Panthers surprisingly have control of Big East race
PITTSBURGH – Only one Big East team is assured of going to a BCS bowl and winning the conference title if it wins the rest of its games. It’s not No. 5 Virginia Tech. It’s not No. 6 Miami. It’s not even unranked West Virginia, which upset the Hokies and led the Hurricanes in Miami until the final minute of the game.
It’s No. 25 Pittsburgh – yes, the same team whose season seemed to be unraveling following puzzling – and, at the time, demoralizing – losses to Toledo and Notre Dame.
The Panthers (6-2, 3-0 in Big East) go into Saturday night’s game against Virginia Tech (7-1, 3-1) not just as the conference’s only remaining unbeaten team, but with home-field advantage and a sold-out stadium assured for its two biggest remaining games. Both the Hokies and Hurricanes (Nov. 29) must travel to Pittsburgh.
Still, coach Walt Harris wasn’t ready Monday to discuss the possibilities that await his Panthers if they can win their remaining four games. They also play at Temple (1-7, 0-3) and West Virginia (4-4, 2-1).
“As a coach, I just want us to be playing well,” said Harris, whose team has beaten Rutgers, Syracuse and Boston College since losing to Notre Dame. “I want us to be improving. I don’t want us to take steps backward. The thing that bothers me more than anything is when we don’t play up to our ability.”
That wasn’t a problem last season at Virginia Tech, when the Panthers twice overcame 14-point deficits to win 28-21 – probably their most impressive performance in Harris’ seven seasons as coach.
Rod Rutherford threw touchdown passes of 31, 14 and 10 yards to Larry Fitzgerald and Brandon Miree had 161 of Pitt’s 275 yards rushing as the Panthers outgained the Hokies 483-275.
“But last year was last year,” Pitt guard Dan LaCarte said Monday. “We’re a totally different team than we were last year.”
No kidding. That game established the Rutherford-to-Fitzgerald combination as perhaps the most dangerous in college football, but Pitt hasn’t had a single game this season that even resembled that excellent rushing performance.
Miree (stress fracture) hasn’t played since the third game of the season, and there is no talk of him being ready for Saturday. Predictably, the Panthers have struggled to move the ball on the ground without their best running back.
No Pitt running back has gained more than 100 yards since Miree had 113 yards in the opener against Kent State. The Panthers were held to 124 yards rushing on 45 attempts in Saturday’s 24-13 win at Boston College, when leading rusher Jawan Walker had only 36 yards.
Nothing new there – in three of their last four games, the Panthers’ leading rusher has been held to fewer than 50 yards. As a result, they have been outrushed in each of their last six games, including the 20-14 upset loss to Notre Dame that saw the Fighting Irish outrush them 352-8.
With Miree’s replacement, Walker, averaging only 41.1 yards, the Panthers have been outrushed 1,261-948.
Throw out the early-season games against Kent State and Ball State, and Pitt has been outrushed 1,096-558.
That’s why LaCarte said that hype and emotion won’t decide Saturday’s game as much as whether Pitt’s offensive line can clear enough space against Virginia Tech’s talented defensive line for its running backs to gain some yardage. If that happens, it would alleviate some of the pressure on Fitzgerald and Rutherford to carry the offense.
“We’ve beaten them the last two years and last year was a really good game for us,” LaCarte said. “But I know they’re coming into here on Saturday focused to beat us. It’s all about executing. I know that maybe sounds like a boring comment, but it’s so true.”