PITT
The Backyard Brawl lived up to its name last night as Pitt and West Virginia traded the lead down the stretch in the fourth quarter before the Panthers’ M.J. Devonshire picked off a tipped pass and returned it 56 yards for the game-winning touchdown in a 38-31 Pitt victory.
Devonshire’s interception came moments after running back Izzy Abanikanda’s dazzling 24-yard catch-and-run touchdown that tied the game and was the sixth lead change of the night.
New Panthers quarterback Kedon Slovis completed 16 of 24 passes for 308 yards and the Abanikanda touchdown, but was sacked five times.
Coach Pat Narduzzi loved the intensity of the Pitt fans.
Narduzzi says the game truly was a “brawl”.
The coach was unhappy with his defense, especially against the run.
The Panthers will have to turn around quickly from one big game and get ready for another, as Tennessee comes to Acrisure Stadium next Saturday for the second Johnny Majors Classic. The Panthers won last year’s Classic at Knoxville.
PENN STATE
The Penn State Nittany Lions started their season with a thriller over Purdue. Sean Clifford engineered an 80-yard fourth quarter drive, tossing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keyvone Lee with 57 seconds on the clock to lock down a 35-31 Penn State win. Clifford rebounded from throwing an interception that Purdue’s Chris Jefferson returned 72 yards for a touchdown that put the Boilermakers up, 31-28.
Clifford was 20 of 37 for 282 yards and four touchdowns. The Nittany Lions’ defense gave up 356 passing yards to Purdue’s Aidan O’Connell.
Penn State plays Ohio University next Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
PSAC
The PSAC kicked off its season with seven games last night, including East Stroudburg’s 31-16 loss to Pace University. Pace opened the game with a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Ramir Tann-Davis. East Stroudsburg will host IUP in the Crimson Hawks’ opener next Saturday.
Other games involving PSAC teams last night included Cal U clubbing Fairmont State, 35-15; Wheeling over Seton Hill, 25-11; Saint Anselm dropping Millersville, 28-10; Gannon pasting Charleston, 47-13; West Liberty trimming Clarion, 21-14; and Shepherd walloping Southern Connecticut State, 48-7.
Tonight, West Chester visits Bentley in its opener. All of the other PSAC teams except IUP start their seasons on Saturday.
