No 15 - Pittsburgh Panthers 2010 Preview

Thursday, September 02, 2010

by Aengus Moorehead

No 15 - Pittsburgh Panthers 2010 Preview - QB Bill Stull

Last season was an absolute heartbreaker for the Pittsburgh Panthers. They had a wonderful season and the final game of the year came at home against Cincinnati for all of the Big East marbles. Pitt squandered a 31-10 lead only to lose 45-44 thanks to a missed extra point. The Panthers were crushed as a Sugar Bowl berth slipped through their fingers.

But to Pitt’s credit, they didn’t feel sorry for themselves. Faced with a bowl game on unfriendly ground against a very good North Carolina team, Pitt dug down deep and beat the Tar Heels on a late field goal to cap off their first ten win season since the days of Dan Marino.

2009 Results: 10-3 Won Meineke Bowl vs. North Carolina
Head Coach: Dave Wannstedt (6th year, 35-26 Overall)
Home Venue: Heinz Field (65,050)

The biggest surprise of the 2009 Big East season was the break out campaign of Dion Lewis (1,799 rush yards, 25 catches, 189 receiving yards, 18 total TDs), who was a 2nd Team All-American as a true freshman! While Lewis was a workhorse running the ball, Pitt will try to take a little bit of the load off this season and keep him fresh (and healthy) by letting fellow sophomore Ray Graham (349 yards, 5.7 yards per carry, 4 TDs) carry the load a bit more this fall. Regardless of how many carries Graham ends up getting, expect these two to be the key players in the Big East’s best rushing attack.

The offensive line will be led by senior left tackle Jason Pinkston, who was a 1st Team All-Big East selection. Junior right tackle Lucas Nix could easily join him on the all-league team this season, giving Pitt the best set of tackles in the conference. However, they have to replace the interior of their line and that will be very interesting to watch develop. The Pittsburgh Panthers have recruited more big time talent than anyone in the Big East in the past few seasons and will surely show the depth to fill the holes with ease.

Meanwhile, the passing game was originally a very big concern heading into the spring as the Pittsburgh Panthers had to replace starting QB Bill Stull and some key contributors at wide receiver. However, sophomore quarterback Tino Sunseri ran away from all competitors in practice and is firmly ingrained as the starter heading into the season. Expect him to have a strong campaign but if he falters, junior Pat Bostick has a lot of experience, including a win at Notre Dame in 2008!

In the end, Pitt is going to have a great running game, even with the new personnel on the interior line. That running game and a pair of elite tackles should be able to give their new starting quarterback plenty of time to find open receivers and Baldwin will always be open off of play action.

The Pittsburgh Panthers were great against the run last season and that dominance on the ground was the primary reason that they held opponents under 20 points per game. While they have to replace both starting defensive tackles, the Pittsburgh Panthers will boast the conference’s top pair of pass rushing ends in seniors Greg Romeus (43 tackles, 8 sacks, 1 INT, 1st Team All-Big East) and Jabal Sheard (42 tackles, 5 sacks).

The pass rushing abilities of Sheard and Romeus are crucial to the success of this defense because it allows the Pittsburgh Panthers to drop more people into pass protection when the D-Line can generate its own pass rush. Nowhere is that edge more apparent than at the safety position, where senior Dom DeCicco (88 tackles, 3 INT) and sophomore Jarred Holley (48 tackles, 3 INT) are both ball hawks. Pitt wants them in coverage as much as possible so not having to sneak them up into the box to cover a rushing linebacker is a major bonus. While the Panthers have to replace 1st Team All-Big East corner Aaron Berry, this defense is still going to get their hands on a lot of interceptions this fall.

The defensive line is going to open up a ton of space for Pitt’s talented linebackers to run to the football. Junior Max Gruder (91 tackles) led the team in stops last season and will be of the leaders on defense. Perhaps his biggest job will be mentoring super talented sophomore Dan Mason (26 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT), who served as 1st Team All-Big East middle linebacker Adam Gunn’s understudy last season. Expect Mason to challenge Gruder for the team lead in tackles this season when he finally gets a chance to play every game.

Pitt has a lot of ballsto play the non-conference schedule that they do in 2010. Kicking off the season with a Thursday night visit across the country to always dangerous Utah is a really tough opening affair, especially as Utah approaches its final season before heading to the Pac Ten. Furthermore, the Pittsburgh Panthers host former conference rival Miami on a Thursday night before traveling to Notre Dame two weeks later! That’s a non-league schedule that ranks amongst the toughest in the country.

As for Big East play, Pitt only has three conference home games, leaving them with only six home dates overall. Furthermore, the only contender that comes to Heinz Field in 2010 is archrival West Virginia and the Panthers have to play three of their final four games on the road. With ten BCS Conference opponents (including Utah) on the docket, this is the toughest overall schedule in the Big East.

Thanks to the tireless recruiting of Dave Wannstedt, the Pittsburgh Panthers are probably the most talented team in the entire conference. That comes into play this season because Pitt has to replace some key contributors from the last two seasons. However, the Panther offense returns the best set of offensive tackles in the conference, the Big East’s leading rusher and the best athlete at any position in Jonathan Baldwin. On top of that, the Pitt defense returns the best pair of pass rushing DEs in the conference, a pair of ball snatchers at safety and one of the most talented groups of linebackers in the Big East.

Are there some concerns? Of course. The interior of the offensive line is being replaced and the starting quarterback will be a sophomore. But the play of Sunseri in the spring combined with the sheer volume of talent surrounding him offsets any of my concerns on offense. Meanwhile, the defense’s concerns are rather minute in comparison, we are left to fall back on the brutal schedule as the biggest deterrent towards picking the Pittsburgh Panthers. As the most difficult part of their schedule occurs outside of Big East play (and Pitt will win two out of three against Utah, Miami and Notre Dame), that doesn’t fly either.

Thus, the Panthers are the class of the Big East in 2010. While they will have some bumps in the road with a tough schedule, I think the Pittsburgh Panthers are in for another ten win season.

PREDICTED RESULT: 10-2 (6-1 Big East) - Bodog NCAA College Football Futures Lines

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bill stull - dan mason - dave wannstedt - dion lewis - dom decicco - greg romeus - heinz field - jabal sheard - jarred holley - jason pinkston