No. 17 Pitt is hosting No. 24 Tennessee at Acrisure Stadium today. Here’s the latest from the game.

FIRST QUARTER
Pitt won the coin toss and deferred, giving Tennessee the ball first to open the game, and that decision proved to be a good one as the Volunteers went three-and-out with two incomplete passes, leading to a punt.

The Panthers’ offense took the field looking to eat a lot of the clock, and the Panthers accomplished that goal. They picked up one first down on an eight-yard pass from Kedon Slovis to Jared Wayne and then got another one with a 14-yard pass to Gavin Bartholomew.

Two plays later, Slovis and Wayne overcame a second-and-13 situation with an 18-yard pickup to get inside the Tennessee 20. But a dropped pass and a third-down throwaway brought out Ben Sauls for a 30-yard field goal attempt.

Sauls made the kick and Pitt took the first lead of the game.
Pitt 3, Tennessee 0 - 10:27, 1st quarter

Tennessee’s offense couldn’t answer the field goal, posting another three-and-out under pressure from Pitt’s defense, but the home team hit the biggest play of the game on the ensuing drive.

Actually, the play came on the very next snap, as Israel Abanikanda took an RPO handoff from Slovis, found open space in the middle and won a foot race for a 76-yard touchdown run.
Pitt 10, Tennessee 0 - 9:00, 1st quarter

The Volunteers finally got moving on the next drive. They picked up a first down on a 10-yard run from quarterback Hendon Hooker and then moved across midfield with a pass from Hooker to Cedric Tillman. But a holding penalty put the Vols in a difficult down-and-distance situation, and while Tennessee coach Josh Heupel showed confidence in his offense by trying fourth-and-3 from the Pitt 39, A.J. Woods broke up Hooker’s pass to give the ball back to the Panthers’ offense.

Slovis and company picked up where they left off, as an 18-yard pass to Wayne and a fluky deflection catch by Bartholomew preceded a defensive pass interference penalty that put the ball at the Tennessee 21. But after two incomplete passes, Slovis scrambled to his right on third down and threw to Bub Means in the end zone. Means couldn’t make the catch, but Tennessee safety Trevon Flowers did for the first interception of the season for Slovis.

The turnover gave the Volunteers the ball at the 20, and they started to march. Hooker converted a third-and-3 with a 20-yard pass to Tillman and then scrambled for eight yards to convert second-and-3 in Pitt territory.

From there, the Vols kept going until they hit their biggest play yet: a 24-yard pass from Hooker to tight end Jacob Warren that put the ball at the 1. Running back Jabari Small took the handoff on first-and-goal and put Tennessee on the board.
Pitt 10, Tennessee 7 - 1:02, 1st quarter

SECOND QUARTER
The Pitt offense had an answer in the form of another big play. The second quarter opened with the Panthers facing third-and-1, which was converted on a two-yard run by Abanikanda. Then, after a 15-yard pass to Wayne moved the ball close to midfield, Slovis threw to Bartholomew, who ran down the right sideline and then leapt over Flowers to get into the end zone for a 57-yard touchdown.

Pitt 17, Tennessee 7 - 13:25, 2nd quarter

The fireworks continued on the next drive, as Tennessee used a series of seven, eight and nine-yard gains to get across midfield before lining up for a first down at the Pitt 32. From there, Hooker threw down the left sideline to receiver Bru McCoy, who pulled in the catch in the end zone while running with Rashad Battle. Pat Narduzzi challenged the play, though, as McCoy stepped out of bounds before he got to the goal line and came back in, but officials ruled that Battle had forced McCoy out, which allowed the touchdown to stand.
Pitt 17, Tennessee 14 - 10:05, 2nd quarter

After the controversial touchdown, Pitt’s offense went looking for an answer and drove into Tennessee territory with a series of shorter passes, but a pass to Means on third-and-10 from the Tennessee 34 picked up seven and Narduzzi opted to leave the offense on the field for a fourth-down attempt. Slovis had Bartholomew in the middle of the field for a likely first down, but pressure got him from behind and Pitt’s quarterback was dropped for a sack and turnover on downs.

Tennessee needed just three plays to turn the change in possession into a lead. On second-and-6 from the Tennessee 38, Hooker fired deep down the right sideline for Tillman, who outran M.J. Devonshire to make the catch before he was tackled at the 1. Small converted the drive with a run into the end zone and the Volunteers took the lead for the first time in the game.
Tennessee 21, Pitt 17 - 4:56, 2nd quarter

Pitt’s offensive rut continued following the Tennessee touchdown, as the Panthers almost got to midfield before bringing out Sam Vander Haar for his first punt of the game. With time winding down in the half, the Volunteers’ offense didn’t do much on the ensuing drive and had to settle for a punt of their own.

Narduzzi opted to go all-out for a block, sending all 11 players to the line of scrimmage rather than having anyone back to return. The block team didn’t get home and Pitt took the ball at its own 37 with 0:21 on the clock. Instead of handing off to kill the half, Slovis dropped back to pass and was sacked.

In the course of the sack, Slovis fumbled and Tennessee recovered. Pitt looked to force a big turnover of its own on the next play when Hooker threw to the end zone and Devonshire appeared to pick off the pass. But review showed Devonshire out of bounds and Tennessee ended up settling for a field goal before the end of the half.
Tennessee 24, Pitt 17 - Halftime

THIRD QUARTER
Tennessee kicked off to start the second half, but Pitt had some surprise personnel, as the Panthers took the field without Kedon Slovis, who did not return from the locker room. In place of Slovis, Nick Patti made his first appearance of the season.

Patti’s first drive crossed midfield, largely on the strength of a 25-yard run by Abanikanda and a 12-yard pass to Wayne, but on third-and-3, Patti had to scramble under pressure and threw the ball away.

The Panthers faced a fourth-and-3 from the 28, but while Narduzzi opted to go for it in a similar situation earlier in the game, this time he chose to send in Sauls for a 46-yard attempt.

The kick missed, and Tennessee took over at its own 28. The Volunteers picked up one first down, but a six-yard sack by Brandon George and an offensive pass interference pushed Tennessee back to second-and-31, which led to a punt.

Pitt’s next drive didn’t get anything. A holding penalty on first down pushed the Panthers back inside the 10, and Vander Haar’s inevitable punt only got to the Pitt 48.

Pitt’s defense had an answer on Tennessee’s next drive, forcing a three-and-out and punt, and then the Panthers’ special teams came up with a big play as P.J. O’Brien broke through to block the punt and recover it at the Tennessee 19.

The offense couldn’t do anything with it, though. A one-yard run by Abanikanda and a pair of incomplete passes brought Sauls out for a 36-yard field goal, but this kick went wide and the Panthers came away with no points.

The defense came up with another big play on the ensuing possession. After the Volunteers picked up a first down, Hooker handed off to Jaylen Wright on third-and-1, but linebacker Tylar Wiltz forced Wright to fumble and safety Erick Hallett recovered.

The turnover gave Pitt the ball at the Tennessee 44, and the plan was simple:

Feed it to Abanikanda. The junior running back carried the ball on the first four plays of the drive and reached the 33. Then, after Patti connected with Mumpfield for 12 yards, Abanikanda broke for eight yards on each of his next two runs before losing a yard on first-and-goal from the 5 to end the third quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER
The favorable field position went away quickly. Patti appeared to rush for a touchdown from the 6 on the first play of the fourth quarter, but a holding penalty on Wayne canceled that play and the offense had no chance from the 11. To make matters worse, Patti was sacked for a six-yard loss on third down and suffered an injury in the process.

Sauls converted the 35-yard kick, though, and cut the lead to four.
Tennessee 24, Pitt 20 - 14:07, 4th quarter

Tennessee followed the field goal with its longest drive of the game, at least in terms of time, taking five minutes and 10 seconds off the clock over the course of 15 plays but only driving 41 yards before the possession stalled at the Pitt 34 thanks to a Calijah Kancey sack.

The Volunteers converted the 51-yard field goal to stretch their lead back to seven.
Tennessee 27, Pitt 20 - 8:57, 4th quarter

Things looked bleak after the Tennessee field goal when Pitt’s offense went three-and-out, but on the punt that ended the drive, the Volunteers’ punt returner fumbled and Pitt long-snapper Byron Floyd recovered.

With a new drive starting at the Tennessee 39, the Panthers had their eyes on the end zone. They immediately ran into trouble with a fourth-and-1 from the 30, but Abanikanda converted with an 11-yard run. The running back then caught a screen pass and went 21 yards to the 6, but a series of no-gain plays left Pitt facing fourth-and-goal from the 4.

For that play, with the game on the line, Patti, who was limping with a leg injury, dropped back and threw to Wayne, and the senior receiver made a strong catch in the end zone for the game-tying score.
Pitt 27, Tennessee 27 - 2:23, 4th quarter

Pitt's defense rose to the occasion one last time in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter to hold Tennessee and force overtime.

OVERTIME
Pitt won the coin toss and deferred, giving Tennessee the ball to open overtime. While a holding penalty pushed the Volunteers back to second-and-13 from the 28, Hooker converted with a throw to Tillman in the end zone.
Tennessee 34, Pitt 27

Pitt’s offense didn’t get a good start to overtime, with Abanikanda losing three yards on first down and Patti throwing incomplete on second down. But the Pitt quarterback hit Means for eight yards to make it fourth-and-5 before connecting with Mumpfield for a clutch fourth-down conversion.

That was as much as the Panthers could get, though. Abanikanda ran for two yards on first-and-goal from the 10 but Patti was chased for a 12-yard sack on third down, and his throw to Mumpfield on fourth down didn’t connect, leaving the Panthers with their first loss of the season.
Tennessee 34, Pitt 27 - Final