Sunday, October 19, 2003

By Paul Zeise, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- There are very few remedies for an ailing football team that seem to work as well as this one:

"Take one dose of Rutgers and call the doctor in the morning."

Pitt, which has struggled in recent weeks, proved this formula's success again yesterday when it defeated the Scarlet Knights, 42-32, before a homecoming crowd of 28,101 at Rutgers Stadium.

Although the Panthers (4-2, 1-0 Big East) won, their performance in the second half will likely leave coaches with more questions than answers.

Pitt built a 35-point halftime lead behind the throwing of quarterback Rod Rutherford and catching of receiver Larry Fitzgerald. The two teamed up eight times for 207 yards and two touchdowns in the half, and Rutherford also threw to Kris Wilson for a touchdown and ran 5 yards for another score.

At that point, it seemed as if the Panthers would be able to empty the benches and coast to an easy blowout win.

But the Panthers' continued inability to maintain a running game, combined with their defensive shortcomings, came back to haunt them.

The Scarlet Knights scored 19 points in the third quarter to pull to 42-26 heading into the final period, and the Panthers were forced to scramble to close out the game. Pitt was able to hang on because it made just enough plays in the fourth quarter, including intercepting two passes and stopping a two-point conversion attempt.

The Scarlet Knights (3-4, 0-3 in the Big East) lost their 25th consecutive conference game and have made a habit this season of falling behind then rallying before coming up short.

Pitt coach Walt Harris was disappointed with the way the Panthers finished the game but said the focus should be on the way the team began. He also took some of the blame for the second-half slide by saying that perhaps he was too conservative calling plays and that he didn't continue to call Fitzgerald's number.

"We played awfully well in the first half," Harris said. "We did not play near as well offensively in the second half. It went south. It was rough. Fortunately we made some stops and won the game. It was disappointing, but it would be more disappointing if we had lost.

"I'm sure that play-calling had to be some of [the problem in the second half] and situation dictated some of it. It is very difficult to win when you are one-dimensional, and right now we are not consistent running the ball. We have to keep working at it.

"I wish we could have done better, but shoot, we won the game and that is the bottom line."

The Panthers took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in eight plays and grabbed a 7-0 lead on a 6-yard touchdown run by Jawan Walker. The Panthers then stretched their lead to 14-0 on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Rutherford to Wilson.

Rutgers pulled to 14-7 early in the second quarter, but Pitt scored on four of its next five drives to grab a 42-7 halftime lead.

The Panthers appeared ready to close out the game when they forced a Rutgers punt on the opening drive of the third quarter and then drove to the Scarlet Knights' 23 where they faced third-and-1.

That's when everything went south for Pitt.

Walker was stopped for no gain, and Harris opted for a 40-yard field-goal attempt rather going for it on fourth down. David Abdul's attempt was wide right and that seemed to energize the Scarlet Knights.

It was Abdul's second miss of the game and fourth in a row, which means place-kicking can be added to the Panthers' ever-expanding list of problems. The sequence also highlighted the shortcomings of Pitt's running game, particularly when they are trying to hold leads.

"We took the drive right down there and then we had three runs and couldn't make 10 yards," Harris said. "Then we go and miss a field goal. It just got rougher after that. [Our offensive line] was inconsistent. They protected the passer well in the first half and had some runs that we blocked and ran well, but in the second half we were inconsistent.

"We were close to popping some plays and we just didn't quite make them. If you know [what is wrong with Abdul] I would like to know. I think that he kicked a couple better today in terms of how he hit the ball, but he has got to become more consistent than he has been."

After the miss, Rutgers drove 77 yards in 10 plays and pulled to 42-13 with a 4-yard touchdown run by Justise Hairston. J.J. Horne blocked the extra-point attempt, which at the time seemed like an insignificant play.

But it became huge when the Scarlet Knights added two more quick scores in the third quarter, including a 7-yard run by Brian Leonard with 1:54 remaining that got Rutgers within 16 points, 42-26. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano opted to go for two, but the Scarlet Knights failed.

When they scored again with 4:27 remaining in the game, they had to go for two in order to pull within eight points. The attempt failed and Pitt still led by 10.

Rutherford finished with a career-high 382 yards passing and Fitzgerald had a career-high 207 yards receiving, but the Panthers' defense gave up 516 total yards including 384 through the air.

"The defense did do some things and really preserved the game in the fourth quarter," Harris said. "The defense probably played under lots and lots of pressure, but made some progress really. Obviously, we let them off the hook some times, but it wasn't totally the defense's responsibility."

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