PITTSBURGH — Pitt had an opportunity to send its senior class out with a home victory and wrap up its third eight-win season under head coach Pat Narduzzi on Saturday against Boston College at Heinz Field.
Instead, the Panthers fumbled it away.
Pitt fumbled three times in their own end of the field and Kenny Pickett was intercepted inside the Boston College 10-yard line, giving Boston College more than its entire margin of victory in a 26-19 Eagles victory.
Freshman wide receiver Jared Wayne and running backs A.J. and Vincent Davis all fumbled the ball away, while Pickett was intercepted as Pitt was driving and in field goal range in the third quarter.
Pitt also had four pre-snap penalties on offense, all by seniors, one of which took a touchdown off the board in the first quarter.
Those four turnovers were turned into four Aaron Boumerhi field goals for Boston College, which also added an early touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Dennis Grosel to Hunter Long.
But Pitt clawed back into the game with four Alex Kessman field goals. After a shanked Boston College early in the third quarter, Vincent Davis took the first play 39 yards for a score out of the Wildcat.
But Boston College answered right back three plays later with a 61-yard rush by star running back A.J. Dillon. To more turnover-aided Boumerhi field goals pushed the Eagles to their final margin of victory.
Pitt had a chance to get the ball back late, but the defense, already on the field for over 30 minutes, ran out of steam and couldn’t contain Dillon. He finished with 178 yards and the score on 32 carries. Boston College as a team ran for 264 yards.
Pickett threw for 323 yards on 30 of 40 passing, but never found the end zone, as both of Pitt’s drives inside the red zone ended in field goals. Wayne was his most prolific target, with six catches for 100 yards. Maurice Ffrench had nine grabs for 79 yards.
But the negative plays hurt Pitt throughout. Pickett was sacked four times, losing 30 yards. Pitt averaged 6.1 yards per play, but were dominated in time of possession by nearly 10 minutes.
The 7-5 Panthers will now await their bowl selection next Sunday.
Isn’t it about time for a coaching change at WR position? Several drops again, pre snap penalties, and wrong routes, one lead to INT. What are they doing all week in practice this far into the season. It’s time for a change!!!!
Am I alone in this thought????
They should do the fans a favor and decline the bowl bid. You have to be a masochist to spend your hard earned money on that garbage. I feel really bad for the poor people that spent money today on that. You are better off just drinking some terpentine and chasing it with a match.
I was one of those people, and I can tell you I feel sorry for myself. It was awful. No energy. Cold, Bitter
That is exactly why after the Miami game I said no more. I had been to the first four games and the Delaware game and Miami fans were so unenjoyable that I will just watch on TV now. My family has had season tickets since 1980 when I was little kid. I can not be a mashocist anymore
Attention Heather Lyke: Please develop and kick the tires on doing something unprecedented and bringing back Pitt legends to coach. A bunch of us in the stands today we’re talking about how great the atmosphere would be, 4″ athlete’s would want to come, and it’s the only way to get out of underachieving teams. What kid wouldn’t want to be coached by Revis in the secondary, Curtis Martin in the backfield, Dan, Jimbo, Fitzgerald providing he retires. Plenty of us are wanting to start such a campaign. There is NOTHING to lose and only more uninspiring 7-5 seasons ahead. Kick… Read more »
I Love the idea, but it’s just not realistic. Coaching is a 20hr/day job and most ex-NFL players don’t want to put in what it takes unless they need the money/job. Narduzzi really needs more form his assistants! WR and OL coaching is terrible. Find motivated HS coaches who are hungry. Play younger players if the older ones don’t perform. Mathews penalty, drops, and body language summed up Pitt performance today.
I hear you. Was fun to think about for a couple hours. Haha trying to find hope for the future. You’re right about body language, that’s one of the points, great coaches find ways to get their players just as prepared, focused, and intense for Boston College as they do PSU, UCF, etc.
There is seriously something wrong with a team who leads the nation in sacks and is 7-5.
For comparison, teams 2-5 in this category:
Ohio St: 12-0.
SMU: 10-2.
Virginia: 9-3
Wisconsin: 10-2
Can’t wait for ticket office to open on Monday. There will be four seats open for someone else to buy next season. I’m treating Pitt FB like I treat the Pirates: I’ll go back when they are serious about winning games.