Quarterbacks B+: Chazz played the best game by a UB Quarterback since the Rhode Island game last season. And the best game by a UB Quarterback against an FBS team since the Turner Gill Era.
One ill advised screen pass and two drops by Ed Young stood between Anderson and a really special game. What really stood out was that, for the first time since Drew Willy was playing, nothing bad seemed to phase our Quarterback. After the pick he walked UB down the field without so much as slowing down. After a drop he came back and threw the next ball with confidence in his receivers.
If this is the composure that Anderson is going to play with six wins is no longer a pipe dream. It will be a challenge to be sure but a lot of the mid to high level MAC teams are going to get pushed by UB a lot more than they might expect.
Running Backs B: Branden Oliver did a solid job hitting the line, weather a hole was there or not. During the first half he looked a bit unsure and because of that brief hesitation he was getting bottled up pretty early in the play. As the game went on he started to hit the line a little quicker and had some nice carries because of it.
You don't want to brag about 3.3 yards per carry but in the second half that number was closer to 3.5 yards per carry. He also scored on the ground. Something a UB running back did just once last year, in week four.
Thirty five attempts is a monster number, especially from what we saw out of Quinn last season. Even more shocking was no other half back touched the ball.
Wide Receivers C+: You cant drop two touchdown passes and, as a unit, get a B. The Ed young drops were painful but Alex Neutz did his part to make up for it. Neutz was a very reliable target and did his part on the short slants.
While his 100+ yards included work against a soft prevent towards the end of the game he was dangerous throughout and proved to be a reliable target. As to young? he ran some nice routes and had pretty bad hands, but he has shown in his career that you don't expect those drops from him, hopefully he can forget about them and move on.
Offensive Line B-: Not a lot of big holes but Pitt typically puts up an amazing front seven. Chazz had some time to do damage, they Bulls rushed for almost 4 per carry (in the second half) and they did well on the designed roll outs.
Play Calling A-: It was nice to see the coaching staff live within its means. They got just enough out of their running game to soften things up. And the screens, even though they never worked quite right, drew pitt defenders up for a couple of long shots down field.
Defensive Line C+: Pitt had all day to throw and gave up 201 on the ground (granted a huge chuck of that was one run towards the end of the game). In the 3-4 you need your nose tackle to occupy two guys and that ust was not there this game
Linebackers B+: Some very solid play from the unit but they were non existent covering the tight end and half backs in the passing game. Really impressed with Skinner who stepped up in a big way.
Defensive Backs B+: I'm grading them on a curve this game because of the youth. They managed to deal with the high paced offense reasonably well until the second half. Weather that was fatigue, injury, or just Pitt finding its feet we won't know for a few weeks.
Defensive Coaching B-: Nobody was covering the tight ends, we saw it last season and we are seeing it again. A good pass catching tight end can have a field day against the Bulls. UB has the speed on the outside to cover Ends and Backs but because of the need for an outside pass rush they never get used that way.
Special Teams (Kickoff) F: Terrible coverage, kicks out of bounds... It's just not fair to put them in with the rest of the special teams units.
Special Teams (Everyone Else) A-: It would have been nice to see a bit more from the return teams but Fardon nailed a 40 yard Field goal, put coverage was good, and the return game was average.
Animated Drive Chart brought to you by Gameday Depot.