Grothe, Bulls too much for Panthers

TAMPA, Fla. — Late in the second quarter with Pitt down 14-3 at South Florida, Gus… TAMPA, Fla. — Late in the second quarter with Pitt down 14-3 at South Florida, Gus Mustakas broke through the offensive line and had Bulls quarterback Matt Grothe in his grasps for a sack.

Mustakas wrapped Grothe up and flung him to the ground as the two twisted backwards. Grothe, however, rolled over Mustakas and never touched the field.

After regaining his balance on the play, Grothe flushed out to the right side of the field and hit a streaking S.J. Green for a 19-yard completion.

The Bulls didn’t score on the drive, but the play resembled the type of problems the redshirt freshman Grothe gave the Pitt defense. He threw for a touchdown and ran for another as the Panthers failed to limit his versatility, falling to the Bulls, 22-12.

“Disappointing would be the word,” Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt said of his team’s performance. “Just when you thought you pretty much saw every way not to win a football game, something else shows up.

“It started with the opening kickoff.”

On the opening kick, with the wind behind him, Adam Graessle booted the ball out of bounds along the left side. The penalty set the South Florida offense up with a short field, starting at its own 35-yard-line.

Once getting the ball, Grothe wasted little time, engineering an 11-play, 65-yard drive on the Bulls’ first possession, which ended in a 22-yard touchdown run off a reverse by Taurus Johnson.

Two possessions later, Grothe led the Bulls 50 yards downfield for their second score of the game. The biggest play came on a 24-yard rush by Grothe before he took it in from one yard out for an 11-point lead.

Grothe finished the game 19 of 25 for 180 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed the ball 12 times for 51 yards and a score.

“Defensively, we blitzed twice today — the touchdown on the reverse and the long touchdown pass,” Wannstedt said. “It’s disappointing in all phases. I feel like we’ve lost our edge, and it’s my responsibility to get it back.”

The Pitt offense, on the other hand, couldn’t match South Florida’s and struggled to sustain any offensive drive.

Senior quarterback Tyler Palko went 11-for-23 with 159 yards passing and a touchdown, but he was picked off by the South Florida defense three times. Palko had thrown only three interceptions total on the season before the game.

The Bulls held the Pitt run game in check as well. As a team, the Panthers rushed for 55 yards on 23 carries — led by LaRod Stephens-Howling’s 11 rushes for 29 yards.

Five separate South Florida players rushed for at least 20 yards as the Bulls totaled 190 yards rushing on 48 tries.

“It has nothing to do with the game plan,” Palko said. “It’s missed opportunities. The only people you can sit here and look at for losing this game is us, the players, not the offensive coordinator, not the defensive coordinator, not the head coach.

“It is not the coaches, it is the players.”

Pitt’s last chance to get back in the game came late in the fourth quarter as the Panthers trailed 22-6.

Palko moved the offense into position to score and found his tight end, Darrell Strong, in the corner of the end zone for the Panthers’ only touchdown.

Strong, however, drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play, pushing Pitt’s 2-point conversion back 15 yards. A Palko pass attempt to Marcel Pestano failed on the conversion attempt.

“The focus is not there, we’ve lost our edge and it is my job to get back,” Wannstedt said. “The penalties, the mistakes, it is frustrating, disappointing.

“We have three games left and we can get our edge back. We just need to clean up some of this stuff.”

NOTES: Tight end Darrell Strong was suspended indefinitely by Wannstedt for his actions on the field after he scored Pitt’s lone touchdown. After his catch, Strong looked toward the South Florida fans and made an obscene gesture.

“Our football program and university have very high standards, and we will not tolerate the behavior Darrell Strong displayed today,” Wannstedt said. “Darrell told me he regrets his actions, but he must also be accountable.”

“I want to sincerely apologize to the University of South Florida, the University of Pittsburgh and my coaches and teammates for my actions today,” Strong said. “I know my behavior hurt my team and embarrassed my university.”

In addition to Strong’s actions, the Panthers also left Tampa with a number of injuries to some key players.

Graessle left the game early and was taken to a hospital due to an abdominal injury that led to high blood pressure.

“His blood pressure went up [as a result of his injury], and they rushed him to the hospital after his second kickoff. He’s fine, and he’ll be back with us on the way home,” Wannstedt said.

With Graessle out, Lucas Stone, Cody Sawhill and Conor Lee all took part in kickoff duties.

A more serious injury sidelined defensive end Chris McKillop. McKillop left the game in the first half with a knee injury and did not return. He left the game on crutches and could be out for the season.