Pitt offense starting to become more balanced

In another comeback victory on Saturday, this one over Syracuse, the Pitt Panthers’ offense… In another comeback victory on Saturday, this one over Syracuse, the Pitt Panthers’ offense began to find its identity.

Coach Dave Wannstedt said before the season that he would bring power football back to Pittsburgh, boasting a run-first and run-you-over offense that was abandoned by former coach Walt Harris.

Through Pitt’s first five games, however, the Panthers failed to produce a back with a single 100-yard game.

Three weeks ago, in the Panthers’ win over Big East foe Cincinnati, freshman tailback Rashad Jennings broke that trend, rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown, to give Pitt its first conference win over the Bearcats.

This week, another freshman back, LaRod Stephens-Howling, hurdled the 100-yard mark, taking 23 carries for 103 yards.

“Me and Rashad provide a good one-two punch,” Stephens-Howling said after the game. “He runs the defense over, I run around them and, between the two of us, we keep them guessing all game.”

While Stephens-Howling got the start and the bulk of the carries on Saturday, Jennings also carried the ball 13 times for 51 yards.

Despite the recent success of the freshmen backs, the early struggles still put Pitt’s rushing attack at 80th in the country in total yards per game, as the Panthers average just 121 yards a contest.

But combine the new two-headed rushing attack now balancing Pitt’s offense with quarterback Tyler Palko’s newfound comfort in the pocket and his ability to find different receivers downfield, and the Panthers are starting to look the way Palko envisioned after Pitt’s first win weeks ago over Youngstown State.

The passing attack is even becoming more dimensional itself. The Panthers have been looking everywhere for a second deep-threat receiver all year, and very well may have found him. Pitt’s leading pass catcher on Saturday was not Greg Lee, but Derek Kinder, who caught eight of Palko’s throws for 80 yards and a touchdown.

The success of the passing game is a direct effect of the play of Pitt’s often-criticized offensive line, a unit that allowed 20 sacks through the first five weeks. The group only gave up one sack against a touted pair of Orange defensive ends in James Wyche and Ryan LaCasse yesterday to help Palko find his receivers downfield.

“I’ve been getting it all week from our coaches about their defensive ends, so this was something personal,” Pitt left tackle Charles Spencer said. “They are really good defensive ends. I don’t take anything from them, but I think I did a pretty good job against them.”

A good job on the offensive line is just what Palko and the Panthers’ offense need to continue to climb in the Big East standings. Two of Pitt’s last three games are on the road next week at Louisville and on Thanksgiving at West Virginia.

“The last two weeks, all people have said is how fast the defensive lines were, and I think our guys had a little chip on their shoulder,” Palko said. “We are going to be playing some good football players down the stretch, and they are going to have their work cut out for them, so they need to play with a chip.”

A balanced offense is what Wannstedt begged for early in the year. Against Syracuse, Pitt ran the ball a total of 50 times for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Palko also found eight different receivers on 28 attempts, totaling for 191 yards and a score, and the Panthers’ offense rallied again, despite early turnovers, to overcome a 10-0 deficit.

The balancing act against the Orange proved to suffice for now. However, the Pitt offense will truly be tested down the stretch against defensive end Elvis Dumerville of Louisville and the nation’s fourth- and 13th-ranked defenses of Connecticut and West Virginia, respectively.