What an
unreal game for the Bearcats, who win their second-straight Big East
championship. Here were my thoughts:
First
half
I don't
see how the snow doesn't bother UC's offense, and on the first series, that
seems pretty apparent. The Bearcats don't look exactly comfortable. Meanwhile,
Pitt looks very comfortable. The first 15 plays of the game go to Dion Lewis
(14 rushes, one pass reception), and the Panthers, facing a fourth and 1 on the
UC 23, Lewis gains four yards (though Dominique Battle had a chance to tackle
him behind the line of scrimmage). Then, the four-yard TD run. At this point,
UC looks in trouble. No offense + no defense = no Big East title.
Tony Pike
to Ben Guidugli is the new Pike to Mardy Gilyard. Then, Isaiah Pead shows he
does, in fact, want to play in this game. Snow apparently doesn't slow down his
speed. Two-straight TD passes in the red zone, and Pead and D.J. Woods drop one
apiece. The pass interference helps. Finally, four plays (five if you count the
penalty) after UC gets to the 6-yard line, the Bearcats score to tie the game
at 7-7.
Finally,
Dion Lewis comes out of the ballgame. Probably due to exhaustion. Another
fourth down converted by the Panthers, via Lewis. 2-for-2 so far today. Incomplete
to Baldwin, but the officials will review. Yeah, his foot is clearly in bounds
for the TD. That should be 6. Yep, TD, and a 14-7 lead for Pitt.
Well, the
game has set up perfectly for Pitt so far. The Panthers are keeping the ball
away from UC's offense, and except for that long run by Pead, UC's offense has
been pretty ineffective. We'll see if the Bearcats can improve. Wow, just a
great catch by Armon Binns. Just throw it up, and he'll likely come down with
the ball. I was wondering if the refs were going to throw the flag on DeCicco
for blasting D.J. Woods. Yeah, he went helmet to helmet. That's the right call.
The next call, the pass interference call, was not the right call. Man, Pike
was lucky he wasn't intercepted there on third and goal from the 2. Jake Rogers
has to kick the 20-yard FG to cut the lead to 14-10.
That flea
flicker didn't seem to fool anybody, but Stull finds
Oh boy. A
Pike interception gives Pitt possession in UC territory.
On third
and two,
Zach
Collaros who? Pike runs for the first down on third and five.
I'll tell
you what.
31-10,
Pitt. Yeah, I'd say UC is in some trouble here.
Well, how
about Mardy Gilyard with the 99-yard kickoff return? That was ridiculous. He
just made some great moves. 31-17, Pitt.
Man,
another fumble by Lewis. But it goes out of bounds yet again. That would have
been a huge recovery by UC on the Pitt 11. On Lewis' 29th carry of
the half - are you kidding me with that? - the Bearcats stuff him and will get
the ball back with 44 seconds left in the half. Then, the Bearcats are helped
from a personal foul. Well, so much for that. Another interception by Pike. And
the answer from Aaron Webster, getting the pick against Stull. Jake Rogers
misses the long field goal.
Well, UC
has some work to do. But it could have been so much worse.
Second
half
That's a
nice opening half stop by UC's defense. J.K. Schaffer with the big tackle on
Lewis on third down to force the punt. And an ugly opening series for UC as
well. Pike sacked twice.
Back to
back three-and-outs by Pitt. And Kerry Coombs is excited about the
developments.
For all
this talk from ABC about Collaros possibly coming in to replace the starter,
Pike is back out to take snaps. For the record, I didn't think he would. Wow,
Mardy Gilyard again. A 68-yard TD from Pike. He's having a great final
regular-season game of his career.
Aside
from that blocked punt, how bad has Pitt's special teams been? You've had
shanked punts, slips on kickoff returns, fumbles out of bounds on kickoff
returns. Man, nobody touched Schaffer on the sack. That's a big play - third
and 24. Pitt has to punt again.
Pike is
starting to heat up. And soon as I wrote that, Pike is picked again.
It has
become a battle of the interceptions. Heck of a route run by Dominique Battle
to pick off Stull. Seriously, where was Stull going with that ball?
A three
and out for UC.
Not a
good punt by
Gilyard
again with the kickoff return. Geez. It leads to a quick score, a short TD pass
from Pike to Woods. And Jake Rogers doinks the PAT. Collaros looked to have a
tough time putting the snap on the ground. I wonder how big that will be.
Huge sack
of Stull by Derek Wolfe, but give Alex Daniels plenty of credit. He forced
Stull to move up in the pocket and into Wolfe's arms.
Haven't
seen much of Jake Ramsey today - other than his touchdown. It's been mostly
Pead. And another 15-yard penalty by Pitt. And yeah, it was a late hit. No
matter how much the crowd didn't like it. Well, Binns' foot might have broken
the plane of the goal line. But the ball didn't appear to do it. Collaros in
for the first and goal from the 1. He's short of the goal line. On second down,
he and Pead collide, and again, he doesn't get it. But an offsides penalty on
Pitt. Repeat second down. And Pead scores to cut the lead to 2. Pike back in
the game for the 2-point conversion. Pike to Gilyard in the end zone. Tie ball
game. 38-38.
It is
officially a shoot-out.
Pitt has
done next to nothing on offense in the second half. You have to wonder if
Lewis, who had a ton of carries in the first half, is worn out. Huge 15-yard
penalty on Walter Stewart for hands to the face. Bearcats might have gotten
lucky that the facemask penalty on Matthews was picked up by the officials. Stull
with a big play to
Another
nice return by Gilyard, and UC starts the drive at the 39. Pike to Woods for
the first down. This is exciting, no? Ball on the Pitt 44. Pike scrambles, and
Gilyard comes back to catch the ball for the first down. Timeout UC. The ball
is on the Pitt 29. Oh, and an amazing TD catch from Pike to Binns for the
29-yard TD. An unreal play with so much on the line. And the Rogers PAT is
good.
Pitt takes over with 28 seconds to play. Three-straight incompletions from Stull, who is then sacked on fourth down, and the Big East championship - and the BCS bowl game that comes with it - is UC's. Heck of a game.
