Riley Johnson. The guy with the best view of the play that turned the UVA-Pitt game around Friday night.
Johnson flagged Elliott Brown for a horse-collar tackle that wasn’t, turning a fourth-and-14 at the Pitt 12 into an automatic first down.
The Panthers, down 10-7 midway through the third quarter, got new life, instead of having to punt, which would have given the ‘Hoos good field position, ostensibly in the vicinity of midfield.
It would turn into a long scoring drive that would put Pitt up 14-10 with 21 seconds left in the third quarter, and propel the Panthers to a 20-13 win.
To their credit, maybe, Pitt (5-4, 4-1 ACC) still had to punch it in, as it did all second half long. The Virginia defense had held Pitt, which had run for 484 yards in a 54-45 win over Duke last week, to 64 yards on the ground in the first half, but the Panthers wore down the UVA front in the second half.
Darrin Hall had 208 yards and three touchdowns on the night, including the 2-yarder that put Pitt on top late in the third, then a 75-yard burst after UVA had closed to 14-13 on a 42-yard Brian Delaney field goal early in the fourth.
Virginia (6-3, 4-2 ACC) went three-and-out on its next drive, and Pitt responded with a backbreaking 53-yard field goal from Alex Kessman that made it a two-score game with 4:25 to go.
UVA gained just 56 yards from scrimmage in the second half, getting just four first downs.
Replays and photos posted online during the game showed that the Elliott tackle was clean, not that it matters now. He grabbed Pitt QB Kenny Pickett by the jersey from behind on the numbers, which of course are nowhere near the collar.
Emphasis: not that it matters now.
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