UCF Football: 3 takeaways from disappointing loss to Pitt in Week 4

Pittsburgh took as well as they gave coming away with a 35-34 against UCF football at home this afternoon. What’d we learn?

This was a game of streaks. The Pitt Panthers jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter and looked as if they were ready to run and hide and win this game going away. Then a costly fumble on a drive by Pitt gave UCF the opening it needed.

The Knights then proceeded to score 24 unanswered points. Pitt controlled the game for almost a half, but just watching it seemed as if the Panthers were giving everything, and the Knights were on cruise control. When they came out in the second half, the Knights didn’t seem worried or frayed, rather, they seemed up for the challenge. They came out and scored three touchdowns in the third quarter taking a 31-28 lead into the final frame.

By the fourth quarter, the Panthers were out of gas. They looked tired even on offense; the Panthers were sucking wind, but they didn’t quit. Pitt still found a way to get after UCF freshman quarterback Dylan Gabriel. That was the difference in this game.

The Knights couldn’t get to Panthers’ quarterback Ryan Pickett, and the Panthers harassed Gabriel for four quarters. In the fourth quarter the Panthers found a way to score a game winning touchdown. Game of the weekend — maybe.

What’d we learn from the UCF loss?