Filed under: Centralia vandalism,pioneers,pennsylvania,roaders,stark carolina,pulaski-kansas source NFL.com title ‘This is where we started’: Penn State’s Panthers open in primetime article Pittsburgh (AP) — The Pittsburgh Panthers opened their preseason opener with a bang.
The offense scored three touchdowns and the defense allowed just one rushing touchdown.
That is the kind of game Penn State fans have been waiting for all season long.
The Panthers won a wild-card game against Georgia Tech in the ACC title game and then knocked off No. 7 Virginia Tech 42-35 in a playoff game to win the Coastal Division.
But they’ll get another shot in primtime Saturday against the New England Patriots.
And that’s the kind the Panthers need to keep the pressure on and make it look easy.
The game starts at 1:05 p.m.
EDT and is scheduled to air on ESPN.
It’s a game that should be exciting for the Panthers and for fans around the country.
“It’s going to be great,” quarterback Brett Hundley said.
“We’ll be playing in front of a lot of fans.
We’ll get the chance to play against the top teams in the country.”
The Panthers (4-3) opened the preseason with a win over the No. 9 Virginia Tech Hokies.
The Hokies (5-1) had beaten the Panthers at home in their first preseason game since they went 9-1 in 2010.
They had played in three previous preseason games against the Panthers.
“I’m not going to lie,” coach Mike London said.
He added, “This is what the preseason is about.
I thought we got our first win, we got the job done. “
The first time we played the Patriots, it was a great feeling.
I thought we got our first win, we got the job done.
But we just have to keep moving forward.”
New England (4, 1-2) got off to a hot start.
They scored seven touchdowns and allowed just two rushing touchdowns.
They trailed 24-0 late in the first half, but then scored touchdowns of their own in the second half and led 23-0 after halftime.
That included an 83-yard touchdown pass from running back Shane Vereen to running back Christian Westerman.
The Patriots took over in the fourth quarter with a 7-yard score by running back C.J. Spiller.
He also scored on a 7.2-yard run.
But New England’s defense held on and took a 31-30 lead.
It gave up 10 points in the final quarter.
“They played extremely well.
They were really aggressive,” London said of the Patriots.
“You could see it with their energy and their energy.
They put pressure on us.
We couldn’t stop them.
They played some great football.”
The Patriots lead the all-time series, 7-3.
They haven’t beaten the Pittsburgh Panthers since 2010.
It will be the third time in three years that the teams meet.
The first was a 38-28 win in 2005, when the Panthers led 13-0 early in the game.
The second was a 44-31 victory in 2006.
“Obviously, I know it’s the season, and I think we all know what that means,” coach Pat Narduzzi said.
New England, which lost to the Patriots in a wild card game last season, is coming off a 35-20 loss to the New York Jets.
The NFL is considering a rule change that would allow teams to start games earlier if they were losing or tied.
The league’s decision on the issue is expected to come after the Panthers’ game.
“If we’re losing, we’re not playing the way we want to play,” Nardazzi said, “and that’s what I’m going to try to control.”
Pittsburgh has a chance to move ahead of the Pats.
The Steelers won at home for the second straight season last season.
They lost at home to Georgia Tech.
The Eagles were the team to beat them last season and the team that beat them in the season opener.
Philadelphia coach Mike Shanahan said his team is going to play hard.
“These guys, they’ve been through a lot.
They’ve been frustrated,” Shanahan said.
The Pittsburgh defense held the Eagles to 28 points, but that was the second time in four games that the Panthers had at least 28 points.
The offensive line was a problem for the Eagles in the preseason.
“A lot of the time, you’ve got to give up a lot to get that number.
And sometimes they just have a great play and you just don’t get it,” Shanahan added.
“But the other times, I thought they were very solid.
They really came through.
We got a win, a win on the road”
This was a good win for us, obviously.
We got a win, a win on the road