Pittsburgh football has a 7-0 record at the beginning of the season.
With five straight defeats to SMU, Virginia, Clemson, Louisville, and Boston College to close off the regular season, everything fell apart.
Eli Holstein, the starting quarterback for the Panthers (7-5) in Thursday’s GameAbove Sports Bowl versus Toledo football at Ford Field in Detroit, will not play because he sustained a lower leg injury in the penultimate game of the regular season.
Although Holstein isn’t healthy enough to participate in the GameAbove Sports Bowl, he became the first Pitt quarterback to win his first seven career starts since Dan Marino in 1979–80.
Pitt now has redshirt freshman walk-on David Lynch as the starter quarterback and true freshman Julian Dugger as the backup after backup quarterback Nate Yarnell and fellow quarterback Ty Dieffenbach both logged into the transfer portal.
Pat Narduzzi, who was Michigan State’s football defensive coordinator from 2007 to 2014, is Pitt’s coach. Since December 2014, he has served as the Panthers’ head coach.
Jason Candle has been the head coach at Toledo since December 2015, however he has been with the program since 2009. Under Candle’s leadership, the Rockets (7-5) have won more games than any other club in the Mid-American Conference.
Overtime: Pitt scores a touchdown on the first drive to grab a 37–30 lead.
Julian Dugger, the quarterback for Pitt, maintained the ball and raced up the middle for a rushing score that was two yards long. It was his third touchdown overall and his first rushing touchdown. The Panthers scored the first drive of overtime to take a 37-30 lead.
End of Regulation: In the GameAbove Sports Bowl, Pitt and Toledo were tied 30-30 going into overtime.
Toledo and Pitt are deadlocked, 30-30.
In overtime, the Panthers get the ball first.
At Ford Field, this is the first overtime game in bowl history.
1:45, 4Q: Dylan Cunanan of Toledo makes a 51-yard field goal; the Rockets level the score at 30-30 After a 10-play, 47-yard drive that lasted two minutes and 54 seconds, the Rockets’ longest drive of the game. With 1:45 left in the fourth quarter, Toledo kicker Dylan Cunanan completed the drive with a 51-yard field goal. Pitt has plenty of time to react with a field goal of its own, but the field goal ties the game at 30 points each.
Toledo maintains hope with a fourth-down completion at 2:51, 4Q; the Rockets are still behind 30-27.
With fewer than three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Toledo quarterback Tucker Gleason delivered a crucial 27-yard pass to wide receiver Junior Vandeross III, who then ran it to the Pitt 33-yard line for a first down. A score for the Rockets could win the game, but a field goal will tie it. Pitt’s defense is going to be put to the test in the last two or more minutes.
Toledo leads Pitt 6-2 at the end of the first quarter.
The Panthers offense has the ball at Toledo’s 3-yard line, so Pitt should score soon. Pitt has improved from its first drive to its second drive thanks to a combination of running back Desmond Reid’s rushes, backup quarterback Julian Dugger’s sneaks, and quarterback David Lynch’s passes. However, after the first quarter, Toledo leads Pitt 6-2.
Kickoff: Toledo launches an offensive attack
Kickoff at Ford Field is about to begin. For the coin toss, Pitt and Toledo players gathered in the center of the field. Pitt deferred after winning the coin toss. Pitt’s offensive play begins in the second half, whereas Toledo’s offensive play begins in the first.
GameAbove Sports Bowl is at what time?
Date: December 26, Thursday.
The time is 2:00 PM ET.
Where: Detroit’s Ford Field.
What is GameAbove Sports Bowl’s channel?
Date: ESPN.
Live streaming: Fubo (free trial).
Radio: station 84 on SiriusXM.
