Irish try to save their season, spoil Pitt’s

PITTSBURGH – If Dave Wannstedt and Charlie Weis feel like they have been here before, it’s because they have.

Wannstedt will be taking nationally ranked Pitt into a jam-packed Heinz Field for one of the Panthers’ biggest games in seasons, one that could enhance their reputation and set the stage for big things to come.

Weis wants to prove to Notre Dame’s fan base that an ex-NFL coordinator is the right man to return the Irish to elite status despite recent stumbles.

Remarkably, the story lines for tonight game almost are identical to 2005, when Weis and Wannstedt opened their college head coaching careers together in Pittsburgh.

Like then, No. 8 Pitt (8-1) is the on-the-rise program positioned for its best season in years. Notre Dame (6-3) is unranked and an underdog, a team seemingly not yet ready to win big games for a coach who has yet to prove himself on the college level.

The Irish won, 42-21.

“I think we all did a great job in turning things around ... We’re a Top 10 program now, and that’s where we should be,” Pitt defensive lineman Gus Mustakas said.

Weis hears those words, and he wants to be the spoiler again.

“I think for these kids’ sake, it would do them wonders to do this,” Weis said.