Pittsburgh gave No. 4 Notre Dame all it could handle on Saturday afternoon. It scraped and clawed its way into a first overtime. And a second. And then a third.

But the win-loss column shows no mercy, and the Panthers came a few plays short of finishing the job.

“There were a lot of plays in that game,” Pittsburgh head coach Paul Chryst said during the Big East coaches’ teleconference on Monday. “There were probably 200-something plays that all had an outcome. Sometimes it goes your way, and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Despite its valiant effort, Pittsburgh succumbed to the Fighting Irish in triple overtime 29-26. After Pitt kicker Kevin Harper missed a game-winning 33-yard field goal attempt in the second overtime, Notre Dame kept Pitt out of the end zone in the third extra frame and won on quarterback Everett Golson’s sneak from inside the 1 yard line.

A win could have been season-defining for Pitt (4-5, 1-3 Big East) and its rookie head coach. The team has struggled to find consistency in 2012, mixing highlights like an 18-point win over Virginia Tech with disappointments like a season-opening loss to Football Championship Subdivision foe Youngstown State.

“I think we can play with anybody, as long as we come ready to play,” Pittsburgh senior running back Ray Graham told The Associated Press. “One thing we do is play to our opponents’ level, and I think we have to just play our game every time.”

Entering the game at 4-4 overall, Pitt had a chance to move a win closer to bowl eligibility if it could pull off the upset in South Bend, Ind. Now, Chryst and his team need to bounce back quickly. The Panthers must win two of their final three matchups against Connecticut, Rutgers and South Florida to reach the postseason.

“Each week, you’ve got challenges, and each challenge is an opportunity,” Chryst said during the teleconference. “You’ve got to rebound, and it’s no different than during the course of a game. If something bad happens, or it doesn’t turn out the way you want it, you have to regroup.”

On Saturday, the Panthers were on the verge of shocking the college football world. The Pitt defense held strong well into the second half, limiting Notre Dame to two field goals through three quarters. Going into the fourth, the Panthers held a 20-6 advantage.

But Golson threw for two touchdowns in the fourth, Pitt couldn’t score and the game went to overtime tied at 20. From there, Notre Dame survived.

The outcome spoiled a strong effort by Graham, who has played well this season in a comeback from a torn anterior crucial ligament suffered against Connecticut last year. Graham rushed for 172 yards on 24 carries on Saturday, an average of 7.2 yards per carry, including a 16-yard scamper that gave Pitt a 10-6 lead late in the second quarter.

Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri played well in the hostile environment, throwing for 164 yards and a touchdown without committing a turnover. The Panthers won the turnover battle 3-0.

“I thought our guys prepared well,” Chryst said. “They put themselves out there and competed. By no means were we clean all the time, but I think it was just our players respecting the process of preparation and enjoying the opportunity to play against a heck of a defense.”

Notre Dame has its sights set on earning a national title game appearance this season. At 9-0 after the win over Pitt, Notre Dame has three more tests on its regular season schedule, with the last being a trip to Southern California on Nov. 24.

If Harper had made his game-winning attempt in the second overtime, or if the Pitt defense had come up with one more late-game stop, Notre Dame’s lofty hopes could have come to an abrupt end.

But the Irish came out on top as the Panthers suffered another loss.

“In the end, each player has got to take ownership of anything that happens, good or bad,” Chryst said. “That’s how you grow as a team, it’s how you grow as a person and in some ways it’s the ironic beauty of sport.”

South Florida snaps skid

South Florida has experienced a frustrating pattern in recent years, with promising preseason hopes giving way to a disappointing campaign. USF dropped seven of its final eight games last season and carried a six-game skid into Saturday’s matchup with Connecticut.

Needing the win to keep its slim bowl hopes alive, the Bulls came through with a 13-6 win over the Huskies. B.J. Daniels scored on a 5-yard run in the first quarter for the only touchdown of the game, and USF won despite being outgained 327-283.

Still, the Bulls need to win their final three games to achieve bowl eligibility.

Published on November 7, 2012 at 1:24 am

Contact Kevin: kmprisei@syr.edu