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The Daily OrangeBig East | RB McCoy the catalyst for No. 24 Pittsburgh's offense
By Meredith Galante
Posted: 10/8/08, 12:27 AM EST Section: Sports
Wannstedt's offense is a stronger rushing team than a passing one, so McCoy fits in perfectly with Pittsburgh's game plan.
"In order to use all your weapons, you need to be able to run the ball effectively," Wannstedt said. "We are not as proficient in our passing game at this present time, but that will come too. In order for us to be affective we need some play-action passes and for that to happen you need to run the ball."
Despite posting the highest rushing statistics of any of the Panthers' players, McCoy still has some learning to do in order to make Pittsburgh's running game more proficient.
"Physically the talent is there but once he mentally starts to learn to read defensives and get the big picture of what we're doing on offense he will become more and more affective," Wannstedt said.
Quarterbacks going down
The injury bug has struck several quarterbacks in the Big East. Connecticut, Cincinnati and Louisville have all suffered injuries under center recently.
Connecticut (4-1) and Cincinnati (4-1) were both forced to play a backup quarterback last weekend. Meanwhile, Louisville (2-2) had a bye week giving starting quarterback Hunter Cantwell a chance to recover a sprained ankle.
Cantwell and Connecticut's Tyler Lorenzen both went down in the Louisville-UConn matchup Sept. 26. Lorenzen who broke his right foot in the second quarter, had surgery the following day and will miss the next six to eight weeks.
Cantwell sprained his ankle in the second half, but returned to practice on Wednesday. Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe said during a teleconference Cantwell will play Friday against Memphis.
The Huskies started sophomore Zach Frazer to replace Lorenzen in its game against North Carolina on Saturday. Frazer completed 22-of-44 passes for 210 yards with three interceptions. The Tar Heels handed the Huskies their first loss, 38-12.
Tony Pike, Cincinnati's second-string quarterback, broke his arm against Akron, Sept. 27. The Bearcats started Chazz Anderson, a redshirt freshman in his place. Anderson threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third in Cincinnati's road win at Marshall Saturday.
West Virginia's QBs share the spotlight
Pat White and Jarrett Brown shared the spotlight Saturday when West Virginia (3-2) defeated Rutgers, 24-17, in its conference opener.
White, a senior, completed 12-of-17 passes for 137 yards and threw for two touchdowns. Brown, a junior, rushed for 44 yards and one touchdown.
"Jarrett has been great," WVU head coach Bill Stewart said during a teleconference. "When you think about what we ask him to do: stand on the sidelines, be a leader. He's really excited now for the package we've put together for him."
White has been the Mountaineers' primary quarterback so far this season, completing 75-of-103 passes for 590 yards with only one interception. But since introducing Brown more into the offense, West Virginia has won its last two games.
"He's a long-legged guy," Stewart said. "Once he gets going, he goes. His speed - there's no stopping him."
mkgalant@syr.edu
"In order to use all your weapons, you need to be able to run the ball effectively," Wannstedt said. "We are not as proficient in our passing game at this present time, but that will come too. In order for us to be affective we need some play-action passes and for that to happen you need to run the ball."
Despite posting the highest rushing statistics of any of the Panthers' players, McCoy still has some learning to do in order to make Pittsburgh's running game more proficient.
"Physically the talent is there but once he mentally starts to learn to read defensives and get the big picture of what we're doing on offense he will become more and more affective," Wannstedt said.
Quarterbacks going down
The injury bug has struck several quarterbacks in the Big East. Connecticut, Cincinnati and Louisville have all suffered injuries under center recently.
Connecticut (4-1) and Cincinnati (4-1) were both forced to play a backup quarterback last weekend. Meanwhile, Louisville (2-2) had a bye week giving starting quarterback Hunter Cantwell a chance to recover a sprained ankle.
Cantwell and Connecticut's Tyler Lorenzen both went down in the Louisville-UConn matchup Sept. 26. Lorenzen who broke his right foot in the second quarter, had surgery the following day and will miss the next six to eight weeks.
Cantwell sprained his ankle in the second half, but returned to practice on Wednesday. Louisville head coach Steve Kragthorpe said during a teleconference Cantwell will play Friday against Memphis.
The Huskies started sophomore Zach Frazer to replace Lorenzen in its game against North Carolina on Saturday. Frazer completed 22-of-44 passes for 210 yards with three interceptions. The Tar Heels handed the Huskies their first loss, 38-12.
Tony Pike, Cincinnati's second-string quarterback, broke his arm against Akron, Sept. 27. The Bearcats started Chazz Anderson, a redshirt freshman in his place. Anderson threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third in Cincinnati's road win at Marshall Saturday.
West Virginia's QBs share the spotlight
Pat White and Jarrett Brown shared the spotlight Saturday when West Virginia (3-2) defeated Rutgers, 24-17, in its conference opener.
White, a senior, completed 12-of-17 passes for 137 yards and threw for two touchdowns. Brown, a junior, rushed for 44 yards and one touchdown.
"Jarrett has been great," WVU head coach Bill Stewart said during a teleconference. "When you think about what we ask him to do: stand on the sidelines, be a leader. He's really excited now for the package we've put together for him."
White has been the Mountaineers' primary quarterback so far this season, completing 75-of-103 passes for 590 yards with only one interception. But since introducing Brown more into the offense, West Virginia has won its last two games.
"He's a long-legged guy," Stewart said. "Once he gets going, he goes. His speed - there's no stopping him."
mkgalant@syr.edu
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