TEMPE, Ariz. - Pittsburgh coach Walt Harris had some advice for his successor Friday.

Have some faith in the Panthers, who went from struggling at the start of the season to becoming Big East champions.

"It's a fun team to coach. These young men want to be counted. They wouldn't be counted out," Harris said.

Harris is leaving for Stanford after Saturday's Fiesta Bowl against Utah. He will be replaced by former Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt, a former Pittsburgh player whom Harris said he's only talked to briefly since Wannstedt took the job last week.

"They'll be coachable. They'll respond to you in a positive manner and there are some good football players there that will continue to improve because they want to," Harris said. "I believe this year is a good example of our players showing that they want to win and they'll do whatever they have to do."

The Panthers opened the season 2-2, struggling to beat Ohio and needing to rally against Division I-AA Furman. Pitt also had to come from behind against Temple, then made up the ground against the rest of the Big East to clinch the league's automatic berth in the Bowl Championship Series.

While much of the hype has centered around the Utes and coach Urban Meyer, who is taking over at Florida, Harris is also moving on. He will replace Buddy Teevens, who was fired after Stanford went 4-7 for the second straight year.

While Meyer departed on good terms, Harris doesn't seem to be. Harris didn't necessarily want to leave, but was told his contract wouldn't be extended past its 2006 expiration date. Harris took the job when Stanford called, leaving some of the Panthers a little bewildered and feeling their coach was forced out.

"Probably the way things have wound down for me, and to see this team respond like they did when everyone doubted us - and that includes me - is a very rewarding and a great memory that I will take," Harris said.

Harris couldn't understand why people kept asking him about the weather this week. It rained Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and was still cool and overcast Friday."We're from Pittsburgh, so the weather was great," he said.

Utah defensive coordinator KyleWhittingham doesn't remember the Fiesta Bowl like it is today, one of the four big-money games in the Bowl Championship Series.Whittingham was 15 when he traveled with his family for the 1974 game between Brigham Young and Oklahoma. Whittingham's late father, Fred, was a coach at BYU, where Kyle went on to play a few years later."It's night and day. It was just another bowl game back then," Whittingham said. "Right now, it's as big as it gets. It's right there with all the other major bowls. It's just exciting to be a part of it."It's also Whittingham's last game running Utah's defense. He was hired to replace Meyer and officially takes over as full-time coach after Saturday's game. Whittingham had to choose between Utah's offer and one from BYU."It was a tough time but I think everything turned out how it was supposed to turn out and I'm excited just to get going," he said.

Whittingham is already campaigning for a headliner on upcoming Utah schedules.He said he challenged Meyer to a future showdown between the Utes and the Gators, but joked the logistics probably couldn't be worked out because Florida likes to play its non-conference games at The Swamp."I asked him for home-and-home but I guess the Gators don't go anywhere to play," Whittingham said.