Tuesday, September 30, 2008
West Virginia: Pat White has a bruised thumb, but coach Bill Stewart says his quarterback will play Saturday in the Big East opener against Rutgers. White went to the sideline after being tackled in the third quarter of a 27-3 win over Marshall last Saturday. White said after the game he could have continued to play if needed. With the Mountaineers well ahead, backup Jarrett Brown replaced White. Stewart says White practiced Sunday and the thumb on his throwing hand will be treated with ice this week as a precaution.
Wisconsin: Coach Bret Bielema is tired about talking about his team’s loss to Michigan last Saturday. He’s not too thrilled about his players talking about it either. Wisconsin (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) blew a 19-0 halftime lead against the Wolverines and went on to lose 27-25. The loss dropped Wisconsin nine spots in the polls to No. 18. “The rest of the world can talk about last Saturday. As coaches, as players, as people that walk in our program we cannot spend one minute ... worrying about what transpired on Saturday,” Bielema said. “We can correct it and move forward, but we can’t dwell on it. I like that because it shows in my mind our players think the right way.” Wisconsin doesn’t have much time to wallow in its loss. It faces No. 14 Ohio State (4-1, 1-0) at home Saturday.
Kansas State: Safety Gary Chandler has been suspended indefinitely after being arrested for driving on a revoked license and obstructing the legal process. Team spokesman Kenny Lannou said coach Ron Prince decided Monday that Chandler won’t be involved in the football program until his legal problems are resolved. Riley County Police said Chandler was charged Sunday morning after being stopped while driving a Chevrolet El Camino with a passenger in the bed. Police said Chandler at first gave a false name and when he gave his real name, officers found he was driving on a revoked license. Chandler was released after posting a $2,000 bond. He was last year’s Big 12 defensive newcomer of the year with 54 tackles.
Pittsburgh: Maybe coach Dave Wannstedt is right. It may be too early to gauge the importance of Thursday night’s nationally televised game at South Florida (5-0). But it sure does seem important against a conference opponent ranked 10th in the nation. Pitt fans are at bay, for the moment, because the Panthers are 3-1, 1-0 in the conference. But they were none too happy when Pitt, ranked in the preseason polls, lost the season opener at home to Bowling Green of the Mid-American Conference. Even with three consecutive victories, the Panthers are 19-20 under Wannstedt, 10-12 in the Big East, since he arrived for the 2005 season. “It’s probably early enough in the year that you’re not really looking at it in terms of [a must-win game],” Wannstedt said. “I just know that [South Florida] and Connecticut are the two favorites, probably right now, to win the Big East. We have to find a way to go down there and beat South Florida. It won’t be easy, but we worked a little bit yesterday, and the attitude is good and we’re fairly healthy, so we’ll see what happens.”
Combined dispatches