Pitt's James Conner runs for 177, breaks Tony Dorsett's record

Published: Sep 13, 2014 at 09:56 AM

Pittsburgh sophomore running back James Conner continued his strong start to the season Saturday, rushing for 177 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-25 win at Florida International.

Conner has a school-record 529 rushing yards through three games; Pro Footbal Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett previously held the record with 487 yards as a true freshman in 1973.

Conner's day was marred by two fumbles in the red zone in the first half.

FIU led 16-0 after one quarter before Pitt got on track.

Conner scored on runs of 2, 41 and 11 yards and now has eight rushing TDs through three games, tying his total from last season; Pitt's single-season record is 22, by Dorsett in 1976, when the Panthers won the national title.

Conner has drawn a comparison to Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy from an AFC scout.

Pitt rushed for 320 yards in beating FIU.

Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.

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