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No, people, I'm not making a Blewitt didn't blow it joke. You'll just have to live with it.
Much has been made of Pitt's running game against Boston College, and rightfully so. For the second game in a row, Pitt dominated their opponent on the ground and through two games, have already racked up more than 700 yards rushing.
But one guy that deserves a little credit on Friday night was kicker Chris Blewitt. Blewitt didn't get a chance to kick a field goal against Delaware in last week's opener, but the sophomore got plenty of target practice on Friday.
Safe to say, he passed every test.
Blewitt was a perfect 3-3 on field goals and even nailed a career-long 49-yarder. His other two weren't gimmes, either, from 41 and 42 yards.
Blewitt's leg is really stronger than I think some people realize. I noted this in the training camp scrimmage I attended last month, but Blewitt kicked a 50-yarder with probably about ten yards to spare. Yeah, it's practice, but the point is that he has a fairly strong leg.
The first one was the 49-yarder and that really helped set the tone. Pitt didn't have a great drive, but still got points on the board due to Blewitt's leg. The 3-0 start was a good one for Pitt and helped to offset the touchdown that Boston College scored on the next drive.
In addition, when you consider that Boston College kicker Alex Howell missed his only field goal attempt, Pitt gained a 12-point advantage in the kicking game. The bottom line is that Blewitt had a big hand (okay, leg) in the Panthers' win.
Looking past this game alone, if Blewitt is consistent this year, that could help the Panthers go a long way. As I wrote last year, I expect Pitt to again play its share of close games. Every point is going to count once Pitt gets into the meat of the schedule and the fact is that one or more games could come down to field goals. It's early (and the extra point he missed in the opener notwithstanding) but so far, Blewitt has looked good.
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