Pitt wins on last-minute drive
DURHAM (N.C.) - Pitt is at Wallace Wade Stadium for an ACC Coastal battle with Duke. Here's the latest from the game.
FIRST QUARTER
For the sixth time in as many games, Pitt lost the coin toss and Duke opted to defer, giving the Panthers the ball to open Saturday night's contest. With Kenny Pickett back at quarterback after missing the Delaware game, Pitt's offense looked for a strong start to the game, but after a 25-yard heave to Taysir Mack that converted third-and-10, the Panthers couldn't get anything going and had to punt.
Duke's offense had more success. The Blue Devils converted a third-and-8 and a fourth-and-1 to get inside the 20, but the drive stalled at the Pitt 15. Duke settled for a 33-yard field goal to take the game's first lead.
DUKE 3, PITT 0 - 8:43, 1st quarter
Pitt's offense tried to establish a running game on its second possession, but the Panthers attempted to do so by handing the ball to Maurice Ffrench on jet sweeps. The first time, on second-and-4, Ffrench gained three; the next time, on third-and-1, he lost those three yards and Pitt had to punt again.
The Panthers' defense came up with a big play, though, when Duke quarterback Quentin Harris scrambled on third-and-9 on the next possession. Harris had more than enough yards for a first down, but Cam Bright knocked the ball loose and Habakkuk Baldonado recovered the fumble to give the Panthers good field position.
Unfortunately, Pitt couldn't do anything with it, as two incomplete passes sandwiched a three-yard run by Todd Sibley - his first carry of the game - and the Panthers were punting for the third time in three drives.
But the defense was ready for another big play. On the first play of Duke's next possession, Harris' pass was tipped by Dane Jackson and intercepted by Paris Ford, who ran 26 yards to the end zone.
PITT 7, DUKE 3 - 4:49, 1st quarter
Duke didn't stay on the field long after the touchdown, because on second-and-8, Ford did it again, making a leaping grab to pick off a Harris pass - Ford's second interception in three snaps.
Ford didn't get back to the end zone this time, but neither did Pitt's offense. The Panthers moved inside the 20, but Ffrench was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after catching a pass for a first down; that pushed the ball back to the 28, and Pitt couldn't get much closer.
Alex Kessman closed the drive with points, hitting a 43-yard field goal to extend Pitt's lead.
PITT 10, DUKE 3 - 1:35, 1st quarter
Duke got one more possession before the first quarter ended, but Pitt's defense continued to play well, allowing a first down only through a pass interference penalty on Jackson before stopping Harris on a third-down scramble.
SECOND QUARTER
Following Duke's punt, Pitt took possession at its own 23 and finally built an extended march. Aided by a roughing penalty on third-and-18, the Panthers drove deep into the Blue Devils' end of the field and even got inside the 10. But on first-and-goal from the 9, Pickett tried to hit Jared Wayne in the end zone on a slant but didn't see Duke safety Marquis Waters, who jumped the route and picked off the pass.
Duke didn't get anything out of the turnover, as Pitt's defense forced the Blue Devils into their first three-and-out punt. The kick was short and gave the Panthers good field position at the Duke 45, but Pickett and company couldn't get closer than the 20. Kessman cleaned things up with a 38-yard field goal, and Pitt's lead grew to 10.
PITT 13, DUKE 3 - 3:07, 2nd quarter
Pitt's defense followed the field goal by forcing a second consecutive three-and-out, and the Panthers got a boost from a big special teams play when Ffrench took the punt 50 yards inside the Duke 20. That set up the Panthers' offense with another good shot at the goal line and this time they cashed in, as Pickett floated a pass to Mack in the end zone. Mack responded with a contested catch and came down with it for the first offensive touchdown of the day.
Kessman missed the extra point, but Pitt took a 16-point lead with time winding down in the second quarter.
PITT 19, DUKE 3 - 1:59, 2nd quarter
Duke's offense took the ball with just under two minutes left in the half but ran just 40 seconds off the clock as the Panthers posted their third three-and-out in a row. Ffrench didn't get a long return on the ensuing punt, but Pitt did get some yardage when Duke committed personal fouls on consecutive snaps.
The Panthers gave 15 yards back with a personal foul of their own but still managed to get to the Duke 42 before letting the clock run down to 0:01 and calling timeout to attempt a deep shot at the end zone.
The pass was never attempted, though, as Pickett was sacked for the first time in the game and the half ended.
PITT 19, DUKE 3- Halftime
In the first half, Pickett attempted 34 passes - more than he attempted in any single game last season - and completed 21 for 154 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Panthers had just 34 rushing yards. Defensively, Pitt gave up just 105 total yards to Duke, as Harris completed 9-of-22 for 64 yards and two interceptions.
THIRD QUARTER
Pitt's defense picked up where it left off in the second half, forcing Duke into a fourth consecutive three-and-out punt. It looked like the Panthers had something going on offense when Todd Sibley took a handoff on first down and ran for 25 yards, but he picked up four on his next carry and then only got one on a snap out of the wildcat formation. On third down, Pickett scrambled into a sack and Pitt had to punt.
Duke's next possession turned into another big play for Pitt's defense. On third-and-10 from the Duke 15, Harris dropped back to pass but Patrick Jones got to him for a sack and forced the ball out; Deslin Alexandre fell on it and gave the offense possession.
Two plays later, Pickett hit Nakia Griffin-Stewart on a roll-out pass to extend the lead.
PITT 26, DUKE 3 - 11:05, 3rd quarter
After the Pitt touchdown, Duke opted to try some of its triple-option offense and found some success but not much. The Blue Devils picked up one first down to move out to their own 30, but they couldn't get much more and had to punt for the sixth time.
The trend continued throughout the third quarter, as Pitt and Duke went back and forth with punts until the Blue Devils kicked one deep with less than three minutes left in the quarter. Paris Ford was back to return the punt, but he muffed it and Duke recovered at the Pitt 4.
On the next snap, Harris kept the ball and ran in from four yards out.
PITT 26, DUKE 10 - 2:41, 3rd quarter
Pitt needed to reclaim momentum after the turnover and touchdown, but the opposite happened when Pickett threw to Dontavius Butler-Jenkins on the first play of the next drive. Butler-Jenkins made the catch for a 13-yard gain, but he fumbled after the catch and Duke recovered.
The Blue Devils took over at the Pitt 43 and ran option plays to move the ball as the third quarter ended.
FOURTH QUARTER
Duke chipped away at Pitt's defense, converting two third downs to get to the 21; from there, the Panthers helped. First, Damarri Mathis was called for pass interference to move the ball to the 6; then Patrick Jones was called for roughing the passer, setting up the Blue Devils at the 3.
Three option runs later, Duke running back Deon Jackson got into the end zone. The Blue Devils set up for a two-point conversion attempt, and receiver Jalon Calhoun ran a sweep that barely got into the end zone.
PITT 26, DUKE 18 - 13:09, 4th quarter
When Pitt took the ball after Duke's touchdown, there was one imperative: do not commit a turnover. The Panthers came out running and gained a first down on the ground, but then Pickett started throwing and things unraveled. Nakia Griffin-Stewart dropped a first-down pass; then Shocky Jacques-Louis was called for a false start. On second-and-15, Pickett and V'Lique Carter connected for 10 yards on a screen pass, but on third down, Pickett threw into a sea of defenders and the pass was intercepted.
It didn't take long from there for Duke's offense to get into the end zone again, as Harris kept the ball from the 3 and ran in for the touchdown. Harris did the job again on the two-point conversion, and the Blue Devils tied the game.
But after a commercial break, the officials announced that there had been an "inadvertent signal" during the play, and the two-point conversion had to be retried. This time, Pitt's defense stopped Harris and the Panthers held onto the lead.
PITT 26, DUKE 24 - 9:10, 4th quarter
Pitt's offense had no answer for Duke's success, as the Panthers punted after four plays. But the defense stood up again, allowing one first down but stopping Duke on its second third-down attempt and then breaking up a pass on a fake punt.
The Panthers took the ball back with 5:39 on the clock and picked up a first down with a 20-yard slant pass to Jacques-Louis; the offense stalled after that, but more than two minutes ran off the clock before Pitt punted.
Duke took the ball at its own 14, and the Blue Devils got nothing out of their first two plays from scrimmage. On third down, Harris threw to Scott Bracey, who caught the ball one yard short of a first down. But Paris Ford was called for targeting on the play; Ford was ejected and Duke got a fresh set of downs.
Harris came up with a big pass to Calhoun on the next third down to move into Pitt territory, and on first down from the 44, Harris floated a pass to running back Deon Jackson, who had leaked behind the Panther defense and got into the end zone untouched.
Duke's two-point conversion attempt was no good, but the Blue Devils held the lead with 90 seconds remaining.
DUKE 30, PITT 26 - 1:29, 4th quarter
With less than 90 seconds on the clock, there wasn't much hope for a Pitt offense that hadn't done much in the second half. But after a pass interference penalty gave the Panthers 15 yards on their first play, Pickett and company proceeded to drive. There was a 12-yard pass to Taysir Mack. A 23-yard pass to Aaron Mathews. A six-yard pass to Jacques-Louis. And then, on third-and-4 from the 26, Pickett dropped a pass into the arms of V'Lique Carter, who broke a tackle and ran 26 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
PITT 33, DUKE 30 - 0:38, 4th quarter
Duke took the ball with one last chance, but Pitt's defense stepped up. Harris fired incomplete on first and second down, and on third down, Patrick Jones hit Harris with a strip-sack, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Phil Campbell to ice the victory.
PITT 33, DUKE 30 - Final
Pitt improved to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. Pickett finished with 268 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions on 29-of-48 passing. The Panthers held Duke under 300 yards of total offense and forced six turnovers - three interceptions and three fumbles. Pitt also sacked Harris three times after the Duke quarterback had been sacked just once through the first four games.
The Panthers are off next week before they face Syracuse in the Carrier Dome on Friday, Oct. 18.