Pitt’s Passing Game Woes Continue In Loss To West Virginia

The Pitt Panthers couldn’t rely on their passing attack once again in their second consecutive loss.

PITTSBURGH -- Under the lights at Milan Puskar Stadium, the Pitt Panthers failed to answer the bell. The Panthers’ defense had no answer for the Mountaineers’ ground game, putting themselves behind the eight ball as they allowed 157 yards on 49 carries.  Pitt also managed to rack up just 211 yards of total offense, only 86 of which came through the air while turning the ball over 3 times as West Virginia won this year’s iteration of the Backyard Brawl 17-6. 

West Virginia went three and out on the first drive of the game, largely in part due to Dayon Hayes batting down a throw by Garrett Greene on second down. The Panthers followed through on their promise to feed Rodney Hammond Jr. more on the ensuing drive as he tallied seven carries for 41 yards that placed Pitt in position to take a 3-0 lead on a 21-yard field goal by Ben Sauls. 

Greene left the game on the next possession after landing awkwardly on a run play and was later ruled out with an ankle injury. Nicco Marchiol relieved him and failed to conduct a scoring drive as Shayne Simon broke up a pass on fourth down to grant the Panthers possession at their own 40-yard line. Pitt stuck with the ground approach on their next series, but a false start on 4th-and-1 from midfield left the Panthers high and dry as they were forced to punt. 

With the Mountaineers taking over at their own 20-yard line following a touchback, CJ Donaldson had his way with Pitt's run defense and recorded 36 yards on four straight carries to move West Virginia into Panther territory. From there, Pitt's front stepped up and stuffed a pair of runs en route to another punt, which pinned the Panthers at their own 1-yard line. With the shadow of their end zone haunting them, Pitt opted to play it safe and promptly went three and out.

The Mountaineers completed their first pass of the game with 8:03 left in the second quarter and worked their way into the red zone on the following drive, but a poorly timed mistake gifted Pitt possession as Bam Brima recovered a fumble on a botched snap. Pitt returned the favor soon after, however, as Phil Jurkovec made an ill-fated decision on a rollout and was picked off by Aubrey Banks. West Virginia did not let another prime scoring opportunity slip away as Marchiol connected with Kole Taylor for a seven-yard touchdown to make it 7-3 with 4:45 left in the first half. 

A timely third down conversion on a 20-yard reception by Bub Means coupled with a facemask penalty by West Virginia placed Pitt inside the red zone on the final drive of the half, but the Panthers ultimately settled for a field to make it 7-6 going into halftime.

Hammond Jr. was stuffed on a 3rd-and-1 run during the first possession of the second half, forcing the Panthers to punt while ceding a chance to turn their offensive woes around. West Virginia persisted with its run game on the ensuing drive, picking up 41 yards on the ground as part of a 13-play drive that concluded with a Donaldson touchdown to make it 14-6. 

Jurkovec's second interception of the day set up the Mountaineers at Pitt's 30-yard line, allowing them to kick a field goal and expand their lead to 17-6. The Panthers couldn't respond on the following possession either, and an injury to Matt Goncalves only made matters worse. 

During its next possession, West Virginia grinded out an 8-play, 33-yard drive that took 5:42 off the clock to start the fourth quarter as they looked to put the game on ice. However, a blocked punt by Rasheem Biles infused new life into the Panthers and gave them the ball at the Mountaineers' 48-yard line with 8:19 left. 

Nothing was going for Pitt yet again, however, as the Panthers turned the ball over on downs on a failed quarterback sneak after bypassing the opportunity to make it a one-score game with a field goal at West Virginia's 27-yard line. The Mountaineers took over with 5:30 left and went three and out, forcing them to punt the ball back to Pitt.

The Panthers started with possession at their own 5-yard line following an unnecessary roughness penalty and couldn't muster up any last second offense, turning the ball over on downs with 2:30 left. Pitt finished with one final drive following a turnover on downs by the Mountaineers, which resulted in West Virginia's third interception of the day to put a cap on a disappointing night for the Panthers.

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