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!