2021 Peach Bowl (December)
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The 2021 Peach Bowl was a
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...
played on December 30, 2021, with kickoff at 7:00 p.m. EST and televised on
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
. It was the 54th edition of the
Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...
, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by restaurant chain
Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A, Inc. ( , a Word play, play on the American English pronunciation of "wikt:filet#Pronunciation, filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing in Chicken burger, chicken sandwiches. Headquarter ...
, the game was officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The game featured No. 12-ranked
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, winners of the
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
against No. 10-ranked
Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...
of the
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
. Pittsburgh head coach
Pat Narduzzi Patrick Regan Narduzzi (born April 22, 1966) is an American football coach and former player. Since 2015, he has been the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh. He was formerly the defensive coordinator at Michigan State. He attended Youngst ...
had previously been the
defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...
at Michigan State for seven seasons.


Teams

As one of the
New Year's Six The New Year's Six, sometimes abbreviated as NY6, are the following NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) bowl games: the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl. These games are traditionally play ...
bowl games, the participants of the game were determined by the
College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...
selection committee rather than being based on conference tie-ins. This was the eighth meeting between Pittsburgh and Michigan State; heading into the game, the Spartans led the all-time series, 6–0–1. The Spartans improved their series record to 7–0–1 all-time. This was the first Peach Bowl appearance for both programs.


Pittsburgh Panthers

In head coach
Pat Narduzzi Patrick Regan Narduzzi (born April 22, 1966) is an American football coach and former player. Since 2015, he has been the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh. He was formerly the defensive coordinator at Michigan State. He attended Youngst ...
's seventh season, the Panthers finished in first place in the ACC Coastal division with a record of 11–2, 7–1 in ACC play. It was the first 11-win season for the Panthers since
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
. Pitt was selected to finish fourth in the ACC Coastal, but a return from super senior quarterback Kenny Pickett helped the Panthers to significant wins over Clemson and Tennessee. The Panthers clinched the ACC Coastal division with a 48–38 win over Virginia on senior night, winning the division for the second time since
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
. They defeated Wake Forest in the
ACC Championship Game The ACC Championship Game is an annual American college football game held in early December by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) each year to determine its football champion. From its inception in 2005 to 2019, and from 2021 to 2022, the gam ...
, becoming the first school other than Clemson or
Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
to win the conference championship since
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
. Pittsburgh quarterback
Kenny Pickett Kenneth Shane Pickett (born June 6, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers football, Pittsbu ...
was the recipient of many awards for his play during the season. Pickett came in third place in voting for the
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...
, broke
Deshaun Watson Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, leading the team to a national ...
's single-season ACC record for passing touchdowns with 40, and broke the Panthers' all-time record for touchdown passes, previously held by
Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1961) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played college f ...
. Pickett was also named the ACC Player of the Year, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, and the
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award is given annually in the United States to the nation's top upperclassman quarterback in college football. Candidates are judged on accomplishments on the field as well as on their character, scholastic achievem ...
winner. Pittsburgh receiver Jordan Addison was named the
Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...
winner, which recognizes FBS football's best receiver. Addison was the third Pitt player to win the award, moving Pitt into a tie for having the most Biletnikoff winners. Pickett announced he would not play in the game to prepare for the
NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
.


Michigan State Spartans

In head coach
Mel Tucker Melvin Gene Tucker II (born January 4, 1972) is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at Michigan State University from 2020 to 2023. Tucker was the interim head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the Na ...
's second season, Michigan State finished the regular season 10–2 overall and 7–2 in Big Ten play, finishing third in the East division. It was the first 10-win season for the Spartans since
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
. The Spartans, picked to finish in last place in their division after winning only two games the prior season, started the season 8–0, including a win over the eventual Big Ten champion,
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, the Wolverines' only loss of the regular season. The Spartans suffered their first loss of the season against
Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...
, but still had a chance to win the Big Ten before being blown out by
Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...
. Running back Kenneth Walker III was named the
Walter Camp Award The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football player of the year, as decided by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS head coaches and sports information direc ...
winner as the college football player of the year, decided by a group of coaches and sports information directors. He was also named the winner of the
Doak Walker Award The Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. Established in 1990, it is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Foot ...
as the nation's top running back and became the first player to win the Camp Award while not being named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. He is the only Michigan State player to win either award in the school's history. Walker led the Spartans and was second in the country with 1,636 rushing yards and added 18 touchdowns. He announced in late December that he would not play in the game to prepare for the NFL draft. MSU had the nation's worst passing defense, allowing 337.7 yards per game. Mel Tucker was named the conference's Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year (coaches vote) and Dave McClain Coach of the Year (media vote). He was also named Region 3 coach of the year by the
American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...
.


Game summary

Just like the previous edition of the bowl, the favored team was down 1021 entering the fourth quarter but rallied to win the game.


Statistics


References


External links


Game statistics
at statbroadcast.com {{Pittsburgh Panthers bowl game navbox
Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...
Peach Bowl Michigan State Spartans football bowl games Pittsburgh Panthers football bowl games
Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...
Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...
Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...