Panthers ride line, McCoy past Bulls

The Pitt Panthers began playing better Saturday as the game went along. It was a complete… The Pitt Panthers began playing better Saturday as the game went along. It was a complete turnaround from Pitt’s first game of the year, a 27-17 loss to Bowling Green ‘- a game in which the Panthers didn’t score after halftime. And unlike last week, Pitt earned a victory, evening its record at 1-1 with a 27-16 win over Buffalo. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said he had reasons to believe the team was improving. ‘The most encouraging thing to me was halftime,’ said Wannstedt, adding that even though the Panthers held the lead at half in their first game, the feeling in the locker room wasn’t upbeat because they had already blown a 14-point lead. ‘This week we knew it was going to be a 60-minute ballgame,’ said Wannstedt. In its first game, Pitt held a 17-14 lead at the half but was outscored 13-0 in the second half by Bowling Green. The Panthers had a 10-9 lead going into the half against Buffalo Saturday because of a missed extra point by Bulls’ kicker A.J. Principe. Pitt would go on to score 17 points in the second half of the game. ‘We came out with that attitude that we’re going to prove we’re a good team,’ said sophomore tailback LeSean McCoy. ‘We came out and fought for four quarters.’ McCoy played a big role in the Panther win, rushing for 93 yards on 20 carries and scoring all three of Pitt’s touchdowns. ‘The whole week we had that sick feeling, knowing you’re a good player and you played horrible,’ said McCoy. ‘I stunk it up last week.’ McCoy certainly wasn’t the only member of the offense to rebound after a poor showing in the team’s first game. Wannstedt, McCoy and quarterback Bill Stull all praised the play of the offensive line. ‘Our front guys played a hell of a game,’ said Stull. ‘They gave me some time and gave our receivers a chance to make some big plays.’ With the additional time, Stull went 22-33 for 241 yards to seven different receivers. His one interception came on a desperation heave at the end of the first half. ‘Our receivers played with better energy than they did last week,’ said Wannstedt. ‘Last week we dropped a couple of balls early, and I don’t think we were very strong mentally.’ Oderick Turner led Pitt with 69 receiving yards, and T.J. Porter pulled in a team-high six receptions. One of the biggest catches of the game came from the hands, or more appropriately, hand of Cedric McGee. Pitt led 17-16 on its first drive of the fourth quarter, facing a third-and-four from the Buffalo 44. McGee cut across the middle of the field, but Stull threw the ball behind him. While in mid-air, McGee stretched his arm as far behind him as he could and hauled in the pass using only his left arm. The play went for 10 yards and a first down. The drive resulted in a two-yard touchdown run by McCoy, giving the Panthers a 24-16 lead. McGee finished the game with three receptions for 28 yards. Along with strong play from the offense, the Pitt defense managed to hold a Buffalo offense that scored 42 points in its first game to just 16 Saturday. But there were times during the game that the Bulls’ offense, led by quarterback Drew Willy and running back James Starks, seamlessly moved the ball. The second drive of the game, which resulted in a touchdown rush by Brandon Thermilus, saw the Bulls run 15 plays for 73 yards. It was the Bulls’ longest drive since their 16-play, 80-yard drive last Nov. 3 against Miami (Ohio). On Willy’s only touchdown pass of the game, he hit Brett Hamlin, who had not a single Pitt defender within at least 7 yards of him, for a 39-yard touchdown pass. But when it needed a big stop, the Pitt defense was able to come up with one. On the very first drive of the game, Tommie Duhart blocked a 44-yard field goal attempt. After the Bulls scored to make it 17-16 Pitt, the Panthers went three-and-out and punted the ball. On a third-and-six from close to midfield, Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard combined for a sack, forcing Buffalo to punt. Late in the fourth quarter, with the game out of reach, Eric Thatcher intercepted a pass in Pitt territory. Willy hadn’t thrown an interception in his last 284 pass attempts, which was the longest active streak in the nation. One streak that continued through the game was Pitt kicker Connor Lee’s school record of consecutive point after touchdowns made, which he increased to 80, connecting three times during the game. Next up for the Panthers is a bye week before Iowa comes to Heinz Field Sept. 20. Wannstedt said the team still has plenty to improve upon, starting with fundamentals. ‘Tackling, blocking, throwing and catching the ball are things we have to be able to do consistently,’ he said. Wannstedt also said he’s not usually in favor of bye weeks coming so early in the year, but he’s looking forward to this one. His quarterback agreed. ‘It’s the perfect timing for a bye week,’ said Stull. ‘We just got a win, and we have a lot of things to clean up.’