PITTSBURGH (AP) — Phil Jurkovec threw for a touchdown and ran for another in his return to his hometown and Pittsburgh breezed past Wofford 45-7 on Saturday.
Jurkovec, a native of the northern Pittsburgh suburbs who transferred to Pitt over the winter following stops at Notre Dame and Boston College, completed 17 of 23 passes for 214 yards and a 1-yard toss to Karter Johnson. He also ran for 41 yards, including a 23-yard sprint to the end zone in the first quarter, as the Panthers (1-0) had little trouble with the Terriers (0-1).
Rodney Hammond ran for a pair of touchdowns for Pitt. Daniel Carter added 65 yards rushing and a score as the Panthers used their massive size advantage up front to push around Wofford.
The Terriers, coached by former Pitt offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, managed just 127 yards of total offense. Wofford ran for minus-1 yard on the ground and didn't cross midfield until the fourth quarter. Quarterback Bryce Corriston went 12 of 17 for 126 yards, 75 of them coming on a touchdown pass to Tyler Parker in the final minutes to spoil Pitt's shutout bid.
Jurkovec opted to come home for his redshirt senior season after two years at Notre Dame and three at Boston College. His career has been a mixed bag at best. The Panthers, coming off a 9-4 season, insist they don't need him to carry them.
While there was some obvious rust, there were also flashes of what made Jurkovec such a prized prep prospect the better part of a decade ago. He showcased his dual-threat ability by faking a handoff to C'Bo Flemister then pulling the ball back and racing to the goal line. His flick to Johnson came after he rolled to his right to buy time then found Johnson along the end line at the back of the end zone.
The touchdown pass was the first by Jurkovec at Acrisure Stadium since a playoff game during his senior year at Pine Richland High in 2017. He was one of the top high school quarterbacks in the country back then. Now he's a 23-year-old hoping to keep the Panthers in the mix in what could be a wide-open ACC behind No. 9 Clemson.
THE TAKEAWAY
Wofford: Watson had the “interim” tag removed last December after putting together a 3-3 run down the stretch following Josh Conklin's midseason resignation amid a 15-game losing streak. The opener wasn't a fair fight. The better gauge of whether Wofford is ready to take a step forward comes later in the season.
Pitt: The Panthers kept it pretty vanilla in their one gimme on the schedule. Pitt is one of a handful of teams that will play 11 games against Power 5 opponents. There was no need for offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti to go too deep into the playbook. The goal was to get Jurkovec's feet wet and boost his confidence. Done and done.
UP NEXT
Wofford: Visits William and Mary next Saturday.
Pitt: Meets former Big East rival turned Big 12 member Cincinnati (1-0) next Saturday when the Bearcats visit for the first time since 2011.
—-
https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
