Virginia nabs 'best win' of year at LMU
Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
December 20, 2003

UVa coach Pete Gillen called his team’s 76-68 victory at Loyola Marymount its best win of the season.

In the spirit of the holidays, perhaps that statement should stand with little dissecting. It’s certainly easy to see what led the sixth-year coach to that opinion.

The Cavaliers, a notoriously bad road team in the past, was playing their first road game outside the Commonwealth. Previously, a 55-mile jaunt to VMI on Dec. 5 had been UVa’s only “away” game of the young season. Considering the game was nearly 3,000 miles away, you saw the ingredients to make an always nervous Gillen much more so.

Throw in a smattering of injuries and the absence of both freshman guard J.R. Reynolds and assistant coach Walt Fuller, the warning signs were definitely flashing. Of course, falling down by as much as nine in the first half and four at intermission certainly didn’t alleviate Gillen’s fears.

“I just thought it was our best win of the year to come all the way to Los Angeles and play against a good Loyola Marymount team. They had the lead but we had the courage to come back and found a way to win,” Gillen said.

After trailing 39-35 at halftime, Virginia took control of the contest with a game-breaking 17-3 midway through the second half. Fueled by a

3-pointer by Derrick Byars and a traditional three-point play by Gary Forbes, Virginia built a 13-point advantage, 67-54, to seize control of the game and ultimately secure the victory.

Byars finished with a career-high 21 points and Elton Brown, despite a woeful 3-for-11 performance from the stripe, had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Devin Smith had 14 while Forbes had nine and career-high 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who outrebounded the Lions by a 48-39 margin. Todd Billet, saddled with a poor shooting night, did dish out eight assists and freshman T.J. Bannister had four assists and played well during the pivotal second-half stretch.

Reynolds had made the trip to California but was sent home to Roanoke after coming down with a virus and a rash. Fuller stayed behind in Charlottesville to be with his wife, who was ill.

“We got off to a good start in the second half and that was key. We had a lot of heroes. Devin Smith was playing with a bad back. … It was a big win and we played with a big heart,” Gillen said.
 

Hokies' recruiting building steam
Wideouts key to Virginia's year
By DOUG DOUGHTY
Exclusive to roanoke.com by 5 p.m. Fridays

In reading one of the Internet recruiting columns written by Mike Farrell for rivals.com, I was struck by the certainty with which Farrell predicted that Olu Hall will sign with Virginia Tech, although I didn't necessarily disagree with him.

Hall, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound defensive end from Robinson High School in Fairfax, was rated the No. 1 prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times before the season and this week was named to the Washington Post’s All-Metro team.

“Until I see a top player from Robinson commit to UVa, I’m sticking with this type of prediction,” Farrell wrote. “If he doesn’t choose the Hokies, he’ll pick someone else, just not UVa. Just one man’s opinion.”

There is a perception that the Cavaliers will never sign a player from Robinson, whose coach, Mark Bendorf, is a Tech graduate and has a long history with the Hokies.

Virginia was thought to be in the lead last year for Robinson wide receiver Chase Anastasio but Anastasio signed with Notre Dame and later said that the Hokies had been his second choice.

Farrell also predicted this week that Tech would sign Hermitage linebacker Andrew Bowman, once considered a Virginia lean, and I've also heard that the Hokies like their chances with linebacker Jerod Mayo from Kecoughtan.

Throw in an anticipated oral commitment to Tech from West Charlotte, N.C., defensive back Rod Council and I’m more convinced than ever that the outcome of the season-ending Tech-UVa game does not have a major influence on recruiting.

Council was rated the No. 8 prospect in North Carolina before the season -- just a notch below SuperPrep All-American -- and visited Virginia early in the process.

FARRELL, BY THE WAY, predicts that Virginia will get Gar-Field High School defensive end Clint Sintim, object of another Tech-UVa battle, as well as wide receivers Dwayne Jarrett from New Brunswick, N.J., and Doug Dutch from Washington, D.C.

Jarrett and Dutch were rated the Nos. 6 and 7 wide receivers in the country by SuperPrep before the season and offer a potent combination of size (Jarrett) and speed (Dutch). If UVa got those two, no matter what else happens, it would make for a successful year with what the Cavaliers have picked up to this date.

Farrell also predicted that UVa will get Mayo and running back Ahmad Bradshaw from Graham High School in Bluefield.

PENN STATE HAS offered a visit to 5-11, 165-pound late-bloomer Deon Butler, a cornerback and wide receiver from Hylton High School who made first-team All-Washington Metro as a punt returner.

“Everybody up here is raving about the [Eddie] Royal kid [from Westfield] but this kid is in the same league," Hylton coach Lou Sorrentino said. "His stats are better. I know that stats aren’t the only thing, but I really don’t see that much difference between them,”

Butler, primarily a corner until this year, had eight interceptions as a senior and also caught 40 passes for more than 1,000 yards. A point guard for the Hylton basketball team, he's a little slim, but he runs a 4.5 40 and already is an academic qualifier, with 1,070 on the SAT.

Hylton linebacker Endor Cooper, a first-team all-state choice last year, also looks to be a qualifier but is getting mostly Division I-AA and Division II interest at this time.

ROYAL, BY THE WAY, was named Washington Post metro offensive player of the year after catching 41 passes for 875 yards and 11 touchdowns for Centrevile High School, the Group AAA Division 6 state champion.

Tech already has a commitment from Centreville quarterback Sean Glennon and will be tough to beat for Royal, whose older sister goes to Tech. Early favorite Virginia has made an offer, along with Tech, Tennessee, Ohio State, Maryland and Marshall.

HERNDON HIGH SCHOOL coach Tom Meier said he "definitely" believes that 6-2, 235-pound Kevin Grant, a first-team All-Washington Metro linebacker, will receive a Division I-A scholarship offer or offers. Grant has a 3.5 grade-point and 1,100 on the SAT.

Grant, the Northern Region defensive player of the year, had 143 tackles as a Herndon team that won three games in 2002 made the playoffs for the first time since 1997. Meier said that Grant runs 40 yards in 4.7 seconds.

“Academically and athletically, everything checks out,” said Meier, who indicated that Grant visited William and Mary last weekend and is talking with Penn State, Maryland, Wake Forest and Boston College. “He’s a college-sized linebacker right now.”

AFTER WATCHING THURSDAY night's broadcast of the GMAC Bowl, in which Miami of Ohio defeated Louisville 49-28, I feel safe in revealing my Heisman Trophy ballot: 1) Ben Roethlisberger, Miami of Ohio; 2) Eli Manning, Mississppi, and 3) Ryan Dinwiddie, Boise State.

I generally try to pick a player who has helped his team reach a level it wouldn't have attained without him, and that usually means a quarterback because no other player has more of a bearing on the course of a game.

Having spent the past weekend in Pittsburgh, watching a swim meet in which my 8-year-old was participating, I heard a lot about Panthers' wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and it gave me reason to second-guess myself.

I didn't vote for Fitzgerald because I kept coming back to the Panthers' 8-4 season -- considered a disappointment by many -- and that he was unable to make a difference in Pitt's 28-14 loss to visiting Miami.

Roethlisberger finished ninth in the balloting and had five first-place ballots, although I’m not sure mine arrived in time. The Redhawks won their last 13 games, a streak that started with road victories over bowl-bound Northwestern (44-14) and Colorado State (41-21).

Roethlisberger passed for 376 yards and four first-half touchdowns against Louisville before announcing after the game that he would be passing up his final season of eligibility to make himself available for the NFL Draft.

REGARDING ANOTHER POSTSEASON award, I don’t mind saying that I voted for Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub for the Dudley Award that this year went to Tech running back Kevin Jones as the top player in Virginia.

I voted for Schaub for the same reason that I voted for Tech running back Lee Suggs when Suggs barely beat Schaub for the award last year -- as a so-called "lifetime achievement" award.

Schaub and Suggs both had a body of work that entitled them to win the Dudley Award once during their careers. I let my vote in 2002 come down to the Tech-Virginia game, in which Suggs and the Hokies were superior, and did the same thing this year.
 

Big second half lifts Virginia to win
From Staff Reports / Charlottesville Daily Progress
December 20, 2003

LOS ANGELES - Derrick Byars had a career-high 21 points and a key 3-pointer in a pivotal second-half run as the Virginia men’s basketball team defeated Loyola Marymount, 76-68, on Friday night.

Virginia improved to 7-0 on the season, the third time in four years it has started with that record.

The Cavaliers trailed by four at halftime, but a key 17-3 spurt midway through the second half pushed the visitors in front. Byars knocked down his key trey early in the spurt to propel the Cavs in front.

“I thought this was our best win of the year considering we were all the way across the country and trailing for a time,” UVa coach Pete Gillen told WINA 1070-AM after the game.

Virginia had only one other road game heading into this contest, a relatively short trip to Lexington. UVa defeated VMI in that game and is now 2-0 on the road.

This cross-country trip was not easy.

The Cavaliers trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, but closed to within four at 39-35 at intermission.

They were 3 of 10 from the free-throw line in the first half, but Byars and Devin Smith each had 10 points in the half to keep the game close.

Smith finished with 14 points to compliment Byars’ career scoring night.

Also for Virginia, freshman Gary Forbes added nine points and 12 rebounds and Elton Brown had 21 points and 10 rebounds despite struggling from the line where he went 3 of 11.

Brown’s night at the charity stripe was emblematic of UVa as a whole - the team shot 14 of 29 at the free-throw line. The Cavaliers have had their fair share of struggles from the free-throw stripe this season, but it has yet to hurt them to this point in the undefeated start.

Virginia returns to action on Monday when it hosts Coastal Carolina at 7:30 p.m.

 

Cavaliers make connection on road trips
Derrick Byars and Elton Brown score 21 apiece as UVa stays perfect on the season. Virginia 76 Loyola Marymount 68 Next game Coastal Carolina at Virginia Monday 7:30 p.m.
By Doug Doughty
doug.doughty@roanoke.com
981-3129

Virginia, the winner of two road games during the entire 2002-03 men's basketball season, matched that total Friday night on its second trip of this season.

The Cavaliers, who trailed by as many as nine points in the second half, rallied for a 76-68 victory over Loyola Marymount at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles.

"I thought it was our best win of the year," UVa coach Pete Gillen said on his postgame radio show.

The Cavaliers raised their record to 7-0 heading into a home game Monday against Coastal Carolina.

Virginia scored the first nine points Friday night before the Lions (6-3) went on runs of 17-7 and later 19-8 in taking a 39-30 lead.

"I think the key was being down nine with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first half and going into halftime only down four," said Gillen, whose team trailed 39-35 at the half, then scored the first six points of the second half.

Loyola Marymount led 51-50 following Keith Kincade's third 3-point field goal with less than 12 minutes remaining, but the Cavaliers responded with a 17-3 run, including 10 straight points in turning a 57-54 lead into a 67-54 cushion.

Freshman forward Gary Forbes scored seven of his nine points at the end of the run and finished with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds. The Cavaliers outrebounded the Lions 48-39.

"The ballgame was lost on the glass and in the first three minutes of the second half," Lions coach Steve Aggers said in a report on Loyola Marymount's Web site. "Their athleticism was an issue for us and you have to credit their defense down the stretch."

Freshman point guard T.J. Bannister played a season-high 19 minutes for the Cavaliers, left with nine scholarship players after freshman J.R. Reynolds was sent home with a rash. Also back in Charlottesville was assistant coach Walt Fuller, who was tending to his ailing wife.

Bannister had four assists, with no turnovers, "and did a good job of pressuring the ball-handler and not letting them run their offense smoothly," Gillen said. "Those kind of things don't show up in a box score."

Sophomore forward Derrick Byars had a career-high 21 points for the Cavaliers, including three of the Cavaliers' four 3-point field goals. Junior center Elton Brown added 21 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

"Byars really hurt us tonight," Aggers said. "In addition, Elton Brown is a load to guard. Their front-line guys were a little tougher than ours tonight."

The Cavaliers shot 56 percent from the field in the second half and 44.6 for the game, but missed 15 of 29 free throws. Brown, who has shot a total of 61 free throws in seven games, was 3-of-11.

"We beat a good team," Gillen said, "but we've got to do a better job at the line. You can't shoot 49 percent from the line, especially on the road, and hope to win."

The Cavaliers also overcame three technical fouls, the last against Byars for calling for a timeout with 1:27 left. UVa had used up its allotment of five timeouts when Gillen called a timeout with 3:07 left.

Sherman Gay had a team-high 21 points for Loyola Marymount, which shot 38.8 percent from the field. Of UVa's first seven opponents, only James Madison has shot 40 percent or better.

 

Cavs content to be back in Charlotte
By John Galinsky / Daily Progress staff writer
December 20, 2003

When the season began, Virginia’s football players were dreaming of big bowls. If not the Sugar or another BCS bowl, at least the Gator or Peach. Something that would mark progress from the year before.

Instead, the Cavaliers now find themselves right back where they were 365 days ago - in Charlotte, N.C., preparing for the Continental Tire Bowl. They are scheduled to arrive today and will have five days of practice leading into Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh.

Are they disappointed, even just a little? Not at all, some players insisted, though others admitted a repeat engagement at Ericsson Stadium wasn’t what they originally had in mind.

“Sure, you know, of course we wanted to win the conference championship and go to a major bowl and all that,” said sophomore linebacker Darryl Blackstock. “But that’s not the way it worked out. Hey, it’s all right. We’re happy to be going to another good bowl and playing another good team. We’re just happy to get a chance to play again.”

After all, going to Charlotte is better than going nowhere, which seemed possible when Virginia was 5-5 following a loss at Maryland in mid-November. Victories against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech earned the program its 14th bowl trip, all in the past 20 years.

“To end the season with three wins would give us a good feeling going into next year,” said sophomore tight end Heath Miller. “We’re excited about playing Pittsburgh and trying to get another win.”

One advantage to repeating a bowl trip is familiarity. The Cavaliers will stay in the same hotel and practice on the same field as last year. Many of their activities also will be duplicated, such as their visit to Lowe’s Motor Speedway and their Christmas party at the hotel.

“Our routine will be very similar,” said coach Al Groh. “The week is pretty much the same.”

That’s fine with the players, who seemed to enjoy their stay in Charlotte a year ago.

“It’s a fun town,” said junior guard Elton Brown. “We know where everything is. We won’t have to find our way around. I’m looking forward to going back.”

“It was a first-class operation from top to bottom,” said senior quarterback Matt Schaub. “It was a really fun time.”

Of course, much of that had to do with the game itself - a 48-22 thrashing of West Virginia. The Cavaliers rose to the occasion, turning in a dominant performance and securing their most lopsided bowl triumph.

If they can leave Charlotte victorious again, they say, it will count as another successful trip.

“The team got the idea last year that when you accept one of these bowl invitations, along with it goes the responsibility to win,” Groh said. “That’s what we’re going for. We’re not going for hay rides and log flumes, that kind of stuff. We’re going to win.”

In that sense, he said, the destination doesn’t matter.

“I think they’re really starting to get it, that they’re there for the game and the issue about the game is winning,” Groh said. “So we’re happy to go anyplace where we have a chance to play a game and win it.”

Note. One player not making the trip to Charlotte is junior safety Jay Dorsey, who has not been practicing with the team for what Groh called “personal reasons.” Dorsey started five games but had been replaced by Jamaine Winborne.
 

No fans, but few worries
Ticket guarantees keep bowls afloat black
By LORENZO PEREZ, Staff Writer

The same ticket guarantees that will eat into the Tangerine Bowl profits of N.C. State and Kansas also help shore up the financial stability of the Dec. 22 bowl.

So while the Florida Citrus Sports officials who organize the Orlando, Fla., game remain disappointed at the lackluster ticket sales reported by the two universities, they remain confident about the game's future as a bowl-season fixture.

In addition to the $812,000 payouts awarded to the ACC and Big 12 conferences for the N.C. State and Kansas Tangerine Bowl bids, the two schools were allotted a total of 24,500 tickets to the game. The schools and their conferences will have to pick up the tab for whatever tickets they don't sell.

Either way it's guaranteed revenue for the bowl.

"Financially, we're very stable because of the two conferences committing to 12,000 and 12,500 tickets," said Tom Mickle, executive director of Florida Citrus Sports. "That and the local ticket base gives us financial stability. But what we really want to see is growth in overall attendance. We still have to find the secret of getting people here before Christmas."

That has been the biggest challenge.

With Wolfpack fans citing the game's pre-Christmas date as a deterrent to the trip, N.C. State expects to sell only 5,500 of its 12,500 tickets. Kansas, which is responsible for selling 12,000 tickets, has sold only about 3,400.

Under a formula used for all the bowl money the conference collects from its teams' bowl bids, the ACC will give N.C. State $1 million to cover its travel costs and other expenditures. After distributing similar expense cuts to each ACC team playing in a bowl this season, the conference will divide what's left in its bowl payout pot nine ways among the member schools.

Diane B. Moose, N.C. State's associate athletics director for business and finance, said that the university expects to spend as much as $130,000 of its bowl cut to cover the cost of unsold Tangerine Bowl tickets. That's an expense N.C. State did not have in January, when Wolfpack fans bought more than 26,500 tickets through the university for the football team's Gator Bowl trip.

But even with the Gator Bowl, after taking into account travel, hotel and meal expenses for the team and university officials, N.C. State netted only about $30,000.

Officials at N.C. State and Kansas anticipate netting similar small profits from the Tangerine Bowl despite the slow ticket sales.

"It may be small," Moose said, "but we intend to come out in the black."

Given the combined bowl game payouts -- an estimated $18 million coming from Florida State (Orange Bowl), Maryland (Gator), Clemson (Peach), N.C. State (Tangerine), Virginia (Continental Tire) and Georgia Tech (Humanitarian) -- it's unlikely that the games' costs would exceed the money coming in.

Jim Marchiony, Kansas' associate athletics director for external affairs, said that with the Big 12's commitment to help member schools with the cost of unsold tickets, the financial benefits still outweigh the costs of the bowl trip.

Asked if he could envision a case where financially a bowl trip would not be worth the expense, Marchiony said, "I don't think there's a scenario like that."

The Tangerine Bowl's timing, sometime between Dec. 20 and Dec. 23, is dictated by the game's television contract with ESPN, Mickle said. A weekend date might lure more fans, he acknowledged, but the NFL's late December schedule of Saturday and Sunday games makes that unlikely.

"We could look at doing it post-Christmas," Mickle said. "But in Orlando, it's jammed post-Christmas. Every hotel room is booked. So it really doesn't do anything for economic development to have a game here in addition to the [Jan. 1] Capital One game. So we have to try and make this pre-Christmas thing work."

Florida Citrus Sports' contract with Mazda USA, the Tangerine Bowl's title sponsor, is up for renegotiation after Monday's game, Mickle said. Mazda officials could not be reached for comment Friday.

But Florida Citrus Sports officials remain optimistic that the company, the bowl game's fifth title sponsor in 14 years, will want to continue the relationship. Fewer empty seats in the 65,438-seat Florida Citrus Sports Bowl Stadium would help, Mickle said.

About 13,500 tickets have been sold locally in Orlando for Monday's game.

"We can't keep having 20,000 to 25,000 people in the stadium. That can wear on you," Mickle said. "That's part of the excitement of a bowl, having a lot of people in the stadium. Our lower bowl seats 48,000. We need to get 40,000 to 45,000, and it looks full."


 

Fitzgerald's just one of UVa's tasks
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
December 20, 2003

Most of the chatter about Pittsburgh, which will be Virginia’s opponent in the Continental Tire Bowl on Dec. 27, has been about All-American wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

While Fitzgerald is likely the best collegiate pass catcher in America, beating the Pitt Panthers is going to require more effort than attempting to contain the sophomore receiver.

Putting pressure on All-Big East quarterback Rod Rutherford is going to be a key. At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, Rutherford has a strong and accurate arm and moves fairly well. Give him time to find Fitzgerald and it can be a long day for a defense.

“We are going to have to get back there and get some disruption going so as not to put all the pressure on our secondary,” said Virginia junior defensive end Chris Canty when talking about Pitt’s passing game.

Miami was the exception

But putting pressure on Rutherford hasn’t been easy this season. Only Miami, in the regular-season finale, managed to really get after him. The Hurricanes sacked the Pitt quarterback nine times.

Now that’s disruption.

That hasn’t been the norm. Pitt QBs have been sacked a total of 20 times in 11 games, almost half coming in the Miami game.

Panthers coach Walt Harris believes in giving Rutherford maximum protection on passing plays. Usually the plan is to keep seven or eight players in to protect him. Having Fitzgerald around allows them to do so because he is so talented that he can usually wiggle free from coverage.

For teams to blitz heavily against Pitt, well, it’s a risk-reward kind of thing. If the Panthers keep eight players in for protection and can block all of the pass rushers, then chances are Rutherford will find either Fitzgerald or someone else.

You can sure bet that Virginia’s coaches have been studying tape of the Miami game to get a long look at how the Hurricanes succeeded in getting to the quarterback. You can also bet that Pitt will be trying to rectify that problem.

The Panthers also use their tight end, Kris Wilson, similarly to how Virginia has used Heath Miller.

Fitzgerald shall receive

Then there’s Fitzgerald. More will be written on him in the coming week, but Virginia coach Al Groh said it all when the touched on the subject in a recent gathering with media.

“It’s hard for me to imagine a more dominant player in college football this year,” Groh said of the Pitt receiver. “If you don’t acknowledge what he can do to change the game, you’ve got our head stuck in the sand.”

Fitzgerald has been double- and triple-teamed and still had spectacular performances. He finished as runner-up, and a close one at that, in the Heisman Trophy race and is only a sophomore.

But the Panthers aren’t a one-dimensional football team.

“They’re a very physical team,” Groh said. “Their running game is an inside, fullback/tailback-based running game with two big backs. They’ve got a big, strong fullback [Lousaka Polite] and Brandon Miree is a big tailback.”

Neither are slashers, but physical, straight-ahead, run over you type backs.

“Both of them are guys that in tackling, if the defenders do not front up the runner, then they’re going to run right through,” Groh said.

Canty, who has had a breakout year at defensive end for the Cavaliers, said Virginia is well-drilled against what Pitt does best.

“First and foremost with our defense is stopping the run and then we’ll focus on their passing game,” Canty said. “As a defense we understand that to control a game, you have to control the ball. So our emphasis is stopping the run. That’s why we do all those 9 on 7 inside run drills and all the work in the weight room.”

If the front seven can’t stop the run and fail to put pressure on Rutherford, it could be a tough day for UVa’s secondary and Cavalier defensive back Tony Franklin understands why.

“Fitzgerald is a big, physical guy [6-3, 225],” said Franklin. “I know it’s coming ... them going downtown, going deep to him. We are preparing for that every day.”

Pittsburgh will throw deep as much, if not more than any team Virginia has faced this season and that’s saying a lot because the ACC has been loaded with passers this season, the likes of N.C. State’s Philip Rivers, Clemson’s Charlie Whitehurst, Florida State’s Chris Rix to mention a few.

Defensively, the Panthers have puzzled Groh. Pitt’s multiple 4-3 scheme is the same and has much of the same personnel as last season when it ranked as the 12th-best defense in the country. That hasn’t been the case this time around.

In fact, Pittsburgh is giving up 399.5 yards per game on average (383.9 is UVa’s total), 184 rushing and 215 passing. The Panthers have given up an average of 24 points per game.

But the scheme is somewhat familiar to Virginia after facing similar defenses toward the end of this regular season. The strength of Pitt’s defense is its secondary, a ball-hawking group, mostly seniors.

“We feel they have a couple of weak spots that hopefully we’ll be able to exploit,” said UVa tailback Alvin Pearman. “We just have to stay focused.”

As far as experience goes, Pitt definitely has the edge. Virginia has only six seniors starting on offense or defense. The Panthers start eight seniors on offense and seven on defense.

That is one reason why Pittsburgh fans were so dejected that the Panthers didn’t win the Big East and advance to a BCS bowl. They believed this was their year to become the Beast of the East.

That is also why their fans have bitterly complained about Harris and so few of them have bought tickets for the bowl game. Still, the Panthers went 8-4, with their best wins coming against Virginia Tech, Boston College and Syracuse.

Their four losses were to Toledo, Notre Dame, West Virginia and Miami in the closer.

Certainly with all the offensive stars in this game from both teams, the UVa-Pitt matchup appears to be one of the most interesting and potentially entertaining of all the bowl games.
 

Seniors say they want to end season on a positive note
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
By Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pitt has all the makings of a team primed for a letdown when it plays Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl Dec. 27.

For starters, the Panthers (8-4) are coming off a disappointing season which ended with a blowout loss at home. They are playing in a bowl game that starts at 11 a.m. on an NFL Saturday rather than in prime time on New Year's Day.

Further, their offensive coordinator is splitting his attention between his current job and his future job as another school's head coach.

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is the "senioritis" factor, as the Panthers' depth chart is loaded with seniors, many of whom already are dreaming of an NFL career. That's a lot of loose ends for one team to hold together and a lot of obstacles to overcome, but Pitt coach Walt Harris promises his team will be ready. He also is sure the seniors understand there is still a lot to play for.

"Right now, we are not where we need to be in order to play against a good team," Harris said. "But I don't think senioritis will be a problem with this team. Right now, we just have to get a lot better, but we have a lot of time."

Senior defensive end Claude Harriott, one of several NFL prospects, said the Panthers will have no problem focusing on the game. And he said the fact that there are so many seniors looking to play football in the next level is a positive, not a distraction.

"I think the NFL is a good thing to think about," Harriott said. "It should be motivation to play harder, to play your best. This is our last chance to showcase our talents in a game before the combines and other things. It all depends on how you take it but, if you have a sound mind, you understand how important this game could be for your future. We all have a lot to play for."

Senior fullback Lousaka Polite said the game is a big one because if they were to win it, they would become the first graduating class since 1981 to win three consecutive bowl games.

And senior quarterback Rod Rutherford said the bowl is a chance to ease the sting of the Panthers' 28-14, season-ending loss to Miami.

"The season was hard, we had a lot of opportunities that we didn't take advantage of, but. at the same time, we played hard day in or day out," Rutherford said. "It is not hard to get up for this game because we ended our regular season with such a sour taste. Knowing that we have another chance to go out on a positive note, it really shouldn't be hard to get ready to play."

All three players agreed that beating Virginia is important for many other reasons. A victory would give Pitt nine wins in back-to-back years for the first time in 21 seasons. Also, winning three bowl games in four seasons would put the class in a select category -- and also show how far the program has come.

"When we got here, the Panthers weren't doing so well," Harriott said, "and for us to come in here, we have to end on a good note. We need to finish this last game to stamp the progress that we've made.

"We have a lot of pride in this class and we want to be known for helping put this program back on the map."

Polite added, "our freshman year, we went home for Christmas so we know that isn't much fun. I'm confident we'll show up because we've helped contribute to rebuilding this program. We have a chance to get nine wins again. There are plenty of other teams at home, so we have a lot to play for, you can believe that."
 

Harris emphasizes Pitt's accomplishments
Saturday, December 20, 2003
By Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Walt Harris said he and the Pitt coaching staff are disappointed with the way the season went. But he stressed that doesn't mean the season was disappointing.

Lake Fong/Post-Gazette
Walt Harris will lead the Panthers into the Continental Tire Bowl next Sturday, not quite the season finale he had hoped for.

Only Harris seems to know the distinction.

"We were disappointed that we didn't do better," Harris said yesterday during a news conference at the Panthers' South Side complex. "I think the difference is when you say it is a disappointing season -- that is a whole different way of looking at it.

"We're disappointed that we didn't play as well as we wanted to play. It is not about living up to anyone else's expectations. Nobody knows who is good until about halfway into the season.

"But what happens is, you've got to play well, and we got caught short in some games where we didn't play physical enough. That was the difference. There were three of them that we didn't play physical enough."

No matter how the hair is split, the Panthers didn't live up to expectations -- their own or anyone else's.

They ranked among the top 15 teams in most preseason polls and were picked to finish second in the Big East. They were hoping for a Bowl Championship Series invitation. They had 17 starters returning and 14 fifth-year seniors.

But they finished 8-4 and, rather than playing on New Year's Day in Florida, they are headed to Charlotte, N.C., to play Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl next Saturday. But Harris was right in his assessment of Pitt's losses to Notre Dame, West Virginia and Miami: The Panthers were manhandled on both sides of the ball in all three games.

Harris also cited poor defensive play as another reason Pitt didn't live up to expectations. He said coaches underestimated the leadership of some of the graduated defensive players.

"I think we probably thought we were going to be better on defense," Harris said. "It probably surprised us that we weren't better on defense. I think the leadership that graduated off the defense -- we knew it was going to be a hit -- but I think it became even bigger as time went on.

"That's the hard part, that is the intrinsic factor you can't put a height or weight on or a number of tackles on. That is a feeling they have in the huddle. We had some guys last year who were different kinds of kids."

Despite the way the season went, the Panthers can finish on a high note with a victory against Virginia. That would make them the first Pitt team to win nine games in back-to-back seasons since 1982-83 and the first Pitt team to win three consecutive bowl games since 1979-81.

Harris highlighted a number of achievements that point to a season that is more success than failure.

"I don't know that there are a lot of teams out there who won eight or more games, but probably not," he said. "And like I said, we are going to our fourth bowl game in a row. And one of the areas I see where there is a big difference in our program is the highlights.

"When you watch television, we're on the highlights, and it is great to see us up there with everybody else.

"We took the Biletnikoff [Award] for the second time in four years and the Walter Camp as well. I think there were a lot of things that happened good. Those are things that people don't talk about very often; they'd rather talk about the things where we fell short. But we have a lot of things to be excited about."

Pitt's fans are obviously not buying the spin -- or tickets for the Continental Tire Bowl. As of last week, the Panthers had sold only 3,000 tickets, as compared to the nearly 30,000 by Virginia.

Harris said fans' expectations are not always realistic. He pointed to the progress the program has made since 1997 under his watch and said there is still work to be done.

"I do know that we had four sellouts here this year, and you can go back and tell me the last time the University of Pittsburgh had four sellouts," he said. "This is a long process. I talked to NFL scouts and GMs that were at practice and things like that, and this is a tough assignment. The fans are disappointed and we're disappointed, but the fact that not many want to come down, that is their prerogative."

NOTES -- Harris said reserve defensive tackle Charles Spencer will miss the bowl game because of a shoulder injury that will require surgery. Spencer was injured during full-contact drills last week. ... Harris was asked about whether he thought sophomore receiver Larry Fitzgerald would apply for the NFL draft. "He's a great football player and a great young man," Harris said. "If he wants to go, I'm 100 percent behind him because he's ready. But college football is great, too, so he doesn't have to be pushed." ... Middle linebacker Lewis Moore has been invited to play in the East-West Shrine game Jan. 10 in San Francisco.