A closer look…

The Teams: Fresh off a 38-13 spanking of ACC foe Virginia, the Pitt Panthers (1-0… The Teams: Fresh off a 38-13 spanking of ACC foe Virginia, the Pitt Panthers (1-0 overall, 0-0 Big East) head to the Queen City for a Big East showdown with the Bearcats of Cincinnati (1-0, 0-0). Kickoff is set for 8 p.m.

Coverage: The game will be a national telecast as ESPN2 will pick up the second annual River City Rivalry. SIRIUS Satellite Radio will also pick up the action on channel 123.

Opening Antics: For the second straight year, the Panthers scored a touchdown on their opening drive. This year, Tyler Palko led a 14-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a one-yard scoring toss to Darrell Strong to open the game. Last year, he threw a long touchdown strike to Greg Lee to open the game, but the Panthers were humiliated, 42-21, by Notre Dame.

Is it a Rivalry?: While the teams will play for a massive trophy for the second straight season, the series has very little substance behind it. With a 38-20 beatdown at Heinz Field last October, Pitt remained unbeaten all time against the Bearcats. Problem is, it was only the fifth time the teams have ever met.

Down the River: This will be Pitt’s first visit to Cincinnati in nearly a century. The last time the Panthers played at Cincinnati, Pitt walked away with a 38-0 shutout win.

It was the Best of Times?: Despite a rough season under center, Bearcat sophomore Dustin Gritza actually had his best passing day of the 2005 season in that loss to the Panthers. Although only 9-for-19 on the day, he did throw two long touchdown passes while accumulating 180 pass yards. Despite his season-high 116.1 quarterback rating, he did taste dirt four times courtesy of Panther sacks.

It was the Worst of Times?: That game didn’t go so well for senior quarterback Nick Davila, who completed only four of his 13 pass attempts with one errant pass resulting in an interception. Davila got off to a strong start last week, completing 10 of 19 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in the win over Eastern Kentucky. The two figure to oscillate taking snaps tonight.

Opportunistic Defenses: Both Pitt and Cincinnati used strong defensive efforts to pull away from their respective opponents. The Panther defense picked off two Virginia passes, bringing both back for touchdowns while the Bearcats intercepted Eastern Kentucky quarterback Josh Greco three times, enabling the offense to pull away for a 31-0 win.

Penalty Prone: The Bearcats will have to cut back on penalties tonight if they are to move to 2-0. Ten Cincinnati penalties resulted in 106 yards lost in last week’s win over Eastern Kentucky.

Big East Beasts: Despite a losing record in conference play last season, Pitt still boasts a .709 winning percentage in their last 31 Big East games. The Panthers have won 22 of those 31 contests dating back to a 33-7 win over Temple in 2001.

National Exposure: This is the first of four nationally televised games for the Panthers in 2006. Next week’s game against Michigan State will be an ABC/ESPN2 telecast and a pair of ESPN broadcasts will take place on Oct. 8 (when the Panthers visit Central Florida) and Nov. 16 when West Virginia comes to town.

Tough Tyler: Palko enjoyed what was easily his best opening day as a Panther, completing 77 percent of his passes (17 of 22) for 283 yards and three touchdowns. What’s more impressive, the start was his 24th consecutive since being named the starting quarterback back in the fall of 2004.