This week:
The UConn Huskies travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers in the Big East opener for UConn. Gametime is 3:30 p.m. at Heinz Field, home of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers.
Here are the rosters for the Huskies and the Panthers.
The Line/Prediction:
According to Rivals.com odds, the Panthers are favored by 7.
My prediction is UConn 27 Pittsburgh 24.
Tickets:
As of the time of this post, there are tickets available.
Tickets to game, if available, may be purchased through Pittsburgh ticket office. You can check the availability here.
Getting To The Game:
Here is a link for the 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:
Saturday’s game will be televised regionally by ABC Sports. ABC will be televising three other games in this same time slot — Wisconsin at Ohio State, Baylor at Oklahoma and Oregon at UCLA.
In addition to the markets that will see the UConn vs. Pittsburgh game on ABC, markets that are selected to see the Wisconsin vs. Ohio State game on ABC, will receive the UConn vs. Pittsburgh game on ESPN.
Mike Patrick is on play-by-play with Craig James on color and Heather Cox on the sidelines.
Radio:
For the 18th 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 side lines and Eric Davis on production.
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. For a full list of stations on the WTIC/UCONN radio network, click here.
Pitt Radio: The game will be broadcast on 94.5 3WS and Fox Sports 970AM in the Pittsburgh area. It’s also available on Sirius channel 91 and XM 203.
Last Week:
UConn was off last week. The Panthers beat the Louisville Cardinals 35-10 in their Big East opener.
History:
Saturday’s game is the sixth meeting between UConn and Pittsburgh and the Huskies hold a 3-2 advantage and a 1-1 mark at Heinz Field. The series dates back to 2004 when UConn joined the BIG EAST Conference.
Connections:
- A total of 17 Huskies hail from the state of Pennsylvania — more than any other state
- Several of them are natives of the Pittsburgh area: Brandon Dillon (Woodbridge), Cody Endres (Washington), Brad Kanuch (Johnstown), Zach Frazer and Tyler Bullock (Mechanicsburg) and Steve Greene (Edensburg, Pa.) are all from western Pennsylvania.
- Also, UConn linebackers coach Todd Orlando is a native of Pittsburgh where he attended Central Catholic High School. He began his coaching career at Central Catholic and Fox Chapel Area High School.
- Pittsburgh running backs coach David Walker was a teammate of Terry Richardson’s in the Syracuse backfield from 1990-92. Scott Lakatos was the defensive graduate assistant on the 1992 team while Randy Edsall coached the SU defensive backs on the 1990 team. Edsall was also Syracuse’s recruiting coordinator when Walker signed with the Orangemen
- Pittsburgh Director of Football Operations Chris LaSala held the same title at BC when Edsall was there
- Pitt’s Greg Gaskins and UConn’s Malik Generett both played at William Penn High School in York, Pa.
- Edsall’s administrative assistant, Joanne Fazio, is a Pittsburgh native.
Other News:
Here is the video from UConn head coach Randy Edsall’s press conference as well as quotes from Panthers head coach Dave Wannstedt’s press conference.
UConn will be playing in an active (at the time of the game) NFL stadium for the 11th time in its history. UConn owns a 4-6 record in such games.
Saturday’s game marks the beginning of the sixth season of BIG EAST Conference play for the UConn football program. UConn has a 3-2 record in BIG EAST openers with four of those games coming on the road.
UConn’s game against Rhode Island on Sept. 26 was the 1,000 game in program history dating back to the first team in 1896. UConn now has an overall program record of 468-494-38.
Here are the categories where UConn is in the top 30 in the 2009 NCAA statistics:
- Rushing Defense – 8th at 68.00 (First in BIG EAST)
- Total Defense – 4th at 232.25 (First in BIG EAST)
- Scoring Defense – 18th at 15.00 (Third in BIG EAST)
- Pass Defense – 18th at 164.25 (Third in BIG EAST)
- Sacks – 6th at 3.75 (Second in BIG EAST)
In addition, Jordan Todman is 22nd in the country in rushing yards per game at 99.00 while Andre Dixon is 30th at 92.00. UConn is the only school to have two rushers in the top 30. Robert McClain is tied for sixth, and first in the BIG EAST, in interceptions with 0.75 per game. Desi Cullen is tied for 18th in punting, and first in the BIG EAST, at 43.90 yards. Lindsey Witten is second in sacks at 2.00 per game. Lawrence Wilson is tied for 17th in tackles.
Pitt Passing Game For Real? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]
Is It Possible For The Huskies To Get Ranked With A ‘W’? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]
“Big Y Family Days” Scheduled For UConn Football [UConnHuskies.com]
Thursday update– everybody is good [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]
Baldwin key for Pitt against UConn [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]
What to watch in the Big East, Week 6 [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]
Friday Q&A: UConn running back Andre Dixon [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]
UConn looking for a little respect at Pitt [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]
Lutrus will start for UConn [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]
Lutrus ready to go [Neill Ostrout – Connecticut Post]
Inside Huskies Football, October 8th [WTNH.com]
UConn Football: Taking steps to stop the big play [Journal Inquirer]
UConn LB Lutrus To Start Vs. Pitt [Hartford Courant]
UConn LB Lutrus ready to start against Pitt [Connecticut Post]
UConn at Pittsburgh: Who has the edge? [Connecticut Post]
Bagsby back where he belongs [New Haven Register]
Next Week:
The Huskies return home to Rentschler Field next Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. as they’ll host the Louisville Cardinals. It is homecoming weekend at UConn.
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