Pittsburgh Panthers vs Connecticut Huskies Match Player Stats On Nov 09, 2012

Connecticut 24, Pittsburgh 17: Lyle McCombs ran for 120 yards and a touchdown, Nick Williams returned a punt 80 yards for a score and the host Huskies earned their first conference victory with an upset of Pittsburgh.

Chandler Whitmer threw for 213 yards and a touchdown and also came up with a huge third-down completion late after Connecticut (4-6, 1-4 Big East) nearly blew a 24-point halftime lead.

The Panthers (4-6, 1-4), perhaps still smarting from last week's heartbreaking triple-overtime loss to No. 4 Notre Dame, came out flat and were unable to stop the nation's 117th-ranked scoring offense (16.5).

Though the Huskies dominated the first half, they had to sweat out a Pittsburgh rally, due in part to some questionable play calling late. Connecticut had a 24-10 lead and the ball at the Pittsburgh 14-yard line with just over five minutes left when Whitmer threw an inexplicable interception in the end zone that gave the Panthers life.

Pittsburgh drove 80 yards in nine plays and pulled within 24-17 on a 18-yard touchdown pass from Tino Sunseri to Mike Shanahan with 2:46 to play. Whitmer effectively ended the game, however, when he hit Shakim Phillips for 17 yards on third-and-7.

Sunseri finished 19-of-34 for 302 yards and two touchdowns for Pittsburgh, which needs to win its final two games to become bowl eligible for a fifth straight season.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Connecticut had scored only 16 points over its previous two games, but was impressive in taking the opening kickoff 75 yards in 11 plays. The drive was capped by Whitmer's 2-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Griffin. ... Connecticut outgained Pittsburgh 249-121 in the first half. ... The Panthers managed only 14 rushing yards in the opening half.