The Sports Xchange
NCAAF Team Report – Pittsburgh – INSIDE SLANT
It was not looking good in 2001 under Walt Harris. The Panthers were 0-3 in the Big East and 1-5 overall. Instead of allowing the season to continue to spiral out of control, however, Pitt allowed only 37 points in winning its last five regular season games to finish 6-5. The about-face resulted in an invitation to the Tangerine Bowl, where the Panthers toppled North Carolina State.
That season was the last time the Panthers were 0-3 in conference play. While they will not have to scramble the way they did 11 seasons ago when they dug their way out of a five-game losing streak, at 3-4 overall this year’s team has a very little margin for error.
“We realize we have to win the rest of our games to make a bowl game,” said receiver Mike Shanahan.
The Panthers actually do not have to run the table to become bowl eligible, but the urgency with which Shanahan expresses should be shared among everybody in the program. Pitt needs to win three of its remaining five games to become eligible, but winning four of five would secure an invitation.
Pitt may want to start by knocking of visiting Temple on Saturday because three of the final four games are the road. The Panthers travel to BCS No. 5 Notre Dame next week followed by a trip to Connecticut, which is always a tough place to win in November.
The final two games are a home date with BCS No. 15 Rutgers and a Dec. 1 trip to Tampa to play USF, which may need that game for its own bowl hopes.
The Panthers put themselves in this situation, but they can still work their way into a bowl. If so, they will have earned it because the next five weeks represent a tough road with which to travel.
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NCAAF Team Report – Pittsburgh – NOTES, QUOTES
–Injuries and youth have certainly played a part, but Pitt tight ends have combined to catch all of 13 passes this season. Hubie Graham, who has missed four games with injuries, leads the way with six receptions. “Haven’t lost confidence in them or anything like that,” said coach Paul Chryst. “Kind of a number of things. I’m certainly not trying to phase them out, but also just trying to use our personnel the best way we can.”
–Linebacker Todd Thomas has worked his way back from off-season knee surgery. He missed the first four games and was limited in two others, though he blocked a punt that he recovered for a touchdown against Louisville. Last week in the win at Buffalo, Thomas made his first start and tied for the team high with 11 tackles while manning the weak side. “He played a lot of snaps and will get another week of reps and preparation for (Temple),” said Chryst. “There’s still room for growth there. I thought he gave us some energy and I appreciate that.”
–Tino Sunseri entered last week’s game at Buffalo eighth nationally in pass efficiency. He dropped to 16th after he was 9-of-17 for 128 yards and no touchdowns in rainy and windy conditions. He also did not throw an interception and he has been picked just once in the last five games and twice this season.
SERIES HISTORY: Pitt leads Temple 26-8-1, including 9-3 during the Owls’ first term in the Big East. The Panthers won the last meeting in 2004, 27-22.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: While it got the job done in adverse conditions at Buffalo, the running game by no means sparkled. In fact, it was disappointing at times, especially on third-and-short situations. This prompted Chryst to label the running game as “inconsistent” during his Monday press conference. A strength earlier in the season when Ray Graham was averaging 90 yards through the first four contests, the ground game has dropped to 83rd nationally with an average of 142 yards per game. It is also averaging just 3.6 yards per attempt. Injuries and youth at tight end and inconsistency on line have contributed to the subpar performance.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: What stood out more than anything in an otherwise bland game against Buffalo were the contributions of linebackers Todd Thomas and Dan Mason. Both have worked their way back from knee injuries, and in the case of Mason, from nearly two years of inactivity. Shane Gordon’s ankle injury opened the door for Mason to start in the middle and he responded with 11 tackles, which tied Thomas and safety Jason Hendricks for the team high. They and the rest of the front seven are going to need another strong outing against a run-heavy Temple offense Saturday.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “They were a good football team last year and have been for a number of years now. I’m not surprised one bit by it.” — Coach Paul Chryst on Temple’s smooth transition back to the Big East.
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NCAAF Team Report – Pittsburgh – STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK’S GAME: Temple at Pitt, Oct. 27 — This is another opportunity for Pitt to finally get a conference win, and more importantly at this stage, get back to .500 and work its way toward bowl eligibility. A loss could be devastating for the 3-4 Panthers especially with a trip to South Bend on deck. A must win? Pretty much.
KEYS TO THE GAME: Chryst said at his Monday press conference that the key will be the running game on both sides of the ball. As Rutgers demonstrated last week, if Temple’s running game is not making things happen, then it’s almost lights out for the Owls’ offense because of the difficulty they have with the passing game. Forcing Temple to throw would allow the Pitt defense to pin its ears back. As for the Pitt running game, it needs to find a consistency that it has lost. Much of it starts with the guys up front, but Ray Graham and Rushel Shell could not create anything against a Buffalo team that is not exactly stout in stopping the run. Graham’s longest run in 20 carries was only eight yards.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
RB Ray Graham — His numbers over the last three weeks would not have raised eyebrows if they took place during the season’s first three games given Graham was coming off a serious knee injury and subsequent surgery that cut short his 2011 season. However, with only 151 yards on 50 carries over the last three games and a long run of just eight yards in 20 attempts at Buffalo last week, many will be keep a close eye on the senior to see if he snap out of this funk.
K Kevin Harper — Is he back? Did his two field goals, including one from 45 yards, in the first quarter at Buffalo signal he has ironed out his inconsistencies?
LB Dan Mason — It was very rewarding to those who have been with the program the past couple of years to see Mason not only return from a devastating knee injury earlier this season, but to record 11 tackles last week in his first start of 2012. It will be interesting to see if he can perform at such a high level in his first start at home since early in the 2010 season.
ROSTER REPORT
–LB Shane Gordon’s status remains up in the air after suffering a high ankle sprain against Louisville two weeks ago. Coach Paul Chryst would not comment on his availability for Saturday.
–Chryst is not counting on LB Manny Williams right now, saying “it’ll be a little bit of time” before he returns from an ACL injury.
–TE Hubie Graham appears to be close to returning from his latest injury (ankle), but there is no timetable for when the senior will be back in the lineup.
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