Big east roundup \ Saturday’s games

Pittsburgh 24, Connecticut 21

PITTSBURGH — Dan Hutchins kicked an 18-yard field goal on the final play and Pittsburgh pulled off the biggest comeback in coach Dave Wannstedt’s five seasons, rallying from 15 points down. Connecticut (3-2, 0-1 in Big East) led 21-6 after Andre Dixon scored on a 2-yard run to end a 61-yard drive with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter. But Pitt quarterback Bill Stull, who made several major mistakes in the first half, found Jonathan Baldwin on a 26-yard scoring pass play set up by Dion Lewis’ 32-yard run to cut it to 21-13. Pitt (5-1, 2-0) tied it midway through the fourth quarter when Stull and his roommate, tight end Dorin Dickerson, hooked up on a 27-yard pass play for Dickerson’s seventh touchdown of the season. Stull then hit Cedric McGee for the 2-point conversion. Stull went 21 of 31 for 268 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, and Lewis, a freshman who is the nation’s No. 6 rusher, ran for 158 yards on 24 carries. UConn never got any offense going while being outgained 147-6 in the fourth quarter. After the Huskies punted, Stull drove Pitt 74 yards for Hutchins’ third field goal despite failing to score himself from the 1 on third-and-goal and time running out. Pitt improved to 5-1 for the fifth time since 2000. The Panthers’ previous biggest comeback under Wannstedt came in a 36-33, four-overtime win at Notre Dame last season, when they trailed by 14. Pitt was in control early, but twice couldn’t convert excellent scoring chances. Lewis was open in the end zone but dropped what would have been a 43-yard touchdown catch on the Panthers’ first drive.

West Virginia 34, Syracuse 13

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Noel Devine caught a touchdown pass and rushed for another and Ryan Clarke scored on two short runs to lead West Virginia (4-1, 1-0 Big East), which won eight straight in the series. Jarrett Brown had a superb first half, going 14 for 18 for 179 yards in leading the Mountaineers to a 27-0 lead. He finished 22 of 30 for 244 yards before departing early in the fourth quarter. Greg Paulus had his worst game of the season for Syracuse (2-4, 0-2), giving way to backup Ryan Nassib to start the second half. Paulus was 5 of 9 for 30 yards and one interception. Devine, who entered the game averaging 135 yards rushing, gained 91 yards on 22 carries. Nassib was 7 of 16 for 120 yards and threw two touchdown passes, a 50-yarder to Mike Williams in the third quarter and a 24-yarder to Marcus Sales in the fourth. The TD catch tied Williams with Marvin Harrison for second all-time at Syracuse with 20, two behind Rob Moore. With scouts from five NFL teams looking on, Paulus faltered badly. A week ago, South Florida scored four touchdowns off seven Syracuse turnovers in a 34-20 win, and the Orange continued to turn the ball over. Paulus had been intercepted five times by the Bulls, including a critical one that defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul returned for a TD. Against the Mountaineers, he threw an interception on his second attempt. He rolled right on a third-and-2 play from the West Virginia 30, then threw back across the field into the arms of 272-pound nose tackle Josh Taylor, who caught it and then fumbled.

Rutgers 42, Texas Southern 0

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Joe Martinek scored on runs of 9 and 15 yards and Rutgers won its 600th game. Freshman Tom Savage returned to the starting lineup after missing the Scarlet Knights’ last game with a concussion and threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Tim Brown. Jourdan Brooks also scored on a 5-yard run, David Rowe added a 56-yard interception return and De’Antwan Williams rushed for a 44-yard touchdown as Rutgers (4-1) won its fourth straight game. Rutgers forced four turnovers and recorded seven sacks in limiting Texas Southern (1-4) to 126 total yards.

Associated Press