ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach

	Harry How/Getty Images
	Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt is looking to rebound from a 5-7 season in 2007.

When Dave Wannstedt returned to Pittsburgh as its head coach before the 2005 season, he was supposed to lead his alma mater back to football glory.

Wannstedt blocked for legendary Panthers tailback Tony Dorsett as an offensive tackle, and then worked as a graduate assistant under Johnny Majors, who led Pitt to an undefeated record and national championship in 1976.

With his impressive pedigree and extensive NFL coaching experience, Wannstedt was supposed to lead Pitt back to the top of the reconfigured Big East.

But entering Wannstedt's fourth season at Pittsburgh, college football fans in the Steel City are still waiting for him to lead the Panthers to a bowl game.

Wannstedt's record was 16-19 in his first three seasons, far from the success many predicted the former Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins coach would have at Pitt. With 15 starters returning from a team that finished 5-7 in 2007, Pittsburgh fans expect nothing less than marked improvement this season.

Expectations are even higher after the Panthers upset rival West Virginia 13-9 in the final game of the 2007 season, a loss which cost the Mountaineers a chance to play for the BCS championship.

"We know where we're at as a football team and where we were," Wannstedt said. "There are reasons sometimes -- and people don't want to hear it -- but there are usually rational reasons why you don't win a football game. We're excited about this season. Last year, 68 percent of our team was freshmen and sophomores. We lost four games by seven points [or fewer]. It's not like we're losing games and getting blown out. We were one of the youngest teams in the country last season."

The Panthers were a lot younger than they thought they would be last year, especially after starting quarterback Bill Stull injured his thumb in the opener against Eastern Michigan and missed the rest of the season. Wannstedt was forced to play freshman quarterbacks Kevan Smith and Pat Bostick, who combined to throw 17 interceptions. It didn't help that top receiver Derek Kinder missed every game with a knee injury.

Pitt's pass offense averaged only 178.1 yards per game, which ranked 104th among 119 Division I-A teams nationally. Still, LeSean McCoy was the top freshman tailback in the country in 2007, averaging 110.7 yards per game and scoring 90 points, the most ever by a Pitt rookie.

"We had a freshman quarterback and a freshman running back, and we were counting on them to make plays," Wannstedt said.

The Panthers will still be counting on McCoy this season, but Stull and Kinder return to lead what Wannstedt hopes will be an improved passing game.

"You don't break record like LeSean broke by accident," Wannstedt said. "Hopefully, with a better passing game, we'll be a little more balanced and take some of the pressure off him."

Linebacker Scott McKillop believes the Panthers will do enough this season to take the pressure off Wannstedt.

"The thing coach Wannstedt keeps saying to the seniors is, 'Which class is going to be responsible for turning around the Pitt program and getting it back to the level of the 1970s?'" McKillop said. "That West Virginia game last season showed people what we're capable of doing and now we've got to sustain that level."