Irish-Pitt story is familiar
PITTSBURGH — If Dave Wannstedt and Charlie Weis feel like they've been here before, it's because they have.
Wannstedt will be taking nationally ranked Pitt into a jam-packed Heinz Field for one of the Panthers' biggest games in seasons, one that could enhance their reputation and set the stage for big things to come.
Weis is trying to prove to Notre Dame's passionate fan base that an ex-NFL coordinator is the right man to return the Fighting Irish to elite status despite a recent series of stumbles.
Remarkably, the story lines for Saturday's night game are nearly identical to 2005, when Weis and Wannstedt opened their college head coaching careers together in Pittsburgh.
Like then, No. 8 Pitt (8-1) is the on-the-rise program positioned for its best season in years. Notre Dame (6-3) is unranked and an underdog, a team seemingly not yet ready to win big games for a coach who has yet to prove himself on the college level.
Déjà vu, indeed.
"We thought we were a heck of a lot better than we really were," Wannstedt said, reflecting on that 42-21 loss to the Irish four years ago that sent Pitt staggering to a 5-6 record. "We found out very quickly that we had a lot of work to do. We were probably just a little bit ahead of ourselves."
Notre Dame owned much the same feeling this season until being upset last week by Navy — yes, Navy, which once lost to the Irish for 43 consecutive seasons — to drop out of the AP Top 25 poll and revive questions about Weis' job status.
Weis hasn't had many victories like that opening-night rout of Pitt, and he could badly use a repeat performance. The Irish are all but out of the BCS picture, but finally ending a seven-game losing streak against Top 10 teams would ease some of the hurt of losing to Navy.
"We've definitely had some up and down years," wide receiver Golden Tate said. "Definitely coach Weis has been in the hot seat a few times. But I'm confident in the way he's been coaching."
The Panthers didn't have a winning season under Wannstedt until going 9-4 last season but, off to their best start since they also were 8-1 in 1982, they're positioning themselves for a possible Big East title-deciding game against No. 5 Cincinnati Dec. 5.While Pitt has won five in a row, easily handled Navy and won its last two by 27 points apiece, the Fighting Irish have plenty enough talent in the passing game to pull this off.Pitt allowed 322 yards passing to North Carolina State in its only loss and 433 yards passing to Buffalo — and, no, they didn't play the Bills. Irish QB Jimmy Clausen is easily the best passer Pitt has faced, and he has two excellent receivers in Tate (12 TDs) and Michael Floyd (141 yards against Navy), both of whom had 100-yard games against Pitt last season.Clausen's fumble at the 1-yard line against Navy was one of the few major mistakes he's made while throwing for 2,770 yards and 20 touchdowns, with only three interceptions, and leading four comebacks in the fourth quarter,The Panthers' quarterback, Bill Stull (17 TDs, 4 interceptions) has been nearly as consistent as Clausen. And freshman running back Dion Lewis (1,139 yards) and tight end Dorin Dickerson (10 TD catches) are two of college football's biggest surprises.The Panthers are ranked in the Top 10 in November for the first time since 1982, when they were 7-0 before losing at home to — uh oh, Notre Dame."I think we all did a great job in turning things around. I think we all deserve credit," defensive lineman Gus Mustakas said. "We're a Top 10 program now, and that's where we should be. We want to build something here that will continue for a long time."
