Pitt Blows Late Lead in Overtime Loss to WVU

The Panthers took over at the 11-yard line in the red zone, with Holstein rushing for six yards and then missing Thomas in the end zone, with Mountaineers redshirt senior safety Darrien Lewis picking him off.

Both teams punted on their ensuing drives again and Panthers freshman wide receiver Bryce Yates made his mark on his first drive, catching a pass from Holstein for six yards and then the next one for a 68-yard gain, putting his team at the six-yard line at the two-minute warning.

Holstein ran one yard on a quarterback sneak and then left the field after taking off his helmet, receiving medical attention and heading into the medical tent.

Senior quarterback Cole Gonzales came in for one play, throwing an incompletion and then Pitt took their second timeout.

Holstein came back out for the next play, throwing an incompletion, with Butkowski converting from 23-yards out for the first Pitt points of the game, trailing WVU 7-3 with 1:37 remaining.

Neither team got anything going on their next drives and the Mountaineers took over at their 31-yard line with 13 seconds remaining, after a 56-yard punt from Pitt redshirt senior punter Caleb Junko.

Marchiol threw an incomplete pass on the play, but Pitt redshirt freshman defensive lineman Zach Crothers committed a roughing the passer penalty after hitting Marchiol late, putting WVU at their 46-yard line with eight seconds left.

He then went on a quarterback keep on the next play, moving 12 yards, and redshirt senior defensive back Javon McIntyre committed an unnecessary roughness penalty.

This would've put WVU at the 27-yard line for a 45-yard field goal, but because WVU had no timeouts remaining, the clock ran out and they held a 7-3 lead at halftime.

Mountaineers freshman quarterback Scotty Fox Jr. came in for the second half, after Marchiol didn't come back out.

Both teams punted on their first two drives of the second half, before West Virginia got an 18-yard rush from Edwards and then a completion from Fox to redshirt senior wide receiver Justin Smith-Brown, who took it 56 yards to the Pitt three-yard line.

Edwards eventually ran it in from one-yard out for his second touchdown, as the Mountaineers extended their lead to 14-3 over the Panthers with 8:27 remaining in the third quarter.

Holstein quickly got Pitt back in scoring position, with a 67-yard pass to Williams to the six-yard line.

Freshman running back Ja'Kyrian "Boosie" Turner rushed twice for five yards and then Holstein scored on a quarterback keeper from one-yard out.

Pitt then went for the two-point conversion and Holstein completed a pass to Hicks in the end zone, but the referees deemed him out, before looking at review and seeing Hicks get one foot down, securing that two-point conversion and cutting the deficit to 14-11 with 6:18 left in the third quarter.

The Panthers quickly got the ball back, as redshirt junior linebacker Kyle Louis intercepted Fox and took it 21 yards to the 14-yard line on just the second play of the Mountaineers' drive.

Holstein completed a seven-yard pass to Johnson and then Spann rushed six yards on third-and-three, but senior tight end Justin Holmes committed a holding penalty, which made it three-and-13.

Pitt moved back again, as Holstein committed an intentional grounding penalty, but Butkowski tied the game up with a career-long 46-yard field goal, 14-14, with 3:30 left in the third quarter.

Fox threw another interception on the third play of the next drive, as Panthers junior linebacker Braylan Lovelace picked him off at the 24-yard line.

The Panthers failed to get into the end zone for another touchdown, but Butkowski converted his thrid field goal of the game, giving the road team their first lead of the game at 17-14 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Redshirt senior Jaylen Henderson took over at quarterback for the Mountaineers in place of Fox for their first drive of the fourth quarter.

Henderson led WVU on an 11 play drive, but they only got to midfield and then Pitt redshirt junior defensive lineman Sean FitzSimmons sacked him on fourth down, giving Pitt posssesion at the WVU 47-yard line.

Holstein completed three passes for 27 yards, redshirt freshman running back Juelz Goff ran six yards and then Holstein got sacked, but the referees called unnecessary roughness on redshirt junior MarShon Oxley for a 15-yard penalty.

Pitt finally got back in the end zone, as Holstein completed a 14-yard pass to Williams for his first touchdown of the day, giving the road team a 10-point, 24-14 lead with 9:28 left in the fourth quarter.

Marchiol came back in for the Mountaineers on the next drive and got them near the goal line, before the Panthers held them on third-and-goal at the three-yard line, resulting in a 21-yard field goal that cut the deficit back to a touchdown, 24-17 with 5:13 remaining.

Pitt didn't take cut into the scoring on their next drive and WVU got a chance to tie the game or even win it with a two-point conversion.

Marchiol threw a 34-yard pass to senior tight end Grayson Barnes, putting the Mountaineers in Panthers' territory.

He then completed a 13-yard pass to WVU redshirt sophomore wide receiver Cam Vaughn and Pitt senior defensive back Rashan Murray committed a pass interference penalty, putting WVU at the two-yard line.

Marchiol completed a two-yard pass to Barnes in the end zone, tying the game up for the Mountaineers and sending it into overtime.

This marked the first overtime game in the Backyard Brawl since 1997, when Pitt won 41-38 over WVU in three overtimes.

West Virginia moved easily through the Pitt defense, on an eight-yard drive, with Edwards scoring on a one-yard rushing touchdown, getting a 31-24 lead.

Goff had a one-yard loss and then Holstein almost threw a game-losing interception, but Mountaineers senior safety Kekoura Tanue dropped it.

Holstein then took a 13-yard loss on a sack and threw an incompletion, securing the loss for the Panthers.

Pitt drops to 2-1 on the season, as they did have two wins at home over Duquesne, 61-9 in Week 1, and Central Michigan, 45-17 in Week 2.

The Panthers fall to 63-42-3 against the Mountaineers in the Backyard Brawl, which marks the final meeting betwen the two teams until 2029.