Former Pitt stars don't run from memories of performance in 2008 Sun Bowl

Dorin Dickerson cherishes many sweet memories of his football career, from West Allegheny High School to his time as an All-American at Pitt to six years in the NFL. But he doesn’t run from the sour ones, either.

Every time he walks into his basement at home, he’s reminded of the 2008 Sun Bowl and Pitt’s historic 3-0 loss to Oregon State on New Year’s Eve. Hanging on a wall is a framed photograph of Dickerson making a leaping catch of a pass well over his head.

Those memories might be rushing back this month, with Pitt returning to the Sun Bowl for the second time since 2008 to play UCLA on Dec. 30.

Dickerson said he tries to forget, but it’s hard.

“We were just awful as a team (that day),” he said. “It was one of those games you just try to forget about.”

Yet, he added, “I like talking about it because I get to thinking about it. It’s drumming up those old memories. What did really go wrong? Why weren’t we as focused as we should be?”

The game is one of the lowest-scoring in history at any level. The NFL has had several games that ended 2-0 where a safety was the only scoring play, and there were scoreless ties before the overtime era. But most of those were in the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a game like that,” Dickerson said.

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What Dickerson and All-American middle linebacker Scott McKillop remember most from the game in El Paso, Texas, was the beautiful, postcard-like skyline near Sun Bowl Stadium. McKillop, in fact, went hiking with his family the next day into the Franklin Mountain range.

“Beautiful, absolutely beautiful,” he said.

The game was much less so.

Wind speeds of 30-40 mph made throwing the football difficult, if not impossible.

“Pretty insane,” Dickerson said.

But offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh called only three running plays for star running back Shady McCoy among the first 15 snaps.

Throwing the ball was compromised further by the absence of offensive left tackle Jason Pinkston, who was out with a shoulder injury suffered in practice the week of the game. Still, Pitt quarterbacks dropped back to pass more often than they handed off to McCoy (33-24), and Oregon State defensive end Victor Butler took advantage, recording four sacks.

“I would have given the ball to Shady 65 times,” McKillop said.

Quarterback Bill Stull, who bravely persevered through several injuries that season, completed 7 of 24 passes for 52 yards and an interception before he was replaced by sophomore Pat Bostick, who connected with Dickerson for his only two catches late in the game.

“It seemed like we were getting something started and some momentum,” Dickerson said, “but it was just too late.”

Pitt’s last desperate attempt to score was a 58-yard field goal try by Conor Lee. The kick was long enough but wide right.

“I think it summed it up when it was fourth-and-8 and I had more confidence in kicking a 58-yard field goal (with the wind) than going for it,” coach Dave Wannstedt said after the game.

The biggest head-scratcher was the shutout by the Oregon State defense, the first against Pitt in 149 games. After leading the Big East in scoring (29.3), Pitt gained a total of 178 yards. The Beavers had allowed 65 points and 694 total yards — 385 on the ground — in their previous game, a loss to Oregon that kept them out of the Rose Bowl. Combined, there were 20 punts and 10 sacks.

“I blame myself for playing like crap,” Stull said after the game. “The worst game I’ve played in my life, just horrible. I feel sorry my teammates had to be a part of the way I played. I feel so sorry for the seniors.”

All things considered, Pitt’s ‘08 season was a strange one. Less than a year after the monumental upset of West Virginia, Pitt opened with a 27-17 loss to Bowling Green before winning nine of the next 11 leading up to the bowl.

“We were trying to close out the year,” Dickerson said of the bowl game. “I think lack of focus really affected us. Guys really weren’t on the same page. Obviously, it showed.

“Knowing it was the last game for Shady (McCoy), knowing it was the last game for Scott McKillop, two of the best players on both sides of the ball in the country, you’d think we would put together a better showing.”

Even the days before the game were strange.

El Paso is separated only by the Rio Grande River from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where drug wars raged at the time. Players were warned to stay away, and everyone did, McKillop said.

“They said locals have been going over and not coming back,” he said. “I think that was them trying to scare us. They really, really instilled the fear of God in us that we were going to die.”

Actually, there was a better time to be had on the U.S. side of the border.

“The food was fantastic, the authentic Mexican food, and the locals were so warming,” he said.

Still, the week didn’t start well.

“The practices were good. The first practice was terrible,” McKillop said, noting that some players went out the night before to savor the holiday atmosphere. “I’ll be honest, a large majority of us, who were of age, went out that night, the first night we got there, and had fun. No lies. We drank excessively, obviously, safe.

“The next morning it was bad. It was probably one of the worst practices (I have) ever been a part of. The second practice was so much better, and (Wannstedt said), ‘I’m glad you guys got it out of your system.’ ”

Said Dickerson: “That was our first bowl game experience under Wannstedt. It was kind of like new territory. ‘Whoa, we’re at a bowl game. We get to hang out. We get to do all kinds of things.’ It was around Christmas time. We were kind of like letting loose a little bit.

“You know what, I’m 34 years old. I have kids. Maybe we let loose a little too much.”

But it turned out to be a lesson learned, he said.

“We didn’t know what we were in 2008,” Dickerson said. “We knew we had LeSean McCoy. We knew we had Scott McKillop. We won nine games, but we still didn’t really have an identity.”

The next season, Cavanaugh was replaced by Frank Cignetti Jr., and Stull threw for 2,633 yards and 21 touchdowns, compared to 2,356 and nine in ‘08. Pitt finished 10-3 and beat North Carolina, 19-17, in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. It was Pitt’s best season in 39 years until the 2021 team won 11 games.

“It set up a foundation,” Dickerson said of 2008. “We knew what we were (in 2009). We still wanted to finish on a positive note because we knew how good we were.”

Yet, the memory of the ‘08 Sun Bowl stings.

McKillop, a team captain, was pleased with how well the defense played, but he said, “If you don’t win, it kind of (stinks).”

Over the years, people come up to McKillop and remark to him, “Oh, my God, that was the worst game in the world.”

But, 14 years later, he has a good handle on his emotions and an appropriately sarcastic retort:

“Thank you. Thank you very much. Glad to be a part of it.”