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FACTS & STATS: Site: Heinz Field (65,000) -- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Television: ABC. Home Record: UConn 1-1, Pitt 2-0. Away Record: UConn 2-0, Pitt 2-1. Neutral Record: UConn 0-0, Pitt 0-0. Conference Record: UConn 0-0, Pitt 1-0. Series Record: Connecticut leads, 3-2.

GAME NOTES: Big East Conference action ensues at Heinz Field on Saturday afternoon, as the Pittsburgh Panthers welcome the Connecticut Huskies to town.

UConn has won its last two outings to improve to 3-1 overall this season. The Huskies are a perfect 2-0 on the road, an obvious reason for confidence heading into this weekend's league opener. It has been two weeks since UConn has played a game, as it crushed FCS foe Rhode Island on September 26th as expected in a 52-10 final.

Unlike the Huskies, the Panthers do have a Big East game under their belt, as they beat Louisville on October 2nd, 35-10. That victory improved Pitt to 4-1, as the lone loss came against NC State of the ACC by seven points. The Panthers are 2-0 at home thus far.

UConn holds a 3-2 series edge over Pittsburgh, but the Panthers cruised to a 34-10 victory over the Huskies a year ago.

Connecticut is scoring 28.8 ppg this season while gaining 363.0 total ypg, numbers that were certainly aided by the blowout victory over an inferior Rhode Island squad last time out. The Huskies scored seven offensive touchdowns in that tilt, five of which came on the ground. They posted 488 total yards and averaged 4.7 ypc and 12.6 yards per pass completion. Cody Endres was 23-of-30 passing for 289 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, and Jordan Todman ran for three scores. Robbie Frey, who only carried the ball five times, had 69 yards and two touchdowns. Endres has been named the starter for this weekend's clash with Pittsburgh. Fellow quarterback Zach Frazer is nursing a sore knee that has him listed as questionable, but Endres may give the team its best chance to win. Endres has yet to throw an interception in 60 attempts, while four of Frazer's 43 passes have been picked off. There isn't a standout receiver on the roster, but both Todman and Andre Dixon can be considered standouts at the running back position as they have combined for 764 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Huskies put forth a dominant defensive effort against Rhode Island, limiting the Rams to five first downs and 148 total yards. The play against the run was most impressive, as UConn allowed a mere 29 rushing yards on 32 attempts. The Huskies had three takeaways, including a pair of interceptions, and held the Rams to 1-of-15 success on third down conversion attempts. Lawrence Wilson posted 12 total tackles for UConn in the blowout victory, including a pair of sacks. The Huskies are limiting opponents to 15.0 ppg this season and 232.2 total ypg, and while they don't get much national attention, they possess one of the best defensive units in college football. UConn has done a great job against the run, as opponents have only been able to run for 68.0 ypg and 2.2 ypc. Throwing the ball against UConn hasn't been much easier, so Pitt is in for a battle on Saturday.

Speaking of the Panthers, they are racking up 37.0 ppg while gaining 368.8 total ypg, a fairly modest yardage output for such a high-scoring team. There have been 24 offensive touchdowns scored by Pittsburgh already, with 12 coming by both the run and the pass. Bill Stull has been tremendous under center for the Panthers, has he has completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 988 yards and 11 touchdowns against one interception. Dorin Dickerson has recorded six touchdowns receptions, and the explosive Jonathan Baldwin has racked up 428 receiving yards and two scores on just 19 catches. As for the ground attack, Dion Lewis had run for 580 yards and seven touchdowns. Pitt has committed a total of three turnovers in five games, a sign of a disciplined team. Stull was sensational in the victory over Louisville last time out, completing 16- of-23 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions. Baldwin finished with four grabs for 105 yards and a score, while Lewis posted 87 rushing yards.

Opponents are scoring just 18.4 ppg against Pittsburgh, which is allowing 342.4 total ypg. The strength of the defense has clearly been its play against the run, as foes are only managing 110.2 rushing ypg at a clip of 2.8 ypc against the Panthers. Of the 12 touchdowns that the defense has surrendered to opposing offenses, just four have been of the rushing variety. Dom DeCicco leads Pitt with 37 tackles, and Mick Williams has posted 10 TFLs. As for Greg Romeus, he has six sacks to his credit. The fact that the Panthers have already recorded 23 sacks is highly impressive. Pittsburgh had six sacks against Louisville and limited the Cardinals to 305 total yards. Romeus had 3.5 sacks in that game, as Louisville simply couldn't block him.

Pittsburgh is solid on both sides of the ball and should be able to come out on top in front of the hometown faithful. Endres will be under constant pressure when he drops back to pass, and Stull will continue to play mistake- free football for the Panthers.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Pittsburgh 21, Connecticut 17