Things I'll be looking for this week:
Pitt at Rutgers:
- Another high octane showing - Todd Graham's offense certainly earned a lot of credibility against 16th ranked South Florida. The whole team looked more than competent, and trust me I would have settled for competent.
- Tino Sunseri on the run - As much hatred as I've had for Sunseri over the last five weeks, I still believed that if he'd use his legs he'd be a more productive quarterback. Why people think he isn't a capable runner is beyond me. He has speed and has a knack for making people miss. He's a good athlete even if he isn't a good quarterback.
- Trusting the offense - As much heat as Todd Graham took for blaming his players, he was absolutely right. Once they got this system down it would look good. The USF game may become an aberration, but it was nice to see that it will work when run correctly. Tino Sunseri finally figured out that on a option he doesn't have to hand the ball off. That, paired with Ray Graham's ability, opened up the short passing game where Tino Sunseri looks like a reasonable passer. At some point he'll need to complete passes down the field, and last week he did look better in that aspect of his game too. I hope he continues playing like this because if he does, Pitt will be a 10-2 team.
- Less drops - Mike Shanahan has size, speed, and is a good route runner, but he needs to hang onto the ball. I've put a lot of blame on Tino Sunseri, but the receivers need to be held accountable as well. They need to make more plays for their quarterback. Some teams will be good enough to stop Ray Graham if we can't pass.
- The defense to continue their strong play - This defense is really good. I've said it all along that it was the offense to blame and Pitt showed what can happen when they can put up points. The defense had late game letdowns, but that was as much a conditioning issue as anything. The offense is finally helping to keep them off the field and it's doing wonders. Not to mention that the players are adjusting to the 3-4 scheme as well. I expect them to shutdown a pretty bad Rutgers offense.
Penn State at Iowa:
- Clarification on the quarterback situation - Overall I still like Rob Bolden better than Matt McGloin, but I think McGloin's play speaks for itself. He hasn't been fantastic, but he's been better than Bolden especially in recent weeks. So maybe the two quarterback system will work out if McGloin has earned his opportunity to be the guy.
- A Penn State loss - I've gotten to watch this Iowa team against Pitt already and I can say that they aren't that bad. They aren't that good either, but neither is Penn State. Penn State's defense is outstanding so they will hold Iowa to a low score, but even Iowa's sub par defense can stop the lackluster Penn State offense.
West Virginia at Connecticut:
- Avenging their loss -A loss to Connecticut last season was the reason the Mountaineers didn't earn the outright conference title or a BCS berth. They'll breeze by UConn this year.
- Plenty of Dustin Garrison - He certainly proved himself last week and deserves a chance to do it again. More days like the one he had at Bowling Green will make the Mountaineers a favorite in even their toughest conference games. Had he been used more often early against LSU, West Virginia would have had a chance in that game.
Our mixed bag of articles for the week in preparation for this week's action:
Pitt
Audio:
Penn State
West Virginia
Duquesne
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