Bearcats claim Big East title in thrilling fashion as Panthers fall 45-44

Bearcats claim Big East title in thrilling fashion as Panthers fall 45-44

4:38pm - Saturday, December 5th, 2009 by admin

Cincinnati 45 - Pittsburgh 44

Tony Pike's 29-yard touchdown pass to Armon Binns with 33 seconds remaining finished No. 5 Cincinnati's thrilling comeback from a 21-point deficit, and the Bearcats defeated No. 15 Pittsburgh 45-44 Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field to secure a BCS berth and their second consecutive Big East title.

Panthers had leads of leads of 31-10, 38-24 and 44-38 only to have the Bearcats rally from each score.

Mardy Gilyard's 99 yard kick return for a touchdown near the end of the first half cut into Pittsburgh's 31-10 lead as Gilyards return touchdown was a turning point in the game.

The Bearcats were able to gain some momentum going into the locker room and went onto score 28 second half points.

What Pitt didn't want to do was get into a shootout with star quarterback Tony Pike. That's exactly what happened in the second half.

Pike threw for three second half touchdowns including the game winning score with 33 seconds left.

Pitt got a dominating performance from freshman running back Dion Lewis who rushed for 3 TD's and 194 yards. It was a Dorsett type of performance for Lewis who carried the ball 47 times.

Quarterback Bill Stull threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns but failed to deliver any big plays in the second half.

Wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin led the Panthers with 6 receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns.

Cincinnati turned the ball over three times and rushed for just 69 yards. The difference in the game is that Cincinnati had the star quarterback on their side.

Pike was able to exploit a suspect Panthers secondary at every opportunity in the 4th quarter as the Panthers had no answers for the Bearcats passing attack.

KR/WR Marty Gilyard had 374 all-purpose yards and two TDs for the Bearcats

The Bearcats are projected to play in the Sugar Bowl barring a Texas loss, which could put them under consideration for the BCS National Title Game.

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Comments

mwiles19

Total collapse.

12/05/2009 4:45pm

djmr66

what else do you expect from a Dave Wandstat team...guy has never one anywhere in his life. He is an average coach who routinely gets outcoached. You score 44...you should win the game....f'n pathetic...

12/05/2009 4:55pm

djmr66

won even...lol

12/05/2009 4:55pm

SV84

It just wouldn't be a Pittsburgh team without a collapse and stupid offensive playcalling.

12/05/2009 4:57pm

Trey

I know it was a long shot no matter what the play would have been but....4th and 10, last chance....play action out of a single back formation?

12/05/2009 5:13pm

joker10277

Get used to it pitt fans, this is as good as it gets with this coach. Dave's a great recruiter but a below average coach.

12/05/2009 5:27pm

SV84

Did anyone else think game over when Romo fumbled that snap?

12/05/2009 5:28pm

yea trey...what the hell was that? play action, i mean come on...prob wouldnt have mattered but it was retarded...and i realize it should not have come down to it but that extra point miss didnt help...shoulda handed it off to Dion every play throughout the game haha

12/05/2009 5:41pm

Izzomr

Coach has to go no question I feel bad for the kids

12/05/2009 5:55pm

jaluco

Feel bad for the kids? Go out and make a tackle on special teams. Hold the frigging SNAP on an XP. I don't feel bad for anyone on that sideline. They ought to be ashamed of themselves losing like that at home.

12/05/2009 6:33pm

Doogs

I had no idea they were as undisciplined and poorly coached. Looked JUST like the Steelers the past few weeks.

12/05/2009 6:33pm

cgr62

If you listen closely, you can still hear the sizzle at Heinz Field from that charred Pitt secondary.

12/05/2009 7:25pm

Monrovian12

Someone on the PG mentioned Dion should've taken a knee with 1:36 or so left...I thought that was an interesting idea...makes Cincy use their timeouts, but I'm not sure how much clock that kills...Regardless, that was a crushing loss, and they miss out on a ton of money.

12/05/2009 8:12pm

stengel

RIDICULOUS! That's all I can say...

12/05/2009 9:07pm

jaluco

no college kid is going to know to take a knee - the worse thing was the non-call on the face mask - you get that first down, you're not passing on 3rd and 9, but rather running on 1st and 10, and killing more clock - terrible non-call. even worse that they threw the flag and then picked it up

12/05/2009 9:17pm

SV84

I think what makes it even more pathetic is the fact that if it is even a question, and it was enough of a question to throw the flag, it has to be called.

12/05/2009 11:05pm

when they picked up the flag it was complete bs, i still dont know how or why they did that...

12/06/2009 12:49am

Dutchmen

Monrovian: they lose NO money. from Paul Zeise PG article: "Although Pitt lost the game, lost the championship and lost the opportunity to play in a BCS bowl with all of the national exposure that comes with it, the one thing the university did not lose is money"

12/06/2009 2:17am

↑ previous comments ↑

Monrovian12

Also from a Paul Zeise PG article: "There is far more at stake in this game against Cincinnati for Pitt than people are willing to admit. Many millions more, to be accurate."

12/06/2009 4:10am

Monrovian12

Again, regardless of the trivial money payout, this is still a crushing loss...ouch, just ouch.

12/06/2009 4:18am

CBauerjr

The difference in the bowls is both in moeny and exposure. Pitt lose a lot in this game.

12/07/2009 10:48am