People keep waiting for this team to fail but for whatever reason, they just won't cooperate. I'm sure Pitt fans started to get that sick feeling in their stomach after Golden Tate's 87-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the game but the Panthers stood tall and wouldn't be denied.
If I were giving out game balls to Pitt players I'd say the entire offensive and defensive lines all deserve one, Jonathan Baldwin deserves one and Dion Lewis deserves one.
The victory was a milestone win of sorts:
** The first time since 1981-82 that Pitt has won nine games in back-to-back seasons.
** The first win by Pitt over Notre Dame at Heinz Field.
** The first back-to-back wins over Notre Dame since 1986-87.
** Pitt has won eight home games in a row for the first time since a long stretch of home wins that ended in 1981.
And according to Dave Wannstedt it was an important win for this reason - there were 100 recruits or so in attendance and they were treated to a great crowd, a prime-time game and a team that actually plays an exciting brand of football these days.
** Bill Stull was a little bit off but still made some nice throws, made good decisions and made a great throw to Jonathan Baldwin on the 36-yard touchdown pass. But, and this should be filed in the ridiculous department, the story that will not die regarding Stull popped up again last night during the telecast when ABC showed Stull's parents watching the game in the second level from one of the ramps and Lisa Salters, the ABC reporter, talked about how they were so far away because the fans near their seats booed Bill early in the season and have been tough on Bill all season since. To their credit the Stull's declined to do an interview with Salters but how exactly did she find them and how exactly did she find out they were standing so far away from their seats because they didn't like how the fans were treating their son? Either way, it is a ridiculous story to still even have legs this far into what has been a magnificant season by both Stull and the Panthers. I asked Stull after the game if he'd like this story to go away and his answer was "I'd like to, but it is not. It is the way it has been all year, I'm just happy for them to be there, my family to be there and cheering our team on."
** Say whatever you want to say about Golden Tate and Michael Floyd -- and those two are special and Tate made some big-time plays -- but Jonathan Baldwin was the star of stars in this game with his performance. Baldwin caught five passes for 142 yards and a touchdown but he had three receptions which were Larry Fitzgerald-like - a diving 36-yard touchdown reception, a leaping catch on a 51-yard reception down the sidelines and he went up and made a great catch for a first down across the middle. He is really becoming a great football player and the best is still yet to come. Incidentally, his 142 yards gives him five 100-yard receiving games this season and he also has now recorded at least one catch of 40 yards or more in six games this season.
** Dion Lewis and Ray Graham both had 50-yard runs (Graham's was actually 53) and Lewis, ho hum, had another 100-yard rushing performance (he finished with 152 yards). For those keeping score, Lewis has played ten career games and he's had 100 yards or more in seven of them. He nows has 1,281 yards rushing for the season, which is the second most for a Big East freshman. The guy whose record he is about to break? Yep, you guessed it, LeSean McCoy, who set the record in 2007 when he rushed for 1,328 yards as a freshman. Lewis is also coming up on a number of school records for freshmen -- he has 13 rushing TD's (McCoy had 14), he has 14 total TD's (McCoy had 15) and he has 84 points (McCoy scored 90).
** Remember when the defensive line was making people nervous because it seemed to be underachieving? Yeah, neither do we. My goodness, that offensive line from Notre Dame was billed as one of the best in the country but my guess is they'll be having nightmares about Greg Romeus, Jabaal Sheard, Gus Mustakas and Mick Williams for a few weeks - especially Sheard and Mustakas who both had tremendous games. Romeus blocked at least two passes and he blocked an extra point - his fourth career blocked kick. Sheard has two tackles for loss, a sack, four quarterback hurries and he knocked down a pass and Mustakas has two tackles for loss. The unit, simply put, dominated the Irish and really made it tough on Jimmy Clausen to do much of anything.
** Pitt made it through for the most part healthy except for two key injuries which likely changed the outcome of the game, or at least the final score. First Aaron Berry went down with a shoulder injury (and did not return) and then Ricky Gary went down with an undisclosed injury and as a result, Pitt had to finish the game with only one healthy experienced corner and the Irish clealry took advantage of it. Gary is OK but Wannstedt said he's not sure what is going on with Berry's shoulder and won't know until today. Berry can miss the WVU game - the Mountaineers don't pass that much anyway - but Pitt absolutely needs him to have a chance to beat Cincinnati.
** Max Gruder led the team with 11 tackles and probably had his best overall game. Like I've written before, he is clearly getting better and a little bit of patience has paid off. He made two really big-time tackles to save first downs and he has showed he is a physical player as well.
** One Notre Dame item which is noteworthy -- Golden Tate (113 yards) and Michael Floyd (107 yards) both eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark for the second consecutive game. That's the first time in school history that the Irish have had two 100-yard receivers in back-to-back games. It is the third time Floyd and Tate have accomplished that this season - and file this one under the whole "you must run to win" talk -- and oddly enough, Notre Dame is 0-3 in those games.
** Winning football? How about these stats - Pitt did not turn the ball over and had only one penalty for five yards.
QUOTABLE
** Dave Wannstedt -- "It was a great win for the program, a great win for the kids, particularly those who were around here five years ago when we had a bad experience.It was great to walk out of here tonight with a little better feeling."
** Jonathan Baldwin - "The crowd was pumped and we were pumped. We just had a good time out there."
** Jabaal Sheard - "In the past, I was getting predictable with my moves. This week, I really studied my opponents and with the help of Greg Romeus getting a good push, I was able to get some good pressure. I think we can match up against anyone. I don't doubt us against any offensive line in the country."
** Dion Lewis - "We've accomplished nothing yet. The next two games are going to be tough and right now we're just going to take them one game at a time. Our focus is now on West Virginia and we'll go from there."
** Bill Stull - "[Baldwin] is awesome. You have to have faith and know who you are throwing the ball to and I knew who I wasx throwing to with him. We look for matchups and that's what we're trained and taught to do."
** Charlie Weis - "We were playing pretty conservative in the first half. We got down by two scores, then three and that forced us into a mode that we didn't want to be in. Mentally, it is tough to be in that situation. We came out conservative. I call a game differently on the road than when I do at home. We were doing pretty well when the score was 3-3."
** Golden Tate - "I wanted to make it count on the field and I made play. I go out and play every game like it is my last. I can only speak for myself."
** Jimmy Clausen - "That's a tough loss. It felt like we were moving the ball but we ran into some penalties and some miss reads and that fumble in the end. We let it slip away."
Posted
Nov 15 2009, 01:56 AM
by
Paul Zeise
Filed under: paul zeise, pitt football, pitt panthers, Bill Stull, Pitt, Big East football, Charlie Weis, Pittsburgh Panthers, Pitt Panthers, Pitt Panthers football, Greg Gattuso, Pitt football, Adam Gunn, Big East, Cincinnati, Aaron Berry, Pitt Panther, Pitt Panthers Football, Pitt and Big East and Villanova and Marquette and West Virginia, Ricky Gary