Navy's triple option a worry for Pitt defense
PITTSBURGH — Adam Gunn doesn't have any problem remembering the last time Navy came to Heinz Field with a team that was supposed to be too small and too talent-thin to compete with a BCS program like Pitt's.
It's difficult to forget when an opponent runs for 331 yards on 70 carries, totals 497 yards and wins 48-45 in double-overtime after Pitt came into the game favored by double digits.
That was two years ago, and Pitt's middle linebacker hopes the Panthers remember how they felt after losing.
"I'd have to say we weren't ready for what they did in 2007," Gunn said as the Panthers (2-0) prepared for Saturday night's game against Navy (1-1). "We just didn't have a very good game against Navy. They ran up and down the field on us, but we proved we could stop them last year."
Pitt came back to win at Navy 42-21 last season, holding the nation's best rushing offense to 194 yards, a big game for most teams but not by Navy's standards.
Navy threw for only 57 yards out of its triple-option offense and was too one-dimensional to beat a Pitt team that rushed for 244 yards — LeSean McCoy ran for 156 yards and three touchdowns — and passed for 255 yards.
"They really got after us last year," Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "It's the same Pittsburgh: big, fast and strong."
What must concern Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt is this isn't the same Panthers defense he expected.
While they are in position for their first 3-0 start since 2000, the Panthers gave up 500 yards on Saturday to Buffalo — that's the Bulls, not the Bills. They won 54-27 mostly because the offense has been much more proficient than anticipated.
"We just didn't look as fast (on defense) as what we are," Wannstedt said. "The ball was thrown and we overran some things. We lacked, on a couple of big plays, some of the fundamental football skills that we do week in and week out and work on daily. I don't know if it was lapses in their minds, or what, but we'll get back and keep pressing the basics."
