That seems to be the theme. From the coaches down to the players. O-line Coach Jim Hueber feels surprisingly positive about the O-line.

“If you just stop for a second and think, outside of the mental mistakes, there really weren’t people coming free at the quarterback early in the game,” Hueber said. “It was mental mistakes that got us, not anything physical. I’m happy with the kids in that respect. We asked them to be physical, and you couldn’t watch the first quarter, you couldn’t watch the first quarter through the second quarter, and think that we weren’t being physical on the running game.”

Hueber said that, coming out of the locker room, Pitt didn’t know what to expect from Florida State, who was playing their first game under a new defensive coordinator. He said they adjusted as the game went on, but were surprised by some things, notably which linebackers the Seminoles would drop back into coverage at certain points.

“I think our guys have a feeling that they’ll be able to at least recognize stuff early in the game [against New Mexico],” Hueber said. “We literally came out of the locker room [against Florida State] not knowing what we’d see with the change in coordinator.”

Hueber said he was pleased with redshirt sophomore center Artie Rowell, making his first start at center after winning a training camp position battle against redshirt freshman Gabe Roberts.

“I thought he did a nice job,” Hueber said. “I thought he directed traffic, he got us where we needed to be. I don’t think he got outmatched physically at all. I thought he did the things we thought he could do going into the game, which is why we made the decision. We just thought he had matured a little bit faster than Gabe had as far as setting defenses for us and stuff.”

I think the coaching staff still would love to see Roberts eventually be the center. Simply because of his size/potential. Hueber’s comments, though, show the advantage of having a kid who has experience playing center. Rowell was adequate, physically, in the game. His bigger plus came on the mental side. Being able to handle the quick read of the defense lining up. Getting the snap off cleanly. Roberts showed that he was struggling with putting all of that together consistently in camp, which is how Rowell was able to get the starting nod.

Hueber also mixes some positive words with a bit of cynical reality that comes from a coaching career that has seen his O-line come under heavy scrutiny since the football team is the only sports topic in town.

Hueber said he can’t do anything about outsiders bringing up the three sacks of quarterback Tom Savage, but he is thankful for this much: Fans’ attention are diverted in other directions these days.

“The thing that saves you is the Pirates are hot, the Steelers were opening,” Hueber said, laughing.
…
Pitt didn’t allow a sack until the third quarter — two more came in the fourth when the game was out of hand — but the first forced Pitt to settle for a field goal after having a first down on the Seminoles’ 25.

“You want to keep (the quarterback) upright. You want to keep him clean,” Hueber said. “If you don’t, there is always the chance for something to go wrong.”

Hueber was pleased that his linemen set the game aside and are not feeling sorry for themselves.

“You can’t see anyone with their lip stuck out,” he said.

Even the players on the O-line feel positive about things.

“I think our potential is amazing,” redshirt junior guard Matt Rotheram said Monday. “This has the most potential of any offensive line I’ve played on here and it’s exciting. I think we can be really, really good. We just have to clean up a few things. A little thing here and there, and we could really be a good unit.”
…
“I don’t feel like there was anything in the game that would lead you to believe we were out-physicalled at all,” offensive line coach Jim Hueber said Wednesday. “Does that mean we weren’t on the edge? Does that mean we didn’t take the wrong step? No. But those things are things that we have to work on to correct, all of us, coaches, players. But we don’t have any problem with what the physical effort was. None at all. None.”

Rotheram said that youth reared its head on the offensive line and at other positions on offense. But at times last Monday, like during Pitt’s game-opening 80-yard touchdown drive, he thought the offense showed signs of potential.

“You hope that wouldn’t happen, but it’s tough for guys in their first game,” Rotheram said. “There were times in the Florida State game where we were out there and I could feel it. I could feel that we were going to be a good team. I could feel it on the first drive. It was like, ‘Wow, if we can work together like this, move the ball, run the ball like this, protect the quarterback, we can really be special.’

“It shows up here and there, but other times we were making dumb mistakes, making mental errors, and it was killing us. At times like that, you were second-guessing. But you could definitely feel it out there at times.”

Correctable mistakes are frustrating, but tolerable in the first game or two. If they are still taking about correcting the mental mistakes in week 5, then it is time to worry.