Pitt finally opens season this weekend

It seems that whenever the Ohio University Bobcats stroll into town, something new and… It seems that whenever the Ohio University Bobcats stroll into town, something new and exciting makes its first appearance in the college football world.

The last time the Bobcats and the Panthers met, Rod Rutherford made his first collegiate start by throwing three touchdowns. Larry Fitzgerald caught his first NCAA pass, one that, surprisingly, was not for a touchdown. Much to the crowd’s delight, it was the birth of one of the program’s most successful streaks (Pitt is 23-9 in its last 32 games).

Hoping for a repeat of Rutherford’s debut performance, Tyler Palko, recently anointed starting quarterback at the expense of classmate Luke Getsy, makes his first start Saturday night. Getsy has since asked for the release of his scholarship with plans to transfer to Akron.

Pitt won the last meeting with the Bobcats 27-14, giving the Panthers a perfect 6-0 all-time record against the team from Athens, with every game played within the confines of Pittsburgh. If ever there were concern for the life of that streak, it would arise this year.

“They have an advantage over us because they have actually played in a game and we haven’t,” running back Raymond Kirkley said, referring to Ohio’s victory last weekend over the Virginia Military Institute. “They have one under their belt, and they are used to the speed, so we are just trying to get back into it.”

Speed can be seen all over the field under the lights of Heinz Field this weekend as the Bobcats make a debut of their own. The visitors arrive with a brand new, exciting offensive scheme.

Ohio disposed of VMI 42-14 last weekend, but that is not what excites Ohio fans the most this fall. Behind that score was the unveiling of a new offense for the Bobcats — a spread offense that racked up 459 yards of total offense almost perfectly distributed between rush and pass, 230 rushing yards to 229 passing yards. Ohio moved the ball proficiently all game, achieving 21 first downs and nearly six yards per play.

The spread arrived in Athens when Phil Earley was hired as the team’s new offensive coordinator. Earley coached at Nevada through 2002 and is known for a running a single-back offense that, not surprisingly, perfectly balances the ground and the aerial attack. In 2001, his Wolfpack ranked ninth nationally in total offense, being one of only nine teams to average over 200 yards per game on the ground and through the air.

“We’ve been trying to watch what they did last year and where their coordinator came from last year,” Harris said Wednesday. “So we’ve done a lot of extra research on [their offense] and the staff.”

Calling signals under center for the Bobcats will be senior Ryan Hawk, who threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns to no interceptions last weekend, hitting nine different receivers on his 13 completions. Earley’s spread will be going up against a very young Panther defense, especially in the secondary when sophomore Mike Phillips and freshman Darrelle Revis are expected to start at the corners. Junior veteran Kirkley understands how important it will be, particularly for the younger players on defense, to adjust to the speed of the game.

“[The younger players] have to concentrate,” said Kirkley, who redshirted last season. “They’re in college now and it’s a little different than high school, but they can adjust to that by the way we practice. The speed of the game is so much different.”

Kirkley and a relatively inexperienced offense will see the Bobcats run a 3-4 on defense, meaning they put four linebackers in the box. This is a formation not run by most college teams and one Pitt has been trying to get used to this past week.

“It’s an entirely different defense than South Florida,” senior tackle Rob Petitti said. “So we’ve been practicing against a 3-4 all week, and just basically learning the different blocking schemes. But that’s how football is; it changes every week.”

One thing is certain: changes will be plentiful at Heinz Field on Saturday come 7 p.m.