Football: Pitt defense propels Panthers to Senior Day victory

Pitt entered Senior Day with quite a task at hand: No. 18 Rutgers and its stifling defense came to Heinz Field looking to clinch the Big East title with a win and a Louisville loss.

Louisville obliged with a triple-overtime loss to Connecticut, but the Pitt defense refused to allow Rutgers to celebrate a conference championship on its field, dominating the game as the Panthers trounced the Scarlet Knights at Heinz Field on Saturday afternoon, 27-6.

Head coach Paul Chryst was happy with the play of his defense that managed to allow only 50 yards on the ground.

“I thought we did a good job stopping the run. Going in we thought that was going to be big,” Chryst said after the game.

After the teams traded punts through their first eight drives, Pitt finally broke the stalemate with a 16-yard pass from senior to senior as quarterback Tino Sunseri connected with wide receiver Mike Shanahan.

Pitt looked ready to score again on its next drive, but a fumbled snap by Sunseri on Rutgers’ 2-yard line would eventually be recovered by the Scarlet Knights. The mistake didn’t cost the Panthers, however, who responded with a 1-yard touchdown dive by senior running back Ray Graham just a few minutes later.

Playing in his last game at Heinz Field for the Panthers, Graham finished with 113 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries, passing Craig “Ironhead” Heyward for third on Pitt’s all-time rushing list.

Graham says that he’s just happy to be in the same conversation with some of the Pitt greats.

“It’s a blessing,” said Graham of his accomplishment. “I never take anything for granted. We have come a long way as a group, but all those individual stats don’t mean anything without my team.”

Pitt followed its second scoring drive with another defensive stand, forcing the eighth straight punt from the Rutgers offense. And when Sunseri found wide receiver Ed Tinker for a 16-yard touchdown pass just before halftime, Pitt blew the game open.

The touchdown reception was the first in the career of Tinker, who was filling in after Devin Street was injured early in the game.

“Devin was hurt and [Tinker] performed,” Chryst said. “You always like to see a guy come in and contribute for the first time.”

Also making his final appearance at home, Sunseri completed 21-of-39 pass attempts for 227 yards and two touchdowns.

Shanahan said that the team wasn’t going to let up after jumping out to a big lead at halftime and that the Panthers finally played a complete game.

“Coming in 21-0, we knew Rutgers wasn’t just going to lay down,” Shanahan said. “But you know, I think everyone came out ready to play and played a full 60 minutes and I don’t think we’ve done that all season.”

The first drive of the second half resulted in the ninth straight punt from Rutgers, leading to a 39-yard field goal by Pitt senior kicker Kevin Harper. The Scarlet Knights would finally answer a Pitt score with an 11-yard pass from quarterback Gary Nova to wide receiver Brandon Coleman, although the subsequent 2-point conversion attempt failed.

The slight shift in momentum from the Rutgers score would ultimately be negated thanks to an interception early in the 4th quarter by Pitt cornerback Lafayette Pitts, the first of his career.

The teams would again trade possessions after punts, preceding another Kevin Harper field goal, which finished the game’s scoring.

Junior defensive tackle Aaron Donald was Pitt’s clear standout on the defensive side of the ball, recording seven tackles — three of which were for a loss — and one sack. When asked about the Pitt’s tendency to play to the level of its competition, Donald didn’t seem to have any answers for the trend.

“We practice the same way each week,” he said. “We seem like we are ready each week, but it doesn’t always come out the same.”

The Panthers’ hopes of bowl eligibility rest with their final scheduled game at South Florida (3-8, 1-5 Big East) next Saturday, Dec. 1, at a time to be determined.

Senior safety Andrew Taglianetti fought back tears as he explained what playing with this senior class has meant to him and how badly he and his teammates want to make a bowl game.

“These guys are my best friends,” he said. “I came in with them five years ago, and it’s been a lot of fun, for sure. I’m going to miss them.”