pittsburgh panthers history
pittsburgh panthers history
Pittsburgh Panthers tickets are back for another run at a Big East Championship. The Panthers are coming off a disappointing 5-6 season that saw the struggle with a 4-3 record in the Big East but don’t expect these Panthers to lay down in 2006. Head coach Dave Wannstedt has the Panthers heading in the right direction and he’ll be prowling the sidelines in 2006 to make sure his cats have some bite. Heinz Field will be hosting a slew of top flight Big East opponents and the Panthers are ready to win. Get in on all the Big East action in 2006 with Pittsburgh Panthers tickets.
The Panthers suffered through a miserable season in 2005. But that’s to be expected in a rebuilding program. Sometimes you have to take a step backward to make progress. The Panthers started the season with a 42-24 loss to Notre Dame and fell farther in the hole when the traveled to Ohio and dropped a 16-10 contest. It got even worse after a heartbreaking 7-6 loss to Nebraska in Week 3. Finally, the Panthers were winners at Heinz Field in Week 4 when the rolled over Youngstown State 41-0, a big relief for Pittsburgh Panthers ticket holders. After a loss at Rutgers, the Panthers delivered three straight wins for the home crowd at Heinz Field, beating Cincinnati, South Florida, and Syracuse to even their record at 4-4. But when it came to playing ranked teams the Panthers always seemed to fall short, losing to both Louisville and West Virginia before the season ended.
Despite the losing record the Panthers ticket holders could find some bright spots and hope for 2006. Tyler Paiko posted respectable numbers, passing for 2, 392 yards and 17 touchdowns on the year. Wide Receiver Greg Lee caught 49 passes and scored seven TD’s while putting up a 19.6 yard average. In the running game though, the Panthers really fell short. LaRod Stephens led the team with 434 yards but failed to score. Those numbers are more an indications of struggles along the offensive line, which gave up 30 sacks, than lack of talent at the running back position.
Defensively the Panthers couldn’t put together talent with size. There are some good athletes there but in 2005 the most versatile athletes were undersized while the bigger players manning the line were still experiencing the shallow end of the learning curve.
For Pittsburgh Panthers ticket holders, putting it all together means the Panthers should be much better in 2006. Quarterback Tyler Paiko is more experienced and has the leadership skills to keep the team together. At running back the Panthers will be depending on sophomore LaRod Stephens to pick up his game after leading the team in rushing as a freshman. Bit defense is where the Panthers will be most improved. Finally, the bug guys with talent will have gotten the hard knocks of gaining experience under their belts and will be much improved after last year’s ordeal.
Pittsburgh Panthers tickets look to be a chance to see one of the rising teams in the Big East. The Panthers have gone through the tunnel of rebuilding and appear to be ready to break out. Are the Panthers ready for a Big East Championship? That would be a stretch but it’s not out of the question. But Pittsburgh Panthers tickets are poised to bring better times to Heinz Field.