ATLANTA — The Pitt Panthers lost to Michigan State 31-21 in the Peach Bowl.
Payton Thorne’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed gave No. 11 Michigan State the lead with less than three minutes remaining and the Spartans overcame an 11-point deficit to beat No. 13 Pittsburgh Thursday night.
Linebacker Cal Haladay’s 78-yard interception return for a touchdown with 22 seconds remaining ended Pitt fill-in quarterback Davis Beville’s bid for a last-minute comeback in the game the Panthers played without star QB Kenny Pickett.
Thorne threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes as Michigan State (11-2) rallied.
Cam Bright returned a fumble recovery 26 yards for a touchdown 20 seconds into the second half for Pittsburgh (11-3).
The Panthers lost fill-in starting quarterback Nick Patti to an injury in the first quarter.
Spartans running back Kenneth Walker and Pitt’s Pickett finished among the top six in the Heisman Trophy voting before opting out of the bowl game.
Coming off its first ACC championship, Pitt was aiming to become the second 12-win team in school history.
The Panthers finished 12-0 in 1976 and won the national championship.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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