Transition year no excuse at Pitt

The Pittsburgh Panthers have a new head coach, so this should be something of a transition year, but the combination of a great deal of returning talent and a weak Big East should provide the Panthers with an opportunity to win the conference title.

First-year coach Todd Graham has made it clear that change is not an acceptable excuse for the Panthers not winning a Big East title.

In order to do that, however, the players must quickly adapt to Graham's no-huddle, spread offense as well as his 3-4 defense. Those schemes represent a major change from the pro-style attack of the Dave Wannstedt era.

Graham has been happy with the transition so far, but there are still things to be worked out. Here are three keys to a successful season for the Panthers.

Center of attention. Doesn't it always seem to start with the offensive line with Pitt? In this case, the spotlight will be on Ryan Turnley, who will be making his first career start at center Saturday night at Heinz Field. Obviously, snapping the football is important in any offense, but quarterback Tino Sunseri will be in shotgun formation about 99 percent of the time, so Turnley's consistency is a key to the offense's success. Turnley struggled with consistency early in camp but settled down as he grew more comfortable at center.

But he still has work to do and must make sure he consistently gets the football to Sunseri, or the offense will struggle. If Turnley can't get the job done, Chris Jacobson would have to move from guard to center, making the coaches scramble to find a guard.

Inside or out. The position that created the biggest concern for defensive coaches heading into training camp was inside linebacker, and that hasn't changed. Seniors Max Gruder and Tristan Roberts and redshirt sophomore Shane Gordon are the primary inside linebackers and will rotate at the two spots. But they haven't been consistent during camp, and the coaching staff has searched to find the right combination.

There is a good mix - Gordon is the most athletic of the three but lacks experience, Gruder is the most experienced, and Roberts is an extremely intelligent player - but so far the trio hasn't clicked.

If the Pitt coaches can get things worked out, the defense should be stellar because the rest of the positions appear to be solid. If Gruder, Roberts, and Gordon can't handle things, look for senior outside linebacker Greg Williams to get a look inside.

"We just need consistency from those two positions," Pitt defensive coordinator Keith Patterson said.

Carry the ball and team. Graham has spent the past six months hyping up his system as "high-octane football," which has Pitt fans salivating at the prospects of watching the Panthers throw the ball all over the field. In reality, there will likely be a lot more of the offensive load handed to junior tailback Ray Graham.

Coach Graham has called Ray Graham one of the best tailbacks he has coached and plans on trying to get the ball in his hands as much as possible. The Pitt coach said it wouldn't be a stretch for Ray Graham to rush for 2,000 yards, since the passing game will take longer to develop in this transition year.