Pittsburgh Week 7 Preview: Rutgers

The Pittsburgh Panthers don't know what to expect from their next opponent. That's okay, because the key to this game does not concern the Rutgers Scarlet Knights--not in a central way, at any rate.

Last year, a struggling and slumbering Rutgers club strolled into Heinz Field and came alive against Pitt, unleashing a fusillade of finely-thrown footballs from senior quarterback Mike Teel. Kenny Britt and other Rutgers receivers caught those passes and took them to the end zone with regularity, as the Scarlet Knights knocked around the Panthers, 54-34, in a game that marked a turning point for each team in 2008. Pittsburgh learned that Rutgers, even when struggling, is a dangerous foe. Therefore, even though the 2009 version of the Scarlet Knights has not yet distinguished itself, Wannstedt and his coaching staff must be on high alert as the sons of the Steel City saunter into Piscataway, N.J., for another Friday night Big East road show (the previous one being against Louisville on Oct. 2).

Yes, coach Greg Schiano's RU crew is very much a mystery at this point in the season, especially when one considers the fact that the Big East Conference season (owing to the smaller size of the conference and its back-ended schedule, which lasts through the first weekend of December) is only one game old for most clubs. The Scarlet Knights have eaten a football diet high in sugar, feasting on a series of cupcakes named Howard, Florida International, and Texas Southern, while also beating a thoroughly mediocre Maryland club. In their one Big East game to date, the boys on the banks of the ol' Raritan got blasted and brutalized by swaggering Cincinnati, 47-15, in a Labor Day lashing that was every bit as decisive as the score indicated.

The Maryland win and the Cincinnati loss--the two high-profile contests RU has played in 2009--both featured incredibly poor performances from Rutgers quarterback Domenic Natale. In the Maryland game, Natale completed only 4-of-12 passes for a paltry 42 yards. Rutgers needed two defensive touchdowns to overcome the impotent Terps. Against Cincinnati, Natale went 8-of-12 for 108 yards, but of the four passes he didn't complete, three were picked off by the Bearcats. That level of futility forced Schiano to replace Natale with Tom Savage, a promising freshman who did complete 15-of-23 passes for 135 yards against Cincy, with one touchdown and no interceptions, but in mop-up duty during the second half of a blowout. Savage missed the Maryland game due to an injury; he returned last week against Texas Southern, but the fact remains that he hasn't yet faced an opponent from a BCS conference. No one knows what Savage has in store for Pitt's defense on Friday night at Rutgers Stadium.

Should this concern Pitt? Well, in the sense that Mike Teel was struggling entering last year's game, yes. The Panthers can't assume the Scarlet Knights will lack a downfield passing game. Any half-hearted effort will put Pitt in a place of peril. With that said, Wannstedt needs to emphasize one simple line of thought heading into this conference clash: If Pitt brings its A-game to the ballpark, it won't matter.

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Perhaps Tom Savage plays well. Perhaps Rutgers elevates its level of quality and consistency on offense. Perhaps the Scarlet Knights regroup after the slaughter experienced at the hands of Cincinnati, currently the best team in the Big East. It would be surprising if Rutgers didn't play harder, now that its parade of easy games against FCS schools (and Sun Belt schools) is over. All that speculation, though, misses the point: If Bill Stull doesn't stumble in the red zone the way he did against Connecticut; if Dion Lewis and other Panther backs don't drop passes; and if Pitt plays furious, fired-up and focused football in New Jersey, Rutgers isn't likely to survive.

This is the kind of game that historically ambushes the can't-stand-prosperity Panthers. This WAS the matchup that derailed their 2008 Big East season. Pittsburgh needs to display a sense of urgency, and the concentration level to match it. We'll all see if last year's 20-point loss to Rutgers lights a fire under some fannies for Dave Wannstedt's ballclub.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer