SoFlo/Pitt - Memories linger for both sides

[Brad]

Memories linger for both sides

In a landmark upset for the new Division I program, USF defeated Pittsburgh 35-26 three seasons ago.

By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer

Published December 3, 2004

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TAMPA - It was the kind of win that usually catapults a program into the national spotlight and stays in the headlines the entire week.

Playing only its second game as a Division I-A program in 2001, USF traveled to tradition-rich Pittsburgh as a 22-point underdog and stunned the Panthers.

It was an upset momentous enough that fans could recall it just by the score: 35-26. But three days later, the world focused on a set of truly unforgettable numbers: 9/11. USF's big win became an afterthought after the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington.

"I can vividly remember that Tuesday morning, right after our staff meeting, just looking on CNN and seeing a picture of the airplanes," coach Jim Leavitt earlier this season. "Some of the things were not that big when you consider what happened with the World Trade Center."

Within the context of two college football programs, however, the game sent teams in opposite directions. The win sparked USF to an 8-3 record in its fifth season.

"It was the biggest win in USF history," said Bulls senior center Alex Herron, who was a freshman making his second college start against Pitt. "It was a great feeling."

Herron remembers playing an unheard-of 103 snaps, still his single-game high. His roommate that year, tackle Derrick Sarosi, was on the same offensive line and is another four-year starter who fondly remembers his first college victory.

"I remember looking up at the stadium, seeing everyone had left," Sarosi said. "I said, "Yeah, baby!' and just threw my arms up. I put the No. 1s up. I remember how much I put into that game. I was totally exhausted."

The game also had a lasting impact on Pittsburgh, which did not play again for 19 days. The humbling loss started a five-game losing streak.

ESPN's Lee Corso covered Pittsburgh's next game against Miami and later told the Times that USF "had taken the life out of them." Coach Walt Harris said the USF loss was one that lingered.

"I know it was devastating for us," Harris said. "We surely were a pretty good football team, but ... they had some outstanding players, and we didn't get the job done. Their quarterback, he threw it 60-some times and we didn't get one sack."

That quarterback was Marquel Blackwell, who threw a school-record 65 times and had a school-record 37 completions. He finished with 343 yards and four touchdowns.

"What that game did for us was that we understood what it took to win a big game. It was the first big win we had," said Blackwell, who is working out in Tampa and hoping to sign with an NFL team as a backup. "It solidified the status South Florida was trying to reach. For us, we just had a good game plan and did what we had to do. We really started to break out after that game."

That game will linger as motivation for both teams in Saturday's regular-season finale, which was scheduled to open the season but was postponed because of the threat of Hurricane Frances. USF (4-6) has clinched its first losing season in seven years, while Pittsburgh has all but wrapped up a lucrative spot as the Big East representative in the Bowl Championship Series.

That's not to say the teams won't be motivated to win. They will be rivals in the Big East next season, and the Panthers believe they have unfinished business to attend to this week.

"We still owe them," safety Tyrone Gilliard told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I have that feeling just like the rest of the seniors. We still hold a grudge. It was embarrassing to us the way they came up here and beat us that way. We still have a grudge and that's why even with all the other stuff going on we're only concentrating on South Florida because we still owe them some payback."

Perhaps most telling of USF's progress since their first meeting is that Leavitt went out of his way before the season to downplay the 2001 win.

"There's not one game I'd say was the big game for us. A lot of games were big," Leavitt said. "Troy State, when they came in No. 1. Beating Liberty on the road. Beating Cumberland, when they were the No. 1 rushing team in the country, at their place, at the time was really big. Southern Miss at home was big. Last year, the Louisville game, and Cincinnati. Beating Western Kentucky was huge, twice, at their place and at our place. Pittsburgh was big, but I think there were a lot of significant games."

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