Dave Wannstedt Press Conference

Dave Wannstedt held his weekly press conference where he talked about the loss against Connecticut and the upcoming game against UVA. Panther Rants was there to catch the press conference at the Garage Door Saloon where we telepathically did a recap of what was said. Here is a look at what the ‘Stache had to say:

On the loss to Connecticut:

It was one of those games where we got off to a slow start, but we finished strong. Not everything went according to plan. On defense, our plan was let UConn jump to a 27-7 lead early in the game. We figured by doing so, the team would wear itself out and then we could take advantage of it. Sadly, we didn’t do that. That is on me and the rest of the staff to get these kids prepared for a game plan like this. We did see a lot of positives. We held them to seven points in the second half and our freshman quarterback (Bostick) completed more passes than our other quarterback. Last year they scored 46 points on us. They didn’t score that amount this time around.

On the offense:

Well, we decided to keep the same game plan as last week. We didn’t think they would adjust to it because of the Wildcat offense, but I tip my hats to Coach Edsall and the staff. We did make some changes like having Larod run that offense instead of the McCoy kid. Larod has been here longer, and he should get most of the responsibility because of that. He’s from a steel town like me and that speaks volumes. Kevan started the game and I figured he’d pick up where he left off and he did. I was in denial of it at the time, but I figured we should give Pat a chance. He did a good job and led us to tie the Huskies in the second half.

Why McCoy didn’t see more carries:

I watched the game film of him this season so far and I compared to Curtis Martin’s. Curtis was a good talent and was hurt most of his time here. Some felt he did this on purpose because those Pitt teams sucked so badly and he didn’t feel like getting killed out there on every play. We’ve decided to do the same with LeSean except he doesn’t have to fake being hurt. Instead, we’re just going throw Larod to the wolves. After all, he’s been getting chewed up by having a bad offensive line to run behind his whole career. He’s used to it. Let him do it. I’m doing the same with the rest of the upperclassman. It’s punishment for the last two years.

The game against Virginia:

Things should be different this time around. Pat will be starting at quarterback. If that doesn’t work out, we’ll put out on ad in the classifieds for someone who can throw a football well. It may not have worked with finding a kickoff specialist, but who the hell kicks a football around these days? I mean I remember when Bill Cowher told me that a kicker is not even a football player. He’s just a geek who goes out with a bunch of hot chicks and then they go home with other players on the team. I mean have you ever seen that music video “The Lonesome Kicker” by Adam Sandler? That is very true when watching that. Other than that, I will be coaching against Al Groh whose team has had their ups and downs with him at head coach. I mean they’ve taken a backseat to Virginia Tech since they joined the ACC. I know we beat them last year, but this year might be different. We’re going to use the same game plan again to challenge our players. I just hope they are up to it. If not, we have may to rethink our strategy and actually win a game.

Thoughts on the rest of the season:

Well, you guys, you clearly got the big picture here. I was about to say I’m sure there are some disappointed people here. You know what? You know something? If you had told us 6 months ago that we would allow only 34 points to UConn, we would have given anything for that. And you know something? Not only are we going to Charlottesville, Jerry Cochran. We’re going to beat Navy and Rutgers and Cincinnati. WE’RE GOING TO BEAT LOUISVILLE, SYRACUSE, AND SOUTH FLORIDA. THEN WE’RE GOING TO WEST VIRGINIA TO WIN THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP! YEEAAAAAH!!!!!!