Chaston Ditta threw two second-half touchdown passes, and East Carolina overcame an inadvertent whistle that negated a long touchdown in a 23-17 victory over Pittsburgh in the Military Bowl on Saturday.
ECU faced fourth-and-1 from its own 32 in the third quarter when Marlon Gunn Jr. shed a couple of tacklers and went all the way to the end zone. That would have put the Pirates up 17-7, but the play was called back because of a whistle, and Gunn was credited with a 14-yard gain instead.
Two plays later, Ditta fumbled on a sack by Pitt’s Rasheem Biles, who recovered the ball and returned it 23 yards to the end zone to give the Panthers a 14-10 lead.