PITTSBURGH -- Pitt and Penn State spent the days leading up to the renewal of their once annual series in a semantic argument over whether theyre still rivals.The Nittany Lions tried to downplay the stakes, with coach James Franklin pointing out the current roster on both sides were toddlers the last time the two schools faced each other in 2000. The Panthers went the other way, with coach Pat Narduzzi bringing in the 1976 national championship team to give a pep talk on what facing Penn State used to -- and still could -- mean.Four quarters, nearly four hours and one well-timed interception by a fifth-year cornerback later, consider the debate over. Pitt-Penn State is still very much a thing.James Conner ran for 117 yards and a touchdown and caught another and senior Ryan Lewis picked off Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley in the end zone with just over a minute to play as the Panthers held on for a 42-39 victory on Saturday in front of the largest crowd to watch a sporting event in the citys history -- 69,983.I would say going to next year, theyre going to think its a rivalry now, said Pitt safety Jordan Whitehead.One that shouldnt lack for juice when the two teams meet at Beaver Stadium next fall. Penn State nearly made it all the way back from a 21-point deficit. The Nittany Lions had the ball at the Pitt 31 with less than 90 seconds to play when McSorley dropped back and lofted a rainbow toward the back of the end zone to no one in particularLewis, who spent four long years in the program before finally earning significant playing time this fall, cradled it in his arms for the first pick of his career.I was just reading the quarterback the whole time, Lewis. I saw it in the air and took it.And dealt Franklin another significant blow in a tenure that is still searching for traction. A year after losing on the road in Philadelphia to Temple -- next weeks opponent -- the Nittany Lions currently dont have bragging rights in any corner of the state after looking flat in the first half before getting back in it.The fact it was this close at the end of the game speaks volumes for us in the second half, Franklin said. But were going to have a hard time if we get ourselves into a 28-7 situation.Saquon Barkley almost singlehandedly brought the Nittany Lions (1-1) all the way back. The sophomore running back totaled five touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving), the most by a Penn State player since Ki-Jana Carter did it against Michigan State in 1994. Barkleys fifth score, a 2-yard dive with five minutes to play, drew the Nittany Lions within three.We started off slow, they punched us in the mouth first, Barkley said. We responded but weve just got to come out earlier and be ready to play earlier.SO CLOSEMoments before Lewis interception, McSorley threw a lob to wide-open DaeSean Hamilton, who was behind the Pitt defense and had nothing between himself and the go-ahead score. The ball smacked off Hamiltons hands and onto the turf instead.For us to get that close and not pull out a win is really upsetting, Hamilton said. It just comes down to crunch time, us battling back so far and to see the game slip away from me right there is the hardest part.THE TAKEAWAYPENN STATE: Barkley is a star in the making but the Nittany Lions curiously didnt get him the ball when it was deep in Pitt territory trailing by a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Penn State settled for a field goal instead and will have a year to think about what might have been.PITT: First-year offensive coordinator Matt Canadas playbook is deep. A week after using a nondescript game plan to get past Villanova, Canada used a variety of jet sweeps, shovel passes and play-action to get the ball to his playmakers in space. The Panthers ran for 359 yards and held onto the ball for more than 35 minutes.UP NEXTPENN STATE: Welcomes the Owls to State College in a rematch of Temples one-sided 27-10 win last year. Penn State plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Joe Paternos first game as coach, a decision that has been met with stiff resistance in some areas, including the schools student newspaper.PITT: The Panthers head west on Saturday to take on No. 22 Oklahoma State (1-1) for the first time in program history. The Cowboys lost on a last-second Hail Mary to Central Michigan.---AP College Football site: www.collegefootball.ap.orgStitched Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Custom Boston Red Sox Nike Jerseys . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/?tag=custom-atlanta-braves-nike-jerseys . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Custom Philadelphia Phillies Nike Jerseys . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Custom Authentic Baseball Jerseys . The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast.ATLANTA -- A disappointing season just keeps getting worse for the Arizona Cardinals.A popular pick to reach the Super Bowl, the Cardinals will be hard-pressed to make the playoffs after getting blown out by the Atlanta Falcons.Taylor Gabriel burned Arizonas top-ranked defense by taking a couple of short passes for long touchdowns, leading the Falcons to a 38-19 victory Sunday.Very frustrating, coach Bruce Arians said. You have to start with yourself and see if you are asking guys to do things they cant do.Arians had a rough week, falling ill and requiring a brief hospital stay .Having their coach back on the sideline did nothing to inspire the Cardinals (4-6-1), who have just one victory in their last five games and might have to win out to have any shot at returning to the playoffs.Arians isnt looking that far ahead.We need one win, he said. There is nobody left on the schedule that we cant beat, and who knows what the final tally will be? All we need to do is just win one.The Cardinals never expected to be in this position after reaching the NFC championship game last season. With plenty of offensive weapons and an aggressive, attacking defense that came into Sundays game ranked No. 1 in the league, Arizona looked like a team that could go all the way .Those goals seem totally out of reach with just over a month to go in the regular season.Im just bummed, said Carson Palmer, who threw for 289 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but didnt do nearly enough to turn things around. Its disheartening, frustrating, and it hurts.This game was a microcosm of the Cardinals season, as they showed flashes of their enormous potential but were undone by silly mistakes.Arizona marched right down the field on its first two possessions, burning the Falcons with eight plays that covered at least 13 yards. But a botched shotgun snap on the second drive forced the Cardinals to settle for a field goal, and that sseemed to turn the momentum in Atlantas favor.ddddddddddddTrailing 17-13, the Cardinals started the second half by sacking Matt Ryan four times on Atlantas first possession, though one was nullified by a penalty. The next time the Falcons got the ball, D.J. Swearinger was perfectly positioned for an interception but couldnt hang on. Atlanta went on to score a touchdown for a 24-13 lead.D.J. catches that ball 100 times, Arians moaned, and he drops it.Finally, with one last chance to get back in the game, the Cardinals went on fourth-and-7 at the Atlanta 40 early in the fourth quarter. Michael Floyd dropped the pass and killed the momentum we had going, the coach said.I thought both of those plays were the keys to the second half in an evenly fought ballgame, Arians added.Playing behind a young, patched-together offensive line, Palmer was sacked twice and took 10 hits. It was a better showing than the previous week in a loss to Minnesota, though Arians noted that the Cardinals used more max protection today than we have in three years.More troubling was the performance by Arizonas defense.The Falcons burned the Cardinals twice on quick screen passes to the 5-foot-8, 165-pound Gabriel, who had scoring plays of 35 and 25 yards. Arizona surrendered its most points of the season and gave up its most yards (360) since a Week 1 loss to New England.We have a defense that was ranked No. 1, Arians said, but we are not playing like a No. 1 defense.The Cardinals are running out of time to turn things around.A season that began with such optimism just keeps getting worse.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '