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 Posted on October 5th, 2009 by AdminPitt Panthers- Louisville Cardinals HighlightsFriday, October 2, 2009 | Papa John’s Stadium | Louisville, KY Posted on October 3rd, 2009 by David WhipkeyBy David Whipkey Working on a short week, Pitt was able to get up off the canvas and deliver a knockout blow to Louisville and earn a 35-10 road win over the overmatched Cardinals. Friday night’s performance was a welcome sight for those who believed the Panthers were exposed last week at N.C. State. The reasons why Pitt was able to get off to a good start in Big East play were numerous: • Stull continues to display a maturity he did not show much of last year. His numbers were solid (16 for 23, 242 yards and three scores) and his management skills were on point. The senior made big throws when they were needed such as the 71-yard strike to Jonathan Baldwin that gave Pitt a 21-10 lead. • Baldwin and tight end Dorin Dickerson give the Panthers two perimeter performers other defenses will have a difficult time containing. Baldwin gives and will continue to give the Panthers a downfield threat that has not been seen in Blue and Gold since Larry Fitzgerald was carrying the Pitt offense earlier this decade, while Dickerson adds a toughness and reliability to the passing game. Both were on full display Friday night and should give Pitt an advantage on the flanks against many of their future opponents this season. • This is clearly Pitt’s best offensive line since the 1980s. Right guard John Malecki is a true mauler while tackles Jason Pinkston and sophomore Lucas Nix are standing firm. Left guard Joe Thomas appears to have found a home at left guard. The unit has only allowed two sacks this season and gave Stull an uncluttered pass pocket all evening long against the Cards. • The backfield tandem of Dion Lewis and Ray Graham were a devastating one-two punch Friday, combining for 162 yards and a score. Either one can make a man miss and break a long run. • There may not be a better fullback in the Big East than Henry Hynoski. The junior from Southern Columbia High School in central Pennsylvania is a bulldozer that eliminates linebackers at the point of attack. • Defensively, it begins and ends with the line. End Greg Romeus racked up three and a half of the team’s six sacks. Bookend Jabaal Sheard’s fourth quarter takedown of Froman ended the Cards last threat to stay in the game while tackle Mick Williams commands double teams and disrupts the middle. Posted on October 3rd, 2009 by David WhipkeyBy David Whipkey And now, Panther Nation can take a deep breath and step back from the ledge. Pitt overcame several penalties and missed opportunities to subdue Louisville 35-10 Friday night at Papa Johns Stadium in the Big East opener for both squads. Panthers quarterback Bill Stull continues to impress this season. The senior finished with 16 completions in 23 attempts for 242 yards and three scoring passes. Stull’s main target was super sophomore receiver Jonathan Baldwin. The Beaver County product scorched Louisville’s secondary for 105 yards receiving on four catches. His 71 yard touchdown catch of a Stull pass midway through the third quarter helped put the Cardinals away. Tight end Dorin Dickerson finished with five catches for 50 yards. The senior gathered in Stull’s perfectly thrown rainbow for a 37-yard touchdown pass and a 14-10 lead early in the third quarter. Dickerson also started the scoring for Pitt in the first quarter when he pulled in a tipped pass in the end zone for a five-yard touchdown reception. Pitt’s running game also kicked it into high gear. The freshman duo of Dion Lewis and Ray Graham combined for 162 yards on 33 carries. Graham’s five yard scoring run with 8:47 remaining in the contest gave Pitt a 28-10 advantage. Fullback Henry Hynoski , who spent most of the evening plowing holes for Panther running backs or assisting in pass protection, finished the scoring for Pitt with a three-yard touchdown run late in the game. After permitting 500 plus total yards and 38 points in last week’s loss at North Carolina State, the Pitt defense clamped down and applied a vice to the Cardinals offense. The Panthers permitted only 101 yards rushing on 37 carries, a 2.2 yard per carry average. Pitt’s defense also got after quarterback Adam Froman, who was starting in place of an injured Justin Burke. Froman finished with 18 completions on 30 attempts for 166 yards. Defensive end Greg Romeus enjoyed a monster night in the trenches. The junior announced his presence by sacking Froman three times. Pitt finished with six sacks on the night, giving them 22 sacks in four games. Safety Dom DeCicco finished with eight total tackles and one pass break up. Defensive tackle Gus Mustakas recovered a Froman fumble on the Pitt 29 early in the third quarter, which set the stage for Stull’s 71-yard scoring strike to Baldwin on the next play. Louisville (1-3, 0-1) got off to a good start before a sellout home crowd. Fullback Joe Tronzo capped an eight-play 73 yard drive with a one-yard scoring plunge. The Cardinals took a 10-7 halftime lead when kicker Ryan Payne made a 32-yard field goal, which climaxed a 69-yard march. But the Panthers came out of the halftime locker room and took over the contest with 28 straight points. The Panthers return home next week for a Saturday date with Connecticut at Heinz Field. Posted on October 2nd, 2009 by panther
Posted on October 1st, 2009 by David WhipkeyBy David Whipkey This was not the defense that many followers of Pitt’s football team expected this year. However, there is plenty of time for said unit to come up big for the Panthers and help get the squad where it needs to go. Those who watched Buffalo quarterback Zach Maynard and N.C. State signal-caller Russell Wilson torch the Panthers defense for a combined 736 yards and seven scores in two games are probably not encouraged by direction the unit is heading. But there are several factors that could alleviate the concerned. Pitt has a chance to rectify their defensive breakdowns and shortcomings on a national stage Friday night when they open Big East play on the road at Louisville for an 8 p.m. ESPN2 telecast. Even with the ugly loss at N.C. State, the Panthers can still earn the conference’s BCS berth. There is no better way to begin that quest than with a win before a hostile crowd on the road. Also, there is precedence for Pitt to get things right in a short period of time. Last season, a highly-regarded Pitt defense was ripped apart by Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel in an October contest at Heinz Field. Teel threw for 369 yards and four scores in a 54-34 Scarlet Knights win. Things looked even bleaker with a road game the following week against Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, Michael Floyd and the rest of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Pitt’s defense responded by holding the potent Irish passing attack to 271 yards in a 36-33 four-overtime win. The Panthers played solid defense down the stretch and stood firm in a 3-0 Sun Bowl loss to end the season. According to Coach Dave Wannstedt, many of the issues that are plaguing the Panthers on the defensive side of the ball are correctable. “I think every coach and player is very disappointed,” said the coach earlier this week. “Very disappointed with how we’ve played defense the first part of the season. Now, I do think everything is correctable. The guys have the right attitude. We’ve got to get on it and come back.” Having new players such as linebackers Dan Mason, Max Gruder and safety Elijah Fields in the lineup also may have contributed to the inconsistent performance of the defense so far this year. “We’re really young at the linebacker position,” said Wannstedt. “We had some mistakes that we shouldn’t have had. The inexperience did show up in some areas.” Players such as Mason, Gruder and Fields are being counted on to step up their games. There is no reason to believe they cannot. Mason earned Big East Defensive Player of the Week two weeks ago and both Gruder and Fields were highly regarded defensive prospects coming out of high school. Also, middle linebacker Adam Gunn was out with an injury the past two contests. His leadership and ability were sorely missed and will be a welcome sight if he is able to take the field Friday night against the Cardinals. Pitt’s biggest defensive strength is their pass rush. Ends Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard along with tackles Mick Williams and Gus Mustakas have put ample pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The defense has compiled six sacks this season. Although they only got to Wilson once, they did apply pressure. Unfortunately, the mobile quarterback was able to escape and rush for 91 yards. There is a good chance Pitt’s defense will not see a quarterback with his ability to both move and complete throws downfield, although Cincinnati’s Tony Pike could give the Panthers fits in the Dec. 5 season finale. South Florida’s P.J. Daniels and West Virginia’s Jarrett Brown are both nimble and athletic but have yet to prove they can consistently hit their targets downfield. Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen has a rocket for an arm and is accurate; he is not exactly John Elway-like when it comes to escapability. There is work to be done regarding fixing the defense, but there is evidence that can and will be accomplished. Posted on September 17th, 2009 by AdminBy David Whipkey | Pitt Panthers Gameday Correspondent It appears a full-fledged, no-holds-barred quarterback derby could be brewing for Dave Wannstedt’s Pitt squad in 2010. Wednesday’s verbal commitment by Bethlehem Liberty senior signal caller Anthony Gonzalez will give the Panthers four scholarship quarterbacks next year. Filling out the roster will include veterans Pat Bostick, Central Catholic’s Tino Sunseri and Kolby Gray. Many pundits and fans have been calling for the coaching staff to upgrade the position. The howls grew louder and louder last season as current starter Bill Stull performed inconsistently throughout the year. The nadir came in the 2008 Brut Sun Bowl, a 3-0 Panthers loss to Oregon State of the Pac-10. Stull’s 7-for-24, 52 yard day on New Year’s Eve was a performance that created questions amongst legions of Panther followers. Stull supporters will point to solid performances against South Florida, Navy, Louisville and the first half against Rutgers as evidence the senior from Seton-LaSalle High School can perform at the Division I level. A concussion late in the third quarter of a 54-34 loss to the Scarlet Knights at Heinz Field ended Stull’s day and may be a factor in his erratic performance down the stretch last year. So far, Stull has shown he can manage Pitt’s attack in the early part of this season. His five touchdown passes combined against Youngstown State and Buffalo are more than half of the nine total scores he threw for last year. But tougher tests lurk in the future for Stull as defenses from N.C. State, Notre Dame, South Florida and West Virginia await. At least Pitt has the luxury of having a quarterback with a year’s worth of starting experience in 2009. That luxury will not be available come September 2010. Even with the signing of Gonzalez and the coaching staff’s seemingly increasing infatuation with the local product Sunseri, Bostick should have the inside track on the starting job next year. Remember, Bostick was the most heralded Pitt quarterback recruit since Rod Rutherford. Schools such as Tennessee, Penn State and others courted the Manheim Township product and for good reason. Bostick was selected as 2006 Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year. His 7,259 yards passing is good for fifth all time in the annals of Pennsylvania high school football. As a freshman, Bostick took over for an injured Stull and ineffective Kevan Smith. Though there were growing pains along the way and questions about his mobility and arm strength, Bostick engineered wins over ranked teams such as Cincinnati and West Virginia. Last year, he helped guide Pitt to a four-overtime win over Notre Dame in South Bend. Both Wannstedt and offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. have raved in the past about Bostick’s desire to improve and his work ethic. But that does not guarantee he will take the reins next year. Sunseri took his fair share of first-team reps this summer and appears to have a good grasp of the offense according to published reports. Coaches said they are also impressed with Gray’s athleticism and potential. But an arm injury forced the staff to bestow upon him a medical redshirt. Added into the mix is the intriguing Anthony Gonzalez. Western Pennsylvania high school football fans should know him well. As a junior, Gonzalez put his Liberty squad on his shoulders and led them to a PIAA Class AAAA title game win over Bethel Park. Gonzalez received offers from powers Penn State, Florida State, Oregon, Missouri and Maryland before deciding to call Pittsburgh home for the next three to four years. Gonzalez’ athleticism and talent is tantalizing. He also played defensive back in high school and was recruited by the Nittany Lions to play in their defensive backfield. If longtime Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley believes you can play his secondary, you are a tremendous athlete. Give Wannstedt and his staff credit. There will be legitimate options for the Panthers at the quarterback position in 2010, and for the first time since Tyler Palko was leading Pitt to a Big East title in 2004, the future is bright behind center. |
 
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