Yardbarker: Pittsburgh Panthers

PITT 8TH IN AP, 12TH IN BCS

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:05:00 -0500

Many people (myself included) wondered how the Pitt Panthers would fare in 2009 after losing LeSean McCoy and Scott McKillop to the NFL. As today's #8 ranking in the AP poll (and #12 ranking in the BCS) would substantiate, I think they've done quite alright for themselves.

The Panthers played a solid-yet-unspectacular brand of football in defeating a lifeless, beaten-down Syracuse team on Saturday at Heinz Field. That sounds like an awfully snobbish way of describing a 27-point victory, but the Panthers left a lot of points on the field, something they simply cannot do in their remaining games, which will all be played against teams much better than Syracuse. This was a 6-3 game until very late in the first half, when Greg Williams' 51-yard pick-six all but sank the Orange for the day. That's much too close for two teams with such differing levels of talent on their respective rosters.

I feel that Frank Cignetti did not have a good day calling plays, with some very questionable moves throughout the contest. How do you have a weapon like Jonathan Baldwin on your team and only attempt to get him the ball three times? I'm still trying to figure that out. When you're playing a Syracuse, you want to put them away early. The longer they stick around increases the odds that the game could be decided on something like a freak play, and this team has played too hard for such an outcome. The play-calling needs to get more aggressive. Period.

Pitt's #8 AP ranking is their highest under Dave Wannstedt and the school's highest since 1989. For much of our audience, this is the best they've ever seen the Panthers play. And as I alluded to earlier, the most exciting games on the schedule still remain to be played.

Notre Dame, West Virginia, and Cincinnati are are winnable games for the Panthers. The Irish have been an incredibly inconsistent group in 2009, despite a roster supposedly loaded with talent. Charlie Weis is tiptoeing near "dead man walking" territory, especially after Saturday's loss against Navy that was highlighted by Jimmy Clausen throwing a ball directly into his receiver's back (which was subsequently picked off) on a critical fourth quarter drive. For the coach that gave Wannstedt a high-profile, prime-time, nationally-televised loss in his first game at Pitt in 2005, Saturday night could be a bit of sweet revenge for the Stache.

The Mountaineers game is of the "throw the records out the window" variety, but looking at their resume in 2009, it's less than impressive. Their seven wins are over Liberty, East Carolina, Colorado, Syracuse, Marshall, UConn, and Louisville. Of the BCS-conference teams on that list, their respective win totals are as follows: Colorado 3, Syracuse 3, UConn 4, and Louisville 4. Translation? The Mountaineers have not really beaten anyone of consequence. But Pitt should not fall asleep at the wheel, lest they forget how West Virginia did that very thing against them in 2007.

I'm not looking all the way to the Cincinnati (potential Big East championship) game, because I've learned to always manage my expectations for this Pitt football program. But I must say, it's hard not to be excited when you see what could lie ahead for Wanny and his young men.

As for Penn State, Saturday was a massive letdown on a number of levels, starting with their backfiring Terrelle Cryer t-shirt extravaganza. The one-time apple of PSU's eye had a hand in each Buckeye touchdown and accounted for 175 yards of offense, completely redeeming himself from this. OSU outgained the Nittany Lions by a 353-201 margin and limited Penn State to 76 yards rushing on 30 carries. Worst of all, the game put the Buckeyes in position to take command of the conference with a pending matchup against Iowa on Saturday.

Saturday's loss dropped Penn State to 18 in the BCS, 19 in the AP, and 17 in the USA Today poll. Which would put them (drum roll, please)....below Pitt. When it rains, it pours in Happy Valley. But I encourage some calm among the Panther faithful when celebrating this milestone, because these things have a way of changing quickly. No one remembers where you're ranked in week 10 - they remember where you finish. There's still much football to be played, and that is what we should really be looking forward to.

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Top 25: No. 14 Pitt drops Syracuse, moves to 8-1

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:46:00 -0500

Saturday's Top 25 roundup: Greg Williams' 51-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half got slow-starting Pittsburgh going, and the No. 14 Panthers extended their best start to a season since 1982 by beating Syracuse 37-10.

No. 14 Pitt rips 'Cuse, extends best start since '82

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:36:29 -0500

PITTSBURGH(AP) Greg Williams ' 51-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half got slow-starting Pittsburgh going, and the No. 14 Panthers extended their best start to a season since 1982 by beating Syracuse 37-10 on Saturday.

INT helps No. 13 Pittsburgh roll over Syracuse

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:30:48 -0500

Greg Williams' 51-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half got slow-starting Pittsburgh going, and the Panthers (No. 13 BCS, No. 14 AP) extended their best start to a season since 1982 by beating Syracuse 37-10 on Saturday.

Panthers improve to 8-1

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:29:00 -0500

Greg Williams' 51-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half got slow-starting Pittsburgh going, and the No. 14 Panthers extended their best start to a season since 1982 by beating Syracuse 37-10 on Saturday.

No. 14 Pittsburgh slams Syracuse, improves to 8-1

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:29:00 -0500

Lewis, Stull lead way as No. 20 Pitt hammers USF

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:23:07 -0500

PITTSBURGH(AP) Bill Stull rarely hears himself mentioned in the same sentence as Dan Marino. He is now. Stull is one of college football's biggest surprises and, if Pitt Panthers keep playing this way, they might be, too.

Pitt has a few words (and touchdowns) to add about the Big East title picture

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:00:16 -0500

Scroll down or click here to join the Doc's game day live blog, covering every game all day long. Pittsburgh 41, South Florida 14. Nothing new here for USF: The Bulls' annual midseason slide arrived right on schedule, sullying their 5-0 start for the third year in a row. After blowing top-10 starts with three-game skids in both 2007 and 2008, the '09 Bulls are regressing to the mean in the same grisly fashion. This counts as something of an eye-opener, however, for Pitt. In the ...

Pitt has a few words (and touchdowns) to add regarding the Big East title picture

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:00:16 -0500

PITT'S 3-0. SERIOUSLY.

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:08:00 -0500

This may be hard to believe, but with a 27-14 win over Navy yesterday, Pitt improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2000 - and only the fourth time since Dan Marino's senior season in 1982. Even harder to believe, Pitt fans did not boo Bill Stull, actually cheering their starting quarterback in a refreshing change of pace. Someone pinch me.

The 2000 season, memorable if only for the 12-0 win that's been shoved in the faces of Penn State fans for the last decade, was a long time ago. In the years since, there has been early-season disappointment after early-season disappointment. In 2008, they followed the momentum of the 2007-ending 13-9 West Virginia win with...a loss to Bowling Green in the opener. In '07, a heartbreaking 17-13 to Michigan State served as the early toe-stub, despite 181 yards rushing from Shady McCoy. The Spartans would also foil a 3-0 Pitt start in 2006. And who can forget the monumental letdown in the 2005 opener, a nationally-televised 42-21 loss to Notre Dame in the first game of Charlie Weis and Dave Wannstedt's respective tenures.

Going back to the Walt Harris Era, the 3-0 start was ruined by Nebraska in 2004, Toledo(!) in 2003, Texas A&M in 2002, and South Florida in 2001. Even the wizard of offense was not exempt from falling on his face at some point in September.

While it's certainly nice to enjoy this rare start, it's important not to crown the Panthers as National Champions just yet. But I think things at least appear to be headed in the right direction. On Saturday, they allowed a mere 218 yards of offense to a Navy team that ran up 342 yards against Ohio State just two weeks ago. Navy QB Ricky Dobbs completed 6 of 21 passes. Six! He's practically the college equivalent of Jamarcus Russell.

The Pitt offense also came through to the tune of 27 points, and that's despite Stull fumbling on the Navy one-yard-line. Stull was 17-of-24 for 245 yards and a touchdown, as his numbers increased for the third straight week; he threw for 123 yards in Week One and 172 last week. He's shown steady improvement, and as of yesterday, an ability to really maximize the asset that is Jonathan Baldwin. Baldwin, who had relatively been held in check throughout the first two weeks, nearly doubled his 2009 cumulative numbers with a six-catch, 111-yard performance.

Although Dion Lewis wasn't able to crack the 100-yard barrier for the first time in his Pitt career, he did finish with an effective 79 yards on the ground, to go along with his sixth touchdown of the young season. And fellow freshman Dan Mason stepped in for injured linebacker Adam Gunn and made 11 tackles in his first career start. Trying my hardest to keep my expectations in check, there are a lot of things I like about this team so far.

Next week, the Panthers try to run their mark to 4-0 against the NC State Wolfpack, currently 2-1 with wins over Murray State and Gardener-Webb. Against their only real opponent, South Carolina, they struggled to a 7-3 defeat in their first game of the season. The game's scheduled for 3:30 PM on ESPNU, which means I don't get to watch the Panthers on TV for a fourth consecutive week.

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As camp closes, Stull remains Pitt's starting QB

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:55:01 -0500

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt isn't changing his mind: Bill Stull is his starting quarterback.

Big East Eliminator: Three Reasons Pittsburgh can't possibly return to the BCS

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:03:49 -0500

No one has a clue who's going to win this league. So the Doc's logically crossing off the contenders, one by one. Part of Big East Week. Sayonara Shady. LeSean McCoy handled the ball on 35 percent of the Panthers' offensive snaps, accounted for 40 percent of their total yards from scrimmage ands scored more touchdowns than the rest of the offense combined. He was one of only five players nationally over 300 carries for the season, and joined Beanie Wells as the only players avera...

Preseason Countdown: No. 23 Pitt

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:11:00 -0500

Where The Panthers Have Been: It's hard to waste a really, really great back. Yet Dave Wannstedt managed to do just that last season as the Panthers failed to have any offensive variety outside of LeSean McCoy. Maybe it was because of McCoy that they didn't have anything else, but still, this team was a major letdown. To put Pitt's roller coaster of a season into perspective, the Panthers opened with a loss to a MAC team (Bowling Green), then still manages to beat Pat White and We...

Welcome to the Land of the Sun!

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:28:36 -0500

Well, it's not a New Year's bowl, but New Year's Eve is almost as good. At least that's what Oregon State and Pittsburgh should be saying as they get ready for the Brut Sun Bowl in El Paso. At the very least these 2 teams should be in Sunny El Paso, while their friends are either dealing with rain or snow. See more by following the link!

SU and Pitt coaches on the "same boat", or not

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:24:59 -0500

Reading around the internet I found this article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that talks about how SU's Greg Robinson and Pitt's Dave Wannstedt are on the "same boat".

Do As I Say, Not As I Did...Or Didn't

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:14:33 -0500

Dan Marino will give the Pitt 2008 commencement address later this month. He should remember what not to do while on stage

Child Actors Gone Bad: Steve Urkel

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:59:43 -0500

In yet another sad story of a former child actor turned bad, this saga takes the cake!

Recruiting Updates-Devoe Torrence Rumors

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 01:07:47 -0500

Keith Wells, Devoe Torrence, Shayne Hale, Terrelle Pryor, Cordale Scott and much more!

Did That Really Just Happen?

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:27:52 -0500

I honestly thought this morning that I had a dream that we went to Morgantown and beat the Mountaineers. I had to watch the highlights on Sportscenter to believe it really happened.

Wannstedt Injuries Achilles

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:25:31 -0500

What role does his mustache play in both the injury and the recovery?