Football: Pitt shuffles around players before FIU game

The last time a team from Miami came to Heinz Field, Pitt was embarrassed on national television… The last time a team from Miami came to Heinz Field, Pitt was embarrassed on national television 31-3. This week, another team from Miami — the Florida International Golden Panthers — will visit Pittsburgh.

When the Panthers — rather, the Pitt Panthers — take the field this week, they might not look like the same team that was out there against the Hurricanes.

The offensive line that struggled throughout the first three games and gave up nine sacks was shuffled around. Redshirt junior Jordan Gibbs will get the start at right tackle. This move will shift Lucas Nix from right tackle to right guard.

“Our focus is to find the best five,” head coach Dave Wannstedt said. “We’re looking to see who is making progress. As we evaluate all our players right now, we sit back and examine everything.”

Besides poor offensive line play, Panther fans might have noticed a lack of good blocking from the tight end position. One of the reasons Dion Lewis is off to a slow start is the absence of NFL draftee Nate Byham. Wannstedt addressed the issue and reiterated that blocking is something the team is working on.

Starting quarterback Tino Sunseri will make his fourth career start against the Golden Panthers. Wannstedt believes that Sunseri is going through growing pains and considering two of the defenses he went up against — Utah and Miami — Wannstedt said Sunseri should improve.

“If you played a certain way, you watch it on tape, the corrections are made, and now we expect to see change, we expect to see improvement,” he said. “I believe that will happen.”

Some fans had been frustrated by the lack of passes to star receiver Jon Baldwin, but Wannstedt said that Baldwin is being utilized just as much as he was last year.

“He didn’t have a touchdown at this point last year. Now he already has two,” Wannstedt said. “He has the same amount of catches now, and last year he had 220 yards. This year he has 197 yards.”

Right now, the Panthers are focused on the Golden Panthers, who are headed by coach Mario Cristobal, a graduate of the University of Miami.

Cristobal, the first Cuban-American head football coach in the NCAA, played for the Hurricanes from 1989 until 1992.

The Golden Panthers come into Heinz Field with a 0-3 record. Losing their three games by an average of eight points per game. FIU is the only team in the Sun Belt Conference to play four nonconference BCS teams this year.

The Golden Panthers narrowly lost 19-14 in their season opener at home versus Rutgers. Then, they went on the road to face Texas A&M and lost by a touchdown, giving up 21 points in the fourth quarter to lose 27-20. Most recently, they visited Maryland and were rolled 42-28. Cristobal said that those close losses are the result of a couple of plays.

“They are coming down to one or two, maybe four or five plays. You got to be on point on all of them,” he said.

The starting quarterback for the Golden Panthers, Wesley Carroll, is a junior out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Although he has yet to be sacked this season, he has struggled at times. Carroll, while passing for 638 yards, has 4 touchdown passes to 5 interceptions.

Although last week’s loss was certainly disappointing for Pitt, Wannstedt said that the team is focused on getting back on the right track.

“Because of the result last week, there is disappointment, there’s anger and there’s focus on getting the ship going in the right direction again,” he said. “There’s no one in our locker room having a letdown right now. We have to win some games.”