Pitt
1-1
Penn State
2-0
No. 13 Penn State Defeats Pitt
9/8/2018 11:45:00 PM | Football
PITTSBURGH (AP) Trace McSorley threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as No. 13 Penn State pulled away for a 51-6 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
KJ Hamler ran 32 yards for a score and hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass from McSorley as the Nittany Lions (2-0) bounced back from an opening week scare against Appalachian State to win the 99th meeting with the Panthers (1-1). McSorley finished 14 of 30 for 145 yards in the rain at soggy Heinz Field.
Penn State running back Miles Sanders ran for 118 yards, and DeAndre Thompson returned a punt 39 yards for a touchdown.
That was more than enough to beat Pitt in what could be the Nittany Lions' last trip to Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future. There are no plans for the rivalry to continue beyond next year's game at Beaver Stadium.
Pitt senior Qadree Ollison ran for 119 yards and a 13-yard score for Pitt, but went nowhere after halftime. Neither did the Panthers. Sophomore quarterback Kenny Pickett completed 9 of 18 passes for 55 yards. Pickett also ran for 30 yards. He was sacked four times and took a handful of jarring hits when he was able to scramble for positive yardage.
The blowout finish seemed unlikely late in the first half. Penn State led just 7-6 with a minute to go before McSorley found Hamler to put the Nittany Lions up 14-6 at the break.
It was all Penn State after that. McSorley scored on a 4-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter, Pickett was sacked for a safety minutes later, and when Thompson took a punt at the 39 and veered to his left to race untouched to the end zone, the Nittany Lions were firmly in control.
UP NEXT
Penn State: Nittany Lions host Kent State next Saturday.
Pitt: Opens ACC play next Saturday when Georgia Tech visits.
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Team Stats
PSU 7, UP 0
PSU - Hamler, KJ 32 yd run (Pinegar, Jake kick), 3 plays, 63 yards, TOP 1:09
PSU 7, UP 6
UP - Ollison, Q. 13 yd run (Christodoulou rushfailed), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:05
PSU 14, UP 6
PSU - Hamler, KJ 14 yd pass from McSorley, Trace (Pinegar, Jake kick) 3 plays, 35 yards, TOP 0:33
PSU 21, UP 6
PSU - McSorley, Trace 4 yd run (Pinegar, Jake kick), 8 plays, 40 yards, TOP 2:39
PSU 23, UP 6
PSU - TEAM -1 yd safety
PSU 30, UP 6
PSU - Thompkins, D. 39 yd punt return (Pinegar, Jake kick)
PSU 37, UP 6
PSU - Hippenhammer, M 11 yd pass from McSorley, Trace (Pinegar, Jake kick) 5 plays, 64 yards, TOP 2:29
PSU 44, UP 6
PSU - Allen, Mark 4 yd run (Pinegar, Jake kick), 12 plays, 61 yards, TOP 4:00
PSU 51, UP 6
PSU - Polk, Brandon 34 yd pass from Clifford, Sean (Pinegar, Jake kick) 1 plays, 34 yards, TOP 0:11
