Pitt Football Loses Grasp Of 10-Point Lead, Falls To Iowa At Heinz Field

The Pitt Panthers returned to Heinz Field on Saturday with a perfect 3-0 record, for an ACC-Big Ten matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes, who lost to rival Iowa State last week.

The young Pitt offense, led by a trio of sophomores, squared off against a top-10 rush defense. Iowa had not given up a rushing touchdown, until the Panthers scored two in the first half to take a 17-7 lead into the break.

Sophomore running back James Conner finished the game with 155 yards and a touchdown, though he was held in check during the second half. Sophomore wide receiver Tyler Boyd finished the game with 10 receptions for 153 yards.

Pitt could not hold onto their 10-point lead and did not capitalize on some scoring drives. After a halftime quarterback switch, Iowa took control in the fourth quarter with a torturous 13-play, 52-yard drive that ate up nearly eight minutes and was capped off by a 1-yard rushing touchdown, resulting in a 24-20 Iowa victory.

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Pitt quarterback Chad Voytik, making his fourth career start, passed for a career-high 250 yards on 19 of 29 completions, but Pitt simply ran out of time on their last possession.

Pitt started the game on defense, and junior cornerback Lafayette Pitts intercepted a Jake Rudock deep pass that caromed off of a wide receiver. On Pitt’s second drive, true freshman running back Chris James dashed into the end zone from 14 yards to give Pitt a 7-0 lead.

Iowa countered, converting a fourth and 2 with a wide open 13-yard touchdown pass to Henry Krieger Coble to make it 7-7 in the first quarter. The Panthers then methodically drove down the field, primarily by Conner and wide receiver Tyler Boyd, converting two fourth and 1 opportunities.

Conner capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give Pitt a 14-7 advantage. The drive was 18 plays for 75 yards and took 9:42 off the clock.

Sep 20, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers running back James Conner (24) carries the ball against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Hawkeyes won 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Iowa was then forced to punt, and Voytik completed several passes to put the Panthers in position for a 33-yard field goal by Chris Blewitt. Pitt went into the half feeling pretty confident with a 17-7 lead.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz decided to make a quarterback change, switching from Jake Rudock to C.J. Beathard. On Pitt’s first possession of the second half, the Panthers drove to Iowa’s 36-yard line, but were forced to punt. This possession proved costly, as the Panthers could not put points on the board.

Following a punt, Beathard connected with Damon Powell for 62 yards deep into Pitt territory. Mark Weisman blasted into the end zone from 10 yards out to give Iowa momentum and a 17-14 deficit. Pitt’s next drive stalled on the 11-yard line of Iowa, resulting in a 29-yard field goal by Blewitt.

The Hawkeyes then responded, as Marshall Koehn nailed a 52-yard field goal to make it 20-17 Pitt. A costly holding penalty on Pitt led to a quick three-and-out by the Panthers, and great starting field position for Iowa’s next drive.

Iowa then orchestrated a 13-play drive, with two converted fourth downs and a 1-yard touchdown by Weisman, giving the Hawkeyes a 24-20 lead. The Panthers then drove down to the Iowa 29-yard line, but Conner and Boyd were shut down and Pitt turned the ball over on downs.

The Panthers would get the ball back with 25 seconds left, and Voytik connected with Boyd for two first downs to the Iowa 49-yard line. Voytik then threw an interception to end the game.

It was a heartbreaking loss by the Panthers, who outgained Iowa 435-311 in total yards and had 24 first downs to 17 by Iowa. The Panthers just couldn’t capitalize on enough drives, whereas Iowa did. Though I predicted the Panthers to lose this game, it was a very frustrating game to watch Pitt lose its grasp on a 10-point lead.

Chalk this game up as a valuable learning experience for a young Panthers squad. The Panthers committed eight penalties for 80 yards compared to only two penalties for Iowa. Pitt’s secondary needs some work, as Iowa exposed some of the young cornerbacks.

Though any loss is tough to accept, this will not hurt Pitt’s chances of winning the ACC.

BOX SCORE

Pitt will host Akron next Saturday, whereas Iowa will travel to Purdue.