Pitt rallies past Duke 33-30 after blowing 23-point lead
By JOEDY McCREARY AP Sports Writer
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Kenny Pickett and Pittsburgh built a big lead by taking the ball from Duke — only to have that lead disappear when the Panthers started giving it right back.
Given enough time for one shot at a comeback, he wasn’t going to throw it to the Blue Devils again.
Pickett threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to V’Lique Carter with 38 seconds remaining, and Pitt rallied to beat Duke 33-30 on Saturday night after wasting a 23-point lead.
“The first thing you want to do is stop the bleeding and try to get a drive,” Pickett said. “We waited until the last drive to finish the game off.”
Pickett finished 29 of 48 for 268 yards with three touchdown passes to help the Panthers (4-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) claim a wild victory — their fifth straight in this Coastal Division series — after the teams combined for 10 total turnovers with each scoring TDs in the final 90 seconds.
“Just shows character, our guys going on the road to get a victory,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said.
Pitt led 26-3 with less than 3 minutes left in the third quarter, only to have the Blue Devils turn three straight turnovers into touchdowns and then take a 30-26 lead on Quentin Harris’ 44-yard touchdown pass to Deon Jackson with 1:30 remaining.
Pickett needed just four plays to put the Panthers back in front. He found Carter over the middle and the Pitt running back got past defensive back Marquis Waters with a spin move on his way to the end zone.
“It was just time to step up,” Pickett said. “I was pretty (ticked) off at myself for the interception. I take a lot of pride in not turning it over. … That drive, I just really wanted to be on point and accurate and stayed poised and didn’t let the moment get too big. Just went out and did it.”
Patrick Jones II then sacked Harris on the third play of Duke’s next drive, jarring the ball loose, and Phil Campbell III recovered it with 22 seconds to play.
Harris finished 18 of 43 for 165 yards with two rushing touchdowns for the Blue Devils (3-2, 1-1). But he had five of Duke’s six turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble during a four-play span of the first quarter, plus a third-quarter fumble in addition to the game-sealer.
Pickett threw TDs covering 19 yards to Taysir Mack and 4 yards to Nakia Griffin-Stewart for the Panthers, and Paris Ford returned one of his two interceptions 26 yards for a touchdown before he was ejected for targeting.
THE TAKEAWAY
Pittsburgh: Trying to avoid their second 0-2 start to ACC play in three years, the Panthers wound up facing the right opponent. They’ve beaten Duke in shootouts (54-45 last year), low-scoring games (24-17 in 2017), blowouts (56-14 in 2016) and mostly close games (for the fifth time in seven meetings, the final margin was 10 or fewer points). Now maybe the reigning Coastal Division champions can think about getting on another late-season roll — none of their final six opponents have a record better than 3-2.
Duke: This one is going to sting the Blue Devils, who were on a roll after a 35-point rout at Virginia Tech eight nights earlier. Ultimately, they’ll rue the onslaught of turnovers that put them in that deep hole to begin with.
“They showed a bunch of heart,” coach David Cutcliffe said. “We did not perform efficiently on offense. What we can’t do out of this is hang our head. We’re going to learn a lot from this game.”
KEY STAT
Duke entered having allowed one sack through four games — and none in its last three — while the Panthers were tied for second nationally with 24 sacks. Pitt sacked Harris three times, most notably on the Blue Devils’ final offensive snap.
WEIRD PLAY
Duke appeared to have tied it at 26 on the two-point conversion that followed Harris’ second touchdown run. When it appeared the quarterback’s forward progress was stopped, line judge Peter Beratta initially raced down the line, signaling that the try was no good. But there was no whistle blown, so the players played on — with center Jack Wohlabaugh pushing Harris into the end zone to prompt an official to raise his hands into the air. After a conference, referee Tra Blake announced that because an inadvertent signal was given, by rule, the conversion must be re-attempted. On the second try, Harris was stuffed well short of the goal line.
UP AND DOWN
Ford became the first Pitt player with multiple interceptions in a game since 2013. He’s also the first Panther with a pick-six since Dane Jackson had one in the wild 76-61 victory over Syracuse in 2016. His second half was much worse: He muffed a third-quarter punt that led to the touchdown that started Duke’s comeback, then was ejected for targeting for his hit on Scott Bracey with 2:43 remaining.
UP NEXT
Pittsburgh: Has a week off before visiting Syracuse on Oct. 18.
Duke: Plays host to Georgia Tech on Saturday.
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For more AP college football coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Category: Saturday Sports Slam
CCBC Players of the Game!! Saturday October 5, 2019
Saturday, October 5, 2019:
WBVP, WMBA and 99.3 FM
Ambridge- Deyvon Gill-Martin |
Link for Ambridge vs. Beaver on WBVP,WMBA,99.3 FM and the Trib-live Network Saturday October 5, 2019 at 7 PM
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1230 WBVP, 1460 WMBA and 99.3 FM’s Bob Barrickman and Bruce Frey have the call from Beaver High School of this WPIAL Class 4A Northwest Eight Conference high school football game as the Bobcats battle the Bridgers.
If you can’t tune into the Broadcast you can click the Trib-Live Logo below at 7:00 pm to listen to the pre-game and game streaming on the Trib-Live High School Sports Network…..
Beaver Falls AD Jim Carbone Talks Tiger Athletics On Sports Slam
Coming off seeing Beaver Falls solidify their chances of a spot in the 3A WPIAL football postseason, Athletic Director Jim Carbone called in to the Saturday Sports Slam with Matt Drzik and Greg Benedetti for a few minutes of conversation.
During the conversation, Carbone talked about the things that the Tigers did that were impressive against Keystone Oaks, the current status of all the fall sports activity at Beaver Falls, and the challenge of dealing with students and student-athletes who are in a world of “instant gratification”.
To hear the interview, click on the player below.
“Thru the Eyes of Sly Washington” Peters Twp vs. Moon Friday October 4, 2019
(Moon Twp.,Pa.) The Moon Tigers were fired up Friday night to defend their home field and to give the high ranked Peters Twp. Indians their first section loss of the season. The Tigers were able to do just that in a hard-fought game defeating Peters Township 21-13. The Tiger’s tenacious defense was too much for the Indians high powered offense to handle as the Indians struggled to hold onto the ball, and slow down the Tiger’s offense. The Tiger’s took an early 14-7 lead heading into the half without leaving any room for error. The Indians were trying to mount a comeback as they headed into the fourth quarter. Trailing 21-7 at the beginning of the fourth, their efforts were not enough as they inevitably fell to the Tigers 21-13. Peter’s Township suffered their first defeat of the year and are now 6-1 over-all and 3-1 in the Allegheny Eight Confernce. The the victory the Tigers pull into a three way tie at 3-1 in second place with the Indians and Upper St. Claire, the Tigers next opponent ,in the Allegheny Eigtht Conference. Bethel Park is at the top of the conference at 4-0. Bethel Park still has to play both Peters Twp. and USC the last two weeks of the season. With the victory the Tigers placed themselves into the thick of the battle for the section title. The Tigers are now 5-2 overall on the season.
Check out the pictures below of all the action from award winning photographer Sly Washington in this weeks edition of “Thru the Eyes of Sly”…….
Scores From Across the Valley 09/27/19
Friday, October 4, 2019:
New Brighton Freedom 1230 WBVP-AM, 99.3 FM |
21 24 Final |
Peters Twp. Moon 1460 WMBA-AM |
13 21 Final |
WPIAL Class 5A Allegheny Eight Conference | |
Baldwin West Allegheny |
23 0 Final |
Chartiers Valley Bethel Park |
6 32 Final |
WPIAL Class 4A Northwest Eight Conference | |
Blackhawk New Castle |
26 6 Final |
Highlands Montour |
0 17 Final |
Knoch South Fayette |
7 42 Final |
WPIAL Class 3A Tri-County West Conference | |
Beaver Falls Keystone Oaks |
34 21 Final |
Waynesburg Central Quaker Valley |
13 28 Final |
Hopewell South Park |
23 41 Final |
WPIAL Class 2A Midwestern Conference | |
Shenango Ellwood City |
49 14 Final |
Riverside Mohawk |
35 10 Final |
WPIAL Class 1A Big Seven Conference | |
Rochester Sto-Rox |
0 21 Final |
Union Laurel |
18 33 Final |
Non-Conference | |
Thomas Jefferson Central Valley |
28 3 Final |
Yough Aliquippa |
0 67 Final |
Neshannock Fort Cherry |
35 0 Final |
Scoring updates!! New Brighton vs. Freedom on WBVP, 99.3 FM and Trib-Live, Friday October 4, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lions | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
Scoring updates!! Peters Twp. vs. Moon on WMBA and Trib-Live, Friday October 4, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indians | 0 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 13 |
Tigers | 7 | 14 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
Link for Peters Twp vs. Moon on WMBA and Trib-Live Friday October 3, 2019 at 6:30 pm.
Link for New Brighton vs. Freedom onWBVP, 99.3 FM, and Trib-Live, Friday October 3, 2019 at 7:00 pm.
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1230 WBVP and 99.3 FM’s Bob Barrickman and Tom Hays have the call from Freedom High School of this WPIAL Class 2A Midwestern Athletic Conference high school football game as the Bulldogs battle the Lions for first place. The Lions come in 5-1 overall and Freedom 6-0 overall. Both teams are unbeaten in section play this year.
If you can’t tune into the Broadcast you can click the Trib-Live Logo below at 7:00 pm to listen to the pre-game and game streaming on the Trib-Live High School Sports Network…..