Rutgers brings aggressive defense

At noon tomorrow, the Pitt football team will look to do something it hasn’t done all season:… At noon tomorrow, the Pitt football team will look to do something it hasn’t done all season: win for the third consecutive week.

Through their first six games, the Panthers have shown flashes of being a good football team, while at the same time have felt the effects of injuries and inexperience. At the mid-way mark, the Panthers — up until last week’s win over Boston College — couldn’t win back-to-back games. Now, with two straight wins, the Panthers are eager to get a third as the Rutgers Scarlet Knights roll into town.

With its upset over Boston College, Pitt has improved its conference record to 2-1 and changed the momentum of the season. The Panthers are two Big East wins from setting up a Thanksgiving Day Backyard Brawl that could determine the Big East Champion.

“Everyone’s so excited around here,” left tackle Rob Petitti said. “It’s really gotten crazy right now because we know we still have a chance to win the Big East. We have to win out, but now we know it’s there for the taking. Beating Boston College gave us a lot of confidence because they were a very good team. We know we can be a great team.”

Although Pitt has beaten Rutgers the past five seasons and leads the overall series against the Scarlet Knights 18-3, the Panthers are not showing a lack of respect for their opponent.

At head coach Walt Harris’ weekly press conference, he recalled last year’s game at Rutgers. He remembered that the offense, after scoring 42 first half points, hit a brick wall in the second half. The offensive breakdown is vivid in his memory.

“I remember the second half of our game last year; for some reason I don’t remember the first half very well but I remember the second half,” Harris said. Harris complimented the Scarlet Knights and praised them for their two-game winning streak.

Petitti, a team captain, agreed with his coach that this year’s edition of the Scarlet Knights is much improved from previous years.

One thing that makes this Rutgers team different than in past seasons is its impressive defensive unit and its experienced quarterback leading the offense.

Their defense has recorded 24 sacks in just six games this season. Not only is that leading the Big East, it is equal to the amount of the next two teams combined.

“Their defense has a lot of overall speed, especially with their linebackers,” Petitti said. “That allows them to play a lot of dime defenses in third and long situations. They do a lot of blitzing and lots of twists that are hard to pick up. If you don’t pick them up that’s how they’re going to get sacks.”

On the offensive side of the ball, junior quarterback Ryan Hart is coming off back-to-back games of throwing for more than 300 yards. According to Harris, Hart, a two-year starter, is a very good player.

Hart is ranked second, behind UConn’s All-American Dan Orlovsky, in nearly every passing category in the Big East. He has completed a conference-high 63.1 percent of his passes for 10 touchdowns and 1,634 yards.

The game against Rutgers precedes a two-game road trip that Pitt will embark on in the weeks to follow. After a week off, Pitt will travel to Syracuse and Notre Dame.

Tomorrow’s game against Rutgers will be televised by ESPN regional and broadcast on WTAE Channel 4. Kickoff is set for noon with homecoming festivities scheduled for half time.