Penguins look to extend Panthers’ slide

After a heartbreaking 7-6 loss at Nebraska left Pitt with an 0-3 start, Dave Wannstedt has… After a heartbreaking 7-6 loss at Nebraska left Pitt with an 0-3 start, Dave Wannstedt has nothing left but to hope his defense keeps up the good work.

The Panthers’ offense has not reached the end zone in almost 133 minutes, but the defense has kept Pitt flirting with victory. Wannstedt points out that defense is the Panthers’ biggest strength right now.

“As long as the scores are as close as they have been, it does put a lot of pressure on your team. It puts a lot of pressure on your defense,” Wannstedt said.

Despite their record, Pitt is still favored to upend I-AA Youngstown State. While it’s a little more than an hour from Pitt to Youngstown State – which could likely bring a contingent of opposing fans – the Panthers have never met the Penguins, who were once at the top in I-AA football.

Under Jim Tressel, the Penguins won four I-AA titles during the 1990s. But since Tressel took the coaching job at Ohio State, YSU has posted just a 24-21 mark in the past four seasons, including a 9-16 record during the last two years. However, the Penguins are off to a 3-0 start for the first time in four seasons.

“They haven’t given anybody an easy score,” Wannstedt said. “They’re 3-0 for a reason. They have played good, and they haven’t beaten themselves.”

Youngstown State is 19-18-1 versus I-A foes since 1981, but only 1-5 since 1998. All of those teams were either in the Mid-American Conference or independents. The Panthers have more favor with this history, going 3-0 against I-AA schools, though they had their hands full with Furman last year, winning in overtime, 41-38.

Still, Pitt is preparing the same way for the Penguins as it would for the Cornhuskers and Syracuse. After all, YSU is undefeated.

“We know their record. They’re scoring a lot of points,” Wannstedt said of the Penguins. “They rotate two quarterbacks in there. They force you to defend the option game. They force you to defend the sprint-out game, the drop-back game. They’ve got an all-conference running back [Justin Reams].”

The Penguins have gained an average of 238 yards on the ground per game, while limiting opponents to just 70. However, one of those games was against Division II Slippery Rock. Still, this could be a concern for Pitt, which has allowed 181 rushing yards per game.

Freshman running back LaRod Stephens-Howling is coming off a 98-yard rushing mark last week at Lincoln. Senior running back Raymond Kirkley is likely to start, but Stephens-Howling is certain to get substantial playing time.

“That’s always a tough situation when you’re trying to give a guy an opportunity,” Wannstedt said of the ground situation. “I think what happened was we could see his quickness, we could see his ability, and when [Rashad] Jennings got hurt, the door opened for him.”

Another question facing the Panthers following the Nebraska loss is the kicking game. Senior Josh Cummings missed a field goal and had two others blocked on Saturday, including the potential game-winner. Both Cummings and Wannstedt are unfazed.

“Just to echo what Josh said: If he felt he couldn’t go in there and kick, he wouldn’t have been in the game,” Wannstedt said in defense of his kicker. “He’ll be fine, and he’ll bounce back.”

Despite the Panthers’ offensive struggles at Nebraska, Wannstedt still believes it could have been worse.

“Our field position was horrible on offense. Our average starting position, I think, was the 21-yard-line. I thought our offense did a great job of getting up out of the hole,” the coach commented. But Wannstedt is concerned about the struggling offensive line, which allowed four sacks last week on Palko, and had given up 12 for the season thus far.

“That’s all it takes. You could have six guys open and have the perfect play call, and if you don’t block one guy and he’s chasing the quarterback, then everything breaks down. That’s kind of where we’re at right now. [Inefficient pass protection] throws the timing off. We’re going to continue working at that, and we’ll get better. I’m disappointed, but I’m not discouraged.”

The Panthers will be without Mike Phillips’ services for the rest of the season, because of injury.

A bright spot for the Panthers is punter Adam Graessle, a Ray Guy Award candidate. Graessle, a junior from Dublin, Ohio, is averaging 46.7 yards per punt, which leads the Big East and is third nationwide.

As Pitt closes its non-conference schedule tomorrow, Wannstedt is focused on rejuvenating the Panthers’ battered hopes.

“All the other stuff, the talk, we know it means nothing, and we’ve got to go out there and play tomorrow, and I like where we’re at. I think the guys came out there and did do that. Saturday was a tough one, but we cleaned that up this morning and we’re on to Youngstown State.”

The game will not be televised. Tickets still remain for the contest, which kicks off at 2 p.m.