Pitt
Buffalo
Pitt Defeats Buffalo 54-27 On The Road
9/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 12, 2009
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PITTSBURGH -
Pitt senior tight end Dorin Dickerson had a career day for the Panthers as he caught three first-half touchdown passes and helped lead the Pitt offense to a 54-27 win on the road against Buffalo.
Pitt started the scoring early, taking the ball 80 yards on the first drive. After a balanced attack both on the ground and through the air to help lead the charge, senior quarterback Bill Stull connected with Dickerson on the left side for a 10-yard touchdown. It was the second touchdown of the year for Dickerson, who also scored during Pitt's opening-day win against Youngstown State last week. But Dickerson's day didn't even come close to ending there.
On the ensuing kickoff, redshirt freshman Manny Williams forced a fumble. Then, one play later, Stull again connected with Dickerson for a 23-yard touchdown to give Pitt the early 14-0 lead.
After a 24-yard touchdown pass from Buffalo quarterback Zach Maynard to receiver Jesse Rack put the Bulls on the board, Pitt's offense responded immediately. Freshman tailback Dion Lewis, who had three total touchdowns during last week's contest, slashed through the defense for an 8-yard touchdown to bring the score to 20-7.
Then, it was time for Dickerson once again.
Facing third down on the 9-yard line, Stull dropped back and lobbed a pass in Dickerson's direction to the right side of the end zone. Dickerson came down with his third touchdown of the half, and Pitt led 27-7.
After giving up another Buffalo touchdown, Stull faked a handoff and bootlegged right, rushing three yards for the score.
That was the thing that made the Panther offense tough to stop. On the rushing side, Lewis finished the game with 24 rushes, 190 yards and two touchdowns for an average of 7.9 yards per carry. He also caught six passes for 72 yards. On the passing side, Stull finished the game 21-of-30 for 198 yards and three scores.
The defense had its time in the spotlight as well. With just more than eight minutes to go in the third quarter, Pitt linebacker Greg Williams returned a Maynard fumble 50 yards for a touchdown.
With 5:04 remaining in the fourth quarter, Buffalo faced a fourth-and-10 on Pitt's 20-yard line. Buffalo lined up with an empty backfield, spreading the Pitt defense out, but the Panthers' defense held.
Lewis took a handoff 85 yards for the score during Pitt's ensuing drive, and Elijah Fields intercepted Maynard when Buffalo took over again. Pitt Freshman tailback Ray Graham then tacked on his first career touchdown to round out the scoring.
Pitt will face Navy at Heinz Field next Saturday at 6 p.m. For ticket information, please contact the Panthers Ticket Office at 1-800-643-PITT.
