College football: Lots of hype, hope — and Dion Lewis — for Pitt

PITTSBURGH — Dave Wannstedt knows all too well how six months' worth of buildup and high expectations can unravel during a 60-minute season opener.

Before coaching his first game at Pittsburgh in 2005, Wannstedt kept hearing how he was inheriting the best Panthers team in a decade.

Pitt returned most of the players from its Fiesta Bowl team of the season before, and ticket sales and interest were at peak levels for a team that began the season ranked No. 23.

All that enthusiasm vanished in minutes as Pitt fell behind 35-13 by halftime during a 42-21 opening game loss to unranked Notre Dame that was followed by a road loss to Ohio University. The massive thud of a letdown had long-lasting effects as Pitt didn't have a winning record during any of Wannstedt's first three seasons.

Wannstedt vowed to never allow another team to get overwhelmed by hype and hope. This season may offer proof if a different group of Panthers learned that lesson.

Just like five years ago, the anticipation is enormous. The Panthers return Dion Lewis, a second team All-American who broke most of Tony Dorsett's freshman season rushing records, plus one of the nation's premier defensive ends in Greg Romeus. The depth is the best since Wannstedt arrived, the competition at open positions greater.

"We have high expectations here, and the outside expectations are getting even higher," said Romeus, the last player recruited by Wannstedt in 2006 — the year after the Notre Dame debacle. "We had a 10-win season last year, and we want to win even more games. We definitely have lofty goals, and that's no different than any other year. It's just that everyone else feels that way, too."

Apparently so. Pitt was a near-unanimous pick to win the Big East Conference during a preseason poll of media members, and for good reason. The Panthers return most of the core players from the team that went 10-3 despite ending the regular season with last-minute losses to West Virginia and Cincinnati, and their lineup is loaded not just with multiple-year starters but with stars.

Wannstedt, believing it helps recruiting, is embracing the buildup. Pitt players were made available for extensive magazine and TV interviews during the summer, and five were sent to the Big East's media day. Romeus did so much traveling, he said he was almost glad training camp began.

"What is really exciting to me is obviously all the preseason rankings and predictions," Wannstedt said. "While it's exciting, the greatest part of it is how the players have handled all the attention."