Or in this case, the near future, as Penn State and Pittsburgh will face off on a football field on Saturday at Heinz Field for the first time in 16 years. The last time they took the field in 2000, Pitt came out with a 12-0 victory, and the Panthers were favored by a touchdown in Saturday’s game.
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(This is the first installment of a now slated four-game series.) Narduzzi’s job isn’t in remote danger, but talking so exuberantly about playing Penn State and then not winning would be a bad look. The Panthers held on for a 42-39 victory. With a mostly inexperienced wide receiver corps, Pitt is going to have to rely on their running game heavily until either Quadree Henderson, Dontez Ford or Jester Weah emerge as a go-to target. Pitt’s 42 points set a school record for the series. George Aston went over from the 1 on the 10th play of the drive and Pitt had the early lead.
It’s been 16 years since Pitt and Penn State played the last game of a rivalry series that began in 1893.
Pitt junior running back James Conner’s return from a bout with cancer included a pair of touchdowns against Villanova but also a pedestrian 3.1 yards per carry, something Narduzzi attributed to the 2014 ACC Player of the Year too often searching for a big play when getting a handful of yards at a time will do. DeAndre Hopkins made a delicate, 39-yard catch to set up Barkley’s fourth touchdown, a plunge from the 1-yard line.
The history of the 123-year-old rivalry between Pittsburgh and Penn State is undeniable.
Ms. Hershman, a Pitt softball player, has been enjoying the lead-up to the game. The Panthers were led by Conner, who totaled 116 yards on 21 carries. He finished the 2014 season, with 1,765 rushing yards and a staggering 26 rushing touchdowns.
On the second play after the recovery, Peterman found Henderson to the right for a 7-yard touchdown, giving Pitt its second score in a 47-second span. The Pitt defense came up big on the next drive as they forced a Saquon Barkley fumble. Last season, he averaged 107.6 yards rushing per game. The Panthers ran for 359 yards and held onto the ball for more than 35 minutes. The Penn State defense stuffed two running plays to start the possession, but new Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Canada went back to the shovel pass and Conner waltzed in for an easy, and eventual game-sealing 12-yard score on third-and-goal.
Barkley’s fifth touchdown of the day followed by a two-point conversion kept things close with 5:00 minutes left to play but the McSorley interception sealed the win for the Panthers.
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