PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – An offense without Heisman finalist QB Kenny Pickett, then lost starting QB Nick Patti in the first quarter to a broken collarbone diving for a touchdown. After that, the Panthers couldn’t get much going in a 31-21 loss to Michigan State in the Peach Bowl Thursday.
Pitt held the Spartans to one touchdown in the first three quarters, but obviously wore down as until the final drive, the Pitt offense had one, second half first down.
“They made plays,” said Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi. “They converted, I think, 50% of the third downs, that’s not us. Maybe an exhausted secondary, I don’t know. Not having starting safety Damarri Mathis was a factor.”
“They had momentum,” said linebacker John Petrishen. “We knew we had to step up for our offense. It’s a shame the game ended like that defensively. I felt like we played a really good game until the second half of the fourth quarter.”
The first Spartans fourth quarter touchdown drive went 13 plays and 70 yards ending in a touchdown to Panther legend Craig ‘Ironhead’ Heyward’s son and Steelers captain Cam Heyward’s brother Connor.
That was followed by an 11-play, 71-yard drive as Michigan State took its first lead since the second quarter with 2:51 to play, 24-21.
Panthers third string quarterback Davis Beville made some throws moving down to the MSU 26-yard line before he was picked off by Cal Haladay and run back 78 yards to seal the victory.
Beville finished 14 of 18 for 149 yards and his first college touchdown, a four-yarder to Jared Wayne in the second quarter. A redshirt sophomore, Beville sacked five times for a loss of 39 yards.
“He did about as good as he could,” said Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi. “He (Beville) got about 80% of the two-reps (in practice). As good as you could expect a third-team quarterback to do. It wasn’t good enough to win the football game.”
“We just didn’t make enough plays in all phases. It doesn’t lie with one guy or one quarterback. We didn’t get it done today.”
Panthers were just 2 of 12 on third down, allowed 14 points off turnovers and lost the time of possession by over 10 minutes.
Three-quarters Defense
Pitt’s defense provided some splash starting with Brandon Hill’s interception late in the second quarter with Michigan State approaching the red zone. Panthers would use that as momentum to spark their offense, after a 12-yard rush by Vincent Davis and Davis Beville hitting Jordan Addison for 10 yards. Addison took a second short pass 52 yards to the MSU 13. Beville would throw his first college touchdown pass, a four-yarder to Jared Wayne to give Pitt a first lead at 14-10.
The next splash didn’t need any assistance from the offense. On third and 10, Spartans quarterback Payton Thorne scrambling in the pocket and headed upfield only to get hit low by Calijah Kancey and high by John Morgan as Morgan forced a fumble that bounced right to linebacker Cam Bright. He would rumble 26 yards, untouched, for a 26-yard touchdown to give Pitt an 11-point lead.
Senior linebacker Phil Campbell finished with a game-high 12 tackles, seven solos. Erick Hallet had 10 tackles and Petrishen with nine stops. Sophomore Dayon Hayes finished with a game-high three tackles for loss. Devin Danielson, Tyler Bently and Bam Brima had the Panthers sacks.
“It’s never easy, but we have a lot coming back,” Narduzzi said. “We will start to work tomorrow for an ACC Championship next year. That’s the goal, that’s the standard.”