Buffalo Bulls vs Pittsburgh Panthers Match Player Stats On Sep 03, 2011

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 3, 2011

Ray Graham ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns as Pittsburgh began the Todd Graham era with a lackluster 35-16 victory over visiting Buffalo.

Taking over for Dave Wannstedt, new head coach Graham's Panthers showed flashes of the high-octane offense he successfully ran at Tulsa, but they struggled to put away the Bulls until late.

Running back Graham found the end zone twice in the third quarter. His first score gave Pitt a 14-3 lead and came after defensive tackle Chas Alecxih intercepted a screen pass and rumbled 47 yards to the Buffalo 20.

Chazz Anderson (32-for-49, 276 yards), who transferred from Cincinnati this spring, kept Buffalo close, including sneaking in a 2-yard run to cap a 13-yard drive on the ensuing possession to make it 14-10.

The Panthers, 30-point favorites, barely outgained Buffalo, 405-403. The Bulls trailed 21-16 early in the fourth after a 1-yard run by Brian Oliver, who finished with 114 yards.

Early on it looked like the fast-paced Tulsa scheme might translate well, as the Panthers needed just 2:04 to score on their second possession. Zach Brown's 6-yard run capped an eight-play, 64-yard drive to give Pitt a lead less than six minutes in.

But the Panthers came up empty the rest of the half, including a couple of misfires to wide-open receivers on sure scores and a missed 32-yard field goal. Meanwhile, Peter Fardon kicked a 40-yard field goal for Buffalo to trail just 7-3 at halftime.