A closer look…

The Teams – The Pitt Panthers (1-4 Overall, 0-1 Big East) welcome their new… The Teams – The Pitt Panthers (1-4 Overall, 0-1 Big East) welcome their new conference foe this weekend when the Cincinnati Bearcats (2-2, 0-0) come to town for their first ever Big East game. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Saturday.

The Coaches – Still in search of his first win against a Division I-A opponent, Dave Wannstedt leads the Panthers. Second-year coach Mark Antonio, who got the Bearcats into a bowl last season, is 9-7 during his time at Cincinnati’s helm.

Last Meeting – The last time the Panthers and Bearcats met, most Pitt students weren’t even born. The Panthers beat up on the Bearcats, 38-7, back in 1981 and lead the all-time series, 4-0.

River Rivalry – Saturday’s game is being dubbed the “River City Rivalry,” complete with a trophy that will be presented to the winning team each year.

Familiar Territory – The last time the Panthers started the season 1-4, they finished the season by winning a bowl game. In 2001, the Panthers won five of their last six games before beating North Carolina State in the Tangerine Bowl.

Career Day – Last week against Rutgers, quarterback Tyler Palko set career highs for passing completions (35) and attempts (58) and also reached the 300-yard mark for the sixth time in his career.

Moving Up – Both Palko and wide receiver Greg Lee continue to climb the all-time passing and receiving charts on their way to a permanent place in Panther history. Palko is currently seventh among Panther passers with 4,271 yards. Barring injury, Palko should finish the season no worse than fifth, where David Priestly has 4,533 yards. Lee, who is already enjoying another spectacular year, is seventh on the receiving list with 1,989 yards. Lee is within 700 receiving yards of third place and, with a fourth year of eligibility remaining, should have a very good shot at becoming the Panthers’ all-time leading receiver.

Staying Consistent – The Bearcats hope that sophomore running back Bradley Glatthaar continues his torrid scoring. Glatthaar has scored at least one touchdown in each of the Bearcats’ first four games.

Interesting Entrance – Plans have been made so that the Bearcats will arrive at Heinz Field on Friday for their pre-game walkthrough by riverboat. The team will first take a bus into Pennsylvania and then finish the final stretch of the trip by riverboat to commemorate the rivalry.