Oct. 27, 2001: Pitt defeats Owls, 33-7

Editor’s note: This is the 11th in a “Greatest Games” series that will appear in The Pitt… Editor’s note: This is the 11th in a “Greatest Games” series that will appear in The Pitt News the day before each Pitt football game this year. Each part in the series will detail Pitt’s greatest game against that week’s opponent and will contain the original game story as it appeared in The Pitt News. This story was written by Kenneth Paul on Oct. 29, 2001

All season long, Pitt’s worst enemy was a foe named adversity. But Pitt defeated its nemesis last weekend, despite being an underdog and turning the ball over four times.

Thanks to a strong defensive performance and weak competition, Pitt (2-5 overall, 1-3 Big East) defeated Temple (2-5, 1-3) 33-7 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

“I think we came in with the right attitude to handle adversity better,” head coach Walt Harris said. “We really played well as a team.”

Just a week after Boston College rattled Pitt 45-7, days of uncertainty revolved around team unity and coaching jobs that may be on the line. But the Panthers came together, dispelling rampant rumors at least for one week.

The faces that streamed from the locker room after the game featured much different countenances from the previous week’s exit. For the first time in a long time, heads were raised high.

“If you detect a sigh of relief, you’re right,” Harris said. “It’s been a long road for our football program.”

As the players filed out, nobody celebrated loudly, but there was a sense of accomplishment and a release of tension vibrating through the hallway outside of the locker room.

“I think a lot of people checked themselves and rested up mentally and physically,” senior defensive end Bryan Knight said. “We changed our attitudes of ‘wanting to win’ to ‘needing to win.'”

Knight, who has been hampered by an ankle injury this season, finished the game with two tackles and a sack, helping to lead a balanced defensive effort that held Temple to just 204 net yards.

The defense was in the backfield all day long, as it rattled Temple’s freshman quarterback Mike McGann by sacking him nine times for a loss of 63 yards.

“You always want to shake quarterbacks up and make them nervous,” Knight said. “We did that, and he was forced to make quick decisions.”

The Pitt offense set the tone at the beginning by aggressively attacking the Temple defense.

On Pitt’s very first play from scrimmage, quarterback David Priestley launched a ball to an open R.J. English for a 46-yard reception, the longest grab of the game.

The long pass was followed up with a 9-yard toss to Antonio Bryant, which took the drive down to Temple’s 19-yard line. Pitt switched up the drive by handing off to Raymond Kirkley, who went left and squeezed by several Owls defensemen on his way to a 16-yard scamper.

A slanting Bryant was the recipient of a 6-yard pass from Priestley that put Pitt ahead, 7-0.

But Pitt was not done with its first-quarter thrashing of Temple.

After the Pitt defense shut down the Temple offense by forcing three consecutive three-and-out series, Bryant returned a Jace Amore punt 19 yards to the Pitt 43-yard line.

Pitt was unable to secure a first down on the drive, but a Temple holding penalty on a punt return rejuvenated the Pitt offense, immediately giving it a second chance.

On the ensuing play, after the penalty, Priestley found English again down the right sideline for a 21-yard grab. English, the team’s leading receiver, finished the day with four catches for 88 yards.

Priestley threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-28 passing.

Kirkley followed English’s catch with a 13-yard run, and the drive was capped off by a 5-yard touchdown reception made by a crossing Lousaka Polite.

With a minute left in the first quarter, Temple secured its first first down of the game, but three plays later, the Pitt defense forced another punt. However, the punt was never delivered – the ball was snapped low, and Amore let the ball go between his legs, setting the Pitt offense up at its own 10-yard line.

Pitt failed to punch the ball into the end zone, but place-kicker Nick Lotz put a 26-yard kick through the uprights, extending Pitt’s lead to 17. It was one of four field goals on the day for Lotz. He tacked on one more before the end of the first half, as Pitt led at halftime, 20-0.

Pitt’s defense was dominating in the first half, holding Temple to 49 yards on 32 plays. The damage had been done, and Temple would be unable to sustain any offense for the entire game.

Like the majority of the game, both teams played sloppily in the second half. For the game, the two teams combined for seven fumbles and 18 penalties for negative 140-yards.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Harris said. “We fumbled snaps, we didn’t have guys in on extra points, and we still have to take care of business better.”

Pitt added two more field goals in the second half, then the defensive effort was culminated when defensive end Brian Guzek picked up a Tanardo Sharps fumble, exhaustedly returning it for an 80-yard touchdown score.

The defense would have come away with its second shutout of the season, but a Rod Rutherford fumble deep in Pitt’s own territory gave Temple the ball on the Pitt 3-yard line. One play later, Lester Trammer rushed for the Owls’ lone score.

Pitt will try to win back-to-back games for the first time this season against Virginia Tech Saturday at Heinz Field.