No. 17 Pitt’s late surge sinks West Virginia

PITTSBURGH — Cornerback M.J. Devonshire returned a tipped pass 56 yards for a touchdown with 2:58 left to lead No. 17 Pittsburgh past West Virginia 38-31 on Thursday in the return of the Backyard Brawl.

The Panthers (1-0) edged their rivals for the first time since 2008 after a pass by Mountaineers quarterback J.T. Daniels smacked off wide receiver Bryce Ford-wheaton’s hands to Devonshire, who weaved through traffic to give Pitt its second TD in 43 seconds to turn a seven-point deficit into a lead it didn’t relinquish.

Southern California transfer Kedon Slovis threw for 308 yards and a TD in his Pitt debut. Rodney Hammond ran for 74 yards and two TDS for the Panthers before leaving because of a right leg injury.

ROUNDUP

Daniels threw for 241 yards and two TDS. Freshman C.J. Donaldson ran for 125 yards for West Virginia (0-1), which totaled 190 yards on the ground.

■ No. 12 Oklahoma State 58, Central Michigan 44: At Stillwater, Okla., Spencer Sanders passed for 406 yards and four TDS and ran for two scores for the Cowboys (1-0), who gave Mike Gundy his 150th coaching win. The 55-yearold is 150-69 at his alma mater. Braydon Johnson had six catches for 133 yards for OSU, which led 51-15 less than a minute into the third quarter. Daniel Richardson threw for 424 yards and four TDS for the Chippewas (0-1), who amassed 546 yards of offense.

Lew Nichols III, the nation’s top rusher last year, ran for 72 yards and two TDS on 26 carries for CMU.

■ No. 22 Wake Forest 44, Virginia Military Institute 10: At Winston-salem, N.C., Mitch Griffis threw for 288 yards and three TDS in his first start for the Demon Deacons (1-0), who had 506 yards of offense. The Keydets (0-1) had 222 yards of offense.