Manasseh Garner was playing a different position at a different school in 2010, so forgive him if he does not know exactly how to attack Iowa's defense. But the former Wisconsin defensive end and current Pitt receiver is in a familiar spot this week as his Panthers ready to welcome the Hawkeyes to Heinz Field.

"It seems long, but it really seems like it was just yesterday," Garner laughed.

He's not alone.

Garner and third-year Pitt head coach Paul Chryst will recognize what they see across the field Saturday, having become quite familiar with Iowa in their previous lives at Wisconsin, where Chryst was the offensive coordinator. Chryst went 3-3 when the Heartland Trophy was up for grabs against Iowa, with the effects of the game usually leaving marks on his players in one fashion or another. The Badgers averaged just 18 points in those six games, and they failed to crack even that much on four different occasions.

There are new faces now, sure, most notably with Phil Parker having taken over as Iowa's defensive coordinator in 2012, replacing Norm Parker (no relation), who died this past January. But many of the hallmarks of 16th-year head coach Kirk Ferentz's program remain the same.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Kirk Ferentz, and it's going to be a well-coached team," Chryst said. "He believes in physical offense, physical defense. It's always going to be a challenge. I'm excited for our guys to play. It's going to be a good atmosphere. It'll be a good physical game, and we've got to rise up and meet that challenge. It's a great opportunity for us. The amount of success that he's had for a long time -- there's a lot of programs across the country trying to do that."

Chryst and Garner have had the last laugh against Iowa since 2010, escaping Kinnick Stadium with a 31-30 win that helped propel their Wisconsin squad to the first of three straight Rose Bowls, two of which they were a part of.

Four years later, Garner remembers the feeling of his lone meeting with the Hawkeyes.

"Just the physical nature that they bring -- I feel like Big Ten teams, they pride themselves on being physical, physical, physical," Garner said. "Relentless, four quarters, smash mouth. So that's one of the things I really got to see in my two years up in the Big Ten. That was something at Wisconsin, something we took pride in, wear and tearing you, and beating you to the punch, making sure that you felt the beatdown through four quarters. I'm sure that's what Iowa's preaching to their players as well. We're a physical team, smash-mouth and we want to wear you down. And that's one of the things that I've seen and I've witnessed, I went through it when playing them at their house. They're definitely a physical team and I respect them for being the team that they are."

Saturday will be akin to the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object, as Pitt enters as the nation's No. 3 rushing team (1,086 yards), while Iowa ranks seventh against the run (65.67 yards per game). James Conner, the burly 250-pound sophomore, leads the nation with 544 rushing yards, and is the ideal antidote for a stout front-seven.

Chryst said he looks forward to facing teams like Iowa, knowing that every yard comes with a price. Asked if he sees Chryst putting a similar stamp on the Panthers, Garner couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh without question, yeah," Garner said. "That's one of the main things Coach emphasizes: Let it go, let it go. Don't hold anything back. Just be instinctive and be physical. You have nothing if you're not physical, especially in this type of offense. Your front men, if they're not laying a foundation, (if) they're not winning the fight at the line of scrimmage, you really have nothing."