If my posting gets spotty the next few days, there is a perfectly good reason for that. Don’t forget I have posts on the AOL Fanblog, which we are hoping will be fully functional for college football this week.
Clint Sessions 9 tackle, 1 INT returned for a TD game earned him Big East Defensive Player of the Week honors. Tyler Palko also made the BE weekly “Honor Roll.”
A long weekend and a short week. Road game at Cinci so the Game Notes (PDF) for Cinci as well (PDF). Friday night on ESPN2. Historically, the Deuce has not been good to Pitt, 3-11 on that channel and last year 0-2. Pitt was also 0-5 on the road last season. The last road win for Pitt was December 2004 in Tampa while destroying USF. So even though Pitt is 5-0 against Cinci, there is still something to prove.
“This game won’t come down to Friday night or on the road,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “It’s going to come down to how we play. If we’re going to be a good team, we have to go on the road, whether it’s Friday night or Saturday afternoon or Saturday night.
“That’s just how it’s going to be.”
While Pitt (1-0) built confidence with a 38-13 victory over Virginia at Heinz Field, Cincinnati (1-0) is coming off a 31-0 victory over Division I-AA power Eastern Kentucky. It was the Bearcats’ first shutout since a 16-0 victory over Virginia Tech on Sept. 16, 1995 — a span of 123 games.
Cinci is playing and rotating two quarterbacks.
“We will continue to do that and it will be based on practice and the situation of the game,” Dantonio said on Monday’s Big East teleconference.
Dantonio said sophomore Dustin Grutza will start against Pittsburgh (1-0) Friday, but senior Nick Davila will also play.
Grutza was 9 of 15 for 161 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s 31-0 victory over Eastern Kentucky. Davila was 10 of 19 for 121 and a touchdown. Neither quarterback threw an interception.
“Both players played well leading their respective offenses to touchdowns,” Dantonio said. “Davila played well in a two-minute situation and Grutza played well, particularly in the third quarter.”
Grutza led the UC (1-0) to two touchdowns in the third quarter, increasing the Bearcats’ lead to 28-0 when Davila came into the game in the fourth quarter.
Dantonio said it’s possible the Bearcats could continue to use two quarterbacks the rest of the season.
“I’ve only been a head coach for three years, so this is the first time I’ve been in this position,” Dantonio said. “If players play well, they deserve the opportunity to play. If they’ve practiced well for 28 days and both go into the game and perform well, they deserve to play.”
He said it would also give Pittsburgh something else to prepare for.
Cinci Coach Dantonio defends rotating QBs from the haters.
“The natural thing is for people to only have one guy to criticize,” he said.
As expected, WRs Joe DelSardo and T.J. Porter are back practicing with the team. Cracking the rotation, though, may take a little more time. LaRod Stephens-Howling is still expected to play on Frida. So is Safety Mike Phillips who was a gametime scratch from starting because of his ankle.
