PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – In field goal range to tie the game in the third quarter, Pitt tight end Gavin Bartholomew called for an unsportsmanlike penalty for allegedly saying something to a ref from the sideline. It forced the Panthers to punt instead of a 43-yard FG attempt. Florida State drove 80 yards on 11 plays aided by a couple of penalties as fourth-ranked FSU would go on to win 24-7.
It’s really where the game would change. Pitt would be forced to punt on the next possession and Florida State closed the door on a Trey Benson burst up the middle for a 52-yard touchdown.
“Gavin didn’t say anything to the officials,” said Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi. “They were talking about Happy Birthday or something. I don’t know what. It wasn’t one person. I wasn’t Gavin. I think that’s maybe who they called it on. Chippy, just like any sideline. I’ve never seen it called before.”
Did you get any explanation as to why it was called?
“No.”
Narduzzi would add that you have to overcome all of those things and shut your mouth and play the game of football. He said it starts with him and he didn’t coach good enough.
"I thought it was bull---- honestly, he's on the sideline,” said Panthers quarterback Christian Veilleux. “They played the replay, they circled him and he's just there. I don't get that call. I think there were a lot of calls that didn't make sense."
The loss drops Pitt to 2-7, meaning a second-ever losing season for Narduzzi (5-7, 2017).
“We will regroup,” Narduzzi said. “We got three games to go. Three winnable games. We played two really good football teams the last two weeks, top 15 programs and we’ve been inches away from making some things happen and we didn’t get it done. It’s on me.”
Penalties
Pitt is the third most penalized team in a Power Five conference with 8.6 per game, only Colorado and USC average more per game this season. They have played a part in their seven losses:
· Cincinnati 5 penalties, 35 yards
· West Virginia 9 penalties, 65 yards
· North Carolina 11 penalties, 84 yards
· Virginia Tech 9 penalties, 68 yards
· Wake Forest 13 penalties, 101 yards
· Notre Dame 5 penalties, 45 yards
“We got to be more disciplined,” Narduzzi said. “We coach it every day. We go through the penalties that we have every day in practice. It’s focus.”
“We played undisciplined football at times,” Veilleux said. “Got too many penalties. We took ourselves out of field goal range maybe two or three times. I think we got to be more disciplined.”
“The guys are playing hard. I think that is what leads to penalties is guys are giving it their all, in football that can catch up to you at times. I think we played better than what the score says and what the stat sheet says.”
The TD that wasn’t
After being outgained by 129 yards in the first quarter, Pitt appeared to take the lead early in the second quarter. Christian Veilleux hit Konata Mumpfield on a deep route in stride. As he appeared destined for an 82-yard touchdown, just before he crossed the goal line, he was tracked down by Florida State cornerback Fentrell Cypress who forced a fumble that trickled out of the end zone for a touchback. Instead of a touchdown, it’s FSU ball at their 20-yard line.
“I told him you did everything you could,” Veilleux said of conversation with Mumpfield. “That’s football, sometimes you can be running and the guy is going to swing with his arm in the perfect spot and knock the ball out. I told him ‘hey, we completed the pass. That’s a touchdown’. Obviously, the fumble didn’t produce points on the board, but I just told him ‘we repped it all week. We connected on it in game, you almost scored. Don’t worry about it.”
Series
Pitt had won four of the last five in the series, the teams had split in ACC play with the Seminoles now 2-0 at Acrisure Stadium. FSU beat Pitt 41-13 in Jameis Winston’s first college start, and the Panthers first-ever ACC game, on September 2, 2013.
Up Next
A trip to Yankee Stadium, Panthers face Syracuse at 3:30p on Saturday.