The Pitt Panthers were on the wrong side of history in yesterday’s GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit as the near five-hour marathon ended in a 48-46, six-overtime loss to Toledo.
Toledo kicker Dylan Cunaman nailed a 51-yard field goal with under two minutes left in regulation to tie the game. Pitt had a chance to win in the second overtime period as they had the ball at the one-yard line on a 4th and goal scenario, but Coach Pat Narduzzi opted to kick an 18-yard field goal to force a third overtime, rather than try to win the game.
The Rockets’ Tucker Gleason found Junior Vandeross III for the go-ahead two-point conversion in the sixth overtime, then the defensive pressure forced Pitt’s fifth-string quarterback Julian Dugger to throw an incomplete pass on the Panthers’ attempt to end the game.
Dugger, a Penn Hills graduate, entered the game in the second quarter after David Lynch threw two picks, and went 7-for-13 passing with 72 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He also ran the ball 21 times for 88 yards and a score. Desmond Reid carried the ball 32 times for 165 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Kyle Louis returned an extra point attempt back for two in the first quarter and Cruce Brookins tallied an interception.
Pitt finishes the season with an underwhelming 7-6 record which featured a 3-5 mark in ACC play. They started the year with seven consecutive wins before dropping six straight, including yesterday’s bowl game.
Five bowl games are on the college football slate today. Oklahoma meets Navy in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl at noon; Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt meet in the Birmingham Bowl at 3:30; Arkansas hosts Texas Tech at 7 in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl; No. 21 Syracuse tangles with Washington State in the DirecTV Holiday Bowl at 8; and the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl rounds out the action at 10:30 with USC squaring off with Texas A&M.
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