Behind Enemy Lines: Pittsburgh Panthers

One final tune up on the way before conference play and Holder looks to have saved the best for last with an ACC Coastal division challenger, the 2-0 Pittsburgh Panthers. After a monster win over their in-state rival Penn State, the Panthers look to keep a good thing going this week.

The Panthers bring a different style of play into Stillwater this weekend, and Coach Gundy said it best in his weekly press conference with how “they want to run the ball and on the flip side, they won’t let you run.” A ground and pound attack with big, physical linemen in the trenches, Gundy mentioned they are 117th nationally in plays per game, a poster child for the ball control method of shortening the game by holding onto it as long as they can.

Overview

Offensively, you can expect the opposite of Cooper Manning and the CMU Chippewas. ESPN’s Brock Huard called the Panthers the “most creative running offense using zone, power, toss sweep, jet sweep, fly sweep and shovel passes.”

New offensive coordinator Matt Canada showed tons of motion and shifting last week and more is to be expected. Senior QB and veteran starter Nathan Peterman is a game manager with a decent set of wheels that won’t be expected to win the game but minimize mistakes.

Gundy mentioned that “two or maybe three lineman up front will be in the NFL” and that would be tackle Adam Bisnowaty and guard Dorian Johnson, both superb road graders. With second-round wide receiver Tyler Boyd gone, it’s all fullbacks and tight ends for the Panthers and coach Narduzzi pointed out last week after the win that the goal is to 1) win the time of possession and 2) have more rushing attempts than your opponent.

Defensively, Pitt is led by a strong front line and some solid playmakers on the back end. A continued theme is solid play up front with great run support from the linebackers. Getting Cowboy Backs and quicker slot receivers into mismatches with the linebackers will be key.

The inexperienced Penn State quarterback was able to have a descent game against the Pitt secondary throwing for 332 on 24 of 35 attempts, but was pressured often being sacked four times and fumbled the ball three times. Running the ball against this front seven will be a challenge but if No. 2 can find a little time, the Cowboys could find some momentum in the air.

Players to Watch

RB James Conner, no. 24

Jameis Winston, Brad Kaaya, Dalvin Cook, Deshaun Watson, Tyler Boyd, Jalen Ramsey: Can you guess what they have in common? They were all voted behind then true freshman Pittsburgh Panther running back for 2014 ACC player of the year. Conner’s personal triumphs will be rightly heralded later in this post, but his skills as a running back are where the offense begins. Conner, with twelve career 100+ yard games, rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown (to go with a score through the air) last week against Penn State and looks to be fully recovered and in 2014 form.

Historically not much of a pass catcher, Conner is tied for second on the team with seven receptions and is dangerous catching the ball on screens or in the flats if teams get too aggressive with the rush. So far, the Panthers have thrown to Conner more than receivers Dontez Ford and Jester Weah, the starting wideouts.

The Q(u)adrees

Outside of Conner, the playmakers on offense are sophomores Qadree Henderson (WR/KR) and Qadree Ollison (RB). The 6’2″ 230-pound Ollison stepped in for Conner in 2015 as a redshirt freshman and was named 2nd team all-conference for his exploits out of the backfield, rushing for 1,121 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The diminutive Henderson is the “Jalen McCleskey” of Pittsburgh, with his speed and shiftiness being utilized all over the field. The Panthers don’t often pass the ball but love to hit no. 10 on jet sweeps and he’s a master returner on special teams. He ran one back in the bowl game, in the season opener and turned the tide late in the Penn State game bringing one deep into enemy territory for the go ahead score. The Penn State coach lamented not “kicking away from Henderson.”

DE Ejuan Price and DT Tyrique Jarrett

To find impact lineman, look for the single digit numbers as no. 5 is the returning ACC sack leader and all-conference defensive end Ejuan Price and no. 6 is Tyrique Jarrett at nose tackle. I beg you to find a larger human than the 6’3” 335-pound Jarrett, whom I suspect will give the new OSU guards quite a test. Losing two starters in Tennessee transfer defensive end Dwayne Hendrix and starting linebacker Elijah Zeise to injury hurts, but end Rori Blair has filled in admirably at end after starting 13 games previously.

Safety Jordan Whitehead and the Corners

The other playmakers are on the back end of the defense in safety Jordan Whitehead and corners Avante Maddox and Ryan Lewis. Whitehead had 100 tackles as a freshman from the strong safety spot, being named a freshman All-American. The Jordan Sterns comparison seems to be appropriate for Whitehead with his stellar run support and nose for the ball. Maddox is athletic and will jump a route while Lewis has the game saving interception to his name last week against Penn State. The secondary hasn’t likely seen a challenge like they will in Stillwater and this will be a matchup that determines a lot of the outcome.

Fun Facts

• If you watched ESPN’s College Gameday this past weekend, you may have seen the piece on Pitt running back James Connor but it easily has to be one of the most impressive stories of resolve and toughness a human could display, well worth six minutes of your time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrKBgjjnaW4

• OKC Thunder center and New Zealand native Steven Adams played his collegiate career (albeit just one year) for the Pittsburgh Panther basketball team. While not OSU-related, Adams has been quite a gift to the Oklahoma sports scene.

• A storied program: The Pitt Panther football team has quite a tradition. The Panthers have laid claim to nine national football titles (while eight came before WW2) and have the fourth most players in the College Football Hall of Fame (23), with names like Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett, Mark May, Dan Marino, Curtis Martin and more recently Larry Fitzgerald, Aaron Donald, LeSean McCoy and Darrelle Revis having played for the Panthers.

• Change of fortune: John Helsley of the Oklahoman had an incredible piece on how the OSU coaching staff of the late 80’s came down from Pitt and how a couple of 10 win seasons in Stillwater may not have happened.

• Panther storytellers: If you’re any kind of college football fan, you’ve likely heard from a Panther regardless of your channel preference. While Mike Ditka was recently phased out of covering Sunday Night Football, Dave Wannstedt covers college football for Fox Sports and Mark May has covered games for TNT, TBS, bantered with Lee Corso on College Gameday before settling in for studio work on college football for ESPN.

• Honorary Panther: Famous children’s show host Fred Rogers of “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” regularly spent time in the Pitt grad school while in seminary.

• In closing, when head coach Pat Narduzzi arrived two years ago, the Panthers’ depth chart was loaded in the trenches and the backfield came readymade with two All-ACC level running backs. Pitt will surely be a challenge for the fledgling Cowboy running game and all six defensive tackles will be put to good use, as the Pitt coach shared in closing last week, “When you rush for 350 (yards against Penn State), who wants to throw it?” It’ll be up to the Cowboys to make that happen.