I said this out loud during the fourth quarter: "How is this a tied game?"
Pitt had every reason and every opportunity to lose in a big, bad fashion to No. 24 Tennessee on Saturday.
There were too many points left off the board, especially in the first half. I counted at least 24, if it wasn't more.
Combine that with an injury to quarterback Kedon Slovis, and that's inherently difficult to overcome.
Adding in that reserve Nick Patti played most of his half of the game on a bad ankle after taking the similar punishments that Slovis did, and the 17th-ranked Panthers were bound to break to the Volunteers.
But, somehow, the bend-but-don't-break mentality of Pat Narduzzi's team held strong enough late in the second half to get the game to overtime and a chance at an "upset" of the favored visitors.
They did that, even through Slovis' injury. And without Backyard Brawl standout Rodney Hammond Jr. And without two-time captain Deslin Alexandre. And without starting right tackle Gabe Houy. And, with offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. calling plays hours after finding out about the death of his father.
Pitt was so far out of it at times, and yet, they found ways to stay in it.
Does this say more about Pitt or Tennessee? How was this game going to go into overtime?
Somehow, it did.
But a dime thrown by Hendon Hooker to a red-hot Cedric Tillman gave the Volunteers first blood in the extra frame. Patti appeared to have Jared Wayne at the 8-yard line for a first-and-goal with momentum during their overtime possession, but replay overturned the catch as Wayne's left foot came inbounds while his right foot barely stepped out simultaneously, resulting in an incomplete pass.
Pitt did pick up the first down on a rocket from Patti to Konata Mumpfield at the 10, but Pitt went backwards on a 10-yard sack by Trevon Flowers, and Patti's pass to Mumpfield short of the endzone on fourth down fell incomplete, giving Tennessee a 34-27 victory.
Pitt is 1-1, and regardless of the resolve it showed to get to overtime, poor execution in spots -- particularly in the first half -- ultimately was too much to overcome.
"It was a heck of a football game versus a good football team," Narduzzi said. "I think when it comes down to it, I told our guys, it's a game of inches, and there were inches all over the place that we needed to get."
Inches... Points... Same thing?
Again, I counted 24 of them left off the board. Let's review.
First, Mumpfield dropped what could have been a touchdown reception early in the first quarter, and Pitt settled for a 30-yard Ben Sauls field goal to go up 3-0 with 10:27 on the clock.
So, instead of Pitt having a 7-0 lead, it was up 3-0.
Pitt had a golden opportunity to pull in front of the Volunteers, especially after Israel Abanikanda's explosive 76-yard TD run to put the Panthers ahead 10-0 with 9:00 left in the first quarter. That run was Pitt's longest TD run since Qadree Ollison's 97-yarder vs. Virginia Tech in November, 2018.
Tennessee then turned the ball over on downs, as Pitt took over on its own 39 midway through the first. Pitt got to the Tennessee 21 with a renewed first down and was poised to go ahead 17-0 and capture all the momentum it could possibly ask for.
But, they left their next six and seven points on the board. Slovis looked in the back of the endzone for Bub Means, who tipped the high ball down enough and into the hands of Flowers for the touchback. That drive turned into an 11-play touchdown drive by Tennessee, which resulted in a 1-yard score by Jabari Small.
So, instead of Pitt being up 17-0, or even 13-0, the score was 10-7 by the end of the first quarter. On the drive which resulted in Small's TD, defensive linemen Devin Danielson and Tyler Bentley each went down with injuries.
We've talked all week about the Volunteers' up-tempo offense. Narduzzi quipped that they like to snap the ball every 7 and 12 seconds.
On the drive where Tennessee cut the deficit to 10-7, the Volunteers ran 11 plays in 3:14, or a play every 17.6 seconds. In total, they ran 77 plays for a total of 25 minutes and 5 seconds, or 19.5 plays per second.
"That is a tough offense with a tempo, and they started off with probably three three-and-outs," Narduzzi said. "We've got to be more consistent. We would like to get 15 three-and-outs. I know that's not really, but they did a heck of a job really for four quarters. ... I thought they played their hearts out."
Pitt appeared to have momentum secured, after Gavin Bartholomew's 57-yard touchdown catch that included a "Sportscenter" Top 10 highlight hurdle over Flowers down the near sideline. That put Pitt ahead 17-7 with 13:25 left in the first half and sent the Acrisure Stadium crowd into a brief frenzy.
"I just knew he was going to tackle me low," Bartholomew said. "I was like, screw it, I'm jumping (over) him. And then I was in the endzone."
After reeling in just one catch for 9 yards in the Backyard Brawl, Bartholomew caught five of six targets for a team-high 84 yards.
"Coach told us that we were using a lot more 11 (personnel)," Bartholomew said. "Tight ends were going to get the ball a lot more, which is good. Last week coach Cig -- I've got a lot of trust in him, knew what he was doing -- and we just went with it."
Tennessee responded with a controversial TD connection from Hooker to Bru McCoy, which was upheld on replay despite Narduzzi's challenging that McCoy stepped out of bounds on his own accord. That cut the Pitt lead to 17-14 with 10:07 left in the first half.
Pitt then had a 4th-and-3 from the Tennessee 27 on its ensuing possession, and rather than sending Sauls out for a less-than-40-yard field goal, Narduzzi opted to go for it. Instead, Slovis took a sack from Wesley Walker, and Pitt turned it over on downs with 5:31 left in the half.
That's 14 in total left on the board.
Tennessee immediately boomed for a 61-yard splash play to Tillman up the far sideline -- one of two big plays on which he absolutely torched Backyard Brawl hero M.J. Devonshire -- which set up Small's second TD run of the day, and gave Tennessee a 21-17 lead with 4:56 left in the half.
Things went from not-so-great to horrifically wrong for Pitt, as Slovis was sacked by Omari Thomas and lost his fumble at the Pitt 28 with 14 seconds left in the half.
That was the last snap Slovis took throughout the game. To that point, aside from consistently being flushed out by Tennessee's overloaded blitzes, he was throwing the ball with zip and expected accuracy. The interception was not his fault in the slightest.
Tennessee got a 37-yard field goal from Chase McGrath to close the first half with a 24-17 lead.
Pitt squandered three or more points on the opening drive of the second half, as Patti drove Pitt down to the 28. Sauls missed his 46-yard field goal wide left after a bad snap, however, and Tennessee regained possession.
The play that Narduzzi went for late in the second was on a 4th-and-3 from the 27. This one, which he sent the field goal unit out for, was on a 4th-and-3 from the 28.
Lesson learned? Or spooked by Patti being in over Slovis and having to adjust? Or something else?
Pitt then had its big play midway through the third, as P.J. O'Brien blocked Paxton Brooks' punt and Pitt retained possession at the Tennessee 19. Pitt had to settle for another Sauls field goal try, and his 36-yarder from the right hash flung wide left.
No good. More points left on the board. A massive "what could have been" moment in terms of getting back into the game from a mental standpoint.
Credit Pitt's defense for its second-half effort. After allowing 24 points and 266 yards in the first half, the Panthers surrendered just 3 points and 115 yards to the Volunteers in the second half. This came with the Panthers' offense playing with Patti at QB, Tennessee's offense getting off the field quickly with its quick tempo.
"We didn't really lose a beat," defensive end Haba Baldonaldo said. "Everybody on this team trusts Patti the same way they do Slovis. Nobody really said anything. The defense just stepped up, as we should have in the first half."
Despite the awful news that surfaced around legendary high school and college coach Frank Cignetti Sr's passing before the game, Frank Jr. still performed his duties as scheduled on Saturday. He had to take things a step further in terms of Pitt's play calling once Slovis exited the game. Notably, he put Patti under center and utilized more 12 personnel -- one running back with two tight ends.
"Right before we were going into a team meeting and pregame meal, coach found out," Narduzzi said. "When you think about sacrifice, this is a game of football, and there's so many other games in life and the sacrifice that he made sitting here. There was no doubt that he was going to coach the game. It's a major sacrifice. It's a game of football and a game of life, but our prayers go to their family. Just a sad, sad deal."
Narduzzi later said that Frank Jr. "called one heck of a football game" after learning of his father's death at around 11 a.m. Saturday
Patti was hurt on a sack to begin the fourth quarter, and played the rest of the game with a visible limp and favoring his ankle. On that drive a couple of plays prior, Patti ran for what could have been a 6-yard, Peach Bowl-esque TD, but it was called back on a holding penalty by Wayne. They settled for a 36-yard Sauls field goal.
Four more points left off the board. That's 24.
McGrath converted a field goal to put Tennessee up 27-20 with 8:57 left, and Pitt caught another break.
The Panthers went three-and-out and punted, and it was muffed. Pitt's Byron Floyd recovered on the Tennessee 39, and Pitt had renewed life with a chance to tie.
Patti led Pitt to a 10-play drive that resulted in a diving catch by Wayne in the back of the endzone, which was upheld on review. It was tied at 27 with 2:23 to play.
"We talked about that all week," Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. "It's going to take 60 minutes. I lied to them; I didn't know I was lying to them. ... A year ago, a game like this, not just some of the things we did playing, but the ups and downs, I don't think we would've handled it in the way that we would've needed to, to be able to come out on top."
Abanikanda was spectacular for Pitt in Hammond's absence. He tallied 154 yards on 25 carries and the 76-yard TD. He added a catch for 21 yards.
"Throughout the week I just tried to keep getting better and better," Abanikanda said. "Running, finishing, because I knew I didn't do that good last week. I always know myself and I just keep training harder and harder."
Slovis went 14 of 21 for 195 passing yards, a TD, and his first interception as a Panther. Patti was 9-for-20 for 79 yards and a TD. Hooker completed 27 of 42 passes for 325 yards and two TDs. Tillman had nine catches on 18 targets for 162 yards and a TD.
We'll wait and see what Slovis' status is into next week's game at Western Michigan. Narduzzi wouldn't disclose specifics of his injury after the game, but he did say in his post-game press conference that "I saw Kedon in there, and he feels good."
