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FACTS & STATS: Site: High Point Solutions Stadium (52,454) -- Piscataway, New Jersey. Television: ESPNU. Home Record: Pitt 3-1, Rutgers 2-0. Away Record: Pitt 0-1, Rutgers 1-1. Neutral Record: Pitt 0-0, Rutgers 0-0. Conference Record: Pitt 1-0, Rutgers 1-0. Series Record: Pittsburgh leads, 21-7.

GAME NOTES: Big East action will take place this weekend at High Point Solution Stadium in Piscataway, when the Rutgers Scarlet Knights host the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Pittsburgh was able to snap a two-game losing skid with a convincing 44-17 victory over then nationally-ranked South Florida. It was the third win on the year for the Panthers and the team's first league victory.

The Scarlet Knights also began league play with a victory, but their win was not as easy, needing double-overtime to slip past Syracuse 19-16. It was the second win in a row for the Scarlet Knights, who are 2-0 at home this year.

This series has been dominated by the Panthers, who have won 21 of the 28 matchups. However, four of those victories for Rutgers occurred from 2005 to 2008. Pitt was able to snap the slide with back-to-back wins, defeating the Scarlet Knights 24-17 in 2009, and 41-21 last season.

The Panthers have relied heavily on their talented tailback, Ray Graham. who leads the charge on the ground, rumbling for 734 yards and eight touchdowns.

Graham's success has definitely been helpful, especially since quarterback Tino Sunseri continues to perform at a pedestrian level. Through five games, the veteran gunslinger has thrown for just 1,039 yards and five touchdowns against four interceptions.

A big reason for Sunseri's struggles is because he does not have a go-to receiver. In fact, one of the top receivers has been Graham, who is leading the team with 25 receptions.

Clearly Graham has done the majority of damage for the offense, and that was certainly the case in the team's win over South Florida, as the running back churned out 226 yards and found the end zone twice.

Sunseri also scored on the ground for Pitt, and had a strong showing through the air as well, finishing with 216 yards and one touchdown. It was a balanced attack put forth by Pitt, which coach Todd Graham hopes will continue in this contest.

The play of the offense bailed out the defensive unit, which clearly had trouble stopping South Florida. The defense was able to force two turnovers, which kept the Bulls off the field for long periods of time, but the Panthers still surrendered 425 total yards.

South Florida gashed Pitt for 202 rushing yards on 5.2 yards per attempt. Pitt's inability to stop the run against South Florida was shocking since the Panthers are holding the opposition to just 124.8 ypg.

Pitt has struggled in terms of pass defense, allowing nearly 300.0 ypg. If that continues the Panthers will find it hard to remain in the win column.

It wasn't pretty, but the Scarlet Knights were able to grab a slim victory over Syracuse this past weekend. The lone touchdown came from Gary Nova, who finished with 122 yards passing. Nova took over for Chas Dodd, who completed just 14-of-31 passes for only 166 yards. Mohamed Sanu pulled in that touchdown pass and finished with 65 yards on seven receptions.

Sanu has been the top option regardless who is under center and comes into this game with 43 receptions, 428 yards and five scores. Dodd will be the starter once again Saturday, but he is on a short leash, especially now that Nova has proven he can lead this offense.

However, the passing attack will not hit its true level of success until the ground game finds some of its own. Rutgers is posting just 75.5 ypg on a meager 2.1 yards per attempt. Even though the Scarlet Knights defeated Syracuse, the rushing attack did little to help, as the team finished with just five yards on 38 carries.

The reason for the victory was largely due to the defense, which forced Syracuse into five turnovers, one of which was a fumble to end the game. Rutgers held the Orange to under 300 total yards and did an excellent job against the pass, as the unit finished with three interceptions, while limiting Syracuse to just 169 yards.

This defense has relied heavily on forcing the opposition into mistakes and so far the Scarlet Knights have collected 18 takeaways in four games, which places the team on top of the national rankings in turnover margin (+2.75).

However, Rutgers has done more than just force turnovers, as the Scarlet Knights have also stymied opposing rushing attacks to the tune of 91.5 ypg. Rutgers' ability to stop the run will be crucial this weekend, because Graham is a tough back to deal with for four quarters.

The defense for Rutgers is obviously a legitimate force, but the offense needs to perform better. Expect to see the first cracks appear in that defense on Saturday. Pitt has a veteran quarterback and a tough ground game and the combination of Sunseri and Graham should be enough for Pitt to remain in the win column.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Pittsburgh 24, Rutgers 17