Sepich: Pitt football needs stability to improve

BUFFALO, N.Y. – With more than half of the college football season completed, it’s time to accept the brutal truth: This Pitt football team just isn’t very good.

Sure, the Panthers (3-4, 0-3 Big East) held on to beat lowly Buffalo (1-6, 0-3 MAC) on a wet, windy Saturday afternoon at the University at Buffalo Stadium, 20-6.

But the conservative and sloppy play of both teams made the game hard to watch at times.

It didn’t take long for proceedings to settle into a tedious rhythm: Run, run, pass, punt. Run, run, pass, punt. And so on.

The announced attendance of 17,021 braved the elements, but the spectators did little to create an atmosphere, making more noise for the homecoming ceremony than any part of the actual game.

That’s because the only two exciting plays of the first half came courtesy of Pitt freshman running back Rushel Shell, who caught a screen pass and rumbled 41 yards to set up a field goal before finishing off the Panthers’ next drive with a tackle-breaking touchdown scamper.

After that, it became obvious Pitt would win, but that the victory would be thoroughly unimpressive. The Panthers simply don’t have the talent or play-making ability this season to convincingly beat any team not named Gardner-Webb.

Some of the pieces are there – like Shell and talented junior defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who both keyed Saturday’s victory. Shell finished with 81 total yards and a touchdown, while Donald recorded seven tackles, including two tackles for loss and one sack.

And more pieces could be added if Pitt can lock up local star recruits like wide receiver Robert Foster, quarterback Chandler Kincade and others in the next two years.

But right now, much of the rest of the team is a work in progress.

Blame for this humdrum Pitt football campaign shouldn’t fall on first-year head coach Paul Chryst.

He came to Pitt after leading an explosive Wisconsin offense that relied on a strong offensive line and an athletic, smart quarterback to back-to-back Rose Bowls.

It could be argued that the Panthers currently don’t have either of those crucial assets, and it’s showing with Pitt’s chances at making any bowl looking less likely each week.

And that isn’t Chryst’s fault.

Nor is it the fault of the players, who are still working hard to improve and perform, despite making numerous mistakes and bad decisions along the way. There should be no criticizing of their effort.

Save criticism for them until Chryst has his hand-picked players established and those players feel comfortable with his system.

No, most of the blame for the mediocre nature of this Pitt football season should fall on the fact that this team is currently adjusting to its fourth head coach in the past three seasons.

No football team can change coaches so frequently in such a short amount of time and still expect to challenge for championships.

With the impending move to the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Pitt football program still has the potential to reach the heights its fans believe it should be at: Competing for conference and national titles on a consistent basis.

But before it can do that, it needs to find something that can be extremely elusive in college football.

It needs stability.

And stability takes time.