Loss shines light on weaknesses

There are plenty of explanations that could be given as to why Pitt lost its first game ever… There are plenty of explanations that could be given as to why Pitt lost its first game ever against a Mid-American Conference team on Saturday night.

The offensive line seemed to have trouble with the crowd noise, picking up a handful of false-start penalties. That could be a good reason, but the offense was able to overcome all of those miscues.

Quarterback Rod Rutherford threw his first two interceptions of the season, which also happened to be the Panthers’ first giveaways of the year. The first pick hurt, mainly because it came right after a Toledo fumble, but the second one came after Pitt had already put 31 points on the board and, at that point, the game should have already been decided.

Pitt managed to gain just 74 yards on the ground. A lack of balance on offense isn’t good, but with the exception of the two turnovers, the passing game was flawless. Rutherford had his third 300-yard game of the year, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald had a career-best 201 yards receiving, and tight end Kris Wilson caught three touchdown passes.

The problems with this loss are not on the offensive side of the ball. This loss is the fault of the defense and – more importantly – the defensive play calling, which is rather troublesome.

The Panthers’ defense put no pressure on Toledo quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, allowing him to throw for almost 500 yards, and receivers Lance Moore and Steve Odom combined for 26 receptions, 297 yards and two touchdowns.

The problems with the defense go back to the previous week, when Pitt played Ball State.

For three drives against the Cardinals, Pitt allowed Ball State to move down the field with ease. One of those drives lasted nine plays and covered 80 yards before Ball State was able to get into the end zone.

So what’s the reason for the defense’s inability to stop the opposition?

Could it be a change in personnel? The Panthers did lose five starters from last year’s squad, including both cornerbacks.

Could it be inexperience? While all of the new starters had some game experience heading into the season, there are some true freshmen who have found their way into the rotation.

As hinted at before, could it be the coaching? Gradkowski dropped back to pass more than 60 times on Saturday, but on only a handful of those plays did he throw a ball deeper than 10 yards, and not one of those passes was completed.

That means that most of the Rockets’ plays were short, quick passes, and most of those passes were no more than two or three yards into the flat, and only became big plays because Toledo’s receivers were able to run after the catch.

How did Pitt’s defense react? By keeping the corners well off the line of scrimmage, giving the wideouts a nice cushion and allowing them to make a move after catching the ball.

How many times does the elevator door have to close on your foot before you realize your foot is in the way? Apparently, more than 62 times.

Let’s also look at the other side of this for a moment.

On the same day that Toledo defeated a top 10-team for the first time in team history, Marshall shocked then-No. 6 Kansas State on the road, Northern Illinois knocked off Alabama on the road, and Bowling Green almost came back against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. All four victorious teams are members of the Mid-American Conference.

What a day for the MAC. With the way they played last weekend, maybe the Big East should consider adding one of those teams instead of someone from Conference USA.

Or maybe the MAC should consider taking on some Big East teams after the conference falls apart.

Do you think they’d take Pitt?

Joe Marchilena is the sports editor for The Pitt News and he would like to thank the Toledo fans for not running him over or dropping the goalposts on his head. Really, thank you.