Pitt v. Navy Running Diary

By Nate Barnes & Ryan Bertonaschi

4:22 FINAL NAVY 24, PITT 21. Nick Sloan nails a 30-yard field goal as time expires to win the game, bringing the series history to 22-14-3 in favor of Pitt.

4:00 TOUCHDOWN NAVY PITT 21 NAVY 21. On a drive highlighted by a 31 yard run by Reynolds, Navy scores on 2 yard run by Reynolds. Sloan PAT GOOD. 10 plays, 71 yards, 4:15 off the clock. 

3:50 TOUCHDOWN PITT PITT 21, NAVY 14. Tom Savage connects on a 3 yd post pass to Tyler Boyd. On a 2-point conversion attempt, Savage sneaks a pass to Street in the left side of the north end zone (first 2-point conversion since Mike Shanahan caught a pass from Tino Sunseri against Maine in 2011). 11 plays, 75 yards, 6:21 off clock.

3:35 TOUCHDOWN NAVY 9 yard run by fullback Quinton Singleton on his first carry of the game. 16 plays, 91 yards, 8:15 off the clock. PAT by Nick Sloan GOOD. Navy 14, Pitt 13.

3:28 END OF THIRD QUARTER. PITT 13, NAVY 7 Navy’s offense is in the midst of a surging drive consisting of many short gains. It will face a third and two at Pitt’s 12 yard line. 

3:16 Malcolm Crockett forces Navy return man Shawn Lynch to fumble on Matt Yoklic’s 43 yard punt, recovered by Navy’s Kwazel Bertrand on the 9 yard line.

3:09 Bryan Murphy sacks Reynolds on third down, forcing a fourth and 17 on Navy’s 12. 36 yard punt for Beltran goes to Navy 49 where Pitt will look to take advantage of its good field position.

3:02 Pitt unable to advance the sticks. Navy will start its second drive of the half at its own 19 after a 41 yard punt by Yoklic.

2:59 Beltran’s 35 yard punt lands on Pitt’s 34 yard line. Tom Savage steps in under center after Navy goes three-and-out.

2:35: HALFTIME. PITT 13, Navy 7. Savage dives ahead twice to run off the final 16 seconds of the half and the Panthers take a six-point lead to the locker room. 

2:33: Navy drove into Pitt’s territory, but Reynolds is intercepted at the one-yard line by K’Waun Williams. 

2:21: TOUCHDOWN PITT. Tom Savage caps a 75-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Devin Street, his fourth touchdown of the season. Pitt re-takes the lead with under two minutes to play in the half. 

PITT 13, Navy 7.

2:09: Navy gets a first down, but Pitt prevents another and takes over after a punt. Weatherspoon downs it at the Pitt 26, 6:54 left in the second as the Panthers trail 7-6.

2:01: FIELD GOAL PITT. The Panthers moved the ball into Navy territory, but the drive stalled at the 27. Pitt settled for another field goal, Blewitt connected from 44 yards out. 

Navy 7, PITT 6. 9:23 left in the second quarter.

1:51: TOUCHDOWN NAVY. Keenan Reynolds dropped back to pass for the first time today, and eluded Aaron Donald. Threw downfield, pass was botched by intended receiver by Marcus Thomas caught the ball after the tip and took it to the house for a 58-yard reception. 

Navy 7, PITT 3. 13:07 left in the half. 

1:49: Pitt gets into Navy territory, but James Conner fumbles on a third and one rushing attempt. Review confirms the call, Navy takes over at its own 42. Don Pearson recovered the fumble forced by Travis Bridges. 

1:42: END OF FIRST QUARTER. Pitt forces Navy into a second consecutive three-and-out, and takes over its own 34. Rush by Conner went for a one-yard loss, Panthers have second and 11 at their 33 when play resumes.

PITT 3, Navy 0 

1:35: Pitt gets backed up to first and 20 after a penalty and falls four yards short of a first down. Matt Yoklic’s punt goes 37 yards and ends at the Navy 25. Pitt still leads 3-0 with 2:15 to play in the first period. 

1:29: Devin Street now holds the program’s all-time reception record with reception no. 179. Savage found Street for seven yards on the left sideline. 

1:25: Navy attempts three runs to the right side and ends up with negative-two yards of offense. Punt is down at the Pitt 18 after Panthers force the Midshipmen into a three-and-out on their first drive. Only the 11th three-and-out suffered by Navy out of 64 drives, fourth-best in the country according to Navy’s information department.

1:17: FIELD GOAL PITT. The Panthers embarked on a 16-play drive that lasted 7:32, but couldn’t get in the end zone. Pitt ran 12 times for 55 of the drive’s 68 yards. On third and four, Savage’s pass went through the hands of Garner on a slant route to set up a 25-yard field goal for the Panthers. 

PITT 3, Navy 0.

1:14: James Conner returns to the backfield, rushes four times to take Pitt to the Navy 13 on first down.

1:11: Devin Street ties Latef Grim’s all-time reception record. Savage found Street for eight yards on second down and Street has 178 career receptions. Isaac Bennett followed with a five-yard dash to give Pitt a first down at the Navy 36.

1:05: Pitt drive starts at the Navy 25 as Lafayette Pitts downs Nick Sloan’s kick in the end zone. 

1:00: Navy wins the toss, defers, and Pitt will receive.

12:56: Under 10 minutes to kick-off, and we are live from Jack Stephens Field in Annapolis, Md. Follow here and on Twitter for in-game news and notes. You can find Nate on Twitter at @NateBarnes_TPN and Ryan at @TraffordsGift.

In case you missed it, here is the preview of the game from yesterday’s paper to prime for today’s game.