Pitt offense still stems from run game

Dave Wannstedt has made it very public that he wants to run the football, and as Pitt prepares… Dave Wannstedt has made it very public that he wants to run the football, and as Pitt prepares for a pivotal mid-season matchup with South Florida (3-2 overall, 1-0 Big East) Saturday, his views on the ground game have not wavered.

“In the championships that I’ve won on all levels, we’ve been able to run the ball effectively and stop the run. That gives you a chance. It doesn’t guarantee anything,” he said at his weekly press conference Monday.

“We’ve just got to keep working on it. We’ve got to get better at running the ball. We haven’t even scratched the surface of where I envision us being. We haven’t even scratched the surface of stopping the run where I envision us. And we’ll get there, because I know exactly what we’ve got to do.”

Knowing what to do is not going to be enough to stop USF’s Andre Hall, however.

“He’s awfully talented,” Wannstedt said of the senior tailback. “Their offense, they spread you out [with] three receivers, four receivers, five receivers. But the thing they’re doing best at this point is running the ball. It’s a credit obviously to Hall, the running back. He’s a very talented player. They’re committed to the run, and they find ways to run the football in all personnel groups. You have to really be careful that you don’t fall into a trap that way.”

Pitt (2-4, 1-1) appears more prepared to do what Wannstedt wants this week than any other, and he said this is the healthiest his team has been in months.

“Nothing real substantial to report from last week’s game concerning injuries. We actually came out probably the best that we have from a team standpoint all year long,” he said. “That’s very encouraging. We’ll wait and see with some of the guys. LaRod [Stephens-Howling], [Brandon] Mason, a few of the players that did not play last week because of injuries. We’ll just take it one day at a time and see how they progress.”

As for the Panthers’ own rushing attack, Wannstedt discussed the improvement of his freshman running back Rashad Jennings, whom he expects to start for the third time this season when the Bulls come to town Saturday.

“It was good to get him back and get him in the mix again. It seems like forever since he’s played,” he said in reference to the freshman’s first 100-yard game Saturday when he gained 102 yards and scored his first career touchdown.

But all topics of discussion came back to his defense and what Pitt needs to do to stop a potent South Florida offense.

“We’ve got to work on our tackling. That was a little bit disappointing. No, it was a lot disappointing what happened on Saturday,” he said of Cincinnati eclipsing 300 yards of total offense. “There was close to over 100 yards in missed tackles,” he added, referring to a screen pass the Bearcats ran effectively last week to pick up their first touchdown of the game in the third quarter.

“We ran a blitz and we should have tackled the guy in the flat. And we missed. And the second guy misses. And pretty soon it’s a long-gainer,” he said. “We gave up too many yards defensively after contact, which [can’t happen] when you’re playing a team like South Florida, not in just the running back position, but in all positions. The receivers they’ve got, we know their type of athletes.”

The reason Pitt knows these type of athletes is because some of them, like linebacker H.B. Blades and Greg Lee, fill Wannstedt’s roster.

“We’ve got 17 players on our team, actively right now, from [Florida],” he said. “Pitt’s always had players from that part of the country. We know the type of players we’re going to be facing. Everybody you talk to, the first thing they talk about is their team’s speed and their athleticism. We’ve got to do a good job of making sure we eliminate the big plays.”

Kickoff at Heinz Field is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.