Pitt So Far
The Panthers are 4-6 this season, and they have been a streaky bunch. They were beaten by FCS foe Youngstown State in their opener, and they were promptly blown out by Cincinnati five days later. They rebounded by beating Virginia Tech and Gardner Webb, before going on another two game streak, dropping contests to Syracuse and Louisville. They ended the 2 game losing streak with another hot streak, topping Buffalo and Temple, and nearly knocking off Notre Dame, who is currently the number one team in the land, on the road in overtime. Pittsburgh was off last week after a Friday night loss to Connecticut.
Coaching Staff
Paul Chryst is Pitt's 3rd head coach since Wannstedt was fired after the 2010 season, and he is 4-6 so far as a head coach. Chryst was previously the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Wisconsin, and he has also coached under Mike Riley during two stints at Oregon State and with the San Diego Chargers as well. Chryst runs a physical, pro style offense, and he has one intention as a play caller: to run it down your throat. Despite being a run oriented coach, Chryst has been successful developing quarterbacks. He has done a nice job resurrecting Tino Sunseri's career this year, and he also coached Russell Wilson, Scott Tolzien, and Derek Anderson. He has assembled a nice 2013 recruiting class so far, and he seems to be invested in Pitt for the long run, so he could have a bright future at the school.
Joe Rudolph is the offensive coordinator, and he was named to the position after Bob Bostad joined Greg Schiano's staff with the Buccaneers. Rudolph was an assistant with the Badgers along with Chryst, and he also coaches tight ends. Dave "Heathcliff''* Huxtable is the defensive coordinator, and he was also a former Badger assistant, coaching the linebackers. He runs a 4-3 defense with the Panthers.
*His middle name is not really Heathcliff, I just made that up.
Offense 71st in PPG, 95th in yards per carry, 8th in passer rating, 35th in yards per play
Pitt leans heavily on their rushing attack, and they can beat you with the play action pass if you sell out against the run. They come at you with a lot of two tight end sets, and power it right at you up the middle. They run mostly inside zone and power plays, with some counters and sweeps thrown in. They have two very good backs in Ray Graham and Rushel Shell. Graham is the best back in the Big East, and he has been on fire lately, as he appears to be fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered last year, after looking hesitant early in the season. Shell is a true freshman who had a monster game against Virginia Tech, but he has seen his carries diminish with Graham returning to form. Upfront, Pitt has a massive offensive line. They are very strong and can rush people around, but they aren't exactly the quickest group. Despite their run blocking prowess, they are amongst the worst in the nation at protecting the passer, and that's why their yards per carry rank is so bad. Tino Sunseri doesn't help matters, holding onto the ball for too long, but he has improved this year by leaps and bounds, and is one of the most efficient passers in the nation. Pitt throws mostly intermediate routes, and Sunseri has some solid weapons. Devin Street is his primary target, and he is a big, tough possession receiver. Mike Shanahan has a similar skill set as Street, but he is more of a big play threat. Pitt is also a very good screen team, with Graham running well in space.
Defense 31st in PPG, 58th in yards per carry, 35th in passer rating, 41st in yards per play
On defense, Pitt runs a 4-3 with a single high safety, and they do not blitz a whole lot. The unit is pretty slow as a whole and they lack experience, but they have turned in some impressive efforts, most notably against Notre Dame. Their best play is three technique tackle Aaron Donald, who is a bit undersized, but very quick. He can rush the passer from inside, and he can get around tackles to stop the run as well. The defensive line can get pushed around at times (like against UConn), and give up big chunks of yardage against the run. At linebacker, Pitt really does not have a stand out player. Their top linebacker is Eric Williams, and he is only 4th on the team in tackles with 44. Pitt's secondary is not very good either, giving up a lot of big plays. They've been torn up several times this year, and they are not helped at all by a pass rush. K'Waun Williams has displayed flashes of brilliance, but he is very inconsistent and red shirt freshman Lafayette Pitts is a talented player who has seen the field more of late. Schematically, Pitt does not do much. They play some man and some zone coverages, and usually bring the strong safety up to stop the run. The free safety stays back and plays center field at all times. This is not a very good defense, and Rutgers could tear them up.
Conclusion
Pitt is one of the most inconsistent teams in the nation, and you never know how they will play on a particular day. They could be the dominant team that beat Virginia Tech, or the awful one that was beaten badly by Connecticut. They have a very strong offense that can run and throw, but you can get pressure on Sunseri and keep the offense off schedule. Defensively, the Panthers have one stand out player in Donald, but a poor group overall. They lack speed on this side of the ball, and they can not rush the passer. This team has played much better at home than they have on the road, and they are coming off a bye, but this team should not be favored over Rutgers, and it would be an upset if they won.
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