After suffering their first loss of the season last week against Iowa, many expected the Pitt Panthers to get back on the winning track Saturday at Heinz Field against MAC opponent Akron.
That didn’t come close to happening as the Panthers and their home fans were stunned by the Zips 21-10 as Paul Chryst’s team failed to show up ready to play.
Neither team got much going early on offensively and the game remained scoreless until the second quarter when Chad Voytik found Manasseh Garner with an eight-yard touchdown pass, capping a 10-play 80-yard drive, to give Pitt a 7-0 lead.
But that was it for the Panthers as they found themselves tied at the half after they allowed yet another big play, a 52-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Pohl to Mykel Traylor-Bennett.
Akron drove it down the Panthers’ throat to start the second half, scoring on a one-yard run from defensive lineman Cody Grice, who got some carries at fullback, to give the Zips a 14-7 lead.
The Pitt offense woke up though after they fell behind as they drove the ball down the field and thought they had tied the game up. However a holding call on Dorian Johnson wiped away a touchdown pass from Voytik to Tyler Boyd and the Panthers had to settle for a 34-yard field goal from Chris Blewitt to pull Pitt within 14-10.
Grice added a fourth quarter touchdown run to put the game away.
Pitt never really had a chance to mount a comeback as they never were able to develop a rhythm offensively.
“We never got anything going,” said Chryst. “I thought about going with the no huddle offense, but we had to get in a rhythm offensively and we never did.”
Not only did the Panthers defense allow another big play in the passing game, but they also allowed a typically bad Akron team when it comes to running the football, to run all over them.
The Zips came into the game averaging just 91.3 yards per game, 119th in the nation, but they ran for 169 yards on the afternoon, including 148 on 19 carries from Conor Hundley, who eclipsed the century mark early in the third quarter.
Akron outgained Pitt 382-349 and kept sophomore running back James Conner in check to give coach Terry Bowden the biggest victory of his three-year tenure.
Conner came in with 699 yards, leading the nation is rushing, but was held to 92 yards on 25 carries as the Panthers (3-2) lost their second straight.
Voytik completed 20 of 34 passes for 220 yards with a touchdown and a costly interception.
At the end of the day, the Panthers were simply dominated by a team that came in being outscored 69-20 in losses to Penn State and Marshall.
“Give Akron credit,” said Chryst. “They did the things in the course of the game to win and we didn’t. I don’t think we ran the ball efficiently. During the first half, we got first downs to keep the drives alive. I thought our defense started off doing some things to keep us in the game, but offensively we were stagnant. You have to give Akron credit for that. They came to play.”
The Panthers, who have lost all the momentum they gained with a 3-0 start will be back in action next Saturday when they head to Virginia.
Photo Credit: Associated Press
