ESPN College Football

2011 overall record: 6-7

2011 conference record: 4-3 (T-4)

Returning starters

Offense 8; Defense 4; Kicker/punter: 2.

Key returners

RB Ray Graham, QB Tino Sunseri, OG Chris Jacobson, RB Isaac Bennett, WR Devin Street, DT Aaron Donald, S Jarred Holley, CB K'Waun Williams

Key losses

DE Brandon Lindsey, DT Chas Alecxih, DT Myles Caragein, LB Max Gruder, CB Antwuan Reed

2011 statistical leaders (*returners)

Rushing: Ray Graham* (958 yards)

Passing: Tino Sunseri* (247-of-385 for 2,616 yards, 10 TDs, 11 INTs)

Receiving: Devin Street* (754 yards)

Tackles: Max Gruder (116)

Sacks: Aaron Donald* (11)

Interceptions: Eight tied with one each

Spring answers

1. Depth at safety. Pitt has some major talent at safety, with four players capable of starting in Jarred Holley, Andrew Taglianetti, Jason Hendricks and transfer Ray Vinopal, one of the highlights for the Panthers this season. Coaches are going to have a hard time determining the starters from the backups once the season begins.

2. Michigan transfers rise. Speaking of Vinopal, he and Cullen Christian came to Pitt from Michigan and were forced to sit out a year. Though the scheme has changed, both players had terrific springs. Vinopal was making plays all over the field, exactly what you want your safety to do. Christian is making a serious play to win the starting cornerback job opposite K'Waun Williams.

3. Chryst comfortable. Pitt has had more coaching transitions in the last two years than any other school in America. So naturally, many wondered how coach Paul Chryst would do in his first spring. I haven't heard any complaints about him or what he is trying to do at Pitt. His persona has been embraced, and so has his offensive scheme.

Fall questions

1. Is Ray Graham 100 percent? All indications are that Graham is on schedule in his rehab from a torn ACL. But he missed all of spring, and just how much he will do in the fall remains up in the air. Remember, he will be less than a year removed from knee surgery when the season opens in September. So his recovery will be one of the biggest story lines to watch this season for the Panthers.

2. Can Tino Sunseri be better? If everything holds as expected, Sunseri will be going into his third season as a starter. Of course, he will be going into his third different offense as well, hard enough for most players to adjust to, let alone the quarterback. Coach Paul Chryst did a great job tailoring the offense to the players he had while at Wisconsin. It will be paramount to do the same with Sunseri, to get him comfortable in the offense and limiting his mistakes.

3. Revamped defensive front. Pitt lost three of its top four linemen from a year ago, and will feature a radically reshaped defensive front. Sack leader Aaron Donald is the only one who returns. The others who will be counted on to step up, from Shayne Hale to Bryan Murphy to T.J. Clemmings, were all highly touted players who must now meet expectations to maintain Pitt's status as a solid defensive team.

How many Cincinnati fans are already tailgating for tonight's game?

• A primer on UConn's spring practice. Desmond Conner has some notes from the first Huskies workout. Paul Pasqualoni expects a better performance out of his receivers this season.
• Big East Coast Bias offers some musings on Louisville's first practice.
• Offensive lineman Chris Jacobson relishes the return to a physical style at Pitt.
• Rutgers' Mohammed Sanu improved his draft stock with an impressive pro day performance.
• Could an upgrade to Syracuse's football facilities be on the way?

Pitt opened spring practice Thursday morning. Here is a little primer on what to expect.

Spring changes: Another spring means more change for the Panthers, who have gone through more than their share of upheaval over the past 15 months. New coach Paul Chryst has brought in an entirely new staff and new scheme, going back to more of a pro-style set on offense and the 4-3 on defense. Eight starters return to an offense that should benefit from a return to a more traditional system. But only four starters return on defense, with some major holes to fill in the front seven.

In addition, 11 players have changed positions.

Position battles to watch

Quarterback. Though incumbent Tino Sunseri goes into the spring as the favorite to win the starting job, Chryst has said the competition is open. Five players are going to be getting reps this spring -- Sunseri, Mark Myers and Trey Anderson, along with Anthony Gonzalez and E.J. Banks. Gonzalez began his Pitt career at quarterback before moving to H-back; Banks has played cornerback. The big player missing is incoming freshman Chad Voytik, one of the stars of the 2012 recruiting class. He arrives this summer.

Defensive end. With the news that Aaron Donald has moved inside full-time in the 4-3, the Panthers are in search of some quality defensive ends as they transition back to starting four down linemen. Brandon Lindsey, who played end/linebacker, is gone so there are some gaps to fill. Shayne Hale is the only upperclassman at the position this spring. Sophomores T.J. Clemmings and Bryan Murphy are coming off redshirt seasons, LaQuentin Smith moves to end after playing linebacker last season, and Devin Cook enters the mix after redshirting last season.

Linebacker. Leading tackler Max Gruder is gone, along with Greg Williams and Tristan Roberts. Todd Thomas, expected to return on the strong side, is out for the spring with a knee injury. Players to watch this spring include Ejuan Price, Manny Williams, Carl Fleming, Shane Gordon and Eric Williams. But perhaps the biggest story could be Dan Mason, who is healthy and vying for playing time at middle linebacker after sitting out a year and a half with a serious knee injury sustained in 2010.

Offensive tackle. Lucas Nix, Greg Gaskins and Jordan Gibbs are all gone, leaving both tackle positions up for grabs. Juantez Hollins and Matt Rotheram saw some playing time last season, but neither one was very effective. They go into the spring with competition from Justin Virbitsky, who moves over from tight end, along with Penn State transfer Tom Ricketts and 2011 junior college transfer Zenel Demhasaj.

Injury report: Running back Ray Graham (knee) and Thomas (knee) are out for the spring. Receiver Mike Shanahan (back), guard Chris Jacobson (knee) and safety Jarred Holley (knee) will be limited.

Pitt has a grand tradition of rushing the ball. New coach Paul Chryst has produced some of the best rushing seasons in Wisconsin history.

The fit seems perfect.

But the natural question, of course, is whether the Panthers will be able to get back to their smashmouth roots in Year 1. There are a few unknowns that complicate the answer.

1. What can we expect out of Ray Graham? Graham would have easily topped 1,000 yards last season had he not torn his ACL in Week 9. He will not be available for the spring, but all indications are that he will be healthy in time for the start of the season. Graham said on his Twitter account Feb. 13 that he already has begun running. Will he bounce back and be the player we saw last season, running in and out of cuts with such ease he made would-be tacklers look silly? Or will he be hesitant and a step slower? Every player reacts differently to ACL surgery, and it sometimes takes a full two years before a player is back to himself. Even if he is less than 100 percent, Graham should still be the best player on offense when he returns.

2. What about the offensive line? One of the most scrutinized units on the team, the Panthers were definitely better at run blocking than pass blocking. But this group has got to play better overall, be more consistent and stay healthy if this team is going to have success rushing the ball on a consistent basis. Getting Chris Jacobson back helps. But this team loses three senior starters and is strapped for depth. It also will be slightly smaller up front than the groups Wisconsin fields. Pitt will be about 20 pounds lighter per man up front than the Badgers' projected unit.

3. How about depth at running back? The Panthers should be in good shape here with Isaac Bennett, Corey Davis and Rushel Shell. They provide the potential to take some of the rushing load off Graham. Chryst has had workhorse backs at Wisconsin, and he also has had backs split reps. Most famously, Wisconsin nearly had three different players rush for at least 1,000 yards in 2010 as James White had 1,052 yards, John Clay had 1,012 and Montee Ball had 996. Last season, Ball and White had more than 100 carries each, but it was Ball who had 1,923 yards.

Also, keep in mind that Wisconsin failed to have a 1,000-yard rusher just once in the seven years Chryst served as offensive coordinator. That happened in 2008. Pitt broke its four-year streak with a 1,000-yard rusher last season. With Graham and a talented group of backs returning, you have to think getting a 1,000-yard rusher will absolutely happen.

But having a 1,000-yard back does not always mean a team rolls up yards on the ground with ease. For all of the rushing tradition at Pitt, the Panthers have not exactly torn up the nation in rushing offense. Going back to 1999, the most yards Pitt averaged on the ground was 180.3, back in 2009. That ranked No. 34 in the nation. Only twice during that time span -- in 2009 and 2010 -- did Pitt finish in the top half of the nation in rushing offense.

Contrast that with Chryst's time at Wisconsin. Going back to his first year as coordinator in 2005, Wisconsin has never finished lower than No. 37 in the nation in rushing offense. That happened in his first two years there, and they were the only two years the Badgers failed to average more than 200 yards a game on the ground.

There is no doubt Chryst will want to try to establish the run with the Panthers. He is smart enough to know that is where the strength of his team is, at least headed into this season. But it will be interesting to see how long it takes before the Panthers become a team that can be among the best in the nation in rushing the ball.

Pitt has lost two assistant coaches in the span of several weeks in a bit of unusual timing.

Both running backs coach Eddie Faulkner and offensive coordinator Bob Bostad were in place to help out with recruiting and seemingly committed to new coach Paul Chryst. But each left for different opportunities -- Faulkner to return to his alma mater at Wisconsin, Bostad to become offensive line coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

That has forced Chryst to do some staff reshuffling with less than a month to go before spring practice. Quarterbacks coach Joe Rudolph moves to offensive coordinator and Jim Hueber moves from tight ends to offensive line. Chryst still needs to hire a running backs coach and quarterbacks coach.

It never is good to lose coaches after such a brief period of time, but Chryst said in a phone interview he didn't think the twin departures would have a major impact on his team.

"Other than it impacting the players, I'm comfortable with what happened," Chryst said. "The communication was good so if something like this happened ... the players on recruiting trail, you weren't saying something that wasn't real. I'm not concerned about what happened or how it happened, and I really am fortunate where I feel like the current players are still going to get great, great coaching."

In the case of Bostad, Chryst seemed to anticipate something like this potentially happening. He, Bostad and Rudolph all worked together at Wisconsin.

"I've been fortunate to have been able to work with Bob for five, six years and I knew what goals and aspirations Bob has and then also he's a good friend of mine. I knew that was something if an opportunity like that came along he'd be excited about that. I'm happy for him. The only negative is I've enjoyed working with him, but would like to work longer with him. For Bob and his wife, Karen, it's a great opportunity.

"I also knew going in I wanted to be strong [at offensive line]. I felt real fortunate to hire Jim Hueber. I knew he could step right in for him. He's as good as a line coach as there is. And with Joe having been on the staff as well. I knew if anything like this happened, we had guys that are more than ready to step into those different roles. I'm excited for Bob and also excited for our players to be with Jim and Joe."

A few other notes:

• Chryst said running back Ray Graham is on schedule with his rehab from a torn ACL and should be ready for the start of the season.
• The quarterback competition is open going into the spring, but Chryst also made it sound like Tino Sunseri would have an advantage because of his starting experience. "Tino's got to learn and begin to understand the offense and how he fits into it and play within the structure," Chryst said. "It's always an open competition, and yet he's a guy I'm excited to work with because he's played a lot of football. If we're going to be good this year, we have to be productive at that spot."
• Guard Chris Jacobson did get his sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA after hurting his knee this past season, which is good news for an offensive line in major need of an upgrade.

I started the postseason countdown of the top-25 players in the Big East this morning. So it is only fitting that I start the postseason position rankings this afternoon.

The preseason version for each position caused much consternation and angst among every fan base. With a full season complete, we all have a much better idea of how everybody stacked up. So let us get started with offensive line. This was not a particularly strong year for line play across the Big East. There was a clear top, a clear bottom and then many similar groups in the middle.

1. Cincinnati. The Bearcats not only had the best group, they had the most improved group over a year ago. Much of that was experience, but they also proved their worth when it came to run blocking. Cincinnati transformed itself into a rushing team with Isaiah Pead leading the way. After allowing 33 sacks last year, Cincinnati only gave up 21 to rank No. 2 in the league. Randy Martinez made the first team at guard as well. Preseason ranking: 6.

2. USF. The Bulls had major question marks at this position going into the season after losing three starters. But Jeremiah Warren and Chaz Hine did a great job anchoring this unit, which allowed a Big East-low 16 sacks, and helped the Bulls lead the league in rushing. Freshman tackle Quinterrius Eatmon proved his worth. Preseason ranking: 5.

3. Syracuse. The Orange had two players make the Big East first team in Justin Pugh and Andrew Tiller, and yet another 1,000-yard rusher in Antwon Bailey. This group had its share of struggles, as the run game was inconsistent and the pass blocking seemed to regress late in the season. But consider this overall position was one of the weakest in the Big East this season. Preseason ranking: 1.

4. West Virginia. Yet another inconsistent group in the Big East, the Mountaineers had struggles at several key positions on the offensive line throughout the season. But what stands out is the way they played against their toughest opponents. West Virginia had its best efforts on the line against LSU and Clemson, proving this group could play up to the level of competition. Also, tackle Don Barclay made the Big East first-team. Preseason ranking: 2.

5. Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights were vastly improved at this position after ranking last in 2010. They cut the sacks they allowed in half, had a first-team selection in Art Forst and a Freshman All-American in Kaleb Johnson. The one area that remains a problem is rushing offense -- Rutgers averaged 97.8 yards a game and 2.8 yards a carry to rank No. 112 in the nation. Preaseason ranking: 8.

6. UConn. This has traditionally been a position of strength for the Huskies, but that was not the case in 2011. Center Moe Petrus did make the Big East first team, but the Huskies did have a 1,000-yard rusher in Lyle McCombs. But this group did not play well for most of the season. Teams keyed in on the run to get UConn to pass, but even coach Paul Pasqualoni said he wanted to see more out of this unit. UConn gave up 41 sacks, compared to 15 a season ago. Preseason ranking: 3.

7. Louisville. The Cardinals were young at this position and it showed. Injuries hurt, but so did a lack of depth. This group did improve as the season went on, but against the toughest competition and the strongest defensive lines, they wilted. Rushing offense was down, and they gave up 41 sacks on the season. Preseason ranking: 7.

8. Pitt. To put it simply, the offensive line was a disaster for a number of reasons. Injuries to key players like Chris Jacobson and Lucas Nix certainly hurt. But so did the new blocking schemes installed under former coach Todd Graham, and Tino Sunseri's inability to get rid of the ball in a timely fashion in the hurry-up offense. Pitt gave up 64 sacks to rank last in the NCAA -- the second season in a row a Big East team held the dubious honor (Rutgers gave up 61 in 2010). Preseason ranking: 4.

The time has come for Pitt to move on from the debacle of the past year, and really, there is no better person to do that than Paul Chryst.

He is no-nonsense, a man who does not yabber on and on like a certain somebody Pitt fans want to forget. A man who has proved he can coach and can mold his players from good to great. A man who proved -- most especially this year -- he can coach both a smashmouth style and a pretty passing style, too.

Chryst may have been passed over for the job a year ago because he was not "high-octane," but that is a word that no longer fits in the Pitt vocabulary. The Panthers need solid coaching and no drama, and that is what Chryst should be able to provide.

Because the biggest mess that has to be fixed on this team is the offense. Quarterback was a disaster position in 2011, and not all of the blame belongs to Tino Sunseri. He simply was not a good fit for the spread. Seeing how Chryst was able to work with Russell Wilson this season and tailor the offense to his strengths has to make the Panthers believe he can do the same with Sunseri or whoever wins the starting job.

Ray Graham has the potential to go from being great to entering the Montee Ball stratosphere. Graham is coming off a knee injury, and this hire should encourage him to stay in school for one more season. He already was the best player on the offense, and if he returns, he should have a real opportunity to reach 1,500 yards next season.

But what about the offensive line, you ask? Pitt does not have 300-pound behemoths like Wisconsin. That is quite true. Pitt was bad in pass protection, though mostly because of strange blocking schemes that none of the players fully endorsed. Sunseri held on to the ball way too long, too. Let's face it -- neither Sunseri nor his offensive linemen ever fully grasped the timing concept that is the heart of the Graham offense.

Pitt should be better up front with Chryst in charge. Should Chris Jacobson receive a sixth year of eligibility, the offensive line will have an anchor to help lead the way. As for the receivers, there is plenty of talent here as well, from Devin Street and Mike Shanahan to Ronald Jones and Cameron Saddler. There is no reason they cannot develop further under a coach who should be able to maximize their talents.

What Chryst did as offensive coordinator speaks for all the possibilities. Over the past three seasons, Wisconsin has averaged 39.3 points a game. This season, Ball became a first-team All-American and Heisman Trophy finalist, leading the nation in total rushing yards (1,759) and scoring (38 touchdowns). Wilson completed 73 percent of his passes for 2,879 yards with 31 touchdowns to just three interceptions.

Those stats perfectly illustrate how Chryst adapts to his personnel. Wilson shattered the Wisconsin single-season passing touchdown mark. John Stocco held the old mark of 21 set in 2005. They are the only two quarterbacks to throw more than 20 touchdowns in Wisconsin history.

Then there is the coaching up part, too. According the ESPN Stats & Information, Wilson immensely improved his accuracy on passes longer than 15 yards. That has been one of the biggest areas of weakness for Sunseri. Wilson completed 52.4 percent of his passes longer than 15 yards this season, with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. Last season at NC State, Wilson completed 33.6 percent of his passes longer than 15 yards, with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Chryst also has started to win over his new players. Street, one of the most outspoken on Twitter when Todd Graham bolted for Arizona State, tweeted two separate messages: "Just met the new head man ! Ready to rock" and "Said its not what he says its his actions !!! Perfect."

All of these are signs of hope. Now all the Panthers need is for Chryst to stay on the job for more than 11 months.

PITTSBURGH PANTHERS

Record: 6-6, 4-3 Big East

The Panthers were anything but high octane this season. But Pitt is going back to a bowl game, and coach Todd Graham will take that in his first season -- even if his offense failed to live up to expectations. His pro-style players could not adjust to his hurry-up spread offense. Injuries also took their toll as several starters were lost for the season. That includes running back Ray Graham, the best player on the team who tore his ACL against UConn at the end of October.

Injuries on the offensive line also played a major role in Pitt ranking last in the nation in sacks allowed. So did quarterback Tino Sunseri, who struggled mightily to grasp the new offense and get rid of the football in a timely manner. The defense showed major improvements as the season wore on, after struggling in losses to Iowa and Notre Dame. Both teams rallied with fourth-quarter comebacks. Aaron Donald was a revelation at defensive end, leading the team with 10 sacks (No. 2 in the Big East).

But the story of the season was the struggles on offense, and Pitt's inability to fix them.

Offensive MVP: Graham. Yes, Graham missed the final four games of the season with a torn ACL, but that does not diminish his worth as the best player on the offense. He finished with 958 yards rushing and nine touchdowns, and was on pace for a 1,600-yard season when he went down. Hands down the MVP.

Defensive MVP: Donald. He was a menace to opposing quarterbacks this season. I mentioned the sacks earlier; he also had a team-high 11 quarterback hurries and 15 tackles for loss. Max Gruder had a good season with more than 100 tackles, and Brandon Lindsey came on strong late in the season to finish with 8.5 sacks. But Donald was the best.

Turning Point: Losing Graham. Pitt was unable to post consecutive wins this season and struggled to maintain leads late in the year without Graham. What a difference it would have made to have him chewing up clock against Cincinnati and West Virginia. Zach Brown and Isaac Bennett did the best they could to fill the gap, but they ended up getting banged up, too. There is no substitute for your best player.

What's next: Pitt became bowl eligible on the final day of the regular season, so the Panthers will head to the BBVA Compass Bowl to play SMU. After that, some hard decisions have to be made about the quarterback position. Will Sunseri return for another season of intense criticism and scrutiny? Will Ray Graham return? Will Chris Jacobson get a sixth year? Who comes in to replace Calvin Magee? Plenty of unknowns headed into the offseason.

See ya, high octane.

Welcome back, grind-it-out football.

If the Panthers' 21-14 win against Louisville this past weekend had a familiar look to it, that was not an accident. Coach Todd Graham has decided to slow down the offensive pace. No more rushing to snap the ball. No more rushing to get set. No more rushing players onto the field.

Pitt was effective at going at a slower tempo against the Cardinals, racking up 200 yards on the ground. They had no penalties, and Tino Sunseri looked more comfortable. Plenty of misdirection plays worked, and the offensive line had perhaps its best performance in a long time. They are going to have to repeat that performance in their final two games against West Virginia and Syracuse to not only get back to a bowl game, but keep their Big East hopes alive.

Graham singled out his line in particular for its play against the Cardinals. The Panthers used their seventh different starting lineup, as guard Lucas Nix was still unavailable. Pitt went with the combination of Greg Gaskins at left tackle, Ryan Schlieper at left guard; Ryan Turnley at center; Cory King at right guard and Jordan Gibbs at right tackle. Turnley is the only player who has started all 10 games at the same position.

"I'm just really proud of them," Graham said. "Greg Gaskins just sticks out to me up front, him and Turnley. We've now had a few weeks with just the same group of guys and they really responded. I thought we run-blocked really well, came off the football. We were able to be balanced in what we were doing. It's just repetition and having the same guys in the lineup helped. It's just reps and those guys being disciplined."

Pitt lost its two best players on the offensive line in Nix (hurt against USF) and Chris Jacobson (out for the season). Guys like Gaskins, King and Schlieper only have a handful of starts and were thrown into the mix to plug holes. As a result of that and an inability to pick up the hurry-up, Pitt has given up 42 sacks this season.

The injuries on offense and all the young players have played a big role in why Graham is scaling back the attack.

But if he gets another performance like the one against Louisville, it will hardly matter.

"The nature of football -- you're going to have injuries," he said. "We're not going to make excuses and whine about that stuff. But what you have to have is guys that have been in backup roles or some of our guys who've been third team. They can't play as replacements. They have to go out there like they're 9 feet tall and compete like they're the best offensive linemen in the country. To get that confidence takes repetition. Having a knowledge of what you're doing allows you to play fast and aggressive. It's been a process, obviously been a challenge with the injuries, but [I'm] really proud of how they responded. It's not how you start, but how you finish."

Pitt running back Ray Graham is out for the season with a right knee injury, dealing the Panthers a devastating blow as they hit the stretch run of the season.

Graham hurt his knee early on in a victory over Pitt on Wednesday night. Pitt did not say how badly Graham hurt his knee, only that he would undergo surgery.

Graham has been the only consistent player on the Panthers' offense this season. He had two 200-yard games, and leads the team in carries (164), rushing yards (958), rushing touchdowns (nine) and receptions (30). His rushing and receiving yards account for 40 percent of all the yards Pitt has gained on offense this season.

In addition, receiver Cameron Saddler (fractured sternum) and offensive lineman Matt Rotheram (fractured ankle) sustained season-ending injuries against the Huskies.

“We are incredibly disappointed for these three young men,” coach Todd Graham said in a statement. “They have put so much work into our program and it’s heartbreaking to see their seasons end prematurely. Even from the sidelines, I know they are going to remain important leaders who will continue to make an impact as we strive to reach our goal of a Big East championship.

“I know each will attack their rehabilitation programs with incredible commitment and be back better than ever for next season. That’s the type of people and competitors they are and we’re proud that they are Panthers.”

Injuries have hit Pitt particularly hard. Starting offensive lineman Chris Jacobson (knee), starting safety Jason Hendricks (shoulder) and receiver Salath Williams (shoulder) also are out for the season.

With Graham out, Wisconsin transfer Zach Brown emerges as the No. 1 running back. Against UConn, he led the team with nine catches for 84 yards, and had 12 carries for 30 yards and a touchdown.

PITTSBURGH PANTHERS

Record: 3-3 (1-1, Big East)

New coach Todd Graham brought plenty of excitement with him when he took over at Pitt, promising an exciting, hurry-up offense sure to put plenty of points up on the board. But the best thing about the offense has been something completely familiar -- the running of Ray Graham. Quarterback Tino Sunseri has struggled in the new offensive system, holding on to the ball too long, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns, and failing to perfect his precision on the deep ball. The offensive line has been a wreck, especially with its two best players out because of injuries (Lucas Nix, Chris Jacobson). That has proven to be a terrible combination. The Panthers have allowed an NCAA-worst 28 sacks and Todd Graham admitted this week that getting his offense going has been more difficult than he envisioned when he arrived. At least the Panthers have Graham, who leads the nation with 899 total rushing yards and ranks second with an average of 149.3 yards a game. Without him, who knows where the Panthers would be today. The defense, meanwhile, has given up way too many big plays as the players adjust to a new 3-4 scheme. Pitt has blown fourth-quarter leads twice, and the linebackers have been a particular weak spot. But if there was one word you could use to describe the season, it would have to be inconsistency. Look at the last two weeks. Pitt went from an impressive 44-17 win over USF on five days' rest to a 34-10 loss to Rutgers this past week that can best be described as a letdown. Pitt was picked to finish second in the league this season but at this point, there is no way to know which Panthers team will show up each week.

Offensive MVP: RB Ray Graham. The shifty back has run for over 100 yards in four games this season, including two games where he ran for over 200 yards. He needs just 101 yards to top 1,000 yards on the season. Not only that, Graham has been valuable out of the backfield -- he leads the team with 27 receptions.

Defensive MVP: LB Max Gruder. Pitt has not played particularly well on defense for long stretches this season, but Todd Graham has singled out Gruder as a player who has exceeded his expectations. Gruder leads the team and the Big East with 51 tackles.

Starting Pitt offensive guard Lucas Nix had an MRI exam on his injured knee, and the results showed no major damage.

Coach Todd Graham said in a statement Friday: “We received very positive feedback on Lucas Nix today from our medical staff as his MRI did not reveal any significant damage. Lucas will undergo an intense rehabilitation program and we are hopeful he will be back in action soon.”

Nix was injured in the first quarter against USF on Thursday night. Ryan Schlieper replaced Nix and did an excellent job considering it was his first extensive collegiate action. Both starting guards are now injured for Pitt -- Chris Jacobson is out for the season with a knee injury.

Pitt starting left guard Chris Jacobson will miss the rest of the season with a left knee injury, the school announced Friday night.

Jacobson hurt his knee in the fourth quarter against Iowa last Saturday and is expected to undergo surgery next week. The senior captain will seek a medical hardship waiver and sixth year of eligibility.

This is the second season-ending injury of his collegiate career. He missed all of 2007 with a right knee injury.

“Chris Jacobson is one of the most respected people in our program and I know every player and coach feels disappointment for him that he’ll miss the rest of the year,” Pitt coach Todd Graham said in a statement. “Fortunately, we feel optimistic about his chances to receive a sixth year from the NCAA.”

The news is a big blow to an offensive line that has struggled at times this season. Jacobson is one of the team's best linemen and started all 13 games last season.

Cory King, who has never started a game, is a likely replacement.

Get your game face on ...

• Cincinnati has a prime chance against NC State tonight. Scouting report for the game. Interim athletic director Bob Arkeilpane has a sunny view of the Big East.
• UConn safety Byron Jones is a state treasure. The inconsistent Huskies hope to improve against Buffalo.
• A new old challenge for Louisville. Athletic director Tom Jurich expects the Big East to keep its AQ spot in the BCS. School president Jim Ramsey thinks the Big East will emerge stronger.
• Pitt guard Chris Jacobson could miss the game against Notre Dame. The Panthers will look familiar to the Irish. The linebackers look to pick up the coverage.
• Rutgers' changes at linebacker are paying off. Rutgers could have avoided realignment uncertainty with more wins. The offensive line rotation will continue.
• Can Syracuse make a BCS bowl via the ACC? The offensive line may have taken a step forward last week against USC.
• The USF offensive line is proud of its role in the team's strong start. The defense is preparing for two UTEP quarterbacks. Mike Bianchi strikes again.
• A big test awaits the West Virginia wide receivers. West Virginia is not in a strong bargaining position. Morgantown is requiring couches to be removed from porches before the LSU game. How to trade in those vulgar T-shirts.
• TCU plans to stick with its move to the Big East.
• Making a case for Temple and Villanova. East Carolina, too.
• Since when did UConn and Rutgers become such gems for the ACC to behold?

Nothing like being perfect ...

• Cincinnati coach Butch Jones is eager to see what Kenbrell Thompkins can do. Walter Stewart hopes to help the pass rush.
• UConn kicker Dave Teggart is ready to show grace under pressure. Punter Cole Wagner has some tricks up his sleeve.
• Louisville struggles for the win. The defense delivered. The Cardinals picked up a commitment from linebacker Patrick Jean out of Port St. Lucie, Fla.
• Lucas Nix and Chris Jacobson are becoming leaders at Pitt. Andrew Taglianetti's rep for fearlessness has not gone unnoticed.
• The Rutgers defense delivered an impressive performance, but it was only a starting point. Scott Vallone keyed the defensive outburst. The offensive line passed its first test.
• Syracuse's comeback against Wake Forest was simply stunning. The good, the bad and the other stuff about the game. What do those fans who left the game early think now? The Syracuse defense came through when it was needed the most.
• Great read from Martin Fennelly of The Tampa Tribune on USF coach Skip Holtz being an inspiration to "Rudy." The offense might click better in Year 2 under Holtz.
• The jury is still out on the strength of the West Virginia backfield. Extend the Coal Bowl series. Geno Smith's running days are over. Jorge Wright is moving forward.