Pitt loses 10-point lead in 4th quarter, drops GameAbove Sports Bowl to Toledo in 6 OTs

After a series of injuries, transfers and the opting out of co-captain and leading pass catcher Konata Mumpfield, Pitt turned to workhorse running back Desmond Reid and freshman quarterback Julian Dugger on Thursday in an attempt to salvage some respect in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.

Reid touched the football 39 times — 32 rushes for 165 yards, five receptions for 15, an 11-yard punt return and a dropped pass — in Pitt’s 48-46 six-overtime loss to Toledo (8-5). The loss extended Pitt’s season-ending losing streak to six in a row.

The game needed extra sessions because Pitt (7-6) squandered a 30-20 lead in the fourth quarter that included the second of two pick-6s by Toledo.

In the first overtime, Reid dropped a pass in the end zone, but Dugger scored from the 2 to give Pitt a 37-30 lead. Toledo quarterback Tucker Gleason dove into the end zone from the 1 to send the game into another overtime.

Toledo’s Dylan Cunanan and Pitt’s Ben Sauls traded field goals in the second overtime, Counahan from the 33 and Sauls from the 19. Both teams scored on 2-yard conversion passes in the third OT and runs in the fourth.

In the fifth extra session, Dugger hit tight end Gavin Bartholomew in the corner of the end zone, but Gleason found Newton to Jerjuan Newton to force another tie.

Finally, Gleason hit Junior Vandeross in the sixth OT before Dugger’s pass to Kenny Johnson fell incomplete in the end zone to end the game.

Long before the dramatic finish, the game became Dugger’s introduction to college football — complete with just enough adversity to make the game interesting. Dugger, a Penn Hills graduate, never came off the bench during the regular season.

Down 20-12 at halftime, Narduzzi called for a two-quarterback offense — walkon David Lynch and Dugger splitting snaps until Dugger eventually took over — to move into a 20-20 tie with 6 minutes, 55 seconds left in third quarter.

On the game-tying drive, Dugger carried four times for 23 yards, converting a third-and-1 from Pitt’s 38, and completed two passes for 27 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown toss to tight end Jake Overman.

Then, after the 2-point conversion, Lynch got back into the game and hit tight end Gavin Bartholomew to tie the game.

Pitt went ahead 23-20 just 3:32 later when safety PJ O’Brien recovered a fumble at the Panthers’ 44. With Dugger still in the game, Pitt could not capitalize on the turnover beyond Ben Sauls’ 37-yard field goal.

However, the defense stepped up before the end of the quarter when safety Cruce Brookins, a redshirt freshman from Steel Valley, intercepted a pass and returned it 26 yards to the Toledo 34. This time, Pitt crossed the goal line. Dugger hit Poppi Williams with a 16-yard touchdown pass for a 30-20 lead.

Not only did Dugger lead Pitt to 18 unanswered points, but he finished the game with 88 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown and seven completions on 13 attempts for 72 yards, two scores and an interception in the fourth quarter. That turnover was returned 58 yards for a touchdown by defensive tackle Darius Alexander to cut Pitt’s lead to 30-27 with 7:49 left in the fourth quarter. Dylan Cunahan’s 51-yard field goal with 1:45 left tied the game at 30-30.

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After Reid ran five straight plays for 30 yards and Lynch completed three of three passes for 35 more to the Toledo 14, Pitt initially inserted Dugger, who ran twice up the middle for 11 yards to set up Reid’s 3-yard score .

Pitt extended its lead to 12-6 with 11 minutes, 12 seconds left in halftime when the auls hit a 57-yard field goal, the 50th of his career and 1 yard from the school record he shares with Alex Kessman.

However, the lead didn’t last long as Toledo scored 14 points in 14 seconds to take a 20-12 lead.

First, quarterback Tucker Gleason and wide receiver Junior Vandeross connected for a 67-yard, catch-and-run touchdown with 7:38 left in the first half. On Pitt’s next snap, Lynch was intercepted by safety Braden Awls, who sprinted 40 yards into the end zone.

The game started with a series of splash plays—two by Toledo and one by Pitt—that gave the Rockets a 6–2 lead.

Toledo running back Jacquez Stuart ran 31 yards on the first snap of the game. After Pitt gave Toledo life when cornerback Tamon Lynum was called for pass interference on third down, Gleason Vandeross hit for another 31 yards to the Pitt 2.

The Panthers’ defense held until the fourth down when Gleason returned 2 yards to tight end Anthony Torres for the touchdown.

Pitt linebacker Kyle Louis blocked the extra-point kick, picked up the football and ran 85 yards for the 2-point conversion. The play was Pitt’s first defensive 2-point conversion in 34 years since Doug Hetzler returned a blocked PAT against Syracuse in 1990.