Pitt Football survives OT scare from Youngstown State
Youngstown State and head coach Bo Pelini took Pitt football to the wire in a Week 1 thriller. The Panthers won 28-21.
Power Five programs typically schedule one of two kinds of Week 1 games. Some opt for a challenge, scheduling a blue blood school or a big name. They might not win, but they’ll have plenty of film to digest heading into conference play. Other opt for lower tiered schools and as a sort of tune up game before the real competition starts.
The Pittsburgh Panthers picked the latter and were nearly saddled with the worst loss of the weekend. Youngstown State was a 13 point underdog against a team coming off an 8-5 season and had wins against Penn State and the eventual national champion Clemson.
This was not the first time the Bo Pelini-led Youngstown State Penguins had a Power Five team on the ropes. Back in Pelini’s first season with the program in 2015, the Penguins went neck and neck against Pittsburgh, losing to the Panthers 45-37 after failing to tie up the game late.
This year, the game ran a different course as the Panthers jumped out early to a 21-0 lead. That removed any indications that this would be another close contest between the two teams. Just over 40 minutes into the game, the Penguins got their first score. Tevin McCaster plunged into the endzone on a one-yard run to cut the lead to 14 heading into the fourth quarter.
Youngstown State was able to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard in the second half. They added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, powered by quarterback Hunter Wells, who threw for 311 yards and two scores.
The Panthers had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but Alex Kessman missed a 38-yard field goal wide right.
Youngstown State crumbles in overtime
Pittsburgh got on the board first in overtime on a 11-yard touchdown catch from Jester Weah. The Penguins were able to get inside the Panthers’ 15-yard line on their possession in the extra session, but Wells was picked off in the end zone, securing the victory for the Panthers
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Since taking over, Pelini has come close to having his team knock off an FBS team. In 2016, the Penguins were tied at 14 against West Virginia before falling 38-21 to the Mountaineers. Pelini is 17-11 so far as the lead man of the Penguins, with three of those losses coming against FBS teams. He also led the team to a FCS national runner-up finish last season after falling to James Madison in the national championship.
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Pittsburgh will need to figure some stuff out and make adjustments heading into next week’s matchup in Happy Valley against the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions. Youngstown State will face FCS opponents from here on out.