Pitt's defensive linemen and linebackers wore shin guards at practice this week in order to prepare for Navy's triple-option offense, but that doesn't mean the Panthers are expecting the Midshipmen to try and play soccer against them.

Instead, the shin guards were worn to protect the defensive players during drills against the scout team offense which is simulating the "cut-blocking" technique used by Navy. The Panthers (2-3) play host to Navy (3-2) Wednesday night at Heinz Field and stopping the triple-option offense is the Panthers' top priority.

Wannstedt said that if the Midshipmen are able to get their offense rolling, they will be able to control the clock and limit the opportunities for Pitt's offense, which is struggling and certainly could use as many possessions as it can get.

He said the cut-blocking techniques are a staple of most option-based offenses, so his scout team worked extra hard at learning the Midshipmen's offense and trying to simulate the way they execute it. The only way to prepare properly for an offense like Navy's is to do so at full speed, but that opens players up to injuries. The shin guards are precaution designed to prevent that.

And while he knows the risks involved with practicing full speed against his own team, he said the technique was successful when he was an assistant coach at Miami and the Hurricanes were preparing to play Oklahoma and its wishbone.

"They cut right across the line of scrimmage on every play, so we had our defensive linemen wear shin guards to try and be safe," Wannstedt said. "But we had to because we had our [scout] offensive linemen cutting our players at full speed in practice. And, frankly, we had two more cases that were close to me standing here saying, 'We've got two more guys redshirting.' But there's no way of getting ready for this without doing it live.

"We're going to have to do that all along because you just can't simulate it if you don't do it live and full speed. It is tough enough to adjust to once the game starts."

Wannstedt said simulating the cut-blocking techniques was half the battle in getting the scout team prepared to run the Midshipmen's offense -- the other tough part is the execution He said Navy is near flawless in running its triple-optionoffense, which will put more pressure on Pitt's defense.

"We have spent a lot of time teaching the execution part of it," Wannstedt said. "Because it's an option team, it's real critical [for the scout team] to not just run plays but to keep the proper distance between the quarterback and the pitch back and the fullback."

The staple of the Midshipmen's offense is the fullback dive, which Wannstedt said Navy will run "30 times in a row" if the Panthers don't show the ability to stop it. Navy has an excellent fullback in Eric Kettani, who is averaging more than 6 yards per carry (51 carries, 318 yards) but the leading rusher is quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, who has 418 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.

But Pitt won't be able to key on either player because the triple-option's brilliance is that it is able to spread the ball around. The Midshipmen's statistics prove the point. Navy has five players who have averaged at least 40 yards rushing per game. The Midshipmen average 348 yards on the ground as team -- the second-best mark in the NCAA.

Wannstedt said discipline against the triple-option means the Panthers must clog the running lanes, but it also includes the safeties being disciplined enough to not get caught focusing only on the run because Kaheaku-Enhada also is an excellent passer, who has completed 53 percent of his passes and thrown for 460 yards while averaging 17 yards per completion.