ATLANTA - No. 12 Pitt is facing No. 10 Michigan State in the Chick Fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Here’s the latest from the game.

FIRST QUARTER
Pitt’s start to the Peach Bowl wasn’t a good one. After Michigan State won the toss and deferred, Israel Abanikanda let the kickoff bounce into the end zone - except the ball didn’t go into the end zone and died at the 2. The Panthers’ started their first possession there and didn’t get far. They had chances on second and third down, but both of Nick Patti’s passes were uncaught and Pitt had to punt.

Kirk Christodoulou’s punt out of his end zone didn’t travel far and MSU got a good return, setting up shop at the Pitt 29 and striking three plays later on a perfect pass from Payton Thorne to Jayden Reed to connect for a 28-yard touchdown pass.
MICHIGAN STATE 7, PITT 0 - 13:11, 1st quarter

Pitt’s second possession went much better than its first. With a heavy dose of the running game, the Panthers marched 75 yards on 12 plays for a drive that was capped by a 16-yard scramble from Patti to the end zone.

The touchdown tied the score, but Patti was hurt on the play and went to the locker room.
PITT 7, MICHIGAN STATE 7 - 7:57, 1st quarter

Michigan State didn’t quite have the same success on its second drive, although the Spartans did convert two third downs before stalling at the Pitt 21 and settling for a field goal.
MICHIGAN STATE 10, PITT 7 - 2:39, 1st quarter

The Patti injury gave Davis Beville his first shot at significant playing time, and the redshirt sophomore picked up on first down a fourth-and-1 sneak. But he didn’t see a blitzer coming on third-and-9 from the Pitt 43 and took a sack that ended the drive.

SECOND QUARTER

After Christodoulou’s second punt, Michigan State converted a third-and-5 to get close to midfield before Thorne unleashed a bomb to Jalen Nailor that picked lip 50 yards and had the Spartans knocking on the doorstep. But an incomplete pass on first-and-goal from the 4, a false start on an aborted Wildcat snap and a tackle for loss from Dayon Hayes - his second of the game - set up third-and-goal from the 16. Thorne’s pass to the end zone was incomplete, but MSU kicker Matt Coghlin pushed the 33-yard attempt and the Spartans got no points from the drive.

Pitt couldn’t capitalize on the missed field goal, though, or the punt that came on the next MSU drive, as the Panthers went three-and-out on back-to-back drives and gained a net total of 12 yards over six plays.

Pitt’s defense needed a big play to help give the offense some momentum, and the Panthers got it on MSU’s next drive. After the Spartans drove inside the Pitt 30, Brandon Hill jumped a Thorne pass and picked it off.

After the interception, the Panthers’ offense got hot. Beville led the unit onto the field at the 13 and quickly completed a pair of 11-yard passes before scrambling on first-and-10 from the 35. Beville found Jordan Addison on the scramble drill, and the Biletnikoff Award winner took off, making several defenders miss on his way to a 52-yard pickup.

On the next play, Vincent Davis weaved through defenders to get 12 yards to the 1; two plays later, Beville fired a rocket to Jared Wayne in the end zone for a touchdown.
PITT 14, MICHIGAN STATE 10 - 1:02, second quarter

Tyler Bentley logged a big sack on Michigan State’s next drive, and the half ended with the Panthers holding a four-point lead.

HALFTIME

THIRD QUARTER
Michigan State took the ball to open the second half, but Pitt kept up the momentum. After two incomplete passes, Thorne scrambled on third down, was hit by John Morgan and lost the ball. Cam Bright recovered the fumble and ran 26 yards for a touchdown.
PITT 21, MICHIGAN STATE 10 - 14:40, third quarter

Defense continued to be the name of the game after the defensive touchdown. Michigan State drove inside the Pitt 30 but was stopped on a near-interception in the end zone on fourth down. Pitt went three-and-out on the next drive, but so did MSU, and after the Spartans converted a fake punt, the Panthers stepped up with a big sack from Bam Brima to lead to another punt.

Pitt’s offense drove for another punt on the final drive of the third quarter, and the Panthers took an 11-point lead into the final 15 minutes.

FOURTH QUARTER
After Pitt’s punt to end the third quarter, MSU took over at its own 30 and hit a quick 15-yard pass to open things up. Two more medium passes moved the ball inside the 30 before Pitt’s defense stepped up to force fourth-and-6, but Thorne converted with a short pass to Heyward for a first down.

The Spartans kept driving, and even after a sack on second down set up third-and-goal from the 15, Thorne found Heyward one more time for a touchdown. The two-point attempt was short of the end zone, but MSU cut Pitt’s lead to five.
PITT 21, MICHIGAN STATE 16 - 8:06, fourth quarter

After another Pitt three-and-out, MSU took the ball at its own 29 with 5:37 on the clock and started marching. The Panthers forced a third-and-7 at the 32, but MSU converted on an 11-yard pass. The Spartans did it again with a 10-yard pass on third-and-10 against Pitt’s blitz. And then converted another third-and-10 with a 14-yard pass to get to the Pitt 22.

From there, MSU cashed in on a pass from Thorne to Reed before connecting on the two-point conversion to go ahead by three.
MICHIGAN STATE 24, PITT 21 - 2:51, fourth quarter

Pitt’s last gasp started with less than three minutes on the clock, and the Panthers quickly found themselves facing fourth-and-8 at the Pitt 27. But Beville made a clutch pass to Addison for eight yards and a fresh set of downs, and he went back to the sophomore receiver on a 24-yard pass over the middle to get into MSU territory.

Two plays later, Pitt had another first down and found itself sitting on the MSU 26 with a great opportunity to at least tie and possibly take the lead.

But on the first down play, Beville targeted Addison and MSU linebacker Cal Haladay read the pass perfectly, picking it off and taking it all the way to the other end zone for a touchdown.
MICHIGAN STATE 31, PITT 21 - 0:22, fourth quarter

From there, it was just a matter of procedure. The Panthers finished the 2021 season with an 11-3 record and the ACC championship.