Sept. 11, 2021 marked week two of the college football season, and numerous teams wore patriotic uniforms in remembrance and honor of 9/11 victims.

Week two provided the fans with another exhilarating gameday. Many upsets took place, and various games went down to the wire.

In Pittsburgh, football is a pastime, and fans were anticipating another exciting week of college football. This article will recap the results of Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia and Duquesne in their second games of the season.

Pitt

The Pitt Panthers’ second game of the season was on the road against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee’s stadium, also known as “Rocky Top,” is known for having an incredibly loud atmosphere and is one of the harder places to play in college football. However, with a new head coach, Josh Heupel, and a change in quarterbacks, Tennessee is in a minor rebuild.

Last week, the Vols defeated a struggling Bowling Green team by a score of 38-6. They had no difficulties moving the football and had their first test against a 1-0 Pitt football team.

The Panthers come into the game following a blowout win against the UMass Minutemen. They dominated on both sides of the ball, winning by a score of 51-7.

Pitt received the ball to begin the game. The Panthers had a rough start to the game. The Vols forced a three-and-out, forcing them to punt. Tennessee blocked the punt, recovering the ball at the two yard line. On the next play, Volunteers running back Jabari Small, would score a two yard touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead.

Pitt’s offensive woes continued throughout the first quarter. The Panthers were forced to punt the ball three times. With four minutes left, the Volunteers would kick a field goal to lead 10-0. At the end of the quarter, Pitt was driving but was trailing by ten.
On the first play in the second quarter, Pitt scored an 11-yard touchdown pass on a completion from sixth year senior Kenny Pickett to senior graduate Transfer from Hawaii, Marquise Stoval. Pitt held Tennessee to another field goal and would follow up with a 16-yard touchdown pass on a trick play. The pass was completed by wide receiver, Jared Wayne to tight end, Lucas Krull. Pitt would kick a field goal on their next drive to go up 17-13.

After both teams notched matching field goals, Tennessee tied the game up on a 44-yard screen pass from Virginia Tech senior transfer Hendon Hooker to sophomore Jimmy Calloway. Pitt had a quick response before the half’s end with a rushing touchdown by junior running back, Vincent Davis. At the end of the half, Pitt led 27-20.

In the beginning of the second half, both squads stepped up their defense. Sophomore defensive back Brandon Hill tallied his first career interception for the Panther defense.

After a rushing touchdown for Kenny Pickett on a quarterback keeper, Tennessee followed up with a dominant drive that was capped off with a Jacob Warren receiving touchdown.

After the third, Pitt was leading 34-27. With 12 minutes left in the fourth, Kenny Pickett completed a touchdown pass to Jordan Addison, increasing the lead by two touchdowns. Hendon Hooker helped orchestrate a drive that led to a quick Tennessee touchdown, making it 41-34, Pitt.

In the late stages of the fourth, the Volunteers had a long drive, but the Panthers stopped the Vols on 4th and 1 in Pitt territory. Pitt hung on to win 41-34.

Pitt was led by Kenny Pickett, who completed 24 of 36 passes, for 285 yards, and 2 touchdown passes. His main target was Taysir Mack who caught four passes for 100 yards.

Pitt looks to continue their momentum next week at home against the Western Michigan Broncos. They strive to have their second straight 3-0 start to the season.

Penn State

The Penn State Nittany Lions played the Ball State Cardinals in their second game of the season at Beaver Stadium. This is their first home game of the season.

The Cardinals enter Happy Valley after defeating the Western Illinois Leathernecks, 31-21. Ball State had a very impressive 2020 season, going 7-1.

The Nittany Lions come into the game, following a 16-10 upset win on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers. In their first drive back home, The Nittany Lions’ running back Noah Cain scored his second touchdown of the season after a 5-yard run.

After the defense forced the Cardinals to punt, Penn State scored another touchdown on a 1-yard touchdown run by Sean Clifford. Penn State would score on their first three possessions on offense, including a 45-yard field goal by Jordan Stout.

In the late stages of the first half, senior quarterback Sean Clifford connected with senior wide receiver Jahan Dotson on a 25-yard touchdown pass. The Cardinals kicked two field goals in the first half, but the Nittany Lions led 24-6.

In the third quarter, the defense remained consistent after a 16-yard interception return for a touchdown by senior linebacker Jesse Luketa. The Penn State defense held Ball State scoreless in the third. Penn State led after the third by a score of 34-6.

In the fourth, Ball State scored their first touchdown off of a 6-yard run by freshman running back, Carson Steele. Nevertheless, the Nittany Lions were leading by 24. Penn State tallied a touchdown on a pass from Ta’quan Roberson to Theo Johnson. This was Roberson’s first touchdown pass in his college career and Theo Johnson’s first receiving touchdown of his college career.

Penn State would win 44-13, improving to 2-0. Sean Clifford led the charge for the Nittany Lions, completing 21 of 29 passes, along with throwing for 230 yards and having one touchdown pass. Penn State also had a balanced attack, putting up 493 total yards throughout the game.

Nonetheless, the game changer was Penn State’s defense. Although they only had one sack as a team, the Nittany Lions forced a fumble and had two interceptions. Despite putting up over 34 points per game last season, Ball State was held to only 13 points and 69 rushing yards by a tenacious Penn State defense.

The 10th ranked Penn State looks to continue their success at Beaver Stadium next week when they take on the 22nd ranked Auburn Tigers.

West Virginia

The West Virginia Mountaineers played the Long Island Sharks in their home opener at Morgantown in their second game of the season.

West Virginia took no time to score. On the opening kickoff junior Winston Wright Jr. returned a 90-yard touchdown to give the Mountaineers an early 7-0 lead. The Mountaineer defense stopped the Sharks on their next possession. This led to a 1-yard touchdown run for senior running back, Leddie Brown. Brown would tally another touchdown run before the end of the first quarter, giving the Mountaineers a 21-0 lead.

West Virginia continued their success in the second quarter. In the second, they shut down Long Island’s offense and had two touchdowns. Freshman quarterback Garrett Greene scored his first career touchdown on a three yard run. Also, junior Sam James caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jarret Doege. At the end of the half, the Mountaineers led by the score of 38.

In the third quarter, Doege completed another touchdown pass to Sam James and Garrett Greene had another rushing touchdown. Doege also tossed a 39-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver, Sean Ryan.

In the fourth quarter, West Virginia shut out the Long Island defense for the fourth consecutive quarter. Sophomore. A’varius Sparrow capped off the Mountaineers’ dominant performance with a one yard touchdown run. West Virginia won by the lopsided score, 66-0.

The key to victory was the Mountaineer defense. They held Long Island to only 95-yards for the entirety of the game. The West Virginia offense compiled a total of 542 yards.

Jarret Doege led the Mountaineer offense, completing 14 of 22 passes and throwing for 259 yards. Doege also threw two touchdown passes.

The Mountaineers take on their rivals, the Virginia Tech Hokies, at home for a highly anticipated week three matchup. The Hokies are ranked 15th in the Nation.

Duquesne

After losing 45-3 to the TCU Horned Frogs, the Duquesne Dukes defeated the Ohio Bobcats 28-26 on the road. This is the Dukes’ first win over an FBS school in program history.

The Dukes were led by sophomore Darius Perrantes who threw for 194 yards, along with one touchdown pass. He also completed 23 of 34 passes.
The defense clamped the Bobcats late in the game. Ohio cut the game to 28-26 after a touchdown pass from Kurtis Rourke to Ty Walton. The Dukes stopped the Bobcats on an attempted fade route in the end zone. The Dukes held on, winning 28-26.

The Duquesne Dukes take on the Virginia University of Lynchburg Dragons next week in their home opener.