Mistakes cost Pitt in heartbreaking loss to Wake Forest

Pat Narduzzi said there were tears in his locker room after what he called “as hard a loss as I’ve been a part of, maybe ever.”

It’s one that will stick with anyone associated with Pitt football — maybe forever.

Quarterback Christian Veilleux was the centerpiece of the pivotal play in Pitt’s 21-17 loss to Wake Forest on Saturday night when he failed to reach the sticks on a third-down play with 45 seconds left.

But after only his second collegiate start, Veilleux was subdued when he met with reporters. He offered a mature, philosophical viewpoint — perhaps the one that makes the most sense — after another discouraging loss, the Panthers’ fifth in the past six games.

“Just going to have to get over it and move on,” he said.

Nonetheless, Narduzzi wasn’t wrong when he said, “Tough one to swallow.”

For 57 of the game’s 60 minutes, both teams’ offenses looked like they were running in mud on a clear, dry day inside Allegacy Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Looking back at the game, perhaps that was the most telling storyline in a game overflowing with them.

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Pitt led 10-7 on Veilleux’s 7-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Kenny Johnson in the first quarter and Ben Sauls’ 41-yard field goal in the fourth.

But there were precious few other moments for the Pitt offense to celebrate.

“We can go back and look at all the series and what we did and didn’t do,” Narduzzi said. “It’s hard to win a game when you score only 17 points in college football nowadays. We have to find a way to score more points than 17. It puts a lot of stress on your defense when you can only score 17 points.”

Three times in the final 90 seconds, Pitt (2-5, 1-3) looked like it had won the game. But the game’s outcome hinged on those seconds when almost everything went wrong for Pitt.

“Details at the end, not very good,” Narduzzi said.

Wake Forest (4-3, 1-3) seized its first lead of the game, 14-10, on Demond Claiborne’s 42-yard run with 3 minutes, 2 seconds left. It was Claiborne’s second touchdown run during his 96-yard effort, part of the 172 yards Wake Forest used to gouge Pitt on the ground.

Pitt played without starting linebacker Solomon DeShields, who was injured on the opening kickoff, and freshman linebacker Braylan Lovelace, who didn’t make the trip.

But Veilleux rallied the Panthers. Immediately, he led the team down the field, retaking the lead 17-14 on his 22-yard touchdown pass to Bub Means with 1:30 left. For a game that featured little scoring, Pitt totaled 414 yards, with Veilleux completing 28 of 45 passes for 302 yards. Running back C’Bo Flemister ran for 102.

That was the first time Pitt appeared to have the game won.

“Too bad it got spoiled. Too bad it wasn’t enough,” Narduzzi said on the KDKA-FM postgame show.

The next came when Pitt cornerback M.J. Devonshire intercepted a pass from Wake Forest third-string quarterback Santino Marucci at the Panthers’ 28 with 1:03 left.

But a clutch play quickly turned sour for the Panthers.

Pitt safety Donovan McMillon was called for consecutive penalties for pulling a Wake Forest player off a pile and then shoving an opponent in the aftermath of the interception. The penalties were part of a sloppy effort by the Panthers, who were flagged 13 times for 101 yards to Wake Forest’s 4 for 35.

But rules state that a player will be penalized if he pulls a player off the pile.

“I don’t see it called very often, but they call it on Pitt,” Narduzzi said.

That pushed Pitt back to the 7, setting up the third apparent game-winning play by the Panthers.

On third-and-8 from the Pitt 9, Veilleux ran a keeper around left end, starting his slide precariously close to the first-down marker. It looked like a first down, with 45 seconds left.

Game over, right?

But officials ruled Veilleux was short after he started his slide too soon.

“I definitely felt like I had it,” Veilleux said. “I just know the rule. It’s where you start your slide. That’s where they down it. Maybe I started it early. To me, I felt like I had the sticks. I’ll watch the film, and then I’ll know. Probably should have dived or just ran out of bounds. It’s going to be hard to get over that one.”

Said Narduzzi: “From the booth, (Pitt’s coaches) thought it was a first down. Great call by Frank (Cignetti Jr., offensive coordinator). The quarterback keeper was there. You have to go head-first and not make any doubt about it. Rookie mistake.”

Pitt punted on fourth-and-1, and Marucci threw the winning touchdown pass to tight end Cameron Hite with 7 seconds left.

Did Narduzzi think about going for the first down instead of punting from his 16?

“We were 0 for 2 on fourth down,” he said. “You do that and give up a field goal, you guys would be yelling at me afterwards. If you don’t have the (McMillon) penalty yards, you might go for it on fourth-and-1.”

Said Veilleux: “The smart call is to punt in that situation.”

The most positive element to come out of the game was the way Veilleux led the team to the Means touchdown reception that gave Pitt its 17-14 lead. The Panthers’ moved 75 yards in seven plays and 1:32.

“Everybody was composed and calm,” Veilleux said. “We went down and executed. If we had done that the whole game, different result.”

Narduzzi summed it up.

“They found a way to get it done,” he said, “and we found a way not to get it done.”