In West Virginia there are some storylines coming off the big win, that Pitt fans understand. The predictable is like this piece on how the seniors led the Mountaineers to victory. The kind that Pitt fans may understand better is “great that WVU won, but what if they could have avoided the dumb early losses?” What if WVU hadn’t blown the lead against Wisconsin? What if they had actually been awake when they gave the game to Cinci? Good questions that Pitt fans would have been asking regarding Toledo and ND if Pitt had won the Backyard Brawl.
In Pittsburgh, the blame is falling on the defense and its inability to stop the run.
Walter Washington is a relatively unknown player among college football fans across the country, but by this time next week he could be one of the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy.
That’s because Washington is the starting quarterback for the Temple Owls, and he is also their leading rusher. And the Owls’ next opponent, the Pitt Panthers, have excelled this year at making the Heisman dreams of opposing rushers — and sometimes even passers — come true.
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And considering Washington ran for 151 yards against Virginia Tech this past weekend, he has to be thinking he’s headed for a 300-yard game come Saturday.
Not that the offense’s running game isn’t taking some heat.
As bad as the Panthers’ run defense was Saturday night, their run offense may have been worse — and that, too, has been a consistent issue for them this year. Pitt ran 26 times for 10 yards (0.4 yards per carry) and its leading rusher was fullback Lousaka Polite, who ran five times for 9 yards.
Both problems — the inability to stop the run and run the football — are the main reasons the Panthers are 7-3 as opposed to 10-0. Pitt is ranked 86th in rush defense (183.7 yards per game) and 79th in total defense (394.9) and they average only 110 yards rushing per game, which is worst in the Big East Conference and 98th in the NCAA.
The root of both problems can be found up front, where the Panthers have been consistently manhandled on both sides of the ball.
Gee, line play was a key. What a shock. Can’t believe that was the case.
Of course, credit must be given to WVU’s defense in the second half making, you know, adjustments to deal with the passing game.
“The defensive staff did a great job making adjustments,” WVU coach Rich Rodriguez said. “In the second half, we played some different coverages and used a couple blitzes. We didn’t want to use three-man pressure. We wanted to try to mix in four- or five-man pressure.
“In the second half, we did a little better job of getting more in [Rutherford’s] face. I don’t think any quarterback likes pressure. It was a chance to disrupt his rhythm. He was in such a rhythm in the first half. We wanted to try to make Rutherford hold onto the ball a little longer.
“I thought in the second half we did a better job of getting off the blocks and we did a better job of breaking on the ball. In the first half, we were kind of standing around too much.”
Shame Pitt couldn’t make any.
Of course, Pitt could still win the Big East, but even Harris knows that problems on defense are not going away.
The only thing worse than Pitt’s offensive inefficiency, particularly along the line, was a defense that might not look the same when the Panthers play a Temple team coming off a near-overtime upset of Virginia Tech on Saturday.
“We missed more tackles than I’ve ever seen us miss,” coach Walt Harris said
“We have to go back and try to fix whatever we can fix.”
The Panthers got little production from their front four Saturday, most notably senior defensive end Claude Harriott, who struggled so mightily that backup Azzie Beagnym replaced him on numerous occasions. Harriott, a preseason All-America candidate, has only two sacks. He had 9 1/2 in 2002.
The starting defensive front of Harriott and Thomas Smith at the ends, and Dan Stephens and Vince Crochunis on the inside, combined Saturday for only 10 tackles, none of which occurred behind the line of scrimmage.
WVU tailback Quincy Wilson (208 yards on 34 carries with four scores) became the third back to run for 200-plus yards against the Panthers.
As for the guys behind the line, linebackers Brian Bennett and Lewis Moore both finished with double-digits in tackles, but weakside backer Malcolm Postell (5 tackles) found himself out of position on a number of occasions and got beat on a number of passes, including a sensational 28-yard grab by WVU’s John Pennington that tied it at 24-24 with 31 seconds left in the first half.
Of course, just to depress further, there is still the issue as to whether Larry Fitzgerald will be back next year. Some are already saying goodbye.
Pitt’s next game is against Temple. Somehow, I don’t think it will be on national TV.
The basketball team plays St. Francis (PA) on Saturday also. Could be a light week.
