And with a whimper, they were gone.
Two days after Christmas, Pitt football concluded its season with an unceremonious 23-17 loss to East Carolina University in the Go Bowling Military Bowl.
This game was a tale of two halves. The first half was a complete slugfest, with both teams combining for just 267 total yards in the first half, the lowest total in the history of the Military Bowl. Combined, Pitt and East Carolina had more tackles for loss than total points during the first 30 minutes.
Conversely, a supercharged second half featured a much faster-paced, chaotic level of football. In both facets, Pitt was defeated.
On the surface, the Military Bowl loss isn’t all that important. The trip down to Annapolis, Maryland, was a game that most fans weren’t at all thrilled about in the first place. Some of them even hoped Pitt would decline the invite. After all, if there isn’t dancing Pop-Tarts and a trophy that functions as an actual toaster, what the hell is the point?
But, it was much more about how they lost this game. This wasn’t like the GameAbove Sports Bowl last year. Although that loss was tough if you’re a Pitt fan, at least that game was entertaining. Pitt and Toledo went back-and-forth in a thriller that lasted six overtimes. Eventually, someone had to win a matchup that featured two depleted rosters. All it took was one wrong move in a game that just got crazier and crazier by the possession.
This game was just painful to watch if you were a Pitt fan.
Pitt’s defense was unable to contain an East Carolina offense that was missing their top quarterback, wide receiver, running back and tight end on the depth chart. Junior linebacker Rasheem Biles had a career-high five tackles as well as a strip sack that he scooped up for a touchdown, but it was tough sledding for anyone else on the defense.
Another difference from the Bowl loss last year was personnel. Last year’s Bowl squad for Pitt was deploying a combination of true first-year Julian Dugger and redshirt first-year David Lynch at quarterback. Dugger was making his collegiate debut and Lynch had nine pass attempts to his name when that game kicked off.
Unlike that Pitt Bowl roster from last year — and East Carolina’s representatives in this game — the Panthers were starting true first-year quarterback Mason Heintschel at the helm. Yes, he was missing several weapons from his usual arsenal, but the Panthers still had the guy who played quarterback for them since the start of October in there.
Heintschel was praised for most of the season for how mature and experienced he looked, pretty much right from his first start. You would never guess he was an 18-year-old kid playing quarterback, or that he was barely recruited as he left for college.
But against East Carolina, he looked like a young kid who wasn’t sure what he was doing. He was outplayed by a fellow true first-year who was making his first-ever collegiate start.
Heintschel looked visibly rusty to start the game, and he never seemed to shake that off. Until the last drive of the first half, Heintschel was a combined 4-for-8 for 42 yards and three sacks.
Even as he somewhat settled in, the quality of his work did not improve enough. He contributed twice to an offense that ultimately committed five turnovers.
To his credit, he did help put together a pretty excellent drive at the end of the first half. Pitt drew up a risky running play with the clock running into the teens and the Panthers without any timeouts. Heintschel was able to get them to the line and caught East Carolina off guard when they snapped it and dialed up a pass to the endzone. It was a beautiful throw to redshirt senior Raphael “Poppi” Williams, who hauled it in for the score.
But aside from when Heintschel was in hurry-up mode, he and his offense looked pretty lackluster. It felt like the more time he was given to think, the worse things got. Nowhere was that easier to see than on the final play of the game, where he had the last 11 seconds of the game to either throw a quick pass to the sidelines or try a last-ditch Hail Mary attempt. He tossed and turned before finally running half-heartedly past the line of scrimmage and getting tackled well before midfield.
That anticlimactic play was a microcosm of how Pitt’s season ended. A month and a half ago, Pittsburgh had ESPN’s College GameDay in town, and the Panthers were hosting a highly-ranked Notre Dame team. The eyes of the college football world were upon them, and they were in legitimate conversations for a bid in the College Football Playoff.
It all started to spiral from that morning onward. Pitt was thrashed in that game, and even though they showed us something special when they beat a ranked Georgia Tech team on their own field, the Panthers would go on to lose three of their final four matchups.
And remember, Pitt was one game away from playing for an ACC Championship. Exactly one month ago, it was all on the line. They wouldn’t know it yet, but the Panthers would get the help they needed later that night to seal their fate, had they been able to beat No. 12 Miami at home.
It’s funny to think about that now, looking at the current feeling surrounding this team.
They say Bowl games like these are meaningless, but that’s far from the truth. Just look at the vibes from the two teams that walked out of the stadium.
For East Carolina, the Military Bowl represents a story of grit and grind, despite the many departures and opt-outs they suffered. The victory clinched their first nine-win season since 2013 and their third straight Bowl victory.
For Pitt, the Military Bowl represents failure in more ways than one. Saddled with a Bowl game that many of their faithful did not want, Pitt stumbled their way to another concerning loss and an offseason that suddenly feels like it has far more questions than answers.
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