Pittsburgh
3rd Big East7-5
Utah
2nd Mountain West10-2
Pittsburgh @ Utah preview
Rice-Eccles Stadium
Two teams that were left on the outside looking in at last season’s BCS picture will square off Thursday night in a game that has major implications for the direction of this season.
Pittsburgh and Utah, both rugged and physical squads that just missed a BCS bid last year, take to the turf at Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium, where the Utes have won 17 consecutive games. The winner will have a quality non-conference victory to put on its resume.
This will be Utah’s last season in the Mountain West Conference before it joins the Pac-10.
Last year, Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt went from filling a seat that was getting uncomfortably warm – the Pitt faithful were growing impatient with his talented but underachieving squads – to leading what became one of the hottest teams in the country.
The Panthers cemented their first double-digit win season since 1981 with a 19-17 win over North Carolina in the Meineke Bowl.
Even so, Pitt fans were left lamenting what might have been. The Panthers dropped their last two regular-season games by a combined four points to fall out of the Top 10 and squander the Big East’s automatic BCS bid. That invitation went to Cincinnati, which overcame a 21-point deficit to send Pitt to devastating 45-44 loss in a thrilling Dec. 5 tilt played in the Pittsburgh snow.
Pitt’s success came in large part on the strength of a rugged ground attack led by Dion Lewis, who ran for 1,799 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman. The reigning Big East offensive player of the year finished with eight straight games of 100 yards or more. Pitt’s question mark might come at quarterback, where sophomore Tino Sunseri will look to replace the ultra-steady Bill Stull, who graduated.
Sunseri will have a tough debut in a hostile environment in which the Utes are accustomed to winning. Coach Kyle Whittingham, the former defensive coordinator who took over when Urban Meyer departed for Florida, has kept Utah a perennial BCS contender. He also matched his predecessor’s success by taking Utah on a magical undefeated run in 2008, which ended with a BCS bowl win over Alabama.
The Utes posted their third consecutive double-digit win season last year when they upset favored California 37-27 in the Poinsettia Bowl. Sophomore quarterback Jordan Wynn, who took over late in the season, threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns on his way to being named the bowl’s offensive MVP. Running back Eddie Wide, a senior who posted 1,069 yards and 12 TDs last season, also returns.
These two programs have met just once before, in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. Utah won that contest 35-7 in Meyer’s final game as head coach of the Utes.
Pittsburgh and Utah, both rugged and physical squads that just missed a BCS bid last year, take to the turf at Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium, where the Utes have won 17 consecutive games. The winner will have a quality non-conference victory to put on its resume.
This will be Utah’s last season in the Mountain West Conference before it joins the Pac-10.
Last year, Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt went from filling a seat that was getting uncomfortably warm – the Pitt faithful were growing impatient with his talented but underachieving squads – to leading what became one of the hottest teams in the country.
The Panthers cemented their first double-digit win season since 1981 with a 19-17 win over North Carolina in the Meineke Bowl.
Even so, Pitt fans were left lamenting what might have been. The Panthers dropped their last two regular-season games by a combined four points to fall out of the Top 10 and squander the Big East’s automatic BCS bid. That invitation went to Cincinnati, which overcame a 21-point deficit to send Pitt to devastating 45-44 loss in a thrilling Dec. 5 tilt played in the Pittsburgh snow.
Pitt’s success came in large part on the strength of a rugged ground attack led by Dion Lewis, who ran for 1,799 yards and 17 touchdowns as a freshman. The reigning Big East offensive player of the year finished with eight straight games of 100 yards or more. Pitt’s question mark might come at quarterback, where sophomore Tino Sunseri will look to replace the ultra-steady Bill Stull, who graduated.
Sunseri will have a tough debut in a hostile environment in which the Utes are accustomed to winning. Coach Kyle Whittingham, the former defensive coordinator who took over when Urban Meyer departed for Florida, has kept Utah a perennial BCS contender. He also matched his predecessor’s success by taking Utah on a magical undefeated run in 2008, which ended with a BCS bowl win over Alabama.
The Utes posted their third consecutive double-digit win season last year when they upset favored California 37-27 in the Poinsettia Bowl. Sophomore quarterback Jordan Wynn, who took over late in the season, threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns on his way to being named the bowl’s offensive MVP. Running back Eddie Wide, a senior who posted 1,069 yards and 12 TDs last season, also returns.
These two programs have met just once before, in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl. Utah won that contest 35-7 in Meyer’s final game as head coach of the Utes.