What a shock, Pitt struggled on offense. Even against one of the worst defenses in 1-A. Not just among BCS teams, but in all of 1-A.

Pitt scored 17 of its 20 points on drives the started inside the Orange 35, a credit to its special teams but a blight for a Panthers offense that managed only 294 yards on 71 plays against a Syracuse defense that was allowing 475.9 a game. Bostick finished 21 of 30 for 153 yards, but was sacked twice for minus-14 yards as Pitt rushed for only 141 yards.

It’s just kind of embarrassing.

On the defense, well it looks good until you realize that Syracuse was playing their #3 running back. The starting QB played with a cracked rib before being pulled after one half. So with an untested back-up, the Orange still got near their pitiful average.

Even though the Orange is ranked 114 out of 119 teams in NCAA Division I-A in total yards, Pitt’s defense did play a relatively complete game. The Panthers limited the Orange to 265 total yards, including 30 yards rushing on 31 carries. Pitt also forced 10 punts, had six sacks and the Orange only converted 2 of 14 on third down.

If you believe that Pitt’s defense wasn’t that bad during the losses to UConn, UVa and Navy; then you can’t claim it’s that good as the statistics claim versus Syracuse.

The Syracuse O-line is probably worse than Pitt’s. Pause. Let that sink in for a couple minutes. Greg Robinson even called out the O-line’s performance.

His unit entered Saturday’s game ranked No. 117 in the nation in sacks allowed with 31. Pitt’s defense entered the game next-to-last in the Big East with 19 sacks in eight contests. It recorded six Saturday, at least two of them occurring despite employing only three rushers against SU’s five linemen. SU’s last-ditch attempt to get into field-goal range to tie the game was thwarted on such a play.

“I was very disappointed in the way our offensive line played today,” Robinson said. “From what I could tell from the sideline, a lot of their pressures were coming on simple blitzes, with one extra guy coming. We need to be able to pick that up.”

The lack of adequate pass protection was equaled by the line’s inability to open holes for running backs. SU, coming off a season-high 179 rushing yards vs. Buffalo, finished with 30 Saturday. It has failed to gain 100 yards rushing in seven of nine games this season.

The best part of Pitt’s day wasn’t necessarily LeSean McCoy, but the performance of the special teams. The punt and kick returns set Pitt up with short fields that the offense was able to convert into 17 points.

Not that McCoy was exactly shabby in earning Big East Player of the Week.

This isn’t all of it, but here are some of the links and stories after the ‘Cuse game.

No, Dave Wannstedt wasn’t saying this.

On areas of the game improving and others falling off:

“Some of that you would have to credit to the opponent and I would put some of it on inexperience. When you have young people out there, you’re going to see moments that you’re going to really like. You have to be ready that there are going to be some misfires, as well. On the offensive side of the ball, there were five freshmen – three linemen and two backs who are freshmen, and, three of those guys are true freshmen. I don’t want to make excuses. You’re asking the question. I think that those things have to do with it. We had some young guys playing on the defensive side of the ball, a couple of young linebackers. Early in the game, I thought they were wearing the wrong color jerseys, but as the game wore on they got better and all of a sudden began to feel better. Their game play became better and they got better. I think that’s what it comes down to and in some cases some guys might not be good enough with the people they are going against. You have to give the other team some credit as well. In the special teams area, we’ve been very good. I’m not going to single out people, but they were young people, who were inexperienced at what they were doing. They have done well at times. As a matter of fact in the gunner situation, even in that game, a play had been made. Some people have to kind of have to go through a mistake sometimes to learn.”

On how long it takes until inexperience stops being a factor:

“I’d like it to be a lot less than that. You know the answer to that as well as I do. I can’t really tell you that. Every person is a little different. Some take a little longer and some from the get-go are ready to go. That’s how it is, but all you can do is try and bring them along.”

Actually that was Syracuse Coach Greg Robinson, though it may as well have been a Wannstedt response as well. Credit/curses to Sean of Troy Nunes for pointing out how similar their responses tend to be.

Joe Starkey is starting to agree that McCoy deserves some comparisons to Tony Dorsett, as McCoy was the first Pitt tailback in almost 20 years to crack 1000 yards as a freshman. Of course the defenses are completely stacking to stop him. For a very logical reason.

It’s relatively simple: Bostick hasn’t shown the ability to stretch a defense by throwing downfield. By throwing safe passes toward the sidelines and underneath coverage, the Panthers are allowing opponents to gang up on McCoy.

Bostick was 21-of-30 passing for 153 yards against Syracuse, which amounts to an average of seven yards per completion. Only two of Pitt’s pass plays went for 20 yards or longer, with one a screen pass to fullback Conredge Collins.

So, with an extra week to prepare will Pitt be prepared to throw deeper (not more, just deeper)?

That’s why everyone in an Orange uniform was stationed no further than 4 feet from the line of scrimmage in both situations.

“They were putting eight guys in the box,” Bostick said.

It’s a tactic future opponents will certainly employ, like, say, Rutgers in two weeks.

“(McCoy) is capable of a lot of big runs,” Wannstedt said, “when we start throwing the ball more effective, which isn’t going to happen overnight.”

It needs to happen soon, though, and Wannstedt needs to consider allowing Bostick more latitude.

Wannstedt doesn’t want Bostick to throw 50 times and three interceptions and lose, like Pitt did to Virginia and Connecticut.

“We’ve tried that already.”

But without some semblance of a passing threat, the Panthers will turn their 4-5 record into a 4-8 record in a month … and possibly wear out McCoy.

PantherRants only thinks they are being funny. Seems plausible to me.

Another reminder that Coach Wannstedt really needs to reconsider the high value on experience.

Q: Kennard Cox continually misses tackles, makes poor decisions, and blows coverage. It is becoming more evident that other teams are looking to his side of the field as a weakness. Don’t we have anyone else that could play that position?

Zeise: Ricky Gary, Lowell Robinson and Jovani Chappel are the only other three corners (along with Aaron Berry who starts on the other side) who have played in a game. I thought Robinson was going to play a bigger role this year based on what we saw in camp but he hasn’t played much. Ricky Gary played well early in the season when he was starting so I suppose he is an option and Chappel has bounced back and forth between safety and corner some and is still working on his cover skills. In other words, it isn’t exactly like they have Darrelle Revis waiting in the wings and it has been well documented how this staff feels about players with experience and Cox has by far the most experience.

Don’t you just want to see the X-Y graph in Coach Wannstedt’s office where he determines who plays. Where X=Experience and Y=Talent.

If Kevin Gorman was hoping to defuse things with his clarifications of remarks regarding Dorin Dickerson, well…

Maybe Dickerson has no one to blame but himself. Maybe Pitt coaches, knowing their jobs are on the line, are putting players who make less mistakes on the field ahead of him. If that’s the case, I don’t necessarily blame them.

Pitt defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Paul Rhoads acknowledged this week that Dickerson is big, fast, strong and explosive but also called his move a “project still in the works” and said he “just needs to find a home.”

I thought Rhoads was implying that Dickerson has the ability to play any of the three linebacker positions but hasn’t found the one that best suits him. Then again, maybe he was implying that Dickerson is destined to play another new position.

He may have shifted it away from Dickerson (sort of), but that is going to  cause more of a stir with some coaches feeling the heat and fans wondering about (hoping for) some changes in the coaching staff.

Thanks to Dennis for the initial draft. A bit of tweaking, but mostly stable this week.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	LSU	—
2	Oregon	2
3	Ohio State	1
4	West Virginia	1
5	Kansas	3
6	Oklahoma	—
7	Missouri	2
8	Southern Cal	2
9	Boston College	6
10	Arizona State	3
11	Connecticut	5
12	Georgia	1
13	Auburn	1
14	Hawaii	1
15	Florida	3
16	Texas	1
17	Michigan	1
18	Virginia Tech	6
19	Alabama	—
20	Virginia	6
21	Tennessee	2
22	Clemson	—
23	Boise State	2
24	Cincinnati	2
25	Wake Forest	10

It’s really the kiss of death this season to put a team at #2. Oregon, though, should be up there. I’m starting to feel very shaky about keeping LSU at #1. They aren’t as shaky as Virginia, but they aren’t exactly inspiring either.

Virginia remains about the luckiest team this season. Another 1 point win, and this time the Wake Forest kicker who has been completely automatic since last season misses one at the end of the game. Yeesh.

The IUP exhibition game was notable since former Pitt assistant Pat Lombardi took less money and less prestige, but a slightly less stressful lifestyle to be the IUP head coach. Lombardi was one of Pitt’s effective recruiters in the Eastern part of the state and Maryland/DC/Virginia.

“I spent a lot of time coaching those players, so it’s going to be kind of neat to come back and watch them,” Lombardi said. “I’ve always looked at recruiting as a team effort. With a lot of these kids, it’s how they develop. My job is to identify the players. But we wouldn’t have gotten them without Jamie Dixon, Barry Rohrssen or Orlando Antigua or Pat Sandle. I take pride in those kids that are over there. But Gilbert wouldn’t be playing as well as he is this year if it wasn’t for the people who are on the staff now. It’s great how they’ve developed.”

Off a recommendation from Lombardi Pitt was the first major Division I school to offer Young a scholarship in 2004. That worked to Pitt’s advantage when Young became better known in recruiting circles and received offers from Georgetown and Maryland, two schools closer to his Maryland home. Young had an affinity for Lombardi and Pitt because they were the first to identify him, and he rewarded them by signing with Pitt.

Brown was a consensus top 100 recruit, and Lombardi, through his Philadelphia connections, got the inside track on Cook after he decided to transfer from East Carolina.

And for that service, Pitt beat on IUP to the score of 83-31. Sam Young led it against the guy who recruited him.

Young had a game-high 16 points and Blair had 12 points and 12 rebounds. The other Pitt player in double figures was reserve power forward Tyrell Biggs with 10 points. The question mark about the front line will remain until Pitt plays more serious competition, but their performances in the two exhibition games is a positive sign for coach Jamie Dixon as the Panthers get ready for the season opener Friday against Houston Baptist.

Young and Blair led the Panthers in scoring in the two exhibition games with 16.5 and 11 points a game, respectively.

“I feel like we’re ready to go,” Young said. “We have a lot of young but experienced players. I feel like we’re ready to take off and do a lot of big things, a lot of unexpected things.”

Not worried too much about the frontline’s offense. Watching them develop on defense will be the bigger issue.

Bradley Wanamaker looks like he will be a welcome defensive stopper off the bench in the backcourt. Zero turnovers again, and 4 steals and 5 assists. His scoring touch isn’t there, but that isn’t a surprise. When he was recruited/committed it was about his grittiness, defense and potential. The offense will take time, but I think we could use some extra toughness on defense. Especially off of the bench.

Looks like Pitt is trying to bring in a player from the Bahamas, by way of Texas. Dwight Miller has been getting a lot of attention on the East Coast. Rutgers got him to attend a football game. He’s getting tutoring from Hakeem Olajuwon (video here). The 6′ 8″ player is getting a lot of late interest.

Pitt is one of those late getting involved in his recruiting, but it seems he is very interested.

Rutherford informed the Journal that over the weekend the campus of the University of Pittsburgh was the focus but before a final decision is made many other top colleges will be visited.

“Miller is being recruited by all of these big programmes to come in and be an impact player as a freshman. Most of them feel he is good enough to start in their programmes right now,” said Rutherford.

Miller is piling up the credentials. His reputation skyrocketed after he won the Reebok Camp MVP earlier this year, out-shining players from 130 high schools. Overnight, he earned the status of being one of the top prospects in the U.S.

Will Pittsburgh be the eventually winner?

Mentor Rutherford does seem to be impressed with Pitt’s programme.

“Pitt has become a basketball power over the last nine years, winning the Big East title almost every year and making it to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Sweet 16 for the last five years,” said Rutherford.

The interest there is high for Miller.

Other schools to be visited are St. John’s University, Temple University, the University of Kentucky and Illinois.

The kid won’t be making a decision in the early signing period of the next couple weeks, but then neither was a decision expected from Kevin Jones either. Miller seems like a fall back if Jones doesn’t choose Pitt.
He’s obviously being considered a sleeper player with a lot of potential.

I have to say that was an extremely dull and brutal game to watch. Thankfully the weather was fine. Just a little cooler, but with plenty of sunshine. I can’t even imagine how much I would have hated life if it had been a gray day or worse, raining. Or worse, if Pitt had managed to lose this one.

Part of me just wants to be grateful for the win and relieved Pitt is 2-2 in the Big East and 4-5 overall. But…

Common refrain in many variations heard from friends and others in the stands, “Can you imagine how many yards Shady would have if Pitt had a real line?”

This game cast in brutal relief how little progress the O-line has actually made. Syracuse has the 110th rushing defense in the country, and the Pitt O-line continually failed to provide even a minute push when Pitt needed 1 yard gains. Paul Dunn, will always be a Panther, and part of one of Pitt’s greatest teams in the history. As Pitt’s  O-line coach, he needs to go. Injuries are not enough of an excuse. His tenure has to end.
Either Greg Robinson or Dave Wannstedt have to go from the Big East. I think from an aesthetics perspective, it is vital that the two never match wits again in a football game as head coaches. Thankfully, this should be the final nail in the Robinson coffin.

The Orange actually got a spark from the QB change when Robinson’s back was too sore. It is speculated that Robinson tweaked his back sleeping on the  floor of a friend’s while visiting him at Penn State — he had it coming then.

Is there any logical reason — from a performance and best player standpoint — for Greg Romeus to still not be starting at right DE? He keeps making big plays and has been the best pass rusher for Pitt.

I don’t want to read Wannstedt talk about the defense doing an excellent job of stopping the run. Syracuse is 113th in the country running the ball (under 75 yards/game average). The Orange average 16.5 points/game. Pitt “held” them to 17.

The Pitt coaches nearly found a way to lose this game at the end with the defense playing break-while-bending and the offense couldn’t get a single first down thanks to the O-line and horrible play-calling of just sending McCoy right in the middle where even Syracuse could get a stop.

Syracuse, defensively, is one of the worst teams in the country (110th overall). If there was a game to take a few more chances with Bostick to let him do more and bring him along, this was it. Of course, Pitt never managed to get the kind of separation in the game to do that. Uncomfortably close throughout.

Because it’s fairly easy to see that today was probably the last chance we had for a win. We will be heavy underdogs at Rutgers and WVU as well as at home against South Florida. The likely final record looks like 4-8 and a fifth win would be an upset. You’ll see plenty of thoughts on today’s win over Syracuse in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Pitt’s previous and upcoming opponents did interesting things today:

— Michigan State is keeping close with #11 Michigan, only down 4 entering the fourth quarter.

— Cincinnati and USF combined for 45 points in the first quarter and Cinci leads 38-20 in the 3rd quarter.

— Navy is entering a 2nd OT at Notre Dame. (Update: ND loses 46-44, trying to get a two point conversion…though not using plays nearly as bad as Pitt tried to use.)
— Virginia beat #21 Wake Forest, 17-16, and continues to amaze me.

And if you complained after Pitt’s first basketball exhibition, well at least we didn’t lose like #8 Michigan State did.

I’m at the game, but this is where the rest of you can comment. This 63d meeting of Syracuse and Pitt could potentially put the series at a dead tie.

Just clearing browser tab links that I meant to do something with during the past week.

The Wide Receivers haven’t had much to do in the offense for the last month try to keep engaged in the game. Somehow.

Young, converted linebackers are improving but need work. Duh.

Knock on wood, it looks like Pitt will have it’s first 1000 yard rusher since Kevan Barlow in 2001. LeSean McCoy would also be the first freshman RB at Pitt to do so since Curvin Richards in 1988.

Some more concern about Syracuse throwing the ball.

From Zeise’s chat, there’s a lot of curiosity about whether Bill Stull will be back next year and if he’ll be the starter. No answer given. My speculation is that Stull will be back. If you go by the Wannstedt mantra that you don’t lose your job because of injury then Stull will be starter 1A and Bostick 1B. That doesn’t mean Bostick won’t be the starter next year. It just means that Bostick won’t go into spring drills and training camp as the de facto starting QB with the job to lose. It will more likely be an open competition thing.

I just need to get these out of my browser tabs. Things I wanted to get to but haven’t.

Altoona paper looking at recruiting for Pitt, Penn State and St. Francis?

One is on top and wants to stay there, one longs for its own identity and one merely wants to prove it belongs. They are:

The national power: the Pitt Panthers

The one hoping to someday become a national power: the Penn State Nittany Lions; and

The small program that’s just trying to make a dent on the national scene: the St. Francis Red Flash

The three programs are as different as night and day, but they share one thing in common. They all must rely on a recruiting strategy that can lure the kind of players they need to achieve their goal.

…

‘‘It doesn’t seem any different from when we weren’t very good nine years ago,’’ Dixon said of Pitt’s recruiting strategy. ‘‘You’ve got to get the best kids you can get.’’

The big difference is now that the Panthers have enjoyed continued success, they’re in the running for more upper-tier recruits.

‘‘There’s a number of good players out there,’’ Dixon said. ‘‘You’ve got to understand that, I believe, and if you don’t get one, you’ve got to get another one. You’ve got to have backups, [and] you’ve got to have a long list of guys.’’

Aside from winners, that list for Pitt includes players with one other major characteristic. The Panthers have built their success on toughness and seek players who aren’t afraid to mix it up against other brutes in the Big East.

Interesting point. Get the best kids you can. As you keep improving and raising the team’s profile the players you can seriously go after improve. Fits with Dixon’s approach of very carefully building Pitt Basketball, and minimizing risks.
I usually don’t bother any longer with Penn State commentary since it isn’t worth the effort. Doubly so with basketball, but I don’t buy into the whole location kills them for recruiting meme that is always pushed.

It’s not the location, it’s the competition. It’s one thing for Penn State football to recruit in the Eastern part of the state, New Jersey, New York and Maryland for football. A lot less competition locally for players. In basketball, however, it’s a different situation. There’s a lot more programs competing for the Philly and NJ kids. Add in that for basketball, PSU’s Big 11 affiliation works against them. They have to contend with Big East and ACC powers that have the bigger lure and exposure in the region. Finally, as much as football can sell itself by getting a recruit to take a visit on gameday; it isn’t quite the same in basketball. Heck, if Texas A&M, Gonzaga and even Nebraska is making progress can do it, the issue has to do with the program, school and athletic department’s commitment and effort.

Gary Parrish at Sportsline ranks the Big East and puts Pitt 5th behind Louisville, G-town, Marquette and — surprise — Villanova. The ‘Nova pick is something he admits is a bit of a wild card.

The good: Jamie Dixon has a solid core of returning players featuring Levance Fields, Sam Young, Mike Cook and Ronald Ramon. Add freshman DeJuan Blair to the mix, and the Panthers seem set to be just as steady as ever.

The bad: Blair is a supreme talent, but his inexperience showed in the Panthers’ first exhibition. A Division II center scored 23 points against Blair and fellow newcomer Cassin Diggs, and that’s an indication that plugging the hole left by Aaron Gray might not be simple.

The bottom line: Gray is just one of three important players missing, but there’s no reason to think Pitt will slip much. Why? Because the Panthers just don’t slip much.

Common theme. Seems to be why the AP Poll has Pitt starting at #22.

Leftover from Big East Media Day — Coaches bitching about last year’s snubs for the NCAA Tournament and the new 18 game schedule.

Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon and Marquette’s Tom Crean wondered if it’s smart to play 18 league games when conferences such as the Southeastern, Big 12 and ACC play only 16.

“When it was presented to us, we were much more apt to see it as us following what other power conferences were going to do,” Crean said.

Pitino said he thinks the concerns will recede this season because the Big East is “the deepest I’ve seen it in some time.” He predicted a large number of NCAA bids come March.

Um. Yes. Three major conferences play “only” 16 games. That means the other 3 — The Big East, Pac-10 and Big 11 — play 18. Not sure  I’m seeing the problem.

But, he added, “If we go through another Syracuse debacle, then changes have to occur. If (the selection committee) leaves one or two out, we probably have the wrong formula.”

He suggested switching to a divisional format or going back to 16 league games as possible solutions.

The Big East couldn’t be healthier in revenue and exposure. League teams will play on national TV more times than ever and more than any other conference this season.

“The TV money and all the other things that come with it overcome Coach Boeheim losing sleep,” Dixon said.

Damn. Coach Dixon letting some cold humor slip through.  Nice.

Syracuse really doesn’t have one. Curtis Brinkley has a broken leg, and the depth at the running game for the Orange isn’t really there. Delone Carter, is still out for the season with a dislocated hip. Syracuse missed out on a ton of actual running back talent the last few years starting elsewhere — from native son Mike Hart (Michigan) to Ray Rice (decommitted his verbal after Pasqualoni was fired) and even Jehu Caulcrick (Mich. State). That leaves Doug Hogue to carry the load — so to speak.

So, the ‘Cuse will look to do something with the passing game.

“The last three games they have had 13 plays of 20 yards or more and that is outstanding,” Wannstedt said. “So we’re not going to sit there in one coverage and let them know where we are at and what we are doing. We have a variety of things we can mix up and at times we can defend and at times we will be physical. We have to have a nice mix of things and that’s the key to make sure the receivers and quarterbacks don’t get into a rhythm.”

Wannstedt said the Orange have made plenty of big plays and most of them have been by their two primary wide receivers, Mike Williams and Taj Smith.

The duo have combined for 56 receptions, 871 yards and 9 touchdowns and both average more than 15 yards per catch. Williams leads the team with 29 receptions, 6 touchdowns and 16.3 per catch; Smith leads the team in yards per reception (18.4) as well as receiving yards per game (62.2).

It seems that in the absence of a running game and an O-line Syracuse Coach Greg Robinson has discovered the concept of the forward pass. As opposed to the screens and short passes that he would prefer.

The other area where the Orange hope to get offense is on special teams — specifically Max Suter on returns.

Suter already owns the school mark for kick return yards in a season (801), a somewhat dubious distinction as the Orange allow 34.4 points a game. Still, it’s no small feat at Syracuse, which has produced All-American kick returners in Qadry Ismail, Marvin Harrison and Kevin Johnson.

“Max is exciting,” Syracuse coach Greg Robinson said. “Every time he goes back there to catch the ball and go, I know, when he’s at home, the crowd just can’t wait to see what’s going to happen because you get the feeling that he could be out of the gate.”

Stopping Suter and fellow freshman Michael Holmes will be a point of emphasis for Pitt (3-5, 1-2) when it plays host to Syracuse (2-6, 1-2) at 12 p.m. Saturday at Heinz Field. The Orange lead the Big East in return yards, as Suter ranks 25th nationally at 27.6 yards per and Holmes 39th at 25.6.

“It’s going to be a big challenge,” Pitt special teams coordinator Charlie Partridge said. “Suter deserves his credit. He catches the ball and gets north right now. He runs hard. He’s an impressive return man.”

The theme going into this game are the similarity of the coaches and their struggles at the respective schools. Syracuse has had the deeper fall. And Robinson hasn’t had the recruiting success nor the school ties that take some of the edge off of Wannstedt.

Tranghese points to Rutgers as a classic example. Four years into the Greg Schiano era the team was 12-34, the RU fans were screaming for a change and athletic director Bob Mulcahy was in a quandary about whether to extend his coach’s contract. He eventually did, and RU is 24-10 over the last three seasons.

“If you’re confident you have the right guy, it takes courage to have patience,” Tranghese said.

The problem at Syracuse and Pittsburgh is that neither had Rutgers’ woeful past when their new coaches arrived. On the contrary, each came in with the mission of turning an established team into a national contender and annual bowl participant. Many of the fans at those schools believe Rich Rodriguez, who went 3-8 his first season at West Virginia but 9-4 the second and has been contending for conference titles and top-25 rankings ever since, is a more appropriate example for their teams than Schiano.

They were promised new heights and instead have experienced precipitous falls under their present coaches.

I’m so happy at least someone pointed out the BS of the Schiano comparisons.

Here are the Syracuse key’s to the game according to this article.

Stop the run. A few weeks ago this would have been a tall order, and it probably still is, as the Orange is ranked No. 110 in the nation in rush defense, allowing 213.6 yards per game. Yet, it found a way to contain Buffalo’s talented James Starks in its last game and held the Bulls to 73 yards rushing overall. In McCoy and LaRod Stephens-Howling it will face a daunting combination of speed and power. McCoy (5-foot-11, 210 pounds) has already rushed for 925 yards and 10 touchdowns, although his fumble at the 1-yard line cost the team a shot last week at Louisville. Stephens-Howling, now a backup, rushed for 221 yards against SU last season, with a 70-yard burst breaking open a close game. SU’s defense must, repeat must, duplicate its effort vs. Buffalo and contain the duo, making Pitt’s offense one-dimensional. If Pitt gets the ground game going, it will be a long afternoon for the Orange.

Pressure the QB. SU’s success vs. the run against UB came at the expense of failure to pressure the QB. If it allows Bostick, a rookie prone to rookie mistakes, to sit in the pocket and gain confidence, he is good enough to make it pay. SU, with an embarrassing five sacks this season, must apply pressure to the QB, forcing him into mistakes. Stop the run and get after the QB. Pitt is minus-7 in turnover margin, and SU has a chance to capitalize here. It won’t if it continues to play the kind of passive defense that has characterized most of its performances this season.

Protect the punter. It has been noted here before but is worth repeating: SU freshman punter Rob Long has a bit of a slow release. He is susceptible to having one blocked. Rutgers did it and turned around an early 14-point deficit. SU must make sure that Pitt, which has blocked a punt and four kicks overall, does not get to Long on Saturday. Any big play allowed on special teams will put the Orange in a hole, and its offense is simply not potent enough to climb out.

Protect the QB. The best way to do that is to run the ball effectively. Now that Curtis Brinkley is out for the season that will fall on the shoulders of true freshman Doug Hogue. Even with Brinkley in the lineup SU foes failed to respect the run, and why should they? SU ranks No. 113 in the nation in rushing offense, averaging a paltry 73.5 yards per game. Yet, it is coming off its best rushing performance of the season, 179 yards vs. Buffalo, and must build on that. It must continue to use Andrew Robinson on draws and options as a complement to Hogue. If Pitt stops the run, Robinson will be a sitting duck … again.

Strike early. Two fragile psyches will take the field Saturday. At least Pitt has shown some fight in rallying to defeat Cincinnati after falling behind and nearly sending last week’s game at Louisville into overtime. SU has shown no such resiliency this season when falling behind. Its best chance is to strike early, build momentum and then played relaxed. It must gain control early, putting the pressure on Pitt’s young players at the skill positions to bounce back.

There is no reason for Pitt not to win this game other than complete ineptitude on defense. The Orange offense — excepting that freaky outburst at Louisville has done nothing. They have a limited running game, an O-line that is probably worse than Pitt’s, and a QB prone to being rattled once hit.

Sorry, I’m not going to get worked up over any aspect of “trouble” in an exhibition game. Let me point you to the IUP exhibition in 2005. How about the struggles with Carnegie Mellon in 2004?

So the big issue in the Pitt-Johnstown exhibition (and for the record, there’s a link to watch the exhibition free if you want) was that there were some issues with defense from the Center position/frontcourt. Whoah. Shocking.

Pitt-Johnstown center Chris Gilliam scored a game-high 23 points against Pitt’s young and inexperienced frontcourt players. Gilliam, a 6-foot-7 senior, went head-to-head against Pitt freshman DeJuan Blair and junior-college transfer Cassin Diggs, and got the better of them on the offensive end.

“We’ve got a lot of [work] to do because he torched us,” said Blair, the former Schenley High School star who got the start at center. “He was moving, and we weren’t moving that great. We can do a whole lot better. A Division II school [player] put 23 on us. We have to work extra hard on our post defense. But it’s only the first game. It will get better as the season goes on.”

Gilliam, who made second team in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference last season, was shocked he was able to score the way he did. He was 11 for 19 from the field.

“I never thought I’d do that against a Big East team,” he said.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon did not seem overly concerned about his post defense. He correctly pointed out that Gilliam had five points at halftime and, by then, the game was well in Pitt’s favor. But he acknowledged that the post defense is a work in progress.

If you want to make yourself crazy over an exhibition game, go ahead. It just means, that Blair, Diggs and others in the frontcourt have a better idea of what kind of effort is needed on defense — in a game and in practice/preparation.

Cassin Diggs also gets a puff piece as the latest JUCO player at Pitt, trying to reverse recent history of such players not having much of an impact at Pitt since Ontario Lett.

Ronald Ramon saw somewhat limited action as he nurses a sore ankle.

I’ve tried to not get into this too much, but I think something needs to be said. By now, I’m sure a lot of you have seen the video from Saturday’s PSU-OSU game in Happy Valley. At a tailgate party, Penn Staters throw beer cans and shout obscenities at Buckeye fans. The video made it’s way to Youtube but has now been taken down, probably by the kid who put it up in order to attempt to stay clear of any charges. It’s too late.

First thought: This is a perfect example to throw back at Penn State’s face. Look at their fans, acting classless and stupid, throwing things at opposing fans.

Second thought: Take a step back and look at it a little bit more. There’s no way this represents their entire fan base. Sure they might all be elitists, but they can’t all be the jerks the video showed them to be. When I want to see something involving Penn State, I always turn to Black Shoe Diaries. In Mike’s post with the original video:

This is Penn State, bitch.

No, son, that is not Penn State.

To the Ohio State fans featured in the video, I’m sorry. On behalf of the 99% of Penn State fans that are nice people capable of showing respect to opposing fans, I’m sorry. This is not the Penn State I know and love.

See, they’re not all bad people.

One point that many people noticed, though, was that the cameraman (who, if you saw the video, was worthy of a sucker punch to the jaw) mentioned his beer-slinging friend was from Pittsburgh. It didn’t necessarily mean he was a Pitt student though.

Today (via Mondesi’s House), I saw a link to an update on the story: the kid you see below is, in fact, a Pitt student.

Oh no! A Pitt student did this! Now there’s someone to blame! Whoa, hold on…

A Pitt fan did this? No, not a Pitt fan, but a Pitt student. If he is a Pitt fan, there’s no way in hell he’s up in Happy Valley helping Penn Staters to throw beer at innocent OSU fans. Also, this does not let the other 100 PSU fans involved get off the hook. A lot of them threw beer (but most completely missed) and all should be charged. Hopefully when this is all over, that Pitt student is no longer a student at our school.

Sean from the excellent Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician blog and discussed the state of Pitt and Syracuse last night, ahead of this weekend’s game. Here’s an excerpt.
NunesMagician: In reading some of Wannstedt’s comments this week I get the sense his interviews are as painful to listen to as Greg Robinson.
PittBlather: I noticed you commenting on that. I think there is something wired into former DCs of the pros.
NunesMagician: Like they can’t tell the truth, no matter what
PittBlather: It’s always frustrating when coaches speak and there is such a blatant disconnect between their words and reality.
NunesMagician: Robinson would gain so much goodwill with the fans if he would just be truthful. We all know things suck, just admit it and move forward
PittBlather: Yes, but that would mean admitting culpability. It’s easy to say — I’m the coach it’s on me — overall. But to take specific blame for things. Like a porous d-line. Never getting a grip on the concept of defending the spread. Developing an O-line. No. Then it’s just bad luck and things that will happen eventually.
NunesMagician: Right…of course. Luck of the draw

The advantage and curse of doing this blog for quite some time is that everything is archived and there to be looked at (and used against me). Right now, fan sentiment is split on Wannstedt. Honestly, that’s where I am. Split on the coach. Not sure how I feel about him in the long-term; but sure that he will be here through next year. I thought it might be useful to look back at the month of December, 2004 to review what happened at that point.

Obviously, it began with Walt Harris being pushed out the door with no extension and an offer from Stanford. Arguably this was coming after the disappointing 2003 season and the implosion of the 2004 recruiting class — even if in hindsight Pitt may have dodged a lot of disappointments. I was not sure about the whole thing.

I’ve gone back and forth on this all season. I’ve passionately wanted Harris’ tenure ended, I’ve defended him and felt he earned a new extension, I’ve sadly concluded it to be best he leave, I’ve reluctantly announced he wasn’t taking Pitt in the right direction long term. That was all in this season.

…

I guess the issue of whether Harris should have stayed or been released, for me, came down to, “do I trust the administration to hire someone better?” That’s probably why I decided to hope Pitt retained Harris.

Names were immediately bandied about: Rhoads, Wannstedt, Russ Grimm, Bo Pelini, Sal Sunseri, Bob Davie, Tom Clements, Tom Bradley and Rick Neuheisel. I wanted Pitt to look to the MAC coaches like Hoeppner, Novak or Amstutz.

J.D. Brookhart never was given serious consideration. Wannstedt was always the top choice by Pitt. Matt Cavanaugh’s name surfaced right after Wannstedt first pulled his name, and Rhoads got one of the first interviews. Rhoads became an early favorite after it became obvious that Pitt wasn’t serious about a lot of names — Sunseri was given a token interview and they never even made contact with Tom Clements or Tom Bradley.

There was a lot of polite interviews given to former Pitt players turned coaches like Tim Lewis and Cavanaugh. Along with finally interviewing Pelini. Briefly becoming the rumored front runner. Much of the discussion of who Pitt should look to hire post-Harris focused on recruiting acumen. An interesting little excerpt from that time:

The lifeblood of a football program, of course, is recruiting. Chuck Finder writes a sure-to-infuriate-the-locals piece arguing that Western PA isn’t what it used to be in terms of quantity of top recruits. He points out the demographics have been shrinking in the region. (Something I think Lee has pointed out before). He’s not arguing that the well is dry. He is just saying that the talent level, locally is not what it was in the ’70s and early ’80s. It’s a fair point, but one I’m sure many people in Pittsburgh will not want to hear.

The Trib’s recruiting guy, Kevin Gorman, though argues that the next Pitt coach has to focus very, very hard on the WPIAL kids. He points to the kids that have been flowing to the Big 11. I agree that Pitt really, really needs to improve the local recruiting. Gorman, though, seems a little too close to the subject. He covers the recruiting in the region, he knows all the kids and the coaches. So, it seems he is overstating the overall talent level. In some points, he seems to suggest recruiting a couple kids, just to win points with their high school coaches for the future.

Of course, last month Chris Dokish made a point about the talent level in the WPIAL not being the end-all-be-all.

One other guy, Pitt may have interviewed — Miami DC Randy Shannon.

Cavanaugh started picking up momentum as Pelini lost momentum. I started becoming convinced then and remain to this point of the belief that Pelini will be a very good head coach some day but is an absolutely lousy interview — and that has cost him opportunities to this point. Including the Syracuse gig.

More disturbing Paul Rhoads seemed to be the co-leader (and Smizik had a column that I had to admit was worth reading and that I agreed). In fact, just as it appeared that Rhoads would be the guy to get the gig, Wannstedt’s name re-emerged. It also came out how little Pitt was willing to pay assistants until it came to getting Wannstedt.

One of the other sticking points last week according to a source was that the university was reluctant to meet Wannstedt’s demands for salaries for his assistant coaches. He reportedly had asked for no assistant to be paid less than $100,000, and he wanted between $250,000-$300,000 for his coordinators.

The majority of the current staff makes less than $100,000 — with a low of about $65,000 — with the exception of defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, who got a significant raise following the 2002 season because he nearly took a similar job at Auburn. He makes approximately $250,000 a year.

Over the years, retaining staff has been an issue because the university has not paid the assistant coaches the equivalent of many other Bowl Championship Series conference schools.

Of course, as we’ve learned 3 years later, you still have to make good hires with the assistants.

When Wanny finally agreed I was relieved because that meant Paul Rhoads didn’t get the job and I didn’t have to give up my season tickets in protest.

As for now, Pitt won’t be firing Wannstedt this year. There is no Athletic Director. Wannstedt is close with Chancellor Nordenberg who pulls the strings on this.

There was a lot of sentiment that Pitt needed to hire a Pitt guy. It’s a strangely (at least to me) common theme when there is a job opening for Pitt. Hire a Pitt guy or someone from the area. Fear the possibility of stepping stone coaches or something else.

In hindsight, I think the sentiment to find someone with ties was overwhelming and perhaps even necessary after everything else that had happened before.