Late 'Pick 12' Lifts Pitt Defense over Offense in Spring Game

Touchdowns from Rodney Hammond, Derrick Davis and P.J. O'Brien highlighted the Pitt Panthers' spring game.

PITTSBURGH -- Head coach Pat Narduzzi said when he announced the new format for the Pitt Panthers spring game that if the offense didn't turn the ball over, they would emerge victorious. They survived four quarters without one, but a late "pick 12" from P.J. O'Brien lifted the defense to a 33-32 win over the offense in the new look Blue-Gold game.  

The game started with Pitt's first team offense facing the second team defense, who led 3-1 at the end of the first drive. A sack and tackle for loss accounted for their scoring after Bub Means picked up a first down on a Jet sweep.

On the ensuing drive, Christian Veilleux took over at quarterback with the second team offense. He connected with Jake McConnachie for a big gain over the middle before hitting Derrick Davis along the sideline for a 12-yard touchdown. Davis' hard running broke a couple of tackles and earned him the first true score of the game. After a sucessful PAT from Ben Sauls, the offense led 8-3. 

Jurkovec went back to work on the next possession and the defense responded with a third down stop to earn a point. Stephon Hall broke up a deep pass intended for Means to help secure the three-and-out. They cut into the lead further on the next drive, with Nate Yarnell leading the offense for the first time. The pass rushing tandem of Sean FitzSimmons and Samuel Okunlola affected multiple passes and Javon McIntyre leveled a tackle for loss on freshman wideout Lamar Seymore for a point. After another three-and-out, it was 8-6, offense.  

The offense retook control with Jurkovec under center and recovered from a shaky start. He completed all three of his passes for 40 yards and Daniel Carter - last year's spring game MVP - rushed for 23 yards on consecutive plays to score a touchdown. Then Rodney Hammond took the ensuing kickoff 91-yards for a touchdown and all of a sudden, the offense held a 23-7 lead with 3:06 to play in the first half. 

Yarnell came back out for his second drive, tasked with running a two-minute drill in the final possession of the half. A short punt allowed Che Nwbako to set the offense up at the 35-yard line after a good return. But the defense battled back with a tackle for loss from McIntyre and a sack by Deandre Jules and Bam Brima. They cut the deficit to 24-11 and forced a 51-yard field goal attempt from Ben Sauls, who pulled it to the left and missed. 

The offense nonetheless entered halftime with a 24-11 lead. 

Freshman Ty Dieffenbach opend the second half under center with a collection of first, second and third teamers. A false start penalty took a point away from the offense and a tackle for loss from Sean FitzSimmons trimmed the deficit to just 23-12. Bangally Kamara committed an offsides penalty himself to take away a point from his own unit but Nate Temple covered for his miscue with a sack on third down that gave the defense three points for both the tackle and ensuing three-and-out. 

Yarnell came back out for a drive with the offense leading 23-14. Nick Lapi and Nahki Johnson combined for a tackle for loss to give the defense 15 points, but the offense took another point back with a first down on three consecutive runs. 

Drew Foster entered the box score with a strip sack, but the fumble recovered by Isaiah Neal was not counted. Still, the defense stood tall to force a punt after cutting the deficit to 24-17. 

From there, the defense rattled off 13 straight points thanks to a tackle for loss from Devin Danielson and an interception return for a touchdown. Dieffenbach tossed it right to P.J. O'Brien, who undercut the pass to McConnachie and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown and gave the defense a 31-24 lead early in the fourth quarter. 

The defense pilled on a fumble recovery to make it 19 unanswered points and a 36-24 lead. Jake Frantl fumbled the snap and Jimmy Scott secured the loose ball. 

Frantl bounced back, however. The offense picked up a point on a first down run from T.J. Harvison and added three points on a facemask penalty from linebacker Luke DelGaudio. Frantl then scored on the ground from 14 yards out to make it 33-32 with 2:31 to play in the fourth quarter following the extra point. 

David Lynch took the final snaps for the offense at quarterback and oversaw a false start that lost his team a point. Freshman B.J. Williams was late on the snap to make it 33-31, but a first down two plays later made it 33-32. A handful of runs later and the defense secured their victory. 

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