PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – When they looked dead in the water, the Panthers fought back with a couple of touchdowns. Momentum on their side, Pitt got its first turnover of the game, but a couple of huge Bearcats sacks late in the game and a couple of big third-down conversions, Cincinnati won 27-21 at Acrisure Stadium Saturday night.
It looked like a lost cause for the Panthers after Cincinnati scored following a Phil Jurkovec fumble on a rush attempt on the first Panthers series of the second half. Bearcats got the ball at the Pitt 36 and an amazing adjustment by senior receiver Braden Smith, a Louisville transfer, to get a knee down in the corner of the end zone while catching a pass over the wrong shoulder. Bearcats took a 27-7 lead and the noise came as boos not cheers for the home team.
Aided by a pair of Cincinnati pass interference penalties after a partially blocked punt, the Panthers would score early in the fourth quarter on a seven-play, 48-yard drive as Jurkovec got a pass off as he was being hit by All-American Dontay Corleone and hit Mumpfield for a nine-yard touchdown on fourth down, 27-14.
After a stop, Jurkovec found Gavin Bartholomew running free down the right seam for 60 yards and Bartholomew finished the drive catching a back-shoulder 16-yard touchdown. It’s 27-21 early in the fourth quarter, A few series later Pitt got its only turnover on an interception by Marquis Williams thanks to pressure from Bengally Kamara. That series would end in two straight sacks and Cincinnati would then close out the win.
Stats
Cincinnati
· Corey Kiner 20 rushes for 153 yards, TD
· Emory Jones 18-26, 2 TD, INT
· Braden Smith 5 receptions, 59 yards
· 6 of 16 on third down, 2-2 on fourth down, TOP 34:43
Pitt
· Phil Jurkovec 10 of 32, 179 yards, 3 TD, 5 sacks
· 29 rushes for 83 yards
· Konata Mumpfield 4 receptions 53 yards, 2 TD
· Gavin Bartholomew 3 receptions, 80 yards, TD
· 5-14 on third down, 2-3 on fourth down
· 2 sacks, 6 tackles for loss
· PJ O’Brien-9 tackles, Donovon McMillon/Nate Temple/Javon McIntyre 8 tackles
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How it happened
After a trio of incomplete passes to start the game, the Panthers punted to Cincinnati and the show began. A 25-yard run by Aaron Turner and when Pitt finally caught him, PJ O’Brien tackled him late out of bounds to take the ball to the Panthers 23-yard line. An 11-yard run and a 12-yard touchdown pass and it’s 7-0.
Another Pitt three-and-out, Corey Kiner ripped off a 68-yard yard leading to field goal. Panthers would answer on a 10-play drive aided by a completion on a desperation, alley-oop throw on third down. Phil Jurkovec would then hit Konata Mumpfield, who did a nice job shielding off a defender, for a five-yard touchdown to get it as close as it would get for the Panthers.
Cincinnati answered on the best pass of the night. Receiver Braden Smith got a handoff and while running to his right dropped in a 30-yard completion to Dee Wiggins. Kiner would score on a seven-yard run on the next play. Bearcats would drive 17 plays from the one-yard line to end the first half with a field goal and a 20-7 lead at halftime.
Up Next
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