For 59 minutes, the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl between the Pittsburgh Panthers and Eastern Michigan Eagles was a solid college football game with little drama. Then, all hell broke loose in the final minute at Ford Field in Detroit and it had everyone talking.
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First, Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett found Tysir Mack for a 25-yard touchdown pass to put the Panthers up with 47 seconds left. Then, on the final drive of the game, Eastern Michigan quarterback Mike Glass III lost his cool, threw a couple of punches, including one that struck an official, and was ejected before the last play that Thursday night.
The bowl game on ESPN was essentially ruined in a matter of seconds.
Eastern Michigan QB Mike Glass III Ejected
Eastern Michigan QB Mike Glass III was ejected after throwing punches during the final seconds of their bowl loss to Pitt. pic.twitter.com/DTPguFRtnj
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 27, 2019
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After throwing an incomplete pass and getting knocked to the turf, Glass got to his feet and immediately struck Pitt linebacker Cam Bright in his face mask. Penalty flags went flying. Then, star defensive back Paris Ford had some words for Glass, and the EMU senior quarterback threw his hands again.
This time, however, his swing hit the referee's hat and knocked him to the ground before making contact on Ford on the Pitt player.
Let's be honest, it was a bit of an acting job by the official, but it was the final straw. Glass earned two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and was ejected from the game with 10 seconds remaining.
Glass finished the night with 311 passing yards, another 83 on the ground, and totaled three touchdowns while tossing one interception. The last game of his football season and NCAA career ends on a sour note in the final seconds, however.
"I let God and my family down!" He wrote on social media.
https://twitter.com/mglassiii/status/1210426925371527168?s=20
He released a longer statement in another tweet the next day.
https://twitter.com/mglassiii/status/1210730978567577600?s=20
Unfortunately, this wasn't the only incident of the night for head coach Chris Creighton's team.
EMU's Kevin McGill Ejected for Spitting
https://twitter.com/JackMacCFB/status/1210397798572711938
Earlier in the second half, EMU cornerback Kevin McGill was ejected for allegedly spitting on one of the Pittsburgh players.
No matter the level, from youth football to the NFL, emotions can get the best of anyone. Throwing punches at opposing players was another example.
With Glass in the locker room, EMU trotted out backup quarterback Preston Hutchinson for the final play. His pass was incomplete and Pitt walked away with a 34-30 victory.
Mike Glass did a lot of great things at Eastern Michigan, but his last impression might be his worse. Just imagine if something like this happened in the College Football Playoff with a star player from LSU, Oklahoma, Ohio State, or Clemson, too.
This post was originally published on December 27, 2019 and republished during the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19 outbreak.
