Pitt punched again
CINCINNATI — Pitt’s final season in the Big East is quickly turning into one to forget.
The Panthers self-destructed near the goal line again, helping Cincinnati pull away to a 34-10 victory Thursday night in a Big East opener that’s a prelude to big change.
It was the start of the league’s final season before a major overhaul. West Virginia has already left for the Big 12, and Pitt and Syracuse will head to the ACC after the season.
The Panthers (0-2) aren’t leaving on very good terms.
“It’s hard to look at right now, but we got better,” first-year coach Paul Chryst said. “We need to get a lot better.”
The bad night started right away.
George Winn ran for a pair of touchdowns, including a 58-yarder on Cincinnati’s first play of the game, setting the Bearcats up for their fourth win in the last five games of the Ohio River rivalry. With Pitt leaving the conference, the Bearcats (1-0) get to keep the 96-pound riverboat trophy.
“To end the rivalry here with a win and the trophy stays here, that’s a blessing,” quarterback Munchie Legaux said.
Legaux, who went 2-1 as an injury fill-in last season, showed off his all-around skills. He completed 14 of 28 passes for 205 yards, including a pair of short throws that running back Ralph David Abernathy IV turned into touchdowns. Legaux also ran six times for a game-high 117 yards.
“They did a lot of good things on offense and they did some things that we couldn’t stop tonight,” Panthers safety Jarred Holley said. “They started fast.”
Pitt had several costly plays from senior quarterback Tino Sunseri and more sloppiness overall only five days after a stunning 31-17 loss to Youngstown State. The Panthers are 0-2 for the first time since 2005, the year Cincinnati joined the conference.
Pittsburgh had a touchdown wiped out by penalty, and Sunseri threw an interception in the end zone and held the ball too long on the final play of the first half, letting the clock run out with the ball at the 2-yard line.
“They played the play right,” Sunseri said. “I learned with 5 seconds left not to put so much air under it so you have a couple seconds to kick a field goal.”
Chryst decided to take the chance and run one more play.
“We needed a touchdown at the end of the first half,” Chryst said. “Tino saw something that we could take advantage of, but we couldn’t do it.
“Sure I thought about kicking a field goal. We wasted too much time on the play before. We should have called two plays. That’s on me. We weren’t as prepared for that situation as we should have been.”
