USF RECAP

WOW!  That’s all I can really say.  That was simply amazing to watch.  Most people close to the team have been warning us that they were close to clicking….they were not kidding.  Todd Graham and Tino Sunseri  kept telling us over and over again.  Patience was wearing thin all around, but right now Tino and Todd mustfeel vindicated.  They told us all beforeand a lot of people did not listen.  I listened, but like most, stayed skeptical and questioned a lot.  They put some of that to rest with a 44-17 win over the USF Bulls! 

First we must give out big chest bumps and fist bumps (or just do what I do-make my fiancée uncomfortable by yelling at her and holding my hands up, “SLAP HANDS!”) to some players and some of them were under the gun:

-         Tino Sunseri!  Dude was on fire.  His running allowed the defense to open up for Ray Graham to gash the USF defense and his passing totaled 216 yards….AND his receivers dropped several passes.

-         Cam Saddler….Cam was called out a lot over the first few games for not doing enough to hold onto his starting job.  He put that to rest.  It was not just his 6 catches for 68 yards, it wasn’t just his great (NFL style mind you) sideline catch for a very important first down, but also; he had several crushing blocks down field.  Great overall game for him.

-         Andrew Taglianetti on special teams.  Really, has there been a better special teams player for Pitt??  Not many.

-         Kevin Harper hit 3 field goals…one from 47 yards and one in the rain and slop towards the end.

-         Ryan Schelieper!  This sophomore, from the North Allegheny Tigers, came off the bench in the first possession when Lucas Nix went down (more on that later) and performed up to par to open holes all night.

-         Jarred Holley on defense was a beast all night.  If he had longer hair and wore number 43, we could have mistaken him for….okay, let’s not get out of hand, but a great game by Purple Rain.

-         Todd Thomas had an up and down night, but…you can see it coming.  Slowly, but it’s coming.  They had to use a couple of defensive timeouts (which is something that must be resolved) and I believe it was because Thomas was lined up wrong or confused….BUT, like I said, it is coming for him.  Once it does, I believe he is going to be a good one as when he had his ups, he was really good last night.

This team came out and hit a few first downs right away, and then Darius Patton fumbled and USF took it down to go up 7-0 on the following drive and I thought, “OH NO…NOT THIS!”  Not to mention that in addition to already losing top lineman Chris Jacobson, Pitt’s other leader on the line, Lucas Nix, went out after a few plays with an apparent knee injury.  Nix came back out on the sidelines, but with a brace on his knee and will have an MRI…let’s hope for the best.  Schelieper and Cory King played well in place of the two seniors, but Nix is a guy you would like to have in the line up.

Once that first portion of the game was over, Pitt’s offense (and defense) took over for the remainder of the night.  They did this to the point of basically making South Florida’s defense quit inthe fourth quarter.  It was very familiar to when Pitt beat up on USF 41-14 a few years ago at Heinz Field.  Ray Graham….Ray Graham….Ray Graham…what else can you say about him?  Numbers?  OK, just for shits and giggles, try these ones….226 yards rushing and 42 yards receiving….AND, he sat out a lot in the fourth quarter and senior, Zach Brown, also split some carries during the game. 

All of this was done in front of a disappointing crowd of a little over 40,000 people, however, several reports stated that those that were there, were into it!  I know a  certain student section stayed around prettygood after a certain song was played.  Despite that crowd, the old saying is that offense sells tickets and it should be interesting to see if Pitt continues improving on offense next week in Jersey, what the crowd will be like against Utah.  There is also a little celebrity buzz about them as well, as Lebron James tweeted about Graham, Evgeni Malkin led some Penguins on the Pitt sideline, and Steeler James Harrison and Pirate Jeff Locke were tweeting about Pitt too yesterday!  Maybe that translates into a little more excitement, but I’m keeping my expectations in check.

Pitt ended the night in victory formation and Tino screamed in joy (which was nice to see) after putting up 523 yards on the Bulls and 307 of that coming on the ground for the team. I just could not believe what I was seeing.  It seemed like every other play I was celebrating.  Let’s hope it continues.  The great thing is that they have a few extra days to prepare for their trip to Jersey to face Rutgers.  I will be in attendance since I live within the area.  Let me know if anyone is making the trip out.  You can follow me at twitter @BrunoPittsburgh. 
A good friend (and fellow Pitt die-hard) said it best this morning, when I received an email from him.  “Now we’ll see if we revert to classic Pitt football – huge win, followed by disappointing loss.”  I just feel differently about Pitt when Todd Graham speaks.  We’ll save predictions for Wednesday of next week, but I just think they will only improve on both sides of the ball.  HAIL TO PITT!

ONE VICTORY TODAY ALREADY

Pitt just received a verbal from Fox Chapel offensive tackle Adam Bisnowaty.  He is a big recruit in a BIG need area, so this is nice.  Bisnowaty is a four star recruit on Rivals and a three star recruit on Scout.  He came down to Pitt and Florida and today decided on Pitt!

That is one victory down and one to go today!

USF PREVIEW

Before we get down to business, I need to call someone out on this blog.  I started this blog only a few months ago and have already have given Pitt students their due credit for being dedicated and rowdy at the football games.  No matter what the alumni and casual fans did for games, I always knew the students would be there.  When I gave up my season tickets to move even further away from Pittsburgh, the Zoo was always there in full force.  Then…I READ THIS http://pittnews.com/newsstory/sweet-caroline-lets-go-home/ ???  Do you think anyone notices?  I don’t know, let’s see what potential recruit, Bam Bradley said on his recent visit.  “The game was nice; I really enjoy that Sweet Caroline before the fourth quarter.  It’s sweet how the student section did it.”  Luckily he was there for the Notre Dame game where students stayed and not at another one where the actions described in the Pitt News took place.  COME ON ZOO…step it up!  If you don’t listen to me, listen to Bluto at least (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7vtWB4owdE&feature=related ).

OK, now that we have that out of the way, let’s get on to South Florida.  The Bulls come in with a 4-0 record and ranked 14^th in the USA Today Poll and 16^th in the AP Poll.  A national TV audience will witness kickoff Thursday night at 8PM at Heinz Field.  I know that everyone is ready to jump off a bridge and put this one in the L column, but I’m pulling a Lee Corso on this one….”NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND!”  Sure USF is ranked 23^rd in passing, 20^th in rushing, and 10^th in points per game in the NCAA, FBS.  Their defense is also 22^nd in points against.  Don’t get me wrong, they are good and this will be a dog fight, but let’s look deeper. 

Their opponents combined records are 9-7.  Their most convincing win was at Notre Dame.  That win is impressive right?  Sure  it was, but remember last week when I said the Irish should be 3-0 heading into Pittsburgh?  Here’s why:  5 turnovers for the Irish, 0 for the Bulls;  The Irish outgained USF 508-254; They won 23-20 and their first score came off a 96 yard fumble return, their 3^rd score off a 34 yard punt return, and their 4^th score was off a fumbled punt return from the Irish; besides that, ND also threw an interception in the end zone from the USF 7 yard line and also threw another at the South Florida 4 yard line, with that play originating from the USF 5 (in case you were thinking they were deep desperation throws).  Oh, and for good measure, they missed a field goal as well.  Despite all of that, a win is a win in the end and USF is 4-0 and their other wins are by impressive margins.

As it has the past 2 years, the Bulls start and end with Junior QB, BJ Daniels.  He has 1,071 yards passing (8 TDs) and 201 yards rushing.  Keeping him under wraps will be key….I know, I know, NEWS FLASH, in a related story, Ted Leonsis is fat (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/ted-leonsis-im-fat/2011/09/26/gIQArwbpzK_blog.html ).  The Bulls do have other weapons.  Their running back is Junior Darrell Scott and he is having a solid season so far with 348 yards rushing and 5 TDs.  When Daniels does draw his arm back, he loves to look for Sophomore Sterling Griffin (248 yards and 1 TD) and Junior Lindsay Lamar (124 yards and 2 TDs).  If Pitt can find a way to control the offense like they did with Notre Dame, it will be clutch in bringing home a victory.  Hopefully the defense plays the same way….Juan Price, Brandon Lindsey,  Aaron Donald, and company must get pressure on Daniels and keep it on all game.

When Pitt has the ball, they must do more then what USF is giving up.  17 points against is a stellar number, despite the weak schedule so far.  Still, USF can be had.  Despite several miscues per game, Tino and the offense are gradually getting better….though not at the lightening quick pace that most would like to see…or more appropriately expect and demand.  They gave up over 500 yards to Notre Dame.  They are typical USF….very fast, especially on the defensive line.  Still, they are pretty solid and it would be great if Ray Graham has a Ray Graham like night.

How about special teams?  The Bulls’ excellent punt returner, Terrence Mitchell will miss Thursday night’s game with a concussion.  Pitt’s kicker, Kevin Harper, has found his stride and is hitting extra points and field goals much better than the first two weeks.   This could be an edge for Pitt.

So, let’s look at a prediction for Thursday night, shall we?  I believe Pitt continues to get closer to clicking and if you have followed this blog, I have picked against them the last two games.  Not this time!  Pitt 31  USF 27 and just a gut feeling, freshman Ronald Jones begins to contribute a little more and makes a couple of big plays for the Panthers!    

NOTRE DAME RECAP

I am the absolute definition of insanity when it comes to Pitt Panthers football and I have to say that I will never change.  They could end up playing in the PSAC West with my alma mater (Clarion University) and I would still follow every game, practice report, recruit report, etc.  Let’s look at the definition of insanity for a second.  According to Webster’s Dictionary online, it is, “something very foolish or unreasonable.”  Then, there is the famous saying that the definition of insanity is experiencing one thing over and over with the same result, but expecting something different.  Yes, I am paraphrasing there, but you get the idea.

Yesterday ripped my heart out again.  I screamed at the tv and yelled awful things about Pitt QB Tino Sunseri (more on that later).  Yet, I will be right back in front of my screen, giddy again, on Thursday evening when Pitt plays South Florida.  Once again, if it is a tight game, I will stand directly in front of the television and squat down with my hands together saying, “come on Pitt, one time, just give me one time.”  Why will I do this? Because on those rare occasions when it does happen (just refer to the name of this blog), it feels so damn good.  Every fan knows it and that is what keeps you coming back. …well, except for Pitt fans, who had yet another AWFUL showing in the stands….except for…YOU GUESSED IT…the student section!  I really have to interview a member of the Zoo at some point just to find out their thoughts on when they are as rowdy and dedicated as they are; and they look from their section and just see yellow empty seats and people who sit on their hands during Pitt games.  It has to be disheartening. 

Let’s get to the game at hand and we’ll start where we always seem to….with QB Tino Sunseri.  Look, I screamed awful things at the television at the end of the game about Tino…to the point where my fiancée told me to settle down and afterwards, asked me not to use certain phrases while watching Pitt anymore.  Now, when I sit down and REALLY think about it…he does keep getting better and better every week.  Yesterday, he did some bad things, but he’s starting to run the offense better.  He is mixing in several fakes per game that are usually ending up with some VERY nice runs.  He missed a big early throw to Drew Carswell and of course, there was the last drive….OH GOD THAT LAST DRIVE!  He made a few good plays early and then did the unthinkable.  On a play where he absolutely must get rid of the ball, he not only did not, but took a 10 yard sack.  Then, two plays later, he took another to make it 4^th and 26.  While I screamed at the screen in my living room, there was a little voice in the back of my head that said, “maybe the receivers weren’t open and he’s just trying his absolute best to make a play,” and then the voice told me to shut up.  Paul Zeise said he would write about this issue in his blog later on, as he seemed to think that receivers are NOT getting open like they should.  So my overall thoughts on Tino are: That he absolutely MUST make better decisions, BUT, he is getting better every week.  I want Tino to succeed and I think he will…for my television’s sake, I hope he does.  He will never be Tim Tebow, but I don’t think he has too…he can just be Tino.

Let’s not forget that Notre Dame is (and it kills me to say this) a much better team man for man then Pitt.  Pitt maybe did not beat up Notre Dame straight up, and maybe the Irish tried to give Pitt the game on a silver platter with penalties and turnovers, but Pitt sure did NOT get run off the field like South Florida did yardage wise (I believe ND outgained USF 510-280 or something obscene like that).  Pitt played well, particularly the defense.  They held Michael Floyd, who is the real deal, to 4 catches for 27 yards.  If you watched College Gameday, you would have thought Floyd would have broken every single game day receiving record for Notre Dame and possibly college football.  That did open up some other plays as tight end, Tyler Eifert, KILLED Pitt in the second half and finished with 8 catches for 75 yards and a 2 point conversion.  Make no mistake, he was open, but some of his catches were very nice snags and he held on, despite Pitt’s secondary teeing off on him several times.

The offensive line lost a VERY important lineman against Iowa for the season, in Chris Jacobson.  His replacement made some early mistakes, but Cory King, ended up playing a very strong game.  The offensive line, as a whole, played pretty well.  On the flip side, mental mistakes killed this unit and had just as much to do with the loss as Tino’s mental errors on the last drive.  King had a killer holding penalty on a nice Sunseri run that was completely unnecessary.  Lucas Nix….LUCAS NIX….had 3 false start penalties…though I do believe Ryan Turnley had a hand in one of them, as they called Nix for the penalty, but it was the entire offense, except for Turnley (I assume he didn’t snap the ball since everyone else moved).  Despite all of that, make no mistake that the Fighting Irish has a very strong front 7 and overall, Pitt’s offensive line looked good.

In the end, this was a pretty sloppy game on both sides of the ball, and Pitt ended up on the losing end due to some mental errors late and the inability to close out another opponent in the 4^th quarter.  Saying that, if I hear one more person say this was a “fourth quarter collapse,” I swear I’m gonna go all Urijah Faber on them (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOQLg7Kc8So ).  They were not up by 35 points!  They were up by 5 points and couldn’t keep Notre Dame out of the end zone on the Irish’s second to last series…THAT IS NOT A COLLAPSE!  It was a big weekend and a very important one that Pitt stay in this game and they did that.  When you have big recruits at the game (and man, there were some big recruits), you CANNOT get blown out in front of them.  They showed these recruits and the country, that they can play with some of the good teams in the country. I really feel like Notre Dame is a good team this year.  They are not overrated this season, in my humble opinion. 

Yesterday my heart was ripped out again, this morning was a little tough getting out of bed knowing how close Pitt was, yet again.  I did it, I’m writing about it…..Thursday is just around the corner…and I’ll be right in front of my television screaming again…and I promise Tino, I won’t say what my fiancée told me not to say this week. 

NOTRE DAME PREVIEW

Believe it or not, there is an actual game this weekend and it’s kind of an important one.  Saturday, at noon, Pitt plays host to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.  The Irish will carry a 1-2 record into the game, but that record is deceiving.  By all rights, Notre Dame could easily be 3-0.  Turnovers and something Pitt fans know all too well (a fourth quarter collapse) contributed greatly to their losing record at this point in the season.

Pitt comes off a 4^th quarter collapse of their own, dropping a tough one to Iowa after leading late in the 3^rd quarter by 21.  Tino Sunseri continued his up and down play, unless you ask Tino.  He proclaimed this past weekend his best game yet.  Let’s hope it gets better, because most QBs do not enjoy throwing 2 picks, losing a fumble, and bobbling a very important third down.  When I saw his quote, all that came into my head was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IXCK1EyP4s .  But that is behind them, and now it is time to focus on Notre Dame.

Now, while I will admit that Pitt seemed to be getting very comfortable for 3 quarters in Iowa, Notre Dame is clearly hitting their stride with their offense led by sophomore QB Tommy Rees.  The connection he has with junior receiver Michael Floyd (31 catches for 397 yards and 2 touchdowns) is making the Irish very dangerous through the air.  This does not bode well for Pitt, as they currently rank second to last in pass defense.    Notre Dame is also running the ball well behind junior Cierre Woods and senior James Gray.    This balanced attack was clicking in a 31-13 win over then 15^th ranked Michigan State.  Pitt has been very strong against the line and they will need to continue that trend. 

Notre Dame’s defense is also strong, though they appear to be much stronger up front then in their defensive backfield.  The Pitt offensive line will need to continue to come together and it may be even tougher then you think, as Chris Jacobson is day to day with an apparent knee injury.  Hopefully he will be good to go, as Pitt will need to hold their blocks in this game.  Of course, they can always count on Ray Graham to do some damage.  Graham just missed 100 yards against Iowa on Saturday, but we all know what he is capable of (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rufrQR1UepM ), and the Irish do too. The Irish have given up some yardage in the air.  The defensive backfield has been weak, but they are getting better and are able to rely on senior corner, Robert Blanton, who was a beast last weekend.

So what can Pitt do to pull this one out?  Notre Dame’s Achilles heel this season has been turnovers, turnovers, turnovers.  After this past weekend’s three turnovers, the Irish have 13 in 3 games.  This is a category that Pitt has been very focused on, but can’t seem to get that big play on defense, save for a couple of times in the early season.  The Panthers will attack again in that area and see if true freshman, Juan Price can continue his great play and get to Rees.  On offense expect to see more of H-Back, Anthony Gonzalez, as he looked very solid in his first game last week with 3 catches.  They will also try to run and run with Ray Graham and possibly give Zach Brown a few more carries too.

Look, I would love to say that Pitt will ride the Oakland Zoo’s craziness and pull this one out, but I really feel like this is more of a true Notre Dame team coming into Pittsburgh on Saturday.  I do feel that the offense is getting better, and if the defense can play for 60 minutes, this could be a close one.  When thinking of who will win this game, I can’t get past, what my thoughts would be if Pitt had put the hammer down on Iowa last week and won by 3 touchdowns.  What would I think?  I think my prediction would be much different.  However, Pitt did not put the hammer down and that is why the Irish will come away with a big W on Saturday.  Final Score will be a close one, as I do think Pitt continues to improve under Todd Graham, but it ends up: Notre Dame 38  Pitt 27 with a late touchdown by the Irish to put it away.

IOWA RECAP AND THE ACC MOVE

Let’s get down to it.  I was at a wine festival all day on Saturday and it’s a good thing.  I needed my good friend, alcohol.  With many texts, tweets, and emails, while checking ESPN, the day had my head spinning with all of the news.  Pitt and Syracuse will join the ACC, but in the same day, I take a nice swift kick to the balls with a 24-3 second half lead blown by the Panthers. Want to know how I felt? Check this out: This was me yesterday afternoon around the time of 3PM…give or take a few minutes:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwcIau9NxvI&feature=related

After the wine festival, I watched the biggest sucker punch in boxing history….thanks Floyd…you are all class.  Larry Merchant, despite the fact that you sound awful, thank you for speaking for America. Hurry, I have a feeling this link will NOT last long.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NSE0r8wXNc .  I got home at 1:30AM and tried to sleep.  I gave up at 6AM and had to sit down and watch and I kept thinking…this is awesome (even though I knew the outcome).  This is what I expected from Pitt.

Then, the wheels came off.  There were some nice plays and executions throughout the game, and the defense looked good for the most part, but when it went bad, it went so very bad.  Just a few notes:

-You could tell Todd Graham is losing his patience with Tino and who could blame him.  Chances are, he will NOT wait next week and I fully expect some sort of one for one series against Notre Dame.  Too many missed plays, bad decisions, a horrid interception at the goal line, bad sacks and not only that, but the timing of the sacks (also go watch his last INT…Devin Street had his man beat).  He must get better, because, I fully believe Trey Anderson will make the most of any opportunity he is given.  Don’t believe, check out his high school highlights and please remember, this is 5A football in Texas.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kcZ_mqBLMg

-Tristan Robert must also either improve or sit down.  He did not have his best game.

-Two big injuries….these would NOT be good. Chris Jacobson and K’Waun Williams both left the game yesterday.  Let’s hope they are okay and able to play next week as they are very key to Pitt’s chances.

NOW…onto the news that is actually overshadowing all of this.  Pitt and Syracuse will join the ACC.  The USA Today is also reporting that Rutgers and UConn could be next.

I read a few comments from Louisville AD, Tom Jurich.  He blasted Pitt and said he does not know what Pitt brings to the table to the ACC….really Tom….REALLY!?!?!?  You don’t know what Pitt brings?  Let’s see…they are a very solid academic institution, a top 10 basketball program and despite all the bitching by myself and others, they do have a solid football program as well and they are in a top 25 TV market…I’m sorry, do you need more?  OK, here you go….V-Tech, Virginia, and Maryland are all well within a nice drive for away games and one of Pitt’s biggest alumni bases is down in Florida…you know where Miami and Florida State are located.

Here is the best part.  There were numerous reports that the Big East knew 3 WEEKS AGO that Pitt and Syracuse were talking to the ACC…head the warning RIGHT NOW John Marinatto, you are about to lose Rutgers and UConn as well….you think UConn doesn’t see the perfect fit to join BC in the conference???  You think Rutgers doesn’t see the natural fit with Syacuse?  The USA Today is reporting it…so get off your ass and do something if you want to save the Big East.  Do you think WVU is going to stick around, with the SEC sniffing  around.  Pitt AD Steve Pederson (who I think does deserve some credit, as he takes a TON of blame) and WVU AD Oliver Luck told the Big East a while ago, while everything was going down to be active and not reactive.  The Big East did not listen and no one wants to be left without a chair when everything goes down.

We will have to see how it all shakes out.  In the meantime, I would like to thank  Chris Gates (on twitter @Chris_Gates) for his outstanding coverage yesterday.  He saved me with updates on the game and also on the move to the ACC.  Over the next few days, I would follow him, @PaulZeise from the Post Gazette…or go read his red-shirt diaries (his coverage is unreal).  The link for Red Shirt diaries is here http://blogs.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/sports/pitt-redshirt-diaries/29765-it-is-official-pitt-and-syracuse-to-the-acc .   Also, a good website is a paid site, but the coverage is great and the information keeps coming at http://www.pittsburgh.rivals.com/ .

If you can’t get enough, Pitt Blather at http://www.pittblather.com/ and also Pitt Script blog here http://www.pittscriptblog.com/ . They both do a spectacular job and I believe will have GREAT updates over the next few days.

PITT TO THE ACC???

This report seems to have some merit, as according to PG's Paul Zeise Syracuse and Pitt could be in talks to join!  WOW....good move for the Panthers if this is true.  Check out Zeise and other blogs like PittScript or Pitt Blather or Cardiac Hill as I am sure they will have more on this as well.

http://blogs.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/sports/pitt-redshirt-diaries/29735-pitt-to-acc

IOWA PREVIEW

It is time for the real portion of Pitt’s football schedule to begin.  Iowa awaits on Saturday for a kickoff at noon on ESPN2.  I will be at a wine festival all day and checking twitter every two seconds for updates, which several people are very good at doing.  I’m not a big wine person, but I committed to this a while ago.  The only thing I know about wine is that I identify with this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pbc_vloYRk .

Iowa is 1-1 and coming off a draining loss to instate rival, Iowa State in triple OT, 44-41 (the Hawkeyes won their opener over Tennessee Tech, 34-7). 

Let’s get right down to it.  For a long time now, Iowa has been coached by Upper St. Clair graduate, Kirk Ferentz.  Ferentz has always run a well balanced, physical football team.  This year’s Hawkeyes are not much different, however, they were hit hard by graduation and also a bizarre weight room incident that made a few members of the team quit.  The loss is being felt the most on the defensive line for Iowa.  The word around the cornfields is that they have not replaced stellar graduates, Adrian Clayborn, Karl Klug, and Christian Ballard the way the black and yellow faithful would like to see.  However, Mike  Daniels does seem to be up to the task more than most.  Despite this, I am willing to bet that it will still be a step up in competition for Pitt’s offensive line, which still has tons of question marks.

Iowa’s defense has had some problems with spread offenses, but mostly with mobile QBs.   Tino is not the most agile QB in the world, but he can tuck it at times.  I have read a good amount of reports showing indications that a package could be in for freshman, Trey Anderson.  He looked comfortable running the High Octane offense last week.  I don’t think this will turn into a Greg Cross situation and I can see Anderson getting more than one play (of course, that was a nice play by Cross). Hopefully that, plus Pitt getting more comfortable with the philosophy could exploit this and score some points.  They have shown flashes, but as we know, those have also included some lows.

Don’t forget, that Anthony Gonzalez’s suspension is officially over and look for him at the H back position.  He is very athletic and will rotate in at that position.  He made a lot of good plays in camp, but how much he will play this week remains to be seen.

On offense, Iowa’s offensive line is strong. Pitt may employ a different type of defense and of course, the big news is that Brandon Lindsey will move to defensive end, and freshman, Ejuan Price has moved to starter at Panther linebacker.  The defensive line may see a little bit of last year’s defense and have two tackles at times, which would play to a strength of Pitt, thanks to the depth of the defensive line. 

Iowa’s passing attack was a question at the beginning of the year, with the graduation of Ricky Stanzi, but junior, James Vandenberg and receiver Marvin McNutt have calmed those fears in the first two games, as they have been strong.  McNutt has 10 catches, despite some double teams early on.  The running game is handled well by Marcus Coker.  Make no mistake, if Pitt cannot buckle down and play better than they did against Maine and Buffalo, it will be a VERY LONG DAY.

One thing that may scare you if you are a Pitt fan is the inconsistency of kicker, Kevin Harper.  Iowa does not have that problem, as Mike Meyer is 6 for 6 with a 50 yarder to his credit.  Pitt needs to improve this part of the game….I don’t know if it is all Harper or maybe something else (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afViRNSr5wg ).

I do expect Pitt to play better then the first two weeks.  I want to believe Pitt will put it together enough this week, but I think they suffer their first loss of the year.  The first road game of the year will test the offensive line and I believe there will be enough mistakes made to give Iowa the edge, 30-21.  I am hoping I am wrong.

Don’ t forget to sign in to the Post Gazette tomorrow at noon for Paul Zeise’s chat.  It is very informative and has great insight on the team.

HUH? YUP, YOU HEARD RIGHT

According to Paul Zeise of the PG, Todd Graham has announced that 3rd string QB, Mark Myers, has moved up to second string.......PUNTER!  I'm not kidding.  This is from Zeise's article:

One little item of interest from today - quarterback Mark Myers is now the back-up punter. Yes, you read that right - he is the back-up punter and Graham said he is actually pretty good at it and is competing for a chance to do it in games.

  “Mark Myer is working as our back-up punter,” Graham said. “He is really punting the ball good, I’m excited by that because it gives us little bit different dimension having a quarterback back there so we have some competition there and he is really punting the ball well.
   “He really has some promise.”

DON'T JUMP OFF A BRIDGE YET!

I am only going to say this once.  IT WAS *&^%$* MAINE!!!!!!!!!!!  MAINE!  The only time you should give up 29 points and 334 passing yards to Maine, is if you are scoring 90 points. 

Most of yesterday, I spent feeling like this guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-SPJtVfLw8 . Now, despite those feelings, the fact is that Pitt is 2-0 and if they win next weekend at Iowa, the famously fickle fan base of Pitt will be back in full force…you know, much like the student section remains to be at these games.  The rest of the Pitt fans remained disguised as yellow seats yesterday…OH, but they will kick and scream if the NCAA screws them in a bowl bid.

Let’s start with the offensive line.  They were bad….BAD.  I think I even saw Lucas Nix give up a sack or two.  That is not normal and this must be fixed .  It also seemed like Ryan Turnley decided to see if Tino Sunseri and the rest of the O was ready by snapping the ball early one play.  This must be fixed ASAP!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKFRSL4wpcY&feature=related

Tino was up and down again and with Trey Anderson coming off the bench and looking comfortable, it seems something could be brewing….BUT, Graham was quick to point out that Tino is the man, so for better or worse, Tino is at it again in Iowa on Saturday.  Now, was it me, or did Tino seem more comfortable going over the middle for 15-20 yards??  That is the way it seemed to me, but other than that he seemed uncomfortable and I have to ask…..does ANYONE know what that last play before the half was all about???  They went from deep in their own territory with 1 timeout and less than a minute left, to the Black Bear half of the field.  They appeared to line up for one more big throw down field and with Mike Shanahan’s 6’5 frame and leaping ability, I thought there was a chance, so of course, it seemed like a good idea to Tino (or the coaching staff – not sure which) to dump a pass off to Ray Graham 5 yards downfield….does anyone know what that was????   I do not.

The defense…what can I say…some freshmen looked good with Ejuan Price and also the debut of LaQuentin Smith at linebacker.  They looked pretty good and should develop nicely.  Other than that, Brandon Lindsey had an unreal sack in the first half.  That was about it, because when you give up 334 yards to WARREN SMITH….you don’t deserve much praise.  That was downright ugly!

OK, that’s enough…I’m not saying anymore (take a deep breath on that note Kevin Harper).  They are 2-0, and that is what matters in the end…..Tino will start and the next 3 games are BIG.  I’m not even looking for all wins in these next three.  I just want to see steady improvement with this team.  I want to see them get more comfortable week in and week out.  Until we see what happens by mid-October, I will not declare this a bad or even mediocre team.  They are changing philosophies and systems on both sides of the ball, so I believe some patience is required…..Saturday definitely tested that theory.

LET'S GET FIRED UP!

It might be Maine, but you have to get up for EVERY game...so take a look and get ready for kickoff tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dawv04k5_78

MAINE PREVIEW

We all imagine it and hope it does not happen to us.  We laugh at someone else (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRf4CSHlNNw ) when it happens to them.  You feel it in the pit of your stomach every time your team is favored by a large margin.  It happens in all sports, but this one happens to be college football.  If you are an FBS team, you do NOT want to lose (or even come close to losing) to an FCS team. 

This Saturday, the Pitt Panthers face exactly that.  The University of Maine Black Bears invade Heinz Field at 1PM.  They will try and do what Richmond did  to Duke this past weekend, what James Madison did to Virginia Tech last year, what Appalachian State did to Michigan a few years ago, and in 1993 when Arkansas went down to The Citadel.   It is important for Pitt to get off to a good start and not let them hang around. 

The Black Bears are not a team that should be able to give Pitt any problems on Saturday.  They finished 4-7 last year and are picked to finish in the bottom half of the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) again this year.  In their defense, they do play in the same league as perennial powers Villanova and Delaware.

Maine is now 1-0 this year and are led by 19th year head coach, Jack Cosgrove.  They defeated Bryant University 28-13, after jumping out to a 21-0 lead.  The Black Bears rode a fundamentally sound game of no turnovers and few penalties and found some big plays of their own to take away the victory.

On Saturday, Maine will try and duplicate a feat only seen in Moscow back in the 90's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE3Wbd5_o9U ).  They run a spread offense led by QB, Warren Smith.  He is complemented by seniors Pushaun Brown (RB), Derek Session (WR), and Derek Buttles (TE).   The offensive line is also a veteran group.  It features 1 senior and 3 juniors.

The defense has to replace almost  half of last year's group and are lead by safeties Jerron McMillian (who is getting NFL interest) and Trevor Coston.  Coston gave the Black Bears a spark with a 74 yard kick return.

Looking for weaknesses from Maine, besides the talent disparity between the two levels?  Look no further then their minus 7 in turnovers last year and a crazy 72.5 yards in penalties.  The exact reason they pulled out a win last week was just the opposite of what plagued them one year ago.  Pitt's coaching staff was not pleased with their lack of turnovers last week, so hopefully they are focusing on that aspect and can bring back some bad memories for Maine on Saturday.

This is the last game for Pitt, before they make the jump to play Iowa, Notre Dame, and USF all right in a row, so you would love to see them be much more crisp this Saturday.  I believe they are more crisp and come out firing in the first half.  I think Sunseri hits his open receivers and Pitt gets it done in fine fashion Saturday.  Final score:  Pitt - 54, Maine - 14.

MAINE PREVIEW COMING, BUT FIRST SOME QUESTIONS

I will have a Maine preview coming up a little later this evening, so be on the look out.

Of course there are some lingering questions that I have...just some random thoughts that I have from Saturday's game and the fall out....not going to answer them, just some questions that if you have answers, please respond:

1. 48K in attendance???  Really?  Really Pitt fans?  Of course, from what it looked like there was one big section of fans down in the corner of the endzone....the student section was out in full force as always.  I thought a few more folks would be at least intrigued enough to check it out in person.

2. Am I the only one that is wondering how Jordan Gibbs got too jacked up and had, what is being described as an asthma situation and could not play?  It is just a little odd that this would happen to a red shirt senior.

3. So, let me get this straight, Greg Williams goes from starter to the third team, and back to starter again?

4. What happened to the defensive line and the aggressive cornerback play?

Overall, it was game 1 with a new systems, so I believe all of this will shake out and hopefully Pitt will look a lot more crisp in game 2 on Saturday...despite another poor turnout from Pitt fans...that's right, I'm not even waiting to see if they show up...they won't....they'll have plenty of excuses.

Maine preview coming this evening.

TROUBLE STARTING THE MOTOR.....AND A COMMIT, AND THE BIG EAST

Saturday night's Pitt game reminded me of growing up mowing grass and forgetting to push the choke to start the motor.  Pitt finally did that in the second half to take out the University of Buffalo Bulls 35-16.  It did not start out well, as this blogger started to lose patience after a 3rd wide open receiver was missed in the first half.  I find myself just wondering when Pitt's high octane offense was going to get moving. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=angi1vwUkQc

Tino Sunseri and the offensive line took a while to get moving in particular, as the defense held the Bulls in check....then, Pitt did a complete reversal, where Pitt's defense couldn't get off the field (save for a rumbling, bumbling, stumbling INT by Chas Alecxih) in the second half.  The first half was frustrating, as Sunseri missed 3 wide open receivers that could have gone the distance (Mike Shanahan, Devin Street-2 times if you want to get technical, and Cameron Saddler) and threw a bounce pass to Saddler as well in the first.  On top of that, the offensive line did not seem to be ready as Jordan Gibbs sat out a good portion of the game, because as Todd Graham noted, he was gassed.  

As noted, Sunseri settled down in the 2nd half and ended the game with 179 yards  passing with 1 TD, while Ray Graham proved his worth with 201 yards and 3 TDs,  including a great 75 yard jaunt down the field to seal the win late in the game. 

The Bulls proved that QB was a big problem last year as transfer Chazz Anderson ran their offense very nicely completely 32 passes for 276 yards.  Pitt had trouble getting to him all night, despite some blitzes.  Anderson played very well and should help improve the Bulls all year. 

The Bulls had some golden chances in the game as well, but IF'S are one of the most annoying things I hear in sports arguments.  The reason is simple....the other side probably has just as many "IF'S".  The Bulls dropped two sure TDs, while Sunseri overshot multiple receivers who were wide open.

Let's hope this was just a slow start, which is to be expected.  The offensive line looked out of sync and must get better.  The defense was on the field for a long time, but I really don't want to hear that as we heard all training camp about how deep the defense was going to be, so they need to show that.  I fully expect this team to get better with each game, but they need to step it up quickly, as they have one more cupcake on the schedule, until they get to the big boys by traveling to Iowa.



FULLBACK DIVES (or as they will be called here Hynoski's....aka quick notes) - Attendance was just under 50K for the game...about normal.  The crowd appeared frustrated in the first half, as they just kept waiting.....the Big East has a chance for a clean sweep in week one when WVU hosts Marshall today....USF pulled off the biggest upset with a 3 point win at Notre Dame....Pitt received their second local commit in the last few days, when Corey Jones pulled the trigger and picked Pitt.  The Penn Hills WR chose the Panthers over offers from the Hicks, Cincy, Maryland, Miami, and Kansas (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11246/1172209-142.stm ).  He is a 3 star recruit according to rivals and scout.

BUFFALO GOES TO A HIGHER POWER FOR SATURDAY

This blog has learned that the University of Buffalo Bulls will call to a higher power on Saturday.  Thanks to an unnamed source (I'm thinking someone from the rough and tough area of Bethal Park), former Bulls QB, Joe Freedy, will be with Buffalo for their pre-game prayer.

What makes Freedy able to do this for his alma mater?  The former Bethal Park and University of Buffalo (1999-2001) QB is now Father Joe Freedy and is currently at St. Paul's in Crafton, PA.  Once Freedy was done at Buffalo, he took a long journey to serve as a priest in the Catholic church and after some time in Italy, amongst other places, he is back home in Pittsburgh.

Great Chat You Should Be Reading

The below link is a chat that Paul Zeise (of the PG) does every week.  It's very informative and fun every week and you really should check it out.  It's every Thursday at noon.  Check out the link below.  Of particular interest is the differences he points out between the previous coaching staff and Graham's staff.  Enjoy.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11244/1171438-142.stm

FYI, you can follow Zeise on twitter @PaulZeise and his blog is updated pretty much every day on the PG's site as well about Pitt football.