Pittsburgh, PA -- (Sports Network) - LeSean McCoy's touchdown run early in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winner as the Pittsburgh Panthers held on to defeat the Iowa Hawkeyes, 21-20, in non-conference play at Heinz Field.

McCoy finished with a team-best 78 yards rushing for the Panthers (2-1), while Bill Stull converted 11-of-25 for 129 yards in the victory as well.

Iowa (3-1) was paced by Shonn Greene and his game-high 147 yards rushing on 23 carries. The quarterback tandem of Jake Christensen and Ricky Stanzi combined to hit 19-of-34 passing for 203 yards, but the pair was sacked six times in the losing effort.

The Hawkeyes scored the first points of the afternoon when kicker Trent Mossbrucker connected on a 26-yard field goal at the 10:25 mark of the first quarter.

Pittsburgh responded with back-to-back touchdowns, the first coming on a 17- yard TD run by Greg Cross in the first period and the second a six-yard TD scamper by Stull to give the home team a 14-3 edge.

Late in the first half Greene's six-yard TD run cut the Iowa deficit to 14-10, which is where the score stood at the break.

The only scoring of the third quarter came on a two-yard touchdown run by Christensen, providing the Hawkeyes with a 17-14 advantage with 20 minutes left to play in the contest.

McCoy's 27-yard TD run at the 13:37 mark of the fourth capped a nine-play, 80- yard drive and provided the Panthers with a four-point lead at 21-17.

Less than three minutes later Mossbrucker connected on his second field goal of the day, a 39-yard effort, but it wasn't enough as Pittsburgh held on for the narrow victory.

Iowa came up with 361 yards of total offense, compared to a mere 259 yards for the Panthers, but the Hawkeyes had trouble sustaining drives with just 4-of-17 on third-down opportunities.