for consecutive extra points without a miss?

The Rockies-Padres game on Monday night was an instant classic.

Did you see how much money tickets cost to see Hannah Montana in concert? Supposedly they are more than $2,000. And I was really starting to wonder how it was possible that The Rock’s movie, “Game Plan,” topped the box office this weekend