Jovenitti: Reasons the Utah loss isn’t the end of the world

So, Pitt lost its first game of the year. I’ve already seen many fans throw their hands up in the air and say, “typical Pitt.” And they have a valid point.

Pitt always seems to get fans’ hopes up, only to fall short in the most dramatic way possible — think about the Cincinnati football game last year and the basketball team’s last two NCAA Tournament exits versus Xavier and Villanova… So, Pitt lost its first game of the year. I’ve already seen many fans throw their hands up in the air and say, “typical Pitt.” And they have a valid point.

Pitt always seems to get fans’ hopes up, only to fall short in the most dramatic way possible — think about the Cincinnati football game last year and the basketball team’s last two NCAA Tournament exits versus Xavier and Villanova.

But losing to Utah in the first game isn’t that bad — it’s not like the Panthers lost to Bowling Green at home or anything. So for my Top 10 this week, I give you 10 reasons it isn’t the end of the world.

10. Pitt actually started the season on the road — against a good team. Only six other top-25 teams opened the season on the road. And only three of those traveled to other ranked teams, whereas the other three basically took vacation trips for easy wins. No. 12 Wisconsin went to Las Vegas and crushed UNLV, and No. 14 USC went to Hawaii where they also conquered.

Not many ranked teams are willing to open against a tough team on the road — especially a team like Utah that hasn’t lost at home in nearly three years. So the BCS voters will look kindly on Pitt for its schedule.

9. Ray Graham didn’t even play, and Pitt still almost won. Yes, Dion Lewis is key to the offense, and he is going to be Pitt’s No. 1 playmaker. But without Graham, Pitt had to give the ball to Lewis on nearly every running play. It wasn’t hard for Utah to catch on and eventually stop him — 50 of his 75 yards came in the first half. So when Graham returns, likely this Saturday, he will see some carries and this will keep the defense on its toes so it can’t just focus on Lewis.

8.Pitt still has a chance to prove itself against Miami and Notre Dame. The Panthers have three big nonconference games on the slate — home against Miami and away at Utah and Notre Dame. Yes, it would have been nice for Pitt to win all three, but let’s be honest here — it wasn’t likely to happen. If Pitt can beat Miami at home, that game will put the team back on the map. And if it can win at Notre Dame a few weeks later, then people will forget about this early loss entirely.

7. Andrew Janocko made up for the Cincinnati gaffe. Quarterback Andrew Janocko remained calm at the end of regulation time when he had to hold the ball for kicker Dan Hutchins to try to tie the game. Thanks to Utah’s head coach Kyle Whittingham icing Hutchins — twice — Janocko had to do it three times.

There is no doubt that his infamous gaffe against Cincinnati last year — when he bobbled the snap on an extra point and Pitt lost by one point — was racing through his mind. A mistake like that can haunt a guy, but Janocko stayed steady and helped Pitt tie the game. Now Pitt knows it can rely on him again when the game is on the line.

6. Pitt knows its weaknesses. A good thing about opening against a tough team — and even losing is that the team’s weaknesses become apparent early in the season. Do you think No. 1 Alabama discovered any of its weaknesses when it pounded San José State 48-3 on Saturday? Probably not. Now the Panthers know they need to improve their pass coverage, since several Utah receivers were left undefended for touchdowns. Pitt has a slight reprieve and can work on that against New Hampshire this Saturday.

5. The polls forget about early losses. One flaw — of many — in the college football ranking system is that losses later in the season are more harmful than early losses. When a team loses, it tends to drop farther in the rankings than it deserves. Think about what will happen if the No. 10 team loses to the No. 5 team. According to the polls, the No. 10 team is actually supposed to lose, but if it does it will likely drop five to ten spots in the rankings. So losing early is good. Now Pitt has 11 games to climb back up in the rankings.

4. Tino Sunseri was thrown into the deep end and survived. Florida also started a new quarterback this year, but John Brantley got a nice practice game against Miami (Ohio) on Saturday before he has to take on a tougher team when the Gators host South Florida this Saturday. Sunseri didn’t have that luxury.

Not only did he begin his career as a starting quarterback on the road, but it was in one of the toughest environments in college football. The crowd noise is so loud that the student section keeps track of how many false starts it creates. After an understandably shaky first half, Sunseri played well in the second half and even threw a nice 44-yard touchdown pass to Jon Baldwin. Yes, he had one significant error with his interception in overtime. But if not for Sunseri, the Panthers never would have made it past regulation.

3. Utah is a good team to lose to. I went to the Hofbräuhaus Friday night, and for some reason it always turns into a Pitt-Penn State-WVU battle with the crowd chanting its teams’ names after particular songs. After my friends tried to start a Pitt chant after “Sweet Caroline,” the Penn State fans started chanting “What about Utah?” And I started thinking … what about them?

The Utes have more BCS bowl wins than most other teams in the country over the past five years. Utah is 2-0 in BCS bowls. They beat Pitt in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl to cap off an undefeated season. Then they had another undefeated season in 2008 and knocked off heavily favored Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl. That’s better than any Big East or Big Ten team. Some people say that there is no such thing as a good loss, but in college football, because of the flawed ranking system, there is such a thing.

2. All the other Big East favorites are likely to have similar losses. West Virginia and Connecticut both have big road games. Connecticut traveled to Michigan on Saturday and lost 30-10. WVU goes to the bayou to play LSU on Sept. 25, which is one of the toughest places in the country to play — right up there with Utah. And Cincinnati plays No. 7 Oklahoma at home. In all likelihood, the Big East teams will probably lose all those games. So we will be back to square one when the conference slate starts.

1. It wasn’t a Big East game. Let’s face it, Pitt probably wasn’t going to win the national championship — even if it beat Utah. The only games that truly matter now are Big East games. So even if Pitt loses to Miami and Notre Dame, it can still win the Big East. That’s Pitt’s ticket to a BCS Bowl game.

So stop sulking and pick up your student tickets at the Pete. I hope fans will realize the season is not over and fill Heinz Field on Saturday.