Pitt's second contest of the year is almost ready to get underway. Predictions? I'll throw out 41-10 to start with.

In all reality, Pitt should have little trouble with this game. The big thing to look for is hopefully get out to a fast lead unlike last weekend. That will allow Todd Graham to get some backups, including quarterback Trey Anderson, some playing time. As I pointed out in the game preview earlier this week, Maine is a veteran team. But Pitt should have little trouble with this one and if they have another start like they did against Buffalo, cue 'Sky is Falling' talk at halftime.

How do you see the game shaping out? Score predictions? Throw your thoughts in the comments section.

Game on ESPN3 if you can't make it to the game.

Here are some links to get ready for gametime:

Cardiac Hill Game Preview

Greg's Maine Preseason Preview

SB Nation Pittsburgh Preview

Pitt Vs. Maine Two-Deep Rotation

Todd Graham's Press Conference Highlights for Maine Week

Here are five things to look for duing tomorrow's game against Maine:

5. (tie) Ryan Turnley at center: Turnley did an incredible job last week at Buffalo getting all of the snaps off properly without any hitches from what I could tell. We didn't notice Turnley during the game and that's a good thing. That was a big concern of mine, but Pitt will need him to do it again this week.

5. (tie) How much does Juan Price play at linebacker: Todd Graham mentioned during his press conference that Price played 30 snaps against Buffalo and they'd like to get him in there more. We may see that happen this weekend, but Price is behind Brandon Lindsey at the Panther linebacker spot according to the two-deep for this week, so a ton of snaps isn't realistic unless he plays a different position. If he keeps progressing, it will be interesting to see how much time he gets as the season wears on.

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Over at SB Nation Pittsburgh, we've got a Pitt-Maine game preview.

Here's a portion of it:

After defeating the Buffalo Bulls last week, Pitt will look to tighten things up a bit this weekend in a contest against the Maine Black Bears.

As an FCS team playing on the road, Maine will have their work cut out for them, but that doesn't mean Pitt can afford to come out with a lackluster effort. After struggling for the first half of last week's game, the Panthers need to make some adjustments to get ready for the meat of their schedule.

Kicker Kevin Harper will simply need to get better, as he missed two field goals against Buffalo. His strong leg could be a real asset in Big East games this season, but any advantage gained by hitting a few long-range field goals will be nullified if he continues to miss shorter kicks.

Click here for the full article.

A few weeks after Jon Baldwin's infamous fight with Chiefs running back Thomas Jones, his status for this week's opening game is still unknown.

Unknown is starting to sound a whole lot like 'out.' Baldwin reportedly isn't able to catch the ball in practice due to the injury (Thanks to SB Nation Kansas City):

How far away rookie WR Jon Baldwin is from being able to play remains unknown as he was the only player on the field working in the team’s rehab area during Thursday’s practice. Baldwin can run, but he can’t catch because of his broken right thumb.

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We all know that Pitt's game against Buffalo wasn't stellar. Through all of the hashing, re-hashing, there's lots to analyze about where the Panthers need to improve.

So it wasn't much of a surprise that they dropped from second to third in the weekly SB Nation Big East Power Rankings. In fact, I was one of those that dropped Pitt.

Here's how my ballot shaped out:

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A 6:00 pm kickoff, the opening game of the Todd Graham era, and a post-game fireworks extravaganza sounded like the perfect recipe for strong attendance numbers.  I expected blue and gold masses to pour through the Heinz Field turnstiles on Saturday night to see the debut of high-octane football, after months of hype and excitement. 

Unfortunately that wasn't quite the case.

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I did this last season and thought I'd continue it for another year. Well, at least until I get bored or tired of it.

With that said, here are the top ten quotes from the Todd Graham press conference this week:

10. "When you watch film on our offense from Tulsa you see (only) all of the highlight films.

A fair point. For those of us that checked out the You Tube videos, it's fair to say that we were thinking more big plays, higher energy, faster play, etc. But every play isn't going to be a gamebreaker or even a success. Patience, young Skywalker.

9. "If we hit Cameron Saddler, that’s a walk off touchdown. If we hit Devin Street, that’s a walk off touchdown and you’re at 250 or 300 yards passing. There’s a whole bunch of other yards that people don’t see.

Well, yeah. I see where he's coming from on this one, but the fact is there are lots of plays that simply don't get made. And in Pitt's case, it's not like Sunseri has a proficiency for completing the deep pass where you'd be inclined to say missing those plays was the exception and not the rule. Sorry, not buying this.

8. What has set Mark behind is that he’s had some tendinitis in his elbow, he hasn’t been able to throw all the time. Trey sits at the number 2, with Mark right there. I think they’re pretty close together.

Okay, if we're playing that game, we can also say that Myers was here all last season and also in the Spring and had a massive head start on Anderson. I don't doubt that he's been injured, but that's not the reason he was passed up by Anderson on the depth chart. Let's get real.

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This isn't major news, but I did find it a bit more noteworthy than merely being buried at the end of a linebackers piece. According to Todd Graham, quarterback Trey Anderson will play this year and not take a redshirt.

For one, that further cements that Anderson is (and likely will be) the backup for the foreseeable future - and in my opinion, the rest of the season. There's been some slightly vague language over the past few weeks that Anderson and Myers are/were still competing to a degree, but that doesn't sound like the case with this quote. If they were, you'd expect there'd be a chance that Anderson could redshirt if he were passed by Myers on the depth chart.

It also means that former backup Anthony Gonzalez is staying put at H-Back this year.

Gonzalez was named the backup this Spring before his subsequent suspension. If there were plans to move Gonzalez back to quarterback, you'd expect there would be a chance he could surpass Anderson on the depth chart - thus giving Trey a redshirt.

Now, could the Myers or Gonzalez scenarios happen with Anderson still playing this year? Sure.

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