Pitt Panther Prowl

Bad Game or Beginning of the End?

I finally have my computer problems cleared up.  Every time I upgrade something, I end up having to fix another problem.  But I think it is all under control now.

I wish the same could be said for the Pitt football team.

Like most of us, I didn’t get to actually watch the Rutgers game since it wasn’t on television.  Instead, I had to listen to it on Sirius and suffer through Bill Hillgrove and Bill Fralic.  I don’t know how other people feel about Foge Fazio, but I am glad they added him to the broadcast team this year.  He is the only one I can even tolerate.

As for the game itself; I think in general people are overreacting about just how this should affect Pitt the rest of the season.  Within minutes of the game ending people already announced that Pitt would lose out for the rest of the season.  The only real reason to believe that is Pat Bostick will be playing.  But it sounds like Bill Stull’s injury isn’t bad and that he will likely only miss one game.  With the offense that Pitt has, Bostick doesn’t need to make huge plays.  He just needs to not make huge mistakes.

The real issue of concern in the Rutgers game was defense.  The problem was that Pitt didn’t seem to have a defense on the field.  It was an absolute embarrassment.  If I played for Pitt’s defense, I would take the week off from classes just like I took it off from the game.  It is unbelievable how bad the defense played.  To give up 54 points and to allow three separate scoring drives of one play showed a complete lack of competetive desire.  Texas Tech used a contest winner for their kicker.  Maybe we need to have a contest to find a secondary.

Despite how bad the defense played, Pitt’s offense scored 34 points, and if it weren’t for a few mistakes, a terrible fake fg call (instead of giving the ball to Shady on fourth and one), and Aaron Berry fumbling on a punt, Pitt could have still won the game.  LeSean McCoy did very well, rushing for 146 yards and 4 TDs in addition to breakeing several runs for over twenty yards.  Bill Stull did well, throwing only 6 incompletions and having no interceptions.  While he isn’t the most crisp passer, he is getting increasingly more effective each week.

Let’s face it, Pitt’s offense could have scored more points; but 34 points should be enough to win any game- especially a game against a dismal Rutgers team.  If I am on the offense, I am angry as hell at the defense.  Heck, as a fan I am angry as hell at the defense.  While defensive coaching should shoulder some blame, plain and simple, the players on the field got taken advantage of.  You don’t get beat over the top for over 60 yards multiple times unless you are making major mistakes in your coverage.

For all the people who have resumed the “Fire Wanny” campaign, let’s get serious.  Wannstedt isn’t the reason we lost this game.  We have begged him all season to open up the offense and he has.  We have begged him to take chances and I bet he has gone for it on fourth down more than any other Big East team.  The offensive game plan was superb.  The offensive execution was just what we all want to see.  And if this game had been 17-14 in favor of Rutgers, most people wouldn’t feel like the season just imploded in on itself.  If we had lost 54 to 10, I would argue that Wannstedt should be back on the chopping block.  But the offense did its job.  The defense let the team, the fans, and the conference down.  Thanks to the defense, the entire conference is back to looking like a joke.

There really isn’t much more than that to say about this game.

But given how well the offense played, and the fact that this was the only time the defense played this poorly, I don’t understand all the people packing it in on the season.  Are you guys also packing it in on the Steelers?  5-2 is a solid record.  We wanted 8 wins this season and still have 5 games to get them.  There is only one team left on our schedule that should legitimately be a struggle- WVU.  Sure, all the other teams could beat us; but we could just as easily beat any of them.

It is a shame that this team has fought so hard week after week only to have a significant portion of the (vocal part of the) fanbase completely bail on them and forget about what they have accomplished.  The Notre Dame game this week is going to be a tough one, and it would have been even if Pitt had beat Rutgers.  But Notre Dame isn’t a particularly good team.  If this defense regroups and comes out ready to prove that they are the same defense that completely shut down Matt Grothe and USF, it could be a long day for Notre Dame.  It will be a rough game with Bostick at QB, but it is certainly winnable.

We need to rally behind the team and show them our support.  I am just as disgusted as anyone else with the Rutgers loss.  But 5-2 is just fine.  Most people thought we’d be 5-2 right now, with losses to Iowa and USF.  This team has shown that it can play with better teams.  Let’s give them a chance to redeem themselves against Notre Dame and Louisville before we abandon ship on them.