Through four games it has been a year of firsts for Pitt head football coach Pat Narduzzi.
Thanks to a dominating effort from the Panthers defense, you can add first ACC win to Narduzzi’s resume.
In sloppy field conditions, the Panthers got a first-half lead on Virginia Tech and the defense finished the Hokies off in a 17-13 win.
Pitt won for the sixth time in the last seven meetings against their old Big East rivals
The Panthers sacked Hokies’ quarterback Brenden Motley seven times, picked off three passes and limited Virginia Tech (2-3, 0-1 ACC) to just nine yards rushing and allowed just 100 yards of total offense on the afternoon.
It wasn’t just the Pitt (3-1, 1-0) defense though as the Panthers’ offense had their moments as well. Pitt outgained the Hokies 276-100 on the day. Redshirt freshman running back Qadree Ollison was responsible for a big chunk of those, rushing for 122 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
Pitt took a 10-0 lead after one quarter.
Chris Blewitt got Pitt on the board with a 45-yard field goal and then quarterback Nate Peterman hit tight end J.P. Holtz with a 23-yard touchdown pass.
Virginia Tech closed the gap in the second quarter with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Motley to Cam Phillips, which cut the Pitt lead to 10-7.
Things stayed that way at the half, but Pitt supplied the biggest play of the second half early in the third quarter when Ollison broke loose for a 25-yard touchdown run to make it 17-7.
The Hokies added a couple field goals and had chances late, but the Pitt defense stuffed any thoughts of a Hokies comeback.
Peterman got the start at quarterback for the Panthers and completed 9-of-15 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Chad Voytik came in a few times in running situations and rushed for 37 yards on five carries.
Pitt will try and build off their first ACC victory when they host struggling Virginia next Saturday at Heinz Field.
Photo Credit: Roanoke Times
