BBVA Compass Bowl
Pitt vs. Southern Methodist University
Kickoff: Saturday 1 p.m. E.S.T.
Where: Legion Field (71,594) Birmingham, Ala.
Records: Pitt (6-6, 4-3 Big East), SMU (7-5, 5-3 C-USA)
Rankings: none
Coaches: Keith Patterson 0-0 (interim coach for bowl game) June Jones 23-28 (fourth season at SMU), 99-69 overall
Series History: (began in 1938). 2-2-1.
Last meeting: Jan. 1, 1983 (Cotton Bowl): SMU 7, Pitt 3
TV: ESPN. Mike Gleason (play-by-play), former Pitt quarterback John Congemi (color), Eamon McAnaney (sideline)
ESPN radio: Clay Matvick (play-by-play), Charles Arbuckle (color), Jessica Mendoza (sideline)
Pittsburgh radio: KDKA-FM. Sportsradio 93.7 and the Pitt IMG Sports Network. Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play), Pat Bostick (color), John Burton (sideline)
Internet: PittsburghPanthers.com
Notes: Pitt will be coached by defensive coordinator Keith Patterson due to the departure of Todd Graham to Arizona State. It marks the second year in a row the Panthers will be led in the BBVA Compass bowl game by an interim head coach. Last year, former Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt was forced to resign after the regular season and defensive coordinator Phil Bennett guided the Panthers to a 27-10 win over Kentucky. Coincidentally, Bennett was head coach at SMU from 2002-2007. Also, current SMU coach June Jones was close to being Arizona State's new head coach, but after that fell through, Arizona State lured Todd Graham from Pitt. In the two teams' last meeting, which was the 1983 Cotton Bowl, SMU featured the "Pony Express" backfield of Eric Dickerson and Craig James. Even though they were held to only 7 points, it was enough to beat a Panther team 7-3 led by Dan Marino.
Line: Pitt is a 3.5-point favorite
Interim Coach Keith Patterson's thoughts on his new job as defensive coordinator at Arkansas State under their head coach Gus Malzahn: I thought for my situation, that was the best thing to do, there's a comfort level about things to discuss with Gus [Malzahn], I believe in Gus' spread offense.
His thoughts on the bowl game: We're looking to represent [The Big East Conference] well on Saturday.
The progression of Pitt's defense this year: We were able to evaluate our personnel during the season and mix in a little with what people already knew. As the season went on, our defense improved.
for further information: Pitt web site
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