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| Patrick Semansky / AP |
Unfortunately, the Panthers spent the remainder of the day trying — unsuccessfully — to stop Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds.
Reynolds wrapped up his record-setting college career at Navy in spectacular fashion, running for three touchdowns and throwing for another Monday to lead the Midshipmen to a 44-28 victory.
Reynolds ran for 144 yards on 24 carries, completed 9 of 17 passes for 126 yards and had a reception for 47 yards on a trick play.
"He's a super football player," Panthers first-year coach Pat Narduzzi said. "Make no mistake, there were reasons he was in the (running) for the Heisman Trophy."
Reynolds leaves Navy (11-2) as the Football Bowl Subdivision career leader with 88 touchdowns and 530 points. His 4,559 yards rushing are the most by a quarterback in Division I history.
Qadree Ollison rushed for 73 yards and scored two touchdowns for Pitt (8-5). Nate Peterman threw a TD pass but was intercepted three times.
The Panthers' problem was that they couldn't back up Henderson's quick score.
"You feel like you have the momentum and you start fast, then we just couldn't get anything going in the first half offensively," Narduzzi said. "We got things going in the second half, but with a missed field goal and three interceptions, you aren't going to win many football games."
After Henderson went the distance, Navy took a 21-7 halftime lead and made it 31-7 midway through the third quarter.
Pittsburgh scored two touchdowns in 17 seconds to close to 31-21, but could not complete the comeback.
It was 38-28 when Reynolds capped a nine-play drive with a 9-yard run with 4:19 remaining. The TD broke a tie with Kenneth Dixon of Louisiana Tech atop the career chart.
"To be able to seal the game and get the record at the same time is pretty cool," the 5-foot-11 senior said.
With Reynolds leading the way, the Midshipmen completed their first 11-win season in 135 years of football. That, more than all his personal accomplishments, is what he will remember.
"You play the game to win, so the record for wins is the one that means the most to me," Reynolds said.
It was the first game for the Midshipmen since they beat Army and coach Ken Niumatalolo decided to stay at Navy instead of taking the head coaching job at Brigham Young.
Niumatalolo was glad he stuck around for Reynolds' finale.
"All of Keenan's accolades are well deserved," the coach said. "What an unbelievable career he's had. Once in a generation, some of the things he's done. We're going to miss him."
Playing before a sellout crowd of 36,352 in its home stadium, Navy used its triple-option attack to overwhelm a team that went 6-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and ranked 20th in the nation against the run. The Midshipmen finished with 590 yards in offense, including 417 on the ground — 114 by fullback Chris Swain.
It's not the way Narduzzi wanted to end his first season at Pitt.
"Just have to keep getting one step closer," he said. "You just have to take one step at a time. Told the seniors, they laid the foundation. We've done a lot of great things this year."
Two short TD runs and an 11-yard scoring pass to Tyler Carmona provided Navy with a 21-7 lead.
Niumatalolo momentarily abandoned the triple option in the third quarter in favor of a bit of trickery. Reynolds pitched the ball to fullback Shawn White, then went around the right side of the line for a catch-and-run that set up a 26-yard touchdown jaunt by Demond Brown.
"I was glad I actually caught the ball," Reynolds said.
It was 31-7 before eterman threw a 4-yard TD pass to Ollison, and a 22-yard fumble return by Jordan Whitehead got Pitt within 10 points.
After Navy scored another touchdown, Ollison ran for a 45-yard score to make it 38-28.
But this was to be Reynolds' day. In his final significant drive with the Midshipmen, he converted three third downs and drew the Panthers offside on a fourth-and-3.
Soon after that, he walked off the field for the final time.
"We can come back for our 20-year reunion," Reynolds said, "and talk about it and just kick back and laugh."
For most of the game, Minnesota could rely on its defense. When the Golden Gophers briefly fell behind in the fourth quarter, quarterback Mitch Leidner responded.
Leidner ran 13 yards for a touchdown with 4:26 remaining, and the Golden Gophers held on for a 21-14 win over Central Michigan in the Quick Lane Bowl on Monday night.
Minnesota (6-7) ended a trying season on a positive note. Coach Jerry Kill retired in late October because of continued difficulty managing his epilepsy and his job. The Gophers were 5-7 after the regular season but were able to play on because not enough teams reached six wins to fill all the bowls.
All three teams that went to bowls at 5-7 — Minnesota, Nebraska and San Jose State — ended up winning them.
Central Michigan (7-6) took a 14-13 lead with 11:08 remaining on a 13-yard touchdown run by Romello Ross. Minnesota responded by driving 74 yards in 13 plays.
Leidner ran for the go-ahead touchdown, then threw to KJ Maye for a 2-point conversion.
CMU drove back into Minnesota territory, but Cooper Rush threw an ill-advised pass while being pulled down from behind, and his attempt to avoid a sack backfired when Briean Boddy-Calhoun intercepted the ball with 2:10 to play.
Both teams had to overcome plenty of adversity this season. Kill was replaced by Tracy Claeys after his retirement, and CMU coach John Bonamego was diagnosed with cancer in his left tonsil and underwent treatment before the season.
Kill was an honorary captain for the Gophers at the pregame coin toss Monday.
Rush ran for the game's first touchdown, scoring from 1 yard out to give CMU a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter. The Gophers took a 10-7 lead into halftime thanks to an 11-yard touchdown pass from Leidner to Maye.
It was 13-7 in the third when an onside kick by Minnesota was unsuccessful, giving the Chippewas the ball at midfield. CMU wasn't able to do anything with that field position, but after a failed fourth down by Minnesota early in the fourth, the Chippewas went 56 yards in four plays.
CMU took the lead on the run by Ross. Minnesota appeared to have him stopped at about the 3-yard line, but the Chippewas were able to push the pile into the end zone.
The announced attendance was 34,217 despite a winter storm that was passing through Michigan. Having a local team surely helped boost the number of fans. Last year's game between North Carolina and Rutgers drew 23,876.
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