Published: August 30, 2008 12:31 am         

Panthers wary of Falcons’ ‘O’

PITTSBURGH — Great hype surrounds the Pitt football team as it prepares to open its season at Heinz Field against the Bowling Green Falcons at noon today.

The Panthers embark on this season ranked 25th in the nation, and some preseason prognosticators feel Pitt has a chance to challenge for a Big East title and a BCS berth.

“Pitt is a good football team,” Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon said. “When you play a team you’re not supposed to beat, you have to be better than them for 31⁄2 hours.”

That doesn’t mean that the Falcons, who return 17 starters, will be intimidated by opening on the road against a tough opponent. In the past four years, Bowling Green has opened with Oklahoma, Wisconsin (twice) and Minnesota.

Last season, the Falcons opened on the road and beat Minnesota in overtime, 32-31.

Pitt is 25-2 all-time against the Mid-American Conference, including 8-0 against the MAC in season openers. Pitt also has won 10 of its past 11 season openers. But Panthers coach Dave Wannstedt isn’t taking Bowling Green lightly.

“Bowling Green returns seven seniors on defense and five on offense,” Wannstedt said. “They’re well coached. If you look back at their history, they’ve opened with big games on the road and won. We’re going to have to play at a high level.”

Pitt’s preparation for Bowling Green will be centered around finding a way to stop the Falcons’ potent spread offense.

Last year, Bowling Green’s offense averaged 420.5 yards and 30 points per game.

Current Florida coach Urban Meyer instituted Bowling Green’s offense when he was the head coach of the Falcons in 2001. It’s the same offense that Tim Tebow commanded last year on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy with the Gators.

Bowling Green’s offense – which will be without suspended running back Willie Geter – thrives on spreading out defenses and putting defenders on an island in man-to-man coverage.

The tricky part for the Panthers defense, which ranked fifth in the nation last year, will be dealing with a scheme far different from the one it has been going up against every day in practice.

“It’s a great offense,” senior All-American linebacker Scott McKillop said. “They run a lot of four wide receiver (sets) to get the matchups in their favor. It’s a total new offense for us, compared to what we have faced in practice.”

What McKillop and the defense have seen in practice is one of the best running backs in the country. Sophomore LeSean McCoy rushed for a Big East freshman record 1,328 yards last year. McCoy’s 110.6 yards per game also led all freshman rushers nationally.

It will be up to starting quarterback Bill Stull to keep defenses honest and prevent opponents from stacking the box to stop McCoy. Stull, who was lost for the season in Pitt’s opener against Eastern Michigan last year, said he’s ready to prove the Panthers deserve their billing.

“With all the hype, we want to prove it. Everyone says this could be the year, and we’re excited to show that Pitt football is back,” he said.

     

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