There’s no rest for the weary during the college football season, as the Pittsburgh Panthers are about to find out. Even without leading rusher James Conner, who the Panthers lost for the entire season in the opener against Youngstown State, Pittsburgh played their tails off on the road at Kinnick Stadium against the Iowa Hawkeyes, only to lose on a 57-yard field goal as time expired.
Pittsburgh let Nate Peterman run the offense as quarterback for the first time this season and he performed admirably, throwing for 219 yards with two touchdowns, including one late in the fourth quarter to Tyler Boyd to tie the game with 52 seconds remaining. It was a great bounce-back effort from Peterman, a transfer from Tennessee, who threw two first quarter interceptions.
The Panthers didn’t get out of their run game against Iowa, rushing for 55 yards total on 27 carries. The dismal effort put a lot on the quarterback’s shoulders, but the Panthers were in the game until the very last second. Darrin Hall led the rushing attack with 14 carries for 38 yards.
Pittsburgh has no time to sulk over a tough defeat, as they go from a tough non-conference road game against a Big Ten opponent into their ACC opener, in which they will take on the Virginia Tech Hokies on the road. According to secondary market ticket aggregator TiqIQ.com, Pittsburgh football tickets have an average price of $119.14 and a get-in price of $54 at Lane Stadium. It is their second most expensive game remaining on the schedule, behind their November 7 game at home at Heinz Field against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
A road trip to support the Panthers at Lane Stadium can be solidified with a Roanoke hotel starting from $42 on Hipmunk.com, where transportation is available to the Virginia Tech campus. Hipmunk also provides cheap airline tickets for Pittsburgh fans coming in from outside the local area.
If the Pittsburgh Panthers want to be bowl eligible, the next few weeks will be the most opportune time to pick up some victories. After the game against Virginia Tech, the Panthers have a decent stretch of games with Virginia at home, Georgia Tech on the road, Syracuse on the road and North Carolina at home. The tough part comes afterwards in the final four games of the campaign, when the Panthers face Notre Dame, Duke, Louisville and Miami (FL) to close out the season.
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