A closer look…

The Teams: Looking to become bowl eligible for the first time under head coach Dave… The Teams: Looking to become bowl eligible for the first time under head coach Dave Wannstedt, the Pitt Panthers (5-1 overall, 2-0 Big East) finish up their non-conference schedule with a trip to sunny Orlando for a matchup with the Central Florida Golden Knights (2-3, 1-1 Conference USA). Kickoff is set for 8 p.m.

The Coaches: George O’Leary is in his third year coaching the Knights, holding a 10-19 record that includes a bowl appearance in 2005. Last week’s win over Syracuse pushed Wannstedt’s record at Pitt to 10-7.

Last Time Out: There hasn’t been one. This is the first meeting between the two schools and it is Pitt’s first game against a Conference USA member, in four years, other than current Big East member South Florida, which migrated from C-USA a year ago. Pitt beat UAB back in 2002.

Making Strides: O’Leary’s Knights went winless in his first season, losing to the likes of Buffalo, Akron and Ball State in an 0-11 2004 campaign. Last year, however, the team won five in a row to move to 8-3 and become bowl eligible. The Knights still lost to Nevada, 49-48, on a Christmas Eve bowl game.

Offensive Juggernauts: Pitt’s offense has continued to put up gaudy numbers on offense, averaging 35.2 points a game. UCF averages a little more than half of that at 17.8 a game.

LaRusher: Sophomore tailback LaRod Stephens-Howling’s 221-yard outburst against Syracuse last week has been the best rushing performance in the Big East this season. That’s saying a lot, considering that Steve Slaton, Michael Bush and Ray Rice all call the Big East home. Stephens-Howling’s mark is also the fifth best single-game total in the NCAA this season.

Big Play Pitt: Nearly one-third of Stephens-Howling’s yards came on a 70-yard touchdown sprint down the right sideline in the second quarter of that 21-11 win over Syracuse. That was Pitt’s fourth scoring play of at least 70 yards this season – a stark contrast to the single play of more than 70 yards the Panthers had last season. That 73-yard play was a long pass to Greg Lee, but it didn’t even go for a score, as a Nebraska defender caught Lee before the end zone. Pitt didn’t score on that possession

Seeing Red: The Panthers once again showed patience and efficiency in the red zone last week, converting two of their three red zone opportunities. Both scores were touchdowns, moving Pitt’s total to 17 scores in 20 red zone attempts. What’s more, 14 of those have been touchdowns, evenly split between pass and run. Even further, two of the Panthers’ “failed” conversions have been kneel-downs with the game already decided. Such was the case for the third red zone opportunity last week.