When it appeared that Pitt’s defensive line had hit rock bottom, allowing opponents to run rampant and pass without pressure, the Panthers developed a six-step process that has led them on the road to recovery. New defensive line coach Greg Gattuso turned to his Roman Catholic roots — he attended St. Catherine the Great Elementary in Beechview and Seton-La Salle High School — and took a page from the Good Book for inspiration. The Panthers call it the gospel, and they are singing its praises this season. A focus on fundamentals has helped a young, undersized line become a source of strength. “We were looking for a word that we felt was strong enough. To call it our ‘gospel’ was a strong word that was important,” Gattuso said. “It’s on their test every week. It’s talked about almost every day. It’s talked about every time they come off the sidelines during the game. “The stressing of how important the fundamentals are is what’s helped us get better. More important is them working hard toward it. I tell them, ‘God gives you certain talents.’ We try to give them some knowledge, but they are the ones who have to put forth the effort.” When Gattuso made the transition from tight ends to defensive line coach in his second year on staff, he collaborated with ends coach Charlie Partridge to come up with the six steps of the gospel: assignment, get off, footwork, strike, feet gaining ground and finish. “What he brings to the table is the knowledge of what the offense does. That’s helped us out a lot,” redshirt junior end Chris McKillop said of Gattuso, who spent 12 seasons as head coach at Duquesne University. “You’d be amazed how, just focusing on the fundamentals, something as simple as a strike and your footwork will do to your game.” The results, especially the sack totals, are showing up in Pitt’s defensive statistics. Where defensive linemen accounted for 16 of the team’s 22 sacks last season, they already have 13 of the 18 sacks through seven games. Led by redshirt junior ends Joe Clermond and McKillop and sophomore tackles Rashaad Duncan and Gus Mustakas, the Panthers have used a 10-man rotation. With a starting front four that averages 6-foot-3, 265 pounds, they have sacrificed size for speed with stunning success. In 2005, Pitt’s defense allowed four teams to rush for 200 or more yards (West Virginia had 451) and 400 or more total yards (Notre Dame had 502). Through seven games this season, the Panthers have given up only one game of 200 or more rushing yards and 400 or more total yards (Michigan State ran for 335 and had 533 total). “The d-line is improving,” Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said. “They had the most room for improvement, just because of a lack of experience. The unit as a whole is doing a nice job of being fundamentally sound and allowing us to be successful.” The Michigan State loss served as a wake-up call for the Panthers, who learned the most by watching their glaring mistakes on film. In the four games since, Pitt is allowing an average of 94.8 rushing yards and 254.8 total yards and has limited opponents to a combined 27 points. “We can’t play at a low intensity level,” Gattuso said. “We don’t have that much talent. We don’t have a bunch of first-round draft picks here. We’ve got to play smart and fundamentally sound.” Note: ESPN2 has decided to televise the Pitt-Rutgers game Saturday, a decision that will result in a 5:45 p.m. kickoff at Heinz Field. The time of the game had been undecided while officials waited to see whether it would be televised. Additional Information:

Gattuso’s gospel

The gospel, according to Greg Gattuso I. Assignment: Be smart and know your assignment II. Get off: Get out of stance with explosiveness III. Footwork: Concentrate on generating power, speed IV. Strike: Initiate contact with offensive lineman V. Feet gaining ground: Continually press and attack lineman VI. Finish: Shed block and make a tackle

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