A closer look…

The Teams – Coming off a 38-20 win over Cincinnati for their first Big East… The Teams – Coming off a 38-20 win over Cincinnati for their first Big East Conference win of the season, the Pitt Panthers (2-4 overall, 1-1 Big East) welcome the South Florida Bulls (3-2, 1-0) to Heinz Field Saturday with kickoff set for 2 p.m.

The Coaches – It took six games, but head coach Dave Wannstedt finally broke through with a win against a Division I-A opponent last week. He is now 2-4 in his first season as coach of the Panthers. The Bulls are led by Jim Leavitt, who is in his ninth season, with an overall record of 58-35. He has one win and one loss against the Panthers.

Last Meeting – The Panthers and Bulls have a rare statistic when it comes to previous meetings. The teams have met just two times, with the home team losing both times. Last season the Panthers trounced the Bulls, 43-14, at South Florida behind three Greg Lee touchdown catches. The last time the Bulls visited Pittsburgh in 2001, they left with a 35-26 upset victory.

One and Only – Of the three new teams in the Big East Conference for the 2005 football season, South Florida is the only one to win their first-ever conference game. The Cincinnati Bearcats fell to 0-1 with the loss to the Panthers last week, while the Bulls upset nationally ranked Louisville, 45-14, in both teams’ inaugural conference game.

Finally – It took the Panthers six games, but they finally broke through with a 100-yard rushing performance. Coming back from an injury, freshman Rashad Jennings ran for 102 yards on 11 carries and scored a touchdown against the Bearcats.

Florida Pipeline – Many Panthers will find familiar faces across Heinz Field on Saturday when the Bulls come to town. Seventeen Panthers hail from Florida, and many of them played against South Florida players in high school.

Cummings Back Strong – After missing two games with knee problems, kicker Josh Cummings returned in style on Saturday, hitting all six of his place kicks for a total of 12 points. He made field goals of 27, 39 and 45 yards to go with all three extra-point kicks.

Not So Fast – Bulls sophomore wide receiver Johnny Peyton was all set to become the next great wide receiver in Pitt Panther history a few years ago. That is, until he decided to go to USF. Peyton, a Florida native, gave his oral commitment to Walt Harris and the Panthers only to change his mind and sign with the Bulls. He is currently the Bulls’ leading receiver with 11 catches for 118 yards and three touchdowns.

One of the Best – The Bulls’ rushing attack is one of the best in the Big East Conference. Andre Hall, the league’s second-leading rusher, paces the ground game. He is averaging five yards per carry with 519 yards on the season and six touchdowns on the year. The Bulls have four players on their roster with over 100 yards rushing on the season.