Big East Report Card Week Six: Pitt Makes "A" Comeback

Good morning, Professor Tom presents the grades from an abbreviated sixth week of action in the Big East, including a great comeback by one particular student.

Pittsburgh 24, Connecticut 21

Things really weren't going well for Pitt at home on Saturday. Fans were booing quarterback Bill Stull when he'd drop back to pass, and UConn was taking advantage of some opportunities and led most of the way. Pitt's season was teetering on the brink, and it looked like a major upset in the making.

It was 7-3 at the half, then 14-3, and then 21-6 with 3:56 in the third. Then Lady Momentum went to the other sideline. What ensued was the biggest comeback of the Dave Wannstedt era.

Pitt started doing what it does best. It ran the football, ran the football, and passed the football. Dion Lewis ended up doing major damage to the UConn defense, which was exposed in the second half. Lewis racked up 158 yards on 24 carries, while Ray Graham added another 58.

Stull overcame the boo-birds and went 21-of-31 for 268 yards and a couple of TDs that offset his two interceptions.

When all was said and done, Dan Hutchins stared down an 18-yard chip shot of a field goal and hit it with time gone to deliver the 24-21 win.

Huge comeback for Pitt (5-1, 2-0) and heartbreak for UConn (3-2, 0-1).

Grades

Pittsburgh: A

Connecticut: D

West Virginia 34, Syracuse 13

This one went about as expected. It was 27-0 at the half, and that was just about it. You can give Syracuse credit for holding Noel Devine under 100 yards (22 for 91). Jarrett Brown was solid, but you'd expect him to be just that.

What was surprising was the collapse of Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus, who was removed at the half after going 5-of-9 for 30 yards.

For West Virginia (4-1, 1-0) there was only one turnover, a major improvement for the Mountaineers, and they stay in the Big East title picture. Syracuse (2-4, 0-2) wasn't supposed to win, but its fans would have liked a better showing.

Grades

West Virginia: A

Syracuse: D+

Rutgers 41, Texas Southern 0

This probably was less stressful than a competitive scrimmage for the Scarlet Knights. This one turned out as expected. It was the 600th victory for the Rutgers football program, and freshman quarterback Tom Savage was back. He played okay (14-of-21 for 150) while the defense forced four turnovers and seven sacks. De'Antwan Williams had a nice day with 132 yards on 19 carries.

Rutgers is back on track (4-1, 0-1) while Texas Southern (1-4) took its payday and went home.

Grade

Rutgers: A

Louisville 25, Southern Miss 23

Whew...Louisville makes a comeback of its own, and Ryan Payne hits the 32-yard game winner with 32 seconds left. Louisville never led until then. The Cards scored on their first two second-half possessions and worked their way to this win, a desperately needed win. Adam Froman threw for 248 yards, and Victor Anderson ran for 90. 

The Cards (2-3, 0-1) are fighting against the talk that Steve Kragthorpe is perhaps a lame duck. Southern Miss went home 3-3.

Any win for Louisville is a good win.

Grade

Louisville: A

See you Thursday morning for our weekly entrees, appetizers, and desserts for this week's games, including that more-than-anyone-can-eat South Florida-Cincinnati game on Thursday night.