Youngstown State Penguins vs Pittsburgh Panthers Match Player Stats On Sep 05, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Sep 5, 2015

Redshirt freshman running back Qadree Ollison rushed for 207 yards on 16 carries in place of injured junior James Conner, and Pat Narduzzi won his first game as Pittsburgh coach, 45-37 over Youngstown State at Pittsburgh.

Conner, who rushed for 1,765 yards and 26 touchdowns last season while winning ACC Player of the Year honors, was injured early in the second quarter and was undergoing further evaluation.

He had 77 yards and two touchdowns before departing and junior tight end Scott Orndoff added a 55-yard touchdown reception.

Sophomore quarterback Hunter Wells passed for 274 yards and one touchdown, and junior tailback Jody Webb rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns for FCS Youngstown State in the debut of coach Bo Pelini, the former head man at Nebraska.

Junior strong safety LeRoy Alexander scored on an interception return and senior wideout Andre Stubbs had six receptions for 147 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown that pulled the Penguins to within 38-30 with 6:50 remaining.

A 71-yard scoring run by Ollison gave Pittsburgh a 31-16 edge with 4:48 remaining in the third quarter before Webb dashed to the end zone on a 27-yard run with 51 seconds left in the quarter.

Orndoff and Stubbs traded long touchdown plays to again make the margin eight before Panthers junior quarterback Chad Voytik scored on a one-yard run to make it 45-30 with 4:38 left.

Webb answered with a 75-yard scoring run just 14 seconds later.

Conner scored on first-quarter runs of 13 and four yards to increase his career touchdowns count to 36, tied for second in school history with LeSean McCoy (2007-08) and Ray Graham (2009-12).

The Penguins pulled to within 17-13 in the second quarter when Alexander intercepted Voytik's pass and raced 41 yards for a touchdown with 48 seconds left in the half.

Pittsburgh sophomore Avonte Maddox returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards to give the Panthers a 24-13 halftime edge.

Narduzzi spent the last eight seasons as defensive coordinator at Michigan State and is a former Youngstown State player.

Pelini is a native of Youngstown and took over the Penguins after being fired by the Cornhuskers on Nov. 30.