Pitt completes comeback against Cincinnati, wins River City Rivalry

In last year’s River City Rivalry, Cincinnati earned a big first-half lead but let Pitt claw back in the second half.  But the Bearcats held off the Panthers and left Pittsburgh with the win. This season’s rendition of the River City Rivalry must have used an old script. Pitt’s offense in the first half against Cincinnati looked nothing like its 55-point explosion in its season-opener against Kent State. 

With his team trailing by three scores in the second half, redshirt first-year quarterback Eli Holstein heated up. Panthers junior running back Desmond Reid finished the game with another electrifying performance, ending the game with over 100 yards receiving and 100 yards rushing.

Pitt (2-0, ACC 0-0) defeated Cincinnati (1-1, Big 12 0-0) 28-27, scoring 22 unanswered points in the second half en route to its second win. Holstein finished with 302 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Senior wide receiver Konata Mumpfield finished with five catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

Pitt’s first play from scrimmage was a 13-yard completion to senior tight end Gavin Bartholomew. The Panthers eventually made it just outside of the red zone on their first possession. But then, Holstein targeted Johnson for the third time of the possession and this pass attempt was worse than the first two incompletions. Holstein threw an interception in the back of the end zone while targeting Johnson.

Holstein’s mistake was costly for the Panthers, as Cincinnati senior running back Corey Kiner immediately ran 28 yards up the middle. Then redshirt sophomore quarterback Brendan Sorsby found senior wide receiver Jamoi Mayes on a go-route, giving Cincinnati the 7-0 lead with 7:47 left in the first quarter.

On the next Pitt drive, offensive coordinator Kade Bell tried to settle Holstein down with a few short passes and handoffs to Reid. A 48-yard drive later, fifth-year kicker Ben Sauls cashed a 47-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3. 

Sorsby added to the Bearcats’ lead as the Panthers’ defense had no answers for the Indiana transfer’s back-to-back 30-yard completions that put Cincinnati just outside the red zone. In the red zone, Sorsby had not one, but two receivers open in the end zone and made the most of this opportunity, giving Cincinnati a 14-3 lead.

Holstein then threw three straight incompletions with a Cincinnati defender dropping the third. Holstein ended the first quarter completing four of his 11 passes with 44 yards and an interception. 

Cincinnati started the second quarter executing a 14-play drive that only went 31 yards due to multiple penalties by the Bearcats. The Pitt defense had struggled to this point and needed these breaks, but the Bearcats still kicked a 49-yard field goal to increase their lead 17-3.

The Panthers struggled to answer. On the next possession, Holstein threw another pass that a Bearcats defender dropped and Pitt committed two penalties. 

The Bearcats then executed a 14-play drive and looked posed to score a third touchdown. But the Panthers turned the intensity up, prevented a touchdown and forced Cincinnati to miss a 25-yard field goal.

Bell’s fast-paced offense proved its worth for a 23-second drive where Holstein made multiple smart throws and put the Panthers into field goal range. With one second on the clock, Sauls kicked a career-long 53-yard field goal as time expired, which made the score 17-6 Cincinnati.

Mistakes haunted Pitt on its first drive of the second half. Holstein ran for a first down, but the Panthers earned their third holding penalty. Reid slipped for a loss on third down. Then in Bearcats territory, Pitt couldn’t convert on fourth down.

After a 10-play, 58-yard drive, Sorsby tossed his third touchdown of the game, increasing the Bearcat’s lead 24-6. The Bearcats led the time of possession by over 15 minutes up to this point.

A Pitt drive that included a few incompletions, a fumbled snap and a three-and-out did not feel any better after redshirt junior punter Caleb Junko had a 12-yard punt that gave the Bearcats great field position. 

Kiner made the Panthers pay as the Cincinnati native accounted for all the yards on the Bearcats drive. Kiner’s gains set up another field goal for junior kicker Carter Brown, who extended Cincinnati’s lead to 27-6 with 4:50 left in the third quarter.

Despite a 21-point deficit, the Panthers were comfortable running the ball. Reid exploded for 39 yards, but self-inflicted wounds hurt Pitt again as another holding penalty stifled the gain.

Holstein started to find success on the ground with consecutive scrambles for a first down. On a rare trip to Cincinnati’s red zone, Holstein threw another pass another pass that a Bearcats defender dropped. But a roughing the passer penalty moved the Panthers closer to their first trip to the end zone. 

It was that moment the Panthers woke up.

After the roughing penalty, Holstein found Mumpfield open to catch the Panthers’ first touchdown, cutting the deficit to 27-13 with 36 seconds left in the third quarter.

With some momentum, the Panthers forced three straight incompletions from Sorsby and forced Cincinnati to have its second punt of the game. The ground game continued to work for Pitt with Holstein’s scrambles and Reid’s explosiveness.

On fourth-and-three, Holstein saw Mumpfield open and delivered a strike to the receiver with 10:48 on the clock. But on the subsequent two-point conversion, the Panthers couldn’t convert. Pitt’s 13 unanswered points meant deja vu for Cincinnati as the Panthers’ offense started to get on a roll. 

Pitt’s defense returned to its hallmark of putting pressure on the quarterback and forced another Cincinnati punt. 

That meant bad news for the Bearcats.

Pinned on his six-yard line, Bell knew that getting the ball to Reid was the answer. Holstein found the Western Carolina transfer on a crossing route for a 56-yard touchdown. But another failed two-point conversion meant the Panthers needed another stop. If Pitt’s defense could get a stop, it could give Holstein’s offense a chance to get Sauls in field goal range.

The Bearcats knew Kiner needed the ball to beat the Panthers. But Pitt knew that too. Pitt’s defense, who only allowed 10 second-half points, made plays and forced another Cincinnati punt.

With 2:37 on the clock, the comeback felt inevitable. 

A few Holstein scrambles and Reid touches set up a 34-yard Mumpfield catch, putting the Panthers in position to give Sauls his shortest field goal attempt of the day. After hitting his career-long earlier in the game, a 35-yard field goal for Sauls to give the Panthers their first lead was not an issue.

Pitt showed resilience. Holstein showed that a rough first half would not hold him down, Reid showed he is one of the best players in the ACC and Pitt’s defense showed that a little life from the other side of the ball could energize it to hold a rival scoreless in the fourth quarter.

Next up for the Panthers is the Backyard Brawl in Acrisure Stadium. Pitt hosts West Virginia at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14. The game will be televised on ESPN and ESPN2.