Nick Patti Leads Pitt to Wild Sun Bowl Victory
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EL PASO -- The Pitt Panthers entered the 2022 Sun Bowl down nine starters and facing a No. 18 UCLA team at nearly full strength. The deck seemed stacked against the Panthers and that feeling only got stronger as the game wore on and the Bruins built a 14-point second-half lead.
But behind some help from the strong winds in El Paso, Texas and miscues from UCLA's outstanding offense, Pitt rallied from a late deficit. Even after surrendering their six-point lead with 35 seconds left, Nick Patti led the offense to a game-winning field goal and the Panthers emerged victorious in the postseason for the first time since 2019.
The Bruins won the toss and deferred, sending Nick Patti and the offense onto the field for the opening drive.
Things didn't start hot for the Panthers as they were called for a delay of game on the very first offensive play of the game. On 1st and 15 the following play, Patti found tight end Gavin Bartholomew for a one-yard loss. But things changed quickly when Patti tucked the ball on an option and took the ball across the first down and to the Bruin 40-yard line.
That success continued, as Pitt drove down to their own 4-yard line before being stopped. Behind Pattis' 25 passing yards and 43 rushing yards, the offense set up a 22-yard field goal by Ben Sauls to go up 3-0 over UCLA.
The Bruins' opening drive found their own success behind Dorian Thompson-Robinson connected on three passes for 71 yards, ending in an 11-yard touchdown completion to Logan Loya, moving the score to 7-3.
Pitt's second series was nearly a disaster. After looking at 4th and 1 from their own 31-yard line, Patti fumbled the snap on a quarterback sneak only for running back Rodney Hammond to scoop the ball and gain the first down.
Hammond didn't stop there, rushing for 20 yards two plays later. The drive stalled from there, but the Panthers didn't stop themselves from putting points on the board. Hitting his second kick of the day, Sauls nailed a 49-yard field goal to move Pitt closer, ending the first quarter down 7-6.
Thompson-Robinson continued to work the air against the Panthers, highlighted by a 49-yard completion to set up 1st and goal from the Pitt 4-yard line. Three plays later, a quarterback sneak gave the Bruins a 14-6 lead.
UCLA's dominance looked to continue as they drove into the red zone for a third-consecutive drive, only for the Panthers to find the ball with Tylar Wiltz coming up with an interception.
Patti found his own deep ball on the following drive, connecting with Bub Means for a 45-yard completion to spark their drive. After operating from UCLA's 39-yard line, the offense continued to drive eventually finding the endzone on a pass from Patti to Means again.
Patti then found Konata Mumpfield for a two-point conversation, tying the game, 14-14 with 3:49 left in the opening half.
The Bruins responded with an efficient scoring march right away. Thompson-Robinson hit Mokiao-Atimalta for another long pass - 28-yard right down the middle of the field for a touchdown to give UCLA the lead back at 21-14 with 57 seconds remaining in the half.
Trying to mount a response, Patti hurt his shoulder but only momentarily. After backup Nate Yarnell completed a 16-yard pass to Jared Wayne, Patti was right back in. It didn't matter much though, as the Panthers were forced to punt. They did eat up all the remaining clock and went to halftime down 21-14.
UCLA got the ball to start the second half and needed just four plays to move inside Pitt's 30 yard line. But Thompson-Robinson committed a second brutal turnover inside the redzone, giving Pitt the ball at their own 13 yard line. The Panthers gained just two yards with that possession but Caleb Junko was able to flip the field with an 85-yard punt for a touchback.
Thompson-Robinson and company took over with 10:49 to go in the third quarter and for the first time, Pitt forced a three-and-out and punt from the Bruins offense.
The Panther offense couldn't sustain the positive momentum their defense created. On the second play of their next drive, Patti lofted a screen pass that was disrupted by an unblocked blitzer. Jaylin Davis came up with the easy interception and took it 55 yards for a touchdown to put UCLA up 28-14 with 8:45 to play in the third quarter.
After the Bruins struck quickly, the Panthers moved methodically to respond. They drove 75 yards with 11 plays and took up 5:41 before scoring on a one-yard touchdown run from Hammond. Pitt ran for 39 yards to get within scoring range. They were aided by a generous pass interference call on Kamari Ramsey, who was tugging at Jared Wayne's jersey.
The defense forced yet another stop but the offense stalled again but Bangally Kamara gave Patti and company the ball right back, collecting Thompson-Robinson's third interception of the afternoon and returning it 12 yards to the UCLA 18 yard line. Pitt made sure not to squander that opportunity, scoring four plays later to knot the game at 28 with 12:44 to play.
The Panthers were gifted another short field by UCLA and the wind. The Bruin kick returner fumbled the ball after wind blew the kick short of the endzone. Solomon DeShields recovered the muffed kick and set up the Pitt offense at the UCLA 19 yard line. The Panthers could only manage a 31-yard field goal from Sauls but it was enough to give them the lead with 10:38 to play.
On the ensuing drive, UCLA pulled Thompson-Robinson, who suffered an injury, for backup Ethan Garbers. Backed up in a tough spot, UCLA had to run the ball three times for little gain and punted.
Pitt was set up well around midfield with the lead and less than eight minutes remaining. They could have put the game to bed early but Wayne dropped a wide-open touchdown pass put on the money from Patti. Still, on fourth and six, he found Mumpfield for a long catch and run to keep the offense on the field. The Panthers eventually stalled again but Sauls made his fourth field goal of the game to put his team up 34-28 with 4:24 to go.
With Thompson-Robinson still on the sideline, Garbers came back out for his second drive and after gaining a first down through the air, suffered a sack on third down and deflected pass on fourth down to give the ball back to the Pitt offense with 2:21 remaining.
Chip Kelly used all of his three remaining timeouts and his defense forced the Panthers into a fourth and one with 2:06 remaining. The offense stayed on the field instead of allowing the reliable Suals to attempt a short field goal. Patti and Hammond fumbled the handoff on fourth and one, giving UCLA the ball back inside of two minutes trailing by six.
A 54-yard run from T.J. Harden moved the Bruins into Pitt territory and Garbers got his unit to the Panther 36 yard line with a 12-yard pass. The Panthers, needing a stop backed up in their own territory, burned both their remaining timeout to avoid playing with just 10 men on the field. Barbers then hit Bobo for 14 yards to set up Harden's eight-yard touchdown run and Nick Barr-Mira made the key extra point to put UCLA up 35-34 with 35 seconds to play.
With their next possession, Patti needed just two completions to get the Panthers in field goal range and he scrambled to make it just a 47-yard kick and Sauls nailed it to put his team ahead 37-35 with four seconds left.
Garbers' Hail Mary fell well short of the endzone, into M.J. Devonshire's hands and Pitt walked away victorious.
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