Pittsburgh's Inside Slant
Dave Wannstedt has slowly molded the team he wants at Pittsburgh, built up the team's record and its following to the point that the Panthers come into the 2010 season carrying tremendously high expectations that include a radio commercial where Wannstedt says that it's time to win the Big East.
Certainly they have a lot going for them as they travel to Utah for as tough an opening game as they have had in a long, long time.
The Panthers will run and run with Heisman Trophy candidate Dion Lewis, will throw to a game-breaking wide receiver in Jon Baldwin, will harass opposing quarterbacks with defensive end Greg Romeus and a rough and tumble supporting cast that believes it is the Big East's best defense.
But there are still a lot of what-ifs.
The schedule is brutal, starting with the top 25 road matchup and with road matchups at Notre Dame, Connecticut and Cincinnati. If they can't find a way to win some of those games on the road it could be a long, disappointing year.
The offense, even with its high profile players, is questionable, and that makes this meeting at Utah crucial. Normally, you'd like to break in a new quarterback like Tino Sunseri against a team he could gain some confidence against, but Utah does not fall into that category.
Add a rebuilt interior in the offensive line and you don't know if the blocking will be there to run or pass as the season begins.
"When you have three new starters (on the offensive line), inexperience is what you are dealing with," Wannstedt told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "(The problem) won't be knowledge. They'll understand what we are trying to do. They'll have the calls down and give the effort. They just need experience."--Pitt's trip to Utah is a rare season opener in that it comes on the road. The Panthers have not opened on the road since 1993, when they defeated Southern Mississippi, 14-10. They last opened the season in the state of Utah in 1987 when they defeated BYU, 27-17.
--Opening on the road is not necessarily a bad thing for the Panthers. Pitt has opened away from home just 34 times in its 120-year history and is 22-11-1 in those games. Since 1970 they have opened on the road only 10 times but are 9-0-1 in those games. The tie game, incidentally, was a 7-7 affair at Georgia in coach Dave Wannstedt's senior year and was the debut game for a freshman tailback named Tony Dorsett.
--Pitt's 10-3 record last year was its best since 1981, but it came awfully close to an undefeated season, losing its three games by 11 points.
--With the inductions of G Russ Grimm and LB Ricky Jackson into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Pitt now has six members in Canton. The others are Joe Schmidt, Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino.
SERIES HISTORY: Utah leads Pittsburgh, 1-0-0. (Last meeting, 2005 Fiests Bowl, 35-7 Utah)
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Perhaps all you need to know about the Pitt offense is that sophomore RB Dion Lewis broke the school freshman rushing record with 1,799 yards last year. That sounds impressive, but it is even more so when you understand the record he broke belonged to Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett. Pitt can -- and will -- run the ball. That is their profile, their DNA, their way. But with some talented receivers, headed by 1,000-yard receiver Jon Baldwin, Pitt will also go down the field. The question that must be answered is whether new starting QB Tony Sunseri can carry the load. The interior offensive line also has been rebuilt and remains a question.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: This a deep, talented defense led by pass rushing defensive end Greg Romeus, who helped Pitt lead the nation in sacks last year. The Panthers, who play a pro-style defense and are known for their aggressiveness, were a top 20 team in scoring defense and rushing defense and No. 23 in total defense. The defense received a big boost when left defensive end Jabaal Sheard was reinstated after being suspended for an altercation during the off-season. Key will be the play of Dan Mason in the middle. The sophomore played well when forced to play due to injury last year.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I'm still the same guy that nobody wanted to play for their team." -- Pitt's still modest Heisman Trophy candidate RB Dion Lewis, who led the nation in rushing last year despite getting only two other scholarship offers, from Miami (Ohio) and Tulane, to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.THIS WEEK'S GAME: Pitt at Utah, Sept. 2 -- This is the first opener on the road for Pitt featuring two Top 25 teams since its national title year of 1976, when No. 9 Pitt won at No. 11 Notre Dame, 31-10. The only other time the two teams met was in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl, and Utah won easily, 35-7, in what was the last game for both head coaches, Walt Harris at Pitt and Urban Meyer at Utah. The game completed a 12-0 season for Utah. Pitt's punishing running game will test Utah's rebuilt defense, while the Pitt defense, led by a pair of vicious defense ends in Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard, will try to apply pressure against the Utah passing game.
KEYS TO THE GAME: Pitt's strength is in its running game, with RB Dion Lewis considered a prime contender for the Heisman Trophy. QB Tino Sunseri is making his first start, and you know that coach Dave Wannstedt will want to take as much pressure off him as possible by running the ball.
Pitt's remade interior offensive line gets its first test, and it's a tough one for OGs Chris Jacobson and Greg Gaskin and C Alex Karabin.
Playing on the road with an inexperienced quarterback, Pitt must protect the ball and the defense needs to allow the Panthers to play on a short field to help Sunseri.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
QB Tino Sunseri -- In many ways Sunseri is the most important player, even more so than star RB Dion Lewis, for he is an unknown making his first start. Confident that he can succeed, Sunseri figures to be babied along as the Panthers rely on their punishing running game.
RB Dion Lewis -- You can say he's a player to watch in every game. Defeneses across America tried to stop him as a freshman last year, and he still gained 1,799 yards and scored 17 touchdowns, but that was with an experienced quarterback. Now he's going to be asked to do even more against defenses designed solely to stop him.
WR Jon Baldwin -- Baldwin is a big-play receiver who can break open a game. He caught 57 passes for 1,111 yards last year, averaging 19.5 a catch, and scored eight touchdowns. If Pitt can bring the safeties up, they have a man who can get behind them.
ROSTER REPORT:
--Backup tailback Ray Graham, who did a strong job behind Dion Lewis last year, went into the final week before the Utah game suffering from a sprained knee. Graham averaged 5.7 yards a game last year in 69 carries. RBs Chris Burns and Jason Douglas would move up if Graham is out.
--DE Greg Romeus was bothered by back spasms during camp and was being listed as day-to-day but had returned to practice for the final week before the opener
--DE Jabaal Sheard was reinstated by coach Dave Wannstedt during camp after being suspended for an altercation on the South Side that led to his arrest.
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