THE BASICS
No. 20/21 Rhode Island (2-1, FCS) at No. 24 Pitt (2-1, FBS)
Kickoff: Saturday, Sept. 24, 12:03 p.m. EST
Live Stats | Audio: Varsity Network | TV/Video: ACC Network/ESPN+ | Game Notes

RHODE ISLAND VS. PITT - SERIES NOTES

• Saturday's game will be the first between Rhode Island and Pitt.
• Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi is a Rhode Island alumnus and played for the Rams from 1987-89 after transferring from Youngstown State, where he began his career playing for his father, Bill.
• Narduzzi also coached at Rhode Island for seven seasons as a member of Floyd Keith's staff.
• Narduzzi coached the linebackers from 1993-97 before being promoted to defensive coordinator, a position he held for two seasons.
• Pitt Special Teams Coordinator and Running Backs Coach Andre Powell coached with Narduzzi at Rhode Island from 1993-94. Powell coached the running backs at URI.
• While URI and Pitt are playing for the first time in football, the schools have met head-to-head in 28 other sporting events, with women's volleyball being the most frequent (13 times).
• The school's also have met seven times in men's basketball, four times in baseball, twice in softball, and once each in women's basketball and women's soccer.
• The most recent event between the schools was a 1-1 draw in women's soccer on Sept. 6, 2019.

• Saturday's game can be watched on the ACC Network. The team of Wes Durham (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (color) and Taylor Davis (sideline) will have the call.
• The video stream of Saturday's game will be on ESPN+.
• The audio stream will be exclusively on the Varsity Network app. Stone Freeman will handle the play-by-play and Terry Lynch will be the color analyst.

• While Rhode Island is playing Pitt for the first time this weekend, the URI football program has several historical connections with the city of Pittsburgh.
• The Pittsburgh Steelers held training camp on the Rhode Island campus in 1965, and then again for one week in 1966.
• Former Rhode Island defensive end Steve Furness won four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers as part of the famed Steel Curtain defense from 1972-80.
• Furness was drafted in the fifth round of the 1972 NFL draft. Taken with the 113th overall pick, he remains the highest NFL draft pick in Rhode Island football history.
• URI running back Rich Moser played special teams with the Steelers, winning two Super Bowl rings (1978, 1979). He set a Super Bowl record with five special teams tackles in Super Bowl XIV.
• Rhody defensive back Kevin Smith played one season with the Steelers in 1991.

RHODE ISLAND FACING A RANKED FBS PROGRAM FOR THE FIRST TIME

• With Pitt landing at No. 24 in the latest FBS poll, Rhode Island will be playing its first game ever against a ranked FBS opponent.
• In 2008, Rhody played a Boston College and lost 42-0. BC was unranked at the time of the matchup, but the Eagles went on to be ranked as high as No. 18 that season
• Last year, the Rams defeated Massachusetts 35-22 for the program's second win against a bowl level school.
• URI is 2-17 all time against FBS opponents.
• Rhody's other victory against an FBS team was against Connecticut in 2000, the first of two seasons the Huskies spent as an independent program before becoming a full-fledged Division I-A program.