Cale Berger and Chris Peak of Panther-Lair.com recap Pitt's victory over Ohio, preview Saturday's 100th matchup with Penn State and look back at some of the recent recruiting battles between the two sides.
Chris's biggest takeaway from Pitt's win over Ohio was the improved play of Kenny Pickett and the success they had in the passing game. Pickett set career highs in passing yards (321) and completions (26) last week.
Cale agrees, but he also attributes their success in the passing game to the leaps the offensive line and running backs made in pass protection. Pickett was sacked four times in the season opener against Virginia, but the Panthers allowed just one sack against Ohio.
In addition, Cale and Chris both recognized the play of Pitt's defensive line against Ohio, who racked up six sacks against Bobcats' quarterback Nathan Rourke last Saturday. Pitt defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman had three sacks by himself, the most by a Pitt player in a single game since Aaron Donald.
Cale is excited to see how the Pitt defense matches up with an explosive Penn State offense. The Pitt defense has been great through two games, and is ranked 24th nationally in total defense. Penn State's offense is ranked second in the nation in scoring offense (62 points per game), but they did begin the season with games against Idaho and Buffalo.
On the recruiting trail, Chris highlighted some of the Panthers' commits in the 2020 class that were also pursued by the Nittany Lions. Defensive lineman Dayon Hayes, safety Jahvante Royal, running back Henry Parrish and defensive tackles Timothy Brown all committed to Pitt over Penn State and others.
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Panthers Insider 8:00aPitt Game Day 9:00aNetwork Pregame 10:00aKickoff 12:00p
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