PITTSBURGH, Pa. — For the second straight week Pitt plays a nationally-ranked opponent, as UCF comes to Heinz Field for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday.(Photo of Pitt’s Taysir Mack, who had a big game in the loss to Penn State last week. Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)
The Knights (3-0) are ranked No. 15 in one poll and No. 16 in another and are Pitt’s second straight ranked opponent after the Panthers (1-2) fell at Penn State, 17-10, last week. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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Coming off a 45-27 rout of Stanford, UCF travels to Pittsburgh boasting a 27-game regular-season winning streak. The Knights have not lost during the regular season since Nov. 26, 2016 (48-31 at USF).
Pitt and UCF have split two prior meetings. The Knights triumphed last year, 45-14, while the Panthers claimed a 52-7 win in 2006. Both of those contests took place in Orlando. The 2019 encounter marks the first played in Pittsburgh.
Pitt last defeated a ranked opponent at Heinz Field on Nov. 24, 2017, a 24-14 victory over No. 2 Miami, which entered the game on a 15-game winning streak.
Junior quarterback Kenny Pickett was prolific against Penn State’s highly regarded defense, throwing for 372 yards on 35-of-51 passing. It was his second consecutive 300-yard passing game (321 vs. Ohio, Sept. 7).
In his last two games, Pickett has completed 69% of his passes (61 of 88) for 693 yards with one touchdown and zero interceptions.
Despite losing two defensive line starters to injury (end Rashad Weaver and tackle Keyshon Camp), the Panthers have displayed a potent pass rush, collecting 12 sacks thus far.
Sophomore defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman has 4.5 sacks on the season and ranks fifth nationally with an average of 1.5 sacks per game.
SERIES NOTES
This is the third meeting between Pitt and UCF in a series that dates back to 2006…the 2019 encounter marks the first that will be played in Pittsburgh…both prior games took place in Orlando…UCF rolled to a 45-14 win in the Knights’ Spectrum Stadium on Sept. 29, 2018…the initial contest took place on Oct. 13, 2006, a 52-7 Pitt win in Florida Citrus Bowl stadium…Dave Wannstedt was head coach of the Panthers for that 2006 game, while George O’Leary led UCF…current Pitt tight ends coach Tim Salem was on O’Leary’s staff that season as offensive coordinator…the Panthers are 77-47-5 all-time against current members of the AAC.
