Panthers lose to Navy on last-second field goal

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Pitt led the Navy Midshipmen for nearly all of the second half, except for a short one-point deficit and a late tie. As time expired, Nick Sloan split the uprights to give Navy a 24-21 victory over the Panthers. 

“Give Navy credit, in a 60-minute game they found a way to win,” Pitt head coach Paul Chryst said. “Obviously we did not make enough plays to win the game.”

Pitt carried a 13-7 lead into halftime, which could have been greater had Pitt’s first two early forays into Navy’s territory not resulted in field goal. The Panthers’ first drive of the game alsted 16 plays and 7:32, but went only 68 yards as Chris Blewitt kicked a 25-yard field goal when Navy halted Pitt in the red zone.

Pitt then fell behind in the second quarter when a pass from Keenan Reynolds was deflected and ended up in the hands of Marcus Thomas, who sprinted to the sideline and turned upfield to give Navy a 7-3 lead and Keenan Reynolds a 58-yard scoring toss. 

Pitt’s response was a 44-yard field goal by Blewitt on the next drive, before quarterback Tom Savage led Pitt on a nine play, 74-yard drive late in the half which culminated with a 12-yard pass to Devin Street in the end zone. 

Savage finished 20-for-27 from the backfield for 203 yards and one touchdown. Savage was sacked just once, but it came at an inopportune time when the Panthers were tied 21-21 with Navy in the fourth quarter.

On the first play of the drive that started with 3:52 to play in the game, Obi Uzoma sacked Savage for a loss of seven yards.

“We needed to come up with a big stop,” Uzoma said. “The sack was really due to the great, great coverage on the back end.”

That coverage also played to Navy’s favor when Pitt faced a third and six at its own 29. Savage was flushed from the pocket and rushed for no gain as he was forced to do multiple times Saturday.  

“It seemed like there were a couple of small instances that kept us from being successful,” Chryst said. “Whether it was a crossing route to Devin [Street] that we did not convert on a or the third-down conversion we missed at the end of the game when Tommy was being chased.”

Street was one of few positives for the Panthers, as he recorded nine receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Street’s second reception of the day moved him ahead of Latef Grim for the program’s all-time receptions record. 

For more from the game, check out the Running Diary.