Tony Sacca directed No. 6 Penn State to two touchdowns in 51/2 minutes and the Nittany Lions held off error-riddled Pittsburgh with four field goals by Craig Fayak for a 32-20 victory Thursday.
Joe Paterno improved to 19-6-1 against Pitt in winning his 239th game at Penn State and moving past Woody Hayes into fourth place on the all-time career coaching victories list.Sacca, the top single-season passer in school history, hit Troy Drayton for a 28-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the game. Sacca then found Terry Smith for 20 yards to set up Richie Anderson's 11-yard scoring run for a 14-0 lead with just 5:27 gone.
Anderson rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns, including a 29-yarder with 6:43 left that restored Penn State's two-touchdown lead. Pitt had closed to 26-20 on Alex Van Pelt's 4-yard TD pass to Glenn Deveaux.
Playing the Lions in Pittsburgh for the last time - the series ends next year - Pitt (6-5) couldn't catch up despite a defense that held Penn State without a touchdown for three periods.
Penn State (10-2) intercepted Van Pelt five times to beat Pitt for the third consecutive season and now leads 46-41-4 in a series that began in 1893 and has been played 29 times on Thanksgiving Day.
Following O.J. McDuffie's fumbled punt, Deveaux scored from the 4 with 3:02 left in the first period, slicing the Lions' lead to 14-7.
Fayak kicked field goals of 25, 47 and 24 yards - the latter two in the final 1:18 of the half - to make it 23-7 at halftime.
Pitt got back in the game when Van Pelt found Dietrich Jells behind cornerback Derek Bochna on a 73-yard scoring pass early in the third period, but the Panthers self-destructed with blown chances and Van Pelt's three second-half interceptions.
Van Pelt broke the Pitt school record for passing attempts in a game he shared with Rick Trocano, finishing 27 of 64 for 324 yards and two touchdowns.