Before we get to this week’s passing notes on Rutgers, we
should take a few quick glances at some other important Pitt Panther football news.
First…Pitt received a HUGE commit from OT Dorian Johnson
from Belle Vernon. This was huge for so
many reasons. He is an offensive
lineman, from Western, PA, gets along with two other big recruits…the list goes
on. His recruitment was a long journey
and a roller coaster ride for Pitt fans (and more importantly, for him), but I
am glad he ended up at Pitt. NOW…if we could just get Robert Foster and
Tyler Boyd to pull the trigger!
Second, it was announced that Maryland will be leaving the
ACC and Rutgers will take off from the Big East to go to the Big Ten:
Now…it is a big issue to keep an eye on as we do NOT want to
see this hit anymore teams. There are
lots of rumors about what the ACC will do.
I feel like they should take on Louisville first, UConn second and above
all else…try and land Notre Dame as a full time member. UConn/Syracuse would allow the ACC to control
the number one market in the US. NYC is
a Syracuse/UConn town…if anything….not Rutgers. I lived there for two years and
still go back several times a year….I think maybe I saw one Rutgers fan
there. Louisville can compete with the
big boys in both basketball and football.
Now is not the time to think too much about academics if you want to
survive this latest expansion. My head
has been spinning with the rumors swirling around about who is next, so I just
don’t even want to think about it anymore and will stop now. The main thing though is that no one else
leaves the ACC. This cannot be happening
again!
Finally, let’s pass some notes on Rutgers. I attended last year’s 34-10 debacle that
featured the dreaded penalty of having two players on the field at the same
time with the same number for Pitt….HI NOTRE DAME! I will always remember it for that and more
importantly for the Rutgers fan who critiqued me and Pitt for bolting the Big
East for the ACC….hmmmm, wonder what he thinks of the latest circumstances that
just happened? I’m sure he has a MUCH
different take and reason why this is okay. Fortunately,
Pitt will play the host this weekend to Rutgers, who comes in for a noon
kickoff on Saturday. The game will be on
ESPN2 and Rutgers is 9-1 and sports a number 18 ranking in the BCS.
This Scarlet Knights team should look familiar. A strong and aggressive defense leads them
into the game and the offense kind of plugs along. Rutgers is 85th in passing, 87th
in rushing, 88th in points for and finally, 4th in points
against. One thing to keep in mind is
that Rutgers lone loss was to Kent State and besides them, the best team
(arguably) other than that on their schedule so far was Cincinnati, who they
edged out 10-3 last week. So just how
good is Rutgers? They will find out over
the next two games with traveling to Pitt and then playing Louisville in their
finale.
As pointed out, Rutgers defense leads the way. Like always, they are aggressive and are lead
by Ray Graham’s brother, Khaseem Greene.
Greene is all over the place and leads the nation in tackles per
game. He also chips in with 5.5 sacks
for the year and even has gotten his hands on 2 picks this year as well….so yea…he’s
pretty good! Pitt will need to locate
him and get a helmet on him to establish the run, but Rutgers is a unit that
plays together and Pitt will have to be clicking to come out on top.
When the Scarlet Knights come out for offense, they are led
by Sophomore QB Gary Nova. Nova has
thrown for 2,125 yards on the year with 19 TDs.
Do not be misled by the 12 picks….half of those came in their lone loss
to Kent State. When Nova puts the ball
in the air, he has two favorite targets.
The top one is 6’6, 220lbs Junior, Brandon Coleman. Coleman leads the team with 36 catches for
552 yards and 8 TDs. When Nova wants
something else, he usually finds WR Mark Harrison. Harrison has hauled in 34 balls for 403 yards
and 5 TDs. Rutgers does still like to pound the ball
though. The man with the rock (USUALLY)
is Junior RB Jawan Jamison. Jamison is
approaching 1,000 yards and has hit pay dirt 4 times this year. However, Jamison was hobbled last week with a
bum ankle and may not be able to go. If
he doesn’t, Rutgers does have the capable Sophomore RB Savon Huggins. Huggins compliments Jamison with 344 yards
and 2 touchdowns of his own.
The bottom line is this.
Pitt’s defense has to force some turnovers and the offense HAS to click
to win. It could be a sloppy game, as
the WPIAL championships will be played the day before and the field WILL be in
less than ideal conditions.
Oh yea….I almost
forgot….LET’S GO PREXIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry Quips, but I will ALWAYS be a Prexie.
Sorry…back to the game.
The offense will be forced to make some plays and Tino Sunseri will want
to go out with a solid game. Sunseri
plays a solid game and Pitt takes care of the ball, I like their chances. Unfortunately, I don’t see it happening. It will be close, but I see Rutgers walking
away with a 17-13 victory on Saturday.
The good thing is if you go back and look at my predictions throughout
the year…I have been REALLY off…so there’s that.
Enjoy the game and enjoy your Thanksgiving.
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