WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- You can be the judge:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 22, 2023
It was on this third-and-8 from the Pitt 9-yard line when Christian Veilleux was given a read option, tucked the ball under his left arm, and made a dash toward the first-down marker to attempt to seal a three-point win for the Panthers with just under a minute to play. Veilleux slid inbounds for what appeared to be the first down that would've killed the final 51 seconds.
Referee Adam Savoie and his crew thought differently.
Instead of the ball being spotted on the 18, where Veilleux fully went down, the ball was marked on the 16, a yard shy of a first down. So Pitt had to punt with 40 seconds remaining and, six plays later, Wake Forest capitalized on a 15-yard sliding grab by tight end Cameron Hite for the go-ahead touchdown with 7 seconds left:
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 21, 2023
Final score: Wake Forest 21, Pitt 17.
The Panthers dropped to 2-5 overall and 1-3 within the ACC and now have a daunting road ahead with games at No. 15 Notre Dame and against No. 4 Florida State in back-to-back weeks. A chance to seal the game away late will be the one thing remembered from a loss that puts Pitt one loss closer to missing out on bowl eligibility for the first time since 2017.
"I definitely felt like I had it," Veilleux said. "Going to have to watch the film, but it's a tough one. Just going to have to get over it and move on, but I'll see the film and then I'll surely have peace of mind. ... I just know the rule. When you start your slide, that's where they down it. Maybe I started it early but to me I felt like I had the sticks. Again, I'll watch the film and then I'll know."
The second part of Veilleux's explanation was the determination made by Savoie and his crew on the field. These calls are the bang-bang ones that serve as a reminder of a human element to sports and that bring the cliche of "a game of inches" to life. Veilleux is correct. The ball was to be placed where he starts his slide, by rule.
But Pitt, obviously, feels wronged.
As for Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson ...
"If their quarterback doesn't slide early, this is a completely different press conference," Clawson said. "Kind of ironic, isn't it?"
This one play will define the game from Pitt's angle, though there were many plays in between the Panthers' masterfully executed opening touchdown drive and this spot ruling that amounted to the fifth loss of the season.
"From the booth, they thought it was a first down, but I think any time -- did he slide butt-first -- I thought he had it," Pat Narduzzi said. "It was a great call by Frank (Cignetti Jr.) and the quarterback keep was there. You've just got to dive and get it. You've got to go head-first and not make any doubt about it. Rookie mistake. Something we'll learn from. The game is over if we get that first down, period."
The Panthers' day started off as hot as imaginable and appeared to build off of what was accomplished in last week's upset over No. 15 Louisville.
A 13-play, 75-yard drive to kill off 6:48 from the game clock resulted in a Veilleux missile into the hands of true freshman Kenny Johnson for a 7-yard score and a quick Panthers lead.
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 21, 2023
This play was thought to set the tone for a potentially dominant day over the 4-3 (1-3 ACC) Demon Deacons -- which were forced into starting third-string quarterback Santino Marucci -- but Pitt's game plan on offense took it horizontal instead of vertical. Veilleux completed 7 of 8 passes for 66 yards and the touchdown on the opening drive, but followed it with 10 completions on 17 attempts for 64 yards in the remainder of the first half. In total, Veilleux completed 28 of 45 passes for 302 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions for a 133.3 rating in his second start as a Panther.
The Panthers' outlook after last week's upset appeared promising. Now, with this performance in consideration, facing Sam Hartman and Notre Dame and then having to oppose Jordan Travis and Florida State in consecutive weeks became much more unsettling.
The offense disintegrated by the possession. Multiple route miscommunications, Bub Means tried to one-hand a ball that was three feet away from his head, and some untimely overthrows contributed to the many reasons for struggles beyond the first drive. Cignetti was intent on allowing Veilleux to throw it, but the passing attack became predictable to a point with screen passes and short out patterns that Wake Forest eventually began to sniff out and commit to.
"Just execution," Veilleux said. "We've got to execute on offense and if we do that we'll sustain drives, time of possession goes up, and we end with either a field goal or a touchdown and that's always the goal. We didn't do a good job of executing."
The bland play calling was only matched by bland execution, and Pitt could not muster anything beyond that exciting first drive of the game until the defense afforded opportunity.
That is, until Veilleux connected with Means for this 22-yard touchdown to put Pitt up 17-14 with 1:32 left.
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSvideos) October 21, 2023
Once again, there were some bright spots, but a lack of fluidity in this offense resulted in just 17 points, despite picking off Marucci twice.
Pitt couldn't escape itself at times, either. Thirteen penalties seized 101 yards to the Demon Deacons. Included that were a handful of false starts and two unsportsmanlike calls on Donovan McMillon after M.J. Devonshire intercepted Marucci, causing McMillon to be ejected from the game and Pitt to be driven back from its own 14 to its own 7.
"That's about as hard of a loss as I've been a part of maybe ever, where details at the end (were) not very good." Narduzzi said. "That's what I told our team afterwards. We win as a team, we lose as a team, but the details at the end weren't good. When you're plus-two in the turnover ratio it's hard to lose a game when you're plus-two. We found a way. M.J's go a great pick, we've got to get a first down. We got unsportsmanliked twice, we had Donovan just trying to get our guy off the pile which you never see called. ... Just disappointing."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Team feed
• Scoreboard
• Schedule
• Standings
• Statistics
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• Out for the season: G Ryan Jacoby (leg), OT Matt Goncalves (foot), DB Rashad Battle (foot).
• Week-to-week: OC Jake Kradel (undisclosed).
• Did not travel: LB Braylan Lovelace, LB Kyle Louis.
THE SCHEDULE
Pitt treks to South Bend, Ind., for a showdown at No. 15 Notre Dame (6-2) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. I will have you covered.
THE CONTENT
• Visit the Pitt team page for more from Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.
