Football: Bye week comes at a good time for the Panthers

It’s the perfect time for a bye week.

This week’s rest is the first the Pitt football team has had since the season began eight weeks ago. Add in training camp, and the Panthers have been playing for almost three months without a break.

The Panthers (7-1, 4-0 Big East)have, according to coach Dave Wannstedt, about eight to 10 players who are “banged up” and need to rest before their game against Syracuse on Nov. 7.

“Every coach, whether he has a bye week during the first week or the last week, says it’s perfect timing,” Wannstedt said in a teleconference. “But this is our first break for our kids all year, and this will be a time to rest them a bit.”

Wannstedt said Pitt’s players have a few days off and will get back to practice on Wednesday before resuming their normal preparation schedule next week.

’Cuse Abuse

All of the best in college football have to deal with the trap game.

There’s an Appalachian State waiting out there for every Michigan to have that one terrible game in a thousand just to pounce on the opportunity.

Syracuse, one of the Big East’s least successful teams in recent years, might be one of those matches for Pitt.

If Pitt can’t keep its momentum, it would most certainly be vulnerable to an Orange upset bid.

It’s easy to overlook Syracuse (3-4, 0-2) with a tough stretch of games against No. 25 Notre Dame (5-2), No. 22 West Virginia (6-1, 2-0) and No. 5 Cincinnati (7-0, 3-0) in the following weeks.

Big Love for the Big Men

Pitt’s offensive line has given up just six sacks over the course of eight games. Last season, Stull was dropped 25 times.

For a line that had to replace two starters from last season, the big men have held steady so far.

Not only have they protected Stull, but they’re a major reason running back Dion Lewis is having a stellar season.

Just take for example last week’s game against South Florida. The Bulls boast a defensive line loaded with talent, notably two NFL draft prospects in defensive ends George Selvie and Jason Pierre-Paul.

Pitt’s lineman locked down the pair, not allowing a sack the whole game.

“We knew we couldn’t hold the ball long against them. They’re great players, so we tried to get the ball out quick,” Wannstedt said. “The second thing was our offensive line did a very good job, they knew the type of players they were going against.”

Pitt Crowding the Watch Lists

Stull was named to the mid-season watch list for the Manning Award, which is the only quarterback award in the country to take into account the candidates’ bowl performances. Past winners include Florida’s Tim Tebow and Matt Ryan.

Also, Stull was named a semi-finalist for the Davey O’Brien Award, an award given to the best college quarterback, as judged by the Davey O’Brien Foundation. Past winners include Tebow and Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford.

Wannstedt was one of 20 coaches named to the watch list for the Paul Bear Bryant College Football Coach of the Year Award.

Finally, Lewis was named a mid-season All-American by SI.com, joining Alabama’s Mark Ingram on the team.

Pitt’s Big East Honors

Pitt junior strong safety Dom DeCicco was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Week. DeCicco had 10 tackles in Pitt’s 41-14 win over South Florida on Saturday.

It was DeCicco’s second game in a row with 10 tackles, as he had seven solo and three assist tackles against Rutgers on Oct. 16. He leads the team with 62 tackles and two interceptions, and his 7.8 tackles per game ranks seventh in the Big East.

Joining DeCicco was sophomore receiver Jonathan Baldwin. Baldwin made the Big East’s Weekly Honor Roll after catching six passes for a career-high 144 yards and a touchdown against South Florida.