Griffin came out growling, catching three balls on a terrific opening scoring drive. On a second-and-3 play, Griffin caught a pass from Whitmer and leaped over cornerback Lafayette Pitts for a 23-yard gain. Agility from the big guy.
"That was the second time we ran the boot and I saw some open field," Griffin said. "I had them put it on tape before and some guys were going low at me. I figured why not? Just jump over them. That's probably my best vertical I ever leaped."
He then slipped free for a 2-yard TD catch, Griffin's fifth touchdown catch of the season.
"We ran the ball fairly well early," Pasqualoni said. "That got them running to the ball and then Chandler came off the misdirection play-action. Because the linebacker was running so hard to the tailback, there was nobody covering Griffin."
The problem Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst said was "eye discipline."
"A lot of times with a play-action pass the eyes get caught up on the run fake," he said. "I give them credit. They were efficient and they did a good job of running the ball, which helps with the play action."
"They were playing a lot of quarters," Griffin said. "We were hoping to hit a long one. We had some play action stuff, too, that I was targeted on. The boots, Chandler just dumped them off to me."
Yes, Delahunt has 14 catches for 177 yards and a touchdown this year. But you have to wonder why DeLeone didn't go more to his tight ends overall. There are a lot of things to wonder about this offense, but Griffin, who tied his career high with six catches and now has 26 for the season, isn't a secret. He's a player.
"You always feel as though you can do more, especially in this kind of season," Griffin said. "I just think Chandler throws the ball wherever the defense gives him. I'm not complaining. I'm happy with the win."
Look, the Huskies have been outscored 76-3 in the second half of games since the third quarter against Buffalo. They sat on another lead and came fairly close to frittering this one away, too. But I'm exhausted writing about that point.
So I'll settle on this.
Ryan Griffin is a bear.
Feed the bear.
