Things are about to get tougher for Rutgers QB

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The Cliff Notes version of Tom Savage?s playing experience to this point goes something like this: A second half of virtually meaningless football against Cincinnati in the opener followed by three starts ? none outside of Rutgers Stadium and two against Football Championship Subdivision (new 1-AA) opponents.

So even the freshman quarterback understands why he is so much of the focus as 4-1 Rutgers braces for a visit from 5-1 Pittsburgh on Friday in what appears to be a crossroads game for both teams.

?Obviously, it?s a step up in competition,? Savage said. ?But with the plays we have it?s just progressions. So if you go through them and give the athletes on the team the ball, they?ll make plays.?

If only it was that simple under the glare of ESPN?s cameras and with the pressure expected to be exerted by a sack-happy Pitt defensive line working against a still-suspect Rutgers offensive line. Not even coach Greg Schiano can say for sure if Savage is ready for this kind of test at this early stage in his career.

?We?re going to find out,? he said. ?Here it comes Friday night, whether we?re ready or not.?

Savage said he learned two important things from his most recent start, a 42-0 victory over Texas Southern last Saturday.

One is that ?again, I need to learn how to slide,? he said.

The other is the type of self-improvement that only comes with experience.

?I just need to get rid of the ball quicker,? he said. ?I make it real difficult on the offensive line because I hold the ball real long. I need to work on that.?

Left tackle Anthony Davis said stage fright ? and facing the best defense of his career to this point ? won?t faze Savage.

?He?s a cool kid,? Davis said. ?He keeps himself poised in difficult situations. He will be all right.?

That?s the party line for now, but no one knows for certain how the 19-year-old will react. Savage has stayed interception-free through 85 career pass attempts in large part because the offense has taken a vanilla approach through the early stages of this season ? with the soft schedule allowing that to happen.

In the one game that was supposed to be Savage?s first real test ? at Maryland on Sept. 26 ? he was reduced to the role of spectator as he recovered from a concussion.

So the Panthers figure to test the 6-5, 230-pound Savage early and often with a defense that is third nationally in sacks at 4.3 per game.

?I think he?s developing,? Schiano said. ?I think the hard thing was missing the Maryland game. But he?s getting better. You wish he maybe had that game under his belt. But it is what it is.?

Though Savage has put the blame on himself for not getting rid of the ball quickly enough, there?s also concern about how this offensive line will protect him after allowing 14 sacks already. That total is tied for the most in the Big East.

By comparison, Cincinnati has attempted 188 passes this year (to 117 for Rutgers) but has allowed only three sacks.

?We don?t like when he gets hit, so our goal is to not let him get hit,? Davis said.
Savage said he can help in that regard by being more decisive, something he said he took from his most recent start.

?I learned I?ve got to get rid of the ball quicker,? he said. ?The offensive line has been awesome. I?ve got to stay calm back there and not drift out of the pocket and I need to get rid of the ball and not hold it as long as I have been.?

Savage, 48-for-85 for 693 yards and four touchdowns so far, said the only challenge comparable so far to the one Pitt?s defense will offer was the second half he played in the opener against Cincinnati ? after the Bearcats had built a 31-7 halftime lead.

 

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Tale of two halves for Panthers


The Steelers a few years ago referred to themselves as "60-Minute Men" because they played hard for the entire game and won several games in the final minute.

Perhaps the Pitt Panthers should adopt the motto "30-Minute Men" because through six games they've been a team that has played extremely well in one half and not so well in the other.

In victories against Buffalo and Navy and the loss to North Carolina State, the Panthers were very good in the first half and struggled in the second. The opposite has been true in their past two games -- victories against Louisville and Connecticut -- as they have gotten off to slow starts and finished with big second-half performances.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said it has been frustrating to watch his team play with such inconsistency, but he believes that each game has been different and the Panthers have learned a little bit from each one.

"We did a couple things that the players know that you can't do and win [against Louisville]," Wannstedt said. "I think [against Connecticut] where we had to come from behind late, it really put a lot of pressure on our football team to respond.

"But I think even though we came from behind in both, being down three at the half is not uncommon. I think you're going to be in these conference games and you're going to be up and down, you expect the games to be close at halftime one way or another."

Wannstedt said that whatever has held the team back needs to get solved quickly because the Panthers will need maximum effort for the entire game to beat Rutgers Friday.
Friday night lights

This will be Pitt's second Friday night game this season. Two weeks ago, Pitt won at Louisville on a Friday night. Wannstedt said the national television exposure is nice, but playing Friday night games on the road presents some challenges.

"If I had the choice I'd rather be playing Saturday for sure, for a lot of different reasons," Wannstedt said. "We had a tough game. We were back in here [Sunday]. It was a tough, physical game. We have two Friday night games on the road in three weeks. I don't know how many teams in the country are playing two Friday night games total, let alone on the road and in a three-week span. So it's put a lot on our players."




Quick hits
. ... Pitt has two defensive backs coming off injuries -- Aaron Berry (shoulder) and Elijah Fields (ankle). Wannstedt said both are "day to day. Everybody's getting better." ... Pitt has 11 players on its roster from New York or New Jersey (Rutgers is located in New Jersey) and that number figures to increase as Wannstedt has emphasized New Jersey as a fertile recruiting ground. "That's become an important area for us," he said. "We've gotten some players that have had some success out of there. I think that's neat." ... Punter/kicker Dan Hutchins was named the Big East special teams player of the week for his performance in Pitt's 24-21 win against Connecticut Saturday. Hutchins kicked a career-long 42 yard field goal in the first quarter, kicked an 18-yard winner as time expired and scored a total of 10 points.

 

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Rutgers' pressure will test Panthers blockers


Pitt's offensive line has protected quarterback Bill Stull well this season, but it will be under fire for the entire game Friday night when the Panthers (5-1, 2-0 Big East) visit Rutgers (4-1, 0-1).

That's because the Scarlet Knights under coach Greg Schiano depend heavily on a variety of pressure packages and exotic blitzes.

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said that means that the Panthers' offensive linemen will need to be sharper on the mental and recognition aspects of their job Friday than the physical part because the Scarlet Knights do many things to disguise their intentions.

"Probably 50 percent of the time they are going to bring some form of pressure, meaning one or two extra people [rushing the passer]," Wannstedt said. "And they combine that with movement among their linemen on the majority of their plays. So, very rarely do they just sit still and say 'here we are, come block us.'

"If you see that every week and are working on it, it is a little bit easier. It takes a little bit of adjustments in practice time and film time to see it and recognize it. [On Friday] if only one guy sees it or recognizes it, that doesn't do us any good.

"We have to be able to coordinate how we block it between our linemen, our backs and tight ends. Our biggest challenge is being mentally sharp."

Schiano's defensive philosophy is much different than Wannstedt's (Wannstedt doesn't like to blitz and wants to create pressure with his front four), even though Schiano worked for Wannstedt for a few years with the Chicago Bears.

"I don't know [why Schiano's philosophy has changed so much since working with Wannstedt]," Wannstedt said "His first or second year at Rutgers, he went to a lot more movement and pressure stuff than we did in Chicago or that he did with Butch [Davis] at Miami. Why that is -- I don't know, we never talked about it."
Base is working

The Panthers have a lot of defensive packages they can use, but they have played primarily in their base 4-3, which Wannstedt said is the sign of a good defense or, at least, a defense that is playing well.

"Any time you can play with four [up front] and cover with seven, you are going to play pretty good defense," Wannstedt said. "You are not going to have to take many chances. It is just a matter of philosophy. We've played some nickel last week and some of our buck last week, but it really depends on our matchups."
Quick hits

Wannstedt said yesterday there are a lot of unsung players on the team, and one of them is senior center Robb Houser. "Robb has been great, he's had a very good year," Wannstedt said. "I wish he could be here for a couple more." ... The weather Friday night in New Jersey is supposed to be cold and rainy, and yesterday the Panthers practiced outside in preparation for that. "We're expecting the worst. We practiced with wet balls and that stuff," Wannstedt said. "But we've played in some rain this year [against North Carolina State and Navy], so we're not too concerned about it."

 

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Rutgers Game Day: The breakdown vs. Pittsburgh

Rutgers Game Day: The breakdown vs. Pittsburgh

WHEN RUTGERS HAS THE BALL

Well, we finally get to see if Tom Savage can indeed hang with the big boys. Even though he has been the main part of the offense since the second half of Game 1, he has yet to start a game against a BCS opponent and hasn?t even played a full game yet. (Remember, he suffered the concussion with more than eight minutes left in the Florida International game.)

Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt feels Savage is one of the best freshmen QBs in the country, so it?ll be up to Savage to prove him right. In order to keep Pittsburgh on its heels, Rutgers likely will try to use a heavy dose of option plays, so expect to see some ?Wildcat? formations (which Rutgers utilized near the end of last season). After all, that?s what Pitt had trouble defending in its loss to N.C. State last month, when QB Russell Wilson ran for 91 yards and threw for 322.

Rutgers will also have to get a nice flow of Joe Martinek rushing the ball, but also mix in change-of-pace backs De?Antwan Williams and Kordell Young. Williams, another true freshman, has tremendous burst and is a home-run threat. Last year, Rutgers was able to exploit Pittsburgh?s secondary and WR Tim Brown had one of his most productive games, catching four balls for 132 yards and two TDs. Look for Rutgers to try to lull Pitt to sleep with the running game and then try to find Brown on play-action deep in the secondary.

WHEN PITTSBURGH HAS THE BALL

When these two teams met last year, QB Bill Stull was struggling along as a junior. He was knocked out late in the game, when his head collided with a teammate?s heel, forcing him to miss the next game. Since then, he has been a new QB, throwing for 18 TDs with only eight INTs.

However, he has had plenty of help from a position the Panthers didn?t expect a lot from: running back. True freshman Dion Lewis (Albany, N.Y./Blair Academy) and Ray Graham (Elizabeth H.S.) have been nothing short of sensational. Lewis is the feature back and has already had three games of 125 yards or more. Graham has had only 32 carries but has scored three times and is the most likely to turn a 5-yard run into a big gain.

At receiver, Jonathan Baldwin is the main target, but senior Dorin Dickerson has turned into Stull?s security blanket, catching seven TDs. Rutgers can?t sleep on TE Nate Byham either ? he?s one of the best in the conference.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Rutgers continues to struggle to get much going with its return game, as the Scarlet Knights have yet to return a kick or punt for a touchdown. Still, kicker San San Te has been automatic on extra points, going 17-for-17. However, he did miss only his second field goal from less than 30 yards (a 24-yard attempt) last weekend. For Pittsburgh, Dan Hutchins came through in the clutch last Saturday as the Panthers completed the comeback against UConn, with Hutchins nailing an 18-yard field goal for the win as time expired.

FOUR DOWNS WITH… RB KORDELL YOUNG

1. Have you had to change your mentality at all as a third-down back?

Not necessarily. I always attacked pass-blocking and always thought that it was more important than carrying the ball. I guess I have heightened my awareness toward it because that?s basically all I do as of now.

2. Has your perception of what a ?third-down back? is changed now?

I look at a third-down back as exactly what is says: Go in and protect the quarterback, catch a ball once in a while and do what?s asked of you.

3. Do you have any limitations, because of your knee problems, in the role?

No, not at all. That?s why I?m in that role, because I?m healthy enough to do it. My knee?s coming along very well, it?s getting stronger and stronger every day. It?s a perfect role for me to go through right now and get my knee back to 100 percent.

4. Is there still a part of you that wants to be an every-down back?

Always. I came here as a running back. I ran the ball in high school, I ran the ball when I first came here. So as a running back, you always want to run the ball, but I know my situation now. My situation is third-down back.

HISTORY

Rutgers? series with Pittsburgh dates only to 1981 and has been an intense one. The teams will meet for the 25th consecutive season, which is the second-longest current continuous rivalry after West Virginia and Syracuse (30 straight years each). The Scarlet Knights have won only seven of the 26 meetings between the schools, but are 4-0 since 2005.

 

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Star-Ledger writer answers a few questions for Pitt fans


1.) How good is Rutgers freshman quarterback Tom Savage?

PRUNTY: Is he capable of winning a game if the running game is stuffed? From what we've seen so far, he has all of the tools a coach would want in a big-time quarterback. He's tall enough (6-4) to see over the line and make the throws, he's got a big arm (that's still developing) and he has that sense that all QBs need in the pocket when to move when they're feeling pressure.

That being said ... I have no idea if he can win a game like this, especially if the running game isn't clicking. He's only played one full game so far (last week against Texas Southern) and has yet to start a game against a BCS conference opponent. Coming off of the concussion he suffered almost a month ago against Florida International, he's been handled gently, with Greg Schiano having to hold him out of practice at first and then ease him back in advance of Texas Southern. He was 14-for-21 last weekend, which was encouraging, but it was against one of the worst 1-AA teams around. He'll need to have RB Joe Martinek performing as usual to help take some pressure off of him, otherwise it could get ugly.




2.) Rutgers offensive line has been hyped as one of the best in the country -- has it performed that way so far?



PRUNTY: Absolutely not. This offensive line has come around the last two to three games, but it is still nowhere near the expectations that people had of it coming into the season. I ? like many others ? expected it to be one of, if not, the best O-lines in the Big East. But it just hasn't happened. We're still not sure if it's that they were overrated to begin with, that they haven't gelled yet or they've been manhandled a lot. It's likely a combination of the three. Center Ryan Blaszczyk is a senior and three-year starter, but he's continually had problems with his left ankle. He's played through it, but there have been a number of times where he's been seriously limping during games and has been seen using crutches afterwards. The tackles have probably been the most disappointing part of the line so far: future NFL LT Anthony Davis has been so-so this year and RT Kevin Haslam has, at times, seemed over-matched. Davis showed up to camp overweight and out-of-shape (which Schiano only recently said was because an eye injury limited his workout ability) and hasn't shown that "mean streak" that we saw out of him last season. Sophomore Art Forst is quite good at RG, but Schiano's only recently found his LG in former defensive lineman Desmond Wynn. This offensive line is still a work in progress.


3.) It looks like Rutgers is using a running back-by-committee approach -- can you give us a run down of the Scarlet Knights tailbacks and how they differ and how they compare to say a Ray Rice?

PRUNTY: Trying to figure out Rutgers' running back situation is like trying to figure the New England Patriots': it's impossible. Joe Martinek is the closest thing that Schiano will come to determining a No. 1 running back, because he's been the only one of the four that's been able to do it consistently. Martinek is a natural running back, with tremendous instincts, who can find the holes that aren't there and make things happen. His one pitfall might be that he takes it outside too often and doesn't do enough running between the tackles. But when you're the all-time leading rusher in New Jersey high school history, no one's questioning your methods.

The rest are a bunch of wild cards. Jourdan Brooks has the size (6-1, 230 pounds) and speed combo that make coaches drool, but he can never seem to get on track. His 10 career TDs in only 15 games are nice ... until you realize that seven of them came against 1-AA opponents. Kordell Young had a career filled with promise, but has battled knee troubles his entire career and has only recently gotten back into the backfield fold. However, Schiano has gone to him as his third-down back, a role which he has been thriving in. And then there's De'Antwan Williams, a true freshman nicknamed "Rocket" because well, he's really, really fast. We've only gotten glimpses of him in two games (Howard, Texas Southern), but he's 221 yards on 33 carries. He's a lot like Ray Rice in that he can turn a 5-yard loss into a 40-yard touchdown run.


4.) The Rutgers defense likes to blitz traditionally. Has that continued this year and can we expect to see a ton of blitzes from the Scarlet Knights against Pitt? How good is the front seven?

PRUNTY: You wouldn't think that the front seven would be that good considering they have two undersized, first-year starters at DT, a converted DT at DE and a first-year starter at linebacker. But it's working quite well since the Cincinnati debacle. They're third in the Big East with 18 sacks, only eight behind Pittsburgh. But aside from that, what this defense does best is make things chaotic around the quarterback enough to cause turnovers. That's been the big thing for Rutgers since Cincinnati. They're tops in the league in turnover margin at +12 and they've registered a defensive touchdown for three straight games (including two against Maryland). What Rutgers can't get stuck doing (which happened against Cincinnati) is putting this defense in a zone. They don't have the athletes to play it and it takes away their ball-hawking ability.




5.) Greg Schiano a few years ago was considered one of the top young coaches in the country. Is he still perceived that way or has the shine sort of rubbed off the golden boy a little since he hasn't been able to duplicate the magical season of 2006? Are the fans getting restless that he hasn't won a Big East title yet?

PRUNTY: That's been the 800-pound gorilla in the room this season. Fans had big expectations that this would be Rutgers' year to finally win a Big East title: they thought they had a great running game (getting back to par), a great offensive line (not so much), a great defense (about right) and a down Big East (kinda). Well, Cincinnati blew that all up. I don't think that Rutgers fans are seriously considering the Big East title a reality this year, but should Schiano take a freshman offense to a 9-3/8-4 record and a bowl game, you would consider this season a success. However, that will really put the pressure on for next year to win the big one. Think about it ? only two teams have never won at least a share of the Big East title: Rutgers and South Florida. If he doesn't do it with Savage and this freshman class, then maybe it's time to reexamine.