No. 9: Pitt, 1983
June 22, 2010 03:23 PM | General
July 22, 2010
The last time Jeff Hostetler faced Pitt in 1982, he was so battered and bruised that he had to be helped off the field by his teammates and could barely even recognize his parents after the game.
A year later in 1983, it was Hostetler who was the last man standing in West Virginia’s 24-21 come-from-behind victory over 20th-ranked Pitt at Mountaineer Field.
Pitt had won seven in a row against West Virginia including three straight versus Don Nehlen’s teams by scores of 42-14, 17-0 and 16-13. Despite its lack of recent success against the Panthers, West Virginia was still anywhere from a six to 10 point favorite.
But Mountaineer mistakes helped Pitt to a 21-14 halftime lead. Pitt’s first touchdown was the result of Hostetler being hit from behind, the ball popping into the air and into the arms of Bill Maas, who ran 75 yards for a touchdown.
Pitt’s next score was set up by an alert play from return man Tom Flynn, who picked up a ball that wasn’t downed and raced 64 yards to the WVU 28. A clipping penalty cut 30 yards off of Flynn’s return, but the Panthers still capitalized when Chuck Scales ran for a 22-yard touchdown on his first collegiate carry.
After King Harvey’s 1-yard touchdown run tied the game at 14, Pitt regained the lead, 21-14, when quarterback John Congemi hooked up with Bill Wallace for a 35-yard touchdown. It was the last time Pitt would cross West Virginia’s goal line.
Trailing 21-17 with 12:27 left in the game, Hostetler and the Mountaineers took over at their 10 yard line. Ninety yards and the nation’s No. 1 ranked defense that had not given up a single rushing touchdown stood in the way of West Virginia erasing seven years worth of frustration.
Hostetler took West Virginia right down the field to score the go-ahead TD. Thirteen of the 14 plays were on the ground, including Hostetler’s memorable bootleg fake from the six.
“We drive 90 yards on a defense that is absolutely loaded with professional football players,” Nehlen recalled. “On the scoring play, I know (Pitt coach) Foge Fazio is going to have everyone coming down inside like you won’t believe and Jeff waltzed into that end zone absolutely unmolested.”
The clock still read 6:22 when Hostetler scored. Pitt had two more chances to either tie the game or take the lead, but the Mountaineer defense was able to intercept Pitt quarterback John Congemi twice.
“It (beating Pitt) has been one of our goals. It’s just something that hasn’t happened for such a long time,” said Hostetler, who used his legs to make a key 10-yard scramble to the Pitt 31 to keep the drive alive.
“It’s no disgrace losing to a team like West Virginia,” added Fazio. “They are one of the top five teams in the country. Whatever they had to do in the second half they did it – and we didn’t.”
Hostetler finished the game completing 15 of 32 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown and also ran 16 times for 52 yards.
“You’ve got to give him credit, Jeff Hostetler was the key,” said Pitt defensive coordinator Bob Junko. “We worried about him all week. We had them 90 yards away and we were feeling pretty good.”
“He’s the best all-around threat at quarterback I’ve played against,” added Flynn. “His throwing is good, but what really makes him a threat is that he can scramble.”
