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2008 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

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Conference
  
Big East Conference

Offensive scheme
  
2008 record
  
9–4 (5–2 Big East)

2008 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

Head coach
  
Dave Wannstedt (4th year)

Offensive coordinator
  
Matt Cavanaugh (4th year)

Defensive coordinator
  
Phil Bennett (1st year)

The 2008 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season was the fourth under head coach Dave Wannstedt. The 2008 season marked the team's eighth at Heinz Field and the program's 119th season.

Contents

The Panthers started the 2008 season with new defensive coordinator Phil Bennett. Ranked in the top 25 for the second time under Wannstedt's leadership, Pitt suffered an early and surprising setback in the opening game against Bowling Green. Pitt rebounded to defeat Buffalo and then Iowa by a score of 21–20. The winning continued when the Panthers upset undefeated and tenth ranked South Florida in a game nationally televised by ESPN. A win at Navy preceded a home upset to Rutgers, Pitt's fourth consecutive loss to the Scarlet Knights. However, Pitt rebounded the following week at Notre Dame with a 36-33 four-overtime victory over the Irish, the longest game ever for both Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. After a 41–7 rout of visiting Louisville, the Panthers improved to 7–2, were bowl-bound for the first time under Wannstedt, and were in contention for a Big East Championship and a BCS bowl bid. However, a loss at Cincinnati in the River City Rivalry eliminated the Panthers from championship contention. Pitt rallied to defeat archrival West Virginia 19-15 on the Friday after Thanksgiving in a nationally televised game on ABC for its second consecutive win in the Backyard Brawl. The following week the Panthers won at UConn to improve to 9-3 and clinched a bid to the Sun Bowl, the first bowl bid under Wannstedt. Pitt lost 3-0 to Oregon State, a team that had previously defeated USC. It was the first time Pitt was held scoreless in twelve years.

Previous season

The Panthers finished with a disappointing 5-7 record in the 2007 season. Rarely though does a losing record leave fans filled with satisfaction and optimism, but that was the case in 2007. It was the third season under the direction of Head Coach Dave Wannstedt. It was also the third consecutive season without a postseason bowl game. The Panthers schedule included six home games and six road games. The schedule was generally viewed as unappealing, lacking any marquee matchups at home. The Panthers appeared on national television on a Wednesday night, October 10, with a 48-45 2OT loss to Navy that ended when Pitt failed to convert on a two-point conversion. For Homecoming 2007 Pitt hosted #23 Cincinnati, defeating the Bearcats 24-17. The final game of the season on December 1 saw the Panthers visit #2 West Virginia. In this game, the 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl, the Panthers defeated the Mountaineers, 13-9, to gain their first road victory of the season and, more importantly, eliminate West Virginia from the National Championship race in one of the most memorable games of the entire 2007 college football season.

Recruits

Head Coach Dave Wannstedt signed the top recruiting class in the Big East, his 3rd consecutive top-25 recruiting class, to kick off the 2008 football year. Although Wannstedt had been recruiting well since the beginning of his tenure at Pitt some of that 2008 recruiting power has been attributed to the Panthers' season finale win over West Virginia. The highlights of the class are projected to be WR Jonathan Baldwin, RB Chris Burns, OT Lucas Nix, LB Shayne Hale, and athlete Cameron Saddler.

Spring Practices

Throughout spring practices the defense dominated the offense, but in the annual Blue-Gold Game on April 19 at Heinz Field, the offense got the better of the defense, winning 60-25 under a modified scoring system that favored the offense. The rising stars of the spring practices were defensive tackle Mick Williams, wide receiver Cedric McGee, and newly converted tight end Dorin Dickerson, who all earned the Ed Conway Award given to Pitt's most improved players at spring practices. Other important spring performances included Bill Stull, who re-established himself as the team's top quarterback, and John Malecki, a two-time letterman on defense at nose tackle who earned a starting spot on the offensive line at guard. The Blue-Gold Game was simulcast live locally in Pittsburgh on WPCW and nationally on the NFL Network.

Award Watchlists

Several players on the Panthers have been nominated to various award preseason watchlists.

Rankings

Pitt began the season ranked at #25 in the AP Poll. It was the Panthers first appearance in any major polling service since 2005 and first preseason ranking since 2003.

Notes
  • A The first Harris Interactive Poll is released after the fifth week of games, and the final Harris Interactive Poll is released prior to bowl season at the conclusion of the regular season.
  • B The first BCS Ranking is released after the eighth week of games, and the final ranking is released prior to bowl season at the conclusion of the regular season. Only the rankings for the top 25 teams are released.
  • Statistics

    Regular season totals [1]

    Rushing

    Minimum five attempts or one touchdown

    Award winners

  • Aaron Berry – Second team All-Big East
  • Nate Byham – First team All-Big East
  • C. J. Davis – First team All-Big East
  • Connor Lee – First team All-Big East, Big East football Scholar-Athlete of the Year
  • LeSean McCoy – First team All-Big East
  • Scott McKillop – First team All-American, Big East Defensive Player of the Year, first team All-Big East
  • Greg Romeus – Second team All-Big East
  • References

    2008 Pittsburgh Panthers football team Wikipedia


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