Nate Yarnell completed 9 of 12 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown to lead No. 23 Pitt to a 34-13 road win over Western Michigan on Saturday in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Yarnell was filling in for starter Kedon Slovis, who suffered an injury last week against Tennessee.
Israel Abanikanda rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries for Pittsburgh (2-1).
Pittsburgh opened the scoring on a 48-yard field goal by Ben Sauls with 7:26 remaining in the first quarter, and then the Panthers took a 10-0 lead with 2:39 left in the first following a 22-yard interception return for a touchdown by Marquis Williams.
The teams then traded field goals for the rest of the first half.
Western Michigan (1-2) cut its deficit to 10-3 on a 32-yard field goal by Palmer Domschke with 31 seconds remaining in the first quarter, then Sauls drilled a 23-yarder with 11:31 left in the second to once again allow Pitt to establish a 10-point edge.
Domschke then hit a 40-yard field goal with 7:17 remaining in the first half to make it 13-6 Panthers, which was the score at halftime.
With 1:30 left in the third quarter, Pittsburgh took a 20-6 lead on a 4-yard touchdown run by Abanikanda, which capped off a seven-play, 80-yard drive.
Western Michigan responded, going 75 yards in three plays and closing to within 20-13 on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Sambucci to A.J. Abbott with 23 seconds left in the third quarter.
But the Panthers had an answer, taking a 27-13 lead with 8:16 left in the game on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Yarnell to Konata Mumpfield, finishing off a 12-play, 74-yard drive that took 7:07 off the clock.
Pittsburgh then put the game away with 3:03 remaining, taking a 34-13 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by Daniel Carter.
Pittsburgh racked up 417 yards of total offense compared to WMU’s 180.
–Field Level Media