Ben Sauls kicked a 32-yard field goal with 17 seconds left – his third of the game – to complete an improbable comeback that helped visiting Pitt to a 28-27 victory over Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

“You have a happy football team in this locker room right now,” said coach Pat Narduzzi

Trailing 27-6 in the third quarter, Pitt scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions that would have tied the game, but Narduzzi attempted 2-point conversions on the second and third touchdowns. Both failed.

Pitt regained possession at its 20-yard line with 2 minutes, 38 seconds left and got within Sauls’ range on a 34-yard pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein to Konata Mumpfield. Sauls’ field goal made it 22 unanswered points in a span of 15:46. Cincinnati held a 21-point lead until the final minute of the third quarter.

It was Pitt’s biggest second-half comeback since 1971, when they overcame a 35-10 halftime deficit to defeat Navy 36-35.

Pitt’s offense struggled for nearly three quarters, but the Panthers scored on two consecutive drives late in the third and early in the fourth quarters with Holstein completing 11- and 38-yard touchdown passes to Mumpfield and another to Desmond Reid for a 56-yard touchdown.

But this only reduced the deficit to 27:25 because Narduzzi’s risk did not pay off. A pass to Kenny Johnson in the end zone on the first conversion attempt was incomplete and Holstein was sacked on the second.

The excitement for Pitt’s new offensive speed style that arose during training camp quickly fizzled out as Holstein struggled to find his rhythm by the end of the third quarter. He completed 20 of 35 passes for 302 yards after missing 13 of his first 21 attempts. Reid, who finished the game with a noticeable limp, caught six passes for 106 yards and also ran 19 times for 149 yards. Mumpfield collected five pass catches for 123.

Overall, Pitt was able to achieve 498 yards on offense.

On the other side of the ball, Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby and running back Corey Kiner harassed the Pitt defense through the first three quarters. Sorsby was 22 of 38 passing for 298 yards and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but just four of eight for 37. Kiner ran through the Pitt defense for 149 yards on 20 carries, while the Panthers allowed 449 total yards of offense.

Trailing 17-6 at halftime, Pitt’s offensive sluggishness continued on their first possession of the third quarter after Kenny Johnson returned the second-half kickoff 40 yards to the Cincinnati 49. After a five-and-out that resulted in a holding penalty on left guard Jason Collier (playing for Ryan Jacoby), the ball ended up back on the Bearcats’ 42.

This led to Sorsby’s 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Joe Royer, giving Cincinnati a 24-6 lead midway through the third quarter.

Cincinnati’s next possession was aided by Caleb Junko’s 12-yard punt to the Pitt 40. Carter Brown’s 26-yard field goal increased the Bearcats’ lead to 27-6.

In the first half, Pitt failed on both sides of the ball and trailed 17-6 at halftime.

Sorsby had no trouble dissecting the Pitt secondary for two touchdown passes – 52 yards to Jamoi Mayes and 5 to Tony Johnson – and completed 6 of 9 passes for 139 yards in the first quarter. Sorsby alternated picking off Pitt cornerbacks Ryland Gandy and Rashad Battle.

After Pitt attempted 48 passes last week, offensive coordinator Kade Bell nearly matched that pace early in the game. But Holstein missed 7 of his first 11 throws in the first quarter and threw an errant pass that was intercepted in the end zone by Cincinnati safety Josh Minkins.

In the second quarter, Cincinnati’s offense was back on the move. An apparent end zone interception by Gandy was overturned when replay showed his foot was on the out-of-bounds line. Personal fouls and holding penalties forced the Bearcats to settle for Brown’s 49-yard field goal.

Late in the half, Pitt’s defense stepped up to keep the game close. After two poor tackle attempts by defensive end Nate Matlack and linebacker Brandon George allowed Cincinnati to advance to the Panthers’ 11-yard line, linebacker Kyle Louis forced Sorsby into an incomplete pass on third down. That allowed Brown to attempt a 25-yard field goal, but a poor hold — the shoelaces were at the kicker’s feet — led to a miss.

That gave Pitt enough time to allow Saul’s second field goal of the half, a career-best 53-yard field goal after earlier scoring from 47 yards.

Sauls scored from 50 yards last week, marking the first time a Pitt kicker has scored 50 yards in back-to-back games since Alex Kessman in 2020.