EL PASO, Texas -- Nick Patti has showed nothing but grace, class, and gratitude in his five years as a Pitt Panther.
And, in Friday's Sun Bowl thriller over No. 18 UCLA, he finally earned his just due.
Perhaps, though, it came by 12 games too late.
He graciously understood and evidently owned the role of backing up Kenny Pickett, who was given the farm by Pat Narduzzi and was given the franchise as his ride-or-die back in 2018.
Once Pickett exited for the NFL, Patti thought he had his shot. He was a redshirt senior and, at last, he would have his chance to show the world what he was capable of as a starting quarterback of a Power Five school.
Narduzzi said nay.
That role -- Patti's job -- fell into the lap of Kedon Slovis, the new Golden Goose who once upon a time had Heisman Trophy hopes and a fruitful career at Southern California. He transferred over and created a conundrum within the quarterback room and eventually nudged Patti out of what he had deserved.
That experiment with Slovis, simply put, failed. He is now at BYU after one mediocre season as a Panther. Thus, Patti was given one final shot in the Sun Bowl. With one final opportunity, and with one final game to prove that he had to be "the guy" all along, Patti went out and did just that.
Panthers fans have been buzzing all season about why Patti could not have been "the guy" for the Panthers in 2022.
After Friday's heroics, perhaps Narduzzi is pondering the same?
We talked about it when he lost the starting job, and we can confidently say it again, after the Panthers' 37-35 Sun Bowl triumph over No. 18 UCLA:
That same guy in 2018 behind Pickett has matured. That same guy in 2018 had to be the same guy in 2022, and fortune has favored to the one which waited and had not played a game from start to finish since 2019.
"Definitely could start coming in that summer (in 2018), everyone knew Kenny was the guy," Patti said after the game. "The conversation was, alright, he'll be out in three years, how well he's playing, and I'll take over then. Obviously it doesn't go like that. But, the relationships I built here. I never thought about leaving, even when Kenny was done and we brought Kedon in. I just had all of the confidence in the world in myself, obviously didn't go my way, but (just) stepping up today. Big moment today. It was great to get a win today."
Any regular guy would have entered the transfer portal after the job he was groomed for, poured out gallons of sweat for, and dedicated years of his life for was swept away from him in a flash before the season started.
Patti was not any regular guy then. For the benefit of the Panthers on Friday, he was anything but regular once more.
Down 35-34, Patti commandeered the Panthers to a 46-yard drive on four plays in 36 seconds. An 18-yard connection to Jared Wayne, a 17-yard catch in traffic from Bub Means, and Patti's 11-yard scramble up the middle placed the ball at the Bruins' 29-yard line, and Patti got the offense lined up for a spike with 10 seconds remaining in regulation.
"With 34 seconds left and what Nick did that drive, you just talk about leadership," Narduzzi said. "I talked earlier -- leadership-wise, Nick took it and we went down the field, and that will go down as one of the best two-minute drives. Thirty-four seconds, no timeouts, and you go down and kick a field goal. Outstanding job."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Down 35-34, Ben Sauls' own maturation process shined through and perhaps reached its apex when his Pitt team needed him the most.
As Patti did an "outstanding job," so did Sauls.
In front of 41,104 fans inside Sun Bowl Stadium, long snapper Byron Floyd spiraled the snap to holder Cam Guess, who swiftly planted the tip into the ground, adjusted the laces, and allowed for Sauls to boot the ball on a draw and through the right-center of the uprights to send the traveling Panther faithful into a frenzy and give the Panthers the win.
BEN SAULS DRILLS IT TO GIVE THE LEAD BACK TO @Pitt_FB pic.twitter.com/bKnKsYVcfF
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) December 30, 2022
Sauls was not just brilliant with the game on the line. He was money all day when called upon. Sauls made all five of his field goal attempts -- from 22, 49, 31, 27, and 47 yards. He made 15 of 16 kicks to finish the season, dating to Sept. 24 against Rhode Island.
"I think a lot of it has to do with maturity," Sauls said after the game. "Looking back a year ago today I got my first start against New Hampshire and I missed my first two extra points. Flip it a year from then, and we're hitting game-winners and going 5-for-5. I think a lot of it has to do with maturity. When you talk about the mental game, it's all about you and yourself there. You are what you tell yourself, and at the end of the day I really think I'm a decent kicker.
"At the end of the day, it's no different than kicking an extra point. It's the same thing over and over again. It's the repetitiveness. I'm just glad the snap was there, the hold was there, and the line held, because they're awesome. Without them, I wouldn't be here."
Sam Wasson/Getty
Ben Sauls kicks the game-winning field goal during the second half of the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl game at Sun Bowl Stadium on Friday in El Paso, Texas.
Sauls' field goal completed a come-from-behind effort for the Panthers (9-4), which trailed UCLA (9-4) 28-14 with 8:35 left in the third quarter. This, while playing with reserves at quarterback, running back, both offensive tackles, center, defensive end, defensive tackle, middle linebacker, and safety.
"Cig (Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr.) put a great game plan together," Patti said. "We go through it throughout the week, and he's like, 'really, is there anything you don't like?' and I liked everything. I was comfortable with everything, and I just had so much confidence in our offense and everything we did to prepare for this game. I think we were all just excited to get this opportunity. You hear a lot about the Pac-12, but you never play it, so I think we stepped up today, and it was a good win."
• But it was not only about Patti's heroics or Sauls drilling five field goals and delivering through in the clutch; Pitt had to play without nine starters due to opt-outs, transferring, and injuries. The defense and special teams units took advantage of sloppy miscues by UCLA in creating five turnovers -- the most generated by a Panthers defense since it forced four in the 2021 ACC Championship Game against Wake Forest.
A resilient and never-broke Pitt rallied for 13 consecutive points, which included two rushing scores from Rodney Hammond Jr. and two Sauls field goals, to gain a 34-28 advantage with 4:24 left in the game.
"It was a first-class job by our football team pulling that one out," Narduzzi said. "We talked about going out there. We were down a few guys, and just find a way to win a football game. Just get it done. G.I.D. Get it done one way or another, and our guys found a way to get it done, and I couldn't be more proud of them.
"As I told the locker room after the game, I love this football team. Nine-win season, those are hard to come by. We gave probably three or four games away during the season. It was a great way to finish for our kids."
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who has been rock-steady as the Bruins' signal-caller and finished fourth in the NCAA in completion percentage this season, threw three interceptions. Though two were not necessarily his fault, UCLA's glaring lack of weapons beyond Zach Charbonnet became all the more glaring.
Charbonnet did not suit up. Chip Kelly after the game, though, said Charbonnet warmed up and was not 100% healthy for the game, and elected to sit out.
Thompson-Robinson left the game with an apparent lower-back injury (per the CBS broadcast) in the early portion of the fourth quarter, and he gave way to reserve Ethan Garbers. Tylar Wiltz and Javon McIntyre each intercepted Thompson-Robinson in the red zone, Bangally Kamara added an interception of Thompson-Robinson deep in UCLA territory, and M.J. Devonshire -- the hero of the Backyard Brawl who gained Pitt's first interception of the season -- picked off Garbers' last-second heave for Pitt's final interception. Pitt's Solomon DeShields also recovered a muffed kickoff by Kazmeir Allen on the UCLA 19, which led to a Sauls' go-ahead field goal to give the Panthers a 31-28 lead with 10:38 remaining.
• Hammond ended the game with 89 rushing yards on 24 carries with his two touchdowns in starting for ACC rushing champion Israel Abanikanda. Patti completed 24 of 41 passes for 232 yards, one touchdown, and an interception -- a pick-six by Jaylin Davies which gave the Bruins its 28-14 lead in the third.
"Nick's a good leader; we've got a good relationship on and off the field, so when he's in there, I feel comfortable," Hammond said. "I stayed patient. I just want to thank (my coaches) for believing in me and letting me step up today and help my team get the win."
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE ESSENTIALS
• Box score
• Live file
• Top 25 scores
• Schedule
• ACC standings
• Statistics
THE CONTENT
• Visit the Pitt team page and my Twitter page for more from the Sun Bowl. Gary Morgan and I are recording a new H2P Podcast Saturday morning, so check for that on all platforms in the afternoon.
