University of Pittsburgh 33 University of Cincinnati 15 (September 8, 2006)
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0 commentsCincinnati opened the game with a three-and-out. Pitt returner, Darelle Revis misplayed the punt, allowing it to bounce off his hands and roll backward before recovering the ball. Pitt’s offense did not have much more success. With only one first down on the drive, Punter Adam Graessle kicked the ball away.
Starting from their own 28, Cincy charged deep into Pitt territory on six plays, highlighted by a Bradley Glatthaar twenty-yard rush. On 2nd and 11 at the Pitt 34-yard line, the ref charged Cincinnati with a 10 yard holding penalty. The next two plays were a sack for a loss of one and a completion to Bill Poland for twenty yards. Cincinatti set up for the field goal on 4th and 2. Brian Steel, the punter and holder, received the snap, then attempted to run for the first down. Revis flew around the outside, catching Steel before he made it back to the line of scrimmage. Cincinnati cost themselves three points.
Pitt was able to mount only a pathetic 3 play, negative 6 yard drive from their own 26. Graessle crushed a 50-yard punt to send the Bearcats back into their own territory. This was looking to be a game of field position early on.
Cincinnati did not make it passed the Pitt 47 before punting the ball away again. On the final three plays of the first quarter, Pitt gained 26 yards. Following a no-gain by Brooks, QB Palko hit WR Marcel Pestano for five yards. Then, Palko scrambled on third down. As Palko crossed the first down line headfirst, LB Anthony Williams hit the quarterback high, forcing the ball out. Palko laid on the field, watching helplessly as DE Trevor Anderson picked up the loose ball.
While Cincinnati’s offense was unable to make anything of the turnover, the punter pinned Pitt down on the two-yard line. Pittsburgh could not advance the ball out of their own twenty, largely due to an ineffective running game. They were feeling the loss of Stephens-Howling.
Luckily for Pitt, Bearcat QB Dustin Grutza led another three-and-out drive. On Pitt’s drive, Palko finally broke through with a long gain. He connected with his favorite target, Derek Kinder, for a 37 yard gain. Unsurprisingly, the drive still ended in a punt.
The next drive held the critical play of the half. The Bearcats started backed up on the 11-yard line. Grutza completed a ten yard pass to give the offense some breathing room. On 2nd down, Cornerback Kennard Cox made a diving pickoff of a screen pass. Two plays after the turnover, Palko threw a playaction pass to Oderick Turner in the right of the endzone. Finally, someone made it on the scoreboard. Pitt entered the locker room at half leading 7-0.
It took Pitt until the first play off the second half to double their lead. Palko got rid of the ball while being pursued by two defenders, throwing to Kinder. Kinder caught the ball at the line of scrimmage. He ran up the left sideline, breaking a tackle and tiptoeing along the line, but never going out. Around the 45-yard line, he sprinted across the field, scoring on the right side of the endzone for an 80-yard gain.
Cincinatti changed QBs to Nick Davila to start the second half. This failed to ignite the offense. They went three-and-out.
Palko completed another long pass in their follow-up drive, this time to Pestano for 32 yards, but again punted. Graessle pinned Cincy behind their ten. A Greg Moore rush moved them back to their own six. Then, Pitt collapsed on Davila in the endzone. Davila threw the ball to an illegal receiver and was flagged for intentional grounding, which resulted in a safety and a 16-0 Pitt lead.
Following the safety kick, Palko struck again on the first play of a drive. Kinder beat his man down the left sideline for a 55-yard TD reception.
With 7:28 left and a 26 point deficit, Cincinnati appeared finished. The beginning of their drive seemed to enforce this. They gained only twenty yards on seven plays. This led to yet another punt. Revis again botched the punt, as the ball slipped right through his hands. DeAngelo Smith picked up the ball for the equivalent of a forty-one yard gain and a trip to the redzone. Davila started the drive at quarterback, but Grutza came back in to finish the drive after the punt. Grutza immediately made his presence known with a one-yard run, a ten-yard pass, and a five-yard run to the Pitt 1. Glatthaar finished off the scoring drive with a one-yard TD.
Pitt responded with a three-and-out. Cincinnati entered the 4th quarter with the ball and a 23-7 deficit. They punted the ball back to the Panthers on their first drive. Revis successfully fair caught the ball. Pitt opened with three straight runs to Brooks for 32 yards. Two consecutive rushes for negative yards ended the drive.
Trying to mount a comeback, RB Greg Moore fumbled the first play of the drive. Pitt linebacker H.B. Blades recovered.
Pittsburgh started the drive two yards from the redzone. Again, they rode Brooks to begin. They stalled on the eight-yard line. Conor Lee kicked a 30-yard field goal.
Grutza started off his drive with seven straight completions. Then, he threw two incomplete passes, forcing a fourth down. Grutza connected with Dominick Goodman for the first. Two plays later, he found a wide-open Bill Poland in the endzone for the two-point conversion.
Pitt just needed to run out time. Unfortunately, Brooks fumbled the ball back to Cincinnati. John Bowie returned the fumbled ball 26 yards to the Pitt 29. Grutza pushed the ball down to the nine-yard line, but the 3rd down play left them one yard short of the first down. On fourth down, the Bearcats elected to go for it instead of taking the field goal, trailing by eleven. Grutza tried to sneak the ball over the middle, but came up short. Cincinnati challenged the play. The replay was not conclusive, as it is near impossible to spot the ball’s position in a pile-up. Pitt took over.
Brooks ran the clock down to under ten seconds on four rushes and one by Collins. Graessle punted the ball back to Cincy with 4 seconds left. Revis jumped the first pass, taking it back 58 yards for a defensive touchdown. Pitt prevailed over their Ohio rivals 33-15.
Date
September 8, 2006
