Late TD pass lifts Miami past Pittsburgh 16-12
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Miami head coach Manny Diaz kept telling quarterback Jarren Williams to be ready. That at some point the Hurricanes would need him even though Diaz awarded the starting job to N’Kosi Perry.
Whether Williams initially bought in to whatever Diaz was selling him is up for debate. Neither Williams nor Diaz declined to get into specifics when asked if Williams missed practice in the days ahead of Saturday’s visit to Pittsburgh.
“On the internal stuff, that’s not something I get into,” Diaz said. “I don’t talk about stuff like that.”
Besides, it doesn’t matter now anyway. Consider Williams all in. Let him offer his play during Miami’s game-winning drive in Pittsburgh on Saturday as proof. Thrust into the lineup midway through the fourth quarter after Perry struggled, Williams led the Hurricanes on a 62-yard drive in the final minutes, the last 32 yards coming on a catch-and-run by wide receiver KJ Osborn with 58 seconds remaining that gave Miami a 16-12 victory.
“I said, ‘Hey, it’s time for me to come and step up,'” Williams said. “The guys need me. The team needs me. This program needs me. I’m going to give everybody everything I’ve got.”
Miami (4-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) needed everything Williams had after coming in for Perry, who completed 10 of 24 passes for 104 yards and an interception. Diaz inserted Williams into the lineup after Alex Kessman’s fourth field goal gave the Panthers (5-3, 3-2) a 12-10 lead. Miami went three-and-out on Williams’ first possession. On his second, he directed a drive the Hurricanes hope alters the course of their wildly uneven season.
Williams completed a short pass to Osborn on fourth down at the Miami 47 to keep Miami alive. He later scrambled for a first down that pushed the ball to the Pitt 32. Two snaps later he connected with Osborn, who did most of the work while shedding a pair of defenders on his way to the end zone.
“It was crunch time,” Osborn said. “I braced myself and bounced off some guys. Once I was running, I was happy.”
And Miami was finally in control. Pitt didn’t go anywhere on its final drive, done in by a pair of drops, a sack and a fourth-down heave by Kenny Pickett heave that sailed wide of intended receiver V’Lique Carter. Pickett finished 18 of 32 for 146 yards with the two picks as the Panthers saw their four-game winning streak end on a day they limited Miami to 208 total yards.
“The defense played well enough to win except for that last play,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said. “I think we probably gave up one big play the entire game, which doesn’t happen very often, but it was the one play that they needed to put the game away, and we just didn’t make enough plays period.”
And too many turnovers. The Panthers gave it away three times in the opening 16 minutes, two of them coming on interceptions by Miami cornerback DJ Ivey, the other on a fumble by Pitt wide receiver Taysir Mack. Cam’Ron Harris, starting for injured starter DeeJay Dallas, ran for 60 yards for the Hurricanes, including a 1-yard dive in the second quarter after Ivey’s second pick gave the Hurricanes the ball at the Pitt 17.
Still, an early 10-3 lead wouldn’t hold, forcing Diaz to turn to Williams in the fourth quarter with the game — and perhaps the season — in the balance. After some initial missteps, Williams delivered, though Diaz isn’t exactly in a hurry to name a starter for next week’s visit to rival Florida State.
“As for what this means tomorrow or the next day, I’ll deal with that tomorrow,” Diaz said.
DEJA VU
Last month, Pitt opted to attempt a field goal rather than go for it on fourth-and-goal at the Penn State 1 while trailing by a touchdown. Kessman missed and the Panthers lost. Trailing by a point and with the ball at the Miami 1, Narduzzi again opted to kick, this time intentionally taking a delay of game to give Kessman a better angle to kick. He made it to put the Panthers in front and Pitt’s defense held on Miami’s next possession before faltering late.
Ultimately, Narduzzi believes he made the right call.
“When you’re down, three points puts you ahead and your defense is playing — I don’t know. Again, could go either way,” Narduzzi said. “It’s just got to play the odds, and I guessed wrong, so it’s my fault.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Miami: The Hurricanes still have plenty of questions on offense but at least they have some momentum after coming out on the wrong end of a series of narrow losses in recent weeks.
Pitt: The Panthers have thrived in tight games this year — they came in having won four straight by a combined 10 points — but couldn’t get the one stop they needed and will need considerable help if they want to win the ACC Coastal Division for the second straight year.
UP NEXT
Miami: Visits longtime rival Florida State next Saturday. The Hurricanes have won two straight in the series, including a 24-20 victory in Tallahassee in 2017.
Pitt: Travels to Georgia Tech next Saturday. The teams have split their six meetings since the Panthers joined the ACC in 2013.
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Allen’s punt-return TD leads Duquesne past Wagner 28-24
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mark Allen returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown 24 seconds into the fourth quarter and Duquesne held on for a 28-24 victory over Wagner on Saturday.
After a scoreless first quarter, Wagner built a 14-0 lead halfway through the second when Christian Alexander-Stevens capped back-to-back drives with scoring runs of 16 and 9 yards, respectively.
Duquesne (5-2, 3-0 Northeast Conference) responded with two touchdowns in the final 1:55 of the quarter. Daniel Parr capped an 11-play, 69-yard drive with a 16-yard TD toss to Davie Henderson on third-and-13. The Dukes’ Jake Dixon forced Myron Morris to fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Connor Barrett recovered at Wagner’s 24-yard line. Duquesne used 10 plays to score with A.J. Hines running it in from 1-yard.
Duquesne opened the third quarter with an eight-play, 77-yard drive that ended with Allen’s 2-yard TD run for a 21-14 lead. Allen followed with his punt return for a two-score lead.
Alexander-Stevens’ third rushing TD pulled the Seahawks (1-7, 1-2) within 28-21 with 12:40 remaining. Eric Silvester’s 32-yard field goal reduced the deficit to four with 7:47 left. Mason Williams ended it when he picked off Alexander-Stevens with 1:41 left.
Hines finished with 113 yards on 26 carries for Duquesne, which amassed 218 yards on the ground but just 72 through the air.
Alexander-Stevens ran for 61 yards on 11 carries and completed 14 of 28 passes for 191 yards and the costly pick.

No. 6 Penn State handles Michigan State 28-7
By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Pat Freiermuth scored the game’s first two touchdowns.
Turned out that was all No. 6 Penn State really needed against Michigan State’s anemic offense.
Freiermuth and the Nittany Lions would add more points later, and unbeaten Penn State beat the Spartans 28-7 on Saturday. Sean Clifford threw four touchdown passes on a rainy day, and the Nittany Lions avenged close losses to Michigan State from each of the past two seasons.
“I’m very excited that we’re undefeated still, and that’s the only goal I’ve had all season and I plan on going through the whole season doing that,” Clifford said.
The Spartans (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten) wrapped up a dreadful stretch in which they lost to Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State by a combined score of 100-17.
Penn State (8-0, 5-0) moves on to a surprising matchup of undefeated teams Nov. 9 at Minnesota. The Nittany Lions had lost five of their previous six against Michigan State.
Clifford’s first touchdown pass to Freiermuth, a 16-yarder, opened the scoring in the first quarter, and those same two players gave Penn State a 13-0 lead with a 19-yard strike in the second. KJ Hamler’s 27-yard TD catch with 1:20 left in the half — plus a successful 2-point conversion — made it 21-0.
A fumbled punt by Michigan State set up Clifford’s 6-yard touchdown toss to Freiermuth in the third quarter. Then the Spartans finally scored for the first time in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 2 seconds of game time. Brian Lewerke found Cody White for a 49-yard pass, and Anthony Williams scored on a 4-yard run.
“From my perspective, we need to execute better,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. “There are things that we can do from a call situation, but we’ve got the same — a lot of the same plays are the same plays that other people run as well, timing and who to go to and those type of things. But we’ll look at everything.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Penn State: The Nittany Lions haven’t won the Land Grant Trophy that often lately, but they had an easy time Saturday. Last weekend, Penn State nearly let a 21-point lead slip away in a win over Michigan. The Nittany Lions had no problems holding on to their big advantage against the Spartans.
“We were able to score enough early on in the first half before things got too messy to be able to get a win. I’m pleased with that,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “The bye week is coming at a tremendous time for us.”
Michigan State: The Spartans might not be as bad as these past three opponents made them look, but they’re struggling just to reach a bowl, and the offense is showing no signs of being able to function effectively against good teams.
EJECTION
Penn State defensive tackle Antonio Shelton was called for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected in the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions had nine penalties for 104 yards.
ROUGH STRETCH
The was the third time in school history that Michigan State played three straight games against teams in the AP top 10. It didn’t go any better the previous two times. In 1970, the Spartans lost 29-0 to Notre Dame, 29-0 to Ohio State and 34-20 to Michigan. The 1972 Michigan State team lost 51-6 to Southern California, 16-0 to Notre Dame and 10-0 to Michigan.
“We just got to loosen up,” Michigan State linebacker Antjuan Simmons said. “We carry a lot of pressure, put a lot of pressure on ourselves. We want to be the best. It kind of wears on you. We had to go back to the basics, just have fun, just trusting our job. Second half, I feel for the most part, we did that. We competed.”
POLL IMPLICATIONS
No. 5 Oklahoma’s loss to unranked Kansas State gives Penn State a chance to move up.
UP NEXT
Penn State: The Nittany Lions are off next weekend before traveling to play Minnesota.
Michigan State: The Spartans also have an open date — their second in three weeks. They host Illinois on Nov. 9.
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Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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This version has been corrected to show Michigan State went 2 hours, 11 minutes, 2 seconds of game time without scoring.

Parr throws 2 TDs as Duquesne tops Sacred Heart, 20-6
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) — Daniel Parr threw a pair of five-yard touchdown passes and Mitch Maczura kicked a pair of field goals as Duquesne stopped Sacred Heart, 20-6, Saturday in a battle of last year’s Northeastern Conference co-champions.
The Dukes (4-2, 2-0) came into the game with the 13th-ranked defense in the Football Championship Subdivision, limiting opponents to just 317.2 yards per game. They held the Pioneers to 233 yards of total offense and allowed them just 10 first downs.
Parr completed 15 of his 26 pass attempts for 149 yards, hitting Kellon Taylor to cap a 13-play, 83-yard drive, then finding Dontay Mayfield to cap an eight-play, 81-yard drive just before halftime to put the Dukes up, 17-0.
A.J. Hines carried the load on offense for the Dukes, carrying 29 times for 142 yards. Defensively Duquesne limited Sacred Heart to just 84 passing yards and picked off Logan Marchi three times.
Sacred Heart (3-4, 1-2) got on the board in third quarter when Julius Chestnut brook loose for a 61-yard touchdown run. Chestnut finished with 128 yards on 20 carries.

(Center Twp., Pa.) It was a beautiful fall night for high school football in Beaver County on Friday night, October 18, 2019. Tom Hays and Bruce Frey had the call on 1460 WMBA  for this key match-up in the play-off race for the 3A Tri-County West Conference. The Warriors were the host at Sarg Alberts Stadium on the campus of Central Valley High School. Central Valley  led throughout the very one-sided game against South Park, despite the Eagles efforts. The Warriors put the first score up on the board with a one yard run into the end zone by Ameer Dudley. Ameer took that momentum into the second quarter with an eight yard touchdown pass. With five seconds to go in the half, South Park’s Mason Kasprack scored a 15 yard touchdown. This was quickly followed by a 78 yard Center touchdown by Miles Walker, ending the half 21-7 in favor of the Warriors. Central Valley kept that speed going into the second half,with Jawon Hall scoring a 12 yard reception followed by a 73 yard reception taking the game into the fourth 35-7. South Park could not compete with Central Valley’s offense as Justin Thomson started off the fourth quarter with a 12 yard reception into the end zone, followed by Amarian Saunders running the ball 25 yards for their last touchdown. The Eagles weren’t going down without a fight, as Xander Robertshaw took the ball 20 yards for the final touchdown of the game. The Warriors triumphed over the Eagles 48-13. The Warrior victory sets up a battle for the section title next Friday from the pit in Aliquippa. The host Quips are 6-0 in the section and 9-0 overall after beating Keystone Oaks on Friday nigth 55-7. The Warriors will go into the game also with a 6-0 section record but are 8-1 overall with their loan loss on the season being a non-conference game against Thomas Jefferson. 1230 WBVP, 1460 WMBA, and 99.3 FM will have coverage of the game Friday night October 25, 2019 starting with a tailgate party out front of “the Pit” in Aliquippa hosted by Beaver County Radio’s Matt Drzik and Zach Ulrich starting at 5:30 pm. Bob Barrickman and Tom Hays will call the action for Beaver County Radio starting with the pre-game at 6:30 and the game starting at 7:00 pm.

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Check out the photos below from award winning photographer Sly Washington in this weeks edition of “Thru the Eyes of Sly”

 

No. 10 Penn State holds off No. 17 Iowa 17-12
By LUKE MEREDITH AP Sports Writer
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — On the road against one of the best defenses in America, 10th-ranked Penn State won the turnover battle and converted on third downs to survive yet another tough trip to Iowa.
Noah Cain ran for a 5-yard touchdown with 5:17 left and Penn State held off the 17th-ranked Hawkeyes 17-12 on Saturday night, its first win over a ranked opponent this season.
Cain finished with 102 yards for the Nittany Lions (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten), who extended their winning streak over the Hawkeyes (4-2, 1-2) to six games.
“This is a team. You’re going to have to earn it,” Penn State coach James Franklin said about the Hawkeyes. “The defense has been great all year. We leaned on them heavily.”
A matchup between two of the nation’s top defenses turned when Iowa’s Nate Stanley threw an interception near midfield with 9:22 remaining. Penn State drove 35 yards on a gassed Iowa defense, and the last of three straight runs by Cain made it 17-6.
The Nittany Lions gained just 294 yards. But they were 10 of 19 on third downs against a defense ranked fourth in scoring defense entering play, and they scored 10 points off of two Iowa miscues.
“We grinded it out,” Franklin said.
Iowa pulled within 17-12 when Stanley found Brandon Smith for a 33-yard TD pass with 2:31 to go. The Hawkeyes’ two-point try failed though, and Cain converted a crucial third down that ensured that Iowa never saw the ball again.
The Hawkeyes have dropped back-to-back games by just 12 points after its first 4-0 start since 2015.
“We’re doing the right things. We’ve just got to do a little better,” Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa said.
Up 7-6 late in the third quarter, Penn State recovered a fumble at Iowa’s 16 and Sean Clifford connected on an apparent touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth that was overturned on review. Iowa then held the Nittany Lions at the 1-foot line, and two straight holding calls forced them to settle for a 33-yard field goal.
KJ Hamler caught seven passes, including an acrobatic 22-yarder for a TD, for Penn State.
Stanley threw for 286 yards, but the Hawkeyes ran for just 70 yards on 30 attempts.
THE TAKEAWAY
Penn State: The Nittany Lions survived their toughest road challenge outside of a trip to Ohio State on Nov. 23. Penn State was on the road against a talented team with a jacked-up crowd, and yet the Nittany Lions were the ones making the plays that made the difference.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes nearly went back-to-back games without a touchdown. Granted, Michigan and Penn State are really good on defense. But Iowa can’t continue to lean on its own defense to keep it in games. At 1-2 in the league and with Wisconsin looking like one of the best teams in America, the Big Ten West doesn’t look so winnable anymore. “We’ve just ended up shooting ourselves in the foot,” Stanley said.
PIVOTAL MOMENT
Penn State was facing a third-and-10 at Iowa’s 35 after Stanley’s interception. But Clifford broke right on an option, kept it, burst through a hole and gained 11 yards to extend what proved to be the game’s winning drive. “He didn’t necessarily play his best game. But he was gutsy,” Franklin said. “That was a big-time play.”
THE NUMBERS
Clifford was 12 of 24 for 117 yards, snapping his streak of five straight games with at least 200 yards passing. … Freshman Tyler Goodson led Iowa with 35 yards rushing, though he lost a fumble that won’t help his chances of winning the starting job. Starter Mekhi Sargent had just 18 yards on nine tries. … Penn State punter Blake Gillikin placed five of his seven kicks inside Iowa’s 20-yard line. … Iowa, which at one point this season went three games without a turnover, fumbled three times and lost one. … Penn State has 52 points off of turnovers through six games.
HE SAID IT
“I’ve got confidence in our football team,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We didn’t play good enough this week or last against two really good football teams. I think we have a good team.”
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Penn State might move up a few spots. Iowa might struggle to hang onto its spot in the Top 25 after back-to-back losses.
UP NEXT
Penn State hosts Michigan on Oct. 19.
Iowa hosts Purdue next Saturday.
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Robert Morris beats St. Francis (PA) 20-17 in double OT
LORETTO, Pa. (AP) — Caleb Lewis threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Gonzalez with 45 seconds left in regulation, Nick Bisceglia made a 37-yard field goal in the second overtime, and Robert Morris slipped past St. Francis (PA) 20-17 on Saturday.
Lewis finished 9-of-22 passing for 152 yards and two scores. Tim Vecchio had six receptions for 94 yards and a score and Alijah Jackson had 26 carries for 110 yards for Robert Morris (2-4, 1-0 Northeast Conference).
On the first possession of the second OT, Jared Harris’ strip-sack of the Red Flash’s Jason Brown was recovered by Garret Fairman and, four plays later, Bisceglia’s field goal won it.
Chris Wells scored on a 14-yard run to give St. Francis (3-3, 2-1) a 17-10 lead with 5:34 left in the fourth quarter. Amir Jordan returned the ensuing kickoff into Red Flash territory but the RMU drive stalled at the 29 but the Colonials defense forced St. Francis to go three-and-out. Lewis then led a nine-play, 70-yard drive — hitting Deonte White for 9 yards on fourth-and-6 and connected with DeLano Madison for 19 yards on fourth-and-10 — capped by his TD pass to Gonzalez forced overtime.
Bisceglia’s 42-yard attempt was blocked on the first possession of OT and, after St. Francis moved to the 9, Trevor Thompson’s 26-yard attempt was wide right.
Brown completed 27 of 40 for 268 yards and a score and Well finished with 19 carries for 80 yards for the Red Flash.

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Hines’ rushing helps Duquesne hold off Long Island 21-14
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A.J. Hines rushed for 140 yards with a touchdown and twice converted first downs on third-and-short in the final minutes to preserve Duquesne’s 21-14 victory over Long Island University in the first meeting of the two teams Saturday.
Duquesne (3-2, 1-0 Northeast Conference) took its first possession 74 yards in nine plays and got on the board with Mark Allen’s 20-yard scoring run. Hines added a late touchdown, scoring from the 1 as the Dukes led 21-7 early in the fourth quarter.
Long Island (0-4, 0-3), which is Joining the NEC and moving up from Division-II, marched 74 yards in 14 plays and made it a one-score game with 3:55 remaining when Clay Beathard found Steven Chambers crossing the front of the end zone.
The Dukes, aided by Hines’ two first-down conversions, ran out the clock.
Beathard completed 15 of 24 passes for 221 yards but was intercepted twice. David Parr was 12 of 21 for 196 yards for Duquesne.

Pitt rallies past Duke 33-30 after blowing 23-point lead
By JOEDY McCREARY AP Sports Writer
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Kenny Pickett and Pittsburgh built a big lead by taking the ball from Duke — only to have that lead disappear when the Panthers started giving it right back.
Given enough time for one shot at a comeback, he wasn’t going to throw it to the Blue Devils again.
Pickett threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to V’Lique Carter with 38 seconds remaining, and Pitt rallied to beat Duke 33-30 on Saturday night after wasting a 23-point lead.
“The first thing you want to do is stop the bleeding and try to get a drive,” Pickett said. “We waited until the last drive to finish the game off.”
Pickett finished 29 of 48 for 268 yards with three touchdown passes to help the Panthers (4-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) claim a wild victory — their fifth straight in this Coastal Division series — after the teams combined for 10 total turnovers with each scoring TDs in the final 90 seconds.
“Just shows character, our guys going on the road to get a victory,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said.
Pitt led 26-3 with less than 3 minutes left in the third quarter, only to have the Blue Devils turn three straight turnovers into touchdowns and then take a 30-26 lead on Quentin Harris’ 44-yard touchdown pass to Deon Jackson with 1:30 remaining.
Pickett needed just four plays to put the Panthers back in front. He found Carter over the middle and the Pitt running back got past defensive back Marquis Waters with a spin move on his way to the end zone.
“It was just time to step up,” Pickett said. “I was pretty (ticked) off at myself for the interception. I take a lot of pride in not turning it over. … That drive, I just really wanted to be on point and accurate and stayed poised and didn’t let the moment get too big. Just went out and did it.”
Patrick Jones II then sacked Harris on the third play of Duke’s next drive, jarring the ball loose, and Phil Campbell III recovered it with 22 seconds to play.
Harris finished 18 of 43 for 165 yards with two rushing touchdowns for the Blue Devils (3-2, 1-1). But he had five of Duke’s six turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble during a four-play span of the first quarter, plus a third-quarter fumble in addition to the game-sealer.
Pickett threw TDs covering 19 yards to Taysir Mack and 4 yards to Nakia Griffin-Stewart for the Panthers, and Paris Ford returned one of his two interceptions 26 yards for a touchdown before he was ejected for targeting.
THE TAKEAWAY
Pittsburgh: Trying to avoid their second 0-2 start to ACC play in three years, the Panthers wound up facing the right opponent. They’ve beaten Duke in shootouts (54-45 last year), low-scoring games (24-17 in 2017), blowouts (56-14 in 2016) and mostly close games (for the fifth time in seven meetings, the final margin was 10 or fewer points). Now maybe the reigning Coastal Division champions can think about getting on another late-season roll — none of their final six opponents have a record better than 3-2.
Duke: This one is going to sting the Blue Devils, who were on a roll after a 35-point rout at Virginia Tech eight nights earlier. Ultimately, they’ll rue the onslaught of turnovers that put them in that deep hole to begin with.
“They showed a bunch of heart,” coach David Cutcliffe said. “We did not perform efficiently on offense. What we can’t do out of this is hang our head. We’re going to learn a lot from this game.”
KEY STAT
Duke entered having allowed one sack through four games — and none in its last three — while the Panthers were tied for second nationally with 24 sacks. Pitt sacked Harris three times, most notably on the Blue Devils’ final offensive snap.
WEIRD PLAY
Duke appeared to have tied it at 26 on the two-point conversion that followed Harris’ second touchdown run. When it appeared the quarterback’s forward progress was stopped, line judge Peter Beratta initially raced down the line, signaling that the try was no good. But there was no whistle blown, so the players played on — with center Jack Wohlabaugh pushing Harris into the end zone to prompt an official to raise his hands into the air. After a conference, referee Tra Blake announced that because an inadvertent signal was given, by rule, the conversion must be re-attempted. On the second try, Harris was stuffed well short of the goal line.
UP AND DOWN
Ford became the first Pitt player with multiple interceptions in a game since 2013. He’s also the first Panther with a pick-six since Dane Jackson had one in the wild 76-61 victory over Syracuse in 2016. His second half was much worse: He muffed a third-quarter punt that led to the touchdown that started Duke’s comeback, then was ejected for targeting for his hit on Scott Bracey with 2:43 remaining.
UP NEXT
Pittsburgh: Has a week off before visiting Syracuse on Oct. 18.
Duke: Plays host to Georgia Tech on Saturday.
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For more AP college football coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25