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Although the Blue-Gold Game is viewed as a glimpse into Pitt's football program, the Panthers will keep its annual spring scrimmage as vanilla as possible.

This one, however, comes with a twist.

Pitt has instituted a scoring system for today's game at Heinz Field that will reward points to the offense and defense for everything from a touchdown to a turnover.

It should lead to a high-scoring game, a variety of which the Panthers are all too familiar after allowing an average of 46.3 points and 540.3 total yards in their final three games last season.

That prompted Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt and defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads to re-evaluate everything from their defensive scheme to personnel in the off-season. Midway through spring drills, the Panthers added a new wrinkle by moving a safety closer to the line of scrimmage to help in run support and occasionally blitz the passer.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Wannstedt said, only half-kidding. "We've really been looking at a lot of ways to help our run defense. Getting the safety involved with blitzing is one way we haven't done much of and is something we're taking a look at this spring."

Don't expect to see much of the new scheme in the Blue-Gold Game, as Wannstedt warned that recently implemented ideas most likely won't be showcased in the scrimmage.

Even so, the change is a considerable one in that Wannstedt is temporarily abandoning his preferred Cover 2 scheme in favor of 4-4 fronts with frequent blitzes, which he despised because they often allowed big plays.

"We've got to find a way to strengthen our run defense, whatever it takes," Wannstedt said. "We've investigated a lot of different ways. Our defensive coaches have done a great job before spring practice of really talking to a lot of people and finding out how we can get better."

Pitt can't get much worse. It ranked 107th out of 119 Division I-A teams in rushing defense, allowing 181.3 yards per game, and 87th in total defense (363.08) last fall. That caused Rhoads to constantly pound the "Stop the run" mantra into players' heads.

The Panthers also revised their philosophy. Instead of lining two safeties split deep, one plays alongside linebackers and another shifts to serve as a rover. The scheme baits opponents into passing the ball, where the Panthers are more proficient defensively (29th nationally).

"We had to shore up our run defense and that was a way to do it, get another guy in the box," secondary coach Chris Ball said. "And the next guy is a safety. You're dividing the field up, and you've got a middle-of-the-field player, which helps."

The safeties are interchangeable, as either fifth-year senior Mike Phillips or redshirt junior Eric Thatcher can sneak toward the line of scrimmage at any given time. The development of 6-foot-2, 220-pound sophomore Elijah Fields, who is equally adept at blitzing and being a ball hawk, could have an impact on the scheme's success.

"If bringing the safeties up in the box is going to help this defense stop the run - and that's the problem we've had since I've been here - I'll be as physical as I have to be," Thatcher said. "I think it's going to help us out big-time. The way it's run this year is definitely a lot better than last year."

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