Pitt loses to Boston College as record-setting kicker Alex Kessman misses OT extra point

Pitt’s Kenny Pickett and Alex Kessman experienced pain on different levels Saturday night, and the hurt ended up radiating through the entire team in a 31-30 overtime loss at Boston College.

Pickett played the fourth quarter and overtime in serious pain, hobbling on an ankle injury that kept him on the sideline only for two plays.

Kessman rode a wild roller coaster of emotions, kicking a school-record 58-yard field goal to send the game into overtime and then missing an extra point that ended the game and robbed Pitt of a chance to play a second extra session.

It was the second consecutive one-point loss for Pitt (3-2, 2-2 ACC) after a three-game winning streak to start the season had raised hopes within and outside the locker room.

Now, Pitt plays No. 7 Miami and No. 5 Notre Dame the next two Saturdays, with No. 1 Clemson waiting at the end of the season.

“Kids fought their tails off. Disappointing, but we’ll stick together and continue to move forward,” coach Pat Narduzzi said. “We had a chance. Guys need to make plays. Coaches need to make better calls, and the whole deal, it starts with me.”

The game came down to a kick that went wide right, but it was more about how Pitt failed to control Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec, a Pine-Richland graduate playing against a Pitt team he rooted for growing up.

Jurkovec was sacked five times but completed 19 of 35 passes for 358 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with wide receiver Zay Flowers on all three: 44 yards in the first half, a 77-yarder to start the third quarter and a 25-yarder in overtime.

For the second week in a row, the opposing quarterback found repeated holes in the Pitt secondary. N.C. State’s Devin Leary threw for 336 yards and four touchdowns last week.

“The big pass in the second half took the wind out of (us),” Narduzzi said. “Great throw by Phil. We’ll have to see what we did or didn’t do.”

Narduzzi added there were no coverage busts in the secondary — at least, that were apparent during the game — and the cause of Boston College receivers getting open was more a matter of getting beat physically.

“It comes down to technique and fundamentals at the line (of scrimmage),” he said. “There were no coverage busts from my knowledge.”

Senior defensive end Rashad Weaver, who wrestled the football from Jurkovec’s grasp for one of the sacks, said the mistakes especially are painful for a team that prides itself on playing solid defense and making sound judgments.

“Defense gave up too many points in the first half, way too many points,” he said of Boston College’s 17-14 halftime lead. “(Jurkovec) knows how to use his legs. He’s going to make plays if you don’t get there fast enough.”

He said the team changed its pass rush strategy late in the first half, and Patrick Jones ended the game with three to give him seven in five games.

Overall, Pitt’s defense played much better after halftime. Boston College totaled 134 yards in the second quarter, but had the same yardage total in the third and fourth combined.

“We thought we were going to use some different (pass-rush) moves,” Weaver said. “Toward the end of the first half, we realized power would be best to contain him and get sacks. That’s what changed.

“If we could have figured that out in the first half, we could have had more sacks in the first half.”

The good news is Pitt rallied from a 24-14 deficit in the third quarter to tie the score on Vincent Davis’ 4-yard touchdown run and Kessman’s long field goal with 40 seconds left in the fourth.

In overtime, Pickett was limping noticeably, but he rushed for 17 yards, including a 9-yard scramble and 1-yard sneak on fourth downs that kept hope alive. He hit Mack on a 3-yard wide receiver screen for the touchdown and ended up completing 25 of 48 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns.

“Kenny is a tough son of a gun,” Narduzzi said. “I’ll go to war with that guy any day. He’s tough. He played his tail off.”

Almost when no one was looking, Kessman missed the extra point. Boston College coach Jeff Hafley said he was setting up his defense for the second overtime before he realized that wasn’t necessary.

It was Kessman’s third off-target attempt of the game after missing field goals from 55 and 49 yards.

Narduzzi said he will speak to Kessman to ensure his kicker is OK, but he won’t be the only one.

“I already grabbed him, and half our team has already gone in there and grabbed him,” he said. “It’s a tough way to finish it up like that.”

Get the latest news about Pitt football and all things Panthers athletics.