Panthers, Pickett defeat Clemson 27-17

This story will be updated.
The Panthers welcomed the Clemson Tigers to Heinz Field for the teams’ fifth all-time matchup. In what was anticipated to be the Panthers’ biggest game of the year, the Panthers took down the Clemson Tigers 27-17.

Similar to many of the Panthers’ prior games, the Panthers and Tigers traded three-and-outs, neither offense showing much prowess on the first couple of drives. The Panther Pitt made their presence known early. On a crucial third-and-three play, the Panther defense needed some help and got it from the fans.

The Panther Pitt rained down cheers onto the Tiger offense, making it tough to communicate, and a Clemson offensive lineman jumped early to back his team up a couple of yards. Pitt forced an incompletion on the next play, and the Tigers punted.

The total attendance for the game was a season-high 60,594, according to Pitt Athletics.

Redshirt senior quarterback Kenny Pickett and the offense marched out for another opportunity but failed to make much progress down the field. The offensive line held up well for much of the first half, granting Pickett the time to make multiple reads. But the Clemson secondary refused to fold.

The Panther secondary had their share of flashy plays, though. Deep inside Panther territory, sophomore quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei lofted a fade to the right side of the field. Senior defensive back Damarri Mathis ran with his receiver, high-pointed the football and brought it down for an interception.

After a couple of defensive stops for both sides, the Tigers and Uiagalelei started to hit its stride. Clemson embarked on an eight play, 80-yard scoring drive, which they capped off with a one-yard touchdown rush to get on the board first.

It took Pitt a couple of more drives on offense to work out the kinks, but on its second to last drive of the half, Pickett and sophomore receiver Jordan Addison put on a show. The offense was backed up, faced with a third-and-seven, Pickett stood in the pocket and found Addison down the sideline for a 29-yard gain.

Just a few plays later, on third-down again, Pickett rolled out to his right and dropped a pass over Addison’s shoulder, who hauled it in for a touchdown in the corner of the endzone.

With the touchdown completion, Pickett completed his 868th career pass, usurping former quarterback Alex Van Pelt as the program’s all-time leader in pass completions, who held the record with 867 since 1982.

The Panther defense picked up a quick stop on the ensuing possession, giving Pickett the opportunity to take the lead — and he did just that. Pickett took the Panthers 76 yards in just over two minutes. 

The Clemson defense had the Panthers backed up, forcing a fourth-down on the drive but head coach Pat Narduzzi opted to leave the offense on the field and go for the first-down. Pickett rolled out to his right and it seemed senior receiver Taysir Mack got lost in the shuffle and broke free for a wide open 39-yard touchdown grab to put the Panthers in the lead.

Pitt took a 14-7 lead into the break, with Pickett slinging the ball for 218 yards and two touchdowns against the ACC’s No. 1 defense. The Panther offense outpaced the Tigers 267 to 189 in the half. Junior safety Erick Hallett II had an attention grabbing first half with five total tackles and a pass break-up.

Clemson started the second half with the ball, but it wouldn’t be the Tigers who scored on the drive. Uiagalelei dropped back, stepped to his right and shoveled the ball forward directly into Pitt junior linebacker SirVocea Dennis’ hands. Dennis proceeded to stiff arm the quarterback and run it 50-yards for a Panther touchdown, putting Pitt up 21-7.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney decided he had seen enough of Uigalelei after the interception and sent out sophomore quarterback Taisun Phommachanh for the next drive. But even with the change at quarterback, the Tigers couldn’t figure out the Panther defense, only scoring 10 points in the second half.

Sophomore running back Israel Abanikanda had 56-yards on the ground and another 20 through the air and looked to be getting in a rhythm. But after taking a shot to the helmet, Abanikanda went to the locker room. In came first-year running back Rodney Hammond.

Narduzzi, in need of a couple big runs to chew the clock, got them from Hammond. The first-year racked up 48-yards on just five carries to eat up a good chunk of the clock.

Swinney’s move to Phommachanh didn’t pay off and he went back to Uiagalelei midway through the fourth quarter. Penalties plagued the Panthers in the second half — especially on the Tigers’ touchdown drive. A few holding and pass interference calls aided the Tigers in making their way deep into Panther territory. Uiagalelei finished the drive with a five-yard touchdown rush. Pitt had nine penalties totaling 87 yards in the game.

But Clemson and Uiagalelei ran out of time. Pickett picked up two third-downs on the drive — both on the ground. Pickett stood up and emphatically pumped his fist, knowing this one was all over.

The Panther sideline looked to the Panther Pitt and waved their arms in the air. The student section followed suit and rained down “let’s go Pitt” chants as the clock hit double zeros.

Pickett finished with 302-yards in the air and two touchdowns on top of his 15 yards on the ground.

The post Panthers, Pickett defeat Clemson 27-17 appeared first on The Pitt News.

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