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Tuesday, September 17, 2002

By Shelly Anderson, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Pitt Coach Walt Harris continues to see signs that Rod Rutherford is entrenching himself as the team's starting quarterback.

And he continues to point out those things.

Two plays in Pitt's 26-20 victory Saturday at UAB showed Rutherford's patience and poise, Harris said yesterday during his weekly news conference.

One of the plays was a simple dump pass to fullback Lousaka Polite, who turned it into a 9-yard gain. It converted a third-and-5 in Pitt's winning touchdown drive, but that's not the only thing that impressed Harris. He said Polite was about fifth in Rutherford's order of progression for possible receivers, meaning he didn't panic and found the right man.

Another time, Rutherford and receiver Lamar Slade were looking for each other, but Rutherford noticed a defender lurking whom, Slade didn't see. Rutherford waved Slade into a route adjustment and completed the pass.

Against UAB, Rutherford was 13 of 25 passing for 235 yards, with one interception. He also had his best game carrying the ball, gaining 69 yards on 15 carries. He ran for one of Pitt's three touchdowns, threw for the other two.

"I think he's moving along at a solid pace, and I'm very excited for us," Harris said. "As I've told you all along, we've always believed in Rod and we always thought he could do the job. It's exciting to see that more and more people are seeing him improve."

Through three games, Rutherford has completed 42 of 79 passes for 501 yards and five touchdowns, with five interceptions. He has rushed for a net of only 38 yards, but 12 sacks have skewed that total. Disregarding lost yardage, Rutherford has run for 124 yards.

Harris seems satisfied with his choice of Rutherford as Pitt's starter. With the Panthers (2-1) returning home this week to play Rutgers (1-2) at noon Saturday at Heinz Field, the question will be whether the fans are as accepting. They booed Rutherford loudly and chanted for freshman backup Tyler Palko in the Panthers' previous home game, a 14-12 loss to Texas A&M.

Forcing mistakes

Pitt ranks behind only Virginia Tech in the Big East Conference in forcing turnovers. The Panthers have forced nine through three games, while Virginia Tech has 10.

Harris is relieved that things are going well in the other direction, too. Pitt has turned the ball over five times, four times on fumbles and once on an interception.

In 2001, the Panthers had 25 turnovers. Eighteen of them -- 10 interceptions, eight fumbles -- came in the first six games and at times were costly as Pitt started 1-5.

"Last year I was a professional in how not to prevent turnovers," Harris said. "So far this year, I'm a little more astute as to preventing them.

"I just think it goes back to the players realizing what their responsibility is, being intelligent about how they play. We talk about ball security -- ball leverage, squeezing the ball all the time you have it. We try not to have our quarterback ever force the football until we're behind late in the game, when we're behind by two scores with five minutes to go."

Quick slants

The Pitt defense ranks in the top 25 nationally in five statistical categories -- third in pass efficiency (67.9 rating), 10th in pass defense (124 yards a game), 16th in total defense (265.3 yards a game), tied for eighth in interceptions (six) and tied for 23rd in turnovers gained (nine). ... Pitt's home game Sept. 28 against Toledo has been set for 1:30 p.m.