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Recap: Pittsburgh 49, New Mexico 27
Pittsburgh 49, New Mexico 27: James Conner and Isaac Bennett each rushed for over 100 yards and scored two touchdowns as the host Panthers overcame four turnovers to crush the Lobos.
Tom Savage completed 13-of-17 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns and freshman Tyler Boyd caught six passes for 134 yards and a touchdown for Pittsburgh (1-1), which rolled up 527 total yards.
Cole Gautsche rushed for two touchdowns and Crusoe Gongbay ran for another and produced 95 yards on the ground for New Mexico (1-2), which fell to 1-9 all-time in games played east of the Mississippi River. Clayton Mitchem completed 8-of-15 passes for just 64 yards.
Pittsburgh dominated the game from the start, building up a 35-6 halftime lead despite committing three turnovers before intermission. Savage had both of his touchdown passes in the first half, including a 34-yarder to Boyd on the final play of the half.
Bennett’s 8-yard run early in the third quarter increased Pittsburgh’s lead to 42-6 before Gautsche narrowed the margin to 42-20 with touchdown runs of 1 and 12 yards. Bennett’s second touchdown of the game, a 13-yard run, upped the Panthers lead to 49-20 early in the fourth quarter before Gongbay concluded the scoring with a 20-yard run with 52 seconds to go.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Boyd became the first freshman to have a 100-yard receiving game for the Panthers since Jon Baldwin in 2008. … New Mexico RB Kasey Carrier, who entered the game leading the nation in rushing with an average of 172.5 yards per game, was held to 22 yards on seven carries. … Pittsburgh held a 388-59 advantage in total yards at halftime.
