Football: Chase for Big East title continues

For the third time in four years, Pitt and Cincinnati will meet on the football field with the… For the third time in four years, Pitt and Cincinnati will meet on the football field with the title of first place in the Big East on the line.

The Pitt football team (4-4, 2-1) rides into the home match-up coming off a Wednesday win over Connecticut. Cincinnati (6-1, 2-0) arrives following a high-scoring shootout victory over South Florida on Saturday.

Both teams control their own destinies, each knowing that the game will help decide the Big East’s BCS representative. Saturday’s winner will be on the inside track for the conference championship.

“It’s all about playing meaningful games in November. From here on out, every game is a championship game,” Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones said. “That’s the beauty of playing in a conference: Everyone’s goal is to become Big East Conference Champions. Everyone is chasing that goal, that dream, that aspiration. For us, it’s focusing on the task at hand.”

Pitt head coach Todd Graham also stressed the importance of winning the big conference games in the month of November.

“You practice and do all this stuff to go into November, and this league is won in November,” Graham said. “Right now we are up against a team that is undefeated in the league and at 6-1. Cincinnati is a top 25 team in the country and this is the biggest challenge ahead of us. If we want to win the Big Eas, then we have to go and win this Saturday. It’s not easy to win championships.”

The Panthers lost a large component of their offense in the loss of junior running back Ray Graham, who suffered an ACL injury in the win over Connecticut. But Pitt will still look to continue its strong ground game against the Bearcats on the legs of senior Zach Brown.

“I’m approaching it just like every week,” Brown said. “Being in this game for years, I just know that a man can go down like he did Saturday. When he goes down, you just have to be ready.”

Brown will do his best to bring to the Panthers what Graham did, but it won’t be easy.

“You can’t stand up and talk about replacing a player as good as Ray Graham,” Coach Graham said. “Zach Brown did a tremendous job coming in and being productive. We will have one of our freshmen come in and play the role that Zach played. It will be important for those freshmen to step up and play.”

Jones knows how important Graham was to Pitt’s offense, but the Bearcats are still focused on stopping the very talented Brown. After seeing limited action behind Graham early on, Brown rushed for 30 yards and a touchdown against Connecticut. He was more effective receiving out of the backfield, catching nine balls for 84 yards.

“Zach Brown is as good as any running back in our conference,” Jones said. “You look at the experience that he’s had from Wisconsin. When Ray went down early in the UConn game, they put a lot on Zach’s plate and he responded. I don’t see them changing much at all; they’re going to do what they do.”

It appears as though the much maligned Pitt offensive line will receive a boost this week, as NFL prospect guard Lucas Nix might return to play against Cincinnati.

The Pitt and Cincinnati match-up has recently become a heated rivalry, largely because of the high stakes that have ridden on the meeting in the past few years.

“It’s a rivalry game and we talk about winning our rivalry games,” Jones said. “That’s very important to the foundation of your football program, alumni, fans and administration. And we all know in the last few years, we’ve had some very great football games associated with Pitt.”

Cincinnati is led by a strong offense, featuring senior dual-threat quarterback Zach Collaros. He has passed for 1,576 yards and 14 touchdowns in seven games this season. The senior has also added another 225 yards and six touchdowns, making the Bearcats’ offense potent.

“We know the magnitude of this week and know what type of team Cincinnati has to offer,” Graham said. “It will be a big challenge for us defensively. Cincinnati has the best rushing team in the Big East as well as the best scoring offense. They are a very well-coached team.”

The Panthers were successful at stopping USF’s dual-threat quarterback, BJ Daniels, but Collaros will look to beat Pitt his arm and legs. His head coach is hoping that Collaros stays aggressive and limits his turnovers.

“One of Zach’s strengths is his ability to ad-lib a little bit. But it also is managing those and not making catastrophic plays,” Jones said. “Sure, you may scramble, but if it’s not there, throw the ball away and play the next play. You don’t want to take a person’s aggressiveness away and make them play passively because that’s not in Zach’s game. That’s all part of managing the offense.”

Coming off a big, nationally televised win isn’t new for the Panthers. Unfortunately, after beating South Florida earlier in the year, the team collapsed against Rutgers. For junior defensive back Andrew Taglianetti, there is a lesson to learn from the team’s struggles earlier in the season.

“We just can’t let it happen again,” Taglianetti said. “We were on cloud nine after that win [against South Florida]. National TV, we really went out there and played well all in three phases. I think that this team and the character guys we have are guys that can go out there and back that up and continue to win and play like that. As long as we go out there and play hard and play smart, I think we’ll be fine.”

Graham likes his team’s ambition, and the first-year coach wants to see his players come out and play their best football.

“I feel like we have some momentum going and I’m excited about this Saturday,” Graham said. “I feel like this is when we play our best, when your back is up against the wall and nobody thinks you can do it. That is when your true character comes to the top and I think our guys are going to play their tails off.”