Panther of the Game: Tyler Boyd

Pitt freshman Jordan Whitehead deserved strong consideration for the Panther of the Game in Pitt's 24-7 road win over Akron. His six tackles, one-and-a-half sacks, and two tackles for loss were very impressive for a true freshman. Along with Rori Blair, who had a nice game, and the rest of the defense, Whitehead helped the Panthers hold Akron to 125 total yards yesterday. The team already has ten sacks through only two games when they had only 19 all of last season.

However, after taking a few hours to decompress after the game, cooler heads prevailed and yesterday's Panther of the Game award goes to wide receiver Tyler Boyd. You just can't deny what this guy means to the offense and was largely the reason the Panthers had any sort of aerial game.

His return provided instant results for Pitt, as he finished the game with 11 catches for 95 yards. Also, don't forget that he did that in terrible weather. Boyd was the favorite target of both quarterbacks while in the game and his 11 catches were also a tie for his career-best.

In addition to the stats listed above, his fair catches in this weather on Akron punts shouldn't be taken for granted, either. Boyd didn't do anything spectacular in the return game but his work in fielding punts on a rainy night shouldn't be overlooked - especially with the Panthers' issues in that department over the years.

When you add up the impact he made on offense along with special teams, Boyd wins our weekly Panther of the Week award.

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