Alan Robinson, the AP sportswriter in Pittsburgh previews the USF-Pitt game with a look back at 2001.
Only a few of Pitt’s current players weren’t around for South Florida’s previous visit to town, one of the most memorable games — if for the wrong reasons — of former coach Walt Harris’ eight-season tenure.
Those who were there might want to share their memories with their younger teammates, if only because the game offers a classic example of the dangers of overconfidence, skimpy scouting, an inability to make in-game adjustments and, again, overconfidence.
Hmm. Sounds like something that should have been shared before the start of this entire season.
Pitt WR Greg Lee is expecting to face a much different type of coverage and defense than last year.
“I think the one key to that game was they were a young secondary and we took advantage of that,” Lee said. “But you can see they are much more experienced and more mature and they are much better players. Plus they have all kinds of speed. You see a lot of plays where they are beat and they run people down from behind and make the tackle anyway — that’s how you know they are fast.
“We won’t be able to count on them making some mistakes in coverage this year, so we’ll have to find the best matchups that favor us on each play and try and make big plays as a team.”
One reason Lee was so good in last year’s game was he had plenty of motivation. A Tampa native, he was playing in his hometown in front of his friends and family against a team that didn’t offer him a scholarship. Lee and the Panthers were also playing for a BCS berth that day.
Another reason Lee had such a big day was the Bulls blitzed a lot, which meant he was one-on-one with a corner most of the afternoon. Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko said he doesn’t expect to see as much man-to-man coverage tomorrow.
“They aren’t very complicated in what they do, they just do it very well,” Palko said. “They do play some man-to-man but they also use some zone coverages, especially when they are trying to pressure the quarterback. I think we’ll have some opportunities to throw the ball over the top, but we will have to pick our spots. They are playing with a lot of confidence so we’ll have to be on our game.”
Their speed on defense will be a big concern for the offensive line. The coaches will probably know very early how much the speed is disrupting the offensive line based on how well they get to Palko (with or without blitzing) and how many holding penalties on the O-line. If they are getting past and through the line based on speed there will likely be attempts to grab the player as he’s going by.
Not that it is terribly important, but it is still unclear as to whether it will be Rashad Jennings or Ray Kirkley actually starting in the backfield. Jennings will still see a majority of the touches.
When USF has the ball, everyone knows they will be running Andre Hall — a lot. You can expect (or at least they better) Pitt to bring up the safeties in or close to the box. That also means the safeties can’t just try and hit Hall — I’m looking at you, Tez Morris — but wrap him up.
The USF weakness on offense — their passing game — will only encourage Pitt to stuff the box. Pat Julmiste will start and thinks he has gotten too excited at times. Julmiste isn’t a particularly good passer, but in the spread offense he is a good runner. Pitt has had a hard time with mobile quarterbacks. Still, if Julmiste struggles, it won’t be a surprise to see Courtney Denson in the game.
And finally, playing a team from Florida is a chance to talk about recruiting and the success Pitt has had in getting kids from there the last few years.
