Pittsburgh Panthers vs Florida International Panthers Match Player Stats On Sep 13, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 13, 2014

Pittsburgh 42, Florida International 25: James Conner rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns and the visiting Panthers registered a pair of safeties in rallying to defeat the host Golden Panthers.

Conner clinched the win with a 41-yard touchdown run four plays after Pittsburgh (3-0) picked up its second safety when Florida International quarterback E.J. Hilliard was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone. Conner's 544 yards in three games broke Tony Dorsett's three-game rushing record to open a season of 487 in 1973.

Chris Voytik passed for 89 yards and touchdown and also ran for 113 yards and another score for the Panthers. Alex McGough passed for 238 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another to lead Florida International (1-2) while tight end Jonnu Smith caught a game-high seven passes for 63 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown pass with 3:18 left to cut Pittsburgh's lead to 35-25 before Conner put the game out of reach with a 11-yard touchdown run.

Florida International, which scored as many as 16 points just twice in its 12 games during a 1-11 finish in 2013, scored 16 points in less than three minutes near the end of the first quarter while building a 16-0 lead. After Chad McKinnon started the scoring spree when he came in untouched to sack Voytik for a safety, McGough scored on the ensuing possession on a 3-yard run to make it 9-0, then came back on the next series to hit Glenn Coleman with a 57-yard touchdown pass.

But Pittsburgh rebounded to score 26 unanswered points, including 14 in the second quarter on a 32-yard run by Voytik and a 18-yard touchdown pass from Voytik to Tyler Boyd. Pittsburgh tied it, 16-16, when FIU punter Chris Ayers mishandled a snap and kicked it out of the end zone for a safety, and Conner scored a 3-yard touchdown run on the ensuring possession to put the Panthers ahead to stay..

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pittsburgh, which came into the game a perfect 12-for-12 in the red zone with 12 touchdowns, failed to convert on its first two tries which both ended with fumbles by Conner. ... The first-quarter safety of Voytik was the first sack allowed by Pittsburgh this season. ... Florida International has forced nine turnovers in its last two games.