Pittsburgh at West Virginia
(Friday, November 27th)
Final Score: West Virginia 19, (8) Pittsburgh 16
Morgantown, WV (Sports Network) - Tyler Bitancurt made a game-winning 43-yard
field goal as time expired, and West Virginia got some revenge against No. 8
Pittsburgh in a 19-16 victory in the Backyard Brawl.
Bitancurt made four field goals, while Noel Devine ran for 134 yards and a
score for the Mountaineers (8-3, 4-2 Big East), who in 2007 were ranked
second when they were upset by Pitt to see their national title game hopes
disappear.
Two years later, West Virginia paid its rival back, as the Panthers (9-2, 5-1)
suffered their first Big East loss and are now looking up in the conference
standings.
Cincinnati, which topped Illinois earlier Friday to stay undefeated, is 6-0 in
the conference and can clinch the title with a win at Pittsburgh on December
5.
Bitancurt's kick came nearly three minutes after Pitt had rallied to tie the
contest. The Panthers trailed by 10 shortly into the fourth quarter, but got a
36-yard field goal from Dan Hutchins with 7:37 to play to get within 16-9.
West Virginia had to punt on its next series, and Pitt took over at its own 25
with just over four minutes to play. Quarterback Bill Stull led the Panthers
downfield in just three plays, first completing a 15-yard pass to Jonathan
Baldwin before finding Mike Shanahan for 10.
Stull then aired out a pass for an open Baldwin for a 50-yard touchdown, as
Pittsburgh evened the game.
But with 2:54 on the clock, West Virginia had plenty of time to move into
field goal position. The Mountaineers faced a 3rd-and-10 at the Pitt 45 before
quarterback Jarrett Brown was stopped a yard short of the first down. But Ryan
Clarke picked up the necessary yard on the next play to move the chains, and
Devine ran for seven yards to get the ball to the 28-yard line.
Clarke moved it two yards closer before West Virginia called a timeout with
three seconds to play, and Bitancurt lined up and booted the ball through the
uprights to give the hosts the win.
Brown finished 19-of-31 for 164 yards for West Virginia, with seven of those
passes going to Alric Arnett for 71 yards.
Dion Lewis matched Devine's big rushing day for Pitt, going for 155 yards on
26 carries. Stull completed 16-of-30 passes for 179 yards and the TD, and was
intercepted twice. Baldwin ended with eight catches for 127 yards.
Hutchins missed a 46-yarder on Pittsburgh's opening drive, and West Virginia
missed out on a scoring chance late in the first quarter. The Mountaineers had
a 1st-and-goal at the 10-yard line, and after Clarke was thrown for a one-yard
loss, Jock Sanders ran for eight on the last play of the frame.
Brown then ran for two yards to make it a 4th-and-goal at the one, but Brown
was sacked for a 10-yard loss as Pitt took over.
The Mountaineers failed to convert a 4th-and-9 in Pittsburgh territory later
in the quarter, and the Panthers turned the ensuing possession into the first
points of the game, as Hutchins kicked a 37-yarder with 3:21 left in the half.
West Virginia then had to punt, but got the ball back after Keith Tandy
intercepted Stull in Pittsburgh territory. The Mountaineers took over at the
Panthers' 40 and again advanced the ball inside the 10.
A nine-yard rush by Devine made it a 1st-and-goal at the one, but an
incomplete pass and false start gave the Mountaineers a 2nd-and-goal from the
six with time running down. Brown ran for three yards before Bitancurt kicked
a 20-yarder, and the teams went into the break tied.
Bitancurt put WVU ahead with a 43-yarder a little under six minutes into the
third quarter, though Pitt responded with a 30-yard kick by Hutchins to make
it a 6-6 game.
On the first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive, Devine ripped off an
88-yard TD as the Mountaineers took a 13-6 lead with 4:34 left.
Hutchins missed a 53-yard attempt on the next Pitt series, and early in the
fourth quarter Stull was intercepted by Robert Sands. West Virginia started a
drive at its own 39 and reached the Pitt 22 before Bitancurt's 39-yard kick
made it a 16-6 game with 10:05 to play.
Game Notes
WVU totaled 369 yards compared to 325 for Pitt...Pitt had won the last two
editions of the Backyard Brawl. The Panthers have not won three in a row in
the series since winning seven straight from 1976-82. Pitt still holds a
61-38-3 lead in the series...The Mountaineers play at Rutgers on December 5.
11/27 23:36:47 ET