Panther’s season rests on Rutherford’s toughness

If there were any doubts about Pitt quarterback Rod Rutherford’s mental toughness and… If there were any doubts about Pitt quarterback Rod Rutherford’s mental toughness and ability to lead Pitt this season, hopefully those worries are now put to rest.

Less than a week after having sexual assault charges thrown at him, Rutherford stepped up. Yeah, Rutherford was facing Kent State, but having to worry about your future can mess with anybody’s psyche.

Backup quarterback Luke Getsy started the game and did an admirable job, but the chemistry did not seem to be there. Getsy made good throws, but receivers dropped passes.

Rutherford entered the game in the second quarter after serving his punishment and immediately threaded the needle with a 20-yard strike to wide receiver Princell Brockenbrough for the Panthers first touchdown and the lead on the night.

The Panthers would go on to score 43 unanswered points, which included Rutherford hooking up with Larry Fitzgerald for three touchdowns. Rutherford finished the night completing 17 of 25 passes for 288 yards and four touchdowns.

Rutherford seemed like he was on a mission from the first snap, and, in order for Pitt to be successful this season, Rutherford will need to have games similar to the one he had on Saturday all season.

He made good decisions and strong throws. Rutherford has definitely come a long way from the beginning of last season.

While we don’t know the whole story behind the allegations against him, we can only hope that this will be the last major off-the-field issue that the team will face this season. Walt Harris has handled the situation as well as could be expected.

Pitt has had enough such issues for one season and it has only played one game. Yes, the Panthers have shown their resilience and mental toughness thus far, but they are only human, and if the off-field issues continue, at some point, the team will suffer as a result.

I encourage all of Pitt’s athletes to learn from the mistakes of athletes such as Kobe Bryant and Maurice Clarett, or to read my column from two weeks ago. Teams have more to worry about, like upcoming opponents.

Walt Harris said in his press conference that the team will not be looking past any opponent this season, but will be looking to build from their first win. The Panthers need to take this advice seriously.

The Panthers have owned Virginia Tech the past two seasons, and Miami did not look very impressive in its win over Florida, despite its big comeback.

There have been too many upsets during the first two weeks of the season, and we would hate to have a repeat of two years ago, when Pitt lost to South Florida.

While many fans are probably looking ahead to the games versus Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Miami, the Panthers cannot look past Boston College, Rutgers or Temple – especially since Boston College upset No. 25-ranked Penn State, 27-14, over the weekend.

Over the summer, Pitt was receiving a lot of national recognition, and I challenged Harris to capitalize on it. From the looks of things, he has already taken steps to answer the challenge.

He appears to be determined not to repeat mistakes from the past, so that the Panthers can have a profitable future. The first step is having control of his team, and Harris seems to have a good formula for accomplishing that.

Kevin Nash is the assistant sports editor for The Pitt News.