Pitt football drops lead to Cincinnati, loses 26-23

Pitt junior kicker Kevin Harper set a collegiate Heinz Field record when he made a 52-yard field… Pitt junior kicker Kevin Harper set a collegiate Heinz Field record when he made a 52-yard field goal in the first quarter, but it was his missed field goal which would have made the difference Saturday night.

With 14 seconds remaining and Pitt football team down by three, Harper’s missed wide right on what would’ve been a game-tying field goal for the Panthers.

Instead, it was the second time in three years that a missed kick against Cincinnati at home cost Pitt first place in the Big East as the Panthers (4-5, 2-2 Big East) fell to the Bearcats (7-1, 3-0 Big East) 26-23 Saturday night.

“I’m really proud of our team and how hard they played,” Pitt head coach Todd Graham said in a post-game press conference. “This is a crazy league and it isn’t over yet. We’ll go to work and we got three games left.”

The defeat leaves the Panthers with little hope of winning the Big East title this season and now the team must win two out of its final three games just to become bowl eligible.

With star running back Ray Graham injured, senior Zach Brown running back and junior quarterback Tino Sunseri combined for 118 yards on 27 carries as Pitt managed to move the ball on the ground all night.

“Zach did a great job,” Sunseri said of Brown’s performance in a post-game press conference. “He did a good job of absorbing the role as starter and he’ll keep getting better each week.”

Defensively, the Panthers held the Bearcats’ high-powered offense to 366 yards and made several key stops as Cincinnati was only 2-for-13 on third down conversions.

“We played well at times,” Pitt defensive end Brandon Lindsey said after the game. “We felt like we had to go out and win it on defense.”

It took awhile for the battle for the conference lead between Pitt and Cincinnati to really get going.

After the teams traded two field goals each in the early going, it was Pitt’s defense that made the first big play of the game.

Freshman linebacker Todd Thomas intercepted Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros’ pass and returned it 39 yards to the Bearcats four-yard-line. On the very next play, Sunseri turned the turnover into the game’s first touchdown as he carried it in for his third rushing score of the season.

That lead didn’t last long. The Bearcats’ offense immediately responded with a 12-play, 85-yard touchdown drive to tie the game up at 13.

After junior kicker Kevin Harper’s third field goal of the game gave the Panthers the leading going into the break, Hubie Graham’s touchdown increased their lead to 10 early in the second half.

But, unfortunately for the Panthers, that was the last time Pitt would score as the Panthers offense struggled to maintain any type of rhythm in the final quarter and a half.

“We made way too many mental errors,” Coach Graham said. “The second half, we went out and turn over the football twice and had a penalty that really hurt us.”

The Bearcats took advantage of those two Sunseri turnovers on consecutive Panther possessions – one fumble and one interception – to score 13 unanswered points and complete yet another comeback at Heinz Field.

Sunseri admitted the turnovers may have changed the game the Bearcats’ way.

“I just tried to do too much,” Sunseri said. “The momentum and tide really started to turn on us after the turnovers. I got to make sure I play turnover free.”

Despite the mistakes, Pitt had two late chances to tie or even win the game.

A K’Waun Williams interception set Pitt up with great field position halfway through the fourth quarter, but the Panthers turned the ball over on downs after Sunseri’s fourth down pass to Street fell incomplete.

“It’s a play we’ve been practicing a lot and I felt like we had it,” Sunseri said of the play. “I just threw it a little bit flat and I came up short on that throw.”

Then Pitt mounted one last final drive which covered 56 yards in 11 plays to set up Harper’s final field goal attempt.

“I just hit it off my toe a little bit and it faded right,” Harper said of the final miss.