Pitt opens things up, slips past Iowa

The Iowa defense gave LeSean McCoy a headache through three quarters on Saturday. As it turned… The Iowa defense gave LeSean McCoy a headache through three quarters on Saturday. As it turned out, a 27-yard touchdown run was all he needed to cure it. McCoy gave Pitt the lead with his run early in the fourth quarter, and the defense held on the rest of the way to help Pitt (2-1) take down Iowa, 21-20, despite being outgained in nearly every statistical category. But according Pitt linebacker Scott McKillop, there’s only one statistic that matters: who wins. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, who entered Saturday’s game 0-5 in contests following bye weeks, said that the most encouraging part of the game came when the team had the most pressure on it. He also mentioned the run by McCoy, which put Pitt in the lead. ‘It was a slow start for him,’ said Wannstedt of McCoy. ‘But I thought he finished strong.’ McCoy fumbled on Pitt’s first offensive play. But on its next possession, the Panthers avoided a letdown. Pitt quarterback Bill Stull started the series with two consecutive complete passes, the second being a 20-yard toss to senior Derek Kinder across the middle, taking Pitt into Iowa territory. The Panthers then pushed to the Iowa 17-yard line before transfer quarterback Greg Cross jogged onto the field for his first play in a Pitt jersey. With Stull still in the game, Cross stood in the shotgun formation behind center. Stull stood to his right, then moved in motion towards the sideline. Cross dropped back, looked around momentarily and then shot up the middle, weaving through the left side of the field en route to a 17-yard touchdown run. ‘They both had options depending on the defense,’ said Wannstedt of the two quarterbacks being in at once. ‘Our offensive line did a nice job blocking, so it worked.’ After Andrew Taglianetti partially blocked an Iowa punt on its next possession, Pitt once again marched down the field. Bill Stull ran for six yards on third-and-goal for the score. The extra point gave Pitt a 14-3 lead. But it wasn’t even close to over. Iowa used a rushing touchdown from tailback Shonn Greene to cut Pitt’s lead to four, which is how it stayed heading to halftime. Greene finished the game with 147 yards on 23 carries. It was the fourth straight game in which Greene has compiled more than 100 yards on the ground. Iowa then took the lead on its second drive after halftime on a two-yard run by quarterback Jake Christensen. The lead didn’t last long. Two possessions later, Pitt took the ball on its own 20-yard line with 2:44 left in the third quarter. Four minutes later, McCoy broke through the left side of the line and into the end zone for what went on to be the game-winning score. The defense did the rest. With 2:19 remaining in the game, Pitt punter Dave Brytus pinned Iowa back to its own one-yard line. A few plays later, Pitt defensive end Greg Romeus sacked Christensen for a loss of two yards. The next play, Romeus recovered a Christensen fumble forced by Tony Tucker to finish the game off. Iowa (3-1), which hadn’t allowed a touchdown in all three of its games leading up to Saturday, had more rushing yards, passing yards, first downs and time of possession than Pitt. Still, Pitt came through with the victory. ‘It’s good to get the win,’ said Wannstedt. Pitt hits the road to face Syracuse on Saturday.