Kenny Pickett powers No. 25 Pittsburgh past Duke
Kenny Pickett threw for 416 yards and three touchdowns to lead 25th-ranked Pittsburgh to a 54-29 win over Duke on Saturday in an ACC contest in Durham, N.C.
Jordan Addison caught seven passes for 171 yards and a touchdown for Pitt (7-2, 4-1), which bounced back from a 38-34 loss to Miami last week and stayed on top of the ACC Coastal Division standings.
Rodney Hammond Jr. rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown and Jared Wayne reeled in five receptions for 81 yards for the Panthers.
Gunnar Holmberg completed 16 of 23 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown for Duke (3-5, 0-5), which has lost five straight games.
Leading 30-19 at halftime, Pitt scored on the first drive of the second half after Pickett connected on a 29-yard pass to Gavin Bartholomew.
After Duke cut its deficit to 37-22 on a field goal, the Panthers answered with 4:36 left in the third quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by Addison.
Duke closed to within 44-29 with 13:41 remaining on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Riley Leonard to Mateo Durant.
But the Blue Devils couldn’t get any closer the rest of the game.
Pitt jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 7:09 remaining in the first quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Pickett to Wayne. Duke scored the next 12 points to take a 12-7 lead, the last of those points being a 32-yard touchdown pass from Holmberg to Jalon Calhoun with 1:16 left in the first.
Pitt took a 14-12 lead with 11:59 remaining in the second quarter on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Pickett to Addison. Duke regained the lead at 19-14 when Jaylen Stinson returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown.
The Panthers controlled the rest of the second quarter from there, outscoring Duke 16-0 to take a 30-19 lead at halftime.
–Field Level Media
