Panthers fall short late but aren't hanging heads over Peach Bowl loss

ATLANTA -- Pitt was on the brink of winning its first New Year's Six Bowl game and getting its second 12-win season ever. But a late-game collapse doomed the Panthers as Michigan State rallied to score 21 points in the fourth quarter to win the Peach Bowl, 31-21, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday night.

Pitt's defense gave an inspired performance throughout a game in which the Panthers' offense lost quarterback Nick Patti, who replaced Kenny Pickett, to a broken collarbone when he ran for a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 in the first quarter. After giving up a touchdown when Michigan State started at Pitt's 29 in the first quarter, Pitt only allowed a single field goal for the next 49:56 of the game. 

That allowed Pitt to build a 21-10 lead going into the middle of the fourth quarter with third-string quarterback Davis Beville taking snaps. Beville did throw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jared Wayne at the end of the second quarter, but he couldn't get much else going as he finished completing just 14 of 18 passes for 149 yards.

Pitt's defense would help with two turnovers, including Cam Bright recovering a fumble and taking it back for a touchdown in the third quarter that would establish the 21-10 lead. But after Pitt had only one first down over four drives in the second half, the Spartans' offense started to catch on with how to crack Pitt's defense.

Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne finished completing 29 of 50 passes for 354 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Two of those touchdowns came on back-to-back drives that each traveled more than 70 yards. The first was a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Connor Heyward to get the game to 21-16 after a failed two-point conversion.

Pitt's offense went three-and-out on the following drive, giving Thorne the ball back with 5:37 left in the fourth quarter. Thorne proceeded to work the Spartans' offense down the field with three third-down conversions on the drive, finishing with a 22-yard touchdown pass to the Peach Bowl Offensive MVP Jayden Reed, who caught the ball over Pitt cornerback M.J. Devonshire. 

After a successful two-point conversion by Michigan State, Pitt took the ball with 2:51 left to play, trailing 24-21. Beville completed five consecutive passes on the drive to Jordan Addison, Lucas Krull, Vincent Davis and Melquise Stovall for a combined 54 yards to get Pitt to the Spartans' 26-yard line. But Beville would be fooled by Michigan State's coverage and throw an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Peach Bowl Defensive MVP Cal Halladay with 22 seconds left in the game.

"He did about as good as he could," Pat Narduzzi said of Beville's efforts after the game. "Obviously he got the (second team) reps. He got I would say 80 percent of the (second team) reps. It's hard when you're preparing to have a backup that didn't have a start in someone said 840 days since he started a game and hadn't played a bunch of reps. Obviously, it hurt when he went down. But our kids hung in there."

Beville is a redshirt sophomore from Greenville, S.C., who had only completed 5 of 10 passes for 30 yards in 2020. He admitted after the game how Michigan State's usage of pre-snap adjustments on defense made it difficult for him to read what the Spartans were doing.

"Yeah, they did a couple different things up front, moving around in the secondary," Beville said. "I was using my hands was a big thing tonight, trying to get them to show their hand. But, yeah, they got me a couple times."

Beyond the pressure of playing in the Peach Bowl, Beville was under plenty of pressure from Michigan State's defense as the Spartans sacked him five times. It was the most sacks allowed by Pitt's offensive line all season.

"We didn't do a great job protecting in the third quarter I don't think," Narduzzi said about Pitt's pass protection. "We'll go back and look what happened there. Wasn't happy obviously with the protection, what our O-line did. But Davis did a great job. As good as you expect a third-team quarterback to do. Wasn't good enough to win the football game. All our guys hung in there and played their tails off for him. We just didn't make enough plays in all phases. Doesn't ever lie with one guy or one quarterback. You need guys around you playing better. We didn't get that done today."

In addition to Patti, Pitt lost several other significant players during the game. Israel Abanikanda was injured in the second quarter and wouldn't return after rushing for 16 yards on five carries, while both Brandon Hill and Habakkuk Baldonado would suffer injuries in the fourth quarter that kept them from being on the field for Michigan State's final touchdown drive.

"Yeah, we got definitely banged up," Narduzzi said. "Izzy (Abanikanda) was obviously a big part of the game plan. He's big, fast, physical. He's a starter. That didn't help us either. But again, Vincent has had a ton of reps. So has Rodney (Hammond II). That's why you work 'em all year round. You never know when you're going to be down to one guy or two guys. That wasn't a factor. But obviously you'd like to see Izzy be able to finish the game."

What was a factor was how Thorne and the Spartans offense were so successful on third down throughout the night. Pitt's defense had made winning third downs a calling card, as its allowed third down conversion rate of 31.9 percent was eighth best in the country. But Michigan State would convert 10 of 21 third downs on the night for a percentage of 47.6 percent.

When asked about Michigan State's play calls, Pitt linebackers John Petrishen and SirVocea Dennis praised the Spartans for having the right plays dialed up at the right times to counter what Pitt's defense was trying to do on their final drives.

"There were several times throughout the game, at least three times, when I would tell (Dennis) or somebody else that they ran the perfect play call versus the play call we had on defense," Petrishen said. "Especially I think there was twice in the first half, then once in the fourth quarter where I came off the field saying, 'Dang, that's exactly what we didn't want them to run in that situation, and they ran that.' Credit to them and their preparation and that. Sometimes that's just the luck of the draw, the way things work out."

Dennis agreed with the assessment in his postgame interview. But he was more concerned and emotional about playing his last game with super senior linebackers Petrishen and Phil Campbell III, all who played crucial roles in the Panthers' defense this season.

"I love those guys, man," Dennis said. "It breaks my heart that they have to leave. But whether we won or lost, it was going to be emotional with those guys because we formed a family. We've been around each other for so long, enjoying each other's times fought because we're brothers. We basically bought into each other and showed love to each other. It was very emotional. It was a great talk. They're my brothers for life. I wish down the line someday we still talk, we still go out for drinks, look back on the things that we did together as a team and as a unit, just enjoy each other. At the end of the day you create bonds, and those bonds, we hope they're forever."

Losing the Peach Bowl was certainly a missed opportunity for Pitt as a program. A win would've been the first New Year's Six Bowl victory for the program since the 1981 Sugar Bowl, and also would've given Pitt its second 12-win season, tying the Panthers' 1976 national championship team for the most in program history.

But the loss doesn't erase a great season for the Panthers who finished the year at 11-3. They won their first ACC Championship, and will finish in the Associated Press' top 25 released at the end of the season for the first time since 2010. None of that should be lost on Pitt's players, and it didn't appear that it was on Campbell, who had completed his sixth season with the program.

"It's very emotional," Campbell said about his collegiate career ending. "I was emotional before the game even happened, just putting on my uniform, just taking it all in, just being around the guys. It was really emotional. Once I started playing, I was just trying to have fun, taking it all in, enjoying every single play. Even when I was tired I didn't want to come out because it's my last time playing for Pitt. Definitely hard. I wish we won the game, but I'm proud of my career, I'm proud of this team. I think I can walk away with my head high."

What might be most encouraging for Pitt's players, even for those who won't be back next year, is the promise of the returning players from the 2021 team who can build on that success in 2022. Pitt's entire offensive line has committed to returning, and the Panthers will retain several key defensive players, along with offensive playmakers like Addison, Gavin Bartholomew, Abanikanda and more.

"I told all the younger guys just keep it going," Campbell said. "This was my sixth season. It took a long time for us to get here, to get that ACC Championship. I really just want it to keep going. That's my biggest thing, is I really want Pitt to keep going up. I want them to be even better than we were."

The season was a huge step forward for a program that hadn't won 11 games in a season since 1981. It's a hallmark year that will forever be remembered by fans and those who were involved, and it sets the program up with a platform to continue that rise next season when Pitt might be a ranked team in the preseason.

"Yeah, like I said to the team afterwards, I love every one of those guys in there," Narduzzi said of his team. "They fought their tails off. I'd go to war with them any day. There's never been any quit. It takes years to get what we got. We got a championship now. Now we got to try for a repeat. We got a good football team.

"We've got a lot coming back. We'll start the work tomorrow towards an ACC championship for next year. That's the goal. That's the standard that we have. It's not easy. But that's the ballgame. We haven't lost for a while. Our kids have a lot of confidence. So it hurts. They're hurting there. They're frustrated. A lot of tears in that locker room. They care and they fought."