Houston vs. Pittsburgh: Score and Twitter Reaction for 2015 Armed Forces Bowl

Houston stormed back from a 25-point deficit in the fourth quarter to come away with a miraculous 35-34 victory over Pittsburgh in the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl on Friday.

It was a unique clash given the fact both teams were without the coaches who led them to this point. The Cougars relieved Tony Levine of his duties last month, while the Panthers watched Paul Chryst leave to take over the Wisconsin program.

That left David Gibbs (Houston) and Joe Rudolph (Pitt) to coach the bowl on an interim basis. Here's how the wild encounter played out from Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas:

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Cougars	0	6	0	29	35
Panthers	0	17	7	10	34

The coaching situation was obviously a major talking point leading up to the contest. Yet, Pittsburgh quarterback Chad Voytik told Jerry DiPaola of Triblive.com that the team's second change at the top in three years didn't have a major impact on the squad.

"You come to expect anything," he said. "You never know what's going to happen in college football."

The Panthers showed off that carefree attitude right away. Facing a fourth down from their own 30-yard line on the opening drive, they made the call for a fake punt—and it worked. Matt Galambos powered forward for five yards and a first down.

Dr. Saturday summed up the decision:

The only disappointment for Pitt was that the bold move didn't lead to points. It was forced to punt—for real this time—four plays later.

It was the highlight of an otherwise mundane first quarter that came to a close with the score still deadlocked at zero.

The Panthers got the scoring started early in the second. James Conner capped off a terrific 15-play, 92-yard drive that ate up more than seven minutes of clock with a touchdown plunge from one yard out to grab the lead.

As ESPN Stats and Info noted, that score allowed Conner to extend his new school record for rushing touchdowns in a season:

Houston was able to match that effort a couple drives later. It used 15 plays to go 76 yards before scoring a touchdown it thought would tie the game. Alas, the extra-point attempt from Kyle Bullard came out low and was blocked.

ESPN passed along video of the score, which sees Kenneth Farrow get a little help from his offensive line friends to cross the goal line:

The special teams highlight seemed to fire up the Panthers. They proceeded to go on a quick 10-0 spurt over the final six minutes of the half.

First, they put together another touchdown drive. They pushed down the field with a trio of completions by Voytik and help from a pass-interference call on Houston. Once they got in the red zone, it was Isaac Bennett who finished the job from 12 yards out.

Then, following a quick defensive stop, the Panthers were able to get into fringe field-goal range for Chris Blewitt. He proceeded to connect from 52 yards to give them a 17-6 halftime edge.

The Panther Pitt pointed out that it was a career long for the Pitt kicker:

Unfortunately, the team also found out it would be without Bennett in the second half due to a knee injury, as reported by Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

That didn't stop Pittsburgh from continuing to build on its lead in the third quarter.

It put together its second drive of over 90 yards to make it 24-6. Voytik showed off his running ability on the drive, carrying the ball three times for 39 yards to spearhead the attack. He also displayed some serious emotion after a couple of the scampers.

The score came on a 16-yard connection between the sophomore quarterback and J.P. Holtz. Mike Vukovcan of CBS Pittsburgh is impressed with what he's seen from Voytik:

The Panthers made it 31-6 early in the fourth, courtesy of Conner's second score of the day.

Houston then began a monster rally. It put together back-to-back touchdown drives of 86 and 83 yards against a Pittsburgh defense that backed off into more conservative coverages to prevent the big play.

Then, after a successful onside kick, a suddenly in-rhythm Greg Ward Jr. led the Cougars down the field again. He delivered a perfect throw on a crucial fourth down to Demarcus Ayers to get his team back within seven with two minutes to go.

College Football News noted the ferocious comeback:

With momentum firmly on their side, they tried their luck with another onside kick despite having all three timeouts left. Sure enough, it was successful again.

Ward connected with Deontay Greenberry for 38 yards on the first play of the drive to get right back in scoring range. After a couple sloppy plays, Greenberry managed to get wide-open once again down the middle of the field for the touchdown.

The Cougars had no interest in playing to tie it up. They went for the two-point conversion to take the lead, and after an extended rollout, Ward and Greenberry teamed up again for their first advantage of the contest.

Edward Aschoff of ESPN tweeted out the thoughts of just about every college football fan who was watching what had seemed like a blowout:

Pittsburgh attempted to drive back down for the winning field goal but only reached midfield before turning the ball over on downs.

ESPN Stats and Info provided some interesting numbers about the comeback:

Houston Football celebrated the win:

Despite the stunning defeat, there's still reason for optimism at Pitt. Pat Narduzzi arrives to a strong foundation on the rise. There were some ups and downs throughout the year, including today's game, but the overall outlook is positive for next season.

Houston ends the season with a 8-5 record. While that represents a solid campaign, ending it in the matter the Cougars did makes it seem a whole lot better. It's the type of win that can spark interest in the program with national signing day on the horizon.

The team never gave up despite falling behind big, and it paid off in a major way.