After finally gaining some national
recognition, the 20th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers take on the South Florida
Bulls in a key Big East matchup this weekend at Heinz Field.
With a 6-1 ledger, the Panthers finally moved into the Top 25 and gained
the respect of their critics. The team currently sits atop the Big East
standings at a perfect 3-0 and that includes a 24-17 victory at Rutgers last
Friday.
"I think our players and coaches did a great job the last three weeks with two
of those weeks being short weeks, Friday road games, and getting regrouped to
go up and perform and find a way to win the game," said head coach Dave
Wannstedt.
It marked Pitt's first win over the Scarlet Knights in four years,
extending its current winning streak to three games and putting the team in
position to go 7-1 for the first time since 1982.
As for the Bulls, they are coming off their first loss of the campaign,
falling to fifth-ranked Cincinnati, 34-17, last Thursday.
"Too many mistakes, you can't make that many mistakes and win a football game,
especially a football team that's a good football team," said head coach Jim
Leavitt.
The loss dropped USF out of the Top 25 and to a level 1-1 within the league.
The team though, has fared well on the road thus far, sporting a perfect 3-0
mark that includes a 17-7 triumph of then 18th-ranked Florida State in late
September.
The all-time series between USF and Pitt is knotted at 3-3 courtesy of a 26-21
win by the Bulls in last year's meeting in Tampa.
Despite gaining a respectable 376 yards of total offense, the Bulls had
trouble putting points on the board against Cincinnati, as they struggled
with penalties and went just 4-of-16 on third downs.
Quarterback B.J. Daniels also threw a pair of interceptions, although he
accounted for most of the offense with 208 yards and a score through the air
and 74 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Filling in for injured starter
Matt Grothe, who is out for the year with a torn ACL, Daniels has fared well
and shown he can get the job done. The dual-threat gunslinger has thrown for
810 yards and seven scores, in addition to pacing the ground attack with 365
yards and four more touchdowns.
Carlton Mitchell has become the team's top weapon in the passing game and the
6-4 wideout has pulled in 23 passes for 404 yards and three scores on the
season. Mitchell wasn't a factor last game, so expect Daniels to get his big
target more involved this time around.
USF's defense was abused for the first time this season, as Cincinnati rolled
up 401 total yards, including 189 rushing in last week's outing. The Bulls,
who are allowing just 286.0 total ypg on the year, knocked out Cincinnati's
starting quarterback Tony Pike in the third quarter, but backup Zach Collaros
came in and shredded one of the top defenses for 132 yards and two touchdowns
on 10 carries.
"We didn't stop the running game up inside," said coach Leavitt. "You know
that, you gotta be able to stop the running game up inside or you're not going
to have much success."
It was certainly a surprise to see the Bulls give up that many yards to
anyone, especially a backup quarterback, as they are permitting just 118.8
rushing ypg on the season.
The defense did post a turnover and three sacks, bringing its totals to 17 and
16, respectively, in each department. Nate Allen recorded his team-best third
pick in the setback, while George Selvie had a sack and forced fumble in the
loss. Selvie is premier pass rusher and he has three sacks and 6.5 TFLs to his
credit this season.
Dion Lewis put on a show on Friday night, as the freshmen sensation erupted
for 180 yards and two touchdowns in a key 24-17 victory over Rutgers.
"The consistency that Dion has demonstrated has been unbelievable, on the
field and off the field," said coach Wannstedt. "He's doing everything right.
He's such a great kid. Very few freshmen can make that transition and maintain
it."
Lewis has certainly been one of the top rookie runners this season and he
paces Pitt's ground attack, which is averaging 174.5 ypg, with 918 yards and
nine touchdowns. Pitt, as a team, managed 223 yards on the ground against a
Rutgers club that had allowed only 45 yards rushing in its last three games
combined.
Quarterback Bill Stull has benefited from the solid running of Lewis and he
has thrown for 1,409 yards, with 14 touchdowns against just three
interceptions on the season. Stull did a good job managing the team against
Rutgers, as he completed 16-of-24 tosses for 153 yards and a score.
Dorin Dickerson was his main outlet in that game and he hauled in six balls
for 42 yards and score. The senior tight end continues to be a pleasant
surprise and he leads the team with eight receiving touchdowns on the year.
When Stull does decide to air it out, Jonathan Baldwin is his main option and
he paces the Panthers with 549 receiving yards.
Defensively, Pitt was on top of its game against Rutgers, limiting the Scarlet
Knights to just 286 total yards, including only 38 rushing. The Panthers, who
entered the game allowing 335.8 total ypg, even forced a pair of turnovers
after recording only nine through their first six games.
The defense continued to bring the pressure as well and notched three sacks to
push its season total to 29 in that department. Dom DeCicco had 10 stops and
his first interception in the win and he continues to lead the team with 52
stops for the year. Greg Romeus and Adam Gunn are two other players to keep an
eye out for this weekend, as the duo have combined for 12 sacks on the season.
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