The Pitt Panthers dropped their third straight game Saturday night, falling to ACC rival North Carolina 41-24. Nevertheless, coach Pat Narduzzi said he still believes Pitt will play in the ACC championship game.
Pitt played the entire second half without quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who left with an unspecified injury at halftime after a hit for which North Carolina cornerback Tavon Holloway was ejected. Jurkovec was having his best game of the season to that point, having completed 11 of 15 passes for 109 yards. His replacement, Penn State transfer Christian Veilleux, was 7-for-18 passing for 87 yards with two interceptions and a fumble.
Tar Heels QB Drake Maye was 22-of-30 passing for 296 yards. One of his completions was a left-handed touchdown toss with a Pitt defender dragging him down.
The turning point in the game was a 52-yard punt return for a touchdown by North Carolina’s Alijah Huzzie, breaking a second-quarter 14-14 tie. The Tar Hells then got Maye’s 7-yard lefty toss to Kobe Paysour with a minute left in the half to go up two scores.
Pitt is back in action next Saturday night at Virginia Tech.
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