Rutgers @ Pittsburgh preview
Heinz Field
Last Meeting ( Oct 16, 2009 ) Pittsburgh 24, Rutgers 17
While Pittsburgh will be focusing on maintaining momentum, it would be totally understandable if Rutgers has its thoughts elsewhere Saturday.
The Panthers host the Scarlet Knights in a Big East Conference matchup on Saturday in the wake of a tragedy within the Rutgers program.
This will be the Scarlet Knights’ first game since defensive lineman Eric LeGrand suffered a severe injury against Army that has left him paralyzed from the neck down.
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano has said that LeGrand is alert and has been in good spirits but that he faces a long, tough road to recovery. Schiano has also reached out to Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who has been through the experience of having a player go down with a potentially paralyzing injury.
Adam Taliaferro suffered such an injury in 2000 in a game against Ohio State and was able to walk again after medical treatment and a difficult rehabilitation process.
So instead of the focus being on a pair of comeback wins over Connecticut and Army, the focus at Rutgers (4-2, 1-0 Big East) has been on LeGrand and how the team will respond.
It’s hard to predict what state of mind the Scarlet Knights will be in, but the Panthers (3-3, 1-0) are coming off their best performance of the season and will be looking to build upon a 45-14 thrashing of Syracuse.
The Panthers seemed to hit their stride against the Orange, getting a big game out of quarterback Tino Sunseri while running back Dion Lewis showed the form that made him a Heisman Trophy contender entering the season.
Sunseri threw four touchdown passes while Lewis rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown against the Orange. Last season, Lewis gashed the Rutgers defense for 180 yards on the ground.
While Lewis has been nicked by injuries and gotten off to a slow start, running back Ray Graham has been able to pick up some of the slack.
Graham ranks fourth in the country in all-purpose running at 180.6 yards per game and he is the 12th-leading rusher in the nation at 117.8 yards.
With the LeGrand story line deservedly getting most of the attention, the game will also have an extra emotion involved for Graham, as he will be facing his brother Khaseem Greene, who is the starting safety for Rutgers.
Pitt leads the series with Rutgers, 20-7, including a 24-17 victory last season that snapped the Panthers’ four-game losing streak to the Scarlet Knights. The Panthers will be looking to start conference play 2-0 for the third consecutive season.