All the good news from Pitt's 45-37 victory against Youngstown State on Saturday was overwhelmed by the bad that surfaced at Heinz Field.
Running back James Conner, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, did not play after a 9-yard gain early in the second quarter. He was seen with an ice pack on his right knee that he later removed, but there was no word on the extent of Conner's injury before the end of the game. He finished with 77 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.
Then there was the uneven play at quarterback and a poor effort by the defense in the second half.
Starting quarterback Chad Voytik threw an interception that YSU strong safety LeRoy Alexander returned 41 yards for a touchdown late in first half. In the third quarter, Voytik lost a fumble that led to a field goal and missed tight end Scott Orndoff, who was wide open in the secondary.
Voytik was briefly replaced, according to coach Pat Narduzzi's pregame plans, by Nathan Peterman during the first quarter. Peterman hit wide receiver Dontez Ford with a 42-yard completion but also threw an interception.
Voytik completed 7 of his first 10 passes for 13 yards, but he more than quadrupled that total with a 55-yard touchdown pass to Orndoff in the fourth quarter. He finished 9 of 14 for 72 yards, the smallest yardage total of his career.
Peterman was only in long enough to throw four passes. He completing two for 61. With All-ACC wide receiver Tyler Boyd serving a one-game suspension for a DUI arrest, Pitt's downfield passing game was almost nonexistent.
The good news: Pitt's defense was dominant in the first half, and redshirt freshman running back Qadree Ollison set a school record for most yards in a debut: 207 on 16 carries. It easily surpassed the previous record of 129 set by Dion Lewis against Youngstown State in 2009.
The defense struggled in the second half after making a fourth-and-1 stop early in the fourth quarter while nursing an eight-point lead. Pitt allowed three touchdowns on big plays in the second half: 27- and 75-yard runs by Jody Webb and a 77-yard pass from Hunter Wells to wide receiver Andre Stubbs, who finished with six receptions for 147 yards.
Pitt outside linebacker Nicholas Grigsby had two sacks and a pass breakup. On one YSU three-and-out series, Grigsby made all three plays: a tackle, pass breakup and sack.
Cornerback Avonte Maddox broke up three passes and returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown during the first half. It was Pitt's first touchdown on a kickoff return in four years.
Overall, Pitt's defense recorded six sacks after getting only 19 in 13 games last season.
Pitt scored on two of its three possessions in the first quarter, with runs of 13 and 4 yards by Conner.
Notable during those drives was downfield blocking. First, redshirt freshman George Aston, a former walk-on who was awarded a scholarship at the end of training camp, cleared the way for a 40-yard Conner run that set up the first score. On the next snap, wide receiver Elijah Zeise made a block at the goal line as Conner scored.
Pitt scored on its next drive with Peterman at quarterback. Conner's short touchdown run followed a 42-yard completion from Peterman to Ford.
The defense started slowly, allowing YSU to reach the 6 on its first possession. But after Maddox broke up a pass in the end zone, the Penguins settled for Zack Kennedy's 22-yard field goal.
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
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Running back James Conner, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, did not play after a 9-yard gain early in the second quarter. He was seen with an ice pack on his right knee that he later removed, but there was no word on the extent of Conner's injury before the end of the game. He finished with 77 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.
Then there was the uneven play at quarterback and a poor effort by the defense in the second half.
Starting quarterback Chad Voytik threw an interception that YSU strong safety LeRoy Alexander returned 41 yards for a touchdown late in first half. In the third quarter, Voytik lost a fumble that led to a field goal and missed tight end Scott Orndoff, who was wide open in the secondary.
Voytik was briefly replaced, according to coach Pat Narduzzi's pregame plans, by Nathan Peterman during the first quarter. Peterman hit wide receiver Dontez Ford with a 42-yard completion but also threw an interception.
Voytik completed 7 of his first 10 passes for 13 yards, but he more than quadrupled that total with a 55-yard touchdown pass to Orndoff in the fourth quarter. He finished 9 of 14 for 72 yards, the smallest yardage total of his career.
Peterman was only in long enough to throw four passes. He completing two for 61. With All-ACC wide receiver Tyler Boyd serving a one-game suspension for a DUI arrest, Pitt's downfield passing game was almost nonexistent.
The good news: Pitt's defense was dominant in the first half, and redshirt freshman running back Qadree Ollison set a school record for most yards in a debut: 207 on 16 carries. It easily surpassed the previous record of 129 set by Dion Lewis against Youngstown State in 2009.
The defense struggled in the second half after making a fourth-and-1 stop early in the fourth quarter while nursing an eight-point lead. Pitt allowed three touchdowns on big plays in the second half: 27- and 75-yard runs by Jody Webb and a 77-yard pass from Hunter Wells to wide receiver Andre Stubbs, who finished with six receptions for 147 yards.
Pitt outside linebacker Nicholas Grigsby had two sacks and a pass breakup. On one YSU three-and-out series, Grigsby made all three plays: a tackle, pass breakup and sack.
Cornerback Avonte Maddox broke up three passes and returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown during the first half. It was Pitt's first touchdown on a kickoff return in four years.
Overall, Pitt's defense recorded six sacks after getting only 19 in 13 games last season.
Pitt scored on two of its three possessions in the first quarter, with runs of 13 and 4 yards by Conner.
Notable during those drives was downfield blocking. First, redshirt freshman George Aston, a former walk-on who was awarded a scholarship at the end of training camp, cleared the way for a 40-yard Conner run that set up the first score. On the next snap, wide receiver Elijah Zeise made a block at the goal line as Conner scored.
Pitt scored on its next drive with Peterman at quarterback. Conner's short touchdown run followed a 42-yard completion from Peterman to Ford.
The defense started slowly, allowing YSU to reach the 6 on its first possession. But after Maddox broke up a pass in the end zone, the Penguins settled for Zack Kennedy's 22-yard field goal.
Jerry DiPaola is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/9022735-74/xyyx-pitt-conner#ixzz3kuizpnvB
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook
