South Bend Slam: Pitt takes down Irish

SOUTH BEND, Ind. ‘- In a game that included deflected receptions, a blocked punt, an injury… SOUTH BEND, Ind. ‘- In a game that included deflected receptions, a blocked punt, an injury before the huddle broke and even an unexpected appearance by the field sprinklers, the Pitt football team relied on two of its most dependable players on Saturday against Notre Dame. LeSean McCoy and Conor Lee came through when it counted. McCoy carried the ball 32 times for 169 yards and a touchdown, while Lee kicked a school-record five field goals, including four in overtime periods, to inch the Panthers past the Fighting Irish, 36-33, in four overtimes at Notre Dame Stadium. Pitt (6-2) overcame a 17-3 halftime deficit and matched Notre Dame field goal for field goal in the overtimes until Fighting Irish kicker Brandon Walker flinched. Walker connected on a 48-yard field goal to bring the score to 33-33 in the third overtime, but he missed wide left on a 38-yarder on the next drive to give Pitt a shot at the victory. Two plays later, McCoy broke outside for an 18-yard gain, then rushed once right to set up Lee’s game-winner from only 22 yards away. ‘I didn’t really know what to do,’ said Lee about the game-winning kick. ‘It was awesome. It was so good for our team to get this kind of win.’ The contest lasted for more than four hours and was the longest in either team’s history. ‘I really can’t describe the heart that our football team has,’ said Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt. ‘They never really came unglued with as many adverse things that happened in this game. Nobody ever folded.’ Sophomore quarterback Pat Bostick, filling in for the injured Bill Stull, tossed three interceptions, but his 10-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Baldwin on fourth down with 2:22 remaining in the game tied the score at 24 and sent the game to overtime. Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns, and freshman receiver Michael Floyd caught 10 passes for 100 yards and two scores for the Fighting Irish (5-3). Pitt’s victory came one week after Stull’s concussion and neck injury during the Panthers’ 54-34 defeat to Rutgers, and the game gives the Panthers bowl-eligibility for the second time in four years under Wannstedt. ‘Legends are made in games like this,’ said Wannstedt. ‘The great thing about this win [is that] the entire team will be recognized and remembered for this for the next 25 years.’ Bostick was 14-of-27 passing for 164 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions, and he was replaced for two drives early in the game by redshirt sophomore Kevan Smith, who saw his first action of the season. But Bostick drove Pitt down the field continuously in the second half to give it a chance, with McCoy leading the attack. McCoy’s 169 yards gives him 1,004 for the season, making him the third running back in Pitt’s history to run for over 1,000 yards in two seasons for his career. He joined Tony Dorsett and Curvin Richards. The teams were tied, 3-3, until Notre Dame scored two touchdowns in the last 1:27 of the second quarter. Floyd caught both scores from Clausen, the second coming with only four seconds remaining in the half. That drive materialized after one of Bostick’s interceptions, making the score 17-3. Pitt drove right down the field to start the second half and finished the drive with a 4-yard plunge by LaRod Stephens-Howling. Pitt’s defense held strong in the third quarter, limiting Notre Dame to only seven net yards on 10 plays and without a score. McCoy tied the score at 17 early in the fourth quarter with a one-yard dive after a 15-play, 70-yard drive that lasted for more than eight minutes. But Clausen finally found some time and receivers on Notre Dame’s next drive, leading the team on a 12-play scoring drive. He found Golden Tate, who had 111 receiving yards on the day, for a six-yard score with only 5:38 remaining in the game. Baldwin’s catch tied the score on the next drive after the Pitt coaches called the same play three times in a row. Bostick misfired on the first two but found Baldwin on the fourth-down attempt. ‘[It seemed like it took] about 10 times,’ said Wannstedt, regarding the three-play sequence. ‘It was about the extent of our passing game.’ Each squad had opportunities to win the game with a touchdown in overtime, but the defenses emerged, forcing only field goals. Early in the first overtime, a set of sprinklers went off on one side of the field, delaying play for a few minutes.