Football Travels to Connecticut for Thursday ESPN Showdown
11/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 7, 2010
GAME NOTES LINK:
Pitt (5-3, 3-0 Big East) vs.
Connecticut (4-4, 1-2 Big East)
Nov. 11, 2010 • 7:30 p.m., ET • Rentschler Field (40,000/Natural Grass) • East Hartford, Conn.
GAME STORYLINES
Pitt looks to tighten its grip on first place in the Big East when it travels to Connecticut for an ESPN Thursday night national telecast. The lone undefeated team in conference play, the Panthers are trying to achieve a 4-0 Big East start for the second straight year.
During its current three-game winning streak, Pitt has outscored its opponents 106 to 38 (an average of 35.3 to 12.7).
Pitt's nationally rated defense will face a major challenge in Connecticut's Jordan Todman, who leads the Big East and ranks fourth nationally with 136.29 rushing yards per game. The Panthers are yielding only 93.75 yards per game on the ground to rank first in the league and eighth nationally.
Pitt has defeated the Huskies each of the past two years. The Panthers, however, are 1-2 when playing Connecticut at Rentschler Field.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: The Pitt-Connecticut game will be a national ESPN Thursday night telecast. Rece Davis (play-by-play), Craig James (color), Jesse Palmer (color) and Jenn Brown (sideline) form the broadcast crew.
PITT RADIO: The new radio home for Pitt football is 50,000-watt flagship KDKA-FM, Sportsradio 93.7 The Fan. Games are also carried on the Pitt Sports Radio Network. Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play), three-time Pitt All-American Bill Fralic (color) and John Seibel (sideline) will call the action.
SIRIUS XM RADIO: The Pitt-Connecticut game will be aired on SIRIUS channel 122 and XM channel 143 (Pitt broadcast).
INTERNET: "Panthers All-Access" at PittsburghPanthers.com.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the seventh meeting between Pitt and Connecticut in a series that dates back to 2004...the series is tied, 3-3, with the Panthers winning the most recent meeting, 24-21, at Heinz Field in 2009...Pitt is 1-2 when playing at Connecticut...the Panthers claimed their first road victory over the Huskies in 2008, a 34-10 decision in the regular-season finale for both teams...the win not only marked Pitt's first at UConn's Rentschler Field but also clinched a Big East runner-up finish and Sun Bowl berth...the Panthers and Huskies first met during the 2004 season, when Connecticut was in its first year as a Big East football member...the host Huskies won that inaugural matchup, 29-17...Dave Wannstedt is 3-2 against Connecticut, claiming victories in 2005 (24-0), 2008 and 2009...Randy Edsall has been the head coach at Connecticut for all six previous encounters with Pitt.