NEWPORT, R.I. -- Pitt was installed as the preseason favorite in the Big East, according to a poll of media members who cover the league that was released Tuesday at Big East media day.

The Panthers received 22 of a possible 24 first-place votes and had 190 points to finish ahead of two teams tied for a distant second -- West Virginia (one first-place vote, 142 points) and Cincinnati (142).

The rest of the poll was as follows: Connecticut (one first-place vote, 131), Rutgers (99), South Florida (79), Syracuse (41) and Louisville (40).

It is the second consecutive year the Panthers have been installed as favorites, but coach Dave Wannstedt tried to downplay the significance of the poll as well as redirect the bull's-eye that comes from being the favorite.

"It makes no sense to me [that Pitt was installed as the favorite] to be quite honest with you," Wannstedt said. "Cincinnati is the two-time reigning champ, and that is who we are all chasing. We graduated a lot of seniors and we'll probably have four seniors starting on our whole team this year, and that means we're going to need those younger guys to step up and play at a level we can win with.

"It is nice to be recognized, but, as coaches, we know it doesn't mean anything. It is something for the fans and the media to talk about, but the reality is we are only as good as our last game."

One person who did not endorse the results of the poll is West Virginia slotback Jock Sanders, who said the Panthers -- along with every other team -- should be behind the Mountaineers, given how things unfolded last year.

"The crazy thing about it to me is, Pitt got everybody back and we got everybody back and we beat Pitt -- so those polls to me don't really mean anything," Sanders said.

"Hands down [we're the best team in the Big East], and we'll show that this year. It is all about politics. For Pitt to get all those [first-place] votes and we got just as much back as them, it is crazy, but, like I said before, at the end of the year after we play them, they'll regret [being the favorites]. They'll regret it all."

One big change coming this year is that the Big East will make public injury reports Monday and Thursday each week for all teams, similar to what is done in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Monday reports will consist of all the players who are out for the year or will require a surgery and the Thursday reports will be a lot like NFL injury reports, identifying players who are probable, questionable, doubtful and out.

"All eight of the teams have agreed to do it, and I think it is a good thing because it adds uniformity to reporting injuries," Big East spokesman Chuck Sullivan said. "I think the issue with some coaches has been they didn't want to give out information if not everyone else was. This way, they are all giving the same information, so there is much more of a comfort level with it."

West Virginia standout Noel Devine was confined to the bed in his hotel room yesterday because of food poisoning. Devine apparently ate some bad seafood at the Big East's annual clam bake Monday. ... Big East supervisor of officials Terry McAulay said that while there are no major rules changes this year, player safety is a major point of emphasis among officials. That's why the one significant rule change is that wedge blocks are now illegal (no more than two players shoulder-to-shoulder blocking on kickoff returns). One other change is players who are injured will have miss at least one play even if a timeout called. ... Pitt's media day is Friday, and the Panthers' first day of camp is Saturday.

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