ATLANTA — Senior linebackers John Petrishen and Phil Campbell III put aside the tears that were shed in the Pitt locker room. They tried to make sense of a season that was full of joy and triumph most of the time, but ended Thursday night with a painful gut punch.

Blown coverages, mental and perhaps physical fatigue, missed opportunities, injuries and opt-outs all contributed to Pitt’s 31-21 loss to Michigan State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in front of a crowd of 41,230 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

“Someday, I’ll write a book on all this,” Petrishen said.

“Yeah, it’s very emotional,” Campbell said. “I was emotional before the game even happened, just putting on my uniform.”

Pitt’s ACC champions must live with the disappointment of losing a 21-10 lead in the fourth quarter while trying not to utter those dreaded words: What if.

As in, what if quarterback Nick Patti didn’t break his collarbone while scoring a touchdown in the first quarter, forcing him to miss all but seven minutes of the biggest game of his life?

In the end, third-string redshirt sophomore quarterback Davis Beville, who had almost no significant experience before Thursday, just wasn’t able to save his team from defeat.

Sacked five times, Beville responded after Michigan State (11-2) took a 24-21 lead with 2 minutes, 51 seconds left in the game. After suffering a trio of three-and-outs in the second half, he completed five consecutive passes for 54 yards. Pitt was on the Spartans 26 with 36 seconds left, close enough to kick a field goal, if not win the game with a touchdown.

Then, he tried to sneak a pass past Michigan State linebacker Cal Haladay. He misfired, and Haladay stepped in and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown and the final dagger.

It was Pitt’s first loss since Oct. 30. The team ended the season 11-3, one short of tying the school record for victories.

Coach Pat Narduzzi suggested his defense might have been a bit fatigued after nursing a 21-10 lead through most of the second half. Michigan State scored its two decisive touchdowns after 13- and 11-play drives, holding the football for 10 of the 15 minutes in the fourth quarter.

“You hope your defense is going to stop them,” Narduzzi said. “We just weren’t fresh enough. Didn’t make enough plays on defense to get off the field.”

Indeed, Michigan State converted 13 of 25 third and fourth downs while Pitt was only 2 of 12 on third down.

Beville, who completed 14 of 18 passes for 149 yards, was consoled by several teammates while kneeling in despair after Haladay’s interception.

“This team means everything to me,” he said. “Definitely disappointed to let those guys down. I mean, we missed some plays here and there. I’m obviously guilty of it.”

Some might suggest that the outcome was decided when All-American quarterback Kenny Pickett, who was with the coaches in their box upstairs, decided not to play to safeguard his upcoming NFL career.

But Patti looked as courageous as Pickett did during the regular season while scrambling for the end zone pylon on a 16-yard touchdown that tied the score 7-7 with 7:57 left in the first quarter. Patti landed awkwardly, breaking his left collarbone. Narduzzi said Patti wanted to return to the game, but he wore a sling for the rest of the night and will have surgery Friday to fix the injury, the coach said.

There were other absences that mattered. Running back Izzy Abanikanda, who was a big part the pregame plan, was injured and carried only five times for 16 yards.

“That wasn’t a factor. But obviously you’d like to see Izzy be able to finish the game,” Narduzzi said.

Defensive tackle Keyshon Camp and defensive end Deslin Alexandre also didn’t play due to injuries while senior Damarri Mathis, perhaps Pitt’s best shutdown cornerback, opted out in th days before the game.

Michigan State was missing All-American running back Kenneth Walker III, who also opted out. But quarterback Payton Thorne, who struggled most of the night, threw touchdown passes of 15 yards to tight end Connor Heyward and 22 yards to wide receiver Jayden Reed to wrestle the lead away from Pitt. Thorne ended up completing 29 of 50 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Pitt’s offense was scoreless in the second half. This from a team that was third in the nation in points per game (43).

Earlier, despite reaching deep into their quarterback depth, the Panthers managed to take a 14-10 lead at halftime.

They quickly built it to 21-10 on Michigan State’e first possession of the second half when linebacker Cam Bright returned Thorne’s fumble 28 yards for a touchdown. It was Pitt’s fifth defensive score of the season, tying a school record set in 1986.

After Patti went out, Michigan State took a 10-7 lead on Matt Coghlin’s 36-yard field goal before the end of the first quarter. Later, however, Coghlin missed from 33 and Pitt safety Brandon Hill picked off Thorne’s pass at the Pitt 13 with 2:03 left in the second quarter.

Three plays into the subsequent possession, Beville rolled right and found Jordan Addison on the 48. The Biletnikoff winner, who finished the night with Pitt’s single-season record for receptions (100), ran 39 yards after the catch to the Spartans 13.

Suddenly, momentum had shifted and Beville hit Jared Wayne for a 4-yard score, his first career touchdown pass.

Pitt’s start couldn’t have been much worse, even before Patti’s injury.

Abanikanda allowed the opening kickoff to fall to the ground outside the end zone, forcing Pitt to start its first possession on the 2.

On Pitt’s first snap, Abanikanda was stopped for no gain and Patti failed to connect on two pass attempts. Kirk Christodoulou punted from the back of his end zone, and the troubles began.

Reed returned the punt 16 yards to the Pitt 29 to set up a Spartans’ touchdown — a 28-yard pass from Thorne to Reed — and a 7-0 lead within the game’s first two minutes.

But Patti subsequently led Pitt on a 75-yard scoring drive that tied the score. His injury changed everything.

“Yeah, we said right after that happened (that we were) going to have to score on defense,” Campbell said. “We’re going to have to stop them. We’re going to have to win the game on defense.”

For a while, it looked like the defense would find a way as it did for most of the season.

Not this time.

NOTE: After the game, wide receivers coach Brennan Marion, a Greensburg Salem grad, told his players he was leaving to be passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Texas. The news was first reported by Bruce Feldman, a college football insider for FOX Sports.

SOURCE: Pitt WR coach Brennan Marion has told his players that he’s accepted a job at Texas to become WRs coach/Pass Game Coordinator. Marion helped develop 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner Jordan Addision this year. @On3sports first reported that Marion was in discussions with UT.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 31, 2021

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