Quinn, Walker lead Irish into Pitt

On one sideline stands Dave Wannstedt, the first-year head coach of the Pitt Panthers —… On one sideline stands Dave Wannstedt, the first-year head coach of the Pitt Panthers — his alma mater.

He inherits a team that many considered unable to reach the next level under former coach Walt Harris. He inherits a number of key returning starters as well, including two of the nation’s best at quarterback and wide receiver, Tyler Palko and Greg Lee, respectively.

A season-opening win couldn’t mean more to anyone else. That is, until you look directly across to the opposing sideline.

Standing in those trenches is Charlie Weis, who begins his first year on the job for his alma mater, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Weis will test the coaching waters after a pro career in which he earned three Super Bowl rings in four years as the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots.

His team features 11 returning starters on offense, including third-year starting quarterback Brady Quinn and sensational sophomore running back Darius Walker, who rushed for 786 yards in 11 games as a freshman.

“They’ve really got all 11 starters back and they’ve got Darius Walker,” Wannstedt said. “A lot of athletic ability, a lot of speed, but it’s probably going to come down to the quarterback. It usually does in high-energy games.”

Never was this more accurate than in the last meeting of the two teams. Last season’s epic battle in South Bend, Ind., came down to the play of Quinn, with Palko at quarterback, as Pitt escaped with a 41-38 victory.

Palko finished the game 26-of-42 for 334 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions, becoming the first quarterback ever to throw five touchdown passes against Notre Dame. (USC’s Matt Leinart passed for five touchdowns against the Irish when they visited the Trojans later in the season, but Palko remains the only quarterback to do so in South Bend.)

While he wasn’t there to witness the game first-hand, Weis knows what Palko brings to the playing field and will have his defense prepared accordingly.

“Obviously he’s very productive,” Weis said of Palko. “I think he’s quite a talent and he’s surrounded by a bunch of talent. I have a lot of respect for him as a player.”

Quinn tallied 259 yards on 16-of-26 passing in the same game, while throwing three touchdowns and two interceptions. This time around, he and his receivers go up against the experienced tandem of Darrelle Revis and Bernard “Josh” Lay of the Pitt defense. Revis comes off a first-year campaign that saw him named a first-team freshman All-American by The Sporting News, while Lay earned second-team all-Big East.

The Fighting Irish, however, offer just as much experience when it comes to its wide receiving corps.

The senior trio of Rhema McKnight, Maurice Stovall and Matt Shelton combined to catch 83 passes for 1,438 yards and 10 touchdowns. In addition to the receivers, senior tight end Anthony Fasano also sees his share of passes.

“Stovall has got good size and so does No. 5 [McKnight]. And No. 82 [Shelton] is just straight out fast,” Lay said of the Notre Dame receivers. “We’ll be all right with the big receivers. We just got to contain the fast receiver.”

On the defensive side of things, the Fighting Irish aren’t as experienced. Senior linebacker Brandon Hoyte, who, along with Pitt linebacker H.B. Blades, has been named to the Butkus Award watch list, leads the defense.

As for the rest of the defense, a number of juniors will see more significant playing time in bigger roles for the Irish.

Victor Abiamiri and Trevor Laws will head the defensive line. They will have to stop Rashad Jennings and a Pitt ground attack that was the focus of much of the off-season. Ambrose Wooden, Tom Zbikowski and Chinedum Ndukwe look to stop the passing attack of Palko and Greg Lee in the secondary.

Walker will be the first running back to test the restructured Panther defense line. Pitt lost two of its anchors over the past three seasons when Dan Stephens and Vince Crochunis graduated, and its best player — Thomas Smith — has switched from defensive end to tackle. Meanwhile, Blades has moved from outside linebacker to middle.

No matter which players see the field during the game, and no matter where they play, both coaches agree that talent will be plentiful and the game just comes down to execution.

“I don’t care who the coach is or the coach has been,” Wannstedt said. “They’ve got as much talent as anyone in the country and you’ve got to respect that.”

Weis also reiterated that all the hype surrounding Wannstedt and their first games as head coaches won’t matter when it’s game time. The players will decide the outcome.

“This game is between the players,” Weis said. “I have a lot of respect for Dave and his entire staff, but I don’t think this should be about Dave and I. I think it should be about University of Pittsburgh vs. University of Notre Dame.”