Let’s be honest: Pitt has very little chance Saturday night as a veritable buzzsaw of emotions, momentum and circumstance awaits the Panthers at Mountaineer Field. There is a chance, remote as it may be, that they find a way to motivate themselves and play well enough to quiet WVU and sneak away with the win late. See: Stanford v. USC.

So it came as a surprise to see how the defensive coordinator is inspiring his players this week.

The questioner was searching for a word – containing, controlling, stopping? – to capture the challenge of defending West Virginia’s read-option offense when Paul Rhoads interrupted.

“Stopping it,” Pitt’s defensive coordinator said with a laugh, “hasn’t even been brought up this week.”

Not quite Pacino in “Any Given Sunday,” which is odd because it just works to well.

By the way, I’d add a link to the “Inches” speech at YouTube, but there’s some language in there I just can’t endorse. The video and the message within? That I can endorse.