{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Penn State 51, Pittsburgh 6
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, September 8, 2018
Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Temperature: 58°
Head Official: John O'Neill
Attendance: 68400

Trace McSorley passed for two touchdowns and ran for another as No. 13 Penn State drubbed in-state rival and host Pitt 51-6 Saturday on a soggy field pelted by the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon.

KJ Hamler had one touchdown by air and another on the ground for the Nittany Lions (2-0). McSorley was 14 of 30 for 145 yards, and Miles Sanders ran for 118 yards, his first career triple-digit game.

Qadree Ollison rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown, and Kenny Pickett was 9 of 18 for 55 yards and an interception for Pitt (1-1), which was snakebitten, particularly on special teams.

With Panthers holder Jake Scarton apparently hurt, punter Kirk Christodoulou filled in, leading to a missed extra point and missed field goal. Christodoulou also fumbled a punt snap, setting up a Penn State touchdown.

On its first possession, Penn State drove 63 yards in three plays, capped by Hamler's 32-yard scoring run on a sweep left for a 7-0 lead.

The Panthers answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, with Ollison running 13 yards into the end zone. Christodoulou couldn't handle a high snap on the extra point kick, leaving it 7-6.

Later in the second, Pitt faced a fourth-and-3 at the Penn State 4 and, with its special teams trouble, opted to go for it - and Ollison got stuffed.

With 26 seconds left in the first half, and after Christodoulou's turnover on a punt attempt, McSorley's 14-yard touchdown pass to Hamler gave the Nittany Lions a 14-6 lead.

McSorley added a 4-yard touchdown keeper in the third to make it 21-6, and Pitt took a holding penalty while backed up in its end zone for a safety and a 23-6 deficit.

DeAndre Thompkins returned a Christodoulou punt 39 yards for a touchdown and a 30-6 advantage with 28 seconds left in the third.

In the fourth, Mac Hippenhammer caught an 11-yard scoring pass from McSorley to make it 37-6, and Mark Allen leaned in from 4 yards to up it to 44-6.

Backup Sean Clifford's first college pass was 34 yards to Brandon Polk for a touchdown and 51-6 lead.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Penn State   Pittsburgh
Miles Sanders Player Qadree Ollison
16 Attempts 21
118 Yards 119
7.4 Avg Yards 5.7
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Receiving
Penn State   Pittsburgh
Brandon Polk Player Shocky Jacques-Louis
2 Receptions 2
45 Yards 21
22.5 Avg Yards 10.5
1 Touchdowns 0
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Penn State 390 211 179 7 0 1 4.0 1
Pittsburgh 300 245 55 1 0 0 1.0 3