Pitt freshman WR Larry Fitzgerald set a school record by catching at least one touchdown pass for a sixth consecutive game. Antonio Bryant, now a rookie with the Dallas Cowboys, set the record with five in 2001.
On the first play of the second half, Oregon State TB Steven Jackson had what would have been a 64-yard run to the Pitt 5 called back by a holding penalty. Five plays later, the Beavers turned the ball over on S Tez Morris' interception, setting up a Panthers touchdown.
Senior Shawn Robinson's 66-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter was the first punt return for a touchdown in Pitt's bowl history.
The game shaped up as a defensive battle, and Oregon State showed why in a series midway through the third quarter. After Pitt drove to the Beavers' 24 on Fitzgerald's 16-yard reception, the Panthers lost that yardage when TB Brandon Miree was knocked for a 5-yard loss and DE Noah Happe had sacks of 5 and 6 yards on successive plays, forcing Pitt to punt.
Late in the first half, Oregon State was backed up, and Carl Tobey had to punt from the back of his end zone. He got off a 37-yarder under pressure, and Pitt's Robinson returned it 7 yards to the Beavers' 32. Oregon State was assessed a penalty for an illegal formation, but the Panthers declined it, opting to trust its offense with 1:07 left rather than hope for a mistake on a repeat punt that might lead to a safety, touchdown or better field position with less time. It worked out for the Panthers. Seven plays later, David Abdul kicked a 45-yard field goal to tie the score, 10-10, as the first half ended.
Pitt was designated the visiting team for the game.
The crowd was decidedly pro-Oregon State. The Panthers sold or gave away about 3,000 tickets. The Beavers sold 6,000 but were expecting 10,000-12,000 of their fans.
The roof of Bank One Ballpark was opened during pregame ceremonies and remained open. After a soggy, cool start to the week in Phoenix, the weather became clear and more seasonal. Temperatures during the game were in the 50s.
This was the Panthers' first game against Oregon State. They had not played a Pacific-10 Conference school since beating Washington State, 17-13, in the 1995 season opener at Pitt Stadium.
The game was televised by ESPN. It was the 194th all-time regional or national TV appearance by Pitt and its ninth this season. It was the 41st time the Panthers played on ESPN and the third year in a row their bowl game has been on the cable sports network.
In the game two years ago -- then called the Insight.com Bowl -- the Panthers fell to Iowa State, 37-29, to finish 7-5. Pitt took a 7-0 lead on John Turman's 72-yard touchdown pass to Bryant, but the Cyclones scored 27 unanswered points before halftime. Bryant, who had five catches for 155 yards, scored again on a 44-yard pass from Turman to bring Pitt within 27-20 in the third quarter, but Iowa State's Jamain Billups returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for the winning points.
About 80,000 square feet of sod was installed at Bank One Ballpark for the game. It covered the grass that is normally used by the baseball Diamondbacks. That grass has gone brown with dormancy. The pitcher's mound also was dug out. The sod that was brought in will be pulled up and donated to three schools. Two years ago when Pitt played in the first football bowl game at the stadium, the turf was slick, and Panthers Coach Walt Harris talked to bowl officials about the field conditions. It turned out the grounds crew, accustomed to the grass drying out rapidly in the hot Phoenix summers, had watered the field the afternoon of the game, and it was still wet during the game. Yesterday, the field was not watered in the afternoon.
The Insight and Fiesta bowls are run by the Arizona Sports Foundation, and this year it will have two OSU teams. Next Friday, eight days after Oregon State's game against Pitt in the Insight Bowl, Ohio State will face Miami at Sun Devil Stadium in the Fiesta, which this year is the national championship game.
The Insight Bowl began in 1989 as the Copper Bowl and was played on New Year's Eve in Tucson. Local favorite Arizona beat North Carolina State, 17-10, that year. In '90, Domino's Pizza became the title sponsor. In '92, Weiser Lock took over as the title sponsor, ESPN added the game to its bowl broadcast lineup and moved it to Dec. 29. In '95, the game moved to Dec. 27 to kick off ESPN's "Bowl Week" and Texas Tech beat Air Force, 55-41, in the highest-scoring bowl game in NCAA history. In '97, the Arizona Sports Foundation, which runs the Fiesta Bowl, became the first entity to operate two bowl games when it acquired the Copper Bowl. The name was then changed to the Insight.com Bowl. In '98, West Virginia QB Marc Bulger set several Insight.com Bowl records in a 34-31 loss to Missouri. In 2000, the game moved from Tucson to Phoenix and was played in Bank One Ballpark, the home of baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. Pitt lost to Iowa State, 37-29. This year, the ".com" portion of the bowl's name was dropped, and Pitt earned a return engagement. But many if not most of the banners lining the field still read "Insight.com Bowl."
Oregon State special teams and running backs coach Noel Mazzone was Pitt offensive coordinator J.D. Brookhart's position coach when Brookhart was a receiver at Colorado State.
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