Head coach Walt Harris entered his weekly press conference at the team’s practice facility… Head coach Walt Harris entered his weekly press conference at the team’s practice facility on Monday visibly discouraged over Pitt’s 20-14 loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish over the weekend, but he insisted that the team was only a few plays away from winning the game.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Harris said that, while the team was not confused, hesitation led to the offensive and defensive lines being physically outplayed.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I just think that we got a little hesitant,’ Harris said. ‘We weren’t as physical as we needed to be, especially on offense.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Throughout the game, Notre Dame ran various stunts with its defensive line, and Harris said that Pitt’s offensive front ran into some trouble recognizing blocking assignments. The offensive line has had to deal with a number of injuries, and Harris said that they will continue to try to improve their assignment recognition.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ At the start of the season, Harris said that senior leadership would be instrumental in the success of the team. When asked about how he would evaluate the team’s leadership thus far, Harris said that the best way for leadership to improve is to lead by example on the field.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘When you’re 3-2 you probably would generalize and say that you’re not pleased with your leadership,’ Harris said. ‘I know our guys care. I know our seniors care. They’ve just got to lead by playing better. I think that’s the best way to lead.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ It appeared that the Notre Dame offense ran the same few plays right at Pitt’s defense for most of the game. Harris compared the physical nature of the game to a war.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers were faced with long downs and distances throughout the game, due in part to the lack of production in the running game, but also due to the physical mismatch up front. Harris said he thought that it was not one single aspect of the game that was the problem, but rather a combination of things that led to the Panthers’ demise.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We just couldn’t keep our defense off the field, especially in the second half,’ Harris said. ‘So it’s a combination of things, not just that we couldn’t stop their running game. We just didn’t get it done. We need to be more ready to play.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Harris also thought that Notre Dame knew the Panthers’ weaknesses even better than they themselves did. After facing two spread offenses in Toledo and Texas A’amp;M, Harris felt that the pass defense was the biggest area of concern.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We thought that [run defense] wouldn’t be a problem,’ Harris said. ‘We knew they were good, though, and I tried to alert our players.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Harris said the game was ultimately decided by turnovers. The Panthers needed to play mistake-free football in order to be successful, and that will be Harris’ focus this week, when the team prepares to begin Big East Conference play at Rutgers on Oct. 18.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The bottom line is that when we win, we don’t turn the ball over,’ Harris said. ‘That’s why we coach and that’s why we practice. We practice to get better at it.’