PITTSBURGH -- A year ago, James Conner spent the days before Thanksgiving wondering what was wrong with him. The answer came in the form of a cancer diagnosis that sent the Pittsburgh running back through months of debilitating treatment that threatened his blossoming career.Its all behind him now. All of it. And that -- more than the records hes breaking at an alarming rate -- is what matters. Its why Conner didnt get wrapped up in his own hype after his pair of touchdowns in Pitts easy 56-14 romp over Duke on Saturday made him the leading career touchdown scorer in Atlantic Coast Conference history.When I take the field, I put cancer and everything behind me and just play, said Conner, who left briefly after tweaking his right ankle in the second quarter but returned for the second half. Im getting better every week.So are the Panthers (7-4, 4-3 ACC), who showed no signs of a letdown after stunning Clemson last week. Conner, as is his wont, led the way. He bulled over from 1 yard in the first quarter and again in the third to give him 50 rushing touchdowns for his career, breaking the previous mark set by N.C. States Ted Brown between 1975 and 1978. Conner now has 53 touchdowns in all, eclipsing the old ACC mark of 52 set by Wali Lundy of Virginia from 2002-05.Asked if any of them stand out over the others and Conner pointed to his 20-yard sprint in the fourth quarter against the Tigers, the one that put Pitt in position to pull off one of the biggest upsets in the programs recent history.Everything Ive been through and me working on getting in a rhythm, my endurance playing 60 minutes of football, Conner said, it showed I can play 60 minutes of football at a high level, late in the game, Conner said.For once such theatrics werent necessary for Pitt. Not with Conner running for 101 yards. Not with Quadree Henderson returning a punt 65 yards for a score and adding another on a 52-yard jet sweep. Not with Nate Peterman throwing for three scores in the wind at wintry Heinz Field as the Panthers set a new school record with 432 points on the season.It was a good, comfortable win, Conner said. Weve got to finish out the season strong.A DUD FOR THE BLUE DEVILSDaniel Jones completed 28 of 46 for 248 yards and a touchdown but Duke (4-7, 1-6) did little downfield against the nations 127th-ranked pass defense. The Panthers sacked Jones five times, including two by senior defensive end Ejuan Price. After going over 200 yards on the ground in each of their last three games, the Blue Devils managed just 25 yards rushing against Pitt.They won the execution battle and thats why the score is so lopsided, Duke coach David Cutcliffe said. We also lost the kicking game. It wasnt our intention coming in, but we just got whipped.RESPECTHendersons zig-zag punt return in the third quarter put the Panthers up 42-14 and marked his fourth kick return for a score this year, tops in the nation. The Blue Devils found one way to keep it from Henderson, having Jones do a quick kick on a fourth-down later in the third quarter.I was sitting off to the sideline, waiting for (the snap) and he just kicked, Henderson said with a laugh. Definitely a sign of respect. I appreciate it.THE TAKEAWAYDuke: The only chance the Blue Devils have of making a fifth straight bowl game will be with a win at Miami next week and hope there arent enough 6-6 teams to fill the bowl slots.Pitt: While the defense is hardly stout, the Panthers have become opportunistic of late. An early fumble recovery by linebacker Matt Galambos on Dukes first play set up a touchdown and helped the Panthers set the tone. Pitt later turned a fumbled Duke kickoff return into another score.UP NEXTDuke: travels to Miami in the regular season finale. The Hurricanes stunned the Blue Devils 30-27 last season, winning on the final play during a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that featured eight laterals. The ACC ended suspending officials for two games following a series of officiating errors during the return.Pitt: will try to continue its mastery of Syracuse. The Panthers have won 10 of their last 11 against the Orange, including all three meetings since the schools joined the ACC in 2013.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 . Cheap Shoes . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. Wholesale Shoes . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said. http://www.shoeschinacheap.com/ . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Cheap Shoes China . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. PITTSBURGH -- Jamel Artis scored a season-high 31 points as Pittsburgh survived 18 turnovers to hold off Rice, 83-73, Saturday night.Artis hit 10 of 14 from the floor and also contributed 7 of 9 from the free-throw line for his best performance since scoring 32 against Bryant in 2015. Bench forward Ryan Luther also had a big game for Pitt (9-2), scoring 20 points to set a career high and leading the team with seven rebounds.I just tried to come out aggressive, Luther said. Obviously, every night, people are going to be drawn to Jamel and (Michael Young). My teammates did a good job finding me.Rice (8-3) got big production from the backcourt, as Marcus Jackson scored 20 and Marcus Evans had 19. The Owls shot 38.5 percent from 3-point range but just 42.9 percent overall and were outscored in the paint, 28-26.The big reason the Owls were able to keep the game close was an aggressive defense that got eight steals from five different players and also drew several offensive fouls.BIG PICTUREPitt: With the Panthers having allowed big nights from opposing forwards in two straight games and Rices Egor Koulechov coming in averaging 19.4 points per game, the Russian seemed primed to have a big night. But Pitt was able to contain him for 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Artis said Pitt was focused on defending Koulechov, especially at the 3-point line, where he went 1 for 4.Rice: The Owls have played just two major-conference opponents this season, and both were close games down the stretch. They lost, 85-84 to Texas Tech earlier this moonth.dddddddddddd These two games show the potential of the young Owls, who feature just one senior and three juniors. Head coach Mike Rhoads was pleased that his team didnt back down on the road.Im going to recruit guys with edges that think they can come to Pitt and win the game, Rhoads said. With 2:30 left, we still felt we were going to win the game. Thats never going to change.TURNING POINTThe Owls used five consecutive Pitt turnovers to go on a 9-0 run and tie the game at 50-50 with 11:48 to play, but it was Artis who came through for Pitt with a big 3-pointer to break the run, then added a layup on the following possession to re-build a five point lead for the Panthers.STAR WATCHRice was able to contain Young, who has led Pitt in scoring in nine of the teams 10 games coming in, but finished with just 12 points.They were all packed in, head coach Kevin Stallings said. It was like four guys were in the lane, one guy was sort of near the ball and whenever Mike got it, it was just a crowd.STAT OF THE NIGHTRice shot 56.5 percent from the free-throw line with Evans, who is a 78.6 career free-throw shooter, going 8 of 14.UP NEXTPitt: Continues a season-long five-game home stand with a visit from Nebraska-Omaha on Wednesday. The Panthers have won seven straight home games dating back to last season.Rice: Returns home to face Northwestern (La.) State on Monday. The Owls are 4-1 at home this season. ' ' '