So Pitt came away with a much needed win today. On a day when FCS foe James Madison upset 13th-ranked Virginia Tech, it was nice to see Pitt take care of business.
Tino Sunseri continued to improve and his final line of 24-34, 275 yards, 2 TDs, and an interception were solid. He may regress a bit when the team plays Miami in 1 1/2 weeks on a Thursday night, but he’s off to a good start and will continue to get better as the season wears on.
Pitt’s defense was without stars Greg Romeus and Dom DeCicco, but still managed to put together a good effort. New Hampshire was held to only 10 points until they scored a late touchdown against mostly second-team players. UNH running back, Dontra Peters (who rushed for nearly 200 yards the week before) was held to only 15 yards on 11 carries.
Dion Lewis not only struggled, but suffered a career-worst 27-yard performance. Lewis, however, known for getting better as games go on, was only given ten carries on the day. Ray Graham was the big star, amassing 115 yards and two TDs on only nine carries.
I think the split workload was more about Dave Wannstedt looking to get Graham work and less about creating an actual running back controversy. Graham sat out part of training camp and missed the previous game. He will likely be needed against a tough Miami team and it was wise of Wannstedt to get him some carries in this game. Further, once he got going, he provided a much-needed spark and it would have been foolish to remove him with the offense running so well. I fully expect Dion Lewis to start in the Miami game, but with Graham’s performance today, he may see more carries than is usually expected.
All in all, Pitt did what needed be done – win a comfortable game at home against a lesser opponent. Not much more could really be asked of the team. Check out Cardiac Hill for more analysis.