| 17 September 2011
Well last week didn't go as planned now did it? Maine came in and gave the Panthers a run for their money while Pitt escaped with a 35-29 win. A lot of the same observations were made from this game as from the Buffalo game, however there was one change: Trey Anderson. The freshman came in and played very well in limited time in the fourth quarter. Immediately a quarterback controversy was brewing in the fans minds. Todd Graham however is sticking with Tino Sunseri and stated there is no quarterback controversy.
| The Rundown |
 |
| University of Pittsburgh |
| (2 - 0) |
| VS. |
 |
| University of Iowa |
| (1 - 1) |
| Location: Kinnick Stadium - Iowa City, Iowa |
| Kickoff: 12:00PM Eastern/ 11:00AM Central |
| Weather at Kickoff: 60°, Wind 11mph SE, 10% chance of rain |
| Heinz Field Turf: N/A |
| TV Coverage: ESPN2 |
| Announcers: Beth Mowins, Mike Bellotti |
| Radio Coverage: 93.7 FM - The Fan Pittsburgh |
| All-Time Series: Pitt leads 3 - 1 |
| Last Meeting: Sept 20th, 2008, Pitt 21 - Iowa 20 |
| Vegas Line: Iowa -3, 50.5 over/under |
Panther Sports Network Preview
Most people are looking at this game as the first real test of the young season. Pitt comes in at a slightly unimpressive 2-0, mostly because people feel Pitt should have dominated the first two games by a much larger margin than they did. But let's look at the positive side of things: a new coach with a new system that is 200% different than the previous seven years started off 2-0. We've seen the new system work when executed properly, now it comes down to execution. What makes this a very good test is not only the opponent, but the location: it is the first road game of the season and we're not exactly playing at Akron here (at least, not yet). A key of the game this week will be the line of scrimmage, and the game may be won there when Iowa has the ball. At least, that's what Iowa's coach Kirk Ferentz feels. This week Pitt squares off against the Iowa Hawkeyes, let's learn a little bit about them:
University Website: http://www.uiowa.com
Athletics Website: http://www.hawkeyesports.com
Behind Enemy Blogs: Black Heart Gold Pants, Hawkeye Drive, Planned Sick Days
The official legal name of the University of Iowa is "The State University of Iowa." This has to get confusing as there is also Iowa State University (of Science and Technology). The two are natural rivals, just like any in-state big Universities should be (ahem, I'm looking at you up there in State College), and play for a trophy to be designed later. The University of Iowa was founded February 25, 1847 just 59 days after Iowa was named a state. In 1873 it was one of the first institutions to grant a law degree to a woman. From a football perspective Iowa currently has 37 players on NFL rosters, or so says Wikipedia. CBS seems to disagree with that number. Anyhow, back to Iowa as they have a few famous alums including Tom Arnold, Ashton Kutchar, Gene Wilder, and Tom Brokaw. Ashton Kutchar and Tom Brokaw in the same sentence? *Sign of the Apocalypse*.
Iowa's logo is named the Tigerhawk, and was in part created by former Iowa coach Hayden Fry. Fry coached at Iowa from 1979 till 1998. He is probably the second best coach named Hayden. Iowa's uniforms should look pretty familiar to anyone in the Pittsburgh area. When Fry started at Iowa in 1979 the Steelers were the dominant team in the NFL. Because Iowa and the Steelers shared colors, Fry reached out to Mean Joe Greene to ask for replica home and away Steelers jerseys. Greene directed Fry to the Steelers brass who eventually sent Terry Bradshaw home and away replicas. There are subtle differences between the two jerseys, however the overall style remains the same to this day.
Now that I got my jersey geek paragraph out of the way, onto some game previews:
Pitt links:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pitt faces first road test at Iowa
Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Pitt is taking aim at Iowa's massive front line
Iowa Links:
The Daily Iowan: Hawkeyes to face fast-paced offense
Iowa City Press-Citizen Hawk Central: Hawkeye offense might need to carry the day
Hail to Pitt!
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