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DETROIT (AP) -- Kenny Pickett threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Taysir Mack with 47 seconds left and Pittsburgh held on to beat Eastern Michigan 34-30 in the Quick Lane Bowl on Thursday night.
After taking its first lead of the game, Pittsburgh (8-5) then forced Eastern Michigan (6-7) to turn it over on downs from its 40. That sealed Pitt's first bowl victory in five appearances under coach Pat Narduzzi.
The Eagles came up just short in a closely contested game just as they did in three previous bowls under coach Chris Creighton.
Eastern Michigan quarterback Mike Glass was ejected with 10 seconds left after throwing punches at two players. Eagles cornerback Kevin McGill was ejected earlier for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Glass was 28 of 50 for 311 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. The senior also ran for 83 yards and a score.
Pickett completed 27 of 39 passes for 361 yards and three scores, including a school-record, 96-yard TD pass to Maurice Ffrench. Ffrench finished with 12 catches for 165 yards, most of which came on the tying score in the second quarter.
RECORD BOOKS
Ffrench had 96 receptions this season, breaking Larry Fitzgerald's school record of 92 set in 2003.
Glass surpassed Charlie Batch's single-season record of 3,390 yards of total offense set in 1997.
THE TAKEAWAY
Pitt: Coaching continuity with offensive coordinator Mark Whipple returning for a second season should help the program. The offense showed some signs of life in the bowl game after scoring 20 or fewer points in eight games this season.
Eastern Michigan: The program is on solid footing, earning consecutive bowl bids for the first time and three in four years after previously doing it only once as a Division I team. The Eagles will just have to hope they can keep coach Chris Creighton away from Power Five conference schools.
UP NEXT
Pitt: Hosts Miami of Ohio on Sept. 5. The Panthers will have a chance to be very good on defense if defensive lineman Jaylen Twyman, Patrick Jones and safety Paris Ford all choose to stay in college instead of entering the NFL draft.
Eastern Michigan: Plays at Kentucky on Sept. 5. The Eagles will be breaking in a new quarterback, attempting to replace Glass. Preston Hutchinson and Jairus Grissom gained some experience in 2019 and will likely have a shot to start next season.
Independence Bowl
Louisiana Tech14, Miami 0
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) -- J'Mar Smith threw a touchdown pass and had a late scoring run to help Louisiana Tech beat Miami in the only shutout in the Independence Bowl's 44-game history.
Louisiana Tech (10-3) hit double-digit victories for the first time since 1984 and ran its postseason winning streak to six. Miami (6-7) completed its second losing season in 12 years.
Smith connected with Israel Tucker on a 26-yard touchdown strike on a screen pass in the second quarter, capping a 13-play, 91-yard drive. Smith added an 8-yard scoring run with 1:15 left.
Bulldogs running back Justin Henderson was selected the Most Outstanding Offensive Player after rushing for 95 yards on 22 carries. Smith completed 13 of 28 passes for 163 yards with one interception.
The teams set the game record for punts at 18, with both tying the single-club record of nine.
THE TAKEAWAY
Louisiana Tech: The season will forever be tainted by "what if" for the Bulldogs. Following a season-opening loss at Texas, Louisiana Tech rattled off eight straight wins before Smith was suspended two games for violating an undisclosed program policy. The Bulldogs lost those two games and won the regular-season finale when Smith returned. What if Louisiana Tech would have run the table? Could it have challenged Memphis for the Group of 5 slot in the College Football Playoff's New Year's Six?
Miami: During bowl week, Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz said the "plan" wasn't to play three quarterbacks. Sure enough, Miami played three quarterbacks -- Jarren Williams, Tate Martell, N'Kosi Perry -- and found no success. Perry, who didn't play until the fourth quarter, showed the most promise through the air, although none of the three threw for 100 yards.
Penn State hires OC Kirk
Ciarrocca away from Minnesota
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Penn State has hired Kirk Ciarrocca as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, after he held the same role for Big Ten foe Minnesota for the past three seasons.
Ciarrocca replaces Ricky Rahne, who was named head coach at OId Dominion earlier this month. Penn State head coach James Franklin, whose team plays Memphis in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, made the announcement on Thursday.
Franklin said he wanted an established play-caller, and also believes strongly in "hiring people that want to be here, and Kirk really wanted to be here. … He's fired up about being here."
Ciarrocca grew up as a Nittany Lions fan in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, and has deep ties to the state. He has spent the majority of his 30-year coaching career in the Mid-Atlantic region. Ciarrocca came to the Midwest in 2013 to join head coach P.J. Fleck at Western Michigan and followed Fleck to Minnesota in 2017.
The Gophers, who beat Penn State 31-26 on Nov. 9, enjoyed a breakout season behind Ciarrocca's play-calling and the development of quarterback Tanner Morgan.
No. 16 Minnesota (10-2, No. 18 CFP), which plays Auburn in the Outback Bowl next week, is tied for third in the Big Ten with No. 13 Penn State (10-2, No. 10 CFP) with an average of 34.3 points per game.
Morgan leads the conference with an average of 247.9 passing yards per game, setting single-season program records for yards and touchdowns.
"We wanted to get a proven play-caller, a guy that's got a history of calling plays, but also somebody that our systems were similar, that there would be some carryover," said Franklin, who expects a blend of what Penn State does and what Ciarrocca has done, specifically at Minnesota.
Ciarrocca has been an offensive coordinator for 18 seasons. He also has had stints on the staffs at Temple, Delaware Valley, Western Connecticut State, Princeton, Penn, Delaware, Rutgers and Richmond.