Football: Littman: Secondary still struggling, even as Panthers win

AMHERST, N.Y.— Coming into the season, the Pitt football team’s defense was unquestionably the team’s strongest asset, but the defense has a major weakness.

For the second straight week, the Panther secondary had issues not only in coverage, but with tackling. Although Pitt beat Buffalo 54-27, the Bulls seamlessly moved the ball through the air all day.

“We can’t come out there and play like that and expect to win games,” junior safety Dom DeCicco said. “We definitely need to do some work in the secondary.”

Bulls quarterback Zach Maynard completed 24-of-35 pass attempts for 400 yards and four touchdowns. The 400 yards are a Buffalo school record since the Bulls joined Division I in 1999.

Maynard’s two favorite targets on Saturday were seniors Brett Hamlin and Naaman Roosevelt, who combined for 306 receiving yards. Hamlin hauled in a career-best 12 receptions for 149 yards. Roosevelt caught six passes for a career-high 157 yards and two touchdowns. Roosevelt’s 26.2 yard-per-catch average was a bit inflated thanks to his two touchdown receptions, which went for 54 and 67 yards.

“I’d love to have both of those guys,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “They’re both playmakers.”

It was the first time in Buffalo’s Division I history that two Bull receivers had more than 100 yards receiving in the same game. One reason for the big play of the receivers was because of Pitt’s heinous tackling.

A few times a Buffalo receiver caught a slant pass over the middle, he easily avoided the Pitt defenders. Sometimes the Bull receiver stutter-stepped to fake out the defender, and other times the Panthers just couldn’t bring anyone down.

“It frustrated us because we knew a lot of those [big] plays were coming, but we didn’t execute,” linebacker Greg Williams said.

Thankfully for Pitt, the defenders in front of the secondary were great. They recorded four sacks, three by Adam Gunn, and held Buffalo to 67 rushing yards. The Panthers also had three turnovers, which led to 20 points. Safety Elijah Fields, the one bright spot in the secondary, intercepted a pass, and the Panthers recovered two fumbles, including one that went for a 50-yard touchdown by Williams.

“I was a little worried I was going to get caught,” Williams said. “I was a little tired from the drive. I was running for my life.”