PITTSBURGH _ Pitt got the football for the first time Saturday pinned on the 1-yard line, with an awfully long road to the end zone to open their long-awaited game against Penn State.
Then the ground game that had been so hyped but hardly existent in the opener against Villanova roared to life in the midday sunshine and carried the Panthers to victory.
Pitt drove 99 yards _ primarily on the ground _ to open the scoring in a 42-39 win over the Nittany Lions that went down to the wire. The victory stirred the once storied rivalry back to life in front of a record crowd of 69,983 at Heinz Field.
It was a signature win for Pat Narduzzi in his second year as head coach. His 2-0 Panthers rolled up 343 rushing yards _ 434 total yards _ and did their best to contain Penn State running back Saquon Barkley.
Barkley was a force, scoring five touchdowns, four in short-yardage situations, to lead the attack of the Nittany Lions (1-1).
James Conner rushed for 117 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. The defense forced five fumbles and stood when it really needed to late in the fourth quarter.
Penn State drove to the Pitt 31 with time left for a field goal in the fourth quarter when defensive back Ryan Lewis picked off quarterback Trace McSorley in the end zone to seal the win for the Panthers.
Pitt took a 28-14 lead into halftime as fullback George Aston scored twice from inside the 5-yard line in the first half, and Quadree Henderson and Scott Orndoff each collected touchdown receptions from quarterback Nate Peterman.
Penn State committed two big turnovers, a pair of first-half fumbles forced by Ejuan Price, that led to Pitt points.
The Nittany Lions challenged in the second half.
Barkley went 40 yards on a reception from McSorley to open the third quarter and cut Pitt's lead to a single score with the extra point.
Conner finished another long drive (75 yards) with a 1-yard run as Pitt opened a 35-21 lead with the extra point.
But Barkley scored again to make it a one-score game, and the Nittany Lions had an opportunity to tie the game after forcing Conner to fumble inside the Pitt 15.
But the Pitt defense held. It was third-and-9 from the 10 when Pitt called a timeout. When the ball was finally snapped, linebacker Quintin Wriginis came flying through to sack McSorley and hold the Nittany Lions to a 38-yard field goal to make it 35-31 Pitt.
Henderson's 81-yard kickoff return set up one more score for Pitt: a 10-yard shovel pass from Peterman to Conner. Chris Blewitt's kick made it 42-31.
Penn State was not finished, as Barkley completed a 60-yard drive with a rushing touchdown from the 2-yard line with five minutes left in the game. McSorley connected with DaeSean Hamilton for a two-point conversion to make it a one-score game again, 42-39.
