What Pittsburgh quarterback Christian Veilleux thought was a game-winning slide turned out to be the opposite.
With the Panthers up by three against Wake Forest with 55 seconds left in Saturday’s game, Veilleux attempted to run for the first down and was called down for sliding too early before picking up the yardage on the third-down play.
The slightly early slide cost Pittsburgh the game, as they were forced to punt and Wake Forest orchestrated a six-play drive that ended in a game-clinching touchdown pass from Santino Marucci to Cameron Hite for 15 yards.
It also gave up a bad beat on the +1 spread.
The slide was a close call and one that Veilleux thought he executed.
“I definitely felt like I had it,” he said after the 21-17 loss. “Going to have to watch the film, but it’s a tough one. Just going to have to get over it and move on.”
Veilleux said he didn’t get any explanation from the officials about the call.
“I just know the rule. When you start your slide that’s when they down, so, maybe I started it early,” he said.
The redshirt sophomore from Ottawa, Ontario, will take the lesson to learn from and will improve his performance in late-game situations.
Veilleux is in his first year with the Panthers after transferring from Penn State.
In his four games with Pitt so far this season, he has accumulated 647 yards for five touchdowns and two interceptions.
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