James Conner walked into the media room after Pitt’s 42-39 win over Penn State on Saturday, his uniform still on and his entire offensive line behind him.
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After his session, former Pitt coach Walt Harris – the last Pitt coach to beat Penn State – popped in and assembled a five-word sentence that Narduzzi didn’t quite manage himself.
Penn State wouldn’t lie down but Pittsburgh wouldn’t be denied.
The Panthers’ play-calling was dynamic, effective and almost unrecognizable from last week.
The dislike still lives on with former Pitt star Adam Walker, who accuses Penn State of stealing a game after he scored a touchdown in 1989.
Near the end of a day on which he rushed for 117 yards and one touchdown, Conner fumbled at his own 11-yard-line as Pitt was working the clock and protecting a seven-point lead. “I’m just happy that we took it home today”. After releasing the ball, McSorley anxious that it was overthrown. “We have to put it in a position where our guy can make a play or get another down”.
The pre-game atmosphere outside Heinz Field was imbued with the rivalry while appearing mostly peaceful.
Few players provide the kind of energy that Quadree Henderson does for Pitt.
Aston? He scored two first-half touchdowns on short runs and did his share of blocking for Conner and Pitt’s other backs.
On Saturday, he nearly did it again, and at the flawless time.
Lewis’ interception on the last-chance scoring attempt by Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley capped a second half that saw Penn State erase a 28-14 deficit and have a late opportunity to flip the script before Lewis ruined that possibility.
“His last four games, he’s taken either to the house or inside the 10 four times”, Narduzzi said.
Henderson said he’s been risky in the open field for his “entire life”. “We just wanted to run downhill and get into a rhythm, and that’s what we did today”. “I was mad at myself, though”.
“I’ve got to put it behind me”, he said, “but I’ll never forget it”.
And if they would’ve beaten them, Franklin could’ve spent the next year pushing his brand of Pitt-related reasoning.
Pitt will have to show more to continue to win as more tape of their run-heavy approach gets around.
Berks report: Freshman guard Michal Menet (Exeter) and freshman linebacker Jan Johnson (Gov. Mifflin) were on the Penn State travel roster, but they did not play.
While his teammates had clear running lanes off the sweeps, Conner found success up the middle, rushing for 81 yards on 10 carries to pace Pittsburgh in the first half. “None of this would have been possible without the job by our offensive linemen”. “We just had a little bit more fire under our ass this week in practice”. “It just comes down to crunch time, us battling back so far and to see the game slip away from me right there is the hardest part”.
Hamilton, who had a game-high eight catches for 82 yards, said after the game that the play would haunt him “forever”.
In the fourth quarter, Brown stripped Conner for a fumble, recovered by Reid, and the defense forced a punt to give the Penn State offense the ball back down by three with 3:56 left. Pitt took over and ran out the clock from there.
“Jason played Mike linebacker, and I had played Mike linebacker”, Wartman-White said. “The only thing I had to keep in mind was to stay in bounds”.
“As sooon as I caught that ball, the crowd started erupting”. “I know I’m supposed to let it go and move on to the next one”.
For awhile, it looked like Pitt was going to cruise to a win over Penn State.
Noteworthy: Penn State lost defensive tackle Kevin Givens, linebacker Brandon Bell and cornerback Grant Haley to injuries during the game.
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Running backs: That was a unusual game from Saquon Barkley, who really got about one-third of his 90 rushing yards on one carry. “But on that route, we ran the wrong route, and then we didn’t go fight to break up the interception”. “We still had a lot of football left to play, so to turn the ball over in that situation was hard”. “We approached it as another team, and we’re going to approach it the same way vs. Temple, the same way vs. MI”.
