JOVELLE ABBEY TAMAYO / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U MG 2 O C T O B E R 7 , 2 0 1 1 G A M E DAY

RUTGERS VS PITTSBURGHKnightsGameday

GAME 3: High Point Solutions Stadium, 3:30 p.m. TV: ESPNU RADIO: 1450 AM

BY TYLER BARTOASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

Mohamed Sanu remembersthe first time he playedPittsburgh in 2009 at High PointSolutions Stadium.

“I remember it was a veryphysical game,” the junior widereceiver said. “Momentum shift-ed a lot. We were up at times.They were up at times. Therewere just a lot of plays thathelped us, and there were a lotof plays that they made thathelped them.”

One of those plays was a cost-ly Sanu fumble near midfield onthe Rutgers football team’s finaldrive, which sealed the game inPitt’s favor.

The 6-foot-2 Sanu sincerebounded with an impressivecareer in Piscataway, but theScarlet Knights (3-1, 1-0) again lost,41-21, to the Panthers last season atHeinz Field.

While the Pittsburgh (3-2, 1-0)of fense is entirely new underfirst-year head coach ToddGraham, its defense remainslargely the same.

The Panthers return themajority of their defensive unitfrom last season, including her-alded defensive end BrandonLindsey, who ranks 15th national-ly in sacks per game.

Pitt collected seven sacksagainst Rutgers last season, includ-ing three from Lindsey and twofrom now-NFL defensive endJabaal Sheard.

“They’re good,” said headcoach Greg Schiano. “And itlooks like they understand whattheir coaches want more eachweek, which doesn’t bode wellfor us, right? They move peoplearound. It’s an unusual defense.”

But the defensive side of theball allows an uncharacteristic414.4 yards per game, largelybecause of Pitt’s spread attack.While big plays dictate thePanthers’ no-huddle look, theyonly average 28 minutes of pos-session per game.

They did not need very muchtime last week, when Pitt knockedoff nationally ranked South Floridaat home, 44-17.

Rutgers ranks third in thenation in time of possession, but alack of downfield conversions islargely the cause, Schiano said.

KEITH FREEMAN / PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Junior wide receiver Mohamed Sanu fumbled against Pittsburgh twoyears ago, but is the offense’s leader in production by a wide margin.

RU faces defense entering its own

SCARLET KNIGHTS (3-1)

PASSINGC. DoddG. Nova

RUSHINGJ. JamisonS. Huggins

RECEIVINGM. SanuJ. MartinekQ. Pratt

DEFENSEK. GreeneJamal MerrellS. Beauharnais

INJURIESProbable — DE M. Booker, DE Jamil MerrellOut — S R. Knight

YDS754238

YDS199

47

YDS428

82112

AVG.188.5

79.3

AVG.2.81.8

AVG.10.0

8.212.4

INT000

INT.30

LNG308

LNG322521

SCK0.50.5

0

BuffaloMaineIowaNotre DameSouth FloridaRutgersUtahConnecticutCincinnatiLouisvilleWest VirginiaSyracuse

W, 35-16W, 35-29L, 31-27L, 15-12W, 44-173:30 p.m.noon8 p.m.TBATBATBAnoon

TD62

TD03

TD500

TKL342222

CMP54.3%47.7%

NO.7026

NO.4310

9

SCHEDULESept. 3Sept. 10Sept. 17Sept. 24Sept. 29Oct. 8Oct. 15Oct. 26Nov. 5Nov. 12Nov. 25Dec. 3

NC CentralN. CarolinaOhioSyracusePittsburghNavyLouisvilleWest VirginiaSouth FloridaArmyCincinnatiConnecticut

W, 48-0L, 24-22W, 38-26W, 19-16 3:30 p.m.2 p.m.8 p.m.TBATBA3:30 p.m.TBATBA

SCHEDULESept. 1Sept. 10Sept. 24Oct. 1Oct. 8Oct. 15Oct. 21Oct. 29Nov. 5Nov. 12Nov. 19Nov. 26

[ ]PITTSBURGH (3-2)

PASSINGT. Sunseri

RUSHINGR. GrahamZ. Brown

RECEIVINGR. GrahamM. ShanahanD. StreetH. Graham

DEFENSEM. GruderK. WilliamsT. Roberts

INJURIESOut — OL L. Nix

YDS1,039

YDS734

99

YDS171250257186

AVG.207.8

AVG.5.83.4

AVG.6.8

11.915.112.6

INT000

INT.4

LNG7512

LNG14236625

SCK000

TD5

TD83

TD0112

TKL443530

CMP65.4%

NO.126

29

NO.25211715

INSIDEthe

NUMBERS

Key MatchupRutgers offensive line vs. DE Brandon Lindsey

The Scarlet Knights gave up three sacks last season to Lindsey alone and seven total in a 41-21 loss at Heinz Field. Lindsey is one of eight returning players nationally

who had 10 sacks last season, and Rutgers will likely protect a freshman quarterback.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: DEFENSE

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP: OFFENSE

MOHAMEDSANUWide ReceiverJunior6’-2”, 215 lbs.

ANDRE CIVILTackleSophomore6’-3”, 275 lbs.

DESMONDWYNNGuardSenior6’-6”, 295 lbs.

DAVIDOSEICenterSophomore6’-4”, 280 lbs.

ANTWANLOWERYGuardSophomore6’-4”, 301 lbs.

KALEBJOHNSONTackleFreshman6’-4”, 298 lbs.

D.C. JEFFERSONTight endJunior6’-6”, 258 lbs

MARK HARRISONWide ReceiverJunior6’-3”, 230 lbs

GARYNOVAQuarterbackFreshman6’-2”, 210 lbs

JOEMARTINEKFullbackSenior6’-0”, 220 lbs

JAWANJAMISONRunning BackR-Freshman5’-8”, 198 lbs

MICHAELLARROWRight endSophomore6’-4”, 265 lbs

JUSTINFRANCISTackleSenior6’-4”, 275 lbs

SCOTTVALLONETackleJunior6’-3”, 275 lbs

MANNYABREULeft endSenior6’-3”, 260 lbs

JAMALMERRELLLinebackerSophomore6’-4”, 220 lbs

STEVEBEAUHARNAISLinebackerJunior6’-2”, 235 lbs

KHASEEMGREENELinebackerJunior6’-1”, 220 lbs

BRANDON JONESCornerbackJunior6’-1”, 186 lbs

DURONHARMONStrong SafetyJunior6’-1”, 201 lbs

DAVIDROWEFree SafetySenior6’-0”, 195 lbs

LOGANRYANCornerbackSophomore6’-0”, 190 lbs

“We’ve dropped six plays,” hesaid. “Those big plays, now you’reoff the field, so you’re not goingto have that time of possession.I’m not sure that’s a great thing. Ilike being where it’s a good num-ber, but I don’t know if I like beingthat high.”

Syracuse kept Sanu, theKnights’ big-play option, in checklast week, but he scored the game-tying touchdown, propellingRutgers into overtime.

Besides junior running backRay Graham, the Panthers fail toboast the same big-play ability theysported last season with future prosDion Lewis and Jonathan Baldwin.

Still, they have size.Junior Mike Shanahan stands at

6-foot-5, and Devin Street lines upacross the field at 6-foot-4.

But the matchup does not fazesophomore cornerback LoganRyan, who registered a team-high four pass breakups againstthe Orange.

“The thing about big receiverslike that is I go against 6-foot-2Mohamed Sanu, 6-foot-6 Brandon

Coleman, 6-foot-4 Mark Harrison[and] 6-foot-3 Tim Wright,” Ryansaid. “So I’ve been going againstthem my whole career.”

But Graham makes the Pittoffense go.

He leads the nation with 756rushing yards to go along witheight touchdowns. He even ranksfirst on the team with 25 recep-tions, albeit for an average clip of6.8-yards.

Even when Graham split timewith Lewis last season, he was stillthe team’s most consistent backthroughout the season.

Graham’s emergence markedformer head coach DaveWannstedt’s final campaign in theSteel City, although his imprintremains with the Panthers defense.

“As I said before, I feel for Davebecause he busted his hump, heand his staff, putting that teamtogether,” Schiano said. “Then all ofa sudden, he’s out.”

Such is life in the Big East,where the Knights suddenly findthemselves staring at a potential 2-0 start.

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M O C T O B E R 7 , 2 0 1 1 G 3G AMEDAY

KNIGHT NUGGETSBY THE NUMBERS

BIG QUESTION

RUTGERS WINS IF ... PITTSBURGH WINS IF ...

THE ADVANTAGE GOES TO ...

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

FINAL VERDICT

Pittsburgh running backRay Graham leads Pitt inrushing yards and receptionsand has at least 29 touches in

each of the Panthers’ first five games. He totaledmore than 100 yards of offense in each game.

29The Panthers boasted a 1,000-yard rusher each of the pastfour seasons, and Ray Grahamis only 246 yards away from

becoming No. 5 with six games remaining. Rutgers’ last had a 1,000-yard rusher in 2007.

5A freshman quarterbackwon a game for Rutgers inthe third consecutive seasonlast Saturday, when Gary

Nova replaced Chas Dodd. Nova, Dodd andTom Savage lay claim to the accomplishment.

3The Scarlet Knights rank117th out of 120 FBS teamsin the nation in rushing.They still rank third in the

nation in time of possession — a product of fewbig plays and consistent takeaways on defense.

117

PITTSBURGH, 24-17The Panthers’ spread offense

becomes the Ray Graham showin front of friends and family.

GARY NOVAFRESHMAN QB

Can the Rutgers defensecontain explosive Pitttailback Ray Graham?

PITTSBURGH RB R. GRAHAM

Slowing down 5-foot-9 Ray Grahamis key to stopping Pittsburgh’s

fast-paced attack. The junior rushed for 100 yards in all but two games,

which were Pitt’s only losses.

“As soon as coach[Frank] Cignetti got thejob here, I knew I didn’twant to play for anyone

else. I was going tocome here regardless.It’s just his passion.”

OFFENSE DEFENSE

COACHING HISTORY

MOMENTUM X-FACTOR

ITS OFFENSE PUTS

FORTH A FOUR-QUARTER EFFORT

AT HOMEThe Knights have yet to compilea complete game offensively. A

more consistent run game goes along way toward a league win.

IT CONTINUES TO

BECOME MORE

COMFORTABLE IN

A NEW SCHEMEIt all came together last weekfor Pittsburgh, which made itlook easy in a 44-17 rout of

No. 16 South Florida.

Pitt experienced growing painsearly with its new spread offense,but is still more potent than RU.

Only one team has as many take-aways as the Rutgers defense,

which also ranks fourth in sacks.

Pittsburgh leads the all-timeseries, 21-7, and won each of

the past two matchups.

Pitt’s scheme is different, but fourformer coaches on Rutgers’ staff provide insight into personnel.

Rutgers won in double-overtimeon the road, but Pitt routed a

ranked team on national television.

Rutgers quarterback Gary Novawas committed to the Panthers ayear ago. Now he’s facing them.

BY STEVEN MILLERSPORTS EDITOR

Ray Graham already rushedfor 200-plus yards before this sea-son. He already took home BigEast Offensive Player of theWeek honors, as well. But he wasnever the focal point ofPittsburgh’s offense.

Now he is, and he leads thePanthers in carries and recep-tions and has more rushing yardsthan anyone in the nation.

Rutgers linebacker KhaseemGreene shares a father withGraham, but the brothers grewup in different households. ButGreene saw enough to not be sur-prised by the breakout season.

All Graham needed was to getthe ball in his hands.

“I always knew he was special,”said Greene, who is also a junior,but spent a year at prep school andis three years older than Graham.“Since we were little, any type ofball you put in his hands, it was spe-cial. Basketball, football, tennis,hockey — he did it all. It was just aglow about him, that you knew.”

The pair faced each otherthree times before.

Once in Pop Warner, whereGreene was the star running backand rushed for four touchdowns.Once as Big East freshmen, whenneither made a major impact. Andonce last season, when Greenestarted at safety and Grahamrushed for 56 yards and a score.

There were few opportunitiesfor collisions last season, whenthe Elizabeth, N.J., natives linedup so far apart, but Greene’s off-season move to linebacker andGraham’s ascent into a startingrole will change that this year.

The 5-foot-9, 195-poundGraham is among those not look-ing forward to it.

“He’s a hard hitter and I’m nottrying to be in his way when hecomes in with that explosiveness,”Graham said. “I’m going to try mybest to dodge him because I knowhe’s going to make plays. WhenI’m running the ball, I’m just tryingto stay away from that big hit.”

Teammates do not expectanything different this week outof Greene.

The team’s leading tackler stillspoke with Graham on Mondaynight, and will do the sametonight before preparing for whathe calls “business.”

Business forced the pair towatch film of each other all week,because more often than not,Greene will be responsible for therunning back from his weak sideposition. Still, despite years ofplaying pick-up games togetherand winning a pair of state titles atElizabeth High School, Greene isunsure of what to expect.

“I don’t know what he has inhis arsenal,” Greene said. “Yousee some of the stuff he does, andit comes out of nowhere. Thatspin move that he’s been doinglately — making three guys missfrom a spin move that came at thelast second.”

Graham was always the shiftyback behind Dion Lewis atPittsburgh, but once Lewis joinedLeSean McCoy as the second con-secutive Pitt running back draftedby the Philadelphia Eagles, itbecame Graham’s backfield.

He is a more north-south run-ner now, according to junior line-backer Steve Beauharnais.

And as his 734 yards, 5.8 yards-per-carry average, eight touch-downs and 25 receptions evidence,he still has game-breaking ability.

“He plays just like McCoy,” saidsenior defensive tackle JustinFrancis, who faced McCoy, Lewisand Graham. “He’s probably a littlebit better, but who am I to say?”

Head coach Greg Schianoknows as well as anybody whatchallenges Graham presents.

He has at least 29 touches inevery game and rushed for morethan 100 yards in all but two —Pitt’s only two losses against Iowaand Notre Dame. It is an offensethat likes to run a play every 20seconds, and it goes as far or asquick as Graham does.

No one is more aware of thatthan Greene.

“If we played basketball orfootball, I always had a team withall my brothers and somehow,someway, we always won,”Greene said. “It’s fun having littlebrothers that look up to me andobviously brothers that are suc-cessful in football.”

Brothers meet in enhanced roles

ANDREW HOWARD

Junior running back Ray Graham rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown last season againstRutgers, despite backing up Dion Lewis, who is now with the Philadelphia Eagles.

KEITH FREEMAN / PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Junior Khaseem Greene leads the Knights with 34 tackles atlinebacker after starting at safety last season.

G A MG 4 O C T O B E R 7 , 2 0 1 1

COACHING CBY TYLER BARTO

ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

Todd Graham was not thefirst man for the job. PittsburghAthletic Director StevePederson initially preferred for-mer Miami (Ohio) head footballcoach Michael Haywood, butfired him 17 days after his hir-ing due to an offseason domes-tic dispute.

So Pitt settled with Grahamafter its second coaching searchin a month to replace DaveWannstedt, who resigned underpressure from the Universityafter six seasons.

What Graham brought withhim was an entirely differentoffensive philosophy.

Long the home of the I-for-mation and run-oriented offens-es, Pittsburgh transitioned toGraham’s spread offense,which led Tulsa to a 10-3 seasonin 2010.

The adjustment was rocky,although the Panthers averaged30.6 points per game throughfive contests.

“The key is thesystem will work foryou,” Graham said.“Just execute it.”

The Panthersoffense enjoyed abreakthrough per-formance last week-end, when it handledvisiting South Florida,44-17, at Heinz Field.

Junior quarterback TinoSunseri registered arguably hismost complete game in the newsystem, throwing for a touch-down and running for another.

The biggest transition to thespread lied with Sunseri, whoPittsburgh recruited in 2008 asthe 24th-best pro-style prospectin the country.

While mobile, Sunseri is adrop-back quarterback in asplit-decision offense.

And the Panthers startingreceivers, junior MikeShanahan and sophomoreDevin Street — 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-4, respectively — do not fit the mold of spread tar-gets, either.

The factors likely explainwhy junior running back RayGraham, the nation’s leadingrusher, leads the Pitt passattack with 25 catches.

At 5-foot-9, Graham packsthe elusiveness and quick-cutability Todd Graham’s offensethrives on.

“We’re very excited aboutRay, what he’s done,” ToddGraham said. “He continues toget better. And our footballteam continues to get betterevery week.”

Graham’s explosivenessallows Pittsburgh to maintainits up-tempo system, onewhich requires a play ranevery 20 seconds.

The Panthers attackstacks up with some of theBig East’s most play-heavyof fenses, said Rutgers headcoach Greg Schiano.

“They’re the fastest teamwe’ve ever played,” Schianosaid. “Even Cincinnati whenthey were humming and Brian[Kelly] was there, it’s a differ-ent pace now.”

The fast-paced offensecomes with a premium.

The Panthers average only28 minutes of possession per game. Their inef fective-ness manifested itself twoweeks ago against NotreDame, which held Pitt to only12 points a week after it lostto Iowa.

The learning process contin-ues to take place in westernPennsylvania, but through fivegames the Panthers figure tocatch on eventually.

“When you’re in a pro-styleoffense for two years, then theycome and change it up, it’s defi-nitely different,” Ray Graham

said. “It’s hard toadjust, but I feel likewe learned quick.That helped us out.”

But there are stillpar ts of Pitt’s play-happy of fensethat leave more tobe desired.

Shanahan aver-ages only 11.9 yardsper reception. Five-

foot-seven Cameron Saddler,more suited for ToddGraham’s quick-release sys-tem, sports a mere 8.8 yards-per-catch average.

And Sunseri has five touch-down passes compared to fourinterceptions.

“There’s always room forimprovement. There’s noquestion about that,” ToddGraham said. “We continue toget better in our vertical pass-ing game. That’s the probablythe biggest thing is being ableto get more explosive shotsdown the field.”

While Todd Graham facespersonnel issues in his first year, the biggest change already occurredwhen Pederson hired him inthe of fseason.

Pitt thrived as an offensebased around the run and playaction, and suddenly founditself predicated on timing andquick bursts.

The spread is the trend, but the biggest revela-tion was it occurred incoalmine country.

“Well, we saw it in NewJersey, so nothing shocks you,”Schiano said.Todd Graham was never thefirst pick in a town deeply root-ed in old-school football. Onlytime can vindicate him as theright one.

Unlikely hire bringschange to PittsburghTodd Graham’s spread offense leans on tailback

TODD GRAHAM

GETTY IMAGES

Tulsa averaged more than 500 yards of offense and 41 points per game last season under Todd Graham,who Pittsburgh hired to replace former head coach Dave Wannstedt in the offseason.

O C T O B E R 7 , 2 0 1 1 G 5E DAY

CAROUSELBY STEVEN MILLER

SPORTS EDITOR

Frank Cignetti was at Rutgersfor the birth of the Wildcat.

Head coach Greg Schianofirst unveiled the package thatrepresented everything wrongwith the Scarlet Knights’offense two years ago againstPittsburgh, and it worked.Cignetti sat in the coaches’box in a navy blue polo shirt— or something of the sort —with Pitt emblazoned acrosshis chest.

Schiano introduced Cignettitwo years later as the manresponsible for returning a pro-style offense to Piscataway —part of a coaching purge inPittsburgh and a rapidattempt for Rutgers toscoop up anyPittsburgh assistant itcould find.

It started Dec. 7,when Pitt headcoach DaveWannstedt resignedunder pressure.

Wannstedt andSchiano were closefriends from theirtime with the Chicago Bears,where Wannstedt was thehead coach and Schianocoached the secondary.

Schiano needed anoffensive coordinator,and Cignetti wasalready on his list.Rutgers needed a reju-venated recruitingpresence in NorthJersey, as well, andSchiano knew all toowell Pitt secondarycoach Jeff Hafley pro-vided that.

Schiano hiredboth, then added tight endscoach Brian Angelichio inFebruary and brought in for-mer Pitt quarterback AndrewJanocko as a graduate assistant.

“Dave spoke very highly ofall of them, obviously, or Iwouldn’t have hired them,”Schiano said.

The impact was evidentimmediately.

Quarterback Gary Nova,who could very well make hisfirst career start tomorrow, de-committed from Pitt to followthe coaching staff to Rutgers.

Hafley was the first coach tocontact Nova when he wan-dered the halls of Don BoscoPrep to pluck top talent from hishome state and lure it toWestern Pennsylvania. ButNova says it was his relation-ship with Cignetti that prompt-ed the change.

“As soon as Coach Cignettigot the job here, I knew I didn’twant to play for anybody else. Iwas going to come here regard-less,” Nova said. “It’s just hispassion for the game. His ener-

gy makes you want to practice,and he expects greatness fromyou. It will be the middle ofpractice, and he’ll ask me, ‘Doyou want to be great?’”

Then after practice, Hafleywill shout at Nova as he trots offthe field.

Countless recruits, includ-ing four current Don Bosco sen-iors, cite their relationship withHafley when discussing interestin Rutgers with recruiting.

Nova and Hafley are onopposite sides of the ball now,but it does not change.

“A lot of times I’ll be runningoff the practice field and he’llsay, ‘Stop by my office,’” Novasaid. “Or if I’m walking aroundthe offices, I’ll just stop by, talk

to him and he’ll askhow I’m doing. It’sreally good to have aguy like that around.”

Ask Schiano, andit is as nice forCignetti to haveAngelichio andJanocko around.

“It’s given Frank acomfort zone withsome people thatknow his system,”

Schiano said. “I also think ourcoaches that were here … haveother people to go to for answersif Frank’s busy or tied up with

the quarterbacks.”That not only

applies to coaches,but players as well.

Nova regularlyturns to Janocko,who was a seniorquarterback at Pittin Cignetti’s firstseason and a gradu-ate assistant in hissecond, whenCignetti meets with

members of the of fensivecoaching staff.

“He’s just another resource,”Nova said. “He’s been throughthis. He’s been with CoachCignetti for two years now, sohe knows the offense and whatwe need to know. It can clickmore with Coach Janockobecause he’s played in it.”

On-field results are not over-ly impressive, but that can be aproduct of an offensive line thatmade massive strides from lastseason, yet still struggles to cre-ate daylight.

Pitt tight ends and full-backs caught 19 passes for 143yards and three scores thepast two seasons againstRutgers, while the Knightsrelied on the Wildcat.

Although the offense is stilldeveloping, those days aregone now.

“It’s been great,” Schianosaid. “All three of them — real-ly, all four of them with AndrewJanocko coming in as a gradu-ate assistant — have had a posi-tive impact.”

Quartet of coachesleave Pitt for RUSchiano takes advantage of coaching upheaval

BRIAN ANGELICHIO

JEFF HAFLEY

COURTESY OF SCARLETREPORT.COM

Rutgers offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti first implemented his pro-style offense in Piscatawayduring spring practices, then did it again in training camp with a new stable of quarterbacks.

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M

BY ANTHONY HERNANDEZASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

When sophomore cornerbackLogan Ryan fell on an AntwonBailey fumble to cap the Rutgersfootball team’s victory againstSyracuse last week, it capped themost dominant performance ofhis career on the Banks.

But it were the plays that did nothappen as a result of Ryan’s playthat bore the most significance.

The Berlin, N.J., native brokeup four passes and made fourtackles Saturday against theOrange and largely shut out quar-terback Ryan Nassib’s receivingcorps, which combined for ninecatches and 111 yards.

The former No. 1 cornerrecruit in New Jersey did not inter-cept Nassib, who threw three inthe game, but also did not allowany big plays in the victory.

“Logan played the best game ofhis career on Saturday,” said headcoach Greg Schiano, who coachesthe secondary. “And he shouldbuild off of that, and he should haveconfidence because those kids canrun. They’re good receivers.”

Schiano challenged Ryangoing into the week againstSyracuse, calling for leaders toemerge among the group ofunproven and largely inexperi-enced corners.

Ryan answered the call, anddespite getting flagged for passinterference in overtime, playedup to his head coach’s standards.

“I felt Logan played a great jobin press coverage and bail cover-age, and he did every techniquethat we asked him,” Schiano said.“He had one [defensive pass inter-ference], but as much press aswe’ve been playing, that can hap-pen against a three-step team.”

While duplicating his careerouting is part of the plan,Pittsburgh’s combo of bigreceivers will not be easy for Ryanto contend with on the outside.

At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds,Pittsburgh’s leading receiver,Mike Shanahan, presentsmatchup issues with the entireScarlet Knights secondary.

Devin Street stands only a hairshorter at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds.

Still, only Shanahan has morethan 20 receptions this seasonand each wideout has only onetouchdown catch.

But none of the factors changeRyan’s level-headedness enteringtomorrow’s matchup.

“Cornerback is a huge positionon confidence,” the 6-foot cornersaid. “You can’t play if you’re not aconfident person, and you’ve gotto learn how to flush the goodplays and the bad plays.”

The short memory was some-thing Ryan learned during his daysat Eastern High School, where heoperated as a cornerback and onoffense for the Vikings.

“In high school I played quar-terback [and cornerback], so thehardest thing about me was that ifI threw an interception I had to goplay defense, or if a receivercaught a ball on me I had to goplay offense,” Ryan said. “I kindof learned how to forget the goodand bad plays because I’ll be play-ing the next play.”

As one of the most experi-enced corners on the unit otherthan junior Brandon Jones, Ryanalso helped spur the growth ofsome of the group’s newcomers,particularly junior MarcusCooper.

Cooper made the jump fromwide receiver to corner during2010 spring practices and saw ahuge jump in reps last weekagainst Syracuse.

Cooper served as the nickelcorner while also splitting timewith Jones opposite Ryan.

“Logan, he was definitelythere,” Cooper said of his shift todefense. “If I had a question Icould always ask him, like ‘Hey,what should I do? What tech-niques should I use?’ And hewould always have an answer.”

With a third of the season inthe books, the trio of Cooper,Ryan and Jones garners the mostplaying time, given redshirtfreshman Gareef Glashen’s inex-perience and sophomore JordanThomas’s learning curve.

It is unclear what challengesSchiano will place on the cornersnext. Confronting that demanddepends on what Tino Sunseriand the Pitt receivers do tomor-row at High Point SolutionsStadium.

Ryan, Jones and Cooper havea say in it.

“I’m happy with my perform-ance, but there were a lot of mis-takes on film that I’m trying toclean up and I think as a second-ary we’re trying to clean up,”Ryan said. “I think we’re just try-ing to move on from here. Weknow how we can play, and nowwe just have to keep on playinglike that.”

‘Career game’ sets upRyan for Pitt contest

YEE ZHSIN BOON

Sophomore cornerback Logan Ryan fell victim to circus catchesagainst Ohio, but broke up four passes last week at Syracuse.

G 6 O C T O B E R 7 , 2 0 1 1 G AMEDAY

T H E D A I L Y T A R G U M O C T O B E R 7 , 2 0 1 1 G 7G AMEDAY

GAME OF THE WEEK

1. RUTGERS2. Pittsburgh3. Cincinnati4. West Virginia5. Louisville6. Connecticut7. South Florida8. Syracuse

8th3rd7th2nd6th1st5th4th

BIG EAST STANDINGS

3-13-24-14-12-22-34-13-2

1-01-00-00-00-00-00-10-1

TEAM RECORD BIG EAST 2010

* Rutgers won its first conference game in last year, but lost seven straight after.* Connecticut won the league last year for the first time.

Football

THE DAILY TARGUM

Junior quarterback Geno Smith leads the Mountaineerswith 12 touchdown passes and only three interceptions.

CONNECTICUT

AT

W. VIRGINIA

The No. 16 Mountaineershost the struggling Huskiesafter they handled Bowling

Green last week at home.Junior quarterback GenoSmith and West Virginia

face their first game againsta team from a power league

since losing to then-No. 3LSU. UConn, on the other

hand, arrives without afluid quarterback situation,

playing as many as three.

Key MatchupWVU’s running backs vs. UConn’s Kendall Reyes

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Reyes is a space-eater for the Huskies, who facea West Virginia run game that gained steam against Bowling Green.

Dustin Garrison gained 291 yards on the ground in his first career start.

BIGEAST

PREDICTIONNo. 16 WEST VIRGINIA, 31-3The Huskies are a far cry fromtheir BCS team a season ago.

LOUISVILLE atNORTH CAROLINA

The struggling Cardinals fell last week at home toMarshall on a horrid Saturday for the Big East.

The Tar Heels, meanwhile, look to go 2-0 againstBig East teams after beating Rutgers, 24-22.PREDICTION: North Carolina, 27-14

SYRACUSE atTULANE

Senior quarterback Ryan Nassib rebounds froma three-interception performance against Rutgers.Tulane is an underwhelming Conference USAteam, which beat Rutgers last season, 17-14.

PREDICTION: Syracuse, 23-17

Rutgers head coach GregSchiano still hopes to playTexas Christian next seasondespite the Horned Frogs’move to the Big 12, he said.

TCU continues to consid-er an of fer from the Big 12,although its membership inthe conference is a fore-gone conclusion.

The Horned Frogs initiallycommitted to join the BigEast in football and basketballnext season, and have a 2012trip scheduled to Piscataway.

“Depending if they want tokeep the game or not, I’d liketo still play them,” Schianosaid. “Do they still want toplay us next year? Do theyhave the ability to do that?”

Without TCU, the Big Eastsports only seven membersnext year in football. Pittsburghand Syracuse remain in theleague despite pledging to theAtlantic Coast Conference.

Schiano said it was difficultnot to pay attention to outsideinfluences, but he placed hisconfidence in Athletic DirectorTim Pernetti.

“I trust the people that arehandling that, just like I trust theguys on my staff,” Schiano said.“If I tried to do everything, you’dnot be very good at anything.”

Schiano remains in the con-ference realignment loop, hesaid, but deferred to Pernettiand University PresidentRichard L. McCormick for in-depth league discussions.

“I think we have a goodteam here, administrators,coaches, all those things,”Schiano said. “[I’ll] let every-body do their jobs.”

— Staff Report

SCHIANO HOPESTO KEEP TCU ON 2012 SCHEDULE

JOVELLE ABBEY TAMAYO / SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER