Pitt Panthers' Dave Wannstedt Makes Questionable Decision To Change Schedule

According to Dave Wannstedt, the silver lining in the cloud of Pitt's foggy 27-24 loss at Utah is the fact the Panthers get an extra day to prepare for New Hampshire.

Come again?

Wannstedt told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the New Hampshire game was actually scheduled to be Pitt's 2010 opener.

Wannstedt agreed to move the Utah game to Thursday night so his team would have an extra day to prepare for New Hampshire.

In case you didn't know, New Hampshire is a FCS school. The Wildcats are an excellent FCS school ranked No. 9 in the country, in the same class as Villanova, last year's FCS playoff winner.

Have you ever heard of a coach moving a tough FBS competitor, borderline top-25 team like Utah, to a more convenient place on the schedule to provide practice time for a team from a lower division?

Add this decision to the long list of dubious calls Wannstedt has made both before and during games.

In Wannstedt's defense, the Panthers have the following two nagging injuries on defense that will limit the squad's effectiveness this Saturday: Dom DeCicco (hamstring) and Andrew Taglianetti (groin and ACL).

Wannstedt said, "We basically were stuck and couldn't use all of the packages we prepared." 

Moving players like K'Waun Williams, Jason Hendericks, and Antwuan Reed into unfamiliar matchups and playing out of their base defense will give the Wildcats and advantage from the get-go.

The New Hampshire offense is a spread. Winning their opener 33-3 over Central Connecticut State, the Wildcats demonstrated versatility on offense and the ability to turn opportunities into points, scoring a touchdown on special teams.

Wannstedt is well aware that slaying FBS competition on the road is old hat for New Hampshire.

Will Pitt be added to the Wildcat trophy case that includes Northwestern, Marshall, Ball State, and Army?

If New Hampshire pulls the biggest upset of this young college football season by edging Pitt, Wannstedt apologists will find themselves out of excuses.

It's far easier to apologize for game preparation and in-game coaching decisions when your team is playing a borderline top-25 opponent on the road. It will be impossible to do so hosting a FCS opponent at home before a large, friendly crowd, regardless of how highly ranked that opponent is.