Pitt Pulls Off Upset, Beats No. 16 South Florida, 44-17
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) – The Pitt Panthers dismantled the No. 16-ranked South Florida Bulls, 44-17 in front of a national audience Thursday night.
Pittsburgh's new offense under Todd Graham apparently started to click.
Ray Graham rushed for 226 yards – including two touchdowns – on 26 carries; Tino Sunseri threw for 216 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions.
Graham's 13-yard touchdown gave Pitt (3-2, 1-0 Big East) the lead for good late in the first half and his 8-yard sprint up the middle early in the fourth quarter sealed it as the Panthers broke a five-game losing streak against ranked opponents.
Pitt kept USF's BJ Daniels under wraps all night. One of the nation's top duel-threat quarterbacks couldn't get it going with his arm or legs.
Daniels ran for 43 yards -- almost all of it coming on a last-gasp drive - and completed 18 of 36 passes for 223 mostly ineffective yards.
The Panthers avoided a second-half meltdown for a third straight week and instead poured it on against the sloppy, inconsistent Bulls (4-1, 0-1).