Lots of fun. Wife has the flu. Windstorms knocked out power for most of the day. I’m just trying to keep things moving well enough so I can flee come Saturday.
Worth noting that Bill Stull was named Big East Player of the Week (16-23, 242 yards and 3 TDs). Added bonus, is that Hoopie fans are a little ticked about this since Noel Devine’s 220 yard game didn’t get the nod.
His numbers got the nod from Pat Forde this week.
Stepping up: Bill Stull (28), Pittsburgh. The quarterback was pedestrian last season — right up until he was simply dreadful in a 3-0 Sun Bowl loss to Oregon State. But the senior fought off Tino Sunseri and Pat Bostick to keep the starting job and has responded well, with 11 TDs and just one interception in five games. He’s now fifth nationally in pass efficiency.
And it seems that Coach Wannstedt thinks an uncluttered mind helps.
“It’s experience on his part. He’s a senior now and he’s got a lot of games under his belt,” Edsall said. “Looking at the film, he looks very comfortable in his surroundings.”
If Stull truly is at ease, it may have something to do with his tweaked role in the offense.
“We’re trying to eliminate the over-thinking,” Wannstedt said. “In other words, ‘Here’s the play. Look for this one thing. If you don’t, throw it here.’ That part of it has really helped him.”
Or as Crash Davis would say, “Don’t think, Meat. You’ll only hurt the team.”
It helps that the offensive line has been so steady to this point.
The Pitt offensive line has been perhaps the biggest surprise of the season. But the unit will get its toughest chore of the season this week. Connecticut is allowing only 232.25 total yards per game, No. 4 in the nation. Connecticut defensive end Lindsey Witten ranks second in the nation in sacks. “I’m really excited to see how they meet the challenge this weekend,” Wannstedt said.
It’s odd (and I’m terrified that I may be jinxing things) that the O-line has not been a big issue to date this season. I mean, that’s been the lament of Pitt fans for at least 6 or 7 years.
Not that it won’t rear its ugly head once more next year. What with no clear successor at center. Hell, what with no true center having committed to Pitt in the last couple of years. Even Coach Wannstedt has acknowledged that the O-line recruiting has not been what it should.
Wannstedt said recruiting on the offensive line wasn’t enough of a priority in recent years. Behind the starting five, the Panthers have virtually no experienced depth. Two redshirt sophomores with no career starts, tackle Greg Gaskins and guard Chris Jacobsen, are the first linemen off the bench.
“It’s not where it should be,” Wannstedt said. “As I look back over the years, from a recruiting standpoint, we put more of an emphasis on the defensive line and some other spots. Probably, the offensive line got slighted a little bit.”
Considering Thomas, Houser and Malecki are seniors that’s a bit unnerving. Let’s try not to think too much about it until January or so.
