Akron @ Pittsburgh preview

James Conner attempts to continue his streak of strong rushing performances when Pittsburgh hosts Akron on Saturday. The sophomore running back leads the nation with 699 yards and his four-game output broke the prior school mark held by legendary Tony Dorsett (564 in 1973). Conner’s next task is seeing if he can reach 1,000 yards in six games; Dorsett holds the school record for fewest games (seven in 1976) needed to reach 1,000.

Conner could be in for another big day on the ground against the Terry Bowden-coached Zips, who are allowing an average of 179.3 rushing yards per game. Pittsburgh is averaging 38.5 points behind a rushing attack rolling up 304.5 yards and solid production from receiver Tyler Boyd. The Panthers won their first three games before losing to Iowa last Saturday while Akron has lost consecutive games to Penn State and Marshall.

TV: 1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3. LINE: Pittsburgh -20.

ABOUT AKRON (1-2): Quarterback Kyle Pohl has thrown for 667 yards and four touchdowns and has moved into seventh place in school history with 3,467 passing yards. The Zips hope to have tailback Jawon Chisholm back from a foot injury; he's just 14 yards away from passing Bobby Hendry (2,847 from 2000-03) for fifth place on the school’s career rushing yardage list. Weak-side linebacker Jatavis Brown has a team-best 19 tackles, followed by free safety Devonte Morgan (17 tackles) and middle linebacker C.J. Mizell (16).

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (3-1): Quarterback Chad Voytik has passed for 534 yards and five touchdowns when he isn’t handing the ball off to Conner. Boyd has caught 21 passes for 293 yards and four touchdowns and his career total sits at 106 after he became the 19th Pitt player to reach 100 during the Iowa contest. Strong-side linebacker Anthony Gonzalez has a team-best 22 tackles, strong safety Terrish Webb has 19 tackles and a team-best two interceptions and middle linebacker Matt Galambos has 18 tackles and one interception.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Panthers won the previous two meetings – a 17-0 victory at Akron in 1900 and a 35-0 home rout in 1998.

2. Ray Graham (734 in 2011) holds the Pitt record for most rushing yards through five games.

3. Pittsburgh is 26-1 at home against Mid-American Conference teams, the lone loss coming against Bowling Green in 2008.

PREDICTION: Pittsburgh 38, Akron 10