SLIPPERY ROCK — Who needs offense? All you need is points.

Slippery Rock University proved that Saturday night in its 38-18 college football victory over Gannon at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

The Rock (2-1, 1-0) had 24 points on the board before its offense registered a touchdown in the game. SRU managed only one first down and turned the ball over twice in the first quarter, yet led 14-6 after the first 15 minutes.

“It was nice to look up at the scoreboard and see all of those points on our side,” Rock quarterback Jared Buck said. “But I was upset at the same time. We weren't moving the ball very well.”

Buck threw an interception on the second play from scrimmage, handing Gannon (1-2, 0-1) possession at the SRU 22-yard line. The Golden Knights had to settle for a 32-yard Matt Szczupakowski field goal.

Gannon's first five trips inside the SRU 20-yard line Saturday night resulted in four field goals and a turnover on downs.

“We have to do a better job in the red zone,” Gannon coach Brad Rzyczycki said. “Those were opportunities lost.”

Gannon had a 6-0 lead when SRU's Jaimire Dutrieuille returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, sprinting up the right sideline.

“I had the easy job,” Dutrieuille said. “All I had to do was hit the seam and make the (kicker) miss. The other guys take care of the hard blocks.”

A true freshman from Woodland Hills, Dutrieuille did not return a kickoff for a touchdown in high school. He ran one punt back for a score.

“They (Gannon) worked hard for their second field goal (11 plays, 73 yards),” Rock coach George Mihalik said. “That kick return had to deflate them a little bit.”

If that didn't, Anthony Saunders did.

SRU's junior cornerback returned an interception for a touchdown three plays later, stepping in front of receiver Abraham Ocasio and sailing 42 yards down the left sideline for a score,

“I could see he (quarterback Liam Nadler) was going to throw that way and I just jumped it,” Saunders said of the pick. “Then I had an open lane to the end zone.”

Leading 17-9 early in the third quarter, The Rock added on with a fake field goal. Kurt Brackman lined up for a 26-yard attempt. Holder Mike Bongivengo — a former high school quarterback at New Castle — took the snap and flipped a 9-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Josh Gardner in the end zone.

“We could see the way their defense was lining up, that play was going to work,” Mihalik said.

SRU's offense put together a pair of touchdown drives later in the game, Buck tossing a 4-yard scoring pass to John Schademan and scoring himself on a 1-yard run.

“We talked at halftime about getting things together and being more efficient offensively and I feel like we did that,” Buck said.

Nadler, a freshman, threw 63 passes for Gannon and was intercepted four times. Isaiah Coleman had two of the picks, Admire Carter and Saunders one each.

“Our offense is designed to take what the defense gives us,” Rzyczycki said. “Those little bubble screens and short passes we threw are like running plays for us.”

SRU's running game was bottled up all night — Akeem Satterfield netting 21 yards on 10 carries — but Buck completed a total of 21 passes to 10 different receivers.

“I thought we'd be able to run the ball better than we did,” Mihalik said. “That's a phase of our game we need to work on.

“We got some pressure on their quarterback and that was big. We didn't sack him all that much, but we hit him a lot and forced some errant throws.”

Notes: SRU snapped a three-game losing streak to Gannon. ... Gannon receiver Justin Caliste had 273 all-purpose yards with 100 receiving, 133 on kick returns, 22 on punt returns and an 18-yard run. ... Coleman led SRU with 12 tackles and nine solos to go with his two picks. ... Slippery Rock High graduate Tony Papley had one of three SRU sacks. ... SRU has won seven straight home games. ... The Rock travels to Mercyhurst for a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday.

SRU 38, Gannon 18

Gannon 6 3 3 6 — 18

Slippery Rock 14 3 14 7 — 38

G SRU

19 First Downs 16

21-66 Rushes-Yards 36-102

325 Passing Yards 196

35-63-4 Comp.-Att.-Int 22-34-2

391 Total Yards 298

0-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-0

9-89 Penalty Yards 7-75

First Quarter

G — Matt Szczupakowski 32 field goal, 12:53

G — Szczupakowski 35 field goal, 7:11

SRU — Jaimire Dutrieuille 92 kick return (Kurt Brackman kick), 6:58

SRU — Anthony Saunders 42 interception return (Brackman kick), 5:28

Second Quarter

SRU — Brackman 22 field goal, 9:47

G — Szczupakowski 28 field goal, 1:41

Third Quarter

SRU — Josh Gardner 9 pass from Mike Bongivengo (Brackman kick), 9:55

G — Szczupakowski 31 field goal, 5:40

SRU — John Schademan 4 pass from Jared Buck (Brackman kick), 4:18

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Buck 1 run (Brackman kick), 13:03

G — Abraham Ocasio 1 pass from Liam Nadler (pass failed), 6:56

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Gannon, Alex Papson 5-36, Justin Caliste 1-18, Jansen Jones 6-11, Liam Nadler 7-7, TEAM 1-(-1), Ty Watson 1-(-5). SRU, Jared Buck 10-53, Akeem Satterfield 10-21, Brett Crenshaw 6-16, Levi Sager 3-14, Jimmy Zubik 3-9, TEAM 1-(-1), Nigel Barksdale 3-(-10).

Passing: Gannon, Liam Nadler 35-63-325-4. SRU, Jared Buck 21-30-187-2, Nigel Barksdale 0-3-0-0, Mike Bongivengo 1-1-9-0.

Receiving: Gannon, Justin Caliste 12-100, Abraham Ocasio 9-64, Joe Sobucki 5-48, Alex Papson 4-21, Donny Mallin 3-40, Quad Law 2-52. SRU, LaQuinn Stephens-Howling 4-51, Ken Amos 3-44, John Schademan 3-19, Jimmy Zubik 3-10, Josh Gardner 2-18, Jaimire Dutrieuille 2-17, Calvin Anderson 2-15, Robert Joyce 1-18, Mike Bongivengo 1-5, Akeem Satterfield 1-(-1).