2007 Week 1

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Travis Lewis knows how Kevin Dyson felt.

Kennard Cox knows how Mike Jones felt.

In one of the greatest endings in Super Bowl history, it was Jones who tackled a lunging Dyson at the 1-yard line as time expired to prevent overtime and give the St. Louis Rams the championship over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV.

The first game of B-Dawg's Eastern Michigan dynasty had a near-identical ending, with Lewis getting tackled six yards short of a tying touchdown by Cox as time expired in the 119th-ranked Hurons' 24-17 loss to Pittsburgh on Sept. 1, 2007 at Heinz Field.

Lewis hauled in a bomb from Tyler Jones - the only deep ball either team completed all day - with his back to the end zone and some separation on the defense. However, in the time it took Lewis to turn toward the end zone, Cox caught up and completed a great individual performance by making the game-saving tackle.

It was Cox who scored the first points of the game when he took a fumbled pitch by Jones 59 yards to paydirt with 3:34 left in the second quarter.

Had Lewis been able to wiggle free and EMU pulled off a victory in overtime, it would have been one of the greatest comebacks in B-Dawg's coaching career.

Pittsburgh, which trailed 10-7 entering the fourth quarter, took a 24-10 lead with 56 seconds remaining on a 45-yard field goal by Conor Lee. The Panthers had rallied on two touchdown passes from Bill Stull to Derek Kinder earlier in the quarter.

Eastern is already exhibiting the heart and character of a B-Dawg team, fighting back to make it a seven-point game on a 17-yard pass from Jones to Jacory Stone with six seconds left.

Sean Dutcher executed a perfect onside kick, knocking a high bouncing ball that hit off tight end John Pelusi and was recovered by Aaron Glenn with five seconds remaining. Eastern then called for a Hail Mary, with Jones rolling to his right to buy time. A safety inexplicably left Lewis, allowing him to get behind the secondary for the 53-yard bomb, but Cox cleaned up the mess.

"Wow, that was a heck of a game," B-Dawg said. "The deep ball seemed to be a whole lot tougher to complete all day than it has been in previous NCAA games, but it helps when the safety doesn't cover your No. 1 receiver. If this is an indication of the types of games we can expect, it's going to be a fun ride."

On a rainy day in Pittsburgh, the ball was on the ground all day long. Eastern halfback Terrence Blevins fumbled on the very first play from scrimmage, the first of his three fumbles, all of which were recovered by the Hurons. Jones had two fumbles and wasn't so fortunate when his third-down pitch missed Blevins and was recovered for a touchdown return by Cox.

"Here we were, hanging in there and playing pretty good defense, then we just gift-wrapped a touchdown for them," B-Dawg said. "I kinda expected to throw some picks that would go to the hizzie, but we kept the interceptions to a dull roar. That's probably the one thing I'm most happy about."

Jones threw only one interception, going 13-for-26 for 166 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked five times.

Eastern had trouble moving the ball the entire first half, but broke through to tie the game 7-7 on a 1-yard draw by Jones with five seconds left in the second quarter. His touchdown was preceded by a 21-yard pass to Dontayo Gage on third-and-14.

The Hurons took their only lead on a 39-yard field goal by Sean Dutcher with 1:05 left in the third.

Pittsburgh's offense was stymied all day by penalties, as the Panthers committed six for 69 yards, all of which were holds or clips. The Panthers finally put it all together in the fourth quarter, going 71 yards in 10 plays to get the go-ahead touchdown on a 12-yard pass from Stull to Kinder on third-and-goal. The same combination hooked up from eight yards out with 2:23 to go.

Pittsburgh tacked on a field goal after Eastern failed to convert fourth-and-15 from its own 33 with 1:38 remaining.

Blevins couldn't get anything done on the ground, getting only 22 yards on 11 carries, in addition to his three fumbles. This could be a dynasty in which the fullback figures prominently, as Brandon Downs ran 11 times for 65 yards. Downs has been successful in online play during the early going.

Lyle Garrison intercepted a pass on Pittsburgh's first play from scrimmage. Corey Everson had a pick on the final play of the first half.