10-3

Football Schedule

This is a bye week that the Pitt Panthers surely deserved.

The Panthers are in the throes of enjoying their best start since 1982 and are staring at a golden opportunity square in the face.

At 7-1 overall and in possession of a sterling 4-0 Big East mark, Pitt has a shot of making large waves on a national scale. The Panthers have defeated five bowl game participants from last year (Buffalo, Navy, Connecticut, Rutgers and South Florida). But the meat of the schedule remains as home games against Syracuse, Notre Dame and Cincinnati along with the annual grudge match at West Virginia await.

No two people involved in the Panthers football operations should feel more accomplished at this point of the season than Coach Dave Wannstedt and quarterback Bill Stull.

About three months ago, questions were swirling around both the coach and quarterback regarding the Panthers reaching another level of success. Many of those questions were answered.

Stull was named the starter by Wannstedt during the early stages of fall camp. This did not sit well with a large faction of Panthers fans that remembered his uneven play down the stretch in 2008 and horrific performance during a 3-0 loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.

He was even booed during the Panthers season-opening win over Youngstown State. However, the fifth-year senior has responded by having a huge year. Stull has completed nearly 68 percent of his passes for 1,654 yards, 16 touchdowns and only four interceptions. His performance this season earned him a spot on the midseason watch list for the Manning Award earlier this season. Earlier this week, Stull was again recognized when he was named as a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award.

Finalists for the O’Brien Award, which is awarded to the best quarterback in the NCAA via a panel of writers, broadcasters and former winners, will be named Nov. 23. The winner will be named during the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show on Dec. 10.

The fact that Stull is even mentioned for these awards is an accomplishment in itself. Stull has overcome a season-ending thumb injury in early 2007, a concussion against Rutgers in 2008 and never-ending criticism from the fans and media in Pittsburgh.

All Stull has done this season is win ball games and become the most efficient passer in the conference this season. No question, this young man deserves everything that comes his way, especially if he can help navigate Pitt through the treacherous rough waters of this late season.

Wannstedt also deserves all the accolades that are being heaped onto the program this season.

The former NFL coach was named to the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year watch list by virtue of the Panthers scintillating start.

Thanks to his patience and the ability to build the program in a steady way, Pitt has won 17 of their past 22 games; a far cry from the disasters of 2005, 2006 and most of 2007.

It is an undeniable fact that Pitt’s talent base has expanded exponentially. When Wannstedt returned to Pittsburgh, he declared he would build a fence around western Pennsylvania and target areas such as Florida for players.

Ten of Pitt’s 22 starters hail from the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League. They include Stull, receiver Jonathan Baldwin, tight end Dorin Dickerson, offensive tackles Jason Pinkston and Lucas Nix offensive guard John Malecki, defensive tackle Mick Williams, linebacker Adam Gunn, and safeties Elijah Fields and Dom DeCicco. Up and comers including receiver Mike Shanahan, kick returner Cam Saddler, defensive end Brandon Lindsey and linebacker Dan Mason also hail from western Pennsylvania.

But Wannstedt knows Pitt cannot win on local talent alone. He fetched defensive linemen Greg Romeus, Jabaal Sheard and Gus Mustakas along with receiver Cedric McGee from Florida; running backs Dion Lewis and Ray Graham hail from football-rich New Jersey, while fullback Henry Hynoski was recruited from eastern Pennsylvania.

Wannstedt clearly knows talent and knows how to bring it to Heinz Field. Now his labor is bearing a bountiful collection of fruit.

Many laughed as they watched Pitt’s undermanned defense get blowtorched by West Virginia’s Steve Slaton and Pat White during a 2005 game in Morgantown. Wannstedt said during a halftime interview that his players simply had to run faster. Deep down, he knew that was impossible at the time.

Now, he has a team that outran a lightning fast South Florida squad and outhit Rutgers and Connecticut when it counted earlier this season.

No one is laughing now.

Football Schedule

Panthers quarterback Bill Stull should experience a different reception at Heinz Field Saturday than the one he received during the opener against Youngstown State.

Four weeks into the 2009 season, the fifth-year senior has methodically gone about the task of silencing his critics and winning ball games. He has led Pitt to a 4-1 overall record, the most recent a 35-10 Friday night dismantling of Louisville on the road in the Big East opener.

His 242 yard, three touchdown performance earned him Big East Offensive Player of the Week and sets up a showdown game against a 3-1 Connecticut squad Saturday at Heinz Field before a 3:30 p.m. ABC-TV regional audience.

For the season, Stull has completed 66 percent of his throws and has 11 touchdown passes versus one interception. Many experts believed Stull could keep Pitt from a magical season. His uneven 2008 performance coupled with a disastrous Sun Bowl game gave the critics plenty of ammunition.

So far, Stull has performed off the charts and is the captain of a potent Pitt offense that is averaging 37 points per game.

“He should be proud of what he has accomplished to this point,” coach Dave Wannstedt said during his Monday press conference. “As a senior, I know that in his mind we have not even scratched the surface of what we would like to accomplish this year.”

What the Panthers would like to accomplish is a Big East title and the automatic BCS berth that accompanies it.

Many fans in the stands at Heinz Field in early September did not believe Stull could be the quarterback of a BCS level, let alone bowl-game worthy team. They let Stull hear it when they cascaded him with a shower of boos during a failed offensive series against Youngstown State.

Fast-forward to early October and you have a quarterback that ranks fifth nationally and first in the Big East in pass efficiency with an impressive 167.49 rating.

Stull kick started the offense Friday night. With his team trailing Louisville 10-7 early in the third quarter, the Seton-LaSalle High School product tossed touchdown passes of 37 and 71 yards during a five-minute span and essentially put the Cardinals away.

Wannstedt said he is pleased and also not surprised by his quarterback’s performance.

“That’s a nice award and well-deserved,” Wannstedt said. “Bill is playing extremely well right now. I think the most important thing for Bill, just as he put things behind him early in the season and was able to put his focus on the next game. I think now when you have some success you have to put that behind you too. Put your focus on the next game.”

Should Stull keep that focus, he should soon start hearing standing ovations instead of the boos, a true rarity for any quarterback that plays in the city of Pittsburgh; college or pro.

North Carolina State coach Tom O’Brien knows physical football from his time coaching at Boston College.
So it is no surprise he has come away impressed with the physical blueprint of football the Pitt Panthers display on a regular basis.
O’Brien will get a first hand look Saturday when his Wolfpack collide with the undefeated Panthers at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.
“We haven’t seen an offensive line like this one,” O’Brien said during his press briefing earlier this week. “They have pro prospects up there. They have guys who have played three and four years and four of the guys have started before. They have a ton of experience and they are committed to running. A lot of the teams haven’t been as committed to the run as Pittsburgh has.”
Pitt’s offensive front, which includes left tackle Jason Pinkston, left guard Joe Thomas, center Robb Houser, right guard John Malecki and right tackle Lucas Nix; has imposed their will in wins over Youngstown State, Buffalo and Navy.
The line has paved the way to 174 yards rushing per game and also has been the platform for an offense averaging 39.1 points per game this season.
Quarterback Bill Stull is enjoying ample protection. He has only suffered one sack in the first three games.
“This game is going to be like 60 minutes ofmidde drill with their offense and their defense,” said O’Brien. “It’s going to be a hard-fought, slug-them-in-the-mouth football game. I love it. They will line it up and run it and throw some play-action passes. It won’t be spread-the-field-and-play touch football stuff.”

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.

Five years later, the Panthers calling card can now be described as being a tough, strong squad, not the aerial circus Harris constructed that at times could be construed as soft.

It is obvious that the days of watching Rod Rutherford and Tyler Palko firing 40 plus passes a game is long gone. As entertaining as the 2000-06 Panthers were to their fans, they lacked a physicality that could close games out in the fourth quarter (see the 2006 Connecticut contest, a heartbreaking 46-45 loss in double overtime).

The growing pains endured by the program have been evident as Wannstedt worked to transform the Panthers into a strong and physical outfit. Offenses such as Notre Dame, West Virginia, Louisville and Michigan State routinely rolled up 250 plus yards rushing against the Panthers defense in 2005 and 2006.

But the talent Wannstedt recruited along the defensive and offensive fronts began to bear fruit. Pitt’s defensive line began to take control of games in 2007 and throughout 2008.  Players such as Jabaal Sheard and Greg Romeus were pillaging pass pockets from their defensive end positions while tackles Rashaad Duncan, Mick Williams and Gus Mustakas stood firm against the run.

Offensive linemen such as Jeff Otah, Jason Pinkston and John Malecki paved the way for a strong ground game and helped make running back LeSean McCoy a high draft pick with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Playing solid defense and using a punishing ground game is now the Panthers recipe for success. That formula helped spring back-to-back wins over the rival Mountaineers and victories over South Florida, Connecticut and Notre Dame last season.

Yes, many believe Pitt’s offense may be too vanilla and the defense does not blitz enough to the liking of some. But controlling the clock on offense and pressuring the passer with only your four down linemen is how Wannstedt wants to win. It worked last year to the tune of a 1,488 yards rushing, 21 touchdown season, 33 sacks by the defense and most importantly, nine wins.

More is expected this season, even with the losses of McCoy and All-American Linebacker Scott McKillop to the NFL. The culture has been established with strong fronts on both sides of the ball. Freshman running back Dion Lewis ran for 129 yards, two scores in last week’s 38-3 win over Youngstown State; has the look of a performer who can carry the load on his muscular 5-foot 8, 195 pound frame. The defense garnered six sacks and appears ready to live up to preseason expectations.

Pitt RB Dion Lewis

The formula that Wannstedt and his staff developed has a proven track record. His Miami Dolphins won 30 games between 2000 and 2003 using a Ricky Williams-led offense and punishing defense.

Other college teams rode the running game/defense formula to national prominence. The 1986 Penn State Nittany Lions, 1992 Alabama Crimson Tide and more recently, 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes all had great running games and rock-hard defenses. Each won national titles using this recipe against the more flashy Miami Hurricanes.

There is precedent for the Panthers to follow. The transformation appears close to completion and for coach Wannstedt, the table appears to be set.

“I told the team after the game, what I really liked about this football game was how our players approached it. I mean how they approached it this week, getting ready for the opening game of the season. They took nothing for granted.”

“Youngstown State came in and battled and made some plays on us. We have a lot of work to do to improve in a lot of areas, but I liked the way our team approached the game and started fast.”

“Some of the areas that we were a little concerned about going into the game, I feel a little bit better about now. At running back, I thought Dion Lewis made a lot of plays. He was here for the spring practice that Ray Graham did not participate in. Ray has been with us only one month. We had an opportunity to get both of those guys some work. The both made some plays.”

“Our punter, Dan Hutchins, did a very good job. Our kickoffs were very good and our coverage units were good. We have a chance to use both our kickers to kick off. Our field goals and extra points, on the whole operation, I thought the timing was good. I’m most concerned about the operation time of the snap and the hold of the kick. When you have a kick blocked, it’s usually not someone getting through, it’s the operation time.”

“Dan Cafaro got hurt on that one kickoff. We will check him out later tonight or tomorrow. Other than that, we got out of this game healthy.”

“An opening game gives you an opportunity to get a little bit of confidence. But, at the same time you have a lot of things to correct. We’re not as clean as we need to be. By playing games that count, it gives you an opportunity.”

“I thought Bill Stull played well, considering all the scrutiny he has been under. It’s rough. It hasn’t been easy on him. He is doing everything that he can. He’s a tough guy.”

“I thought Tino Sunseri went in and played well, too. That was my fault when Bill Stull went back in. Once we put Tino in, he was supposed to stay in. I was tied up doing something else. They thought it was just for a series but Tino was supposed to play the rest of the second half. It was just a miscommunication on my part.”

“I thought overall they both went in and made some plays and they both did some things that are correctible. We have to do better, come next week.”