Inside The Panthers

Postgame Reaction to Pitt's Thrilling Win over UCLA

Players and fans took to Twitter to celebrate the Pitt Panthers' wild victory in the Sun Bowl.

Stephen Thompson

Postgame Reaction to Pitt's Thrilling Win over UCLA
Postgame Reaction to Pitt's Thrilling Win over UCLA /
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers beat UCLA in a Sun Bowl for the ages, thanks to a heroic effort from redshirt senior quarterback Nick Patti and placekicker Ben Sauls. 

The Panthers trailed by seven at halftime, 14 with 8:45 to play in the third quarter and by one with 34 seconds left, but Saul's fifth field goal of the day curved in between the uprights with four seconds left to lift his team to their first bowl victory in three years and elicited celebrations from Pitt fans and players of the past, present and future. 

Recruits who had just signed with the program were some of the first to share their excitement. 

Some former players who had either opted out of the Sun Bowl because they were transferring or moving on to the NFL or had graduated long ago showed they still bled Pitt blue and gold by joining in the celebration. 

Eventually, current Pitt players and coaches shared their excitement - and some trash talk -after celebrating with their team on the field. 

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and so much more!

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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