Pitt gets beat 42-10
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Pitt is at Bank of America Stadium to face No. 2 Clemson, and here's the latest from the game.
FIRST QUARTER
Pitt won the coin toss and opted to defer, putting Clemson on the field at its own 25. The Tigers didn't stay there long, though, as Travis Etienne took a handoff from an run-pass option play on first down, followed his blocking and then used his speed to run 75 yards for a touchdown.
CLEMSON 7, PITT 0 (14:47, 1st quarter)
Pitt didn't have an answer for Clemson's quick score, as an incomplete pass on first down, a run for loss on second down and a nine-yard sack on third down ended the Panthers' drive with negative yardage.
Clemson's second drive wasn't quite as explosive as its first. Pitt held Tavien Feaster's first-down run to just three yards and Trevor Lawrence threw incomplete on a deep attempt on second down. A third-down completion only gained a yard, and the Tigers had to punt.
The punt was shanked and gave Pitt good field position at the 39, but the Panthers wasted it almost immediately. After a pass to Darrin Hall on first down lost four yards, Pitt took three consecutive five-yard penalties - two false starts and one delay of game - until the Panthers faced third-and-28 from the 21. On that play, Kenny Pickett attempted to scramble but fumbled; the loose ball was recovered by Clemson's Christian Wilkins, who returned it to the 3.
After that, it only took Etienne one play to score his second touchdown, and the Tigers went ahead by two scores.
CLEMSON 14, PITT 0 (9:29, 1st quarter)
Pitt's next drive was just as bad as the first two had been, with the Panthers going three-and-out after gaining just one yard. But the defense managed another stop; despite giving up a 32-yard pass, Pitt stepped up to force a fourth-and-4 from the 19 and then stopped the fourth-down attempt to take back possession.
With some energy from the fourth-down stop, Pitt's offense took the field and showed signs of life for the first time. Maurice Ffrench took a sweep 16 yards on first down, and Darrin Hall followed with a 20-yard run. Three plays later on third-and-5, Qadree Ollison took a handoff and busted a 21-yard run, moving inside the Clemson 20 and forcing the Tigers to take a timeout.
Things slowed after that. V'Lique Carter tried a sweep on first down but gained zero yards, and a second-down run from Ollison gained the same. On third down, Pickett tried to throw for Rafael Araujo-Lopes in the end zone, but the pass was too far and the Panthers had to settle for a field goal from Alex Kessman.
CLEMSON 14, PITT 3 (1:46, 1st quarter)
After the field goal, Pitt's defense made another strong stand. The Panthers stopped Adam Choice for two yards on a first-down run and then broke up a pair of passes on second and third downs to lead to another Clemson punt.
Pitt took the ball with 1:03 left in the first quarter and looked like it was in trouble facing third-and-9, but Pickett pulled the ball and ran, getting a big block from Mack to gain a first down as the quarter ended.
SECOND QUARTER
Pickett's scramble was followed by a nine-yard run from Carter, but the second-and-1 turned into second-and-6 when George Aston was called for a false start - Pitt's third false start of the game - an the Panthers couldn't recover, having to punt on fourth-and-3 from the 44. Kirk Christodoulou came up big for Pitt, though, bobbling the snap but recovering to drop a punt inside the 5, where it was downed at the Clemson 1.
The Tigers couldn't get past their own 6 on the drive, as Pitt's defense stepped up again and forced another punt. This one was downed at the Clemson 39, and after Pickett and Araujo-Lopes connected for a seven-yard pass to convert third-and-6, the Panthers got their biggest play of the game yet. On first down, Ollison took an RPO handoff, slipped a tackle and ran all the way to the goal line.
Replay ruled that Ollison was out of bounds at the 2, but he punched it in two plays later for Pitt's first touchdown since the Wake Forest game.
CLEMSON 14, PITT 10 (7:56, 2nd quarter)
Clemson's offense woke up after Pitt's touchdown. Etienne got it started with a 45-yard run on the first play; then the Tigers picked up another 25 yards on five more running plays before Lawrence threw a fade pass to Tee Higgins in the end zone. The sophomore receiver made the catch with one foot inbounds, and Clemson's lead grew to 11.
CLEMSON 21, PITT 10 (4:57, 2nd quarter)
Pitt went three-and-out on its next drive, but the Panthers' defense responded well after giving up the touchdown. After Clemson gained one first down, Pitt forced another punt from the Tigers, giving the ball back to the offense with 1:03 on the clock.
Pickett got things started with an 11-yard scramble, but on third-and-10 from the Pitt 31, he forced a pass to Aaron Mathews that was intercepted by cornerback A.J. Terrell and returned to the Clemson 10. From there, Lawrence and Higgins connected again, and the Tigers extended their lead.
CLEMSON 28, PITT 10 (0:25, 2nd quarter)
Pitt ran one play to end the half and went into the locker room down by 18 points.
CLEMSON 28, PITT 10 (Halftime)
THIRD QUARTER
Pitt got the ball to open the second half, but things didn't start well. The Panthers nearly took a delay of game penalty on the first play before getting awarded a timeout. That timeout wasn't well-spent, though, as the offense went three-and-out after Pickett was sacked on third down.
The defense made another strong stand, though, forcing a three-and-out of its own after Clemson took a false start, Amir Watts blew up a screen pass and Lawrence was off-target on third down to lead to a punt.
Pitt's offense looked like it might get something going when Darrin Hall ran for 30 yards on his first two carries of the next drive, but the run game was stuffed after the Panthers crossed midfield. They seemed to have converted a fourth-and-3 from the 37 with a five-yard pass from Pickett to Araujo-Lopes, but Pitt was flagged for an illegal shift, leading to another punt.
The Panthers' defense continued to challenge Clemson's offense on the next possession. Lawrence scrambled to convert a third down but was sacked on the play after that, and on third-and-9 from the Clemson 43, Jason Pinnock broke up a Lawrence pass to force another punt.
Despite the strong defensive performance, Pitt's offense couldn't capitalize. A seven-yard run from Hall on first down seemed like a strong start, but another false start penalty set the Panthers back and they had to punt again.
Lawrence started making plays on Clemson's next drive. First he ran play-action and hit a slant for 21 yards. Then he pulled on a run-pass option and ran for eight yards. And on first down from the Pitt 40, he took a flea-flicker pitch and heaved a long pass to Justyn Ross for a 39-yard pass as the third quarter ended.
FOURTH QUARTER
The final 15 minutes opened with Clemson at the 1, and on the second play of the quarter, Justyn Choice pushed into the end zone for the Tigers' fifth touchdown.
CLEMSON 35, PITT 10 (14:27, 4th quarter)
It was more of the same for Pitt's offense after the touchdown, as an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Alex Bookser set the Panthers back 15 yards and they couldn't recover. The defense stepped up again, though, holding Clemson to another three-and-out and forcing the Tigers into their seventh punt of the game.
For Pitt’s offense, it was more of the same, as the Panthers went three-and-out again. Clemson responder by bringing in backup quarterback Chase Brice, who led the Tigers down the field for one more touchdown.
CLEMSON 42, PITT 10 (3:17, 4th quarter)
As time ticked away in the fourth quarter, Pitt went three-and-out one more time. With both teams’ backups on the field, the game came to an end, the Panthers’ record dropping to 7-6 and Clemson moving to 13-0 and won its fourth consecutive conference title.
CLEMSON 42, PITT 10 (Final)