BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rushel Shell welcomed the wind and the rain, because he understood the conditions were ideal for the Pittsburgh Panthers to find a spark from their sagging run game.

Shell and fellow running back Ray Graham were up to the task, scoring a touchdown each in helping Pitt snap a two-game losing streak with a 20-6 win over the Buffalo Bulls in a non-conference game on a slick and blustery late Saturday afternoon.

“Me and Ray got pretty excited about the rain, so we just knew that sometime in the game it was going to depend on us,” Shell said. “It was pretty fun.”

Shell scored on a 4-yard run and finished with 40 yards rushing plus a 41-yard catch off a screen pass that set up one of Kevin Harper’s two field goals. Graham finished with 70 yards rushing and scored on a 7-yard run.

The Panthers (3-4), in their final Big East Conference season, avoided their first 2-5 start since 2001 and improved to 4-0 all-time against Buffalo and 29-3 against Mid-American Conference opponents.