Published: September 07, 2008 12:01 am            

McCoy, Pitt edge Buffalo

PITTSBURGH — Early on, it didn’t appear as though Pitt had improved since its loss last week to Bowling Green. But the Panthers gained momentum in the second half and held on to beat Buffalo 27-16 Saturday night at Heinz Field.

Eric Thatcher’s interception with 1:26 left in the game snapped Buffalo quarterback Drew Willy’s national-best streak of pass attempts (284) without a interception and sealed the Panthers’ first win of the season.

Much of the criticism surrounding the Bowling Green loss focused on Pitt’s conservative and predictable play calling.

For much of the game it looked the same.

In front of a crowd of 42,494, Pitt’s offense was stagnant throughout the first half, but seemed to come out in the second half with a sense of urgency.

Coach Dave Wannstedt credited his team’s attitude for the improvement this week.

“This week they knew it was going to be a 60-minute ball game and didn’t get hung up on the scoreboard,” Wannstedt said. “(They) were able to come out and maintain that energy level. That’s where our team grew up.”

On Pitt’s opening drive of the second half, McCoy (20 carries, 95 yards, three touchdowns) capped a 10-play, 63-yard drive with a touchdown leap that gave the Panthers a 17-9 lead.

To open the fourth quarter, Pitt (1-1) went on a 10-play, 72-yard drive that was highlighted by a spectacular one-handed catch by Cedric McGee, and capped by McCoy’s third touchdown of the game that gave Pitt 24-16 lead.

Quarterback Bill Stull (22 of 33, 241 yards) wasn’t crisp in the first half, but connected on his first 11 passes of the second half, including going 8-for-8 in the third quarter.

Stull highlighted execution, not play calling, as the catalyst for Pitt’s improved offensive efficiency this week.

“Our game plan is to play Pitt football,” Stull said. “We know we’re going to establish the run and go for a couple big plays. That’s the only thing we didn’t have last week was the big plays. (Saturday night) we just took what the defense was allowing us to do, and we executed.”

Wannstedt, however, admitted to trying different things to spark the offense this week.

“Matt Cavanaugh and our offensive coaches tried to do some things to loosen the defense up,” Wannstedt said. “We tried to get the ball outside. We ran some reverses. We threw the ball deep. We tried to mix it up as much as we could to keep some drives going.”

Pitt was able to mix it up enough to get ahead and stay ahead.

Buffalo (0-1) got on the board first. Brandon Thermilus walked in from a yard out to cap a 15-play, 73-yard drive. However, A.J. Principe missed the extra point, and Buffalo led 6-0.

McCoy’s first touchdown made it 7-6.

Conor Lee and Principe traded field goals to make it 10-9 at the half.

Pitt’s ballyhooed defensive unit wasn’t sharp throughout, but it was good enough to hold the lead in the second half.

Despite the victory, Wannstedt knows his team still hasn’t peaked.

“I told our players we have a lot of work to do,” Wannstedt said. “Normally, I’m not excited about bye weeks this early in the year, but this week I’m excited. We have to go out, practice and get better as a team.”

        

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