Pitt looks to remain perfect in Big East

At least Troy Nunes is gone.

No longer will the Pitt football team have to worry about the… At least Troy Nunes is gone.

No longer will the Pitt football team have to worry about the Butler, Pa., native and former Syracuse quarterback stealing games from his hometown team in the most ridiculous of ways – such as picking up a fumbled snap during a field goal attempt, running about 30 yards backwards, then calmly throwing a touchdown pass in 1999.

Veteran Pitt football fans may be well aware of the struggles the Panthers have had against the Orangemen over the years, except, of course, for Pitt’s 48-24 victory in the Carrier Dome last season. In fact, Pitt hasn’t beaten Syracuse at home since the 1989 season.

That would be the same 1989 season in which Mike Gottfried was the head coach, Alex Van Pelt was the freshman gunslinger playing quarterback and Walt Harris actually coached against the Panthers at Pitt Stadium for his alma mater Pacific – a school that no longer has a football program.

Enough history. The Panthers (4-2 overall, 1-0 Big East) have more immediate reasons for needing a win when Syracuse (4-2, 1-1) comes to Heinz Field on Saturday at noon. Remaining unbeaten in the early Big East season would be at the top of that list.

To do so, Pitt will have to play tougher in the trenches on both sides of the ball. The Panthers have had problems at times protecting quarterback Rod Rutherford and have not run the ball as well as they would have liked.

“We need to upgrade the consistency of our blocking,” Harris said after practice on Wednesday.

Receiver Princell Brockenbrough, who missed Pitt’s last game at Rutgers, practiced on Wednesday and agreed by saying: “Every offense needs balance. Running is important.”

Syracuse’s run defense has shown that it can be penetrated at times. Virginia Tech ran for 337 yards against the Orangemen two weeks ago in Blacksburg, Va.

One area in which the Pitt offense has not had trouble, when the line has blocked well, is getting big plays out of the passing game. Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald will try to continue his torrid pace in which he has scored a touchdown in 12 consecutive games, dating back to last year.

With Syracuse likely to concentrate on Fitzgerald, the Panthers will have to continue to find secondary targets. Tight end Kris Wilson had a big game against Rutgers – a career-high nine catches for 110 yards and a TD – and will try to find seams in the middle of the Orangemen defense.

If Brockenbrough is unable to play, senior Yogi Roth and freshman Greg Lee will have to step up and make plays.

“We like what we have [at receiver] but we’re real thin,” Harris said.

Defensively, the Panthers are coming off a disappointing second half at Rutgers in which the Scarlet Knights were able to come back, largely through the air, and make an interesting game out of what should have been a Pitt blowout.

Pitt has also struggled against the run and cannot allow Syracuse running back Walter Reyes to run through the holes that Notre Dame running back Julius Jones ran through a few weeks ago.

Quarterback R.J. Anderson is also a running threat for the Orangemen, who sometimes employ an option attack.

Anderson, a senior who has been heavily criticized by Syracuse fans during his career, has improved this season. He has thrown for 1,103 yards and seven touchdowns while running for 205 yards and three more touchdowns. Anderson is also the only starting quarterback in the country who has not thrown an interception this season.

Pitt’s defense currently ranks 86th in the country in yards permitted per game with an average of 406.8 yards given up and will try to start bringing that number down against the Orangemen.

On special teams, the Panthers seem to have found a punt-returner in senior defensive back Tutu Ferguson. Ferguson has averaged 10.8 yards per punt and has broken several returns for long gains.

Both teams will be looking for their second conference win when they take the field at noon on Saturday.