University of Pittsburgh Athletics
2004 Pittsburgh Football Schedule Announced
3/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
2004 Pittsburgh Football Schedule Announced
3/16/2004
Aiming for a fifth consecutive bowl berth, the University of Pittsburgh football team announced its 2004 schedule and season-ticket packages today.
The Panthers, coming off their best four-year period since the early 1980s, will play an 11-game schedule this year. Pittsburgh will host six games at Heinz Field, including the classic West Virginia rivalry on Thanksgiving night (Nov. 25) and the renewal of the Nebraska series (Sept. 18).
Called "America's best season-ticket buy" by USA TODAY last year, Panthers football tickets will remain at the same affordable pricing as 2003. There are 20,000 season-ticket locations priced below $100. Season-ticket holders are guaranteed seats for games against West Virginia and Nebraska. Single-game tickets, if available, will not go on sale until late August.
"One of the most gratifying aspects of our 2003 football season was the tremendous fan support we received at Heinz Field," Pittsburgh athletic director Jeff Long said. "Our season-ticket packages are the best sports buy in the region and certainly one of the very best in all of college football. We are excited about welcoming record-setting crowds again this year to support our rising program."
Pittsburgh will play two nationally televised Thursday night games. The Sept. 30 encounter at new Big East foe Connecticut (9-3 in 2003) will be either an ESPN or ESPN 2 telecast. The aforementioned West Virginia game will be televised by ESPN. The Pittsburgh-West Virginia rivalry will be part of a Big East Thanksgiving doubleheader as Rutgers and Connecticut will play on ESPN 2 earlier in the day.
The '04 home opener will be Sept. 11 versus Ohio. As has become a Panthers tradition at Heinz Field, the home opener will be a night contest, kicking off at 7 p.m. Pittsburgh's six-game home slate will also include Big East foes Boston College (Oct. 16) and Rutgers (Oct. 23) as well a non-conference game with Furman (Sept. 25).
In addition to Connecticut, the Panthers' road slate includes the season opener at South Florida (Sept. 4), Temple (Oct. 9), Syracuse (Nov. 6) and Notre Dame (Nov. 13). The Notre Dame game will be an NBC national telecast.
Due to the anticipated addition of television games, most kickoff times will be announced at a later date.
University of Pittsburgh Panthers
2004 Football Schedule
Date Opponent Time
Sept. 4 at South Florida 7 p.m.
Sept. 11 Ohio 7 p.m.
Sept. 18 Nebraska
Sept. 25 Furman
Sept. 30 (Thurs.) at Connecticut* (ESPN or ESPN 2)
Oct. 9 at Temple*
Oct. 16 Boston College*
Oct. 23 Rutgers*
Nov. 6 at Syracuse*
Nov. 13 at Notre Dame (NBC) 2:30 p.m. (EST)
Nov. 25 (Thurs.) West Virginia* (ESPN)
All home games denoted in bold
*denotes Big East Conference game
Due to the anticipated addition of television games, certain kickoff times will be announced at a later date
2004 Pittsburgh Opponent Capsules
at South Florida (Sept. 4): South Florida is 24-9 (.727) over the last three seasons, including a 7-4 mark last year 'this will be the second meeting between the two schools' the Bulls won the initial encounter, 35-26, at Heinz Field on Sept. 8, 2001'currently a member of Conference USA, South Florida will join the Big East for the 2005 season 'the Bulls play their home games at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium' Pittsburgh last opened a season on the road in 1993, when John Majors opened his second Pitt tour with a 14-10 victory over Southern Mississippi.
Ohio (Sept. 11): Pittsburgh leads the all-time series 5-0, winning the five contests by a combined score of 197-33'in the last meeting the Panthers defeated Ohio, 27-14, at Heinz Field, on Aug. 31, 2002'the Bobcats were 2-10 last season'Pittsburgh is 21-1 all-time versus the Mid-American Conference.
Nebraska (Sept. 18): The 2004 encounter marks the first game between Pittsburgh and Nebraska in 46 years'the two schools last met on Nov. 15, 1958 in Lincoln, a 14-6 Nebraska win'the Cornhuskers last played in Pittsburgh on Oct. 12, 1957, a 34-0 Pitt victory'the Panthers lead the all-time series, 15-4-3'the Cornhuskers went 10-3 last year, including a 17-3 win over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl'Nebraska will be under the direction of first-year head coach Bill Callahan'the Cornhuskers will be the second Big 12 opponent ever to visit Heinz Field'Pittsburgh hosted Texas A&M in 2002'the Panthers are slated to play at Nebraska in 2005.
Furman (Sept. 25): Pittsburgh and Furman will meet in 2004 for the first time ever 'the NCAA Division I-AA Paladins went 6-5 last year...Furman has played Division I-A foes in four of the last five years'in 2003, it lost at Clemson, 28-17'in 1999 Furman routed North Carolina, 28-3, in Chapel Hill' the Panthers last played a I-AA foe in 2001 when they debuted Heinz Field with a 31-0 victory over East Tennessee State.
at Connecticut (Sept. 30): This will be the first-ever meeting between Pittsburgh and Connecticut'the Huskies begin their first season of Big East play after going 9-3 last year as an independent 'UConn is 13-3 over its last 16 games'in 2003 it defeated teams from the ACC (Wake Forest), Big Ten (Indiana) and Big East (Rutgers) to become one of only 12 teams nationally to beat schools from three different BCS conferences' the game will be played at the Huskies' Rentschler Field, which was debuted last year 'the game will be a Thursday night ESPN or ESPN 2 national telecast, the first of two for Pittsburgh this season.
at Temple (Oct. 9): Pittsburgh leads the all-time series 25-8-1 and has won five straight 'the Panthers won last year's contest, 30-16, at Philadelphia's new Lincoln Financial Field' this year's game will be also played at Lincoln Financial'the Owls went 1-11 last season.
Boston College (Oct. 16): The Eagles went 8-5 last season, including a 35-21 victory over Colorado State in the San Francisco Bowl'Boston College has made five consecutive bowl appearances, winning four' Pittsburgh has defeated the Eagles in three of the last four years 'the Panthers defeated the Eagles 24-13 at Alumni Stadium last year' Pittsburgh leads the all-time series, 15-13.
Rutgers (Oct. 23): Pittsburgh leads the all-time series, 18-3, and has won seven of the last eight meetings 'Rutgers finished 5-7 last year, a four-game improvement from 2002, tied for the fourth-best turnaround in Division I-A 'the Panthers defeated the Scarlet Knights, 42-32, in New Jersey last season.
at Syracuse (Nov. 6): Pittsburgh seeks its third consecutive victory over Syracuse, a feat the Panthers have not accomplished since winning 11 straight in the series from 1973-83'Syracuse holds a 29-27-3 advantage in the all-time series 'the Orangemen were 6-6 last season, including a 34-14 loss to Pittsburgh at Heinz Field' the Panthers routed the Orangemen, 48-24, in their last visit to the Carrier Dome on Oct. 5, 2002'the resounding victory snapped a nine-game winless streak (0-8-1) for Pittsburgh in the Dome' prior to the '02 encounter, the Panthers' last victory in the Carrier Dome was a 14-0 decision on Oct. 23, 1982.
at Notre Dame (Nov. 13): Pittsburgh is looking to break a three-game losing streak in the Notre Dame series 'the Irish prevailed 20-14 last year at Heinz Field' Pittsburgh's last series victory occurred on Nov. 13, 1999, when the Panthers won, 37-27, in the final game ever at Pitt Stadium'the Panthers last victory in South Bend occurred on Oct. 11, 1986, a 10-9 decision 'Pittsburgh has since lost six consecutive games in Notre Dame Stadium'the Irish lead the all-time series, 43-17-1' Notre Dame finished 5-7 last season 'the game will be a national NBC telecast.
West Virginia (Nov. 25): The 97th renewal of the Backyard Brawl will be an ESPN Thursday night telecast on Thanksgiving 'after winning the 2000 and '01 meetings, Pittsburgh has lost the last two games with the Mountaineers'West Virginia triumphed, 52-31, in Morgantown in 2003'the Mountaineers' last visit to Pittsburgh on Nov. 30, 2002 resulted in a Heinz Field record crowd of 66,731'the record attendance eclipsed the previous Heinz Field high of 64,704 for the AFC Championship game on Jan. 27, 2002 between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots'the 2002 game's attendance was also the second-largest home crowd in Panthers history, trailing only the Oct. 29, 1938 Fordham game at Pitt Stadium (68,918)...West Virginia finished 8-5 in 2003 and shared the Big East championship with Miami (6-1 league mark)'the Mountaineers advanced to the Gator Bowl, where it lost to Maryland, 41-7'Pittsburgh leads the all-time series, 58-35-3.
