Massachusetts Falls In Season Opener At Pitt

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Massachusetts	0	0	0	7	7
Pitt	13	10	14	14	51

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2nd

3rd

4th

Massachusetts

Pitt

PITTSBURGH – University of Massachusetts football opened the 2021 campaign with a 51-7 loss to Pittsburgh at Heinz Field on Saturday afternoon.

Tyler Lytle threw for 167 yards (14-31) in his UMass debut and ran for his first career touchdown. Jermaine "OC" Johnson, Jr. led the Minutemen's receivers with 52 yards on three catches, while Taylor Edwards nabbed a 32-yard grab, the longest play from scrimmage for UMass. On the ground, Kay'Ron Adams had 11 carries for 32 yards with a long of 20 yards on the day. Dashon Ross paced the defense with nine tackles, including six solo stops and a quarterback hurry. UMass had one sack, three TFLs and a forced fumble, which the Minutemen recovered, in the contest.

Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett was 30-for-40 for 300 yards and threw for a pair of touchdowns. Five different Pitt players rushed for TDs, while Lucas Krull had a team-high 58 yards receiving, including a five-yard touchdown grab that opened the scoring.

The teams were scoreless with less than five minutes to play in the first, but Pitt broke through and found the end zone its final two possessions of the quarter.

Krull's TD came at the 4:56 mark and Pickett threw for his second of the day to Jordan Addison from 12 yards out with 1:31 to go in the opening frame.

After the UMass defense held the Panthers to a field goal with a red zone stop, aided by a sack from Xavier Gonsalves on second down, Pitt went on to tack on another score with a 92-yard drive to end the half with a 23-0 advantage.

The Panthers came out of halftime with a pair of rushing touchdowns from Vincent Davis (six yards) and Israel Abanikanda (12 yards) at 10:45 and 6:42 of the third quarter, respectively.

The Minutemen opened up the fourth quarter with their only TD of the day, a one-yard rush from Lytle after Josiah Johnson's apparent score was called back, as it was ruled he stepped out inside the one-yard line after an 11-yard gain.

Pitt completed the scoring with touchdowns from Nick Patti (nine-yard rush) and Daniel Carter (six-yard rush) with 11:48 and 2:44 remaining in the game, respectively.

The opening-week setback leaves the Minutemen at 0-1, while the Panthers improve to 1-0.

UMass will be back in action next Saturday, September 11, when the squad will host Boston College in its home opener at 3:30 p.m. at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Lytle Tyler

Players Mentioned

Taylor Edwards

Xavier Gonsalves

Josiah Johnson

Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams

Tyler Lytle