Now the football schedule gets tough?

It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these, and quite possibly for good reason. As… It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these, and quite possibly for good reason. As we’ve all seen in these last five weeks, it’s certainly been as a rough a stretch for Pitt football. Granted, the five-game losing streak that ended last season was bad, but keep in mind Pitt played South Florida, who we know now is legitimate, Rutgers, Louisville and West Virginia in that span.

This four-game skid included games many before the season considered Pitt would have to win – Connecticut, Navy and even just one of the two road games at Virginia or Michigan State – to end with a winning record for the first time in Dave Wannstedt’s tenure.

Not winning those games sets Pitt up for a shockingly realistic finish worse than the 5-6 and 6-6 records the Panthers compiled in each of his first two years. And the friendly half of Pitt’s schedule is gone.

After taking on No. 23 Cincinnati at home this week, Pitt must travel to Louisville, where first-year coach Steve Kragthorpe and the Cardinals seem to be figuring out their defensive deficiencies, holding the then-No. 15 Bearcats to 24 points last week – its third lowest point total given up all year.

Aside from getting Syracuse at home the week after – the only game the rest of the season in which Pitt might be favored – the Panthers get South Florida at home and must travel to West Virginia and Rutgers. Brutal.

It’s been a rough season so far, and Pitt is only now getting into its toughest part of the schedule. There are plenty of questions, but the answers right now, with half of the season gone and the Panthers at the bottom of the Big East, certainly don’t look comforting.

Q: Will Pitt get run over again with Cincinnati’s spread offense?

A: Certainly the focal point of the Cincinnati offense is quarterback Ben Mauk. Gone are the days of Dustin Grutza, the Bearcats’ former signal caller off of whom Pitt was able to feed in recent years.

Mauk is almost like Matt Grothe from South Florida in that he can pass to the tune of 227 yards per game, which, by the way, ranks third in the Big East, but can also spring out of the pocket and run it himself.

That’s the most dangerous part of this offense, and the Pitt defense hasn’t shown at all this year that it’s able to contain a mobile quarterback. To do that takes a lot more defensive pressure and aggression than we’ve seen.

Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads has to switch up defensive schemes and force Mauk into making a rushed decision, instead of purely reacting to the decision he makes. If the Pitt defense does that and executes everything it’s supposed to, then Pitt stands a chance. Keep things the same, and yes, the Panthers will be run over.

Q: What’s the situation with Bill Stull’s injury? Could he possibly come back after half of the season is over?

A: From everything that’s been seeping ever so gradually from the staff, it seems Stull is still recovering. Head coach Dave Wannstedt has repeatedly reinforced the idea that it takes time to rehab an injury such as Stull’s, which, of course, was a torn ligament in his right throwing thumb suffered the first week against Eastern Michigan.

And remember, when Stull was first diagnosed the day after that game, it was announced it would take him four to six weeks to fully recover. This is the sixth week, and he’s still not suiting up, which leads to an interesting situation with who the Panthers’ quarterback will be not only for the rest of this year, but for the years to come.

See, Stull was the undisputed starter and team leader coming out of training camp. After he was injured and everyone realized Kevan Smith was not the right man for the job, Pat Bostick stepped in and has performed well above everyone’s expectations. Bostick is a guy who the coach staff was adamant about redshirting before the season began. Given his personal issues for which he left camp, that seemed like the smart and safe idea.

But then Stull got hurt, and Bostick’s redshirt was incinerated. And through his first two collegiate starts, it’s looking like Bostick is improving with each snap. He’s showing good awareness, accurate passes and is making the right decisions – so much so that offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh agreed to open up his conservative first-half game plans to let Bostick take more control. He certainly seems like he’s growing into his role as the starting quarterback and getting more and more comfortable.

Which builds a quarterback bridge Pitt is going to have to cross. Dave Wannstedt is not a guy to let an injury rob someone of his position. That said, it was thought by many that the Panthers would elect to use Stull’s available redshirt and not burn a year of his eligibility, so he’d come back healthy next season with two years still left.

But now Bostick has used a year of eligibility, and is making the most of it so far. If he continues to improve and finishes out the season strong, what happens?

Pitt would most likely use Bostick’s redshirt next season and have Stull be the starter. But the next year Stull would be a senior and Bostick a redshirt sophomore. Would Stull start over Bostick when he comes back? Or would Bostick beat him out, in which case Stull would either stomach the backup job or transfer like Luke Getsy and Joe Flacco?

We won’t know for sure until an official announcement is made on Stull. Which could be soon.

Q: With such a bad start to the season, is Pitt’s recruiting suffering at all?

A: It’s not easy to say at this point because most high school prospects are in the final weeks of their seasons and thinking about playoffs. A lot of kids take official visits early in the fall or after their high school seasons are over, so there aren’t traditionally a lot of verbal commitments being made during the middle of the college season, and that’s the big reason why it’s been quiet on the recruiting front as of late.

That said, Pitt already has eight commitments, two from prospects several recruiting rankings consider to be in the top of this class. The top player of this class so far is undoubtedly offensive and defensive lineman Lucas Nix from Thomas Jefferson High School, a five-star player on both Rivals and Scout.

Next to Nix is running back Chris Burns from New Wilmington, a four-star player. The Panthers also have commitments from three-star players Ronald Hobby, Manny Williams, Antwuan Reed and Chris Hayden-Martin.

The Panthers are recruiting several other top players, namely U.S. Army All-American Jonathan Baldwin of Aliquippa, but the recruiting news always picks up after the season.

Q: Would Pitt be interested in hiring Steve Pederson as its new athletic director after he was recently fired from Nebraska?

A: It’s hard to say for sure. I wouldn’t be inclined to think that Pitt would hire back an administrator that left, even if he did leave on good terms, like Pederson did.

But, interim athletic director Donna Sanft said that she doesn’t consider herself a long-term candidate for the position, and Pederson did some very good things while at Pitt.

Keep in mind Pederson just had his contract extended this summer before being fired, so he’s still going to be paid, and doesn’t need to pick up another job immediately. That said, I think Pitt will go somewhere else. Who that candidate might be, though, is a mystery so far.

Q: Why hasn’t Dorin Dickerson moved in as the starter at outside linebacker?

A: He gets as many reps as the starter, Adam Gunn, so it’s almost a moot point. But while Dickerson has more natural athleticism than Gunn, Gunn certainly knows the linebacker position better than Dickerson.

I’m not sure how I feel about moving Dickerson to linebacker and not giving him a redshirt, not this year, but last year. He did next to nothing in very limited playing time last year, burning a valuable year of eligibility for a guy that was a top-100 recruit coming out of high school.

Granted, he still has the same talent, but with less time and experience to showcase it than he would have had if he would have taken the redshirt. His first year he doesn’t see the field much, and the next year he made a position change. Had he just been redshirted last year, his position change would have been smoother, and Pitt would have had Dickerson longer.

Q: How long does Dave Wannstedt have left as head coach at Pitt?

A: Tough question. This season, quite possibly, could turn out to be a 3-9 year. Wannstedt will get some allowance for that, given his top receiver, Derek Kinder, also the team’s top player, the team’s starting quarterback, Stull, and the team’s best defensive lineman, Gus Mustakas, all suffered season-ending injuries. The offensive line has been banged up all year, too.

Next year’s team returns Kinder, Mustakas, obviously LeSean McCoy, who is now the team’s best player, and most of defensive line and linebacking corps. Come to think, there’s not a lot of personnel this team loses to graduation, save Mike McGlynn, Kennard Cox and Mike Phillips.

Wannstedt sticks around for another year after this, but one more losing season and I think he’s gone, and both coordinators with him.