Football: Panthers set for Compass Bowl

The Pitt football team will play in the BBVA Compass Bowl on Saturday under the direction of an… The Pitt football team will play in the BBVA Compass Bowl on Saturday under the direction of an interim head coach and without half of this season’s coaching staff.

In the time since the Panthers defeated Syracuse on Dec. 3 to clinch Pitt’s second straight trip to the BBVA Compass Bowl, first-year head coach Todd Graham bolted to Arizona State, defensive coordinator Keith Patterson was named interim coach for the bowl game, and Pitt announced Wisconsin’s offensive coordinator Paul Chryst as the new head football coach.

Pitt also lost co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Mike Norvell, who followed Graham to Arizona State, and tight ends coach Tony Dews, secondary coach Tony Gibson and co-offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, who all joined the staff at the University of Arizona.

But the turmoil of the last month is familiar to the Panthers. Pitt was also coachless when it entered last season’s BBVA Compass Bowl.

Following former head coach Dave Wannstedt’s resignation, Pitt hired Michael Haywood from Miami (Ohio) and fired him a few weeks later after a domestic violence charge, leaving the program without a coach. Haywood has since entered a trial deferment program, and the charges will likely be dropped after he completes it.

With interim coach Phil Bennett leading the Panthers, Pitt won the BBVA Compass Bowl 27-10 against Kentucky last season.

Now this year’s interim coach Keith Patterson hopes the Panthers (6-6, 4-3 Big East) can produce a similar result when they face the Southern Methodist Mustangs (7-5, 5-3 Conference USA) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.

“I told those young men I’m going to coach, and I’m going to prepare very hard for them,” Patterson said at a press conference following Graham’s departure. “We’re going to go, and we’re going to win. We’re going to finish what we started.”

Senior defensive tackle Myles Caragein said in a video on Pitt’s website that he believes it doesn’t matter who the coaches are — it’s up to the players to win the game.

“Coaches don’t go and win games,” he said. “They put you in good positions, but the players still need to go out and make great plays to win the game.”

The Panthers still have quite a bit to play for.

Seventeen Pitt seniors will wear the blue and gold for the last time Saturday. Despite the unprecedented coaching turmoil they have experienced during the last two years, a win will ensure that this senior class leaves having never experienced a losing season.

Junior quarterback Tino Sunseri said in a video on Pitt’s website that playing for his teammates and his school is all the motivation he needs.

“Whenever you come to a school, you come because you love the school and the players around you,” he said. “That’s how my mindset is. I’m going to go out there and compete as hard as I can to win this bowl game. We still have a lot to play for, and we’re excited.”

The Mustangs and head coach June Jones also had a disappointing season.

After a promising 5-1 start — which included an impressive road win against TCU — SMU lost four of its next five games and needed a three-point win in the season finale against Rice just to make the BBVA Compass Bowl.

While most of the teams June Jones has coached are known for their passing attack, this year’s Mustangs boast one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the country.

Senior quarterback J.J. McDermott threw for more than 3,000 yards and 16 touchdowns, junior running back Zach Line rushed for over 1,200 yards and scored 17 touchdowns, and receivers Darius Johnson and Cole Beasley each recorded more than 900 receiving yards and combined for nine scores.

Saturday’s match-up will be the sixth time that Pitt and SMU have faced off.

The all-time series is tied at 2-2-1, but SMU fans will fondly remember the Mustangs’ 7-3 victory over the Panthers in the 1983 Cotton Bowl, when both programs were consistently rated among the top 10 in the country.