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Injuries, penalties, a fumble and two missed goals – in addition to an explosive offense in central Florida – put Pitt at a disadvantage on Saturday at Heinz Field.
With so much self-inflicted misery, it was a marvel that Pitt found a way to win a 35-34 win against No. 15, central Florida, which was broken in 25 regular-season wins . Especially when you consider how it happened.
Pitt scored the decisive touchdown 56 seconds from the end when freshman Vincent Davis took a direct shot and then tipped the ball wide receiver Aaron Mathews, a former Clairton quarterback, who reversed a pass three yards to Kenny Pickett.
At one point, half-defensemen Jason Pinnock, Damarri Mathis and Pickett were out of the game due to injuries as Pitt tried to find a way to slow down Central Florida. This was in addition to the wide receiver loss injured Tre Tipton, who did not play. Pinnock and Mathis did not come back.
But Pickett, who hurt his back during an 11-yard run in the third quarter, came back for the fourth quarter. He finished the game by completing 25 of his 47 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown pass.
The Panthers, who took a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, had their moments and opportunities earlier in the game.
One of these was rookie rookie Nick Patti, who briefly replaced Pickett in the third quarter and sent a 6-yard touchdown pass to Dontavius Butler-Jenkins to cut the lead to 31-28.
Pitt also qualified for UCF 23 in the fourth quarter, but Alex Kessman missed a placement attempt on a 41-yard placement, his second of the day.
Fleeing 21-10 at half-time, central Florida quickly took control of the third quarter, taking a 31-21 lead by scoring three touchdowns in 5 minutes and 6 seconds.
Dillon Gabriel, who completed 24 of 40 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns, hit Gabriel Davis for two goals – 10 and 28 yards. The 10 yards were particularly easy after no one followed Davis in the near corner of the end zone.
Then, Otis Anderson returned a 87-yard long punt, breaking several tackles en route. The third touchdown was a perfect run. Davis escaped cornerback Jason Pinnock.
Pitt's halftime lead was far from comfortable, after UCF scored the last 10 points of the second quarter.
Pitt gave his guests a thumbs-up while maintaining a 21-0 lead, inflicting two penalties in both of the UCF's goal attempts and missing a scoring goal.
At first, however, Pitt's defense set the tone by forcing a 3-and-out after the UCF won the draw and took the ball. Patrick Jones' defensive end forced a punt.
Pitt's offense was immediately put to work, with Pickett having completed all four pass attempts for a 52-yard pass, including a conversion to third and fifth assists for a 10-yard pass to Taysir Mack.
Aaron Mathews played 24 yards. Two defenders were stranded to get to UCF 2. Davis scored on the score of 2 to give Pitt a 7-0 lead with 9 minutes remaining 36 minutes into the first quarter.
Pitt has maintained momentum by keeping the UCF in its first scoreless first quarter since Oct. 20, 2018. Meanwhile, Pitt's offensive has moved up and down the field, the only enemy of any kind. A missed 35-yard shot by Alex Kessman, who missed the fourth quarter was his fifth of the season in eight attempts.
But when Pitt kept possession of the ball, Pickett moved his 72-yard unit in 12 games. Ffrench had a short pass and scored goals.
The score was set when coach Pat Narduzzi decided to play the quarterbacks and 6 of the UCF 35-kilometer line and Pickett answered 11 yards to Mack's score.
Pitt took a 21-0 lead with 8:58 remaining in the second quarter when Wendell Davis took over a punt blocked by Mathews and allowed him 18 yards for a touchdown.
But the lead of the three touchdowns did not last long.
UCF cornerback Tay Gowan picked up Davis' scramble on 27, and Adrian Killens scored four games later on an 11-yard run. Pitt surrendered 10 of those yards to UCF under a penalty for keeping Jazzee Stocker safe.
The UCF recovered the ball on 7 with 1:04 to go in the half, and quarterback Dillon Gabriel pulled his team out of the hole by completing 41 yards for Jacob Harris. Once again, Pitt was charitable, giving UCF 15 yards on a low blow to Gabriel by defensive end Deslin Alexandre.
Finally, Pitt managed to keep the UCF in a 43-yard placement by Dylan Barnas.
Jerry DiPaola is an editor of Tribune-Review. You can contact Jerry by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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