Pitt upsets No. 10 South Florida

TAMPA, Fla. ‘mdash; You could tell by the way Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt stood against… TAMPA, Fla. ‘mdash; You could tell by the way Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt stood against the wall, smiling as he answered questions about his players. You could tell by the way Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon strutted down the hallways, slapping hands with anyone in his path. It might not have been Wannstedt’s prettiest or most famous game as a coach for Pitt, but it might be his best. Leading by five with just seconds remaining in last night’s game against South Florida, Bulls’ quarterback Matt Grothe scrambled to his right and searched for a receiver. He reached back, stepped forward and delivered a bomb toward the end zone. For a moment, the Pitt sideline stood still. But Grothe’s pass fell harmlessly to the grass at Raymond James Stadium, and Pitt survived a late scare with time expiring to hold on to the 26-21 win at No. 10 South Florida last night. After the game, Wannstedt discussed the win. ‘It was a great win for our kids, our coaches [and] our program,’ said Wannstedt. ‘Playing down here is not easy, but our kids are fantastic.’ Heavy underdogs, Pitt (4-1, 2-0 Big East) faced a South Florida team that was 5-0 on the year and was picked by many to win the Big East. Grothe, a junior, entered the game as one of the hottest quarterbacks in the nation. But that didn’t bother the Panthers, as they contained Grothe and the Bulls’ offense for the majority of the game. And when the defense didn’t do its job, the offense stepped up. After a Conor Lee field goal lifted Pitt’s lead to six with 9:40 left in the game, South Florida took over, hoping to drive down the field and win the game. As it has been the past two weeks, the Pitt defense was called upon to make a game-winning play. But for the first time in a while, it looked like it wouldn’t be able to do it. Grothe connected with Bulls’ receiver Jessie Hester for a 22-yard touchdown, capping a nine-play, 86-yard drive that put South Florida ahead, 21-20. But even after giving up that play, Pitt linebacker Greg Williams said he knew his team would pull off the win. ‘I never doubted my team for a minute,’ said Williams. ‘I knew if we had to come up and make a big play, we’d make it. It was all about the leadership.’ The offense didn’t let Williams down. After the ensuing kickoff bounced out of bounds, Pitt quarterback Bill Stull connected with receiver Oderick Turner for a 38-yard gain. Tailback LeSean McCoy broke through the Bulls’ defense on the next play, gaining 19 yards to the South Florida 3-yard line. He took the next handoff the rest of the way to put Pitt back in the lead and give the defense another chance to come through with the win. The defense held, forcing a South Florida punt. Pitt was then forced to punt with 31 seconds left, giving South Florida one more chance at the win. ‘ ‘We knew we had to pressure him,’ said Pitt linebacker Scott McKillop of Grothe. ‘[But] we knew it wouldn’t be easy.’ Grothe rushed for 8 yards before completing a 15-yard pass to Dontavia Bogan. With just seconds remaining, he dropped back to attempt the Hail Mary pass that was knocked to the ground. Wannstedt said the defense played well all game, not just in the last minutes. ‘Every time we turned it over, somebody stepped up on defense,’ said Wannstedt. ‘[When] the defense gives up a score, the offense steps up.’ Wannstedt mentioned he was proud of tailback LeSean McCoy, who finished the game with 142 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. It was impressive after the Bulls’ performance last week against North Carolina State, in which they allowed only 26 yards on the ground. Despite coming through with the win, Pitt struggled in the beginning. South Florida struck first when Bulls’ corner Quentin Washington busted around the right side of the line and blocked Pitt punter Dave Brytus’ kick. Charlton Sinclair recovered the fumble and darted down the right sideline en route to a 27-yard touchdown that put the Bulls on the board. Pitt quarterback Bill Stull came back on the next drive, connecting with freshman receiver Jonathan Baldwin for a 52-yard touchdown. It was Baldwin’s first career touchdown and just his third career catch. Stull, who struggled with consistency at times this year, completed 16 of 27 passes with a touchdown. McCoy ran four of Pitt’s first five plays on its next drive, leading South Florida to call upon its All-American defensive end, George Selvie. But Selvie, who had an ankle injury and was listed as questionable heading into the game, couldn’t stop Pitt. Three key penalties gave the Panthers three first downs, and McCoy took a handoff 6 yards to the left side for a touchdown nearly eight minutes later, putting Pitt ahead, 14-7. ‘ A Conor Lee 35-yard field goal extended Pitt’s lead to 10, when he connected with 22 seconds remaining. Penalties haunted South Florida all game. But it was nothing new. The Bulls ranked sixth out of eight teams in the Big East as far as penalties and finished last night with 11 penalties for a loss of 84 yards. Pitt, the best team statistically as far as penalties go, had five for a loss of 26 yards.