Pitt
Bowling Green
Football Downs Bowling Green, 30-10
9/4/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 4, 1999
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Backup quarterback John Turman took over early in the second quarter to throw for a touchdown, run for another and set up two scores with his passing as Pittsburgh beat Bowling Green 30-10 Saturday.
Antonio Bryant made a 26-yard scoring catch and had key receptions on Pitt's first two scoring drives as the Panthers withstood an early 7-3 deficit to stop a seven-game losing streak that dated to last season.
Nick Goings, an Ohio State transfer whose only previous extensive action as a running back came for the Buckeyes against Pitt in 1996, had two scoring runs in Pittsburgh's 21st victory in its last 26 season openers.
Pitt improved to 13-0 against Mid-American Conference teams as Bowling Green squandered the early momentum by committing four turnovers in its seventh consecutive season-opening loss.
Turman, a junior college transfer who was redshirted last season and had never played in a varsity game, took over early in the second quarter of a scoreless tie after starter David Priestley went 1-of-5 for 6 yards.
Turman came on after Nick Cole returned a punt blocked by Mark Ponko to the Falcons 5, leading to Nick Lotz's 24-yard field goal.
Bowling Green took its only lead at 7-3 on a 22-yard Ricky Schneider-to-Robert Redd pass play at 7:16 of the second, but threatened only once more despite outgaining Pitt 335 yards to 220.
Bryant made catches of 20 and 7 yards following Hank Poteat's 40-yard punt return, leading to Goings' 1-yard TD run with 2:21 to play and a 10-7 lead that Pitt never lost.
Turman later found Bryant on a 31-yard pass play on Pittsburgh's first possession of the second half, setting up Turman's 1-yard run on a bootleg around left end. Turman barely nudged the ball across the goal line just before being knocked out of bounds along the sideline.
D.J. Dinkins' recovery of Kurt Gerling's fumble resulted in Turman's first career touchdown pass, a 26-yarder to Bryant on fourth-and-4 that made it 23-7 in the third quarter and effectively put the game out of reach.
Turman was 7-of-17 for 106 yards and one touchdown in the Panthers' first victory since a 35-0 decision over Akron, another Mid-American Conference school, in their fourth game last season.
Goings had 14 carries for 61 yards, all in the first three quarters, and Bryant had four catches for 84 yards.
Three of coach Walt Harris' nine victories at Pitt have come in season openers, against alma mater Pacific in 1997, Division I-AA Villanova last year and Bowling Green.
Pitt's competition improves significantly next week as the Panthers play at No. 2 Penn State, a 70-24 winner over Akron of the Mid-American Conference on Saturday.
