Pittsburg, PA
Holstein helps Pitt thump Youngstown State, 73-17
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
UP NEXT
Youngstown State: Visits Missouri State on Saturday.
Pitt: Opens ACC play at North Carolina on Oct. 5.
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Pittsburgh Regional Transit has started to install its ReadyFare vending machines as the agency prepares to roll out its new fare payment system.
PRT said it’s working to roll out its new ReadyFare system and has started to install the new machine at some of its light-rail stations.
The new machines recently were installed at PRT’s Gateway station in Downtown Pittsburgh.
PRT said that as it prepares to roll out the new system, current ConnectCard holders will receive a card in the mail with instructions on how to request a ReadyFare card.
The new ReadyFare cards will be able to be purchased at the new machines for $1.
PRT said that riders will be able to transfer any balances they have on a ConnectCard to the new ReadyFare cards using an online balance transfer form.
Pittsburg, PA
About 5 pounds of bees removed from Acrisure Stadium scaffolding ahead of Morgan Wallen concerts
Acrisure Stadium is buzzing with excitement ahead of the back-to-back Morgan Wallen concerts. Except it’s not the fans generating all the excitement — it’s about 5 pounds of honeybees.
The Fine Family Apiary in Monongahela said it was contacted on Wednesday about a swarm of bees clustered on the stage scaffolding. The apiary put the swarm in a “nuc box” and took them home before moving the bees into full-size equipment.
Owner Al Fine estimates the swarm weighed about 4 to 5 pounds and consisted of 12,000 to 15,000 bees. All said, it took less than two hours to get the job done.
Why do bees swarm?
Swarming is how honeybees propagate, Fine explained. According to Penn State Extension, during swarming, the queen and about half the workers leave their home to establish a new nest. The bees will form a temporary cluster, hanging out while scouts search the surrounding area for a more permanent home in hollow spaces like tree cavities or, occasionally, the walls of a home.
Swarms can stick around for several hours or days until they’re ready to move, Penn State Extension says. Meanwhile, the colony left behind is temporarily without a leader until a new queen is established.
With the swarm at Acrisure Stadium removed, Morgan Wallen’s show is ready to go on. The country music megastar will bring his I’m The Problem Tour to Pittsburgh on June 5 and June 6, along with multiple acts like Brooks & Dunn and Ella Langley.
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