Mushing the Huskies

“Bouncing back” is a term that has become hackneyed in sports journalism. Stories of players… “Bouncing back” is a term that has become hackneyed in sports journalism. Stories of players bouncing back from injury or teams bouncing back from a bad loss litter daily newspapers and magazines.

While it has experienced both injury and defeat this season, Pitt is not a bounce-back story. Rather, the Panthers want to build upon their performance in their loss to Michigan State last week when they play Connecticut this weekend.

“I think we walked away, particularly after watching the film the next day, with a lot of bright spots,” Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt said during his weekly press conference.

“Our kids gave enough effort to win that football game. Our guys showed enough toughness and strength to win that football game. In games like that sometimes it’s not the team that makes the most great plays that wins, it’s the team that makes the least amount of bad plays, and that’s what happened on Saturday.”

Bouncing back is also a poor sentiment when you consider the roster that the Panthers fielded against a traditionally strong team from a traditionally strong conference. Ten players were making their first road start for Pitt in a very hostile environment.

“They didn’t come unglued with the crowd, and they didn’t get distracted,” Wannstedt said. “And when you go into a football game like that where you’re a heavy underdog, you talk about winning it in the fourth quarter.”

The Panthers haven’t displayed any glaring weaknesses on defense or with their running game.

Even in defeat, Pitt allowed only 141 yards on 51 carries (2.8 yards per carry) and recorded six sacks.

“They tried to bloody our nose with 51 runs from a running back that was probably [Pitt defensive tackle] Mick Williams’ size, but our guys held up well,” Wannstedt said. “It’s a compliment to our players and our strength program.”

The Panthers countered the Spartans running game with a freshman, LeSean McCoy, playing in place of the injured LaRod Stephens-Howling. In his first collegiate start, McCoy ran for 181 yards on 25 carries. McCoy is now fourth in the Big East in rushing, trailing Heisman Trophy candidates Ray Rice of Rutgers and Steve Slaton of West Virginia, as well as Louisville’s Anthony Allen.

Stephens-Howling’s expected return this week should only bolster the already impressive ground attack.

Perhaps the only question heading into the game with Connecticut is who will be taking most of the snaps at quarterback.

Redshirt freshman Kevan Smith has seen most of the action since junior starter Bill Stull suffered a thumb injury in the opening week victory over Eastern Michigan.

However, following last week’s insipid passing performance (85 yards and two interceptions), freshman Pat Bostick will challenge Smith for the starting position this Saturday. If Smith does earn the nod, any early mistakes might cost him playing time.

“It all starts with confidence,” Wannstedt said. “And this goes for Pat as well. We’re going to work both quarterbacks equally in practice. They’re both going to be ready to play. I’m expecting the starter to be Kevan. We haven’t locked that into stone yet. They’ll both get equal work this week.”

The Huskies (3-0) come to the Steel City undefeated, carrying the memories of last season’s 46-45 double-overtime defeat of the Panthers.

Their former starting quarterback, D.J. Hernandez, is back. This year, however, he is more likely to be receiving passes from quarterback Tyler Lorenzen than snaps from the center. Hernandez made the switch to wide receiver in order to make room for Lorenzen, a 6-foot-5 junior college transfer. Lorenzen is third in the conference in average passing yards per game.