NEXT PANTHERS GAMEDAY:Signing DayFebruary 3rd 2010 Buy Pitt Tickets  
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 Posted on January 20th, 2010 by David WhipkeyBy David Whipkey Pitt’s ascending football program will be well-represented in two college football all-star games that will take place later this month and serve as a showcase for prospective NFL talent. Three performers from the Panthers 10-3 squad will participate in the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl. Cornerback Aaron Berry and tight end Nate Byham will play in the East-West Shrine Game this Saturday in Orlando, Fla. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2. All-American Tight End Dorin Dickerson will participate in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Kickoff for the Senior Bowl is Saturday, January 30 at 4 p.m. The game will be televised by the NFL Network. Berry, Byham and Dickerson were integral parts to Pitt’s solid 2009 season. Berry notched 31 tackles, 10 pass break-ups and an interception during his 2009 campaign. He was selected to the all-Big East squad for the second time in his career following this season. Byham was also named all-Big East this year, also his second for his career. Although his 10 catches for 108 yards were not eye-popping statistically, he was a devastating blocker and helped provide the platform for Pitt’s conference-leading ground attack (180.3 yards rushing per game). Dickerson emerged as a big-play threat in 2009. His 10 touchdown receptions set a new school record for scoring grabs in a season. The senior from Imperial, Pa. finished the year with 49 catches for 528 yards. He was named to the 25-player All-American Team selected by the Football Writers Association of America. Dickerson is the first Pitt tight end to earn All-American status since Mike Ditka did so in 1960. He was also a finalist for the John Mackey Award and named all-Big East this season. The Panthers finished no. 15 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. Pitt ended their season with a dramatic 19-17 win over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Posted on November 24th, 2009 by David WhipkeyBy David Whipkey For the better part of a quarter-century, the Backyard Brawl usually ended with West Virginia defeating Pitt with ease. Although Pitt leads the all-time series with 61 wins against 37 defeats and three ties, West Virginia enjoyed a run of success under former coaches Don Nehlen and Rich Rodriguez. From 1983-2006, WVU took 15 of 23 contests with two ties (1985 and 1989). It appeared West Virginia, with their speed-laden roster, would control the series for the foreseeable future. But then came December 1, 2007. Pitt kept West Virginia out of the 2007 National Championship Game by virtue of a stunning 13-9 win before a shocked sold out at Milan Puskar Stadium. The Panthers have won 18 of 23 games since that cold night in Morgantown while West Virginia has taken a couple of steps backwards since coach Bill Stewart took over for Rodriguez, who left for the Michigan job days after the loss. One of those wins also included a come-from-behind 19-15 Pitt win over West Virginia last year at Heinz Field. “I think that win, when you look at it, gave us life,” said Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt during his Monday press conference. “That would be the way I would classify it.” Wannstedt does not deny that game brought many prospective recruits that were sitting on the fence between Pitt and West Virginia over to his sideline. “We had so many recruits that were right on the bubble,” added Wannstedt. “It gave us an opportunity to get one more shot at these guys and to say to them that it would happen and to believe in us. I think that it was energizing for our players.” Then blue-chip prospects Cameron Saddler and Shayne Hale of Gateway High School in Monroeville were on the West Virginia sideline that night and were expected to sign with the Mountaineers on Signing Day in February. Both are now Panthers. Pittsburgh Central Catholic quarterback Tino Sunseri was on a visit to Louisville that night. He watched the game in the dorm room of several Cardinals players. Two months later, he signed with Pitt. “I remember going out there for pregame warm-ups and the recruits were all lined up on the sidelines and I looked over and could see all of these kids that we were recruiting and that they were recruiting,” said Wannstedt. “Within 10 to 14 days (after the game) we got eight commitments. Two or three of those kids were right there (at the game) and committed with us.” No doubt Wannstedt and his staff see Pitt’s 2007 win as a moment that shifted not only balance of power in the Backyard Brawl, but as one that kick-started the program in general. “Winning that game, I can remember the first day of the off-season program in January,” said Wannstedt. “We had as much enthusiasm, from a team standpoint, to get started and build on the following year. I’m sure just for our fans it was a shot in the arm, a little bit of hope. I think it helped our program in several areas that today we look back on and probably it was the turning point since I’ve been here, without a doubt.” Posted on November 23rd, 2009 by David WhipkeyBy David Whipkey They were five simple words. Five words that at the time made him look overly simple, but they were five words that were too true to be embellished. In Dave Wannstedt’s first year along the Pitt sidelines, he knew he had a football team that simply was not athletic enough to compete with the likes of West Virginia’s Pat White and Steve Slaton. Both White and Slaton ran past and around the Panthers on a cold Morgantown, W.Va. on Thanksgiving night in 2005. It was evident to Wannstedt that his Panthers were too slow. As he was walking towards the halftime locker room, he was interviewed by an ESPN sideline reporter before halftime and was asked how Pitt could stop WVU’s lightning-fast spread option attack. Wannstedt simply responded with the five words that mocked him for two-plus years: “We have to run faster.” West Virginia, led by Slaton and White, hung 90 total points on Pitt in 2005 and 2006. Pitt looked especially helpless in 2006 when both Slaton and White rushed for more than 200 yards in a 45-24 win at Heinz Field. Then came December 1, 2007. West Virginia entered the 100 edition of the Backyard Brawl with aspirations of a playing in the BCS National Championship game. The Mountaineers were 11-1 and were again led by an offense powered by quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton. They also throttled Connecticut 66-21 the previous week, giving them the Big East title and a ticket to one of the prestigious bowl games in early January. Pitt was reeling at the time. They were sporting a 4-7 record and were assured of missing out on post-season play for the third straight year under Wannstedt. The Panthers were 28 point underdogs and apparently were simply invited guests to West Virginia’s coronation before a sold-out Milan Puskar Stadium. Then came kickoff. The Panthers showed how much they learned in two years and how faster they had become. Pitt’s defense held the high-powered Mountaineers to 183 total yards, nine first downs and in check all night long. Pitt churned out enough offense thanks to then freshman running back LeSean McCoy and shocked West Virginia in Morgantown with a 13-9 upset. It would be Rich Rodriguez’s last game as Mountaineers coach. Days later, West Virginia’s then favorite son announced he was bolting for the vacant coaching job at Michigan. West Virginia was also not going to play for a national title in 2007 and has not been close since that year. Pitt parlayed the upset into a banner-year recruiting wise. The Panthers gained steam and won nine games in 2008, one of which included a 19-15 win over WVU at Heinz Field in late November. It is the Panthers that appear to be the superior team that will take the field in Morgantown on Friday night. Pitt’s defensive line, led by ends Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard along with tackles Mick Williams and Gus Mustakas; appear to have a distinct advantage against WVU’s strong but young offensive line. Players such as safety/linebacker Elijah Fields, linebacker Adam Gunn, safety Jarred Holley and cornerback Aaron Berry are the athletic-types that can run with WVU’s speedy skill players. It is obvious the Panthers needed to become faster. Five years after watching the Mountaineers run past his players, Wannstedt has a team that can and should short-circuit West Virginia’s speed. |
 
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