After a 20-10 Homecoming loss against nationally ranked Rutgers two weeks ago, the Panthers… After a 20-10 Homecoming loss against nationally ranked Rutgers two weeks ago, the Panthers took a week off and are back to work to take on South Florida this weekend — the first of four conference games to close out their schedule that could make or break their season.

After Pitt takes on the Bulls, it will travel to UConn and then host two teams battling for a shot at the national title game in WVU and Louisville.

Before Pitt can look forward to playing the spoiler for those conference foes, it must overcome some injuries and take care of USF, who is also coming off a bye week.

Head coach Dave Wannstedt addressed those issues and others in his weekly press conference earlier this week.

Back to Work

After one of the best seven game starts in school history at 6-1, the Rutgers loss sent the Panthers’ players and coaching staff back to the drawing board, and they used the week off to its fullest.

“It’s good to get back at it after the weekend break,” Wannstedt said on Monday. “We had an opportunity to reflect, our players had a chance to get away from it and hopefully reflect upon what is left to be accomplished for the remainder of the season.”

Even though Pitt defeated USF last season by a 31-17 score, Wannstedt knows that a let down after the Rutgers game could be detrimental to the Panthers.

“Right now we’re going to need every ounce of focus and every ounce of concentration that we can muster up to take with us down to South Florida. They’re a very talented football team,” Wannstedt added.

No Bull

Not only are the Bulls a talented team, they are a very different team than any the Panthers have faced this season.

“It’s a form of the option. The quarterback, (redshirt freshman Matt Grothe) he has the ability to keep it any time he wants…that’s the biggest challenge,” Wannstedt said.

“The last couple weeks, the teams that we’ve played, Rutgers, Syracuse, Central Florida, that wasn’t their form of attack. It was the tailback and they were a running-back-oriented offense. Give the ball to the back and [the quarterback] would only scramble when [he] had to.

“Part of their offensive attack is for the quarterback to keep the ball and run, so that’s what separates them and makes them a little bit different,” Wannstedt added.

Grothe’s “a very good passer, he’s a very good runner with the ball in his hands, he makes a lot of plays. He’s made pretty good decisions, and I think that’s been a real spark for their offense. I think their quarterback has really been the difference in the success that they’ve had on offense.”

Injured Panthers

While the injury of senior offensive lineman John Simonitis was well documented, little news has been made to the equal losses suffered on the other side of the line of scrimmage for the Panthers.

Defensive tackle Mick Williams underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on Friday after missing five games this season because of an injury.

Williams was hurt in training camp, where Wannstedt had him penciled in as a starter, and was expected to return at some point in the season, but now with the surgery he is officially done for the year.

Also, on the defensive line, Chris McKillop and Joe Clermond have been battling injuries, but Wannstedt confirmed that both are healed up and will be in action against South Florida.

Road Sweet Road?

When the Panthers travel to Tampa on Saturday, they will put a 3-0 road record on the line. Undefeated on the road, with wins against USF and next week at UConn, they will be 5-0 away from home for the first time since the 1981 season.

This will also be the second trip the Panthers make to the Sunshine State this season, an Oct. 13 52-7 win over Central Florida. Florida is a place many of the Panthers are familiar with.

Twenty-one Panthers call Florida home, second to only Pennsylvania, which is home for 53 Panthers.

“It’s going to be the same family members coming and the same excitement there (as was the case for the Central Florida game). Our guys know the importance of this game,” Wannstedt said. “All those things on top of going back home and playing give us a lot of reasons to be excited about playing, whether you’re from Florida or not.”