After a turbulant week and a slow start, the Pittsburgh Panthers scored 43 unanswered points to score a 43-3 victory in the season opener Saturday night at Heinz Field.
With senior quarterback Rod Rutherford on the bench to start the game stemming from an altercation late Sunday evening, it seemed like the Panthers stayed on the bench until their quarterback was inserted into the game.
Kent State drove right down the field behind the running and short passing of quarterback Joshua Cribbs. The Flash made it to the Pitt 12 yard line before Cribbs was sacked by Tyrone Gillilard on a safety blitz. Travis Mayle kicked a field goal to give Kent State a 3-0 lead.
On a day where Boston College shocked Penn State, Wake Forest upset N.C. State and Ohio State was taken to the last minute by San Jose State, it looked like the Panthers might be in trouble.
When the Panthers took over on offense, it was redshirt freshman Luke Getsy at the controls, not Rutherford. Getsy, the 2001 AP Small Schools All-State quarterback, outdualed Tyler Palko for the second string job during fall camp was getting his first collegiate start.
Getsy spent most of his first quarter handing off to senior running back Brandon Miree. The Alabama transfer, who rushed for just under 1,000 in his junior season at Pitt, carried the ball seven times for 49 yards in the first quarter. Getsy threw four passes in the opening quarter. One was off target, but three passes hit Pitt receivers in the hands and were dropped. When the quarter ended. Pitt trailed 3-0.
As the second 15 minutes of play started, the Pitt defense held and forced Kent State to punt. The Pitt special teams put the block on and Sam Bryant blocked the punt by Joshua Brazen and Pitt took over at the Kent State 20 yard line.
Off the sidelines comes Rutherford. On his first play of the 2003 season, he dropped back to pass and found an open Princell Brockenbrough for a TD. David Abdul added the PAT and the Panthers led 7-0.
“Rod Rutherford energized us,” Pitt coach Walt Harris said. “You know he’s our starting quarterback. He’s been under duress this week, but the players reacted to him.”
Following the Pitt touchdown, the Panther defense stepped up. They held Kent to a three-and-out and forced a punt. That brought Rutherford and the Pitt offense back on the field with a first and 10 at the Pitt 20 yard line.
To start the drive, Rutherford hit Fitzgerald for 20 yards and a first down. The senior quarterback next found senior tight end Kris Wilson for 42 yards and another Panther first down. Miree ran two straight times for 11 yards and a first down which put the Panthers into a first and goal on the seven yard line. On first down, Rutherford threw a fade to Fitzgerald that was broken up on a great play by Kent State defensive back Usama Young. On second and goal, Rutherford hit Fitzgerald on a come back for the touchdown. Abdul added the PAT and in a span of less than two minutes, Pitt went from being down 3-0 to leading 14-3.
With the touchdown, Firzgerald broke Antonio Bryant’s school record with touchdown receptions in seven straight games. Rutherford connected with Fitzgerald two more times for touchdowns in the second quarter. The first a 11-yarder and the second covered 54 yards with Fitzgerald breaking two tackles on the way to the endzone. At halftime, Pitt led 28-3.
The numbers for Rutherford in the second quarter matched what many quarterbacks hoped for in a season. The senior quarterback went 11-15 for 233 yards and 4 TD’s in 15 minutes of play.
“I think you always worry about a young man’s focus in a situation like he’s gone through,” Harris said. “When he got in there he looked like a fifth-year senior. He was on top of it. He saw it clearly and was the sparkplug that made it happen for us.”
On Pitt’s second posession in the third quarter, Rutherford took the Panthers to its fifth touchdown of the evening. The drive was highlighted by a 23-yard connection of Rutherford to Wilson. Miree scored on a two-yard run. Abdul’s PAT made it a 35-3 Pitt lead.
Near the end of the quarter, the Pitt defense added to the scoring parade. Kent State was called for holding in the endzone which is a safety and Pitt led 37-3 heading to the fourth quarter.
Getsy returned to lead Pitt to a pair of field goals by Abdul (22,47) in the fourth quarter and Pitt scored a 43-3 victory.
Pitt was led by Rutherford’s performance through the air. The senior from Perry Academy went 17-25 for 288 yards, 4 TD’s and 0 Int. Fitzgerald led the Pitt receivers with six catches for 123 yards and 3 TD’s. Miree was Pitt’s leading rusher with 21 carries for 113 yards and a TD.
Miree talked about how Rutherford handled the turbulent week.
“I think he’s kept his head up,” said senior tailback Brandon Miree, who rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.
“He’s tried to stay focused. He’s been a class act. He gracefully bowed out to Luke and helped Luke out with things he was having problems with. He’s worked through this. For the most part we just let him vent, gave him a shoulder to lean on. It seems like everybody was down on him, so we were there for him.”
Opening the season witha 43-3 victory, Miree was happy to get a game under the belt of the Panthers.
“We just wanted to play,” Miree said. “It’s been a long offseason and we were just glad to be back on the field.”
Pitt (1-0) will host Ball State Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Heinz Field. Following the game, Harris announced that Rutherford would start at quarterback for the Panthers.
