A college football record fell at Heinz Field Saturday afternoon and, unfortunately for the Pittsburgh Panthers (4-4, 2-2 ACC), it was a dubious one to set. The Panthers tied the all-time FBS record for lost fumbles in a quarter with a five in a disastrous first quarter that helped Georgia Tech (6-2, 3-2 ACC) to a 56-28 victory.
In an incredible sequence of poor ball protection and bad luck, Pitt began the calamity with a fumble on the second play from scrimmage when QB Chad Voytik scrambled for nine yards and a first down before losing the ball as he fell to the ground. A replay review did not go in Pitt’s favor and Georgia Tech scored three plays later on a Broderick Snoddy run from four yards out to take a quick 7-0 lead.
On the first play of the next drive, James Conner appeared to immediately erase that tough start when he broke a 74-yard scamper to the 1-yard line, but as he approached the end zone, a defender caught up and jarred the ball loose and into the end zone for a turnover and touchback. Yellow Jackets QB Justin Thomas then hit Charles Perkins two plays later for 79 yards up the sideline and six more points.
Pitt fumbled yet again when Isaac Bennett gave it up on the second play of Pitt’s third drive, giving Georgia Tech the football in great field position yet again. Thomas would run it in on a 14-yard QB draw play that put the Panthers down 21-0 mere minutes into the game. The nightmare would not end, as on the very first play of the fourth drive, Voytik completed a pass to Tyler Boyd who fought to stay on his feet only to get hit and lose the ball. Again, a replay review did not favor the Panthers and Georgia Tech took full advantage, scoring two plays later on a 34-yard run by Snoddy.
Barely five minutes into this crucial ACC Coastal division matchup, Pitt had run six plays, turned the ball over four times, and allowed four touchdowns on nine plays run by the Yellow Jackets. Voytik and the Panthers finally began to mount a drive, going 57 yards on seven plays before he fumbled a second time, turning it over at the Georgia Tech 30-yard line. The Panther defense prevailed for the rest of the half and the offense finally got points on the board thanks to two drives of over 70 yards that ended in short touchdown runs by Conner. Suddenly, it was 28-14 and the Panthers were driving again late in the half, giving hope to the players and fans.
That hope was short-lived, as head coach Paul Chryst chose to punt on a 4th-and-4 at the Georgia Tech 44-yard line, rather than take the momentum and go for a first down. Georgia Tech opened the second half with the football and would score on a 28-yard run by Snoddy, his third touchdown of the game. Conner matched it with a 16-yard score later in the quarter to make it 35-21, but that was as close as Pitt could get.
The Yellow Jackets ran away with the game in the fourth quarter, scoring three times and forcing another Panther fumble along the way. Pitt had six turnovers overall, all fumbles. Georgia Tech had just one, early in the fourth quarter, but Pitt could not take advantage of the opportunity to cut into the 14-point deficit at the time.
Georgia Tech’s run-heavy offense totaled 468 yards on the ground on 64 carries. Snoddy accounted for 82 of those on just six carries, scoring three times. Synjyn Days had 110 on 22 carries and Thomas, at the quarterback position, ran 15 times for 92 yards. He passed just ten times, completing five for 147 yards and one touchdown. For Pitt, Chad Voytik was an efficient 16-21 for 190 yards. James Conner ran for a game-high 119 yards on just ten carries, an average of 11.9 per rush. Tyler Boyd led all receivers with ten grabs for 134 yards.
Pitt’s offense gained 518 yards, still outgained by the 615 that Georgia Tech earned. The Yellow Jackets also owned time of possession by more than seven minutes. Both teams were good on third down as well, but the story of the game was clearly in the turnovers column.
The Panthers have now lost four of five and will try to bounce back and remain relevant in a crowded ACC Coastal division race by hosting Duke next Saturday. Kickoff is at noon.
