Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
Once-proud Panthers, who host USF today, are slowly reversing long slide.
By PETE YOUNG
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 8, 2001
In the glory days, the late 1970s and early '80s, they were a towering beacon on the national football landscape. Their roster was stacked with All-Americans and future Hall of Famers. They were the toast of the Steel City.
Yeah, the Pittsburgh Steelers were pretty good, too. But the Pitt Panthers were as good as any program in college football from 1975 to 1983.
These days, Pittsburgh, which hosts South Florida at 1:30 p.m. today, is working back to prominence. But in that nine-year stretch spanning the '70s and '80s, Pitt was it.
Under three coaches -- Johnny Majors, Jackie Sherrill and Foge Fazio -- the Panthers compiled a record of 87-19-2 (81.5 winning percentage). Pitt finished in the Top 10 in the Associated Press poll six of nine years.
The Panthers went unbeaten and won the national title in 1976 (under Majors), were 33-3 from 1979-81 (under Sherrill) and no school surpassed Pitt -- the school now prefers to be called Pittsburgh -- in ability to churn out professional superstars.
The roll call: Dan Marino, 1976 Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett, Hugh Green, Mark May, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Bill Maas, Jimbo Covert, Chris Doleman and Bill Fralic are among the legions from the Panthers' 1975-83 heyday who achieved NFL stardom.
Pitt continued to produce quality NFL players in the late '80s and early '90s, including Craig Heyward, Tony Siragusa, Sean Gilbert, Keith Hamilton, Ruben Brown, Curtis Martin and the Bucs' Jeff Christy. But for the most part, by the mid 1980s the talent pipeline had winnowed, and by the mid 1990s the program was in disrepair.
Even Majors' return couldn't halt the slide. The coach who started it all guided Pitt to 3-8 records in 1993 and '94. In 1995, the Panthers won their first two games, then lost the last nine.
By then, detractors had a less-flattering word that rhymes with Pitt to describe the program. Average attendance at home games dropped from a peak of 54,818 in 1982 to 30,181 in 1993.
In 1997, Walt Harris was hired from Ohio State, where he was the quarterbacks coach, to launch the rebuilding process. In four-plus seasons, Harris is 21-26. The consensus, however, is Pittsburgh is headed in the right direction.
The Panthers were 7-4 in the 2000 regular season, with two losses by three points and a third by seven points in double overtime. Pittsburgh played in the Insight.com Bowl last season, losing 37-29 to Iowa State, and is just outside the Top 25 in this week's AP poll.
Attendance is up, too. In the season-opening 31-0 win over East Tennessee State, 47,919 watched the Panthers' debut at new Heinz Field.
While Harris is an offensive coach, Pitt appears more formidable on defense. Ten starters return from a unit that led the Big East in sacks last season with 35. Senior end Bryan Knight (6 feet 2, 235 pounds) is a speed rusher who had 111/2 sacks last season.
USF coach Jim Leavitt said there's no weakness in Pittsburgh's defense.
"They're big inside. They're big and strong and physical," Leavitt said of defensive tackles Joe Conlin and Dan Stephens, who weigh a combined 575 pounds. "Their ends are athletic and they can run. The linebackers can run, they're big and strong.
"The safety (Ramon Walker) is a big-time hitter, loves to come downhill."
Leavitt is most impressed with Pittsburgh's depth and athleticism, which will provide a stern test for the Bulls' no-huddle, spread offense.
"You're talking about a team that returns 10 starters on defense but is so deep some guys who started last year are getting beaten out," Leavitt said. "They're going to be tough. I think they're awfully good because they're so active and athletic."
This is the 25th anniversary of Pitt's 1976 national championship. In its 112th season of football, the Panthers' all-time victory total of 597 is 22nd all-time among Division I-A schools. It also is an NFL coaches breeding ground, producing Mike Ditka (final year at Pittsburgh, 1960), Marty Schottenheimer ('64) and Dave Wannstedt ('73).
In a nutshell, Pittsburgh is far and away the best program USF has faced. The Bulls, in contrast, have 27 wins in four-plus years and are playing their first season of Division I-A football.
Nonetheless, USF said it is ready for the challenge. In their biggest game last season, the Bulls were upended at No. 17 Southern Mississippi 41-7.
"I feel we can beat this team," USF wide receiver DeAndrew Rubin said. "I feel we can beat any team in the country if we put our minds to it."