PITTSBURGH PANTHERS
at
Iowa Hawkeyes

GAMEDAY CENTRAL

Kinnick Stadium (70,585/FieldTurf)
Iowa City, Iowa

Television
ESPN2/ESPN3.com — Beth Mowins and Mike Bellotti

Pittsburgh Radio
KDKA-FM 93.7 (flagship)
Sirius 117

THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the fifth meeting between Pittsburgh and Iowa in a series that dates to Oct. 3, 1931 (a 20-0 Panther win) … The schools played in 1951 and 1952 and didn’t renew acquaintances until 2008, when the Panthers scored a 21-20 win at Heinz Field … Pitt is 3-1 in the series, with Iowa’s lone win coming in 1951 (34-17 in Iowa City) … The 2008 matchup featured three current NFL running backs as Pittsburgh’s LeSean McCoy and LaRod Stephens-Howling combined for 114 yards and a touchdown, while Iowa’s Shonn Greene went for 147 yards and a TD.

PITTSBURGH (2-0)
Head Coach
Todd Graham (East Central ’87)
2-0, first season at Pittsburgh
45-23, fifth season as collegiate head coach


NOTES
Pittsburgh takes a 2-0 record into its first road game of the season after the Panthers scored a 35-29 win against Maine at Heinz Field … Pittsburgh opened the 2011 season with a 35-16 win against Buffalo … RB Ray Graham enters Saturday’s game as the nation’s leading rusher … Graham is averaging 161.0 yards per game and his six rushing touchdowns tie Temple’s Bernard Pierce for the national lead … Graham rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns in the opener against Buffalo and followed with a 121-yard, three-TD effort against Maine … QB Tino Sunseri has completed 37 of 63 passes for 403 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions this year … WR Mike Shanahan has nine receptions for 134 yards and a TD this year … LB K’Waun Williams has a team-high 15 tackles, while LB Max Gruder has 13 … DE Brandon Lindsey — the BIG EAST sacks leader last season — has registered two sacks in 2011 … DT Chas Alecxih has the Panthers’ only interception … K Kevin Harper has hit just 2 of 5 field goal attempts … P Matt Yoklic has been solid with an average of 42.7 yards per punt … Ronald Jones has averaged 10.8 yards on punt returns, good for second in the BIG EAST.

IOWA (1-1)
Head Coach
Kirk Ferentz (Connecticut ’78)
90-61, 13th season at Iowa
102-82, 16th season as collegiate head coach



NOTES
Iowa comes into Saturday’s game on the heels of a 44-41 triple-overtime setback to Iowa State Saturday in Ames, Iowa … The Hawkeyes opened the season with a 34-7 win against Tennessee Tech … Iowa’s offensive line has allowed just one sack through two games … RB Marcus Coker has rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns on 46 carries through two games … QB James Vandenberg has thrown for 426 yards and four touchdowns without an interception … WR Marvin McNutt — an All-Big Ten Second Team pick last year, has averaged 100.5 receiving yards per game …McNutt has 10 catches for 201 yards and two TDs … LB Chris Kirksey has a team-high 23 tackles … Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was a captain of the 1977 football team at Connecticut and was a graduate assistant at Pittsburgh in 1980 under coach Jackie Sherrill.