Pitt, Penn State, WVU show mettle with big wins
Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia were all question marks of varying degrees when the college football season began, but if Saturday was any indication, this could be a good year for all three.
That蘑菇视频 because all three were tested in different ways and managed to come out on top.
The Panthers, who are 3-0 for only the third time in the last 22 years, were all set up for an ambush when they traveled to Florida International coming off a superb Big East victory at Boston College.
It was a clear trap game and Pitt almost fell into it, falling behind 16-0, but third-year coach Paul Chryst蘑菇视频 team righted the ship and wound up pulling away for a 42-25 victory.
Star running back James Connor蘑菇视频 mettle was tested as well as he not once, but twice fumbled deep in FIU territory. He recovered well enough to rush for 177 yards and three touchdowns. Kudos to Chryst for being patient and not yanking the potential Heisman Trophy candidate for his two gaffs.
That being said, Connor can鈥檛 afford any more games like that. He better be carrying a football around with him on campus all this week.
Thumbs up for Chryst so far this year, though.
His team did what it was supposed to in its first game, romping over out-manned Delaware and quarterback Trent Hurley (who, by the way, is a Connellsville native and the grandson of Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame member and former major-league pitcher Bobby Locke), 62-0.
The 30-20 triumph against Boston College looks a lot more impressive now after the Eagles upended 17th-ranked USC on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions, like Pitt, fell behind on the road, albeit against a much tougher opponent in Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights were making their Big Ten debut in front of a rowdy sell-out crowd, so emotions were sky high for the hosts.
Penn State found itself down 10-0 at halftime with its best scoring chance resulting in a blocked field goal attempt.
First-year coach James Franklin蘑菇视频 squad kept its composure, hung in the game and, trailing 10-6 with 3:02 remaining, called on quarterback Christian Hackenberg to come through.
The sophomore sensation, who could be in the Heisman Trophy race by season蘑菇视频 end, put together his team蘑菇视频 only touchdown drive when it mattered most, marching the Nittany Lions 80 yards in six plays, completing a pair of passes to Geno Lewis to account for 76 of those yards.
Bill Benton capped the clutch drive with a 5-yard TD run with 1:13 left.
Penn State thought it had taken the lead a little earlier when Hackenberg completed a 20-yard pass to tight end Jesse James with 2:05 remaining. The Nittany Lions were called for holding on the play, though.
While such a dramatic turn of events, especially on the road, may have crushed most teams, Hackenberg and Penn State just went back to work and still managed to finish off the drive with the winning score.
Talk about resilient.
Franklin is off to a flying start at 3-0, and now the Nittany Lions are bowl-eligible again. There are tougher games down the road, of course. Even so, Penn State has already proven its a Big Ten team to be reckoned with.
West Virginia is the only one of the three major local college teams to lose so far. That wasn鈥檛 a bad loss at all, coming at a 鈥渘eutral鈥� site in Alabama against the No. 2 Crimson Tide, 33-23.
The Mountaineers, who were a 27-point underdog in that game, showed a national TV audience that they were a pretty solid Big 12 team.
Following a 54-0 pasting of Towson, WVU arrived at Maryland 鈥� now a Big Ten team 鈥� on Saturday as a three-point underdog.
With 6:09 left in the second quarter, the favorites were staring at a 28-6 hole.
Maryland, not surprisingly, rallied behind its home fans to within 28-20 at halftime and eventually pulled even at 37-37, thanks to a 69-yard punt return for a TD by the Terps鈥� William Likely early in the fourth quarter.
It was the type of play that tested the mental toughness of a team on the road.
The Mountaineers passed that test.
Quarterback Clint Trickett, who torched Maryland蘑菇视频 secondary to the tune of 511 yards 鈥� the second-most in WVU history 鈥� and five touchdown passes, took the 鈥楨ers on a 65-yard drive to give Josh Lambert a shot at kicking the winning field goal on the game蘑菇视频 final play.
His 47-yarder from the left hash mark was perfect and West Virginia had a hard-earned 40-37 win.
If Trinkett continues this trend 鈥� he蘑菇视频 completed 75.4 percent of his passes for 1,224 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception so far 鈥� he, like Connor and Hackenberg, could be in the Heisman discussion.
Coach Dana Holgorsen has done a solid job in the first three games, but another key to WVU蘑菇视频 early success may be attributed to its senior associate head coach and defensive line coach, Tom Bradley.
Yes, that Tom Bradley who spent over 30 years on Penn State蘑菇视频 coaching staff.
There is still a long way to go this football season.
The Panthers, Nittany Lions and Mountaineers have given plenty of hope for their fans in the early going, though, especially with their performances on Saturday.