9/12/2022 football Edit

Abanikanda tabbed as ACC RB of the Week

Jim Hammett • Panther-lair

Staff

Israel Abanikanda rushed for 154 yards in Pitt’s 34-27 loss to Tennessee on Saturday. It was a career-best rushing total for Abanikanda, and the second 100-yard game of his career. On Monday, the Pitt junior tailback was named ACC Running Back of the week for his efforts.

Abanikanda rushed 25 times on Saturday, including a 76-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. With Pitt leading 3-0, Kedon Slovis handed the ball to Abanikanda, and he used his speed to take the play into the end zone.

“Right when I made that first cut I just saw green, and when I see green I just got to make stuff happen,” Abanikanda told reporters following the game.

Abanikanda also caught one pass for 21 yards in the game. On the season, Abanikanda has 169 rushing yards, two catches for 45 yards, and two touchdowns. In the season opener against West Virginia, Abanikanda was bottled up running the ball, but made an electric game-tying play in the passing game in the fourth quarter.

Pitt sophomore running back Rodney Hammond rushed 74 yards and two touchdowns in the West Virginia game. In the final minutes of that game however, Hammond’s ankle got rolled on a play near the sideline. He was unavailable on Saturday, and that gave Abanikanda more responsibility in the game against the Volunteers.

“He was outstanding,” Pat Narduzzi said of Abanikanda’s performance in the post game press conference. “He ran hard. I just kept saying when the team went down, just keep feeding the horse. Just keep giving it to him. He had some nice runs out there today.”

Pitt lost starting quarterback Kedon Slovis to injury at halftime of the game on Saturday. Reserve Nick Patti also hurt his ankle in the game, which limited his mobility. Those injuries hampered Pitt’s play calling, and the team had to lean on Abanikanda more as the game progressed.

Pitt returns to action this Saturday when the team travels to take on Western Michigan. Narduzzi declined to update the status of the quarterbacks in his weekly press conference. Also, Hammond appears a few weeks out from returning to action. Factoring in the quarterback uncertainty and Hammond’s status, Pitt will likely have to lean on Abanikanda again. His 169 rushing yards through two weeks is fourth in the ACC to this point of the season.