Late rally falls short; Pitt loses to Cincinnati 27-21
Pitt is hosting Cincinnati at Acrisure Stadium for a Week Two showdown. Here’s the latest from the game.
FIRST QUARTER
Cincinnati won the coin toss and deferred, giving Pitt possession to open the game but the Panthers didn’t do anything with it, as Phil Jurkovec threw three incomplete passes - including two sideline deep shots - to lead to a punt.
The Bearcats had more success on their first possession. An end-around rush by receiver Aaron Turner picked up 25 yards, and Pitt gifted Cincinnati 15 more yards on that play with a late hit penalty on Phillip O’Brien. The long run and penalty put the ball at the Pitt 23, and an 11-yard run from Corey Kiner moved the line of scrimmage to the 12; from there, quarterback Emory Jones hit tight end Payten Singletary, who pushed into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.
CINCINNATI 7, PITT 0 - 13:06, 1st quarter
Pitt started its second drive with a little more success when C’Bo Flemister ran for four yards on first down and one more on second down, but Jurkovec was sacked while scrambling on third down and the Panthers had to punt again.
And once again, Cincinnati struck quickly. Kiner ran through the left side on first down and took off for 68 yards to the Pitt 11. The Panthers’ defense managed to stop Jones short of a first down on a third-and-3 quarterback run, but the Bearcats added another three points on a field goal to extend their lead.
CINCINNATI 10, PITT 0 - 8:57, 1st quarter
After the defensive stop, Pitt needed to get something going on offense, and the Panthers found it - even if it wasn’t always pretty. After going backward on the first of two false starts on Blake Zubovic, Pitt converted third-and-9 when Jurkovec heaved a prayer that Konata Mumpfield fielded like a punt to pick up 30 yards. The Panthers got an additional 15 yards on that play with a roughing penalty, and Rodney Hammond ran for another 11 yards on the next play to get inside the Cincinnati 18. Zubovic’s second false start pushed the offense back to the 20, but Jurkovec found some third-down heroics again with a throw to Daejon Reynolds, who made a tough catch for 17 yards.
Three snaps later, Jurkovec threw to Mumpfield in the end zone, and the junior receiver pulled it in for Pitt’s first touchdown.
CINCINNATI 10, PITT 7 - 4:17, 1st quarter
After the touchdown, the Panthers’ defense pitched its first three-and-out of the day, stopping a run for no gain and then forcing Jones into a pair of incomplete passes and the Bearcats’ first punt of the game.
Pitt struck quickly after the punt when C’Bo Flemister ran 38 yards on the first play of the ensuing drive, but a fumbled snap and two short runs set up third-and-11 from the Cincinnati 24. On that play, Jurkovec couldn’t connect with Gavin Bartholomew and Ben Sauls’ 42-yard field goal attempt went wide right, leaving the Panthers without points from the drive.
Cincinnati took over at its own 24 and hit a 20-yard pass from Jones to receiver Braden Smith before the first quarter ended with the Panthers trailing by three points.
SECOND QUARTER
Cincinnati opened the second quarter facing third-and-10 from its own 45, but that quickly became third-and-5 from the 50 when defensive end Nate Temple was offside on the play, and Kiner ran for 13 yards to pick up the first down on the shorter down-and-distance.
On the next play, the Bearcats struck again when Smith, the receiver, took an end-around and pulled up to throw to fellow receiver Dee Wiggins. O’Brien had coverage on the play, but Wiggins made the contested catch to pick up 30 yards.
One snap later, Kiner had little trouble running into the end zone from seven yards out.
CINCINNATI 17, PITT 7 - 13:20, 2nd quarter
Pitt came out looking to establish the run on its next possession and had some success when Daniel Carter ran for 10 yards to convert a third-and-4 and 11 yards to convert a fourth-and-2 and get into Cincinnati territory. But Flemister was tackled for a two-yard loss on first down from the 40 and Bub Means dropped a sure first down catch before Jurkovec threw incomplete on third down to lead to a punt.
Pitt successfully downed the punt at the Cincinnati 1, but that field position wasn’t enough to keep the Bearcats from getting points. Kiner got out of the shadow of the goal posts with an 11-yard run on second-and-7, and Cincinnati kept the chains moving with conversions on third-and-6, third-and-1 and fourth-and-3 before finally stumbling at third-and-11, but kicker Carter Brown closed out the drive with a 47-yard field goal. All told, the Bearcats marched 69 yards on 17 plays and took 8:11 off the clock to take a 13-point lead into halftime.
CINCINNATI 20, PITT 7 - 0:05, 2nd quarter
THIRD QUARTER
Pitt kicked off to start the second half looking for a little more success defensively after giving up 180 yards on the ground in the first 30 minutes, and while the Panthers allowed a six-yard pass on third-and-6, they stepped up to get a sack and force a punt for just the second time in the game.
The Pitt offense couldn’t capitalize, though, as Jurkovec kept the ball for a quarterback run on the first play of the Panthers’ first drive and proceeded to fumble after a six-yard run. Cincinnati recovered and took over at the Pitt 36, moving to the 22 with a 14-yard pass from Jones to Smith.
Then, on second-and-9 from the 23, Jones went back to Smith in the end zone, and after a lengthy review, the play was ruled a catch for Cincinnati’s third touchdown of the game.
CINCINNATI 27, PITT 7 - 9:17, 3rd quarter
After the touchdown, Pitt drove into Cincinnati territory with a penalty on the Bearcats and a 19-yard pass from Jurkovec to Daejon Reynolds on a scramble, but Jurkovec was sacked on third-and-10 from the 34 and the Panthers had to punt again.
The Pitt defense stepped up for a three-and-out and Cincinnati responded with a shanked punt that gave the Panthers good field position at the Cincinnati 48. Fortunately for the home team, the Bearcats committed two pass interference penalties to move the ball inside the 10, but a Jurkovec sack took 10 yards back, and after a nine-yard pass from Jurkovec to Mumpfield, Pitt was facing third-and-goal from the 9 heading into the fourth quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
Pitt couldn’t convert the third down, but the Panthers got it on their next try when Jurkovec dropped back, absorbed a hit from Cincinnati star defensive tackle Dontay Corelone and delivered a pass to Mumpfield for his second touchdown of the game.
CINCINNATI 27, PITT 14 - 14:48, 4th quarter
Pitt’s defense forced another three-and-out after the touchdown and took over at its own 14. On first down, Jurkovec threw for Bartholomew and hit the wide-open tight end, who broke a tackle and ran for 60 yards before being tackled at the 26. After a defensive holding penalty, Pitt faced third-and-10 at the 16 and Jurkovec went to Bartholomew again - and this time, the tight end made a great catch in the end zone for a score.
CINCINNATI 27, PITT 21 - 11:53, 4th quarter
Cincinnati’s next drive was a loud one for the Acrisure Stadium crowd, as the Bearcats converted one fourth-and-short in their own territory and were lined up for another before a false start penalty pushed them back and forced a punt. M.J. Devonshire muffed the return but recovered his own fumble at the Pitt 14.
Despite a pass interference penalty on the first play of the next drive, the Panthers couldn’t move the ball and had to punt. But Pitt’s defense got the ball right back: after a run for no gain and a sack by Dayon Hayes, the Panthers got a huge play on third-and-13 when Marquis Williams intercepted Jones to give the offense the ball at the Cincinnati 43.
Pitt got things moving when Jurkovec scrambled for 14 yards, but a one-yard run and two bad passes left the Panthers facing fourth-and-9, and Jurkovec was sacked under a big blitz from the Bearcats.
Cincinnati took over with four minutes left in the game and Pitt’s defense had a chance to get the ball back when the Panthers forced the Bearcats into third-and-4 with 3:22 on the clock, but Jones hit Wiggins for a five-yard pickup and conversion. Three plays later, Cincinnati faced third-and-3 with 1:43, but Kiner broke a 10-yard run to ice the win for the visitors.
Pitt dropped to 1-1 on the season with the loss and will travel to Morgantown next Saturday to face West Virginia.