Upon finding out his team was selected as the conference favorite, Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt did what nearly every other college coach in the same position would do – play down expectations. Despite having a team full of stars and a solid team from top to bottom, Wannstedt wasn’t ready to proclaim the Panthers as the team to beat:
“But I think we still have a lot of holes to fill,” Wannstedt said. “It’s not an individual game; it’s a team game. The challenge will be putting a team together.”
Pitt DE Greg Romeus added:
“Last year, we were sitting here as the No. 1 team in the preseason, too, and we didn’t finish where we wanted,” Romeus said. “So we have to understand this is a preseason thing, and we have to step up and prove that we’re the best team in the conference.”
This is the year Pitt needs to come together and win a conference championship. Despite the progress Wannstedt has made, he’s yet to do the one thing that Walt Harris did – get the Panthers to the BCS. Being a favorite means that you’ve got talent and now Pitt needs to use that talent to keep the momentum going from the past two seasons.