Youngstown State Penguins vs Pittsburgh Panthers Match Player Stats On Sep 01, 2012

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 1, 2012

Youngstown State 31, Pittsburgh 17: Quarterback Kurt Hess threw two touchdown passes and running back Jamaine Cook tossed one as well as the FCS' Penguins stunned the host Panthers in head coach Paul Chryst's debut.

Cook had 84 of Youngstown's 204 rushing yards, while Andre Stubbs ran for 71 yards and a touchdown as the Penguins controlled the game from start to finish.

It was just the third meeting between the schools, which are separated by 70 miles. The Panthers, playing their final Big East season before joining the ACC, had posted 41-0 and 38-3 shellackings over Youngstown in 2005 and 2009, respectively.

The Panthers were without highly touted freshman running back Rushel Shell, one of six players Chryst suspended for “disciplinary reasons” it was announced two hours before kickoff.

Ray Graham, who was a game-time decision in his return after tearing an ACL last October, ran for 71 yards on 14 carries for Pitt. Graham had close to 1,000 yards before his season ended against Connecticut in Pitt's eighth game last year.

He fumbled to end the Panthers' opening drive Saturday night, however, and Youngstown capitalized as Hess' 27-yard pass to Stubbs completed a 10-play scoring drive. Youngstown's four scoring drives went for 79, 92, 71 and 78 yards.

Hess' 14-yard touchdown pass to Will Shaw gave the Penguins a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter, and they went into halftime up 14-10.

The Penguins stretched the margin to 21-10 on their opening drive of the second half with some trickery. On fourth and 1, Cook took a pitch from Hess and tossed it to a wide-open Shaw for a 23-yard score.

Stubbs capped another long scoring drive for the Penguins by taking a pitch outside on a nifty 13-yard touchdown run to make it 28-10 early in the fourth.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Along with Shell, the other suspended players were WRs Chris Davis and Ronald Jones, DLs Tyrone Ezell and Shane Hayle, and DB Anthony Gonzalez. Shell is Pennsylvania's all-time leading rusher. … The Panthers have a quick turnaround for their final Big East opener, as they'll play at Cincinnati on Thursday night. … Youngstown went 6-5 last season, but one of the victories was against eventual FCS champion North Dakota State. … Chryst was the fourth person to coach the Panthers in their last 16 games. … It was Pitt's first ever loss to an FCS school in 11 games.