Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said he would do some soul searching after a 34-14 loss Saturday night to Connecticut at Heinz Field. That means there could be a number of lineup changes when the Panthers play at Virginia.

"We have to figure out what we have to do as a team," Wannstedt said after the loss. "I'm disappointed in how we played, I thought we had good practices and I thought we had a plan we could execute and obviously we couldn't do that. Now, it is up to me to go back and figure out what we can do. As we stand here, I'm not sure. I know we have some guys who have a lot of talent and we're trying to utilize that talent to the best of our ability.

"That's kind of where we are at right now. And I hate to say this, but on offense, we're kind of back to the drawing board. We've taken a couple of steps backward, we haven't made the progress we need to make and we've got to be better than that and I know we are."

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Next

• Game: Pitt at Virginia.
• When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, Va.
• TV: ESPNU.

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The biggest change is that true freshman Pat Bostick will start at quarterback ahead of redshirt freshman Kevan Smith at Virginia Saturday night. But that is probably only the beginning.

The Panthers are 2-2 and still have eight games remaining, but clearly have some serious problems on offense. And while the quarterback play has been a big part of the struggles, there are a number of other areas in which they need to improve.

The offensive line.

The wide receivers.

Eliminating mistakes.

Establishing an identity.

Through four games, the offensive line has yet to play well. It has been consistent at three things -- missed blocking assignments, untimely penalties and failure to create openings for the Panthers' running game.

"The seniors on this team have to do a better job, starting with me," offensive tackle Mike McGlynn said. "I have to play a lot better, we all have to step up. You can't have any penalties and you can't turn it over and you can't have sacks and I know I gave up a sack today. It is unacceptable. Our offensive line, for us to have success, we have to establish the run and that's on the front five.

"We have three seniors and a fourth who has been starting for a long time -- we have to get it together, we have to play better, it is on us."

The wide receiver corps has underachieved badly. The unit was supposed to be a strength and was supposed to help carry the young quarterbacks through the early part of the season. Sophomore Oderick Turner was being counted on as the group's leader, but he has dropped a number of key passes and against Connecticut had several ill-timed, pre-snap penalties that killed what seemed to be a promising drive.

Pitt is also mistake-prone. It had six turnovers and eight penalties against Connecticut. The week before, in a 17-13 loss to Michigan State, it had 10 penalties and turned the ball over three times. Overall, the Panthers are a minus-9 in the turnover margin and 34 of the 51 points they have allowed are a direct result of turnovers, including 14 points on two interceptions that have been returned for touchdowns.

"When you turn it over like we have and don't come up with any turnovers, you can't win," Wannstedt said. "We're just not coming up and pressing people and forcing them to make a play in order to have a chance to create turnovers. But when you can't get a lead, you aren't going to be able to do that."

As for the identity problem, Pitt coaches have talked about playing conservative because of the quarterback situation and have wanted to build around a solid ground game. The Panthers have a talented back in freshman LeSean McCoy, but he did not start the Connecticut game and carried only 11 times. Still, he was productive, rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown.

So far, McCoy has 65 carries for 417 yards (6.4 yards per carry) and five touchdowns.

He split time with LaRod Stephens-Howling against Connecticut and Wannstedt said the reason was because both players are productive and deserve to play. However, Stephens-Howling has 99 yards on 25 carries, an average of 2.5 yards per carry less than McCoy.