Match scheduled
03-09-2010 from 06:30 until 09:30
Week 1 - NCAA College Football
The college football season in the state of Utah has inwards. There are stunning match-ups from teams in the state, including BYU vs. Washington, Utah State @ Oklahoma, and Weber State heading east to take on Boston College. But the game that kicks it all off is one of the best match-ups in all of college football the opening weekend, Pittsburgh vs. Utah.
The #24 Utah Utes come into the game with a 17-game home winning streak and a ninth consecutive bowl win. Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham said in his Monday presser, "We had a very productive off-season, but we've been pointing to this Pittsburgh game for a lot of months now."
The Utah defensive line will have to be the stars in the game, both in the run and screen game with Lewis. In 2008 against Oregon State, the 4th quarter screen passes with Jacquizz Rogers almost won the game for the Beavers. Lewis will definitely be used in the short passing game to get him out in the open to make players miss, and also to give first time starting quarterback Tino Sunseri some chances to gain some confidence.
Pitt Head Coach Dave Wannstedt said, "The focus has really been on them. Our guys understand that when you play on national TV against a ranked team, your focus has to be there, you have to have a sense of urgency. We really haven't talked about anything, to be honest with you, other than Utah."
He opened his presser by saying, "We are excited about this week. The game won't get here soon enough. Any time I think it's the opening game, it always carries a lot of end-of-camp, beginning-of-season attitude and there's that dead time in between when you're practicing and it's almost like a bowl game mentality."
On the defensive side, everything starts with the line. If Sealver Siliga and company can control the line of scrimmage, contain Dion Lewis, and get some hurries and hits on Tino Sunseri without many blitzes, Utah will be in good shape. It will be interesting to watch the safety play. Utah has been so solid at safety for such a long time. Justin Taplin-Ross and Brian Blechen can really play, but they are completely unproven when the bright lights are on.
Some things to think about:
The Utes are 0-5 against AP ranked teams in season openers.
Utah is 7-0 against the Big East Conference. (4-0 vs. Louisville, 1-0 vs. PITT, 1-0 vs. South Florida, 1-0 vs. West Virginia)
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