Pittsburgh 27, UB 16: McCoy’s three touchdowns help Panthers come away with victory
Upset hopes get flagged
Bulls’ penalties hinder chances
PITTSBURGH — The University at Buffalo wanted to continue to establish itself as an up-and-coming program Saturday night against Pittsburgh and prove that last season’s success was not fleeting. Those hopes lasted until the fourth quarter.
UB (1-1) entered the fourth quarter trailing Pitt by a point, but an inability to stop the Panthers on third down and penalties against the Bulls helped Pitt (1-1) secure a 27-16 victory in front of 42,494 at Heinz Field.
The Panthers were 8 of 13 on third down, which helped milk the clock and continue long drives. The Bulls also suffered through numerous penalties including a questionable 15- yard personal foul that led to the Panthers’ first touchdown. UB coach Turner Gill seemed particularly irritated by the penalties in which the Bulls were hit six times for 60 yards.
“The penalties are things that we can control,” Gill said. “They are going to make some plays, that’s going to happen in football. Penalties are things we can control and that’s what we have to get corrected to give us a better chance to finish the job off.”
While UB was left to review what will be a disappointing game film, it seemed to prove a point that there isn’t a significant gap between itself and a respectable opponent from the Big East that at one time was considered one of the top 25 teams in the country. They entered the fourth quarter trailing, 17-16.
“I didn’t see any difference, they are good players, we’re good players,” said Drew Willy, who completed 21 of 34 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown. But his streak of pass attempts without an interception ended at 283 late in the fourth quarter. “They might have made a few more plays than us but I’ll play them any day of the week with this team.”
Said tailback James Starks (Niagara Falls), who finished with a game-high 99 yards rushing: “You can’t give a Big East team like Pittsburgh that many opportunities because they’re going to beat you.”
Since 1999 the Bulls have played BCS programs 23 times and suffered 22 losses (the exception being Rutgers in 2002). This is the eighth time UB has played a BCS opponent under Gill and the Bulls are 0-8. The closest UB came to knocking off a BCS opponent under Gill was last season’s 20-12 loss at Syracuse. But moral victories are not good enough anymore at Buffalo.
“We wanted to come out with a win,” Gill said. “Playing close, competing are somewhat fine but we’re trying to get past that. We’re trying to move this program forward and come up with more ‘W’s. The biggest thing is learning from this and maybe next time we’ll finish the job.”
Pitt opened the second half by driving 63 yards and ending with a 1- yard touchdown run by LeSean Mc- Coy, but UB answered when Willy fooled the Pitt secondary with two pump fakes and hit a wide-open Brett Hamlin for a 39-yard touchdown to cut the Panthers’ lead to 17-16.
The Bulls’ defense also had trouble containing McCoy, who scored three touchdowns and finished with 93 yards rushing. McCoy scored on a 2- yard TD run with 10:21 left in the game to make it 24-16.
UB had fourth down on the Pitt 44 on its ensuing possession when Willy completed a pass to receiver Ernest Jackson but the Bulls were called for an illegal shift on the play and instead of a first down, they were forced to punt. Pitt’s Conor Lee tacked on a 42- yard field goal, and UB’s dreams of an upset over a BCS opponent were extinguished.
For Pitt, it was a huge sigh of relief. The Panthers toppled from the national rankings after a surprising loss to Bowling Green last week at home. That, and the fact that UB easily handled UTEP in the season opener, boosted the Bulls’ confidence coming into this game.
“We did what we had to do to win the game and our younger players got a lot of experience,” said Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt, who came under fire after the Bowling Green loss. “Hopefully, it instills what it takes to win a football game.”
A win over Pitt would have looked nice on the resume but next week’s game against Temple has more meaning because it’s a Mid-American Conference matchup. And the Owls, who lost a 12-9 overtime heartbreaker against Connecticut on Saturday, are as improved as the Bulls.
