Pittsburgh cornerback MJ Devonshire spent a portion of the summer looking highlights of old Backyard Brawls wondering what it is probably want to make one of the iconic performs in a a series whose records stretches to the nineteenth century.
He doesn’t have to surprise anymore.
Devonshire snagged a bypass that caromed off the arms of West Virginia wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton and raced fifty six yards to the stop quarter with 2:58 final as the Panthers rallied for a 38-31 victory Thursday night time inside the go back of the Brawl following a ten-year hiatus.
“This is one of the finest rivalries in college soccer and I simply did some thing loopy I’m going to get to inform my kids approximately,” Devonshire said.
The Panthers had simply tied it on a 24-yard touchdown skip from Kedon Slovis to Israel Abanikanda with three:41 to move. Four performs later, West Virginia quarterback JT Daniels located a extensive-open Ford-Wheaton simplest to look the ball smack of Ford-Wheaton’s hands and settle into Devonshire’s looking ahead to palms.The Pittsburgh-place local who commenced his university career at Kentucky before coming domestic in 2021, felt his old punt returner skills come flooding lower back as he weaved his way through visitors to provide Pitt its 2nd rating in 43 seconds to show a seven-point deficit into a lead the Panthers wouldn’t relinquish.“I just knew I needed to run as speedy as I ought to,” Devonshire said.
The Mountaineers drove deep into Pitt territory inside the final minute and Daniels hit Reese Smith on a fourth-down fling that regarded to convey the ball to the Pitt 1.
Briefly anyway. Replays confirmed the ball skimmed the turf before Smith ought to deliver it in and the gang of 70,622 — the most important to wait a carrying event inside the city’s history — erupted.
“They’ve got a honestly desirable football crew and I respect them lots, I actually do,” West Virginia train Neal Brown said. “But we made a bunch of errors, too.”
Pitt turned two Mountaineer turnovers into touchdowns.
Southern California transfer Kedon Slovis threw for 308 yards and a touchdown in his debut with the Panthers inside the opener for both teams. Rodney Hammond ran for seventy four yards and touchdowns earlier than leaving in the fourth quarter due to a proper leg damage that appeared serious.Daniels, trying to revive his profession following stints at USC and Georgia, completed 23 of 39 passes for 214 yards with touchdowns to Ford-Wheaton and the choose that Devonshire changed into Pitt’s first victory over its longtime opponents on account that 2008.
FOURTH-DOWN JITTERS
The Mountaineers piled up a hundred ninety yards on the ground, but fourth-12 months instruct Neal Brown didn’t feel confident sufficient in his running sport to move for it on fourth-and-1 on the Pitt forty eight midway thru the fourth sector and his crew up 31-24.
Daniels lined up with a view to draw the Panthers offside and whilst he didn’t, the Mountaineers punted.
Pitt didn’t waste the opportunity. Slovis led the defending ACC champions 92 yards in seven performs, the last on a flip to strolling back Israel Abanikanda wherein he slipped thru 3 tackles for a 24-yard landing.