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Pitt beats Clemson 27-17

No. 23 Pitt is hosting Clemson at Heinz Field today. Here’s the latest from the game.

FIRST QUARTER
Clemson won the coin toss and deferred, giving Pitt the ball to open the game. After a pair of quick plays - a sweep and a screen - gained seven yards, the Panthers were facing a manageable third-and-3, but Lucas Krull was called for a false start. Kenny Pickett was sacked on the ensuing third-and-8, and the Panthers had to punt.

Clemson’s first drive didn’t go much better. The Tigers had a third-and-1 that turned into third-and-6 with a false start penalty, and Clemson had to punt after D.J. Uiagalelei’s third-down pass was overthrown.

Pitt’s offense went three-and-out again on its next drive with an incomplete pass, a run for no gain and a six-yard pass, but Clemson found some success after the punt. Uiagalelei scrambled for 15 yards to move the sticks into Pitt territory and then threw to receiver Will Brown for 12 more yards.

But Uiagalelei’s pass on first down from the Pitt 26 was picked off by Damarri Mathis, turning away the Tigers and giving the Panthers possession.

Pitt couldn’t capitalize on the turnover, although the Panthers did pick up a first down for the first time in the game. After Israel Abanikanda ran for eight yards on two carries, Pickett scrambled and dove ahead for four yards to move the chains. Three plays later, Pickett converted another third down with a pass to Jared Wayne. On third-and-12 from the Pitt 42, though, Pickett had to scramble again, and his pass to Krull was low, leading to another punt.

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Clemson came up with the first points of the game on the next drive. Uiagalelei got things started with an 18-yard draw on first down before Pitt’s defense stepped up to force a third-and-6. But Uiagelelei made a great throw to receiver Ajou Ajou that picked up 36 yards to the Pitt 22, and Clemson scored four plays later on a one-yard run by Phil Mafah.

CLEMSON 7, PITT 0 - 1:29, first quarter

Pitt’s offense found some rhythm on the next drive when Pickett and Gavin Bartholomew connected for an 11-yard gain and Pickett threw to Vincent Davis to pick up another first down. But on first-and-10 from the Pitt 49, Krull caught a pass from Pickett and then had the ball jarred loose. Clemson recovered the fumble and the Tigers took possession as the first quarter came to an end.

SECOND QUARTER
Clemson opened the second quarter close to midfield, but a pair of runs couldn’t get much and Uiagalelei’s pass on third-and-7 was off the mark, leading to another punt. This time, Pitt’s offense hit some explosive plays. Abanikanda got things started with an impressive run for 24 yards on first down from the Pitt 11; then Pickett and Jordan Addison connected for a 25-yard pass that moved the ball into Clemson territory for the first time.

But the Panthers were stopped after that. On third-and-7 from the Clemson 37, the Tigers blitzed and Pitt couldn’t pick it up. Pickett was dropped for a nine-yard sack and the Panthers had to punt again.

Kirk Christodoulou’s punt was downed at the 2, but Clemson marched out of the shadow of its end zone, picking up three first downs to get across the 30. But running back Will Shipley dropped a sure touchdown pass on first-and-10 from the 38 and Uiagalelei’s pass to receiver Beaux Collins on third-and-4 was incomplete.

Clemson’s punt was downed at the 10, giving Pitt a long field to travel. The Panthers got moving by converting third-and-1, third-and-10 and third-and-2 to get close to midfield before Pickett and Addison connected with a 29-yard pass to move to the Clemson 26.

Three plays later, Pickett and Addison hooked up again, this time on a 23-yard pass that finished in the end zone for Pitt’s first touchdown of the game.

PITT 7, CLEMSON 7 - 3:18, second quarter

Pitt’s defense got the job done in the next drive, forcing Clemson into a three-and-out with a trio of incomplete passes to get the ball back with just under three minutes left in the half and the Panthers holding two timeouts.

Initially, though, it wasn’t clear if Pitt was looking to score, particularly after a holding penalty pushed the offense back into a first-and-20. But on second-and-18, Clemson linebacker hit Abanikanda late and took a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty; after that, the Panthers seemed to move with intention. Pickett threw to Taysir Mack for seven yards and then got seven more from a screen pass to Abanikanda.

Pickett scrambled for five yards on first down from the Clemson 44, but the offense stalled on a pair of incomplete passes. Facing fourth-and-5 from the Clemson 39, Pat Narduzzi kept Pitt’s offense on the field and Pickett made it count, dropping back and hitting Mack on the run for a 39-yard touchdown.

PITT 14, CLEMSON 7 - 0:40, second quarter

Clemson’s offense sputtered at the end of the half, and Pitt took a touchdown lead into the locker room.

THIRD QUARTER
Pitt kicked off to open the second half, and Uiagalelei overcame a fumble to keep the drive moving into Pitt territory. But on second-and-8 from the 47, the Clemson quarterback attempted a shovel pass when Pitt linebacker SirVocea Dennis stepped in to grab the interception and run 50 yards for a touchdown.

PITT 21, CLEMSON 7 - 11:30, third quarter

After the interception, Clemson opted to change quarterbacks from Uiagalelei to Taisun Phommachanh, and the Tigers moved better after the change. First, Phommachanh threw to Justyn Ross for 14 yards to convert a third-and-6. Then the new quarterback ran for 17 yards to get into Pitt territory.

The Tigers eventually drove inside the Pitt 25, but a pair of incomplete passes and a two-yard tackle for loss on a third-down quarterback run led to a 42-yard field goal attempt that was good.

PITT 21, CLEMSON 10 - 6:56, third quarter

Pitt’s defense made a strong stand after the field goal, forcing Clemson into a three-and-out and another punt.

FOURTH QUARTER
The Panthers opened the final frame with the ball and running back Rodney Hammond on the field. The freshman made plays from the start, rushing for 48 yards on his first five carries, which sandwiched a key 13-yard pass from Pickett to Krull that converted a third-and-3.

Penalties stopped the drive, but Scarton connected on 34-yard field goal to extend the lead.

PITT 27, CLEMSON 10 - 9:30, fourth quarter

Clemson opted to go back with Uiagalelei for the next drive, and the decision was a good one. After opening the possession with a 27-yard pass to Ross, Uiagalelei threw three consecutive incomplete passes, but the latter two drew penalties on Pitt’s defense that moved the ball to the Pitt 23.

Uiagalelei scrambled to the 16 after that and Shipley ran 10 yards to the 6 before Uiagalelei capped the drive with a six-yard touchdown run.

PITT 27, CLEMSON 17 - 7:56, fourth quarter

After the Clemson touchdown, Pitt took possession at its own 25 with 7:56 on the clock. Pickett threw incomplete on first down and Vincent Davis picked up three yards on second down to set up third-and-7. For that play, Pickett dropped back, scanned the field and then sprinted to his right, diving out of bounds past the stick for a first down.

Hammond took the ball next and picked up four yards on two carries, leading to third-and-6 and a Clemson timeout to stop the clock at 5:40.

For this third down, Pitt ran a quarterback draw and Pickett got through for seven yards. The Panthers converted another third down with a run from Davis before a Clemson penalty converted one more to ice the game.

From there, Pitt ran out the clock and improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the ACC.

PITT 27, CLEMSON 17 - FINAL

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