SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 14, 2013
Pittsburgh 49, New Mexico 27: James Conner and Isaac Bennett each rushed for over 100 yards and scored two touchdowns as the host Panthers overcame four turnovers to crush the Lobos.
Tom Savage completed 13-of-17 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns and freshman Tyler Boyd caught six passes for 134 yards and a touchdown for Pittsburgh (1-1), which rolled up 527 total yards.
Cole Gautsche rushed for two touchdowns and Crusoe Gongbay ran for another and produced 95 yards on the ground for New Mexico (1-2), which fell to 1-9 all-time in games played east of the Mississippi River. Clayton Mitchem completed 8-of-15 passes for just 64 yards.
Pittsburgh dominated the game from the start, building up a 35-6 halftime lead despite committing three turnovers before intermission. Savage had both of his touchdown passes in the first half, including a 34-yarder to Boyd on the final play of the half.
Bennett's 8-yard run early in the third quarter increased Pittsburgh's lead to 42-6 before Gautsche narrowed the margin to 42-20 with touchdown runs of 1 and 12 yards. Bennett's second touchdown of the game, a 13-yard run, upped the Panthers lead to 49-20 early in the fourth quarter before Gongbay concluded the scoring with a 20-yard run with 52 seconds to go.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Boyd became the first freshman to have a 100-yard receiving game for the Panthers since Jon Baldwin in 2008. ... New Mexico RB Kasey Carrier, who entered the game leading the nation in rushing with an average of 172.5 yards per game, was held to 22 yards on seven carries. ... Pittsburgh held a 388-59 advantage in total yards at halftime.