The Pitt football team knows it needs to run the ball to be successful this season. The first game showed plenty of promise, as the Panthers rushed for six touchdowns in a 55-0 dismantling of Austin Peay to start the 2020 season.

Pitt employed five different running backs on Saturday, and four of them found the end zone. Quarterback Kenny Pickett also showed off his mobility and rushed for a score as well. Pitt totaled 147 yards on the ground, not a dominating performance, but with the way Pickett threw the ball on Saturday, it didn’t need to be.

Senior center Jimmy Morrissey was pleased to punch in six touchdowns on the ground, and it started to remind him of years’ past.

“It felt great; It felt like old times, 2018,” Morrissey said. “It’s always nice when you can run the ball.”

The 2018 team of course featured a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Darrin Hall and Qadree Ollison. It may be tough to achieve those numbers, but the 2020 team is similar in that it has multiple players that can carry the ball when needed.

Vincent Davis led the ground attack with a team-high 43 yards on 11 carries with a pair of touchdowns. The sophomore also caught a pass for nine yards.

“Vince Davis made some people miss,” Pat Narduzzi said following his team’s blowout win. “The running backs held onto the ball.”

Freshman Israel Abanikanda made his much-anticipated college debut on Saturday. He scampered in for a 10-yard touchdown to make it 35-0 in the second quarter and finished with 26 yards on five carries.

Daniel Carter was another player to make his running back debut after generating some buzz throughout training camp. Carter played some snaps last season as a fullback, but finally got to carry the ball on Saturday. He scored the first touchdown of the game with a two-yard burst up the middle on his first career carry.

Veteran A.J. Davis started the game and totaled 24 yards, while Todd Sibley added a touchdown as well. Getting five backs involved was something Narduzzi was happy to see during his team’s comfortable win.

“We were able to play a lot of guys and I think that's the best part of this football game today,” he said.

Blocking for five different guys with five different running styles wasn’t an issue for Morrissey either.

“I’m used to it,” Morrissey said about blocking for different backs. “They’re all five great players and I expect the same out of all of them and they all deliver, so its really not different for me. As long as they hit the holes, I’m happy and they all tend to.”

Saturday’s game didn’t really settle any debates about who the top guy will be going forward. It did, however, show the Pitt offense is committed to being more balanced in 2020 after leaning towards the pass last season and it also showed the team has multiple players capable of making plays when their number is called.