SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 2, 2010
The Pittsburgh Panthers had to make due without Dion Lewis on Saturday and Ray Graham made sure they didn't miss a beat.

With Lewis out because of an shoulder injury, Graham picked up the slack, rushing for three touchdowns to lead the Panthers to a 44-17 victory over Florida International on Saturday.

Lewis, the nation's leading returning rusher was hurt in Pitt's loss to Miami on Sept. 23 and did not practice all week. He rushed for 1,799 yards as a freshman last season, but had been limited to 143 yards in his first three games and does not have a 100-yard game this year.

Graham eclipsed that mark after two quarters, rushing for 104 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries to help the Panthers (2-2) take a 13-10 lead at the half. Pittsburgh tacked on a field goal in the third quarter to make it 16-10 and then Graham, who racked up 277 yards on 29 carries, took over.

Tino Sunseri threw a nine-yard scoring strike to Henry Hynoski to give the Panthers a 23-10 advantage early in the fourth.

Florida International struck back and sliced the lead to 23-17 on a three-yard scoring run by Darriet Perry, but the Golden Panthers (0-4) couldn't stop Graham.

Graham ripped off a 79-yard touchdown run with 9:56 to play and added a 19-yarder with 4:57 left to make it 37-17.