Pitt Busted Out Its Own Version Of Philly Special To Break UCF’s 27-Game Winning Streak

For the second week in a row, Pitt football found itself in a slugfest with a top-15 team. The Panthers fell to Penn State last week after head coach Pat Narduzzi opted to kick a field goal on fourth-and-goal from right on the doorstep while down seven — the kick was no good, and while Pitt got another chance, they were unable to come out on top.

When faced with a similar situation this week, though, Pitt decided to go for six. Faced with a fourth-and-three against 15th-ranked UCF and the ball on the four-yard line, Pitt turned to the final page of its playbook. There was less than a minute left, and the Panthers were down by six, so the team turned to the recent Super Bowl winners from the other side of the state.

Signal caller Kenny Pickett did his best Nick Foles impression, the ball was snapped and flipped to wide receiver Aaron Mathews, and Mathews found Pickett in the end zone. It was a bit of a tough grab, but Pickett made it and put the Panthers up, 35-34.

This would go on to be the final score, as UCF was unable to move the ball down the field on the game’s final possession thanks to the vicious Panther pass rush. It was one heck of a play by Pickett, who went down and snagged the pass even though Knights defender were starting to bear down on him. As a result of the team turning to what Narduzzi called “Pitt Special,” the Panthers snapped the Knights’ 27-game winning streak.