Freshman Pat Bostick will get the chance in practice this week to supplant Kevan Smith as the starting quarterback for Pitt's game Saturday against Connecticut (3-0) at Heinz Field.

Smith, a redshirt freshman, played poorly in the 17-13 loss to Michigan State, and the coaches want to see if Bostick can give the team a spark.

"We are going to work both quarterbacks equally in practice this week," said coach Dave Wannstedt yesterday at his weekly news conference. "They're both going to be ready to play. I'm expecting the starter to be Kevan but we haven't locked anything in stone yet. Like I said, they both will get equal work. I know Kevan can do everything that we are asking him to do, it is a matter of execution.

"But let's not make this just a quarterback issue -- the quarterback did not play well enough to win and we all know that -- it is an offensive thing right now. There were two or three different positions that failed to make plays when given the opportunity in that game."

The receiving corps, for instance, dropped several passes, including what would have been the tying touchdown, and had a key fumble late in the game that effectively ended the Panthers' chances of coming back to win.

The offensive line was ineffective, for the most part, and continually contributed to killing scoring drives with penalties, missed assignments that led to sacks and an inability to push the Spartans' defensive front backward on several third-and-short situations.

About the only help Smith got on offense came from freshman running back LeSean McCoy, who rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown.

But none of that excuses Smith from blame. His two interceptions led to 14 of Michigan State's points and he often couldn't make the most basic throws. That's why he is battling to hold on to his job this week.

Wannstedt admitted that he was thinking about pulling Smith at halftime but didn't want to put Bostick, a true freshman who is still working through some of the personal issues that prompted him to leave camp for a week, into a tight game on the road.

That's why Wannstedt opted to pull Smith in favor of McCoy, who ran direct snap plays out of the shotgun formation for most of the second half in what the Panthers call their "Wildcat" offense.

It was an effective move Saturday, but Wannstedt was adamant that it was a temporary fix and will only be used in small doses in the future. He said the main focus this week will be deciding on which quarterback gives the Panthers the best chance to win.

"I thought about using Pat at halftime, but I felt when we came out in our 'Wildcat' package and made some plays that things would slow down for Kevan," Wannstedt said. "But I don't even know if we'll use [the Wildcat] this week. ... I don't want to open a can of worms with it. It can become a monster on its own.

"It is not something I would have run on Saturday but I felt like we had to do it in order to generate some offense and we weren't having any success throwing the football. But again, we have to be careful. I have to make sure we don't let this become a monster."