PITTSBURGH — Tyler Boyd knew Pitt needed a jolt after watching quarterback Tom Savage’s first pass against New Mexico end up in the hands Lobos defensive back Dante Caro.

The freshman wide receiver provided one the next time Savage reared his right arm. Savage found Boyd down the middle of the field for 51 yards to set up a 4-yard touchdown toss to freshman Scott Orndoff and send the Panthers on their way to a 49-27 rout.

“I just wanted to spark it, spark it for my team,” Boyd said. “I wanted to make that play to get everything going. Once that happened, everything got rolling and everybody got pumped, excited.”

And the freshmen led the way.

Pitt (1-1) recovered from a pounding at the hands of Florida State in the opener to bounce back behind a sea of new faces, including Boyd and running back James Conner.

Conner carried for 119 yards and two scores while Boyd scored twice and had 195 all-purpose yards.

“He was fun to watch,” Chryst said of Boyd. “I think he can still be better. I certainly appreciate the way he approaches the game and competes and plays.”

Beyond the images of Conner running over Lobos defenders and Boyd running by them, there was also Orndoff’s first career score and Terrish Webb — one of Boyd’s high school teammates — fumble recovery.