Pitt loses its 10-point lead in the 4th quarter and drops the GameAbove Sports Bowl to Toledo in 6 OTs

After a series of injuries, transfers and an exit from co-captain and leading pass catcher Konata Mumpfield, Pitt turned to workhorse running back Desmond Reid and freshman quarterback Julian Dugger on Thursday to earn some respect in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.

Reid touched the football 39 times – 32 carries for 165 yards, five receptions for 15, an 11-yard punt return and a dropped pass – in Pitt’s 48-46 loss in six overtimes to Toledo (8-5). The loss extended Pitt’s season-ending losing streak to six straight.

The game required additional sessions as Pitt (7-6) lost a 30-20 lead in the fourth quarter, which included the second of two pick-6s by Toledo.

In the first overtime, Reid dropped a pass in the end zone, but Dugger scored from the 2 to give Pitt a 37-30 lead. Toledo quarterback Tucker Gleason jumped from the 1 into the end zone, sending the game into the second overtime.

Toledo’s Dylan Cunanan and Pitt’s Ben Sauls traded field goals in the second overtime, Counahan with 33 and Sauls with 19. Both teams scored on 2-yard conversion passes in the third overtime and runs in the fourth.

In the fifth extra session, Dugger hit tight end Gavin Bartholomew in the corner of the end zone, but Gleason found Newton to Jerjuan Newton to force another draw.

Finally, Gleason hit Junior Vandeross in the sixth OT before Dugger’s pass to Kenny Johnson failed incomplete in the end zone, ending the game.

Long before the dramatic finish, the game became Dugger’s introduction to college football – complete with just enough adversity to make the game interesting. Dugger, a Penn Hills graduate, never came off the bench during the regular season.

Trailing 20-12 at halftime, Narduzzi called for a two-quarterback offense – walkon David Lynch and Dugger shared snaps until Dugger finally took over – to break a 20-20 tie with 6 minutes, 55 seconds left in the third quarter to reach.

On the game-winning drive, Dugger scored four carries for 23 yards, converted a Pitts third-and-1 38 yards and completed two passes for 27 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown toss to tight end Jake Overman.

Then, after the 2-point conversion, Lynch came back into the game and hit tight end Gavin Bartholomew to tie the score.

Pitt took a 23-20 lead just 3:32 later when safety PJ O’Brien recovered a fumble at the Panthers’ 44-yard line. With Dugger still in the game, Pitt was unable to capitalize on the loss of possession beyond Ben Sauls’ 37-yard field goal.

However, the defense stepped up before the end of the quarter when safety Cruce Brookins, a redshirt freshman from Steel Valley, intercepted a pass and returned it 26 yards to the Toledo 34. This time Pitt crossed the goal line. Dugger hit Poppi Williams with a 16-yard touchdown pass for a 30-20 lead.

In addition to leading Pitt to 18 unanswered points, Dugger finished the game with 88 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown, as well as seven completions on 13 attempts for 72 yards, two scores and an interception in the fourth quarter. That turnover was returned 58 yards for a touchdown by defensive tackle Darius Alexander, cutting Pitt’s lead to 30-27 with 7:49 left in the fourth quarter. Dylan Cunahan’s 51-yard field goal with 1:45 left tied the game at 30-30.

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After Reid ran for 30 yards on five straight plays and Lynch completed three of three passes for another 35 to the Toledo 14, Pitt first used Dugger, who ran twice up the middle for 11 yards, to set up Reid’s 3-yard scoring run .

Pitt extended its lead to 12-6 with 11 minutes and 12 seconds left in the half when Auls hit a 57-yard field goal, the 50th of his career and 1 yard shy of the school record he set with Alex Kessman shares.

The lead didn’t last long, however, as Toledo scored 14 points in 14 seconds to take a 20-12 lead.

First, quarterback Tucker Gleason and wide receiver Junior Vandeross managed a catch-and-run touchdown of 67 yards with 7:38 minutes left in the first half. On Pitt’s next snap, Lynch was intercepted by safety Braden Awls, who sprinted 40 yards to the end zone.

The game began with a series of splash plays — two by Toledo and one by Pitt — that gave the Rockets a 6-2 lead.

Toledo running back Jacquez Stuart ran 31 yards on the first snap of the game. After Pitt cost Toledo its life when cornerback Tamon Lynum was called for pass interference on third down, Gleason hit Vandeross for another 31 yards to the Pitt 2.

The Panthers’ defense held until fourth down, when Gleason turned it 2 yards to tight end Anthony Torres for a touchdown.

Pitt linebacker Kyle Louis blocked the extra point kick, took the football and ran 85 yards for the 2-point conversion. The play was Pitt’s first defensive 2-point conversion in 34 years, since Doug Hetzler returned a blocked PAT against Syracuse in 1990.