Pittsburgh head coach Dave Wannstedt was confident he had the pieces in place to replace his top running backs from a year ago.

Last year the Panthers had the second-leading rusher in the Big East in LeSean McCoy, and an experienced veteran behind him in senior LaRod Stephens-Howling.

The departure of Stephens-Howling and McCoy to the NFL left a gaping hole in the depth chart, but Wannstedt still felt he had a group that could match the production of last year’s one-two punch.

‘From an ability standpoint, I like the kids we got. I think all these kids got a lot of talent, and they need experience,’ Wannstedt said earlier this season. ‘They need to play, and there is no easy way of gaining that without actually going out there and just doing it.’

Wannstedt may have known he had talent, but there is no way that he could have foreseen what he was going to get out of Dion Lewis and Ray Graham.

So far this year both Lewis and Graham have averaged more than five yards per carry, erasing any thought of a drop off from 2008.

Lewis was the first one to shine, opening the year with 319 yards rushing and five total touchdowns in the first two games.

‘He has got ability, that’s obvious if you see him play, but I think the one thing about Dion Lewis that probably goes unnoticed is probably his maturity level for a freshmen,’ Wannstedt said on the weekly Big East teleconference Monday. ‘He came in January and jumped right in, and he actually came out of spring practice as our No. 1 tailback.

‘So it didn’t take him long to make an impression on our staff, and he has been very consistent in everything he does.’

On the year, Lewis has averaged 116 yards per game, with seven rushing touchdowns.

Graham, on the other hand, didn’t have his breakout moment until last week.

With the score still close at 21-10 against Louisville, the Panthers got the ball at their own 37-yard line, needing a long drive to effectively put the Cardinals away.

Instead of bringing Lewis out for the drive, Wannstedt put the ball in the hands of Graham – the same hands that had fumbled the ball away earlier in the game.

‘I was a little nervous and skeptical about it, to be quite honest with you,’ Wannstedt said. ‘But I’ll tell you this, I feel 100 percent better right now. I think that he proved that he is capable of getting 10 or 15 carries and performing at a high level and helping the team win.’

Graham had nine carries on the drive – six consecutive plays at one point – and rushed for 49 yards with a touchdown.

The freshman duo has undoubtedly helped boost the Panthers offensive attack this year, but the team offense still doesn’t rank with the best of the Big East.

The Panthers currently have the No. 5 ranked rushing attack in the Big East only averaging 369 yards a game, good for fourth best in the conference.

Though Wannstedt doesn’t usually like to instill a two-back rotation, he sees some purpose to it this year and is excited about the two young players he currently has.

‘Now I feel like we have two backs who can play at any time and give us a chance to make some yards,’ Wannstedt said. ‘I’ve never been a split time type of guy with running backs, but I think since they are both young kids, things happen constantly that they are learning, and things need to be corrected. So we’re going to play both of them.’

Cincinnati continues to rise

Cincinnati defeated Miami (Ohio) this past weekend, and continued to climb up the polls.

The Bearcats are now ranked No. 8 in the country, and broke the one-week-old school record for highest ranking in team history (the Bearcats were rated No. 10 last week).

The ranking also represents the first time since 1951 that the Bearcats have been ranked higher than inner state foe Ohio State.

Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly is satisfied with the victories but doesn’t think the ranking will change anything for his team.

‘We are really pleased that we have been able to continue to win, and that has moved us up the rankings,’ Kelly said. ‘We weren’t ranked to start the season, so it just means that we are winning, and if you can do that you have a chance to continue to move up. Other than that, it doesn’t really change things and it really just matters where you get ranked latter in the season that matters.’

As for settling the in-state dispute, Kelly’s eight year-old son, Kenzel, has his own way of figuring out who the best in Ohio really is.

‘You’ve got to settle that on the field, you settle all of these questions on the field,’ Kelly said. ‘Ohio State doesn’t play Cincinnati. But my son played PlayStation the other day, Ohio State vs. Cincinnati, and Cincinnati won 91 to nothing. So maybe we could use that. Other than that it’s just hypothetical.’

Game of the Week

Connecticut at Pittsburgh

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ABC

Last year, Pittsburgh went into Hartford, Conn., and handled the Huskies, 34-10, to secure its first nine-win season since 1982.

This year, Connecticut looks to return the favor in this battle between two of the one-loss teams in the Big East.

The match up to watch in this game will be between the Panthers’ defensive line and the Huskies’ two star running backs, Jordan Toddman and Andre Dixon.

Dixon and Toddman have combined to average 191 yards rushing per game with eight combined touchdowns on the ground.

Meanwhile, the Panthers have three of the best defensive linemen in the Big East in Greg Romeus, Mick Williams and Jabaal Sheard. Combined, the three players account for nearly 2.5 sacks per game.

‘We’ve got a tremendous challenge heading out to Pittsburgh this weekend,’ Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall said. ‘Pittsburgh is playing very good football. They have got a great defensive line that is playing extremely well and running to the football. We know we have a tremendous challenge in front of us, and we know we are going to have to have a great week of practice.’

RWMarfur@syr.edu

Published on October 6, 2009 at 12:00 pm