Defense carries Pitt to victory
PITTSBURGH — Patrick Jones II wants No. 21 Pittsburgh’s defense to be the best in the country. Not just in points allowed. Not just in yards allowed. Not just in sacks or turnovers. All of it.
“We want it all,” the senior defensive end said.
The Panthers are certainly playing like it.
Jones collected three of Pitt’s seven sacks, helping the Panthers beat No. 24 Louisville 23-20 on Saturday. The win pushed Pitt (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) to its best start since 2014 and adhered to a blueprint the Panthers believe can carry them to the conference title game in December: tough, physical defense and just enough offense to get by.
So far, it’s working. The Panthers held the Cardinals (1-2, 0-2) to 223 yards — less than half of what they had been averaging coming in — and never let Malik Cunningham get comfortable. Cunningham completed just 9 of 21 passes for 107 yards with a touchdown and three picks, the last a fourthdown interception by Pitt’s Jason Pinnock with 1:19 remaining.
Cunningham ended up leaving on a stretcher after the play with an undisclosed injury. Coach Scott Satterfield said the junior had feeling in all his extremities and was being evaluated.
The sight of their rising star heading into the tunnel with his head strapped to a board marked a difficult end to a difficult day for the Cardinals. Louisville struggled to generate much of anything offensively thanks to the relentless pursuit of Pitt’s defensive front.
And they played exactly the way they knew they would play against the Cardinals. Sporting alternate charcoal grey uniforms inspired by both the architecture on the Pitt campus and the region’s legacy as a leading global steel producer, the defense often resembled a cloud of dust that swarmed anything in a white jersey that happened to come into its path.
“I know the Steel Curtain is the Pittsburgh Steelers but today (we were) dominant up front,” Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi said.
NO. 12 MIAMI 52
FLORIDA STATE 10
D’Eriq King threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters and Miami beat Florida State in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Cam’Ron Harris and Don Chaney scored twice and Brevin Jordan and Dee Wiggins each caught touchdown passes for Miami (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). Miami’s margin of victory was the largest since 1976.
NO. 13 CENTRAL FLORIDA 51 EAST CAROLINA 28
Dillon Gabriel threw for 408 yards and four touchdowns to help Central Florida beat East Carolina in Greenville, N.C., to open its American Athletic Conference schedule.
Jaylon Robinson and Marlon Williams each had huge games as Gabriel’s top targets for the Knights (2-0, 1-0). Robinson had nine catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns, and Williams had a career-best 13 catches for 136 yards.
Holton Ahlers threw for 215 yards and three TDs for the Pirates (0-1, 0-1). They had delayed start to the season after coronavirus related scheduling changes.
NO. 14 CINCINNATI 24
NO. 22 ARMY 10
Desmond Ridder passed for 258 yards and two touchdowns and Cincinnati beat Army in the first matchup of ranked teams at Nippert Stadium since 2008.
Army’s vaunted tripleoption offense came in averaging 389.5 rushing yards, but the Bearcats held the Black Knights (2-1) to 182, including 81 by junior quarterback Christian Anderson.
The Bearcats (2-0) rushed for 42 yards during a 60-yard scoring drive, which was capped by Alabama transfer Jerome Ford’s 4-yard TD run extending their lead to 17-7. Cincinnati sealed the victory with a 60-yard TD pass from Ridder to running back Gerrid Doaks with 6:55 left.
NO. 19 LA.-LAFAYETTE 20 GEORGIA SOUTHERN 18
Nate Snyder hit a 53yard field goal on the final play to lift Louisiana-Lafayette past Georgia Southern in Lafayette, La. The Ragin’ Cajuns (3-0, 2-0 Sun Belt) looked on the way to their first loss when Georgia Southern quarterback Shai Werts hit Khaleb
Hood with a 28-yard touchdown pass and Dalton Anderson with a 2point conversion with 54 seconds left to give the Eagles (1-1, 0-1) an 18-17 lead.
ULL quarterback Levi Lewis, who threw for 290 yards, completed three passes for 47 yards in the final drive, including an 18-yarder to running back Trey Ragas to the Eagle 36.
NO. 20 VIRGINIA TECH 45 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 24
Quincy Patterson II came off the bench to throw two touchdown passes and run for another score in the Hokies’ season opener in Blacksburg, Va. The Hokies were playing without 23 players and four coaches who were sidelines with COVID-19 and other injuries.