Pitt jumps into the fire at Utah while Rutgers seek opening cake-walk against Norfolk State

Opening day for Big East football’s 2010 season will feature the excitement of the good-vs-good and the intrigue of the good-vs-bad. The Pitt Panthers travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, to face off with the Utah Utes in an opening-day game between national powerhouses. This matchup between two top-25 teams should breed the excitement of a postseason playoff with the winner embarking on a season-long trek into the BCS machination process. This is the second meeting between the two schools. The last time they met was in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl won by Utah 35-7. Pitt has not played any other Mountain West Conference team in this decade. The Utes have faced Louisville (twice) and USF in the past few years, coming away with the victory each time. The Utes will put a 17-game home winning streak on the line against a Panther team that’s eyeing a national title run.

Meanwhile, Rutgers puts out the welcome mat for the Norfolk State Spartans in a home opener at Piscataway, NJ. From the outside, this Big East/MEAC contest looks like a cake-walk for the Scarlet Knights. The two teams are meeting for the second time in their histories. The last meeting was in 2007, with Rutgers winning in a 59-0 blowout. In fact, Rutgers is 6-0 against the MEAC overall. In their last 3 contests against MEAC opponents, the Scarlet Knights have outscored them by a combined score of 142-7.

Prognoses

In the betting world, Rutgers is favored by a gazillion over Norfolk State. That is if you can find someone to book the bet. Pitt/Utah is more readily booked with the Utes a 2½ point favorite over the Panthers.

ESPN experts appear to be favoring Utah over Pitt. CBSSports.com sees a Pitt victory in a wild game. CollegeFootballNews.com predicts a Utah win by 27-21 and Rutgers slamming Norfolk State 45-0.

Pre-Game Summaries for September 2, 2010

Note: ppg = points per game by offense, pa = points against by defense

Pittsburgh vs Utah at Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah

2009 Record: Pitt (10-3, 5-2), Utah (10-3, 6-2)

Preseason Rank: Pitt #15 (AP), Utah #24 (USA Today)

Preseason Rank (Conference): Pitt #1 in Big East, Utah #2 in Mountain West Conference

Ranked Opponents: Pitt 1, Utah 1 (each other)

Returning Starters: Pitt 5 on offense, 6 on defense; Utah 8 on offense, 4 on defense

Offense Rank (2009): Pitt ranked 52 nd , averaging 32.1 ppg; Utah ranked 12 th ,averaging 29.8 ppg

Defense Rank (2009): Pitt ranked 23 rd, averaging 19.8 pa; Utah ranked 19 th, averaged 20.2 pa

Television: VERSUS (at 8:30pm ET)

Rutgers vs Norfolk State at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, NJ

2009 Record: Rutgers (9-4, 3-4), Norfolk State (7-4, 5-3)

Preseason Rank: Rutgers is unranked, Norfolk State is unranked

Preseason Rank (Conference): Rutgers #5 in Big East, Norfolk State #3 in MEAC

Ranked Opponents: Not yet

Returning Starters: Rutgers 6 on offense, 6 on defense; Norfolk State 7 on offense, 6 on defense

Offense Rank (2009): Rutgers ranked 97 th (FBS), averaging 28.8 ppg; Norfolk State ranked 52 nd (FCS), averaging 26.6 ppg

Defense Rank (2009): Rutgers ranked 18 th (FBS) averaging 17.9 pa; Norfolk State ranked 6 th (FCS), averaging 19.1 pa

Television: ESPN3.com (at 7:30pm ET)

Fan-Tactics

The Pitt-Utah game is sold out, so at least 45,017 fans will be in attendance. The Panthers will be sending a couple hundred fans to the game. They’ll be gathering at a tent next to the Eccles Tennis Center on the University of Utah campus for their pregame festivity. Meanwhile on the Pitt campus, the Panthers are throwing a Student Watch Party for this game starting at 8pm at the Petersen Events Center. The University of Utah Crimson Club will host a pre-game meal for their members at Rice-Eccles Stadium on game day. The school’s 6,000-member student fan club (called the MUSS) will also host a pregame tailgate party in the stadium parking lot where the Utah Spirit Team will be giving away free T-shirts to the crowd. The Utes have installed two new large signs in the stadium’s south end zone which commemorate their 2005 and 2009 bowl victories. They plan to hold a formal ceremony recognizing these signs with a highlight video of their bowl wins at this Thursday’s game. Their 2005 Fiesta bowl victory was a 35-7 thrashing of Pitt. And so the stage will be set.

The fan festivities in Piscataway, NJ will be less intense, which is to be expected, prior to the Rutgers-Norfolk State contest. The 52,454 seat stadium is not sold out. Norfolk State will send a few busloads of fans to the game. And with the game not being shown on any major TV broadcast, it has all the trappings for a Scarlet Knights’ blowout. Rutger fans will set up for their traditional Scarlet Walk and hold a pregame party at Scarlet Square. Fans will also be allowed to tailgate at Johnson Park, adjacent to the stadium.

> Find a great selection of Pitt Panthers merchandise and more online along with Big East football Scores from Big East Fans partner sites.

ALL FANS SEND US YOUR PRE-GAME AND POST-GAME PARTY PICS! (CLEAN ONES ONLY) We’ll post the best ones on our post-game report. We’re looking for the best and wackiest group photos and the best sign/shirt/button slogans. You can email your pics to BigEastFans@SportsAndAthletics.com .

THE FANS’ PREDICTIONS – Pitt fan blogs for Pitt-Utah are centering around a 20-17 final in favor of the Panthers. Ute fans are predicting around a 34-28 win for their guys. Scarlet Knight fan blogs for Rutgers-Norfolk State for the most part have the Scarlet Knights winning by at least 25 points. Spartan blogs are predicting a 17-9 upset win for their team. We shall see.

For future Big East games, you can email your score predictions and game comments to BigEastFans@SportsAndAthletics.com . We’ll post some of your predictions in this section of our pre-game reports.

Fan-Addicts

Last week, nearly 2,500 new University of Pittsburgh students (class of 2014) formed the largest torch-flashlight-lit-logo image ever formed by people. A blue and white PITT image broke the record previously held by Full Sail University using 528 people. The image was set up at the Petersen Events Center on the Pitt campus and is still to be officially confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records. There were 2,496 Pitt students using blue and white flashlights during a first-year student orientation assembly at the center. The idea was the brainchild of the Dean of Students, Kathy Humphrey, who wanted “…the Class of 2014 to do something really special that would create a sense of unity and Pitt pride…” Pittsburgh Provost Patty Beeson, a university employee for 27 years, added, “This is the best start to a new academic school year that I have ever seen.”

By Don Perry
BigEast-Fans.com Staff Writer