Schulters, Whitmill Pace Pitt Past Boston College, 20-13

10/31/1996

PITTSBURGH - Dwayne Schulters had a pair of touchdown runs and Rasshad Whitmill added a pair of interceptions as Pittsburgh defeated Boston College, 20-13, in a Big East conference matchup.

Schulters, who scored on a two-yard run midway through the first quarter, added an eight-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that sealed the victory. It was Schulters' third multi-touchdown game of the season and he leads the team with eight scores.

With the ball at the Pittsburgh 9 and Boston College driving for the tying score, Whitmill stepped in front of the intended receiver and picked off Matt Hasselbeck's pass. Whitmill returned it to the Pitt 38 and the Panthers (3-6, 2-4 Big East) drove downfield, culminating in Schulters' second score of the game, making it 20-6. Schulters' finished with 117 yards on 27 carries.

The win was the first for the Panthers over the Eagles since 1990. Pittsburgh also snapped a two-game losing streak and won for just the second time in its last seven games.

Boston College (4-5, 1-6) has dropped two straight after a pair of victories. The Eagles face an uphill road in attempt to finish at .500 with games against Notre Dame and at Miami among its final three contests.

After Schulters' touchdown gave Pittsburgh a 7-0 advantage, the Eagles answered with a 45-yard field goal by John Matich on the final play of the first quarter.

The Panthers defense held Boston College in check and the offense put another touchdown on the board with 3:28 to play in the third quarter. Matt Lytle found split end Jake Hoffart with a 40-yard scoring strike for a 13-3 advantage. Hoffart has 19 catches in his last four games.

Lytle completed 10-of-23 passes for 194 yards.

Matich hit a 44-yard field goal with 2:10 remaining in the third quarter to draw Boston College within 13-6, but the Pittsburgh defense stiffened over the final 17 minutes.

Omari Walker added a nine-yard touchdown run with 70 seconds left, but the onside kick attempt rolled out of bounds, snuffing BC's final chance. Walker finished with 31 carries for 143 yards and had six receptions for 57 yards.

NCAAF                 1  2  3  4   F 
                      -  -  -  -  -- 
Boston College        3  0  3  7  13 
Pittsburgh            7  0  6  7  20  FINAL 
 Pittsburgh-D Schulters 2 run (Ferencik kick)
 Boston College-FG Matich 45
 Pittsburgh-Hoffart 40 pass from Lytle (kick failed)
 Boston College-FG Matich 44
 Pittsburgh-D Schulters 8 run (Ferencik kick)
 Boston College-O Walker 9 run (Matich kick)
                 Boston College  Pittsburgh 
First downs                  32          16 
Rushed-yards             41-182      45-181 
Passing yards               319         194 
Sacked-yards lost          3-25        2-11 
Return yards                 12          82 
Passes                  27-51-2     10-23-0 
Punts                    3-48.3      6-40.0 
Fumbles-lost                3-1         3-2 
Penalties-yards            6-49        8-63 
Time of possession        31:29       28:31 
Individual Statistics 
RUSHING: Boston College-O Walker 31-143, Cloud 4-37, Hasselbeck
6-2. Pittsburgh-D Schulters 27-117, B West 8-38, Lytle 8-20,
Butler 1-4, Poteat 1-2.
PASSING: Boston College-Hasselbeck 21-43-2-259, Mutryn
6-8-0-60. Pittsburgh-Lytle 10-23-0-194, Gonzalez 0-0-0-0.
RECEIVING: Boston College-Dicosmo 6-106, Pollack 6-75, O Walker
6-57, Harding 5-39, Dragos 3-31, Newman 1-11.
Pittsburgh-Hoffart 4-105, Jones 2-43, Murray 1-21, D Schulters
1-10, Mcmullen 1-10, Butler 1-5.
Att: 26,313