Inside The Panthers

Pitt Falls to Toledo in Overtime Bowl Game Thriller

Pitt Panthers fall to Toledo in Overtime Bowl Game Thriller.

Dominic Campbell

Nov 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi observes warm ups before the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Nov 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi observes warm ups before the game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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DETROIT -- The Pitt Panthers fell to Toledo in overtime in a thriller in the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field, ending their season in a defeat.

The loss for the Panthers (7-6) finishes the season on a six-game losing streak, which took place after a 7-0 start, their best since 1982. This also ties the all-time series between the Panthers and the Rockets, 2-2, with their last meeting coming in 2006, a 45-3 win for the Panthers.

This marked the longest bowl game in NCAA history and the longest game in Pitt history.

Toledo got off to a quick start, as senior running back Jazquez Stuart ran up the middle for 31 yards on the first play of their opening drive.

The Rockets then took advantage of a pass intereference that Panthers redshirt senior defensive back Tamon Lynum committed on third down and then junior quarterback Tucker Gleason completed a 31-yard pass to junior wide receiver Junior Vandeross III to get them into the red zone.

Toledo failed to score on the first three downs, but Gleason would complete a two-yard pass on fourth down to senior tight end Anthony Torres for the touchdown.

The Rockets lined up for a normal PAT, but Panthers All-American redshirt sophomore linebacker Kyle Louis blocked it, picked it up and ran 85 yards for the two points.

Both teams would punt on their next two drives, but Pitt got things going, using star junior running back Desmond Reid for five straight rushes and 30 yards to start the second drive.

Redshirt freshman/walk-on David Lynch got the starting quarterback gig for this game for the Panthers, with usual starter in Eli Holstein still out with injury.

Lynch would complete three straight passes, two to freshman running back Juelz Goff for a total of 19 yards and the other to redshirt junior wide receiver Raphael "Poppi" Williams Jr. for 16 yards.

Freshman Julian Dugger came in at quarterback for the next two plays for Pitt, with two rushes for a total of 11 yards and then Lynch returned for a pitch for three yards for the touchdown, putting them up 9-6 to start the second quarter.

The Panthers forced a punt on the Rockets' next drive and despite not getting back in the endzone on their drive, redshirt senior place kicker Ben Sauls drilled a 57-yard field goal to make it 12-6.

That field goal marked the 50th in Sauls' career in his final game with Pitt and was also his sixth 50+ yard field goal on the season.

Toledo got their first touchdown of the game, as Gleason found Vandeross for a quick screen, and he took it 67 yards for the score, taking advantage of Pitt defensive backs, redshirt sophomore Ryland Gandy and redshirt junior Javon McIntyre, running into each other.

Lynch then threw a poor pass on the first play of the next drive, that Rockets sophomore safety Braden Awls easily picked off and took back for a 42-yard touchdown, giving his team a 20-12 lead, that they took into halftime.

Lynch would throw his second interception of the game on the first drive of the second half, giivng Toledo the ball back.

The Panthers stopped the Rockets for a three-and-out, but redshirt freshman defensive back Jesse Anderson committed two penalites, giving the Rockets an extra set of downs.

Toledo went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Pitt 28-yard line, but Pitt duo, sixth year linebacker Brandon George and senior defensive back Donovan McMillon, met sophomore running back Connor Walendzak at the line of scrimmage, forcing a turnover on downs.

Dugger came back in for the Panthers and worked the Rockets on the ground, with four rushes for 23 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Kenny Johnson worked out of the wildcat, with a rush for eight yards, and then caught a pass for eight yards too.

Pitt would get a touchdown on the drive, as Dugger found redshirt senior tight end Jake Overman open in the end zone for an 11-yard score. Lynch then came in and completed a pass to senior tight end Gavin Bartholomew for the two-point conversion, tying it at 20-20.

Gleason took a quarterback keeper on the first play of the next drive, but George punched the ball out and senior defensive back Phillip O'Brien Jr. picked it up for Pitt.

Dugger came back in and led the Panthers back down the field. They didn't get a touchdown, but Sauls would make his second field goal, this one from 37-yards out, giving his team a 23-20 lead.

Toledo got back into Pitt territory on their next drive, but redshirt freshman defensive back Cruce Brookins would pick off Gleason's pass and kept Pitt in the lead at the end of the third quarter.

Pitt took advantage of the good field position, with a nine yard rush from Reid and a 11-yard rush out of the wildcat for Johnson. Dugger then completed a 16-yard pass to Williams, which he took into the end zone for another touchdown, extending the lead to 10 points, 30-20, early in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers forced the Rockets into a punt on the next drive and looked like they'd go back down the field for another score to put the game out of reach.

Dugger, instead, threw a poor pass to Johnson, that Toledo senior defensive tackle Darius Alexander picked off and took all the way for a 58-yard touchdown, trimming the deficit to 30-27.

The Panthers took some time off the clock on their next drive, but would have to punt it away near midfield.

Toledo faced a fourth-and-six situation at their 40-yard line, but Gleason found Vandeross for a 27-yard pass-and-catch, putting them at the Pitt 33-yard line.

They failed to move forward, but Rockets freshman placekicker Dylan Cunanan made a 51-yard field goal to tie it at 30-30.

Pitt moved the ball down the field, with Dugger getting a first down and then rushing for 17 yards to midfield, but then the offense stalled out and the game went into overtime.

Dugger looked like he connected with Reid on a touchdown on the first play of overtime, but Reid, inexplicably, dropped the pass. Dugger then got a first down on a nine-yard rush, completed a pass to Reid that he took 11 yards and then scored from two yards out.

Toledo kept the game alive, as Gleason completed a six-yard pass to senior wide receiver Jerjuan Newton on fourth-and-three. Gleason completed a 10-yard pas to Vandeross and then ran it in from one-yard out to tie it up at 37-37 after one overtime.

Pitt held Toledo to a field goal to start the second overtime, with Cunanan making one from 33 yards out.

The Panthers then moved the ball to the goal line, with Reid making an 11 yard rush and freshman running back Juelz Goff going for 13 yards to the three-yard line.

Pitt then, inexplicably, put Bartholomew in a wildcat situation with redshirt freshman defensive tackle Isaiah "Ghost" Neal in as well. Bartholomew rushed two yards on second down and then missed Neal on the third down, with Pitt settling for an 18-yard field goal from Sauls, making it 40-40.

The third overtime period saw both teams have to attempt two-point conversions the rest of the way.

Dugger completed a pass to Johnson in the end zone for the first two point conversion. Gleason then completed a pass to sophomore wide receiver Terrell Crosby Jr., making it 42-42 and sending it to a fourth overtime.

Gleason then completed a pass to Torres to make it 44-42. Toledo then celebrated as if they won after a sack, but a holding penalty gave Pitt another chance.

Dugger then appeared to come up short of the line of scrimmage, leading to mroe celebrations from the Rockets, but the referees reviewed it and determined he was in, 44-44, sending it to a fifth overtime.

Dugger would complete it to Bartholomew in the end zone, putting them up 46-44. Gleason responded, completing his pass to Newton to tie it up at 46-46, with the game going to a sixth overtime.

Gleason completed another pass to Vandeross, giving the Rockets a 48-46 lead, but Dugger couldn't respond this time, as his pass fell incomplete, allowing the Rockets to win.

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Dominic Campbell
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