Football: Panthers cruise to second consecutive victory

The Pitt football team easily avoided a second embarrassing loss of the season to a lesser…

Pitt wide receiver Mike Shanahan and the Panthers crushed Gardner-Webb on Saturday evening at Heinz Field, 55-10.

Bobby Mizia, Senior Staff Photographer

The Pitt football team easily avoided a second embarrassing loss of the season to a lesser opponent on Saturday, never trailing en route to a 55-10 triumph.

The Panthers lost their season opener to Football Championship Subdivision-school Youngstown State, 31-17. This time, they faced hapless Gardner-Webb, also of the FCS, which despite receiving $475,000 in compensation for its competition, didn’t have many positives to take away from its on-the-field performance.

Pitt (2-2, 0-1 Big East) started fast thanks to the athleticism of senior running back Ray Graham. Graham made the second-longest run of his career (78 yards) on Pitt’s opening drive for the game’s first touchdown. He continued his return to form since injuring his ACL last year, leading all Pitt rushers with 94 yards on eight carries.

“It felt good to go out there and put up points,” Graham said. “It can only get better from here, and I think we’ve just got to keep improving.”

Redshirt senior quarterback Tino Sunseri looked at ease all day, picking apart the Gardner-Webb defense. He finished with 344 yards on 18-of-24 attempts and three touchdowns before being pulled after the game was out of reach.

Wind-induced follies by Gardner-Webb (0-4) on special teams helped Pitt pull away early.

After scoring in the second quarter, Pitt kicked off and the elements benefited it as the already short kick became shorter and caused trouble for the return team, which couldn’t corral the ball. The Panthers then received possession and took advantage of a short field when a touchdown by freshman running back Rushel Shell pushed the lead to 17-3.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs simply couldn’t catch a break.

On their following two possessions, punter Bo Lindsey had back-to-back punts deep in his own territory travel a mere 17 and 20 yards, giving Pitt great opportunities to score. On the latter of the two chances, Sunseri lofted a pass to receiver Devin Street on the first play of the 34-yard drive for the quarterback’s first touchdown on the day. The first half concluded with Pitt in control, 27-10.

According to Sunseri, despite the favorable scoreline, head coach Paul Chryst wanted to make sure his players knew they still had a half of football to play.

“We got kind of chewed at halftime by Coach Chryst, but I think it was a good thing,” Sunseri said. “He wanted to make sure we came out and handled our business, and we did.”

Pitt finished with 626 total yards of offense – its most since 1997 – while holding its opposition to a mere 127.

Gardner-Webb’s difficult season continues, the team having lost all of its games by an average of 31.3 points. It played FCS opponents in its first three contests.

For Pitt, the duo of Mike Shanahan and Sunseri linked up often, as Shanahan finished with  career-high 144 receiving yards and two scores.

Shanahan credited the early success of the run game with allowing him to have as productive of a game as he did. He noted that it opened up space down the field.

To Street, the collective ability and experience of the wide receiver corps means its their responsibility to provide the spark for the rest of the team as well as for themselves.

“We have to be the group out there that turns it up. That sets the tone,” he said. “We go out there and feed off each other. If one [receiver] makes a play, we know the next guy can make a play too.”

The team has a bye week next Saturday before travelling to Syracuse and resuming Big East play the following Friday night.

“Every week is a new week,” Chryst said. “There is no doubt that the players are gaining some confidence.”