Pitt's season opener ends with 35-16 victory against Buffalo
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Pitt head coach Todd Graham talks to quarterback Tino Sunseri in the first quarter. -
Pitt's Ray Graham carries against Buffalo in the first quarter.
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Todd Graham's first game as Pitt's coach was a successful one as the Panthers beat Buffalo, 35-16, before a crowd of 48,359 at Heinz Field.
However, Pitt fans who were expecting an offensive explosion had to wait until the second half before it finally came.
The Panthers looked like they might get rolling to a big day offensively when, on their second possession, they needed just eight plays to drive 54 yards and take a 7-0 lead on a 6-yard touchdown run by Wisconsin transfer Zach Brown.
But that was it for Pitt's scoring for the half, and thanks to a late field goal by Peter Fardon, the Panthers led only 7-3 going into the locker room.
The Bulls then took the opening kick of the second half and began what looked like an impressive drive as they moved 49 yards to the Panthers' 31 but faced a third-and-11.
That's when the Panthers' defense stepped up and made their first big play of the season as defensive lineman Chas Alecxih intercepted an attempted screen pass and returned it 47 yards to the Bulls' 20.
Two plays later -- both rushed by Ray Graham -- and the Panthers took a 14-3 lead on a 3-yard run by Graham.
The Bulls responded with an impressive 13-play, 76-yard drive and pulled to within 14-10 on a 2-yard run by quarterback Chazz Anderson. But the Panthers scored quickly on their next two drives -- one took 1:53, the other took 1:36 -- and they led 28-16 with ten minutes left to play.
Buffalo had a couple of late chances to try and get back into the game as they had the ball deep in Panthers territory twice in the final six minutes.
Both drives, however, ended with Anderson throwing incomplete passes on fourth down.
Ray Graham, who rushed 29 times for 201 yards and three touchdowns, then finished off the Bulls with a 1-yard run for a touchdown with 1:49 to play.
Ray Graham set up the touchdown one play earlier with a 75-yard run to the Bulls 1 and was clearly the Panthers offensive star on this night.
First Published September 3, 2011 9:29 pm
