Football: Panthers roll past Rutgers

Pitt football is finally beginning to live up to its preseason expectations.

An emotional… Pitt football is finally beginning to live up to its preseason expectations.

An emotional Rutgers attempted to win a heartwarming victory but was unable to stop the Panthers Saturday, as the Scarlet Knights went down 41-21. The team was returning to action for the first time since junior defensive tackle Eric LeGrand was paralyzed on a kickoff tackle in an Oct. 16 game versus the Army.

“It’s classy,” Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said regarding a banner signed by Pitt students and athletes and the thousands of “Pitt is pulling for Eric” stickers. “This league has been great and this whole nation has been great reaching out and I can’t thank you enough. I appreciate everyone’s prayers and outreach.”

The Pitt offense opened up for its second straight week of scoring 40-plus points. Quarterback Tino Sunseri is truly beginning to hit his stride. Sunseri was successful on 21 of 27 attempts, for a career high 307 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. The interception came during the first drive on a screen pass that bounced through Ray Graham’s arms.

“Tino Sunseri continued to make progress,” Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt said. “He made decisions in the second half that he didn’t make in the first half and he hadn’t made in the last couple of weeks.”

Sunseri’s production increased Saturday as he found his star wide receiver, Jon Baldwin. Baldwin hauled in five balls for 139 yards and a touchdown. He also had two impressive one-handed catches deep down the field.

“I simply try and make plays when my number is called,” Baldwin said. “Whether I get two balls or eight balls, my job is to make the most of my opportunities.”

The running game is also beginning to look consistent. 2009’s Big East Player of the Year, Dion Lewis, is starting to perform like he did last year. He ran 17 times for 130 yards and a touchdown.

“We always believe that any given player on this team can have a big day or make plays,” Sunseri said. “In the past weeks, guys like Dion [Lewis] and JB [Baldwin] haven’t had to make plays because other guys were stepping up to make things happen.”

In addition to the offense’s successes, the defense also has been performing very well lately.

The game was tied at 14 when the players headed to the locker room at halftime. The Panthers defense only allowed seven more points in the second half to hold the Scarlet Knights to a total of 21 points.

The Pitt defense was led by defensive ends Jabaal Sheard and Brandon Lindsey. As a unit, the defense collected seven sacks and  created tons of pressure for Rutgers quarterbacks Chas Dodd and Tom Savage.

“I know that everyone on this team believes that there is room for improvement,” senior safety Dom DeCicco said. “We’ll be looking at film tomorrow and preparing for Louisville. We just have to take things one step at a time.”

The Panthers’ victory moves them to 4-3 overall (2-0 in Big East play). With West Virginia falling at home to Syracuse, the Panthers are on top of the Big East standings.

Pitt will face a much improved Louisville team at home this Saturday for Homecoming when the Panthers will look to go 3-0 in the conference for the second straight season.