After getting out to its best start since 1982 at 6-1, the Pitt football team has lost two… After getting out to its best start since 1982 at 6-1, the Pitt football team has lost two consecutive games and was looking for answers after a disheartening loss last Saturday to South Florida 22-12.

Head coach Dave Wannstedt didn’t have all the answers but did have some and offered other suggestions at his weekly press conference on Monday.

Learning from mistakes

If Pitt is to learn from its mistakes from Saturday’s loss in Tampa, Fla., it will have a lot to learn from. Pitt committed 10 penalties for 131 yards and quarterback Tyler Palko was intercepted three times and sacked twice.

“After watching the tape of the South Florida game, it’s pretty obvious,” Wannstedt said. “You really have to be a great football team to overcome the sacks and penalties that we committed last week.”

Wannstedt felt the fact the Panthers were able to force four Bulls turnovers and block a field goal and still come up short makes the loss even tougher.

“You should win the game — how do you not? It’s real simple — sacks, penalties and losing possession times because we kicked the ball out of bounds. We got caught on two fake punts,” Wannstedt said. “That made the difference in the game.”

Those mistakes, which rarely appeared in the Panthers’ first seven games, are slowly becoming a trend. Against Rutgers Pitt allowed five sacks, committed eight penalties and turned the ball over once.

“All those things get magnified when you start playing against better people and that’s a little bit what happened to us. There’s no excuse. We’re capable of getting that done,” Wannstedt said.

Leaders won’t let Pitt down

While some of the post game comments from team leaders on both sides of the ball (offensively Mike McGlynn and Palko and defensively H.B. Blades and Darrelle Revis) seemed to be almost finger pointing, Wannstedt knows that their emotional responses will be taken positively by his team.

“We have great leadership,” Wannstedt said. “I love the attitude but you like it to be said on the sideline to the other players or to the practice field not to you (the media). So I like H.B. saying, ‘We need to get more focus.’ Obviously when you’re dropping balls and jumping offsides you’re not concentrating enough.

“So I like the attitude of what they’re saying but let’s keep it with us (the team) and make sure that we’re all together on it. I’ll get that done today. That is all part of a team maturing through a season.”

Strong suspension

After hauling in a 19-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter Saturday, tight end Darrell Strong made an obscene gesture to the crowd. The gesture landed him a 15-yard penalty in the game but also landed him an indefinite suspension from Wannstedt and the team.

In a statement issued by the University on Saturday, Wannstedt said that “our football program and University have very high standards, and we will not tolerate the behavior Darrell Strong displayed.”

Strong also issued an apology to both universities involved and his teammates, but that won’t change his suspension.

On Monday Wannstedt added that Strong “will not play next week, not at all. He will not be in the building. He’s suspended from any activities, meeting, practices or the weight room. He’ll spend time with his academics and we’ll meet next Sunday and see where he’s at.”