How is Pittsburgh dealing with the opening-week loss at Utah and looking forward to New Hampshire? I caught up with Panthers linebacker Max Gruder this week to find out.

What has the mood been like around the team since the Utah loss?

Max Gruder: It was tough after the game. Right after it was real tough, because we go into every game, especially that one, expecting to win. But the attitude has been great. Coach [Dave] Wannstedt recruits high-character kids and we won't sit around and sulk about a loss. We're going to try and get better, and the errors we made last week were unacceptable. And the errors are easily fixable. If we correct those, we're going to start playing the way we know we can play.

Everyone saw the breakdowns in pass coverage, and it looked like a lot of times the Utes exploited matchups of receivers versus linebackers. What did you see as causing those breakdowns?


MG: It wasn't just the linebackers. That's what a lot of people said. I'm not sure why that conception is but it wasn't just the linebackers; it was everyone. The biggest thing in the pass coverage on film was, it wasn't lack of skill or lack of talent. It was communication. The defense as a whole wasn't on the same page. We were in different coverages and mixing things up. That's something we can easily correct, and we're going to correct it. We expect to be perfect from now on.

You guys had high hopes coming into the season. Do you feel like all of your goals are still attainable?


MG: Absolutely. 11-1 and win the Big East. It would be great -- another win than last year. From here on out, if we can correct the little things, we know talent-wise we're up there with anyone. If we play like we know we can, like we should have played last week, we're going to be a pretty tough team to beat. And 11-1, winning the Big East, sounds pretty good to me.

I know a lot of people inside and outside the program were upset about the loss, but you still went into overtime on the road against a good team while not playing anywhere near your best. What does that say about the team?


MG: I was talking to my teammates the other day, and I said the one positive I would say -- if I had to make a positive out of that game, which is tough --is that was about as bad as we could have played in all fronts, offensively, defensively, and even special teams we had a turnover. And we were still in a very close game that we could have won. So if we get all three things going, like I said, I think we're going to be a pretty tough team to beat.

Let's talk about this week's opponent, New Hampshire. They're highly rated in the FCS and have knocked off some major competition in the past few years. How much do they have your attention because of that?


MG: Absolutely. They're a very good team. They're actually pretty similar to Utah in some things they do. They have a lot of talent. I've only watched their offense, obviously, but their offense has some players on it. Some of the things they do are going to be very tough to defend. If we get our assignments down, we can beat anyone. But they're a very good team and obviously not someone we're going to overlook.

New Hampshire has a spread offense as well. How similar is it to Utah?


MG: There is actually some carryover from last week. Coach Wannstedt said the other day that almost every team we play now is spread. There's not too many two-back teams like us any more. So week in and week out, we're going to be playing a spread team. So this will be another good test and help us get better for the rest of the year.

How anxious are you to get back out there and put the Utah game in the past?


MG: I'm not joking when I say this: I wish I could have stepped back on the field the second after the Utah game. I haven't stopped thinking about that game and it will be really nice to show the whole country the type of team we actually are. I don't think the way we played was representative of how good we are as a team. I really cannot wait personally, and I know the rest of the team feels the same way, to get back out there and play again.