Football: Panthers fall in BBVA Compass Bowl

One of the most-hyped seasons in Pitt football history came to an end Saturday when the Panthers… One of the most-hyped seasons in Pitt football history came to an end Saturday when the Panthers fell 28-6 to Southern Methodist University in the BBVA Compass Bowl, played in Birmingham, Ala., at Legion Field.

With SMU already up 21-3 in the second quarter, a crucial moment came when Pitt looked to an onside kick to rally the team. A fair catch was signaled by one of the Mustangs, but the ball wasn’t fielded cleanly. The Panthers jumped on the ball, but an inadvertent whistle stopped the Pitt turnover and forced a re-kick.

“Both of the officials came over to me and said we made a bad call with the inadvertent whistle,” Interim coach Keith Patterson said. “They were very apologetic. Nothing you can do about that. That was a big momentum changer. Looking back it was difficult.”

The play fired up the defense that stopped SMU all but once following that whistle.

“Even though it was blown dead, it was still a big momentum shift for us,” senior defensive tackle Myles Caragein said. “Our defense got really fired up after that, especially with all of the pushing and shoving. It was still a big play for us and got our defense going.”

The bounces would continue to go SMU’s way. On their next threatening drive, junior quarterback Tino Sunseri drove the Panthers down the field 74 yards to the Mustangs’ 10-yard line. Sunseri found freshman running back Isaac Bennett for his checkdown, but after a few deflections, the ball landed in the hands of SMU linebacker Stephon Sanders.

Sunseri finished his roller coaster junior campaign by going 19 for 28 with 128 yards and just the one interception in his second career bowl game.

But it’s a series of uncommon mistakes that will define the Panthers’ last game of the season.

Another play that won’t show up in the statistics line was an attempted fake punt that saw freshman defensive tackle Khaynin Mosley-Smith get around the edge to pick up the first down, only to be whistled back on an illegal-motion penalty.

The Panthers were forced to punt following the mishap, and SMU capitalized for its only second-half touchdown on the next drive.

“That was going to be a big play,” Patterson said. “We were trying to keep our offense out on the field.”

Later, Pitt would add another Kevin Harper field goal to bring its total to six points for the day and end one of the lowest-scoring offensive seasons in recent memory for the Blue and Gold.

Despite Graham’s constant talk of high-octane offense, the Panthers averaged only 24.2 points per game. That number ranks second lowest in the past ten years behind only the 2007-2008 squad, which only managed 22.8 points per game.

Pitt was left with five coaches for the bowl game, and Patterson, the Panthers’ defensive coordinator, was tagged with the interim head coach title.

Having five coaches limited the players’ preparation, and the fact that all members of their program were worrying about their jobs only added to the team’s distractions. According to Patterson, many coaches and players were not completely focused on winning their second-straight BBVA Compass Bowl.

“You have a lot of people with a lot of irons in the fire,” Patterson said. “Coaches wondering where they are going to live, players looking at their future, and positions that didn’t even have their position coach. We don’t want to use that as an excuse, but there is a lot going on mentally.”

Patterson will move on to Arkansas State to take over the reins as its defensive coordinator under former Auburn and Tulsa offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

The players have said the extraordinary circumstances have brought them together over the past month, and the coaches that stayed to finish the job with the Panthers have gained a lot of respect from the players and fans.

“It no doubt has been the most challenging four weeks of my life and career,” Patterson said. “I wouldn’t change anything. I have great respect for these young men for finishing and staying together. That was worth it.”

The senior class for Pitt will go out with its first losing season, as the loss to SMU knocked the Panthers to 6-7. As a class, the seniors finished 33-19 in their four years at Pitt, with one losing season, and made a bowl game every year.

“I consider them my brothers,” Caragein said. “That’s going to be the biggest thing to let go. It’s so hard to realize it’s finally over. I would do anything to keep playing with those guys. I love them so much and would do anything to stay with them.”

Recently hired head coach Paul Chryst kept his distance from the team. Chryst said he was trying to respect the Panthers and the season that he had nothing to do with.

“This is the culmination of their season,” Chryst said. “This wasn’t me.”