Pitt loses to Wake Forest in a stunner

FIRST QUARTER
Wake Forest won the coin toss and opted to defer, giving Pitt the ball to open the game. The Panthers went right to work, relying heavily on no-huddle looks with checks on the sideline, and the adjusted game plan worked.

Pitt converted its first third down with a four-yard pass from Christian Veilleux to Gavin Bartholomew on third-and-3 and picked up another with a pass to Kenny Johnson on third-and-1. Then, on third-and-13 from the Wake Forest 13, Veilleux dropped back and found Daejon Reynolds over the middle for a 30-yard gain. Three plays later, Veilleux and Johnson connected from seven yards out for a touchdown to open the scoring.

PITT 7, WAKE FOREST 0 - 8:12, 1st quarter

Wake Forest came out with No. 3 quarterback Santino Marucci and immediately emphasized the run game. The Deacons seemed to have some success, but a holding penalty led to a three-and-out. Pitt had its own issues on the next drive when a false start on third-and-11 led to third-and-16 and a punt, which was a problem itself as Caleb Junko’s kick went out of bounds after just 10 yards. Wake couldn’t do anything with the field position, though, posting another three-and-out but pinning the Panthers at their own 8 after a punt.

Pitt got away from the end zone quickly, with C’Bo Flemister running for 10 and 20 yards on consecutive carries, and a 16-yard pass from Veilleux to Konata Mumpfield moved the Panthers across midfield. But a missed deep shot to Bub Means, a run for a loss and a shotgun snap bounced off the motion man to end the third-down attempt before it even started.

SECOND QUARTER
Wake Forest picked up a first down for the first time in the game on the opening drive of the second quarter when Justice Ellison ran for seven and four on back-to-back carries, but the Deacons stalled after that and had to punt again. This punt left Pitt’s offense at its own 47, and the Panthers moved into Wake Forest territory on a pair of passes to Means. But the Panthers couldn’t get closer than the 34, losing yardage on a third-and-5 handoff from that spot and then missing a deep pass to Johnson on fourth-and-7 from the 36.

The next drive saw Wake Forest build its first sustained drive of the game - aided, in part, by a holding penalty on Marquis Williams that erased a third-down interception by Williams. The Deacons then converted third-and-1 at the 50 and got inside the 35 before facing third down at the 31. But a handoff to Demond Claiborne on third down lost yardage and a false start on fourth down led to another punt.

The punt was downed at the 3, though, putting Pitt in the shadow of its own end zone. The Panthers got a first down with a great catch from Means on the sideline, But three more passes led to another punt from Pitt. Then, on first down from the Wake Forest 45, Marucci threw down the middle to Claiborne for a gain of 20+ yards, and Pitt added 15 to that with a facemask penalty on Brandon George. One snap later, Claiborne broke tackles to give the Deacons’ their first points.

PITT 7, WAKE FOREST 7 - 1:32, 2nd quarter

Wake Forest’s ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving Pitt possession at the 35, and the Panthers moved into Wake Forest territory with a few short gains, but an incomplete pass and a run for no gain left Pitt facing fourth down at the 47 as clock ran out.

PITT 7, WAKE FOREST 7 - Halftime

THIRD QUARTER
Wake Forest got the ball to open the second half, but three runs gained a net total of zero yards, and the Deacons had to punt again. Pitt’s offense was only slightly better on its first drive of the third quarter, converting a third-and-10 with an 11-yard pass to Means but failing to convert the next third-and-10 opportunity and punting once again.

That would be the trend for the rest of the third quarter. Wake Forest gained a first down on the next possession with an eight-yard run by Marucci, but Pitt forced a punt after a sack by A.J. Woods. Then the Panthers wasted a 30-yard from Flemister when a handoff on fourth-and-1 was stuffed for a loss. Both teams went three-and-out after that before Pitt’s defense recorded the first turnover of the game: an interception by P.J. O’Brien on third-and-7 to give the offense possession at its own 34 to open the final frame.

Before that happened, though, Pitt struck for a big play on the final snap of the third quarter when Veilleux hit Means on third-and-5 and the receiver broke a tackle to run for 31 yards.

FOURTH QUARTER
The Means play moved the ball into Wake Forest territory, and while three runs - including one out of the Wildcat - only gained eight yards, Ben Sauls closed the drive with a 41-yard field goal to give the Panthers the lead.

PITT 10, WAKE FOREST 7 - 13:03, 4th quarter

Wake Forest gained one first down on the next drive, but Pitt’s defense stepped up to stop the Deacons on fourth-and-2 at the Pitt 33. The Panthers offense couldn’t do anything with the fourth-down stop, though, getting one first down but running a curious handoff on third-and-3 and then missing a fourth-down opportunity of its own thanks to a false start penalty on Gavin Bartholomew.

After the Caleb Junko punt, Wake Forest took the ball at its 11 and instantly got 10 yards from another defensive holding call on Marquis Williams. Claiborne then broke a big run on third-and-3 to get close to midfield, and a trick play reverse moved the ball into Pitt territory. Then, on first down from the 42, Claiborne found an opening to the left and ran all the way to the end zone and Wake Forest’s first lead of the game.

WAKE FOREST 14, PITT 10 - 3:02, 4th quarter

Pitt took the ball back in a difficult situation, trailing by four with three minutes left to play. And when Veilleux’s first two passes fell incomplete, things looked bleak. But on third down, Veilleux connected with Reynolds for a 24-yard gain to move the chains. An eight-yard pass to Bartholomew and an eight-yard run by Flemister got another first down before Veilleux and Means linked up to get another 14 yards.

That put the ball at the 21, and from there, Veilleux shot to the end zone for Means, who made the catch to give Pitt the lead.

PITT 17, WAKE FOREST 14 - 1:30, 4th quarter

Pitt’s defense logged a huge play on the next drive when M.J. Devonshire picked off Marucci on first down from the Pitt 37, but the Panthers lost yards after the turnover when Donovan McMillon was called for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, which gave the offense the ball at the 7.

Two Flemister runs were stopped for limited gain, but on third-and-9 from the 8, Veilleux kept the ball and ran for what looked like a game-sealing first down - only to have the officials declare that he started his slide short of the lead stick, resulting in a fourth-and-1 at the 16, and Pitt had to punt again.

Junko once again shorted a punt, giving Wake Forest the ball at the Pitt 48, and on fourth-and-1 from the 39, Marucci hit a 24-yard pass to get to the 15. After a spike, Marucci threw to tight end Cameron Hite, who made a diving catch in the end zone.

WAKE FOREST 21, PITT 17 - 0:07, 4th quarter

Pitt’s final drive of the game produced an incomplete pass and one long completion to Mumpfield, but the clock ran out and the Panthers fell to 2-5 on the season.

WAKE FOREST 21, PITT 17 - Final