Pitt is battling North Carolina at Heinz Field tonight, and here's the latest from the game.
FIRST QUARTERFor the first time in 2019, Pitt won the coin toss, giving the Panthers the option and they chose to defer. North Carolina got a strong start with a long kick return and drove into Pitt territory, but the Panthers' defense responded by stoning the Tar Heels and forcing a fourth-and-1 at the Pitt 38. UNC went for it, but Amir Watts stuffed the run in the hole and gave possession to the Pitt offense.
The Panthers came out throwing on their first possession and moved the ball. Kenny Pickett completed his first three passes for 24 yards and then ran a quarterback sneak to convert a fourth-and-1. But Jared Wayne couldn't corral a potential touchdown pass and the drive stalled at the 23.
Alex Kessman finished things off with a 41-yard field goal to give Pitt the first lead of the game.
PITT 3, NORTH CAROLINA 0 - 8:32, 1st quarter
UNC's offense took over after the field goal and got a big boost right away when the Tar Heels' second play was a pass from Sam Howell to Beau Corrales that gained 22 yards and then had 15 tacked on after Amir Watts hit Corrales late after the play.
From there, UNC rattled off a trio of plays to get a first down at the 21 and then Howell and Corrales hooked up for an impressive throw and catch in the end zone to take the lead.
NORTH CAROLINA 7, PITT 3 - 6:14, 1st quarter
Pitt had a big answer for UNC's touchdown on the first play of the next drive when Pickett ran play-action, dropped back and fired a deep shot to Taysir Mack, who came down with the ball for a 48-yard gain. The offense kept moving, converting a third-and-4 at the 21 on a seven-yard pass to Mack and then getting inside the 10 on a five-yard scramble by Pickett.
But a quarterback draw on third-and-4 at the 8 only gained one yard, and from there, head coach Pat Narduzzi decided to be aggressive and go for it on fourth down. But Pickett's pass to Mack in the end zone was incomplete, and the Panthers came away from the drive with no points.
Pitt's defense looked to be in trouble again on the next drive when UNC opened up with a 14-yard screen pass on first down, but the Panthers locked things down. Cam Bright blew up a screen pass for a six-yard loss and the Tar Heels never recovered, punting back to Pitt as the first quarter ended.
SECOND QUARTERPitt took over at its own 28, but a pair of passes to running backs moved the ball across midfield. First, V'Lique Carter took a swing pass nine yards; then A.J. Davis caught a screen pass and ran 28 yards to get to the UNC 30. Davis picked up three more yards to get to the 27, but the Panthers appeared to capitalize on third-and-7 from that spot when Pickett threw to Shocky Jacques-Louis in the end zone. Despite the pass being tipped, Jacques-Louis grabbed the ball out of the air for an apparent touchdown.
The ACC officials disagreed, though, and on review, they overturned the scoring play. There was a pass interference penalty on the defense on the play, and that put Pitt in striking distance at the 12 with a fresh set of downs. Three plays later, Pickett ran a quarterback keeper two yards across the goal line for the go-ahead score.
PITT 10, NORTH CAROLINA 7 - 12:03, 2nd quarter
UNC opened its next possession with a pair of runs to pick up a first down, but the defense responded. Howell missed a receiver on the next first down, but on second down, Phil Campbell dropped Howell for a six-yard sack and the Tar Heels never got closer than fourth-and-8.
Following the punt, Pitt took over at its own 26 and showed run with a fullback on the field and a tackle-over formation. But Pickett dropped back and fired a deep pass to Jacques-Louis who had one step on a defender and turned it into a lot of steps, as the sophomore receiver ran 74 yards for Pitt's second touchdown of the game.
PITT 17, NORTH CAROLINA 7 - 9:41, 2nd quarter
UNC had a big answer for Pitt's big play when Antonio Williams took a first-down hand-off, found a hole and broke free for 59 yards to get inside the Pitt 20. The Panthers managed to hold the Tar Heels to a field goal with pressure on Howell during a third-and-2 pass attempt from the 8, but UNC got a field goal out of it and cut into Pitt's lead.
PITT 17, NORTH CAROLINA 10 - 7:36, 2nd quarter
Pitt's next drive started deep in the Panthers' territory, but a pair of 15-yard penalties moved the ball across midfield and a pair of Carter runs drove inside the 30. Pickett scrambled to get inside the 20 and then hit Jacques-Louis for a 12-yard pass to get to the 7. But on third-and-2 from there, Davis took a swing pass and lost a yard.
This time, Narduzzi opted to kick on fourth-and-short from inside the 10, and Kessman missed the 26-yard attempt to keep the score separated by one touchdown.
UNC's offense took over at its own 20 and seemed to be in bad shape when a first-down run lost three yards, but Howell scrambled to complete a 15-yard pass and followed that with a 25-yard completion to get into Pitt territory. The Tar Heels got all the way to the 30 before things fell apart. First, Howell fumbled a snap and lost seven yards. Then, Jaylen Twyman and Habakkuk Baldonado sacked Howell to get another nine yards. On third-and-26, Howell's pass was incomplete but Damar Hamlin was called for targeting and, upon review, the officials ruled that he was guilty of that penalty and disqualified the senior safety from the game.
Pitt's defense managed to shut down the UNC drive on the next play when Damarri Mathis intercepted a Howell pass, but losing Hamlin for the entire second half was a blow to the Panthers' defense.
PITT 17, NORTH CAROLINA 10 - Halftime
Pickett's first half was among his strongest this season, as the junior quarterback completed 11-of-20 passes for 207 yards and one touchdown. Jacques-Louis had 96 of those yards and the score on three receptions, while Mack caught three for 61. Pitt's defense had two sacks and an interception to help the cause.
THIRD QUARTERPitt got the ball to start the second half and the Panthers opened strong with Pickett hitting Aaron Mathews for a 30-yard gain on the first play. But things didn't go anywhere from there, and Pitt had to punt for the first time in the game three plays later.
UNC's first drive of the second half took a lot longer but didn't accomplish much more, as the Tar Heels ran 10 plays but never crossed the 50; they got close, largely on the strength of the run game, and while Howell just missed on two deep shots that could have been trouble for Pitt, UNC couldn't convert and had to punt from its own 48.
The punt put Pitt at its own 15, but the Panthers rattled off their best drive of the day. With a mix of running and passing, Pickett led the offense on a 14-play, 85-yard march to the end zone. The possession featured a trio of third downs: first, Davis ran for eight yards on third-and-1; then Pickett and Wayne connected for 10 yards on third-and-7; and finally, Davis took a handoff on third-and-2 from the 8, found a hole and ran into the end zone to extend the lead.
PITT 24, NORTH CAROLINA 10 - 2:12, 3rd quarter
Pitt's defense had a few opportunities against UNC on the next possession. First, the Panthers forced a third-and-10, but Howell completed a 10-yard pass to convert. Then, UNC took an illegal block penalty to set up second-and-17, but the Tar Heels converted with a 26-yard pass on the very next play. As the third quarter ended, though, Howell took a sack on first down from the Pitt 34.
FOURTH QUARTERUNC's second-and-13 turned into third-and-13 on an incomplete pass, but the Tar Heels didn't have to do anything to convert the ensuing third down, as safety Paris Ford was called for a defensive holding that gave the visitors a fresh set of downs.
Two plays later, UNC was at the 10, and from there, Howell hit Dyami Brown with a dart in the end zone for a touchdown.
PITT 24, NORTH CAROLINA 17 - 13:11, 4th quarter
Pitt had no answer for the touchdown; in fact, the Panthers went backward after UNC kicked off. Pickett threw the ball away on his first two pass attempts and then saw Nakia Griffin-Stewart drop a third-down throw. But then the wheels really fell off, as Kessman replaced Kirk Christodoulou on the punting duties and the unit promptly took two penalties - delay of game and false start - to move back to the 15 for the punt.
UNC got the ball at its own 43 but needed just three plays to cover those 57 yards, capped by a 34-yard pass from Howell to Dazz Newsome against Jazzee Stocker, who was playing in place of Hamlin.
Newsome caught the pass for the touchdown and the Tar Heels tied the score.
PITT 24, NORTH CAROLINA 24 - 11:43, 4th quarter
Facing a dire situation for the first time in the game, Pitt's offense took the field at its own 25 and turned to the running game, but that approach forced the Panthers into third-and-4. Pickett converted it, though, with a scramble pass to Will Gragg that picked up five yards.
From there, Pickett and Gragg picked up another first down, UNC gave Pitt 15 yards with a roughing penalty and Carter caught a 15-yard pass for a first down. But on third-and-6 from the UNC 10, Pickett's pass to Mack in the middle of the field only gained four, and the Panthers settled for a field goal to take the lead back.
PITT 27, NORTH CAROLINA 24 - 5:18, 4th quarter
With score favoring Pitt, UNC took the ball at its own 25 and ran twice to set up third-and-3, but the Tar Heels got the first down when Jazzee Stocker was called for pass interference. The defense bounced back with a six-yard sack by Twyman on the next play, but Howell had an answer with a 27-yard pass to Newsome against a five-man blitz from Pitt's Delta package.
Now in Pitt territory at the 39, the Tar Heels cost themselves 10 yards with a holding penalty but overcame the error with a third-and-11 conversion, and they continued to march. Howell and Corrales connected for eight yards to set up running back Antonio Williams for a six-yard run that moved to the 13 for a first down.
At that point, Pitt's defense made a stop. Williams was stopped for a two-yard loss and then Jason Pinnock successfully defended a pair of Howell passes to Corrales to force a 32-yard field goal by Noah Ruggles.
The kick was good.
PITT 27, NORTH CAROLINA 27 - 0:13, 4th quarter
Pitt took a knee to end regulation, and the teams headed to overtime.
OVERTIMEUNC won the coin toss and elected to defend, giving Pitt the ball to open the overtime period. It didn't look good at first when a Davis run lost a yard and then Wayne was called for a false start. But on third-and-14 from the 29, Pickett and Mack hooked up for a 15-yard gain. Jacques-Louis gained eight on the next play and Davis picked up a first down before Pickett ran a quarterback keeper for three yards and a touchdown.
PITT 34, NORTH CAROLINA 27
With a touchdown lead, Pitt's defense took the field looking to stop UNC and win the game. The Panthers started strong, getting Howell to throw incomplete passes on first and second down and then forcing the freshman quarterback out of the pocket for a six-yard scramble. But Howell came up big on fourth down with an eight-yard pass to Newsome to move the chains.
On first down, UNC tried to run with Williams but lost one yard and Howell's second-down pass to Corrales was incomplete before Twyman came up with a huge sack on third down to force fourth-and-16 from the 17.
For the biggest play of the game, Howell dropped back, but Deslin Alexandre pressured him and got a hand on his pass, causing it to go incomplete and sending Pitt home with its seventh win of the season.
PITT 34, NORTH CAROLINA 27 - Final
Pickett finished the game with 359 yards and one passing touchdown plus 53 rushing yards and two rushing scores in the win. Jacques-Louis caught four passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Pitt had 498 yards of total offense.
Defensively, the Panthers has five sacks and one interception. With the win, they improved to 7-3 on the season and 4-2 in the ACC
