Holstein helps Pitt thump Youngstown State, 73-17

PITTSBURGH (AP) Eli Holstein threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more as Pittsburgh blasted Youngstown State 73-17 on Saturday.

Pitt is 4-0 for the first time since 2000 and it's also the first time the Panthers have put up 70 or more points since scoring 77 against New Hampshire in 2021. Pitt’s 644 yards of total offense is tied for fifth-most in school history. The Panthers, one of the nation’s early-season surprises, are coming off a 3-9 mark a year ago.

“It’s great when you feel like no matter what you call it’s going to work,” Holstein said. “It’s a great feeling as an offense.”

Holstein, a redshirt freshman transfer from Alabama, has helped the Panthers to this point. He completed 16 of 24 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed nine times for 93 yards and two scores. It was the most yards rushing for a Pitt quarterback since Chad Voytik ran for 118 yards in 2014.

Nate Yarnell threw a touchdown pass to Daniel Carter, who also rushed for 109 yards and two scores. Censere Lee caught an 82-yard touchdown pass, Raphael Williams Jr. had four receptions for 71 yards and a score, and Kenny Johnson also added a touchdown catch.

“We still left some points out there, but I feel like this is the first time we put a four-quarter game together,” Holstein said. “The scoreboard showed it.”

Beau Brungard completed 18 of 28 passes for two touchdowns and an interception for Youngstown State (1-3), one of the nation’s most successful Football Championship Subdivision programs. Cyrus Traugh caught four passes for 87 yards and two scores.

Pitt overcame double-digit second-half deficits in each of the last two weeks. The Panthers rallied from 21 down in the third quarter to stun Cincinnati and then scored 14 points in the final 3:15 to surge past West Virginia in the 107th edition of the Backyard Brawl.

A comeback wasn’t necessary against Youngstown State, a team that has played Pitt close in the past.

Pitt scored on its first six possessions. The Panthers put up 42 points in 9:38 and outgained Youngstown State by a 370-122 margin during that span.

This was just the sixth meeting between the teams, which are separated by 70 miles. The three previous games turned into two difficult wins and an embarrassing loss for Pitt. Youngstown State upset Pitt in the 2012 season opener. The Penguins tested the Panthers again in 2015 – a 45-37 Pitt win – and 2017 when Pitt scored a 28-21 overtime win.

Holstein and the Panthers put Youngstown State away early.

Holstein rushed for 32 yards and later threw a touchdown on Pitt’s first possession. He capped the 11-play, 75-yard series with a six-yard pass to Williams Jr. in the flat.

Pitt started its second possession on the Youngstown State 42. Carter broke free for a 24-yard touchdown run two plays later.

On Pitt’s next series, Derrick Davis Jr. converted a fourth-and-1 at midfield, allowing Holstein to complete a 35-yard pass to Williams. Holstein later ended the series with a two-yard touchdown run.

Back-to-back big gains by Williams and Jake Overman on Pitt’s next possession moved the Panthers to the Youngstown State 9. Holstein later threw his second touchdown pass, this one to Johnson, from two yards away.

A Kyle Lewis interception set up Carter’s second career-long run of the game, this one a 43-yard touchdown as Pitt opened a 35-3 lead.

Holstein answered a Youngstown State touchdown with an 82-yard strike to Lee along the sideline. It was Pitt’s longest touchdown pass since a 96-yarder from Kenny Pickett to Maurice Ffrench against Eastern Michigan during the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl.

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi’s father Bill was a head coach at Youngstown State from 1974-85. Narduzzi was a freshman linebacker for his father in 1985 before transferring to Rhode Island.

“I asked them to get one for my dad, to try and make it personal,” Narduzzi said. “They took the challenge, went out there and tattooed them pretty good.”

Youngstown State: The Penguins weren’t able to replicate their previous success against Pitt and lost for the second time in as many weeks.

Pitt: Holstein and the Panthers quickly took care of business against Youngstown State. Pitt gets a week off before opening ACC play with a chance to go 5-0 for the first time since 1991.

Youngstown State: Visits Missouri State on Saturday.

Pitt: Opens ACC play at North Carolina on Oct. 5.

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