This week:
After having a bye week, the UConn Huskies return to action with rare mid-week game as they head to Pittsburgh, PA to take on the Pitt Panthers at Heinz Field at 8 p.m. on Wednesday night.
Here are the rosters for the Huskies and the Panthers.
The Line/Prediction:
According to Rivals.com, the Panthers are favored by 10 points. The over/under is 42.
My prediction is UConn 24 Pittsburgh 20.
Tickets:
According to Ticketmaster.com, there are plenty of seats available.
Getting To The Game:
Here is the weather forecast for Pittsburgh, PA. Here are directions to Heinz Field if you’re making the trip. Here is a link to the Heinz Field Fan Guide which will answer all your questions about tailgating, parking, and the stadium.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television:
Wednesday’s game will be televised nationally by ESPN. Joe Tessitore is on play-by-play while Lou Holtz and Mark May are on color and Quint Kessenich is on the sideline.
The game will also be replayed on SNY in a condensed mode on the “Husky Power Hour” on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., Friday, Oct. 28 at 8:00 a.m. and Saturday, Oct. 29 at 7:00 p.m. The game will be replayed in its entirity on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, Oct. 28 at 1:00 p.m.
Radio:
For the 20th consecutive season, WTIC 1080-AM in Hartford serves as the flagship station for the UConn Radio Network. WTIC is the state’s only 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 23 states and parts of Canada.
Veteran UConn announcers Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play) and Wayne Norman (color commentary) return to call the action with Kevin Nathan on the sidelines.
The UConn pregame show begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff, while home games, the UConn Tailgate Show will air two and a half hours prior to the game with Arnold Dean.
UConn football games are also broadcast over the internet at WTIC.com. Here is a full list of stations on the WTIC/UCONN radio network.
Pittsburgh Radio:
The radio home for Pitt football is 50,000-watt flagship KDKA-FM, Sportsradio 93.7 The Fan. Games are also carried on the Pitt IMG Sports Radio Network. Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play), former Pitt quarterback Pat Bostick (color) and Jon Burton (sideline) will call the action.
Beginning three (3) hours prior to kickoff, listen to the Geico Panthers Pregame Show on 93.7 The Fan or online at Panthers All-Access.
The Pitt-Connecticut game will be aired on SiriusXM satellite radio channel 91 (Pitt broadcast).
The game will also be a national IMG radio broadcast with John Rooke (play-by-play) and Pete Brock (color) on the call.
To continue reading the UConn Huskies @ Pittsburgh Panthers preview, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
Last Week:
The Huskies were off last week. In their last game, they beat USF 16-10. The Panthers were off last week. In their last game, they fell to the Utah Utes 26-14.
History:
Wednesday’s game is the eighth meeting between UConn and Pittsburgh with UConn leading the series at 4-3. UConn has a 1-2 record at Pittsburgh with a win in 2007 and losses in 2005 and ‘09.
Connections:
UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni had a 12-2 record against Pittsburgh during his head coaching tenure at Syracuse.
The UConn roster has 12 players on its roster from the state of Pennsylvania, tied with Massachusetts for the most of any state.
Pittsburgh redshirt fullback Chris Mike is a West Haven native.
UConn players from the Pittsburgh area include: Tyler Bullock (Mechanicsburg), Ty-Meer Brown (McKeesport), B.J. McBryde (Beaver Falls) and Steve Greene (Edensburg).
UConn QB coach Joe Moorhead is a Pittsburgh native and was a graduate assistant for the Panthers from 1998-99.
Other UConn News:
Here is the transcript of Pasqualoni’s press conference as well as quotes from some of the players.
Here is UConn’s depth chart for the game.
A number of members of the 2011 Huskies were named to preseason “Watch Lists” for 2011. They are:
- Sophomore Tight End Ryan Griffin (Londonberry, N.H.)
- John Mackey Award Watch List/Midseason Watch List
- Senior Kicker Dave Teggart (Northborough, Mass.)
- Lou Groza Collegiate Placekicker Award
- Senior Defensive Tackle Kendall Reyes (Nashua, N.H.)
- Outland Trophy, given to the best interior lineman in the country
- Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given to the best defensive player in the country;
- Lombardi Award, given to the best offensive or defensive lineman in the country.
- Senior center Moe Petrus (St. Laurent, Que.)
- Outland Trophy
- Lombardi Award
- Senior offensive tackle Mike Ryan (Tamaqua, Pa.)
UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni has won more BIG EAST Conference games (league contests only) than any other coach in history. Pasqualoni has 63 league wins from 1991-2004 and 2011 while Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech is second with 57.
With his three wins this year, Pasqauloni is also first in league history in overall wins with 110 to top the mark of Beamer with 108. The distant third is Don Nehlen of West Virginia at 61.
UConn owns an all-time mark of 23-27 in BIG EAST Conference games since joining the league for football in 2004. The Huskies posted their best conference record with a 5-2 mark in 2007 and ‘10.
UConn had a five-game BIG EAST Conference games win streak broken on Oct. 8 at West Virginia. It was the longest in school history.
The Huskies have put together a 22-30 road record since 2002. They are 5-19 in Big East play on the road.
UConn has had fourth quarter leads in three of its four losses this season.
Here are the categories where UConn is ranked in the top 40 in the 2011 NCAA statistics.
- Rushing Defense – 11th at 89.90 yards (Second in BIG EAST)
- Scoring Defense – 29th at 20.71 (Fourth in BIG EAST)
- Turnover Margin – 31st at +0.57 (Fourth in BIG EAST)
- Sacks – 32nd at 2.43 (Sixth in BIG EAST)
- TFL – 27th at 7.29 (Sixth in BIG EAST)
Individual leaders
- Rushing – Lyle McCombs, t28th at 100.71 (Thirdin BIG EAST)
- FGoals – Dave Teggart, t11th at 1.71 (Third in BIG EAST)
- TFL – Kendall Reyes, t15th at 1.57 (Second in BIG EAST)
Senior kicker Dave Teggart now has multiple field goals in four games this season and 18 in his career. He has ten career games with three or more field goals.
Notes from this week’s opponent Pittsburgh:
Here is the transcript of Pitt head coach Todd Graham’s press conference.
Junior running back Ray Graham ranks second nationally and tops the Big East in rushing yards per game (134.14 avg.). He is second in the Big East and 10th nationally in all-purpose yards, averaging 167.71 yards per game.
Since the 2000 season, Pitt is 41-13 when it has a 100-yard rusher, including 3-1 this year. The Panthers are 7-0 when they have a 200-yard rusher during that span, including 2-0 this season.
Chris Jacobson will seek a medical hardship waiver and sixth year of eligibility. This is the second season-ending injury of Jacobson’s collegiate career (2007 preseason right knee injury). Lucas Nix is expected back for the Connecticut game and is slated to move from right guard to left tackle.
Pitt is first in the Big East and ninth nationally (tied) in red zone efficiency. The Panthers have converted 22-of-24 trips (91.7%) in the red zone (17 touchdowns and five field goals). The two failed attempts were missed field goals.
Pitt is averaging 3.00 sacks per game to rank 13th nationally. The Panthers rank seventh in the country (tied) with an average of 8.0 tackles for loss per game.
Aaron Donald is tied for the Big East lead with five quarterback sacks. Senior defensive end Brandon Lindsey is tied for the second-highest sack total in the Big East with 4.5.
Senior linebacker Max Gruder is Pitt’s leading tackler with 62 total stops. Gruder ranks second among Big East defenders with 8.9 tackles per game.
Pitt has only forced seven turnovers this season: four fumbles and three interceptions. The Pitt defense has only two multiple-turnover games this year: Notre Dame (one fumble and one interception) and USF (two fumbles).
Buddy Jackson leads the Big East and ranks eighth nationally with an average of 30.44 yards per kickoff return (274 yards on nine returns).
Tuesday UConn Football Links:
Big East race update [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]
Big East news and notes [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]
Quick pre-Pitt update [Chip Malafronte – New Haven Register]
LB Smallwood: One Of Brown’s All-Time Favorites…Already? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]
UConn-Syracuse football showdown slated for high noon, Nov. 5 [John Nash – The Hour]
UConn football notebook: McCombs shoulders the load at RB [CT Post]
Pitt’s Graham Points To UConn’s Success in 2010 [Hartford Courant]
UConn’s Defense Slowly Coming Together [Hartford Courant]
Huskies need to find a way to sack pressure problem [New Haven Register]
Next Week:
The Huskies return home to Rentschler Field next Saturday (Nov. 5) to take on the Syracuse Orange at 12 p.m.
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Each week a group of Bloguin college football bloggers get together and put our votes in for the top Heisman Trophy candidates. Then after the votes are tabulated by Kevin over at College Football Zealots, the poll is released on Wednesday.
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