Pittsburgh 30, Boston College 20
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, September 5, 2014
Where: Alumni Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts
Temperature:
85°
Head Official:
Dennis Hennigan
Attendance:
30083
By SportsDirect Inc.
Pittsburgh 30, Boston College 20: James Conner rushed for 214 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 36 carries while fellow sophomore Tyler Boyd caught a pair of scoring passes as the Panthers downed the host Eagles in the ACC opener for both teams.
Boyd played through a dislocated finger that he suffered in Pittsburgh’s season-opening win over Delaware to finish with five catches for 72 yards for the Panthers (2-0, 1-0 ACC), who have won four straight over their former Big East rival. Chad Voytik was 10-of-20 for 111 yards and connected with Boyd on both TDs but only attempted five second-half passes as Pittsburgh rolled up 303 yards on the ground.
Florida transfer Tyler Murphy threw for 134 yards, ran for a team-high 92 more and accounted for two touchdowns (one rushing, one passing) for Boston College (1-1, 0-1). Tyler Rouse added a 1-yard TD run in the first quarter and Shakim Phillips had four receptions for a game-high 78 yards and a score to pace the Eagles.
Chris Blewitt nailed a career-best 49-yard field goal on Pittsburgh’s opening drive, but Boston College jumped ahead on the ensuing possession as Murphy ripped off a 51-yard run that led to Rouse’s goal-line plunge. The Panthers took the lead for good in the second quarter, however, as Boyd made a leaping grab over Eagles defensive back Justin Simmons in the back of the end zone for a 15-yard TD.
Blewitt drilled a 42-yard kick on Pittsburgh’s next drive and the Panthers increased their advantage to 20-7 with 18 seconds left in the opening half, when Voytik capped a six-play, 80-yard drive in 57 seconds by finding Boyd again from five yards out. Murphy connected with Phillips on a 48-yard TD strike less than two minutes after Conner scored on a 9-yard run with 5:15 left in the third quarter, but Blewitt’s third field goal with 9:53 remaining preserved Pittsburgh’s double-digit margin.
GAME NOTEBOOK: This contest marked the first meeting in 10 years between the teams, who played annually from 1993-2004. … Conner has rushed for 596 yards and six touchdowns over his last three games. … The Eagles were limited to 142 yards rushing – including 50 after halftime – after amassing 338 last week versus Massachusetts.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Pittsburgh |
|
Boston College |
James Conner
|
Player |
Tyler Murphy
|
36 |
Attempts |
16 |
214 |
Yards |
92 |
5.9 |
Avg Yards |
5.8 |
1 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Receiving
Pittsburgh |
|
Boston College |
Tyler Boyd
| Player |
Shakim Phillips
|
5 |
Receptions |
4 |
72 |
Yards |
78 |
14.4 |
Avg Yards |
19.5 |
2 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
0 |
Long |
0 |
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
Pittsburgh
|
414 |
303 |
111 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
3.0 |
0 |
Boston College
|
276 |
142 |
134 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0.0 |
0 |