This is where the game will be won. Period.
Did I hear you have some true freshman OL? Thought I read somewhere that you have an OT returning from injury this week?
During camp, Pitt lost their best offensive lineman for the season (Jones-Smith). Our center is coming off missing most of last season with an injury and didn't practice much in camp. Against Akron we started two red-shirt freshmen at the OT spots. They are going to be good, but they have a lot to learn. One of them was a TE only a couple months ago.
We have a junior OT (Bisnowaty) who may come back from injury this week.
So, advantage to the Hawkeyes, I'd say.
Our defensive line has played better than they played last season. We have tons of pretty stout beef in the middle. Our DEs, a big weakness last season, have improved somewhat with the return of Price, who was injured all last season. DEs Soto and Blair appear to have improved. The more aggressive defensive approach of Coach Duzz has helped them.
We also have a starting safety (Mitchell) who missed the Akron game with an injury - he's kind of a key guy for our secondary. Plus our linebackers, except for Grigsby, have struggled some.
That's all I got for you.
Go Pitt.
