Pitt rallies in second half, defeats UCLA, 37-35, in Sun Bowl
Share this post:
EL PASO, Texas — From 34 seconds, the clock on the end zone scoreboard was ticking, unforgivingly moving toward what surely would have been one of the most discouraging Pitt losses of all-time.
Yet, there was another clock in quarterback Nick Patti’s head, and that was the one he heard.
Because he paid attention to it — and knew college football’s timing rules — Patti led Pitt to a thrilling 37-35 Sun Bowl victory Friday against No. 18 UCLA (9-4) in his first time playing from start to finish in more than three years.
Pitt (9-4) won its final five games for the first time since 2001. And the Panthers now can claim 20 victories over back-to-back seasons for the first time in 40 years.
Yet, at one point, none of that seemed even remotely possible to any of the 41,104 people in attendance.
Pitt trailed 28-14 midway through the third quarter after Patti threw an interception that UCLA cornerback Jaylin Davies returned 52 yards for a touchdown.
A sour outcome looked inevitable, but coach Pat Narduzzi later said, “We never flinch. I can’t remember a time when we flinched.”
Back to work, Patti and Pitt’s big-play defense led their teammates to 20 unanswered points and a 34-28 lead with 4 minutes, 28 seconds left in the game.
Rodney Hammond scored on two short bursts (1 and 7 yards), and Ben Sauls kicked two of his Sun Bowl-record five field goals.
Hammond’s 7-yarder was set up by linebacker Bengally Kamara’s interception that he returned to the UCLA 18. Then, Solomon DeShields recovered a fumble on the kickoff — one of five UCLA turnovers — to set up another Sauls boot.
But it almost wasn’t enough.
Starting with two minutes on the clock, UCLA backup quarterback Ethan Garbers led UCLA down the field to a 35-34 lead with 34 seconds left on an 8-yard run by T.J. Harden. Garbers was playing because UCLA coach Chip Kelly yanked Dorian Thompson-Robinson after his third interception. The Los Angeles Daily News later reported Thompson-Robinson had a back injury.
UCLA couldn’t overcome its mistakes. The Panthers went in the other direction after theirs.
“We talk about adversity a lot,” Narduzzi said. “We try to develop how we’re going to respond in August (during training camp), how we deal with adversity and the pressures of this game of football.
“It shows up when you talk about character. That’s coaching and that’s players believing.”
Sitting at the Pitt 25-yard line with no timeouts and only 34 seconds left, perhaps, in his football career, Patti completed passes of 18 and 17 yards to wide receivers Jared Wayne and Bub Means. That moved Pitt to the UCLA 40, but probably not close enough for a field goal.
Let Patti tell the rest of the story.
“We called a similar play we’d been running throughout the game,” he said. “I stepped up, had Bub on an in (route), and the (linebacker) just kept sinking. I was thinking in my head, ‘You gotta get a first down because the clock’s going to be running.’ ”
(A first down stops the clock in college football.)
“I got hit short, and I had the time clock in my head. ‘I’m probably at 8, 9 yards here. I gotta break the tackle.’ I broke the tackle, looked up, had it by a yard, and knew I had to get on the ball and clock it.”
Enter Sauls, faced with kicking a 47-yard field goal into the wind with four seconds left.
Back home, Sauls kicks at Acrisure Stadium where winds can be tricky. But he said the stadium — he still calls it “Heinz Field” — prepared him for the winds that kicked up Friday at the base of the Rocky Mountains.
“The key is to embrace the wind,” he said. “If you try to fight it, it’s going to fight you, and it’s probably going to win.”
The kick was true, and Pitt had its ninth victory, one accomplished without 10 starters/key contributors who either opted out, were injured or decided to transfer.
“We talked about going out there — we were down a few guys — just find a way to win a football game,” Narduzzi said. “Just get it done. G-I-D, get it done, one way or another.
“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.”
Patti and Hammond stepped up when players at their positions were unavailable.
Hammond ran for 89 yards, playing in place of opt-out running back and ACC rushing champ Izzy Abanikanda.
Patti completed 20 of 41 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown and added 72 more with his legs.
“He’s a tough dude, and our football team believes in him,” Narduzzi said. “He’s a great competitor. He’s a leader.
“He can beat you with his feet, which we hadn’t had (at quarterback) all year.”
Added Sauls in a moment of postgame exuberance on the field: “Nick was a dog all day.”
None of that would have been possible without Pitt’s four interceptions, a fumble recovery and three sacks. Linebacker Tylar Wiltz recorded an interception and a sack, on top of Kamara’s pick.
“Our linebackers have come a long way. Without SirVocea (Dennis), we were still able to get it done,” Narduzzi said.
David Green, Elliot Donald and Dayon Hayes, defensive linemen whose position was hit hard by the absences, added two more sacks.
Before walking out of Sun Bowl Stadium on Friday, Narduzzi laid out one more challenge.
“You go out there with a bunch of new guys, playing on defense, especially, and you come out and beat the No. 18 team in the country,” he said. “We better finish in the top 25.”