Panthers-Bulls game up in air

Pitt is slated to play South Florida Monday, but the chances of the Panthers opening their… Pitt is slated to play South Florida Monday, but the chances of the Panthers opening their season then are fading.

The reason for question is a category-four hurricane named Frances, which is twice the size of Hurricane Andrew and making its way toward Florida, causing millions to evacuate.

According to EPSN.com, the Miami-Florida State game has already been postponed from Monday to Friday.

But according to South Florida’s Web site, the Pitt game is still on, and they won’t make an announcement of any changes until Sunday morning.

If postponed, it could be moved to the weekend of Oct. 28, since that is the only open date shared by both South Florida and Pitt.

It would also make the game against Ohio the season opener.

But in the meantime, the Pitt game is still on, and, for the first time since Walt Harris has been head football coach, the Panthers will open their season on the road Monday against the upstart Bulls of South Florida. It will be the first test for a young Panther team that refuses to admit to being in a rebuilding mode following last year’s eight-win season.

The only prior meeting between the two teams came in 2001 when USF spoiled Pitt’s home opener at Heinz Field, handing the Panthers a 35-26 setback. In that game, the Bulls’ defense held the Panthers to just 12 net rushing yards while throwing the ball 65 times. This time around, the Panthers won’t take the Bulls lightly.

“I hope we are a better prepared team now then we were then,” Harris said. “For us to not get a sack that game, and we were a pretty good defensive team that year. They really took it to us. I am hoping that we are much better prepared and are ready to face their different sets.”

The Panthers will feature eight new starters on offense, including new starters at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end. Redshirt sophomore Tyler Palko will get his first collegiate start after beating out Luke Getsy for the quarterback position. At running back, redshirt junior Raymond Kirkley will be the starter, while sophomores Greg Lee and Joe DelSardo will attempt to replace Heisman trophy runner-up Larry Fitzgerald at wide receiver. Consensus All-American Rob Petitti will provide stability on an offensive line that battled serious injuries most of last season.

On the defensive side of the ball the Panthers will attempt to better their run defense, which proved to be their Achilles’ heel a year ago. Sophomore Clint Session will get the starting nod at middle linebacker, and will be flanked by sophomore H.B. Blades at strong side linebacker and co-starters J.J. Horne and Malcolm Postell on the weak side. On the defensive line, Academic All-Americans Vince Crochunis and Dan Stephens are back at the down tackle positions, while Azzie Beagnyam and Thomas Smith will control the ends.

In the secondary, the Panthers will start one redshirt freshman and one true freshman at each of the cornerback positions. Mike Phillips, who sat out last year, will take over at the left cornerback position, while true freshman Darrelle Revis impressed the coaching staff enough to beat out Reggie Carter and Bernard “Josh” Lay at right corner. For the third straight year, Tez Morris and Tyrone Gilliard will start at the two safety positions, adding experience to the secondary.

Coming off a seven-win season and six consecutive winning seasons, the Bulls are preparing to join the Big East in 2005.

Offensively, Pat Julmiste beat out incumbent starter Ronnie Banks for the quarterback job in the spring, despite Banks throwing for more than 1,400 yards and eight touchdowns last year. Senior Clenton Crossley, who is third on the school’s all-time rushing list with 1,236 yards, is the lone returnee from last year’s backfield. Thanks to a spread offense that features four and five wide receiver sets, arguably the most important position is at receiver where the Bulls have 17 on the roster. Most notably are Bruce Gipson, J.B. Garris, Joe Bain and S.J. Green, who enter the season as starters.

The Bulls defense is led by Preseason All-Conference USA tackle Lee Roy Selmon, whose 63 tackles a year ago are tops among returning defenders. Middle linebacker Stephen Nicholas earned Freshman All-Conference honors after recording 46 tackles and 5.5 sacks, which was tied for second among all freshmen in the country.

The game is expected be played at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m. The game is scheduled to be a national ESPN telecast.